Lu Luo wasn't sure what was going on. He subconsciously touched his eyeballs, but even when he covered his eyes, that line of small characters still lingered in his vision.
He looked towards the man who had been in a hurry, and the Observer provided a hint:
[A dangerous fellow, thankfully he's in a rush. If you were to stare at him like that under normal conditions, your head would be smashed to bits.]
"Lu Luo, what's wrong?" Qin Wanyu asked, looking at Lu Luo who was acting somewhat strangely.
"Oh, nothing. My vision's a bit blurry."
After this interruption, Qin Wanyu could no longer muster the courage to confess. Head bowed, she followed Lu Luo upstairs.
As they walked, Lu Luo twitched his nose. Strangely, he caught an odd scent, but couldn't tell where it was coming from.
A fishy smell?
[Something peculiar has happened here. Owing to a lack of information, even the noble Grade S Sequence Observer isn't certain what has occurred. However, you'd best be careful.]
Lu Luo narrowed his eyes, extended his hand behind him, and said,
"Something feels weird. Be careful and hold on to me."
After a long moment with no response, Lu Luo instinctively turned around. Qin Wanyu was gone.
[Are you looking for that human female? She hasn't been following you. She's been downstairs the whole time, motionless.]
Reading the hint, Lu Luo felt his scalp tingle. If Qin Wanyu had been downstairs all along, then who had just gone upstairs with him?
"She was clearly following me the whole time... And what exactly are you?" he demanded.
[Do not be deceived by your own eyes. As for me, I am the noble and powerful Grade S Sequence Observer, your true eyes.]
My true eyes?
Lu Luo steadied his emotions and looked upstairs. The sight nearly unsteadied him again.
The staircase stretched endlessly, floor after floor. Whether he looked up or down, there was no end in sight. He couldn't reach the exhibition hall's second floor, nor could he return to the first.
Endless stairs... Am I trapped in some kind of illusion? What should I do now?
[I am simply your native Sequence Observer. You want me to tell you what to do? Stop joking, okay?]
Are you really a Grade S native Sequence?
Under normal circumstances, awakening a suspected Grade S native Sequence would have delighted him, but the current situation felt very wrong.
AAH! AAH!
Just as Lu Luo was struggling to decide whether to continue upstairs or head back down the way he came, a piercing scream suddenly came from above.
The screaming went on incessantly, growing weaker and weaker. It must be a woman upstairs in danger or under attack.
No, I've got to get back downstairs, Lu Luo frowned. Screaming meant danger; he couldn't risk moving recklessly.
Just as he considered going down, heavy, labored gasps, like someone struggling to breathe, drifted up from below.
GASP... GASP... GASP...
[There's a dangerous fellow downstairs. Even though you want to go down, I think it's better for you to head up. As a noble Grade S Sequence, the Observer hasn't yet fulfilled its proper role, and I don't want to sing a swan song here.]
Lu Luo abruptly turned and ran straight upstairs. With his past life experience as a detective, his judgment was still reliable.
Since the Observer Sequence had given a hint, risking a descent now would be foolish.
Lu Luo raced up the flights of stairs: 2, 3, 4, 5... 11, 12.
Exhausted, he leaned on his knees and the handrail. He had reached the 12th floor, but the stairs in front of him hadn't changed at all.
Not a single door had appeared in the entire stairwell. This realization made Lu Luo's heart sink.
The breathing from below grew louder, meaning the dangerous entity was getting closer. He didn't even dare to look down over the railing.
Without realizing it, the stairs and handrails had gradually become slippery and sticky. Looking down at his feet, Lu Luo saw many green plants had already entwined around his ankles.
Is this... kelp?
[Correct. It is kelp, rich in various trace elements and edible when boiled. However, this one before you is a plant-type Exotic Species called Flesh Ensnarer.]
Plant-type... Flesh Ensnarer... Is it an Exotic Species?
The kelp crept up Lu Luo's calves. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't tear it off. If this continued, he would be entangled to death.
[Don't make such a fuss. It's just a newly mutated First Tier plant-type Exotic Species. With your strength, you could kill it in minutes.]
I don't have any damned strength! I really shouldn't have tempted fate. Just when I thought things were off to a good start, now I'm about to be done for.
[Consciousness fusion complete. Activating Grade S Sequence S-02: Devourer, and Sequence S-04: Fusioner.]
New Sequences? The sudden message left Lu Luo bewildered. The problem was, there was no instruction manual! How was he supposed to use them?
The kelp was wrapping ever tighter, as if it were trying to drag him down the stairs. Lu Luo could only hold onto the stair railing with one hand while trying his best to fend off the kelp's entanglement with the other.
The kelp had completely wrapped around his body and was about to pull him down when suddenly, Lu Luo felt a heat at his fingertips, as if something was melting in his hand.
[100 Energy Points consumed for one synthesis: Iron Block + Wood = Blade]
Lu Luo looked down at his right hand, where the tips of his fingers were emitting a faint white light. Under this light, the iron stair railing began to soften and deform.
Quickly, a rough machete appeared in Lu Luo's hand, and he could even see information about the blade.
[Rough Machete]
Grade: Shoddy
Damage: 3-10
Description: Handmade by Lu Luo, very rough, but functional.
[Fusioner is just a trash Sequence. Spending 100 Energy Points to create such a thing? How dare it share the Grade S designation with me?]
Lu Luo ignored the Observer's critique, gripped the machete tightly, and immediately chopped at the kelp entwined around him.
AARGH!
This thing actually screams? So weak. It's quite easy to deal with.
[Flesh Ensnarer is a very common plant-type Exotic Species. I told you, with your strength, you could kill it in minutes. But it's merely a symbiotic Exotic Species. The real danger is still below. It's coming!]
A woman ascended the stairs, her gait unsteady and trembling. Her expression was twisted in pain, and Lu Luo couldn't tell what she was trying to express.
From the woman's chest emerged a grayish-green claw, her once fair face now completely drained of color.
She emitted "UHH! UHH!" sounds but couldn't form any words.
Lu Luo looked past the woman. Under the light, the owner of the grayish-green claw gradually became clear—it was a shark-like creature.
It had a shark's head and torso, but with mechanical legs and arms—a cyborg monstrosity.
Lu Luo had read about various Exotic Species in books, but this was inside the Wall! How could so many Exotic Species appear here?
What the hell is this? A hybrid of machine and shark?
[A new, undocumented variant of Intelligent Mechanoid Species. You could name it Steel Shark, Iron Shark, or something similar. Be careful. Although it's only First Tier, it's much stronger than the kelp. Against such an opponent, I suggest a slide tackle.]
A slide tackle... How am I supposed to do a slide tackle on stairs?
Lu Luo suppressed the urge to curse. He looked at the stair handrail. Under certain circumstances, maybe a slide like that could actually work?
The shark Exotic Species opened its massive jaw and bit off half of the woman's body, then casually tossed the remaining corpse aside.
Chewing, it watched Lu Luo!
Lu Luo recognized that look—it was the same strange gaze from the shark in the display case earlier, as if it were smiling, or rather, mocking!
"Are you sure it won't just gulp me down if I slide tackle it?"
[That's your problem. I'm just the Observer; combat isn't my department. But yes, I think there's a high probability it will gulp you down.]
Fine! Lu Luo gradually calmed. The opponent was clearly a monster, far surpassing him in strength and Constitution. How can I kill this thing?
Lu Luo looked at the machete in his hand and suddenly asked,
"Can it transform into a firearm?"
[Fusioner Plan – Firearm: Estimated cost 340 Energy Points. Insufficient Energy. Transformation impossible.]
So it's insufficient energy, not that it can't be turned into a firearm. Wishes can come true, huh? This is getting interesting.
The back of his hand on the stair railing suddenly felt a bit warm and slimy. Lu Luo quickly glanced at it and discovered it was a large amount of blood flowing down the railing.
Looks like a lot of people died upstairs!
Lu Luo's mind raced, but under such circumstances, coming up with a way to defeat a monster seemed a bit unrealistic.
However, he didn't have any better ideas now. The opponent's lower half was mechanical, while he relied on his legs to climb.
Reaching the twelfth floor had already drained most of his strength. If he ran further up, he wouldn't even have the energy to fight back. He had to deal with this thing.
Looking again at the slippery handrail and the iron machete in his hand, Lu Luo thought,
Can this transform into steel wire?
[Fusioner Plan – Steel Wire: Estimated cost 5 Energy Points.]
Change.
[5 Energy Points consumed for transformation: Blade → Steel Wire]
The white light appeared once again, and the iron machete in Lu Luo's hand quickly turned into a fairly strong steel wire.
Steel wire was one of the few methods Lu Luo could devise to kill the monster before him.
"Hey, Mr. Shark, I think we could sit down and have a chat. Maybe we come from the same era; perhaps we even met in a past aquarium. I know you might not like being locked in a display case, but you're free now, congratulations!"
Lu Luo spoke what sounded like nonsense, but the Intelligent Mechanoid Shark actually responded, though only with a ZZT ZZT of electrical noise.
[Foolish and puny human, daring to speak to me? How ludicrous. —Translation by the Observer.]
Exotic Species... at least Intelligent Mechanoid ones can understand human speech, but we can't understand their language. An information asymmetry.
Lu Luo narrowed his eyes and made a classic gesture from a movie at the Steel Shark, beckoning with his finger.
"Come at me!"
ZZZT!
The Steel Shark lunged suddenly, but Lu Luo, ready for the attack, accurately dodged its first strike.
While moving, he stepped onto the railing and wrapped the wire around the shark's fin.
Hook!
[10 Energy Points consumed for transformation: Steel Wire → Hook]
The hook caught the Steel Shark's body. Lu Luo then used the stair handrail to slide down swiftly.
CREAK...
The wire and hook instantly snagged the Steel Shark. However, this restraint was insignificant for an Intelligent Mechanoid Species; it could easily break free.
An ordinary person would have been doomed, but Lu Luo was no longer ordinary—not since his Awakening with the Observer and Fusioner Sequences.
Gears!
[17 Energy Points consumed for transformation: Steel Wire → Gear Set]
The gear set jammed in the Steel Shark's fin. Lu Luo then jumped straight down through the gap between the stair handrails.
He wrapped the wire in his clothing, but the pull nearly severed his palms. Fortunately, it was all effective.
The gear set, providing mechanical advantage, used Lu Luo's rapid descent to wrench the Steel Shark against the stair handrail.
Although it was an Intelligent Mechanoid Species, its upper body was actual flesh and blood. The hook dug into its flesh. The thin wire tightened, becoming like a razor, gradually slicing through the Steel Shark's body.
The Steel Shark finally showed panic. As an Intelligent Mechanoid Exotic Species, it was capable of fear, but it was too late.
The wire, surprisingly sharp and pulled with tremendous force, sliced the Intelligent Mechanoid Species apart in mere seconds.
[You won even like that? You're as strong as a War God! I'm starting to see you in a new light. However, I still suggest you run first.]
Lu Luo struggled up the stairs. He glanced back instinctively—the downward steps were gone.
The floor was covered in black liquid like ink; if you got close, you would see that it was actually long black hair mixed with slime.
[Still looking? Don't you value your life? Don't forget, you're still a virgin in this world!]
Lu Luo roughly understood. Against a monster like the Steel Shark, the Observer had even suggested a slide tackle, and he had actually managed to kill it.
But facing this pool of black liquid, the Observer outright forbade any such maneuvers. The difference in threat level was obvious. Time to run!
After Lu Luo ran upstairs, a figure gradually emerged from the inky liquid. If not for the black hair completely covering the body and the protrusion on the chest, one might not recognize it as a woman.
PANT... PANT... PANT...
The woman's strange panting echoed in the stairwell. She showed no sign of pursuing Lu Luo, instead staring blankly in the direction he'd fled, as if contemplating something.
Soon, however, the woman seemed to abandon thought. Her hair smashed through the wall, and she entered one of the exhibition hall's floors, continuing her slaughter.