Su Li rode the Crocodile-Toothed Turtle toward the thirty-story building a few hundred meters away, deciding to lure these undead to the rooftop to harvest their spirit sources.
The Bloodthirster was the fastest, quickly bursting out of the water and then shooting through it at high speed, chasing after the Crocodile-Toothed Turtle and Su Li on its back. Its face was filled with excitement, its eyes gleaming with cruel, bloodthirsty light.
Only after it had surged over ten meters ahead did a group of higher-level undead—Spitters, Throwers, and Corroders—emerge one after another, surfacing and also chasing in the direction Su Li had fled.
The Crocodile-Toothed Turtle moved swiftly through the water. Su Li, riding on its back, turned around and saw the Bloodthirster chasing about twenty meters behind the turtle, and the distance was gradually widening. It seemed the Bloodthirster was slower in the water than the turtle, while the Spitters and Corroders were even farther behind.
"Slow down a bit, so they don't give up the chase," Su Li said, gently patting the Crocodile-Toothed Turtle Number One. He was worried that if the distance grew too large, these creatures might abandon the pursuit. Having lured such a valuable group of spirit sources, he didn't want to waste them.
The Crocodile-Toothed Turtle understood his words and immediately slowed down, maintaining a distance of about ten meters from the fastest pursuer, the Bloodthirster.
"Smart," Su Li said with a grin, unable to resist praising it.
The Crocodile-Toothed Turtle, pleased by the compliment, lifted its head, opened its mouth, and suddenly let out a croaking sound.
"So that's what your voice sounds like—ugly, like a frog," Su Li laughed. Seeing the building, with only its upper half above water, right ahead, he stepped on the turtle's back and leaped up.
Landing firmly on the rooftop, Su Li felt a sense of relief.
The Crocodile-Toothed Turtle suddenly accelerated, darting off at an angle to avoid the charging Bloodthirster.
The Bloodthirster's target was clearly not the turtle; it ignored the turtle's escape and burst out of the water, following Su Li onto the rooftop.
Su Li, now on the roof, paused in surprise. He suddenly noticed that on the other side of the building, a wooden raft was approaching. The building had blocked their view of each other earlier, but now that Su Li was on the roof, he could see the raft clearly.
On the raft stood five people—four men and one woman, aged between twenty and forty—all looking in his direction. They, too, were startled to see Su Li jump onto the rooftop.
Before Su Li could think further, the Bloodthirster had already leaped onto the roof, letting out a low hissing roar as it charged at him.
The Bloodthirster was covered in a layer of bone armor, forming a full-body skeletal suit. Its attack method was simple and brutal—it relied solely on its fists.
It lunged forward, fists raised, aiming for Su Li's head and face.
Su Li sidestepped to dodge, swinging the Dragon-Rhino Sword horizontally. It struck the Bloodthirster's arm with a sharp *clang*, leaving a white mark. Though the sword could cut through iron like mud, it couldn't penetrate the Bloodthirster's bone armor.
"Tough," Su Li thought with a start. The Bloodthirster attacked with both fists in a flurry, like a storm.
With five strangers of unknown background present, Su Li didn't want to reveal his true strength. He didn't even activate "Demon Muscles," simply holding the Dragon-Rhino Sword in his right hand as he parried and slowly retreated, appearing to be struggling to an outsider.
Soon, the raft neared the building, and the four men and one woman jumped onto the roof.
A young man in his twenties shouted, wielding a bone knife taken from some monster, its handle wrapped in cloth. He charged forward with the knife.
As he attacked, another man in his thirties strode forward, taking three heavy steps to close in on the Bloodthirster. His hands had mutated, covered in black fur, transforming into a pair of massive bear paws that slammed heavily toward the Bloodthirster.
The Bloodthirster ignored the young man's bone knife, letting it strike its body, while its fists met the bear paws of the thirty-something man.
The bone fists clashed with the bear paws, producing a dull thud.
The Bloodthirster swayed slightly, while the thirty-something man grunted, staggering back three or four steps, nearly falling.
Seeing the two attack the Bloodthirster, Su Li stepped back and activated his "Peeking Rune" to observe the five strangers.
He discovered that all four men and one woman were Level 7 spirit source users.
"Just as I thought," Su Li nodded to himself. The mainstream level for survivors now was indeed Level 7.
The Bloodthirster's strength clearly surprised the five. The other two men joined the fight.
One wielded a machete, while the other conjured a whirlwind in his palm, hurling it at the Bloodthirster.
The only woman walked toward Su Li.
She appeared to be about twenty-four or twenty-five. Su Li's first impression was that she was very pretty, even striking, but soon he noticed something oddly stiff about her face.
Her double eyelids were deep, her chin sharp, her nose bridge high—all standard features of a beauty. Su Li had seen many similar faces in short videos on his phone.
Thinking of those videos, he suddenly understood: this was an artificial beauty, someone who had undergone plastic surgery. That explained the initial striking impression but the lack of natural, enduring appeal.
The woman looked at Su Li and then at the Dragon-Rhino Sword in his hand. Her large eyes, enhanced by eyelid surgery, sparkled with interest.
The Dragon-Rhino Sword's unique shape made it clear it wasn't an ordinary, man-made weapon.
Meanwhile, the Bloodthirster began to retreat step by step. Though powerful, it couldn't hold out against four Level 7 spirit source users.
Among them, the man in his thirties who controlled the whirlwind was especially strong. He trapped the Bloodthirster in the vortex, the fierce winds making it unstable, unable to attack or even stand still.
This left it vulnerable to the other three's attacks. Its bone armor protected it from blades, but the bear-paw attacks were taking a toll.
The bone armor, like a suit of armor, could block swords but couldn't absorb sustained heavy blows, which still shook its internal organs.
By then, the Spitters, Throwers, and Corroders from behind had caught up and were climbing up.
The whirlwind-controlling man let out a low roar, thrusting his hands forward. The vortex hurled the Bloodthirster into the newly arrived undead.
With a *bang*, the Bloodthirster knocked over two Throwers who had just climbed up, crashing into the water.
The Spitters and Corroders hesitated, looking uncertain.
They sensed these enemies were formidable.
The Bloodthirster, now in the water, roared and then sank, disappearing.
It had a special ability, "Hyperthermic Frenzy," but using it would leave it weakened for three days, so it only used it when its life was threatened.
Though brutal and bloodthirsty against weaker foes, it wasn't stupid. Seeing these opponents were tough, it fled.
The Spitters and Corroders, seeing their leader escape, quickly jumped back into the water and submerged.
Watching the higher-level undead retreat, Su Li sighed inwardly, lamenting the missed opportunity.
If not for these five strangers, the undead wouldn't have been scared off. Still, he was grateful for their help, as their intentions were good.
"My name is Wang Shixian. What's yours?" the woman asked. Despite her plastic surgery, she was indeed pretty, and her voice was sweet, pleasant to hear.
"I'm Su Li. Thanks for your help," Su Li replied with a smile, expressing his gratitude.
The four men turned back as the undead disappeared. The man with the bear-paw hands chuckled, "No need to be so polite. We're all human; helping each other against these damned monsters is only right. By the way, I'm You Zhenghao."
You Zhenghao pointed to the whirlwind-controlling man. "This guy's called Qin Xin, the strongest of us five. He's the one who drove those monsters back. If you want to thank anyone, thank him alone."
Qin Xin rolled his eyes. "Can't you go a day without taking a jab at me?"
As Qin Xin spoke, Su Li caught a whiff of stale alcohol, thinking the man must have drunk heavily the night before. Though the buzz had faded, the smell lingered.
The young man with the bone knife smiled warmly. "I'm Hu Zhengqi, and this is Tao Haoyu."
"Hi, call me Haozi. Where are you from? Why are you alone?" Tao Haoyu asked.
Su Li looked at the five, sensing they were a close-knit, friendly group. His first impression was that they weren't bad people.
"I'm from the Shimao Building over there. Where are you all from?" Su Li said, deliberately vague. The Shimao Center was over ten kilometers away and not well-known; people usually called it the Shimao Center, not "Shimao Building." He used a vague name to avoid revealing too much but didn't want to outright lie, in case these people turned out to be worth befriending.
"Shimao Building? Where's that?" The five hadn't heard of it. Wang Shixian spoke up, "We're from the Financial City Apartment Building, over there." She pointed into the distance.
She pointed to one of the two buildings over forty stories that Su Li had noticed earlier. Now closer, he could barely make it out. Seventeen stories were above water, plus the twenty-nine submerged, making it a 46-story building—two stories taller than his current "Golden Eagle No. 1 Building B."
The other building nearby was slightly shorter, at 42 stories.
This was Su Li's first time hearing the name "Financial City Apartment Building." Curious, he asked, "What's that building next to it? They're so close."
Wang Shixian said, "That's the Fengjing Center Building. They're close, only about a kilometer apart in a straight line."
Su Li nodded. "Both are tall, at least over forty stories."
You Zhenghao laughed. "That's tall? The real giant is the Oriental Building, 72 stories, only about four or five kilometers from our Financial City Apartment Building."
Wang Shixian asked, "Su Li, how many people are in your Shimao Building?"
Su Li was vague. "Not many, just over a dozen."
Wang Shixian's eyes lit up. "Perfect! Why not bring them to our Financial City Apartment Building? Together, we'd be safer."
"Yeah, we've got 52 people now. With your dozen, that's seventy. We can help each other. If monsters attack, a small group can't defend itself," You Zhenghao added.
Su Li was taken aback. So they were recruiting him. No wonder they were so warm.
Though he wouldn't join them, he grew interested in the Financial City. He thought he might not join, but he could recruit them into his "Golden Eagle Alliance."
Ding Shijie had once dreamed of uniting all factions into the Golden Eagle Alliance, bringing survivors together to find a real way out.
After all, living in these buildings was temporary. Eventually, they'd need to leave and find high ground or land.
"Now that we've found the Sea Cow Beast and solved the food problem, the Golden Eagle Alliance can expand and take in more people," Su Li mused.
The undead attack the previous night, killing so many, made him realize the importance of expansion. Another such attack could wipe out the alliance.
But uniting everyone from the Financial City Apartment Building, Fengjing Center Building, and even the Oriental Building wouldn't be easy.
Su Li knew that Ding Shijie's violent methods were wrong, only causing conflict and infighting among humans, doing more harm than good.
Thinking quickly, Su Li smiled. "That's a great idea, but I can't decide on my own. Let me go back and discuss it with the others."
He paused briefly before continuing, "Your Financial City and Fengjing Center are so close. Are both occupied?"
You Zhenghao said, "Of course, and about the same number. Fengjing Center probably has around fifty people too. Together, we've got about a hundred."
Su Li was curious. "Haven't you formed an alliance?"
You Zhenghao laughed. "We have! Our leader and Fengjing Center's leader get along well, but they're arguing over what to call the alliance and who should lead. Ha!"
Wang Shixian giggled, covering her mouth. "One wants to call it the Financial Alliance, the other the Fengjing Alliance. Both names are terrible."
Qin Xin added, "I heard from Old Zhang yesterday that the Oriental Building sent someone to talk to our leader. They might want to merge all three buildings."
You Zhenghao said, "Really? That'd be over two hundred people?"
Qin Xin nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know the details. Our leader seemed reluctant, thinking the Oriental Building people were too arrogant—their leader didn't even show up, which he found disrespectful. Oh—"
He suddenly shouted, startling everyone.
"What's wrong with you? You scared me," You Zhenghao complained.
Qin Xin exclaimed, "I just remembered! Old Zhang said yesterday that our leader and Fengjing Center's leader agreed to a fight to decide who leads the alliance. It's supposed to be this morning! I drank too much last night and forgot. We came out early looking for that Sea Serpent Beast. Quick, let's head back—we can't miss this show!"
He hurriedly jumped onto the raft by the building's edge, looking anxious.
The others, also eager for the spectacle, quickly followed.
"You idiot, keeping something this good from us! All you do is drink—why don't you drink yourself to death?" You Zhenghao cursed as he jumped onto the raft. He and Qin Xin were clearly close, so he spoke without restraint.
Seeing the four men rush off, forgetting about him entirely, Su Li was speechless. Fortunately, Wang Shixian remembered him. She smiled and said, "Sorry, they're just like that—carefree. Hey, Su Li, want to come watch with us?"
Su Li had undergone eight muscle enhancements, giving him perfect control over every muscle in his body, resulting in an almost flawless physique. His appearance and aura were transforming.
Wang Shixian had been drawn to his unique aura from the start, an inexplicable charm like a magnet. Combined with his unusual Dragon-Rhino Sword, she wanted to get to know him better.
Su Li asked, "Can I come watch?"