Just one more step, and I can attain extraordinary power!
Looking at the item's evaluation description, Chu Xiu's eyes slightly lit up.
The Bone Spear, enhanced to +3, had physical strength that was already satisfactory.
Though its hardness certainly couldn't compare to steel, at least Chu Xiu couldn't break it with force, making it sufficient for his use.
Moreover, the essence of the Bone Spear lay in its head, where the bone density was obviously higher, and the tip was sharpened to a point that could easily pierce human skin with a gentle jab.
Another advantage was that compared to a Wooden-Handled Iron Spear of the same strength, the Bone Spear was lighter and had a more even weight distribution.
But even so, without extraordinary power, it still couldn't give Chu Xiu the confidence to confront mutant creatures.
"I need to level up quickly."
He soon made up his mind and began to cautiously explore the hallway, searching for the next corpse.
However, the hallway wasn't large, and after finding two more corpses, the search of this floor's hallway was complete.
Unfortunately, after reaching enhancement +3, ordinary mummified bodies yielded very little enhancement progress, with these two corpses barely adding any progress.
"This means that I need at least a dozen more mummified bodies to level up."
"Although there are still many rooms that haven't been searched, the probability of finding enough is slim, so I need to take the risk to explore other floors."
"Unless... there are fresh corpses."
"Click."
Just as Chu Xiu was pondering, a slight footstep reached his ears, startling him and causing him to instantly enter combat readiness, turning the Bone Spear in his hand towards the source of the sound.
With two slightly hurried footsteps, a small figure appeared at the corridor's corner.
It was a girl about one meter six tall, with a single ponytail, draped in an ill-fitting gray coat that covered most of her body, leaving only her fair calves and arms exposed. She held a large iron pot in her hands, seemingly used as a weapon for self-defense, and wore nothing on her feet, her five small toes gripping the floor tightly out of nervousness.
It was obvious that the girl came from a family even poorer than Chu Xiu's, one that couldn't even prepare a fitting piece of clothing for her.
However, she had a pretty face, and combined with her pale skin, gave off a pitifully charming aura.
Chu Xiu's eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly scanned the girl's entire body.
When his gaze moved to her lower body, the girl awkwardly tried to hide her fair feet under her coat.
Chu Xiu withdrew his gaze, coming to a judgment.
From the exposed arms and calves, it seemed the girl had undergone a certain degree of physical training, but it wasn't enough to bridge the gap in strength between genders.
Uncertain if she had any hidden weapons, relying solely on a rusty iron pot couldn't possibly block Chu Xiu's Bone Spear.
Even if she did, her stance with both hands gripping the pot made it difficult to quickly draw a weapon, which at most would be a small weapon like a knife.
The most crucial point was that although the girl seemed somewhat wary of Chu Xiu, her caution was minimal. This was the common mental state of adolescents unaware of the harshness of the Abyss.
Even if the teacher had emphasized it many times, habitual thinking still prevented them from immediately adapting to the shift from classmates to threats.
The only uncertainty was the girl's talent and profession, but since everyone was at level 0, as long as Chu Xiu wasn't too unlucky, there wouldn't be any surprises.
These thoughts were established in Chu Xiu's mind in less than half a second upon seeing the girl.
Then he discarded them.
He wasn't someone who would kill a stranger at the first encounter just to refine weapons.
Thinking of this, a friendly smile appeared on Chu Xiu's face, and just as he was about to greet her, the girl made a hurried "follow me" gesture before slipping into a nearby empty room.
Chu Xiu was slightly startled but quickly reacted and followed behind.
After Chu Xiu entered, the girl closed the door without making any noise and then turned towards Chu Xiu, extending her hands, with the pinkies of both hands touching each other.
Basic sign language was a compulsory course in school, so Chu Xiu easily recognized the meaning of that gesture.
[Enemy]
This made Chu Xiu narrow his eyes slightly, carefully examining the girl's face.
Judging by her frightened expression, she probably wasn't lying.
Of course, there was also the possibility that her acting was excellent.
And if the girl wasn't lying, then this was quite troublesome.
Just then, a crisp clang came from a short distance outside the door, instantly tensing the nerves of both of them!
Chu Xiu, acting decisively, led the girl into the innermost room, closed the door, and signaled her to guard the entrance with the iron pot.
The girl pursed her lips, fearful yet still blocking in front of Chu Xiu.
Chu Xiu had no psychological burden about making a small girl his meat shield, simply pressing his ear against the wooden door to attentively listen to the commotion outside.
"Tap, tap."
The faint sound of footsteps treading on rubble approached, seemingly indicating that a creature was closing in on them!
"Squeeeak—"
Suddenly, the sound of a rusty iron door being pushed open resonated as the creature entered the room he was in!
The footsteps ceased, and the creature stopped in the living room, less than three meters from the room Chu Xiu was in!
Its immense shadow swept past the gap under the door, blocking the light, and Chu Xiu heard a deep, heavy breathing noise.
He held his breath, firmly gripping the Bone Spear in his hand, beads of sweat forming on his forehead uncontrollably, the girl beside him not daring to breathe even once.
Just as he was ready to fight for his life, the footsteps resumed, and the creature left the room.
"Phew—"
Chu Xiu exhaled a long breath, his heart belatedly starting to pound wildly.
Just then, he saw the girl beside him start to nervously gesture to him.
[The monster hasn't gone!]
Chu Xiu was stunned, hurriedly holding his breath again and regaining his focus.
But there was no sound outside the door.
Just as Chu Xiu was about to think the girl was talking nonsense, suddenly there was a "bang" from downstairs, followed by a low growl, then the heavy thud of footsteps in the hallway quickly diminishing.
In less than ten seconds, a shrill scream echoed from below, sounding incredibly clear in the silent apartment building.
This caused a drop of cold sweat to trickle down Chu Xiu's back.
Needless to say, it was a reckless fool who had revealed their position and perished.
Fortunately, he had been cautious before; otherwise, he might have suffered the same fate.
What troubled him more was that the monsters in this world weren't just intelligent; they even knew to feign leaving with their footsteps just to linger nearby.
Although even without the girl's warning, Chu Xiu wouldn't be reckless enough to venture out immediately, it wasn't certain he could have avoided this cunning creature.
"Does this mean the girl can somehow sense these monsters? Is it her talent?"
Then Chu Xiu suddenly thought that this girl, who had rushed out before, might have sensed the monster approaching and risked her safety to specifically alert him?
A good person, indeed.
Chu Xiu loved good people.
Thinking this, Chu Xiu's gaze softened considerably as he looked at the girl, whispering, "Can you sense the monster?"
The girl nodded, extending her small hand to grasp Chu Xiu's arm, and then a shared stream of information flowed into his mind.
[Name] Yun Lu
[Tier] Mortal Tier 0 (0/100)
[Constitution] 0.76
[Spirit] 1.14
[Energy Level] 1.95
[Equipment] None
[Profession] Chef (E)
[Talent] Food Perception (B)
Chu Xiu: ...
What kind of Innate Chef Saint Body is this?