I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Mr. Ya... Gone?

Su Ze had previously stabbed two bloody holes into the Mutated Giant Crocodile, and it hadn’t reacted much. But now, it was starting to go berserk, frantically twisting its body to rub at the wounds.

Poisons take time to work. Su Ze and Mr. Ya had dosed the crocodile with Corrosive Poison and Insect Egg Venom, and from the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s reaction, it seemed they had finally taken effect.

”Prepare for the second round of poisoning.”

As soon as the Ant Power Skill was off cooldown, Su Ze immediately grabbed Mr. Ya, ready to apply more poison.

”Be careful this time.” The Mutated Giant Crocodile was twisting its body nonstop and might injure them.

”Don’t worry.” Mr. Ya was completely confident. He took Su Ze with him and used an escape art to appear at the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s neck. Then, as if his feet had wings, he took a few steps on thin air—like Qinggong from a wuxia novel—and with a WHOOSH, he landed on the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s back.

Though Su Ze was astonished, he reacted quickly, immediately seizing the opportunity to open another wound on the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s back and pour in the poison.

He then changed positions, opened another wound, and administered more poison.

But this time, when the two of them tried to retreat, it wasn’t so easy. The Mutated Giant Crocodile slammed the ground, activating its skill—Upgraded Thousand Waves of Fury!

Terrifying air waves rippled outward from the Mutated Giant Crocodile like an ocean tide. The ground first caved in, then an invisible surge of air rose up, striking the ground and air within a ten-meter radius of the beast.

Mr. Ya wanted to use Earth Escape to get away, but the area beneath the ground was the skill’s primary strike zone. Flying into the sky was also still within its range.

They were trapped, with no escape to the sky or the ground.

At the critical moment, Mr. Ya suddenly opened his mouth and spat out golden threads.

These threads of unknown material, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, quickly formed a giant, oval-shaped cocoon, enveloping Su Ze and Mr. Ya.

CRACK!

The golden cocoon had just formed when it was hit by the air wave. It shuddered and cracked, fissures spreading across it, before it finally shattered completely.

It had blocked most of the power of the Upgraded Thousand Waves of Fury for Su Ze and Mr. Ya, but the aftershock of the air wave still hit them.

A sweet taste filled Su Ze’s throat as excruciating pain wracked his body. All of his internal organs had suffered damage to varying degrees.

But he knew this was already the best possible outcome. He had been prepared to take the hit head-on. Without the protection of that giant cocoon, his injuries would have likely been ten times more severe, and he might have even had to detonate his Regeneration Core to save his own life.

But immediately after, both Su Ze and Mr. Ya were afflicted with Dizziness.

The Air Wave Attack from Upgraded Thousand Waves of Fury came with a Dizziness effect.

The Mutated Giant Crocodile opened its massive maw and lunged at them. In the face of that cavernous, bloody mouth, the two men looked minuscule—barely a toothpick for the beast.

Just as the two were about to meet their doom in the crocodile’s jaws, they snapped out of their Dizziness at the last second. Mr. Ya immediately grabbed Su Ze and used his ”Qinggong” to fall back.

The Mutated Giant Crocodile pursued them relentlessly.

With perfect coordination, Su Ze and Mr. Ya reached into their pockets, pulled out a handful of various bottles and jars of poison, and threw them into the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s mouth.

The Mutated Giant Crocodile snapped its jaws shut, and the various poisons erupted inside its mouth, mixing into a chaotic cocktail.

The Mutated Giant Crocodile threw its head back and let out a low, furious roar. When it opened its mouth again, a mixture of various poisons, saliva, blood, and mucus dripped down. A large hole had already been corroded inside its mouth.

The giant crocodile rolled on the ground in agony, its huge tail frantically lashing the ground. Su Ze and Mr. Ya glanced at each other and quickly retreated.

After retreating to a safe distance, the two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief. They sat on the ground to rest, watching as the Mutated Giant Crocodile, tormented by the various poisons, struggled madly and thrashed about, destroying everything around it.

This time, Su Ze had experienced firsthand just how powerful the upgraded Thousandfold Fury was.

Compared to the regular version, its area of effect was larger, its power was greater, and its crowd control duration was longer.

This only made him covet the skill even more.

Both of them were injured and had used a lot of stamina; they needed more time to recover. However, they weren’t in a hurry now. The Mutated Giant Crocodile was in a berserk state, and under the influence of multiple poisons, its condition would decline with every passing second.

Su Ze also needed to bide his time and let the poison do its work.

They would wait until the Mutated Giant Crocodile was completely exhausted from the torment before starting the next round of poisoning.

”That skill you just used, was that Steel Cocoon?” Su Ze suddenly asked.

He had previously thought about absorbing a defensive skill, so he had specifically researched top-tier defensive skills. Steel Cocoon was the life-saving signature skill of the Tier 2, S-rank mutated beast, the Golden Silk Worm.

”You’ve got a sharp eye!” Mr. Ya said flatteringly.

”Is being a streamer that profitable?” Su Ze asked with a smile.

Although Mr. Ya didn’t have any attack skills, every skill he had revealed was of very high quality.

Earth Escape, Water Escape, Tail Cutting for Survival, Steel Cocoon—none of these skills could be absorbed from extracts below A-rank.

And that ”Qinggong” Mr. Ya used earlier was probably a Flying Skill. Extracts that grant a Flying Skill are never cheap.

Acquiring all these skills must have cost a fortune.

After all, Mr. Ya himself didn’t have any hunting abilities.

Mr. Ya gave an unnatural laugh. ”I was just lucky. Didn’t spend much.”

Seeing that Mr. Ya didn’t seem to want to talk about this topic, Su Ze didn’t press the issue.

「A dozen or so minutes later.」

The Mutated Giant Crocodile was lying motionless on the ground, seemingly exhausted.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya looked at each other, both seeing the joy in the other’s eyes. They knew that victory was essentially theirs.

”Continue. Third round of poisoning.”

The two of them had more or less recovered. They sprang into action, once again appearing beside the Mutated Giant Crocodile.

This time, Su Ze didn’t need to use a skill to open a wound. Large areas of the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s body were already festering, corroded by the poison. There were wounds everywhere.

The two of them just needed to sprinkle the poison.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya were like chefs sprinkling seasoning, scattering poison powders and liquids everywhere. They aimed for an even coating, as if trying to marinate the beast until it was perfectly flavored.

But just then, the Mutated Giant Crocodile, which had seemed to be on its last breath, suddenly erupted in violence, swiping a claw at the two of them.

”The beast was faking it!”

Mr. Ya reacted instantly, grabbing Su Ze to teleport away.

But then, the Mutated Giant Crocodile unexpectedly dove headfirst into the ground, sending huge clumps of dirt flying.

”This thing can burrow?!”

This clearly wasn’t Earth Escape, but a simple burrowing-type skill.

’Is the Burrowing Mouse’s signature skill really that common?’ Su Ze thought.

”Is it trying to burrow away to escape?”

But soon, Su Ze knew they had guessed wrong. They felt the ground beneath their feet tremble. At this point, it was impossible to use Earth Escape; that would be no different from delivering themselves into the crocodile’s mouth.

With a RUMBLE, the ground beneath them split open, and a giant crocodile head lunged up from below, snapping at Su Ze and Mr. Ya.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya lost their balance and were forced apart.

Su Ze had no choice but to save himself. He instantly activated his Rhino Charge skill, and with a sudden dash, he barely escaped the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s massive jaws.

He turned his head just in time to see the Mutated Giant Crocodile’s massive jaws snap shut, swallowing Mr. Ya in one gulp!

Su Ze’s mind went blank.

’Mr. Ya... is gone?’