The singer seemed to be struggling to understand why its weapon had disappeared and why the energy flames surrounding its body had also been extinguished.
However, Zhang Chen could see it all very clearly.
Although the singer's weapon and armor were manifestations of energy, they were not real weapons and armor. Their essence was merely materialized energy.
Therefore, when Xiao Ruan activated its energy absorption, these weapons, equipment, and the energy flames enveloping the singer naturally vanished.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
He still remembered the injured survivors with the dark red rings that Xiao Ruan had killed before.
They had all been uncollectible.
What a waste of so many crystal cores!
What if Xiao Ruan lost control and drained the singer completely?
The singer had harvested survivors and mutant creatures from several cities...
Moreover, through internal synthesis, it automatically upgraded low-level crystal cores to high-level ones.
Zhang Chen was counting on the crystal cores within the singer to upgrade himself.
If Xiao Ruan were to absorb them all right away, then all the damage Zhang Chen had taken would have been in vain.
Zhang Chen's thoughts flashed by in an instant, and the situation before him took another dramatic turn.
The singer tilted its head, its eyes empty as it stared at Xiao Ruan.
Xiao Ruan also opened its enormous eyeballs, staring motionlessly at the singer.
One second...
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
[Crystal Gaze]!
Crack... crack...
A sound of cracking emerged.
The singer had been temporarily petrified by Xiao Ruan!
Now was the time!
[Frenzied Slaughter]!
[Divine Radiance]!
[Deathstorm]!
Zhang Chen unleashed all his high-damage skills in rapid succession once more!
After Deathstorm spun at high speed, he suddenly leaped high into the air, gripping the Thousand Bone Saber with both hands and fiercely hacking off the singer's head!
Rumble...
The singer's head rolled far across the ground.
It had to be said, this guy was truly as tough as iron. As the Thousand Bone Saber dealt damage, it also left scratch marks on the blade.
Fortunately, the Thousand Bone Saber was not a sharp weapon but a bludgeoning one designed for tearing, otherwise, its edge would surely have been chipped.
"Hoo... done!?"
Zhang Chen stood there, panting, propping himself up with the Thousand Bone Saber.
This barrage of high-intensity, high-density skills in a short period consumed a massive amount of stamina, causing his fatigue level to skyrocket!
Zhang Chen watched as the pale yellow energy flow within the singer gradually dimmed.
The energy core finally extinguished completely.
The headless body swayed in place before collapsing onto the ground, turning into a wisp of ash that scattered in the wind...
Ash?
Zhang Chen's pupils contracted!
This guy wasn't dead yet!?
If he had been killed by me, it would have turned into mist.
Only when the energy was recovered by the main body would it turn into a wisp of ash!
Could it be...
Flash Step!
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Chen moved from his original position, reappearing on the roof of a scrapped car by the roadside.
Indeed, where the singer had been on the ground, another singer appeared.
It was a clone of the singer!
Before engaging Zhang Chen, the singer had split into 5 clones!
One clone had already been killed by Xiao Bai.
The other four clones had defeated Zhang Chen's two illusions.
Now, the four clones had re-condensed the singer's main body energy, and one of them had become a new singer.
At this moment, a prompt appeared beside one of the singers:
[Soul Transfer Used: 1 time!]
This was the singer's main body; the others were clones!
This indicated that Zhang Chen had indeed killed the singer just now.
But at the moment of death, it had activated Soul Transfer, transferring its energy core to a clone.
Since the clone and the main body possessed the same level, the singer's current level remained unchanged.
It was essentially a perfect rebirth!
This would not do. If the remaining three clones were not eliminated, the singer would revive again!
Although it could only transfer its soul three times in its lifetime.
However, Zhang Chen's current stamina might not be enough to eliminate the singer three times.
On the other side, Xiao Ruan was also exhausted, sitting on the ground and resting with sweat beading on its forehead.
Xu Ruina also could not move, because if they joined the battle, their control over the infected would decrease.
If the singer took the opportunity to absorb the crystal cores of these infected, its strength would undoubtedly surge again.
Therefore, after considering all possibilities, only Zhang Chen and Xiao Ruan were left.
As for Shirley and Er Pang... Zhang Chen was already struggling; their participation would not significantly alter the situation.
What if the singer learned Shirley's assassination skills? The consequences would be even more unimaginable.
He had to press on!
While the buff skills he had activated were still active!
"Xiao Ruan, absorb all the energy bodies except this singer!"
Zhang Chen shouted, simultaneously retracting the Thousand Bone Saber and continuously firing [Concentrated Strike] at the singer with both hands!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Zhang Chen exerted all his strength, leaping into the air, and unleashed a barrage of attacks on the singer below!
Beams of energy created a carpet of destruction on the ground.
Gulp!
Xiao Ruan wriggled its tentacles and, taking advantage of the chaos, quickly absorbed the clones of the other three singers.
"Excellent! Only the last singer's main body remains! Well done, Xiao Ruan!"
Zhang Chen praised sincerely.
As long as Xiao Ruan was responsible for clearing the buff effects, various weapons and equipment, and clones generated by the singer's [Energy Conversion], the singer in its normal state would not be a match for a fully powered Zhang Chen.
This battle was won!
"Well done, Xiao Ruan!"
The singer said expressionlessly, then flashed and suddenly appeared above Xiao Ruan.
Concentrated Strike!
Zhang Chen's attack landed again!
A beam of energy struck the singer's left arm!
Under Xiao Ruan's suppression, its body was extremely weak. With a bang, half of its arm was blown off.
But at this moment, its right hand, holding the Thousand Bone Saber, suddenly plunged into the back of Xiao Ruan's eyeball.
If the attack had been from the front, Xiao Ruan would have been able to completely absorb the energy-infused Thousand Bone Saber.
However, this attack came from the back, and the eyeball could not absorb energy from the back – this was why Xiao Ruan always fought from a superior position.
Gash!
Blue blood spread across Xiao Ruan's eyeball.
It frantically channeled energy from another world to repair the wound, but the unique structure of the Thousand Bone Saber caused a tearing injury.
The fluid within the large eyeball mixed with blue blood and poured out, causing Xiao Ruan to instantly shrivel...
Its control over energy was almost invincible, but its physique was extremely weak.
Xiao Ruan slowly collapsed onto the ground...
The singer, with a blank expression, stepped on Xiao Ruan's corpse as if it were a rubber toy, its vacant gaze fixed on Zhang Chen.
As if to say: Your turn!