Chef profession + Food Perception talent, handling everything from searching for ingredients to cooking food alone.
He felt that this girl's luck was really a bit down, her Energy Level was clearly decent, but the talent and profession she awakened were both support types.
If no one else helped, it would be difficult to survive in this dangerous doomsday world.
Yun Lu obviously knew this too, so after sharing her information, she kept looking at Chu Xiu expectantly.
Seeing that Chu Xiu didn't respond, she lowered her head and said softly, "If you take me with you, I can help you find food. Food should be hard to find in this world."
"And the definition of food is very broad, human scents, and even those monster scents are particularly obvious to my nose; I can help you avoid them..."
She racked her brain for reasons, seemingly afraid that Chu Xiu would disdain her.
However, Chu Xiu felt that Yun Lu's talent was particularly useful in the doomsday world, not to mention that this girl was quite kind, having previously risked herself to warn him.
Thinking of this, he nodded lightly: "I understand, but you have to follow my command."
Hearing this, Yun Lu sighed in relief, nodding repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice.
Then she curiously asked, "I still don't know your name. What are your talent and profession?"
"I'm Chu Xiu."
Chu Xiu replied, then ignored Yun Lu's subsequent question, saying to himself, "You walk in front; let's first explore this layer."
Seeing that Chu Xiu didn't mention his talent and profession, and even wanted her to lead the way, Yun Lu pursed her lips lightly, her eyes showing a worried look, as if doubting that Chu Xiu also had a worthless talent.
But in the end, she said nothing, holding an iron pot in front of her chest, carefully opened the door, and walked out.
As soon as the door opened, Chu Xiu saw the chaotic giant footprints on the ground, looking very much like elongated human footprints, but at least size sixty.
Yun Lu, who was walking in front, was obviously very nervous, constantly twitching her small nose and sniffing.
Chu Xiu was also fully alert, not letting his guard down just because of Yun Lu's talent.
The two of them didn't move slowly and quickly searched through the unlocked rooms on the floor.
They only found four mummies; Chu Xiu didn't hide it from Yun Lu and absorbed them in front of her. This miraculous scene reassured the young girl a lot.
In addition, both of them found barely wearable shoes and over a dozen gray, wrinkled mushrooms.
Yun Lu's talent told her these mushrooms were edible, which surprised Chu Xiu.
Mushrooms don't provide much energy, but importantly, they replenish moisture.
He had noticed that water resources in this world were extremely scarce; to survive seven days steadily, it was necessary to find enough water sources.
People can survive hunger for seven days with a breath left, but being thirsty for seven days really leaves no chance for survival.
As Chu Xiu thought about this, he looked around.
More than half of the rooms were locked. The two had learned simple lock-picking skills at school, but didn't have the right tools with them. Even if they did, with their skills, opening rusty locks would inevitably make a lot of noise.
"We have to go to other layers then." Chu Xiu rubbed his chin.
"With Yun Lu here, it's much easier to avoid monsters. This risk is worth taking!"
They couldn't keep hiding, and not to mention the bone spear reinforcements, they also needed to search for food.
Chu Xiu shared his thoughts with Yun Lu, and the girl was quite decisive, nodding before leading the way with a fearful expression.
The floor they were on was the twenty-first; reaching the stairwell, they could clearly see footprints from previous monsters going downstairs, along with a thick bloody smell in the air, seemingly not far from them.
Thinking of something, Chu Xiu said in a low voice, "If possible, let's check where the bloody smell is coming from."
Yun Lu's body shook, and Chu Xiu could even hear the rattling of her teeth chattering.
Yet despite this, Yun Lu still executed Chu Xiu's command.
Using her Perception Ability, it didn't take them long to find a mutilated corpse in the interior corridor on the eighteenth floor.
Almost no intact flesh could be found on the body, tendons and bones were exposed everywhere, the belly had been split open, and guts and intestines had all been eaten.
No traces of monsters remained nearby, only messy footprints and ground covered in blood that hadn't completely dried yet.
Perhaps it was her first time seeing such a gruesome scene, Yun Lu was so scared she almost cried.
Chu Xiu, however, remained calm, only wrinkling his nose slightly at the stench.
He squatted down, narrowed his eyes, and carefully checked the surroundings.
"The scattered monster footprints nearby are similar yet not identical; at least three monsters had been here, which gives a rough estimate of the monster density in the building."
"The deep marks on the bony forearm suggest the monsters have sharp long claws."
"The throat bone is broken… If this injury was inflicted before death, it means the monster had a very high degree of precision in its attack, accurately targeting the prey's vital points."
"The spine is also broken; was it fractured with giant strength during the struggle?"
The more Chu Xiu looked, the more astonished he became.
He wasn't sure if his spawning point was too poor or if the difficulty level of this instance was just so high. Given the strength of these monsters, an ordinary person encountering them would mean certain death…
"I absolutely need to be certain before encountering these guys again; it's best to find a few more Trial Takers to act as cannon fodder upfront."
Chu Xiu thought to himself.
Shaking his head, he did not ponder further and crouched down to activate Bone Refining.
Although the flesh had mostly been devoured, the bones remained mostly intact, and the dead person's soul hadn't completely dissipated, which could improve the material's Quality.
As Chu Xiu's Skill activated, the surrounding bones were collected and refined by an unseen force, eventually forming a stream of silvery-white liquid that flowed into the Bone Spear.
Instantly, his Bone Spear sounded as if it was strengthened significantly, producing a "crackling" sound, and Chu Xiu could clearly feel that his Bone Spear had become more Solid!
Information flowed into his mind.
[Ordinary Bone Spear +4]
[Enhancement Progress: 0/10]
[Tier: Mortal]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Attributes: Solid (1.3), Sharpness (1.5), Weight 2.4kg]
[Evaluation: After absorbing fresh flesh, it has finally birthed Extraordinary Power.
[Well done, buddy, you've finally taken this step and become an eligible member of the Demon Dao—this fresh corpse should be your handiwork?
[In any case, you can now choose one of three foundational Restrictions as its Extraordinary Traits.
[The Restrictions will enhance along with the reinforcements, unlocking the Second Layer at +7, and the Third Layer at +10.
[Now, make your choice!]
As Spiritual Light flashed, three complex patterns appeared before Chu Xiu.
[Precise: Your Bone Spear will cause a wind pressure when thrust, drawing enemies towards the spear tip (Power: 0.4)]
[Optimization: Re-optimize the Bone Spear's material arrangement structure, making it lighter while its strength is increased (Solid +0.3, Sharpness +0.4, Weight -30%)]
[Bleeding: Wounds caused by your Bone Spear will be very difficult to heal; even a tiny scratch, if not promptly bandaged, can lead to profuse bleeding (Bleeding +0.6)]