They were already surrounded.
Dozens of eyes burning with purple flames flared to life in the gloomy ruins.
"Run!"
Zack let out a hoarse, frantic roar.
"Reporting to HQ: unidentified local human survivors detected near the battlefield."
The Shadow Marine Unit's report shot straight back to the Command Center.
Steve's eyes narrowed; he issued the order at once.
"Take them alive—I want to know everything about this world."
He knew the fastest way to understand an unfamiliar world was never to fumble around, but to interrogate the locals directly.
A panel on the main screen immediately split off, switching to the viewpoint of those scouts now fleeing for their lives.
They moved far faster than ordinary humans, vaulting through the rubble—clearly all Awakened Ones.
"Looks like the humans of this world really have started down the path of evolution."
General Randy studied the feed and spoke in a low voice.
"Otherwise, the aftershocks from that zombie fight alone would've shaken them to death; getting this close means they definitely have some strength."
On the battlefield, Zack and several teammates were already pushing their speed abilities to the limit.
"What the hell is that thing? I've never seen anything like it—some new type of zombie?"
One member sprinted while shouting in terror.
Zack didn't answer; his heart was racing.
Just then, from the corner of his eye he saw a black figure chasing close beside him suddenly dissolve into a puff of purple smoke.
The next second—
Swoosh!
That figure re-appeared out of nowhere directly ahead, blocking his path.
Close-quarters combat?
A seasoned Second-Order Awakened, Zack—though shocked by the ghost-like ability—reacted instantly.
With a savage grin he yanked a bizarre, high-tech bone pistol from his waist.
"Looking to die."
Buzz!
Pale-blue energy began to gather crazily at the muzzle.
He had absolute faith in this Energy-Disintegrator Gun he'd nearly died to obtain; even a Third-Rank Mutant's defenses couldn't stop one shot.
"Die, monster!"
A blue beam as thick as an arm shot out, carrying an aura that could decompose anything.
Yet the Shadow Marine Warrior in its path didn't dodge; on an face that couldn't show expression, something like mockery appeared.
A ranged weapon—against me?
The next moment, Zack's worldview collapsed.
The beam that could melt steel struck the warrior—no explosion, no impact, not even a sound.
It simply passed straight through.
As if the black monster weren't solid matter but a phantom from another dimension.
"N-no… impossible!"
"Sorry—the mechanics are coded this way."
His mind blanked for a full second at the sight.
Yet years of apocalyptic survival instincts kicked in; he recovered in an instant.
"Whatever the hell you are—"
He roared, a fierce glint in his eyes.
If energy wouldn't work, he'd try the most primitive physical strike.
He tossed the energy gun, crouched slightly, coiling the muscles in his legs.
"I'm a Second-Order Awakened—no way I lose to a monster in a brawl!"
Boom!
The ground under him exploded; he turned into a blur, covering dozens of meters in a flash, already in front of the Shadow Marine Warrior.
His fist, wrapped in a howling gale, smashed toward the warrior's head.
But drawing on their earlier fight with the Mutated Zombie, the Shadow Marine Unit had devised a whole new tactic against speed-type foes.
The instant before Zack's fist would land—
the warrior vanished.
At the same time, non-speed-specialists of the surrounding Shadow Marine members closed in from every side.
"Die!"
His punch missed; Zack cursed inwardly but stayed calm.
His teammates unleashed their abilities in unison.
A burly man opened his mouth and spat a blazing Fire-Dragon that whipped like a fiery lash toward one warrior.
Another slapped both palms on the ground; dozens of sharp Stone Spikes burst upward at the Endermen.
Flame, spikes—every sort of exotic ability bloomed in brilliant light across the ruins.
Thinking this surprise eruption had forced the monsters back, the survivors prepared to escape—
when a dense, scalp-numbing buzz suddenly sounded overhead.
Startled, they looked up.
The next instant, every face turned ashen with dread.
Above them, the sky had turned black with a swarm of fist-sized drones—
well over a hundred thousand of them.
The cloud of Drones blotted out the sun, casting a vast shadow on the ground.
The moment local humans were detected, Steve ordered the Hive System deployed at the Outpost Base straight to the area.
With the Engineering Endermen's terrifying transport capacity, personnel and equipment could reach any corner of the battlefield in the shortest possible time.
While the survivors gaped at the Drone swarm—a flat, electronically synthesized voice rang out from every direction.
"Attention below: you are surrounded."
"Drop your weapons and raise your hands immediately."
"Otherwise, indiscriminate saturation strike will commence."
Staring at the tens of thousands of black muzzles overhead and feeling the cold killing intent that could tear them apart at any instant—
Zack, fierce moments ago, went deathly pale.
He was the first to fling his hands high.
"I—I surrender! Don't shoot, I surrender!"