"Ugh—!" Trembling, he looked down at his chest; a thick, sharp object dripping with blood had pierced clean through.
"When… did…" The Squad Leader mustered his last ounce of strength to turn his head, only to see his twenty-man team already reduced to Chunks of Meat strewn across the floor.
A Monster so huge it filled the Corridor stood behind him, its tail skewering his chest, a cruel grin on its face. "Cat and mouse—let the game begin!"
Bang! The tail whipped, slamming the middle-aged man into the wall and turning him into a splatter of crimson paste.
Tap-tap-tap! At that moment, a flurry of footsteps echoed from the corner behind.
"M-Monster!" a shocked voice rang out.
Cai Xiu turned; another security squad appeared in the passage, staring at him in horror.
"Open fire—now!" the Squad Leader roared, raising his Rifle.
Among them, three men hoisted heavy-caliber machine guns, slammed them onto the floor, and opened up on the Monster.
Bam-bam-bam! Muzzles spat yellow tongues of Flame; over twenty guards, prone, kneeling, and standing, blanketed the Monster in gunfire.
Clang-clang-clang! Bullets ricocheted off its hide like hail on steel, spent rounds clattering across the Corridor.
Cai Xiu's lips curled in a savage smile. "Mere humans dare challenge a noble Monster?"
The air around his mouth twisted, and crimson Flames blossomed at his lips.
The Squad Leader at the rear felt a sudden chill of dread and shouted, "Get out of here—now!"
Whoosh! A half-meter-wide jet of fire burst from Cai Xiu's mouth, swelling to fill the entire Alloy Corridor within a meter.
The guards saw the blaze rushing toward them, had no time even to scream, and were swallowed whole.
"Aaaah!" A single instant of shrieks—then silence.
Three seconds later the Flames vanished, leaving only fist-sized chunks of blackened, glowing tissue and guns melted to the floor.
"Trash." Cai Xiu's eyes were contemptuous as he strode onward.
Occasional security teams crossed his path; each lasted one second under his assault.
In the Control Room, Shen Yuanchun watched monitor after monitor go black, a bead of Cold Sweat trailing down his Temple.
"Monster Association… Why are they hitting us? This is a living Weapon of War!" His face contorted; the enemy's display was at least peak Level Three.
And that was only what he'd seen—so far the creature hadn't shown its full strength.
"Chief Shen, all research staff have evacuated through the Secret Passage!" a guard gasped behind him.
The moment the invasion began, Shen Yuanchun had ordered the retreat.
"Pull out!" Shen spun and fled—he had no wish to face that terror.
Meanwhile, in a hidden tunnel, a dozen white-gowned researchers hurried under escort of a security squad.
They emerged on a remote Hillside a kilometer from the Base.
Among them stood a sixty-ish bald, portly Caucasian.
He scowled at the guard captain beside him. "What's happening? We were at a critical stage of our Experiment!"
"Dr. Bie Dun, intruders breached the Base—we had no choice but evacuate," the captain replied hastily.
Bie Dun · Rijiefu narrowed his eyes. "I thought Chief Shen was a Level Three Awakened; can't he stop them?"
Swoosh-swoosh! Before he finished, the air whistled; crimson Feathers shot down, skewering every guard.
Thud-thud! A dozen bodies collapsed, blood pooling beneath them.
The researchers panicked; Bie Dun jerked his gaze skyward.
There hovered a three-meter-tall Birdman, red wings, torso encased in black armor.
"Heh-heh-heh… Found you." The avian grinned, locking onto Bie Dun.
Every scientist stared in terror at the Monster.
"Is this one of the global Monsters?" a researcher cried.
As scientists they followed such phenomena, yet had never acquired a specimen.
Swoop! The creature landed amid them, ignoring the others, and fixed its gaze on Bie Dun · Rijiefu.
"Dr. Bie Dun, our president covets your talent. Come with me—the rest of you too," Wei Gaocheng's beak produced a sharp voice.
He opted to bag the entire group wholesale.
"I—" Bie Dun started.
The Birdman's eyes turned icy. "This isn't an invitation—it's abduction. Refuse and you can lie down with the guards. Speak up if you truly wish to decline."
The words drained Bie Dun's face of color.
A top biologist, he had never been treated so crudely.
Yet these things were clearly not human; one wrong word and he'd join the corpses.
He swallowed his refusal and amended, "I'll come, but my son is here—he comes too, or Darth Group might retaliate against him."
Wei Gaocheng's avian face smiled. "Dr. Bie Dun, no problem—your son departed ahead of you."
Bie Dun's expression twitched: These Monsters act fast; had I refused, my son would already be dead.
Suddenly the Birdman's wing flicked; a dozen Feathers shot toward the tunnel exit.
Thud-thud! Bodies slumped; a red-suited blond man fell dead in the doorway.
"Chief Shen!" a researcher screamed.
They never imagined Level Three Awakened Shen Yuanchun would fall so casually.
"Roadside Trash," Wei Gaocheng muttered, turning back to Bie Dun.
"Let's go." He led the scientists out.
As he walked, he tossed down an unlocked Phone containing a pre-recorded message for Darth Group.
For convenience, Jiang Yan had told them to ride a Cloud Ray over.
Minutes later, another three-meter Monster caught up.
Wei Gaocheng asked without looking back, "All done?"
Cai Xiu grinned, "Not a single Survivor."
The captives' eyes flickered with dread.
Besides them, the Base had held three to four hundred people—now all slaughtered.
After ninety minutes they reached the Forest edge.
A minute later, to their shock,
a thirty-meter cloud settled; it dispersed, revealing a colossal Stingray-like creature.
On its back stood a black-winged, tri-mouthed youth with crimson hair, a Golden Eye Sigil between his wings, and Jet-Black Limbs.
It was the evolved Blood Master; seeing them, he nodded to Wei Gaocheng. "Return."