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Jing Xia's voice was completely drowned out in the chaotic and noisy environment. Ji Chuancheng glanced down at him with a faint smile on his thin lips, as if silently acknowledging the unintentional message conveyed by that foolish and arrogant mutated beast.
Although Jing Xia hadn't survived until the end of that beast tide battle, he always remembered the first time he saw this mutated conger eel.
Back then, it was nearly fifty meters long, covered in gray-black reversed scales and thorny ridges, far more terrifying than its current appearance.
But now, it couldn't even form a complete sentence, let alone possess the devastating power that once destroyed five districts.
Standing tall on a rock, Ji Chuancheng's black coat fluttered in the fierce sea wind.
He lowered his gaze and his eyes, meeting Jing Xia's briefly. Without a word, the two of them silently agreed on the next steps of their battle plan.
"Since you've already rejected my suggestion, it seems you don't want to continue this conversation," Ji Chuancheng whispered into Qian Minghao's ear, who nervously repeated, "But there's one thing I still want you to know. Do you know how many mutated beasts we humans have killed so far?"
Ji Chuancheng remained calm and showed no sign of the negotiation breaking down.
He quietly diverted the mutated conger eel's attention and successfully elicited a response: "……It doesn't matter……you………"
The conger eel's reply was as strange as before, with only a few words intelligible and the rest being harsh, grating noises.
Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Ji Chuancheng's handsome face remained impassive.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jing Xia leading two small teams to flank the massive S-class beast from behind. Calmly, he stated, "E-class: 1,156; D-class: 851; C-class…"
As if he could understand the beast's bizarre language, or perhaps he simply didn't care about its response, Ji Chuancheng continued, "A-class mutants: 7…" Just as he spoke, he saw an evolved team kill another A-class mutant. His lips curled slightly, "Make that 8 now."
"Should live…Shut up………Humans!!!"
The conger eel's massive tail swung that stirred up a fierce gust of wind. At the same time, a powerful bolt of lightning shot from its mouth and directly toward Ji Chuancheng.
Ji Chuancheng reacted swiftly. He grabs the stunned Qian Minghao and rolls away.
They had barely reached the rock when the terrifying electric blast shattered it into dust!
After stabilizing himself, Ji Chuancheng immediately looked behind the conger eel. He hadn't expected the beast to lash out so impulsively, especially since Jing Xia had just led his team to its tail for a sneak attack!
As his gaze swept over the dusty area, Ji Chuancheng spotted a nimble figure climbing the massive S-Class conger eels. The figure was moving quickly and reacted swiftly. It grabbed onto the beast’s spiked ridge as the tail swayed, then steadily climbed upward.
As the dust settled, Ji Chuancheng's eyes widened in shock—
It was Jing Xia!
Without hesitation, Ji Chuancheng drew the A-7 Executioner from his left hip and activated its energy mode with a cold glint in his eyes.
He pressed the trigger calmly, though his fingers trembled slightly, betraying his worry. Because…
Jing Xia had climbed to the top of the conger eel's head!
Amid the violent shaking, he raised the latest blade developed by the research institute and plunged the gleaming black-white blade into the beast's neck!
"Roar!!! Humans………………………"
The blade pierced just as Ji Chuancheng's shot hit, causing the conger eel to howl in agony.
Jing Xia's strike momentarily distracted it from Ji Chuancheng's actions, while Ji Chuancheng's shot blew apart it's right side and caused blood to gush out—a pain it had never felt before!
Jing Xia didn't linger.
He pulled out the blade and retreated along the same path.
But the intelligent conger eel wouldn't be defeated so easily.
It swung its tail to send a vicious bolt of lightning like a silver serpent toward Jing Xia.
At the same time, Ji Chuancheng leaped like an arrow and erecting thick walls of fire and water to intercept the lightning. By the time the attack broke through, Ji Chuancheng had already tackled Jing Xia to the ground.
In just a few dozen seconds, the situation had taken a dramatic turn!
Apart from Jing Xia's significant scrapes and a few severe injuries among the evolved fighters, the team fighting the conger eel was relatively unscathed.
In contrast, the once-mighty beast now looked battered and bloody, with its body a gruesome reminder of its recent defeat.
"Damn……Insects!!"
Jing Xia watched coldly as the conger eel struggled to turn with its single arm.
The next second, he and Ji Chuancheng split in opposite directions and join the other evolved fighters to encircle the now-weakened beast.
Gunfire roared, blades slashed, and powers unleashed—fire, lightning, and crushing boulders—forcing the beast into a desperate retreat.
Its occasional counterattacks only forced a few fighters out of the battle, but it couldn't change the tide.
"……Humans………Dream……..Victory…………"
Jing Xia sneered, "You talk too much. Shut your filthy mouth!"
With that, a water rope about half a meter thick materialized in the air and instantly wrap around the beast's neck to restrict its movements.
The conger eel struggled fiercely, but the rope held it in place before stiffening its movements for a while.
Then it swung its massive tail, fighting back with all its might.
Despite being worn down by Jing Xia and the others, its iron-like skin made it nearly impossible to land a fatal blow.
Only Ji Chuancheng's A-7 Executioner could slow the healing of its wounds, while other injuries healed within minutes.
Jing Xia's expression grew more serious.
This wasn't sustainable.
Their current power levels weren't enough to kill an S-class mutant.
They needed the high-powered electromagnetic cannon.
The only weapon in S City capable of taking down an S-class beast.
But… the reinforcements from the research institute hadn't arrived!
A sense of foreboding crept into Jing Xia's heart.
He faintly sensed something was wrong, but the conger eel's relentless attacks kept interrupting his thoughts.
This situation was truly strange…
"Boom—"
As if answering Jing Xia's confusion, a deafening roar shook the earth, originating from inland. Jing Xia turned in shock—it was coming from the research institute!
A massive beast, over sixty meters tall, had risen from the ground near the institute and was shaking off the waters of the Huangpu River like a storm.
Everyone near the institute was drenched.
"……Release……Leave……"
Its voice, like the conger eel's, was fragmented and grating, like grinding stones or a broken machine, so jarring that even Jing Xia, who is miles away, felt his brain tremble.
But without hesitation, he turned to Ji Chuancheng.
Their eyes met, and they instantly understood:
"A diversion!"
The research institute, located near the Huangpu River, had been nearly flattened by the giant beast's appearance.
Rubble was everywhere, buildings collapsed, and terrified civilians scattered, fleeing the area within minutes.
The massive mutant wasn't alone.
Behind it, several grotesque mutated beasts came ashore and slaughtered innocent civilians.
Fortunately, the evolved fighters left to protect the institute weren't few.
Zhou Yi led his elite team to launch a counterattack.
Meanwhile, the most threatening beast with eyes like copper bells, sifted through the ruins, seemingly searching for something. It flipped through the wreckage of building after building and occasionally spotting dead mutants but never stopping.
Beneath a massive boulder, Qi Yang lay on the ground while staring in shock at the figure shielding him—someone who was both human and not.
His body was covered in wounds, which each one is familiar to Qi Yang, who could recall when and how they were inflicted. On his chest was a gash with fresh, healing flesh and visibly corroded by cyanide.
For the first time, Qi Yang felt completely immobilized.
His mind told him this wasn't a dream and his body reminded him of the pain, but… this mutated beast, whom he'd called a "kind-hearted insect," had suddenly transformed before his eyes!
He was witnessing something that completely defied the laws of science!
"Cough…"
S1's back pressed against a massive boulder, a remnant of the institute's collapse.
Qi Yang had been holding the injured white mutant and ready to sacrifice himself to protect it, but instead—
The dying mutant had saved him!
"Cough… Gurgle… Cough…"
Blood spilled from the mutant's mouth, staining Qi Yang's pale face with streaks of red. Despite its weakened state, it held the boulder aloft with trembling arms and prevented it from crushing them.
Blood filled Qi Yang's vision while his body was shaking uncontrollably.
"Gurgle… Yang… Cough… Yang…"