The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 167

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Shen Ge watched the distant Otherworldly Lizard stride towards the collapsed building. Each step shook the heavens and the earth, causing the already damaged wall to crumble completely with a thunderous roar.

“Sigh. It’d be nice if the Otherworldly Creatures were a bit less substantial,” Shen Ge mused, feeling a pang of nostalgia for the fights in his own world against creatures with that four-year technological gap.

The creatures here were all “genuine” in their ratings. And now, he finally understood why the Otherworldly Energy range for each rating was so vast.

Because the power gap between each tier of these creatures was terrifying.

A Tier 1 creature could be killed by bullets and shells. By Tier 2, they could largely ignore most firearm damage as long as their Otherworldly Energy wasn’t depleted.

After the third metamorphosis, two paths emerged. One led to a massive increase in size, transforming into giant monsters several meters, even over ten meters tall. Their physical defense and regenerative abilities skyrocketed, like the cherished Otherworldly Rat of the Rong City Branch that Li Xiang doted on.

That rat had only undergone a second metamorphosis, yet its defense and regeneration reached terrifying levels. Later, during the attack by the Twelve Branches, it became a “Rat-zilla,” proving it was indeed evolving in that direction.

The other path involved their Otherworldly Energy gaining special effects. As their tier increased, the uniqueness of their energy became more pronounced, eventually awakening into an Otherworldly Domain.

This was more common among “Trait” type creatures, but it didn’t mean non-Trait types couldn’t develop special Otherworldly Energy abilities.

Clearly, this Otherworldly Lizard belonged to the former category. After its fourth metamorphosis, its hide had become so tough that even anti-Otherworldly missiles couldn’t pierce it.

That explained why the Otherworldly Agent’s shot with the Otherworldly Hand Cannon had no effect. To the lizard, it was no different from an ant biting an elephant.

“I wonder who has better defense, this guy or that Tier 5 Freak.” Shen Ge stood up, activated his “Crimson Mist Form,” and shot out a tentacle to grab the eaves, swinging himself forward.

The lizard was huge, its strides massive. It rampaged through the city block like a miniature Godzilla, trampling buildings flat or shaking them apart with the vibrations of its movement.

As the lizard entered the block, its immense Otherworldly Energy aura spread, causing the lower-tier creatures nearby to hide hastily.

Only the mindless, unthinking Parasitized, drawn by the commotion, surged towards the lizard in waves.

The lizard’s crimson tongue swept out, scooping up swathes of the Parasitized like an anteater eating ants, swallowing them whole.

With his Crimson Mist Form active, Shen Ge’s speed and strength increased significantly. Enhanced by the Otherworldly Leather Boots, his mobility was like a hummingbird’s compared to the lizard. No matter how powerful the lizard was, it couldn’t touch him.

Drawing on his experience fighting the Tier 5 Freak, Shen Ge used the Flesh Tentacles and boots to swing and leap around the lizard, searching for weak points.

The lizard grew increasingly irritated. While Shen Ge couldn’t breach its outer defense immediately, having a mosquito buzzing around was enough to try the patience of a saint.

But after a series of attacks, Shen Ge found that even the most likely weak point, its eyes, was protected by a membrane of Otherworldly Energy.

Moreover, the lizard’s tongue was incredibly agile. Whenever Shen Ge swung towards its eyes using a tentacle, the tongue would shoot towards him like a cannonball.

Watching the crimson tongue lash towards him, a bold idea sparked in Shen Ge’s mind.

If a certain Iron Man could play out the story of Jonah and the Whale, taking down an interstellar battleship from inside a giant space fish, then maybe this lizard, tough as steel on the outside, was more vulnerable inside?

Swish!

That moment of hesitation cost him. The lizard’s tongue wrapped around him, retracted, and pulled him into its mouth, swallowing him whole.

One had to admit, Shen Ge’s “idea” was bold. After all, these creatures were monsters that defied common sense. No one knew what their insides were really like.

Fortunately, this wasn’t Shen Ge’s first time doing something like this. Overall… he was quite experienced.

Meanwhile, due to Shen Ge’s interference, the lizard went berserk, rampaging through the block. Vast sections of the city were reduced to ruins in the blink of an eye.

The leader of the hospital faction, seeing that the team sent to lure the lizard away had not only failed but also lost contact, had no choice but to prepare to retreat into the underground shelter.

Inside the hospital, Feng Hua You Cai and her two teammates, who had been searching for the hidden medical supplies, saw the faction starting to move supplies. They tailed a guard team, looking for an opportunity to strike.

Of the hospital’s four Otherworldly Agents, Shen Ge had already taken out two. Only the weakest one and the faction leader remained.

Feng Hua You Cai could barely hold her own against the weakest agent. Taking down both the leader and that agent was impossible.

So, she had her two teammates hide while she launched a feint attack to draw away the leader and the agent. Then, her teammates would seize the medical supplies.

Sure enough, as soon as Feng Hua You Cai attacked, the already frustrated leader, angry about the lizard forcing them to move, personally led a team of guards to pursue her.

However, the weakest Otherworldly Agent stayed behind to supervise the slaves moving the supplies, preventing them from causing trouble.

Feng Hua You Cai was forced to flee through the hospital building, but she was clearly less familiar with the layout than the leader and his men. Soon, she was cornered in an examination room.

Desperate, she squeezed through a small ventilation window just before the leader burst in, climbing down the external air conditioning units to a room below.

It was then she noticed the Tier 4 Otherworldly Lizard about a hundred meters away, fighting a red figure. But the red figure was no match, getting caught by the lizard’s tongue and swallowed.

Feng Hua You Cai wasn’t interested in the fight between the freak and the lizard, but seeing the lizard heading towards the hospital, she grew anxious. Climbing down, she used her communicator to notify the vice-captain and the teammate inside the hospital to evacuate quickly.

The good news was that some Parasitized had broken into the hospital. While the remaining Otherworldly Agent and guards were dealing with them, the two scouts managed to steal two cases of medical supplies.

The bad news was that Feng Hua You Cai, planning her retreat, remembered the “newbie” she had left in the back streets. Shen Ge didn’t have a communicator, so she had to go find him.

By now, the lizard, originally a hundred meters away, was only twenty or thirty meters from the hospital – just a few steps for its massive size.

Boom!
Boom!

The inpatient building stood in the lizard’s path. Before its colossal body, it was like a foam toy, instantly smashed to rubble.

Just as the lizard was about to crash into the main complex, it suddenly froze as if paused, its throat making a gurgling, swallowing sound as loud as thunder.

The survivors in the hospital building, terrified by the noise, covered their ears and screamed, collapsing to the floor, weeping and begging God to save them.

Then, God answered.

For some reason, the lizard opened its terrifying maw as if to “vomit,” the frequency of the swallowing sounds increasing.

Then, a flood of flesh and corpses poured from the lizard’s mouth, including a red figure.

“Damn. That’s disgusting.” Shen Ge rarely felt the urge to swear. He sat up amidst the pile of flesh, holding a meter-high “heart.” Even with his strong stomach, the stench from the lizard’s gut was nearly enough to make him vomit.

After being swallowed, he discovered the creature had internal defenses too – a layer of Otherworldly Energy coating its insides, just like the outside. That was why it was so hard to breach this type of creature’s defense externally.

The environment inside the lizard’s stomach was complex. The corrosive gastric acid could even eat through the Flesh Armor of his Crimson Mist Form, depleting his Otherworldly Energy in moments.

Shen Ge had encountered similar corrosive acid before, inside the villa-fused “Liu Zongrui.” It was highly corrosive. If the Flesh Armor, which even the Crimson Mist Form couldn’t fully protect, was damaged, Shen Ge would likely dissolve in seconds.

Even though there was plenty of Otherworldly Energy inside the lizard’s stomach for the Flesh Armor to absorb and convert into “Crimson Mist Energy,” the conversion rate couldn’t keep up with the consumption.

Shen Ge couldn’t let his Crimson Mist Energy deplete like this, or he’d end up like the tattered, half-digested Parasitized corpses around him. He climbed onto a pile of undigested Parasitized flesh to get higher, but the gastric acid dripped from the stomach walls like rain, making it almost impossible to avoid.

Shen Ge had an idea. He deployed his “Unmanifested Domain,” creating two invisible barriers above and below him to prevent direct contact with the acid.

The lizard’s gastric acid was highly corrosive, sizzling and bubbling as soon as it hit the barriers. While they wouldn’t last long, they successfully diverted the droplets.

The good news was this method slowed the drain on his Flesh Armor’s energy. The bad news was his own mental energy began to plummet rapidly.

Fortunately, Shen Ge had ample “reserves.” He chomped down on Mental Apples, sustaining himself as he moved upwards through the stomach wall, away from the pool of acid below.

The only problem was the unbearable stench inside the lizard’s stomach. It was like eating in a pile of corpses. The Mental Apples in his hand tasted like spoiled rotten meat. He forced them down, gagging with each bite, the sensation akin to trying to gorge yourself while desperately needing to vomit from too much drink.

Standing on the pile of corpses, fighting back nausea, Shen Ge took out the captured Otherworldly Hand Cannon and loaded the last two shells. He fired at the stomach wall.

Boom!

The entire stomach convulsed violently, visibly “contracting” before expanding again. However, the hand cannon didn’t even leave a mark on the stomach wall, let alone blow a hole through it.

Shen Ge thought for a moment, swapping the hand cannon for the Otherworldly Annihilation Revolver. He fired several shots in different directions. The Otherworldly bullets easily pierced the lizard’s stomach wall, leaving bullet holes.

This surprised Shen Ge a little. He hadn’t expected the revolver, paired with the “Infinite” magazine trait, to have such piercing power that even a Tier 4 creature’s stomach wall couldn’t stop it.

“Stomach perforation achieved.” After emptying the revolver, Shen Ge aimed the last hand cannon shell at one of the bullet holes and fired.

Unfortunately, while the hand cannon’s report was impressive, its power was disappointing. Even aimed directly at a bullet hole, it failed to enlarge it.

However, after the holes were made, the gastric acid secretion increased. Shen Ge looked around, hollowed out a space within the mountain of Parasitized corpses, built a “nest” shape with the bodies, and stuffed a few “eggs” inside –

High-Explosive Bombs.

He set a two-minute timer based on the corpses’ corrosion rate, then used his “Unmanifested Domain” to climb out of the lizard’s stomach.

The lizard’s innards were complex. In some places, the rotting, pulsating flesh moved like living worms, blocking Shen Ge’s path and making progress difficult.

He could only use the “Collapse” effect of his Unmanifested Domain to pass through obstacles, but this consumed his mental energy at an alarming rate.

Coupled with the fact that his stock of F-grade recovery items wasn’t guaranteed to yield Mental Apples, his rapidly depleting mental energy put him in a dilemma.

But the arrow was already on the string; he had to let it fly. He was already inside the lizard’s belly. Getting out wasn’t easy now. He had no choice but to keep scrambling around inside.

Luckily, Shen Ge’s luck held. After consuming two Mental Apples, he finally found the lizard’s heart.

A one-meter-tall, pulsating meat tumor, connected by countless thick and thin, worm-like black blood vessels, hung suspended in a narrow space.

Black Otherworldly Energy swirled around the heart, forming a protective barrier. Shen Ge’s Butcher Knife couldn’t cut through the heart’s defense.

Shen Ge thought of a method. He used the “Crimson Mist Armor” to continuously absorb the energy around the heart while deploying his Unmanifested Domain, using “Collapse” to drain the lizard’s energy.

Since the lizard was using energy to protect its heart, when Shen Ge’s domain manifested, the “Collapse” effect formed an invisible hand gripping the heart, pulling and tugging downwards, clashing with the defensive energy. The space around them even seemed to warp and shudder.

Clashing head-on with a Tier 4 creature placed an absurdly high load on Shen Ge’s mind. He had never felt such intense pressure before, as if his entire being was being torn apart!

Just then, the timed bombs he had placed earlier detonated inside the stomach. Combined with the bullet holes he’d already made, it was like stirring the stomach violently with an iron rod.

So, the lizard “vomited.”

Shen Ge wrapped a tentacle around his Butcher Knife, slashing at the blood vessels around the heart. Another Flesh Maw bit into the thickest vessel. Combined with “Collapse,” he was using all his abilities, determined to “tear” this heart out.

The lizard’s stomach, under Shen Ge’s “ministrations,” ruptured. Gastric acid poured out, corroding its internal organs and increasing its energy consumption.

Shen Ge had originally planted the bombs for sabotage, but they turned out to be the MVP in his energy struggle with the lizard, buying him a chance.

It turned out that stomach perforations could kill not just people, but creatures too.

Shen Ge, fueled by the last of his Mental Apple’s energy, finally ripped the “heart” from the lizard’s body. He was then swept away by the surging tide of corpses and “vomited” out.

[Host’s divine might and peerless courage, single-handedly slaying a Tier 4 Otherworldly Creature. Reward: 5000 System Points, E-grade Recovery Item x1, F-grade Recovery Item x3.]

[Can sell the creature’s corpse – Value: 8000 System Points.]

A creature without a Trait was naturally worth less than one with a Trait. Shen Ge didn’t hesitate to “Sell.” Then he got up, leaped into the hospital building, and activated “Intangibility.”

The fact that the lizard’s massive commotion hadn’t drawn out the hidden Tier 3 creature left Shen Ge momentarily at a loss. He decided to enter the hospital to find the remaining Otherworldly Agent, or Feng Hua You Cai, and then see about locating the hidden Tier 3 creature.

Unexpectedly, the ground began to shake violently, as if some colossal entity was about to emerge from below.

“System, detect nearby creatures and freaks!” Shen Ge ordered as he moved through the corridors searching, while the system scanned.

Soon, the system displayed the new scan results on the [Map]. Shen Ge saw it was still mostly Parasitized, with a few hidden low-tier creatures, most of them underground.

“Still no Tier 3 creature?” A bad feeling arose in Shen Ge. Could it be that this thing only dared to show itself now that the Tier 4 creature was gone?

If even the system couldn’t detect it, this creature had some tricks.

But then again, if it weren’t a special creature, the system wouldn’t have issued a crisis task specifically to find a hidden Tier 3.

The fact that it tasked him with finding it suggested the creature likely possessed some “concealment” type ability. He wondered if it was a “Trait.”

“Ah—”

“AHHH!!”

Screams and shrieks came from upstairs. Thinking the hidden Tier 3 was there, Shen Ge rushed up.

He found several slave survivors collapsed in the corridor. They had originally planned to hide in an operating room, seizing the chance to escape the hospital faction.

But the shaking of the main building was too violent. Forget worrying about running into guards, they just wanted to save their lives now.

They had just fled the operating room when, through the corridor windows, they saw a dense fog outside. Within the fog, a colossal figure seemed to be moving towards the hospital.

A gale was blowing outside, whipping up vortexes of fog. Rubble from buildings crushed by the lizard and wandering Parasitized were being swept into the air by these fog tornadoes.

Shen Ge followed the survivors’ gaze out the window and froze. Just minutes ago, he’d been fighting the lizard outside. There were no fog tornadoes then.

It seemed this was the special ability of the Tier 3 creature – one that could create a dense fog, blocking detection by the system and Little Seven.

But the strange creature flickered within the fog and vanished the next second. Shen Ge jumped out the window, using his Flesh Tentacles and a Flesh Maw to “bite” onto nearby buildings and swing into the fog.

“What was that?”

“An octopus?”

“A snake?”

Shen Ge had only glimpsed several tentacle-like appendages in the fog, but couldn’t make out any details.

Inside the fog, the concentration was even higher than the fog that had enveloped the city in his world before Sakura used the Otherworldly Energy Dispersal Grenades. That fog had also been released by a Tier 3 creature, but both its density and scope were clearly inferior to this one.

“I wonder if these two are related.” Shen Ge searched for the creature within the fog, while having the system and Little Seven assist with detection.

After over ten minutes of searching, he found only Parasitized and low-tier creatures, but no sign of the fog-maker. Meanwhile, the sound of collapsing buildings came from the direction of the hospital.

In the fog, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. It was possible Shen Ge had passed right by the creature during his search. But given its supposed size, missing it would be a miracle.

He had to follow the sounds back. Strangely, he still couldn’t find the hidden creature, but he did run into the scout team member carrying the medical supplies and Inoue Kaya, who was originally supposed to be “watching” him.

Shen Ge was still in his “Intangible” state, so he saw them, but they couldn’t see him. As he was about to leave, he heard the team member contact Feng Hua You Cai and the vice-captain on the communicator. He learned the vice-captain was already retreating outwards, while Feng Hua You Cai was still in the back streets looking for the “missing” Shen Ge.

Feng Hua You Cai also told her teammates to evacuate quickly, saying a giant creature was hidden within the fog around the hospital.

According to her description, the creature in the fog seemed to be a “giant python.”

Shen Ge looked up. Sure enough, high in the fog enveloping the hospital, he could vaguely see something resembling a giant python flash past.

“Tch. Likes hide and seek, does it?” Shen Ge refused to believe he couldn’t find it today. The tip of a Flesh Tentacle’s Flesh Maw suctioned onto the rubble of the collapsed inpatient building, and he swung himself back into the thick fog surrounding the hospital.

Meanwhile, Feng Hua You Cai was running forward through the back streets. The fog was too thick; she could only rely on experience and reflexes.

She had already had one close encounter with the hidden monster. It had “swum” past her like a giant python, leveling a row of two-story shops behind her.

She didn’t know when the creature might “swim” past her again. She just knew she had to run forward, keep running. As for the “missing” Shen Ge, she had tried her best to find him. If she couldn’t, there was nothing she could do. Their relationship wasn’t close enough for her to sacrifice herself to find him.

Boom!
Boom!

The familiar sound of collapse and the “swimming” motion returned. Feng Hua You Cai, focused on the movement in the fog, failed to notice an abandoned car in front of her. She slammed into the hood, the pain making her see stars.

Just then, she felt the dark presence getting closer and closer, as if it would reach her the next second and crush her to pieces.

In her moment of despair, a whoosh cut through the air. A rocket traced a faint line of fire through the fog, striking the “python” swimming within. The explosion made its body “jerk” and contract before it vanished into the fog… disappearing.

Shen Ge, standing on a pile of ruins in the distance, was taken aback. He had fired the rocket to attract the creature’s attention, hopefully enrage it, never expecting it to actually injure a Tier 3 creature.

But… it just ran away like that?

“Wrong. Most Tier 2 creatures are already immune to rockets, let alone a Tier 3.” Shen Ge felt something was off, but he had no time to ponder. He rushed towards where the movement had vanished, but after a while, neither he, nor the system, nor Little Seven could pick up the creature’s location.

“It seems the fog is the problem. The creature hides within it, interfering with the system’s and Little Seven’s detection.” Shen Ge felt a pang of nostalgia for Sakura’s Otherworldly Energy Dispersal Grenades.

But he was also interested in this creature’s ability to “block” detection, guessing it might be a “Trait” ability.

Perhaps he needed direct contact, or to see its true form, for the system to identify which “Trait” it was?

Wandering aimlessly in the fog wasn’t productive. Shen Ge was about to retreat when he bumped into an “acquaintance.”

Feng Hua You Cai had injured her foot in the car collision and was now limping forward. Seeing this, Shen Ge dismissed his Flesh Armor and “Intangibility,” calling out to her, “Captain Feng Hua!”

“Da Ying? Is that you, Da Ying?” Hearing his voice, Feng Hua You Cai’s face lit up with relief, and she immediately stopped, calling back.

Even though Little Seven could “locate” her for him, Shen Ge pretended to be blind, groping his way forward until they met.

“Da Ying, where did you go earlier?” Feng Hua You Cai asked.

Shen Ge replied, “I heard loud booms from the hospital and was worried about you, so I went to look. But the fog came up, and I got lost.”

“Just glad you’re not hurt.” Feng Hua You Cai said.

Shen Ge glanced at her foot. “You’re injured?”

Feng Hua You Cai nodded. “Besides that terrifying Otherworldly Lizard, there’s a high-tier creature in the fog, like a giant python. But I find it strange. It keeps appearing suddenly, moving forward a bit, then retracting. It feels like a snake, or maybe tentacles.”

Clearly, she didn’t know the Tier 4 lizard had been dealt with by Shen Ge, thinking there were two creatures in the fog.

“Tentacles?” Shen Ge’s eyes narrowed, suddenly understanding why it had “retracted” after the rocket hit.

If they were tentacles, the rocket probably hadn’t hurt it. It might have just been alarmed, pulling back the appendage it was using to “feel its way.”

“Tch.”

Shen Ge, lost in thought about the creature’s nature, didn’t notice Feng Hua You Cai struggling to keep up, the pain in her foot making her gasp.

The wound on her foot was deep, only roughly bandaged with a strip torn from her combat suit. Blood had already soaked through.

It was a cut from a rusty piece of metal on the car. Without proper treatment, it could get infected, but conditions weren’t ideal.

“Need to find a way to treat that wound.” Shen Ge planned to settle Feng Hua You Cai in a shop. After getting the intel from her, he had some new theories and wanted to search the fog again for the creature.

Feng Hua You Cai, unaware of his true intentions, gratefully grabbed his arm. “Don’t trouble yourself for me. Let’s just get out of here. If that creature comes back, we won’t be able to escape.”

… Don’t worry, I don’t want to trouble myself for you either.

Shen Ge was just thinking of an excuse to send her away when the fog around them shifted eerily, moving forward as one solid mass.

By the time Shen Ge and Feng Hua You Cai realized it, they were standing on a street clear of fog, while the mass of fog continued moving forward.

What was this creature doing?

Shen Ge was baffled by this hide-and-seek expert. It was like it was out for a stroll, taking a leisurely loop, and then, tired, preparing to leave…

Wait!

A spark of insight flashed in Shen Ge’s mind. He suddenly understood the creature’s “motivation.”

This Tier 3 creature was skilled at concealment, could create dense fog, and had tentacles for “reconnaissance.” It had sensed the presence of a more powerful Tier 4 creature earlier and hid.

After the Tier 4 creature died, the Tier 3 came out to scavenge, bringing the fog to the hospital area to search for the corpse. It didn’t expect Shen Ge to have sold the body immediately.

The sudden disappearance of the Tier 4’s energy signature likely made the Tier 3 think it was just hiding. So, it spread the fog around the hospital, using its tentacles to search, but still found nothing. Now, it was preparing to leave.

So the question was, was this creature that “smart”? Or… was it actually a Freak? Where was its main body hiding within the fog?

Or perhaps, the “fog” was its body?

Shen Ge scanned the area. He remembered when he and Feng Hua You Cai were scouting here earlier, the streets were full of low-tier creatures and Parasitized.

Checking the [Map] now, the once dense red dots were sparse. It seemed the Tier 3 creature hadn’t been idle while searching for the Tier 4’s corpse; it had grabbed a meal too.

“It stopped in that block again. Feeding?” Shen Ge watched the stationary fog in the distance, thinking this guy, free from the Tier 4’s threat, had begun its free activity period.

Tch.

Truly, when the tiger is away from the mountain, the monkey proclaims himself king.

Just then, gunfire erupted from a collapsed building on the next street. The Otherworldly Agent who had fought Feng Hua You Cai earlier, along with a few guards, were exchanging fire with some Parasitized.

The hospital, visited by two high-tier creatures, was completely destroyed. The entrance to the underground shelter was crushed. With the fog surrounding them earlier, they felt the creature within was searching for something, so they had fled the hospital ruins.

They hadn’t gotten far when the fog “ran away.” Then the nearby Parasitized noticed them and gave chase.

“Trouble. It’s the hospital people. The one leading is an Otherworldly Agent. He has anti-bullet Otherworldly equipment.” Feng Hua You Cai, hiding in a shop, recognized the agent immediately.

Shen Ge, however, noticed the case two guards were carrying. “They seem to be evacuating. That case probably contains supplies.”

“Supplies. The medical supplies Sato and the others stole from the hospital were in cases like that.” Feng Hua You Cai said.

Shen Ge said, “What a coincidence. Wait here. I’ll go get the supplies back. Your leg injury needs medicine.”

“Don’t! That agent is very strong. I’m no match for him.” Feng Hua You Cai hurriedly grabbed Shen Ge.

?

You’re no match for him, so what’s that got to do with me?

If he didn’t want to expose his strength in front of Feng Hua You Cai, Shen Ge would have just pulled out his Otherworldly Annihilation Revolver and fired a few rounds, Otherworldly anti-bullet equipment or not.

“Don’t worry. Facing people from this part of the world, someone of my heritage can usually take on ten.” Before Feng Hua You Cai could react, Shen Ge vaulted over the windowsill and jumped out.

On the other side, the small team’s fight with the Parasitized was attracting more monsters due to the gunfire. But they couldn’t stop shooting – the guards were ordinary people, almost helpless against the Parasitized. The Otherworldly Agent only had two pieces of Otherworldly equipment, both defensive.

“Dammit! Stop shooting, stop shooting! Do you want to lure that big guy back?” the agent yelled angrily.

The guards wore bitter expressions. They’d love to shove their boss towards the creature so he could see for himself – these were Parasitic monsters! Who knew if getting close would lead to infection? Not using guns meant fighting them hand-to-hand?

Why don’t you go?

The agent gritted his teeth. He had one last Otherworldly Grenade, his trump card. But if they couldn’t shake these Parasitized, and attracted the creature, it would be worse.

“Fall back to the shops in the back street! Carry the supply case carefully! If you lose it, I’ll have your heads!” the agent cursed.

He positioned himself between the guards and the Parasitized, taking out a fist-sized piece of pulsating “rotten flesh” that looked like a heart.

He threw the fleshy heart into the crowd of Parasitized. With a thump, it exploded, transforming into a flesh-and-blood Venus flytrap at least two to three meters in diameter, making strange “plopping” sounds. The noise attracted the surrounding Parasitized, who were swallowed one by one.

Shen Ge, who had been hiding behind a shop wall ready to ambush the group, paused when he saw the flesh-eating flower. He decided to wait for them to get closer.

He’d been interested in the Otherworldly Hand Cannon used by the agent on the jeep. Now, there was a flesh-eating flower grenade? Another goodie.

If he could get intel on the hand cannon and the grenade, it would be a major boost for his idea of building an “Otherworldly Energy army.”

Shen Ge scanned the area, then hid behind the shop’s counter, waiting.

The agent, after throwing the grenade, ran towards the shop. The flesh-eating flower attracted Parasitized with sound, but it could only swallow about a dozen before getting “full” and falling dormant.

Once dormant, it became food for the Parasitized. If he didn’t run now, he’d be targeted again soon.

But the moment he ran into the shop, a sharp pain shot through his lower back. Then a hand grabbed his arm, and with a crack, dislocated it.

Before the agent could process it, he was pinned against the counter.

“Boss!”

“Boss!”

The guards finally noticed the person hiding behind the counter and raised their guns, aiming at Shen Ge.

Shen Ge glanced at them and activated his Unmanifested Domain, instantly pulling them all into the “bullet time” effect of his domain.

The men felt their vision blur. Then, a series of gunshots – two to the chest, one to the head. Even a immortal would shake their head at that.

Shen Ge, to avoid attracting the Parasitized outside, thoughtfully activated the “Silent” trait while firing.

The agent was dumbfounded. He had no idea what happened. One moment his men were there, the next they were all corpses.

Shen Ge didn’t waste words. He took out the captured Otherworldly Hand Cannon and slapped it on the counter. “This… you recognize it?”

“Y-yes, I do.” The agent stammered, nodding. This was his third brother’s weapon. If this guy had it, did that mean third brother was dead?

“And this Otherworldly Sniper Rifle.” Shen Ge produced another rifle, its barrel wrapped in something resembling creature intestines.

Second… second brother’s weapon!

The agent’s eyes widened. While second brother was the number two in their group, his strength was actually the highest, even surpassing the leader.

Had they all been killed by this man?

When?

The more the agent thought about it, the more terrified he became. He only knew second brother had gone to the inpatient building roof for lookout, and third brother was supposed to lure the giant creature away. How had they been killed?

Shen Ge asked, “You’re Otherworldly Agents from Takaguchi City? Are these Otherworldly equipment items issued by the former Otherworldly Response Department? Or where did they come from?”

“Th-this…” This agent was not only weak but also cowardly. Learning his second and third brothers were dead, he was so scared he could barely speak.

“Just tell me honestly the origin of these Otherworldly equipment items, and how that grenade that summoned the flesh-eating flower is made or obtained, and I’ll let you go.” Shen Ge said.

With a gun to his head, he had no choice.

The three items were indeed equipment allocated by the Takaguchi City Otherworldly Response Department. The number of Otherworldly Grenades was limited. Back when they were still with the department, they were told only about eighty of this batch had been produced. When they evacuated Takaguchi, he had taken six, and just used his last one.

Upon confirming the equipment came from the Takaguchi City department, Shen Ge’s interest was piqued.

If he could get the design blueprints and research reports for these items and take them back to the Rong City Branch, it would mean skipping four years of development.

Shen Ge thought for a moment, asked a few more related questions, confirmed the agent wasn’t lying, then put a bullet in his head.

Feng Hua You Cai entered just in time to see this. She had originally come to help Shen Ge, but walked in to see him finishing off the last person.

And this person was the Otherworldly Agent she had fought, whose strength far surpassed hers… which meant Shen Ge was incredibly capable!

“Da Ying, you…” Feng Hua You Cai didn’t know how to describe her feelings.

Shen Ge simply said, “Their attention was on the Parasitized outside. Didn’t notice me. I got lucky. Never mind that. There’s hemostatic agents and bandages in this medical case. Let’s treat your foot injury.”

“Th-thank you.” Feng Hua You Cai sat down, undid the makeshift bandage, and watched as Shen Ge handed her the bandages and medicine.

“Treat your wound, then have your teammates come get you. According to this guy, the hospital suffered heavy casualties. I’ll go check it out.”

According to the agent, the leader still had Otherworldly Grenades. Shen Ge had no intention of letting that guy go.

He needed to find the creature, and kill the Otherworldly Agents!

In short, he wanted it all!