Clack clack clack!
Gunfire erupted in the base; 008, after firing a burst from the top of a projectile, quickly reloaded.
"Eighty to one hundred people on the first surveillance floor; there are Mithril weapons. My ability regeneration is locked; someone else needs to tank for me!"
"Have the Angels evolved?"
"Don't rush it; I haven't seen one yet."
These Angels are incredibly weak in the early game, starting with two wings; they gain two more wings for each kill.
Of course, killing isn't necessary; observing from the sidelines or assisting is fine.
It doesn't take many kills; reaching the Hundred-Winged stage after killing 50 people is sufficient.
But they're too weak early on; someone must protect them during their evolution, otherwise, if they're ambushed like 008, they're instantly finished.
"Where's the Bird? Who did the Bird transform into?"
"Someone on the ground floor."
"No, why are we still using the ground floor? Make sure the Angels evolve, and the two Angels don't go on a rampage."
"You don't know anything; someone got two sixes."
001, The Imitator; they call it the Bird.
In single-game scenarios without powerful monsters, someone developed an inside strategy using 001.
It transforms into a human, infiltrates the main force, and then backstabs at a crucial moment.
For example, when placing the sixes to initiate a lucky break, it doesn't need to transform into another monster; firing a shotgun blast from behind is incredibly effective.
This strategy isn't powerful, but it's incredibly nasty.
Especially when the human side doesn't know what monsters are present.
Of course, experienced players will be wary if they notice a discrepancy in the number of monsters.
For example, now.
"Six monsters have appeared, but one is missing."
"Where's the Bird?"
"Watch the people around you. Check for duplicate IDs or deceased teammates."
001's transformation perfectly mimics everything, even the ID.
But since it's a mimicry, there must be an original.
If it disguised itself as a D-class employee and infiltrated the main force during retreat, becoming a regular Kitsune, there must be an exact duplicate.
Of course, there's also the possibility that 001 killed someone first and then transformed into them.
Logically, this game shouldn't have lasted long.
Unexpectedly, after searching for a while, they still couldn't find the other circuit.
"It's not on the first floor?"
"It's on the second floor; we're still searching, but we've covered most of the map."
"We can't let the monsters get the last circuit!"
"I'm freaking out."
Unfortunately, the last circuit was taken by a monster.
The human side focused on searching and was ambushed several times; with the Angels approaching the Hundred-Winged stage, they still hadn't found the final circuit.
The Monster side played it smart; the humans would prioritize finding the circuits, and they had the last one.
Plus, they had a powerful late-game monster on their side.
Their strategy was to use guerilla tactics to protect the Angels, avoiding direct confrontation, waiting for the Angels to evolve; then 001 would strike from the human rear, with the two attacking from front and back, securing an easy victory!
"If you can't find the 001, forget it; just kill the Angel!"
The Monster side wanted to stall; the human side couldn't afford to stall!
Ironically, no one would have guessed that a D-class personnel was still alive on the deepest floor.
Yes, Reinhard was still alive.
While the two factions fought fiercely above, he was battling 008-1 on the lower levels.
Those transformed Vampire D-class personnel were relentlessly pursuing him; he evaded them, killing at least ten 008-1.
"What? A Little Brother became a warlord on the lower levels!"
"Don't waste time with that Little Brother; hurry up! The collection specialists are charging in!"
Seeing the Vampires retreat, Reinhard took a deep breath.
Going upstairs was impossible now; his brother, who had retreated to become a collection specialist, would arrive too late.
The two factions had secured the first and second floors; the third floor was safer, for now.
But that was only for now. If they initiated the lucky break, the lower floors would be the most dangerous.
Reinhard checked the time. "Thirty minutes until the Chaos Insurgency respawn. Should we die and respawn?"
...
The Chaos Insurgency probably wouldn't respawn because of the Hundred-Winged Angels.
001 struck from the human rear, transforming into a second Angel; with attacks from the front and rear, they easily wiped out the Kitsune force.
The stragglers and escapees were killed by other monsters.
These monsters even reached the ground floor, eliminating the last fleeing Kitsune.
However, the game didn't end.
"Is there someone still alive?"
"There's a Little Brother still alive on the lowest floor."
"Incredible! A Little Brother survived until now?"
"Hurry, hurry! Ten minutes until Chaos Insurgency respawn; quick battle, quick victory."
"Don't be afraid! We have two Angels; we'll kill another wave of Chaos Insurgency; the rewards will double!"
"Let's go for it."
"That's true. Monster side victory rewards are lower because fewer people are killed."
"Normally, wiping out both the Chaos Insurgency and the Kitsune results in normal victory rewards."
"How did we manage that extreme comeback last time?"
"Uh…"
…
Underground, Reinhard was surrounded by monsters.
Reinhard suddenly felt uneasy. "The human side is wiped out?"
"The nuclear option wasn't used?"
That's bad.
The End.
Reinhard leaned against the wall, sighing wearily. He was truly exhausted.
Casually activating the radio nearby, Reinhard closed his eyes and heard a melody playing softly.
A second later, Reinhard's eyes widened.
He felt his body contorting, transforming into a giant bird.
Immediately after, a flock of giant birds materialized out of thin air!
"What the…?"
"What's going on?"
"How am I alive?"
"What is this?"
"Firebird?"
Nearly seven hundred giant birds instantly crammed the corridor; then, they merged into a single, eagle-like monster!
At that moment, Reinhard could hear the voices of all the players.
For some reason, after playing that melody, all the deceased players respawned as giant birds!
"Multiple people in one body?"
"This is fun; I'll lead the charge!"
"I think I remember that recorder… I think it was in the first game!"
"So that's how this thing works!"
008, charging forward, saw the bird-shaped monster and froze; what kind of freak was this?
Before 008 could react, Reinhard's body moved on its own!
As if many individuals were simultaneously controlling his body!
"Multiple people controlling one body?"
"Come on! Let's unify our minds!"
Before 008 could react, the group, merged into the bird-like creature, delivered a devastating blow!
"What the hell was that?!"
"Come on, brothers! Didn't you want to play as monsters? Here's your chance!"
The two Angels attacked immediately; Reinhard directly confronted their attacks, fighting them on equal terms!
"What the hell is this bird-thing?!"
What this bird-thing was, Reinhard really wanted to know; its power was simply overwhelming!
Unfortunately, it didn't last long; the two Angels combined forces and shattered his defenses!
But after his defenses collapsed, Reinhard didn't die; he disintegrated back into hundreds of giant birds!
The flock of birds launched a chaotic attack, instantly killing both Angels!
The remaining monsters were completely stunned and fled!
This delighted the players who had transformed into birds!
"Firebird army, charge!"
A horde of birds surged forward; they didn't need to open doors; they simply smashed through!
At this moment, the game became bizarre.
A horde of monsters were chased by a flock of Firebirds!
The chase continued from the underground to the ground floor, ultimately forcing the monsters to trigger the lucky break!
Yes, they found the three circuits and initiated the nuclear option!
A group of Firebirds were blown to pieces; however, many survived and engaged in a desperate battle with the remaining monsters!
The final result was incredibly ironic; 001 was beaten to death by the Firebirds, yet the game still wasn't over.
All five monsters killed by the Firebirds respawned as Chaos Insurgency.
Yes, only five.
"Damn, we became humans…"
"Beautiful! We became monsters!"
The remaining five Chaos Insurgency members didn't pose much of a threat; they fought desperately with guns and grenades, managing to kill a few Firebirds before succumbing.
The game ended; the winner was…
The Firebirds.
Thirty-four Firebirds survived.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Never seen such a crazy game!"
"Guys, can we do it again? I want to be a Firebird again!"
"I was an Angel; you Firebirds scared the hell out of me."
"Hahaha, the best part was having multiple people in one body!"
"The best part was that we didn't use the nukes; you guys used them; first time seeing monsters use nuclear weapons."
"How do you fight that? How is that even possible?"
"I'd rather face the Chaos Insurgency; they're easier to deal with than these Firebirds!"
"Anyway, I need to reload."
"See you in ten days."
"Bye."
…
The rewards were substantial. They were the same as those for defeating monsters in the normal human collection zones.
Reinhard returned to his room and sighed; this game was truly intense.
He thought the game was over, but the final moments were a complete turnaround.
But regardless of the game's outcome, Reinhard didn't care; he only cared about accumulating 50,000 points.
He was arguably the only player focused solely on points.
The others were purely enjoying the game.
Shortly after, Reinhard's phone rang.
"Seth, there's something…"
Reinhard hung up before the caller could finish.
In the following days, no one disturbed him.
...
Time flew by; two months passed in a flash.
On this day, Reinhard was ecstatic.
He had finally accumulated 50,000 points, even exceeding 100,000!
"We've finally reached this day!"
Reinhard gained access to an Administrator meeting.
A second later, darkness enveloped him; he appeared in a pitch-black void.
He wasn't alone; two others were there.
He recognized one of them—the numerical ID individual.
"You also accumulated 50,000 points?"
"Unbelievable?"
"Not really. I'm just surprised."
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why did you request a meeting with the administration?"
"Just curiosity."
"I'm curious who created this supernatural game, and what their purpose is. It can't just be for our entertainment, can it?"
Hmm…
It's not entirely impossible.
Three people had accumulated 50,000 points; they all knew each other.
Just as they were imagining how the organizers would appear, a giant eye materialized in the pitch-black sky.
"Congratulations. You have achieved the game's objective; you have reached the end."
A thick, heavy voice echoed from the sky; an inexplicable sense of oppression penetrated every nerve; one of them immediately knelt down.
He didn't speak, but a thought crossed his mind.
Would there be rewards?
Without speaking, Mei already knew his thoughts.
"Speak your desires, your deepest, most primal desires and impulses. Tell me with your voice."
Reinhard shouted, "Power!"
"Money…"
"Wisdom."
The three simultaneously voiced their deepest desires.
Reinhard desired the potion, but he couldn't state it directly, so he asked for power.
The other's desire was simple; he wanted more money.
Finally, the numerical ID individual didn't express his true desire; his wish was ambiguous.
Wisdom encompasses many areas and can be applied in many ways; whether his request for wisdom and the wisdom Mei could grant were the same thing was uncertain.
Mei had many potions; she surveyed her collection, picking up the first potion.
The God's Blood series, the same potion given to the Frost King.
Mei said this potion would go to the game space.
Or perhaps, Mei had already found a destination for this potion.
It was Reinhard.
Mei's fingers moved; she took a potion from the last cabinet.
This potion had simple ingredients; it was a dice; Mei called it the Luck series.
This was the gambler's potion.
He wanted money? Possible, but he had to be prepared to lose.
Finally, Mei chose a standalone potion, one unrelated to any series.
The Liar's Potion.
...
Exiting Crack Space, Reinhard and the other two were permanently ejected from the game.
Yes, the triangular-circle tattoo on their hands vanished.
They were permanently stripped of their status because they had received potions, but that was inconsequential.
Reinhard looked at the potion in his hand; he was ecstatic!
"The potion! It's finally my turn!"
"I don't know what this potion is, but I don't need to reach the peak instantly; I just don't want to be the worst!"
Here goes nothing!
Reinhard and the other two drank their potions simultaneously.
Once the effects took hold, Mei inscribed two new series on an invisible stone tablet.
Self-assigned numbers 028 and the following two new number.
Number 029: Gambler.
Number 030: Lie Eater.
The reason it was two series, not three, was because Mei restarted the numbering from 006.
Reinhard was the new 006.
This had two implications: one, because his potion was God's Blood, from Mei's potion series;
Two, because…
Huh?
At that moment, Mei's eyes narrowed. "Zero… you actually… hahaha… good. It's quite interesting."
Mei waved her hand, inscribing another new number on the massive stone tablet.
Number 031: Deca.
...
Special cases always have unique aspects.
And Zero was a special case; his uniqueness lay in his ability to see the stone tablet Mei created, or perhaps it was created for him to see.
Zero compiled the latest series into a confidential file, leaving a blank space at the end.
This blank space meant that he didn't know the strength of those monsters.
Mei had called him a quality inspector, meaning he had to experience them himself before providing a combat rating for those monsters.
Zero couldn't assess the newly created monsters.
Unexpectedly, after distributing the potion to ten people, those ten also appeared on Mei's list.
Furthermore, they shared a single number; Mei simply wrote Deca, representing ten people.
But Zero didn't refer to this group as Deca.
First, Mei had told Zero that this potion was related to the five elements, incorporating their properties.
And Zero distributed it to ten people; the true name of 031 should be the Ten Workers.
The group consisted of five men and five women; they weren't members of the O5 Council.
They were five men and five women carefully selected by Zero.
Each had a single character as their title:
Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui.
They were paired off and divided into five teams, corresponding to Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Only Zero knew about the potion; they were to maintain strict secrecy.
Regarding the origin of their special abilities, Zero gave them a unified explanation: they stemmed from objects fissioned from 009.
Yes, 009 was that kind of entity.
If you don't know its origin, it's something fissioned from 009.
These five teams haven't yet engaged in actual combat; they are still in the adaptation phase. After completing the adaptation phase, they will be immediately deployed against the Chaos Insurgency.
As for Serpent's Hand and the Black Queen, their existence won't have a significant impact on this world.
Therefore, they'll forever remain behind the Chaos Insurgency; as long as 009 doesn't die, its fission products will continue endlessly, a lasting legacy.
Serpent's Hand's foundation is based on 009's fission objects and ancient artifacts.
Without 009, they are just an armed group.
The Black Queen's situation is unclear, but given their secretive operations, there shouldn't be any major problems in the short term.
Besides…
"What's the current status report on the Awakened?"
Within the O5 Council, Zero asked the individuals before him.
An older man produced a statistical table. "After extensive blood sample collection, we've identified nearly a hundred Awakened in the Eurasian region."
"Based on current data, one in ten thousand people is Awakened; it's still too few."
Zero nodded. "Expand the search; find all the Awakened in Eurasia."
"Regarding the Awakened, whether or not they can immediately join the military, we must consolidate and integrate them."
"The Awakened's psychic power will grow; they are not like ordinary people; they can perceive the Mist, and perception means danger."
When the Awakened's psychic power reaches 2nd Step, they can perceive abilities similar to the Frost King's.
They will also be affected by the Frost King's abilities; ignoring this is extremely dangerous.
Of course, this danger is at another level. If the Awakened aren't controlled, they could experience uncontrolled psionic outbursts similar to those before the restart.
Although this was a result engineered by the Queen Bee, it serves as a warning: human greed, when amplified by power, becomes insatiable greed.
"Good. But there's something else."
"Our large-scale blood collection has attracted the attention of various governments; some have even identified certain individuals."
"Governments now aware of the situation are actively gathering the Awakened; this conflicts with our goals. Should we intervene?"
Zero shook his head. "Let them be."
"We only handle current and imminent problems; future issues can wait."
"The Awakened aren't like psionics; they're highly controllable; their willingness to cooperate will save us a lot of trouble."
"Roughly two months. In two months, we'll publicly announce the existence of the Awakened to governments."
"They might know in two months, sir."
"It's fine; consider it a heads-up for those who don't know."
"The age of Awakening is silently arriving; each Awakened is a rare individual, proving that Awakening cannot be universally achieved."
"To put it vaguely, the Awakened's existence will be suppressed by governments."
"Everything has two sides; there are advantages and disadvantages."
"Humans can awaken; animals, plants, and even members of the Chaos Insurgency, Serpent's Hand, and other organizations can become Awakened."
"On our side, we are still in the experimental phase; the Ten Days are all Awakened, and their potential is significant."
There's something they didn't know, something Zero didn't tell them.
Those who drank the potion had a significantly higher chance of Awakening; they would even awaken at a specific point!
Zero knew this, but the others didn't.
Therefore, it was predictable that in the near future—no, perhaps imminently—009 would awaken.
What could be worse than this?
Everything awakening.
Of course, saying "everything" is inaccurate; 4th Step monsters cannot awaken.
These lower-level entities were brought by the Dragon.
Even the Dragon itself cannot awaken, let alone other 4th Step entities.
"That's all for today. Meeting adjourned."
…
Asia, China.
In a high school in Northeast China, numerous students were lining up for blood tests.
"I think we had a physical check last month."
"Maybe it's funding from above; our principal doesn't know how to spend all this money."
"But why are our teachers here for checkups?"
"The funding from above must be huge."
"666."
As the students discussed, fighter jets suddenly flew low overhead.
A student exclaimed, "Damn! Die 20!"
"Where?"
"Over there."
"Too close!"
"666, you guys are just staging a show."
"It doesn't seem like a show… we've seen them a lot recently."
"Huh?"
"I didn't know about this."
"You're a damn gamer who stays home all day; how would you know?"
Recently, many countries have implemented large-scale health checks; some foreign countries require citizens to undergo mandatory, self-funded health checks.
China, however, provides funding and currently targets only the 18-40 age group.
Those under 18 and over 40 are considered to be in a conservative phase and are not currently included in the blood testing program.
While blood donation is promoted as beneficial for health, this is merely to make the experience more pleasant.
From a psychological standpoint, if you feel your body will weaken after donating blood, you'll likely feel weaker.
Conversely, if you believe donating blood improves your health, your body might actually respond in the expected direction.
There's scientific backing for this; it's self-hypnosis or self-comfort.
And it does work.
…
At a junior high school gate, Reinhard, wearing a black robe and mask, was buying candied fruit.
Squatting on the curb, Reinhard looked at the candied fruit with a complex expression.
A large number of monsters, moving within a red mist, briefly appeared before him.
Due to a slight shift in Reinhard's gaze, all the monsters turned to look at him.
Reinhard: "…"
"This candied fruit is delicious."
The monsters exchanged glances and silently left.
God only knows what happened.
After drinking the potion, Reinhard's psychic power suddenly surged to 4th Step; a horde of colossal monsters blotting out the sky filled his vision.
But Reinhard couldn't let them know he could see them, otherwise…
BOOM!
A hundred-meter-wide foot landed next to Reinhard.
A cold sweat trickled down Reinhard's forehead; he frantically scrambled to the side.
"I really did reach the peak instantly."
He wasn't actually 4th Step, but he could still perceive both worlds within the mist.
Indeed, this was Mei's third experiment.
Achieving 4th Step psychic power without the strength or essence of 4th Step.
This situation was entirely expected.
Reinhard looked at the candied fruit in his hand, about to dissolve, and took a deep breath.
Who would have thought that after waking up, the world would have become Hell?
Sigh…
Just as Reinhard was about to stand, an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy carrying a schoolbag emerged from the school gate.
Seeing Reinhard, the boy rushed over, holding out a drawing.
It depicted two characters: Thank You.
Reinhard waved, signaling him not to thank him.
This boy was the one Reinhard had encountered when he fell from the sky.
After his mother had pulled him away, Reinhard had noticed the boy's drawing and returned it secretly.
The boy was delighted to find his drawing inside, the window open.
This time, upon seeing Reinhard, the boy immediately came to thank him.
He still wrote on the drawing; Reinhard almost thought he was mute, but this time he understood: the boy's mother didn't allow him to talk to strangers.
He really didn't speak; truly a genius.
But had a lot of time passed?
Compared to last time, the boy had grown considerably… probably in a growth spurt.
"Where's your mother? Aren't you afraid she'll beat you?"
The boy showed Reinhard a drawing with several words: My mother isn't picking me up today.
Reinhard looked at the candied fruit. "It's a shame you know how to write. Fine, take this candied fruit; don't talk to strangers like me easily."
Reinhard prepared to leave; the boy bowed after accepting the fruit.
However…
Reinhard glanced around; other students were in groups or with their parents.
He was alone; he didn't seem very popular.
Reinhard chuckled; this reminded him of his school days.
At that moment, a Reason World monster was suddenly flung towards the boy.
"Hey, kid…"
Care about what?
It didn't hit him?
Reinhard patted his mask; he really was thick-skinned.
The boy didn't hear Reinhard; he took a step to the left, narrowly avoiding the flung monster.
Huh?
Coincidence?
Reinhard shook his head and turned to leave.
…
Reinhard passed a cafe and paused.
He looked inside; a black-haired man in black was there, with a strange creature lying on his back.
The creature was shaggy, with a head resembling both a wolf and a bat, bluish-purple in color, with large hands, no legs, and a long, serpentine tail.
At that moment, the creature on the man's back noticed Reinhard.
The shaggy, blue creature nudged the man and pointed towards Reinhard outside.
The man, sensing the movement, turned; Reinhard, seeing the man's face, pretended to ignore him and walked away.
"Encountering him again."
The man might not have recognized Reinhard, because of the mask.
But Reinhard recognized him; he had seen that face before.
"White Walker."
But what was that creature on his back?
A Stand?
A Pokémon?
A guardian spirit?
God knows.
As Reinhard left, he encountered a man at a corner.
The man was dressed casually; a Serpent's Hand tattoo adorned his arm. "Master Seth, there's a mission."
"A talisman has appeared…"
"What's your name?" Reinhard asked, turning.
The man was startled. "Uh… Han Jian."
"And who am I?"
"You are Master Seth."
"Do you know your role?"
"I'm responsible for… recovering Objects?"
Reinhard kicked him. "Then get to recovering them."
Han Jian's mouth twitched. "I just thought it was necessary to inform you, Master. Whether or not we act requires your approval…"
These people were only useful for collecting and offering tributes; they were useless in critical situations.
Besides, Reinhard no longer needed them now that he'd been ejected from the game.
"Wait… what did you say you were recovering?"
"Stones?"
"What stone?"
"Uh… Rabbit stone."
A thought struck him.
Reinhard's eyes gleamed under his hood. Before Sea King was expelled to the Reason World, his body was repeatedly disintegrated by the Angels; the talismans fell into the manifest world before they could be retrieved.
These talismans were collected by various organizations.
Reinhard clutched the red-cloth-wrapped Demon Blade hilt; if it involved talismans, he'd participate.
One for you, one for me; gather twelve, and we'll all be the next generation of heroes!
"Perfect. I can use this opportunity to test my potion's abilities."
He was the inheritor of the 006, but he wasn't Fateweaver.
...
Swish swish swish!
A figure, like lightning, sped through the city at night, moving with incredible speed.
The figure flashed into view at a snack stand, grabbing a Coca-Cola and leaving three coins.
"Three days ago, I became the fastest man in the world."
"It all started when my second uncle sent me a package from Hainan. He told me to keep it secret; the contents were unusual, and he was being watched by a special agency because of it."
"He told me to keep it safe until a month later, when I should meet him at an appointed location."
"But on that day, my second uncle disappeared mysteriously."
"I suspect it's related to this object. I tried to investigate; the message my second uncle sent was a rock."
"The rock had a rabbit carved on it; it grants the holder increased speed."
"Using the rabbit's ability, I visited my second uncle's house several times, looking for clues, but found nothing."
"Shortly after, a group of men in black found me."
"They claimed to be from the United Nations Security Bureau and invited me for questioning."
"They knew about the object my second uncle sent; I suspected his disappearance was linked to these people."
"So I escaped using the rabbit's ability."
"Unfortunately, it seems I'm being watched by more than one group."
"First, a group of mercenary-like individuals tried to kill me without a word; their accents were foreign, not Asian."
"Then…"
The man holding the rabbit talisman flashed; before him stood a robed figure in black, wearing a mask.
A red-cloth-wrapped, knife-like object was at the black-robed figure's hip.
The man beside him flashed, then suddenly slammed on the brakes!
In that instant, a bloody scratch appeared on his face.
Countless indistinguishable threads crisscrossed the road; these thin threads could easily sever skin, approaching the nano-scale!
If the man hadn't braked, he would have been decapitated and turned into a pile of minced meat!
As the man was reeling from shock, the robed figure pressed the red-cloth-wrapped knife-like object against his throat.
"I dislike excessive killing. Do you want the rabbit, or your life?"
The man holding the rabbit talisman froze; he tried to escape but found himself trapped by dense threads.
With nowhere to go, his eyes darted around. "You're after that rock, too. Why don't we talk?"
As he finished speaking, a bullet zipped towards Reinhard's forehead!
Bang!
Reinhard dodged the bullet; a group of men in green uniforms surrounded him.
"That rabbit is ours."
Reinhard's threads flickered; countless invisible puppets emerged, instantly subduing the men!
The figures materialized, all wearing identical black robes.
They were Serpent's Hand members.
Useless individuals could still be used; there's always a way to make them useful.
For instance, using Reinhard's ability to turn them into puppets.
Reinhard's ability was nearly identical to Mei's Puppet Master ability; this similarity was baffling.
Similar to Hydra and Sea King; even with identical potions, there were differences.
But Reinhard's ability was identical to Mei's Puppet Master ability.
The similarity was almost 99.99%.
Although Mei had mentioned wanting to observe the effects of her series on others, she hadn't used the Puppet Master potion.
Even the potions were different; this coincidence was too much of a coincidence.
Seeing the Chaos Insurgency members instantly subdued, the man holding the rabbit talisman's eyes widened.
What was this?
A horde of shadow warriors?
To the man's astonishment, one of the Chaos Insurgency members suddenly lunged, kicking a robed figure aside!
Ripping open his shirt, he revealed a remarkably muscular torso!
"Interesting!"
"My name is Dunn Smith. I consumed a Golden Lotus Seed; I'm proficient in seven languages and twelve close-combat techniques; I've also studied medicine, military strategy, and politics."
"Furthermore, I underwent the Iron Maiden ritual; my physical body is nearly indestructible. Although I'm only a commander of a hundred-man unit, I've achieved many victories against overwhelming odds; thousands have died at my hands."
His commanding officer in the Myriad-Man Army had once rewarded him with an object.
Ghoul cells.
Ghoul cells originated from a living entity fissioned from 009; its name is Ghoul.
This entity possesses an extreme destructive instinct; it's currently confined in a secret military laboratory.
Extracting its cells and injecting them into ordinary humans causes rapid muscle growth!
Of course, not everyone can receive Ghoul cell injections.
There's a theory about adaptability; most who received Ghoul cell injections died; only a small percentage survived the cellular transformation.
Dunn Smith is a successful example.
His physical strength alone has reached the upper echelon of 2nd Step!
"And my level is far from the top within the Chaos Insurgency."
The Chaos Insurgency has fifty-six Myriad-Man Army commanders; these are all top-tier powerhouses!
All meet the lower 3rd Step standard, plus they possess various Objects!
Furthermore, the term "Myriad-Man" actually means ten thousand troops; there's no upper limit.
Even Kitsune finds this difficult to counter, let alone ordinary national organizations!
They still don't know who that person was who single-handedly wiped out more than ten Myriad-Man armies.
Such strength is probably only comparable to the twelve original Chaos entities.
As for Serpent's Hand, although they don't know much, they know those people are just troublemakers.
Not capable of great things.
This isn't baseless; Serpent's Hand doesn't even possess a single potion series.
Unless Library 024 is the force behind Serpent's Hand, then it's just a joke.
Three days ago was the deadline; Serpent's Hand remains as such.
Seeing Dunn Smith approach, Reinhard shifted the knife-like object in his hand, removing the red cloth to reveal the blood-red blade!
Seeing this, Dunn Smith was startled; he recognized the blade!
"Demon Blade?"
"How…?!"
Poof poof!
A flash of blood; Dunn Smith's head separated from his body.
Reinhard sheathed the Demon Blade; before each draw, he always looked at the photo in his pocket.
This is really troublesome.