NOVPUBJulia noticed that Daniel’s face was eerily calm.
Had she misjudged him?
She turned her flashlight to the corpse.
The vivid, flowing blood made the body seem utterly human.
Angrily, Julia said, "Daniel, I will report this to Martin."
"From now on, I want you to hand over your gun to me!"
Daniel remained silent, avoiding unnecessary conversation with the thoughtless.
After closely inspecting the corpse for a while, Mike finally spoke, "Julia, he truly wasn’t human."
Julia, still enraged, stiffened at his words.
When she looked down, she froze on the spot.
From Richard’s severed neck, where the blood had drained away, instead of flesh and sinew, countless tangled threads were exposed!
Just like the threads they had seen in previous bodies, but even more abundant and dense.
Julia, shocked, stammered, "What... What is this?"
Suddenly, the air grew thick and tense.
It was as if the mall’s mute button had been pressed.
The once audible footsteps vanished abruptly, plunging the vast space into an eerie, deathly silence.
Almost instinctively, Julia and Mike huddled close, back-to-back.
The two flashed their torches around and were instantly horrified.
Surrounding them was a dense circle of mannequins.
Intermingled with them were several decaying corpses, seemingly the shoppers who had disappeared earlier in the mall.
Julia urgently called out to Daniel, "Get over here now!"
Just as Daniel moved closer, the headless corpse of Richard, whom he had just shot, began to stir unnaturally.
From the severed neck, threads started to expand outward like wriggling tentacles, burrowing into the scattered fragments of his shattered skull.
Under the trio’s astonished gaze, the broken skull began reassembling itself, drawn together by the threads.
Apart from the bullet hole, the head astonishingly healed completely!
"Ugh-!"
Richard slowly rose from the ground, lifting his restored head.
His eyes were vacant, and he emitted a dry, inhuman shriek.
Boom!
Daniel shot him in the head again, giving him no chance to fully rise.
The head shattered once more, and Richard lay motionless, his exposed cranial wound revealing a tangled mass of threads.
However, this time, the threads did not extend further.
Daniel, harnessing a fraction of his unique power, absorbed a surge of regenerative Spiritual Power from the threads.
Daniel thought to himself, "It seems my ability is not merely immunity from adverse effects, but also consumption."
The threads, now devoid of their Spiritual Power, dissolved into a pool of liquid, and there was no sign of Richard’s corpse reanimating again.
But Daniel had no time to rejoice, for the surrounding horde of monster minions was overwhelming.
Every mannequin in the mall, along with a dozen or so humans who had disappeared here, had all been transformed into thralls of this enigmatic creature by the manipulating threads.
Even Julia, with her vast combat experience, couldn’t hide the look of despair on her face as she faced the daunting number of foes.
In her desperation, she blurted out, "Damn it! How the hell does the intelligence department even operate?!"
"A creature capable of controlling so many minions couldn’t possibly be just Rank C in danger level. It has to be at least Rank B, if not Rank A!"
The original intent behind Martin sending Julia with Daniel on this mission was to help Daniel gain experience and improve his skills.
He had specifically instructed the intelligence division to choose a mission with a relatively low threat level.
But the danger of this mission had grossly exceeded their expectations.
Both Julia and Mike looked ashen, as if they had already seen their impending doom.
But Daniel remained unperturbed, constantly scanning the surroundings.
Even at this juncture, the monster hadn’t shown itself.
Yet he had clearly sensed its unique stench of decay.
In a hushed tone, Daniel said, "The creature is nearby. It’s watching us."
"We need to target the leader. Once we locate it, I’ll take it down."
Upon hearing this, Julia still looked gravely concerned, but, determined to survive, she said, "Given the circumstances, a decapitation strike isn’t an option."
"Listen to me. I’ll use my power to carve out a path. You follow behind me. Daniel, if I’m not mistaken, that gun of yours can shoot Spiritual bullets."
"Right now, only the two of us can hurt these monster minions. I’ll lead the way, you handle the scattered creatures, and Mike will cover our rear."
Julia’s words effectively overruled Daniel’s suggestion, but he didn’t mind.
She had a point.
Venturing out without knowing the specifics of the monster would be courting death.
The Echo Stone had a limited use of ten times a day, and if things turned dire, he could find himself in a genuine life-threatening situation.
"Go! Go! Go!"
At Julia’s command, she hurled two sharp bolts of lightning into the mass of creatures.
Crackle!
The mannequins in their path were blown away in an instant, and a few, draped in clothes, burst into flames.
The roaring fire illuminated the surrounding darkness.
A gap appeared in the encirclement, and seizing the moment, Julia led a charge.
But before they could make their escape, more mannequins surged forward, filling the breach.
Crackle!
Julia continuously blasted the creatures with lightning. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
The attacks were mighty, but their efficacy was disappointing.
Each blasted gap was quickly filled by more monsters.
As the onslaught persisted, Julia’s strength seemed to wane.
Daniel remained calm, his fingers steadily pulling the trigger.
Each bullet hit its mark, targeting the creatures’ legs.
While not delivering fatal blows, they effectively crippled the monsters momentarily.
Even with the threads’ potent regenerative abilities, they needed time to heal.
However, as fast as Daniel could shoot, a pistol had its limits.
Even if he took down two monsters in a second, more would surge forward in the next.
Against such a vast number of adversaries, the bullets barely made a dent.
They could only serve to stall.
Minutes passed, and the trio had only managed to push through several dozen meters.
Increasing numbers of the grotesque creatures surrounded them, with the mall’s exit still some distance away.
What was more alarming was that Julia was now drained of energy, exhibiting severe signs of Resonance reaction.
The tremors from her Gene Lock chain wracked her body with agony, her face pallid, and her forehead beaded with cold sweat.
If things continued this way, she would perish even before the monsters could lay a hand on her. Despair loomed in Julia’s mind.
Suddenly, a cry pierced the air.
It was Mike!
The creatures had managed to grab him, their plastic fingers gripping his neck and limbs tightly, hoisting him off the ground.
Despite Mike’s desperate struggles, his strength paled in comparison to the sheer might of the monsters.
The pulling and tearing sent waves of excruciating pain through him.
"Help... Help..." he croaked.
With a sickening sound, Mike’s head and limbs were brutally ripped from his body.
His torso plummeted to the ground.
For a moment, blood sprayed like a fountain, and a thick, metallic scent permeated the darkness.
Julia screamed in disbelief, "Mike!"
She yearned to turn back and help, but the relentless swarm in front of her was unyielding.
In a mere moment of distraction, she too was pulled to the ground by the mannequins.
Numerous pale plastic hands grabbed at Julia’s limbs and head, and in an instant, she too became a gruesome spectacle of gore.
Now, only Daniel remained.
In terms of raw power, Daniel admitted he was no match for Julia.
Whether it was sheer strength or the destructive capacity of their abilities, Julia had always held the upper hand.
But Daniel had an advantage that Julia couldn’t match – endurance.
Daniel realized that the Resonance of the Gene Lock chain had never manifested in him.
No matter how he employed his powers, the Gene Lock chain remained silent, nestled in some mysterious realm within his body, never making a sound.
Could it be that his immunity was so potent that it could also disregard the resonance of the Gene Lock chain?
If so, his ability was indeed exceptional.
Imagine a scenario where most Evolvers were hesitant to use their powers, fearing the Resonance reaction.
In stark contrast, he could freely unleash his powers without the slightest worry of any backlash.
The advantage of such a trait was undoubtedly daunting.
Yet, Daniel felt no elation.
Given the current dire circumstances, his power might negate adverse effects, but it offered no real offensive capability.
His only means of offense were the system’s reward of a hundredfold damage and the Spiritual Artifact in his hand.
Using the hundredfold damage would leave him completely drained, a surefire ticket to his demise.
The Desert Eagle, despite its considerable damage potential, was ineffective against these pain-immune threadlike monsters.
It couldn’t deliver a fatal blow. His demise, thus, seemed inevitable.
Rather than meet the grisly fate that befell Julia and Mike, torn apart by the monsters, Daniel preferred a swifter exit on his terms.
Without hesitation, he pressed the gun’s muzzle to his temple.
With a deafening blast.
Daniel, departed.
