Raymond looked stunned.
Although the wild boar meat was indeed fragrant and mouthwatering, with him and Ben Mao practically drooling, it wasn't enough to be surrounded without noticing the enemy's presence.
Chosen ones?!
Among the attackers, is there a chosen one who can hide themselves and their companions?!
Focusing his gaze, he saw that the one who just shouted was a large, bloated two-headed giant dog.
As its name suggests, it had two heads, but they seemed to be controlled by the same will, with four slightly squinting eyes full of disdain.
As for the others, Raymond couldn't be bothered to describe them because anyone interrupting his meal looked ugly.
Around and behind the two-headed giant dog stood many other beings.
At the same time, more evolved ones were emerging from other directions, with sounds even coming through walls.
Due to Ben Mao's rapid strength growth in recent days, Raymond's vision had extended nearly a hundred meters when borrowing its power.
A rough count revealed that there were hundreds of evolved ones present.
Among them, at least twenty felt like chosen ones.
Moreover, they weren't clustered together but were spread out, maintaining mutual support distances, forming a complete encirclement with no gaps.
It looked like his meal would have to wait.
Raymond frowned and asked the two-headed giant dog, "Who are you?"
Although Ben Mao had grown significantly stronger recently, with abilities akin to a bug in a game, it clearly couldn't fully control its powers yet, making using them a heavy burden. Facing so many opponents head-on wouldn't end well.
The best plan was to eliminate the leaders swiftly and escape during the ensuing chaos.
The two-headed giant dog snorted, spraying white mist from its four large nostrils, its eyes contemptuous: "The one who will kill you."
Raymond: "…"
Chosen ones these days are really into acting cool, huh?
"Okay, what's your name?" Raymond asked, "Do you know what a name is?"
"Invincible." The two-headed giant dog raised its heads proudly.
"Huh?" Raymond was momentarily taken aback, "What did you say?"
"My name is Invincible." The two-headed giant dog declared arrogantly.
Raymond: "…"
He tried to start a conversation to observe the reactions of these evolved and chosen ones, hoping to identify the leaders, but… this topic couldn't continue!
Seriously, Invincible…
How could there be someone as stupid as that monkey?!
It seemed that in any era, in any society, there were always all kinds of people!
This realization made Raymond a bit sentimental, as he suddenly felt the world becoming lively again.
Before humanity's extinction, society often had slogans like "Save the Earth." Looking back, those seemed incredibly arrogant.
The Earth neither cries nor laughs, and it continues to turn without humans. The earliest life on Earth emerged 3.5 billion years ago in an anoxic environment, and the rise and fall of a single species are insignificant against this backdrop of eternity and change.
Ah, his thoughts wandered.
Under these circumstances, getting distracted was probably unique to Raymond.
His eyes scanned the evolved ones within his sight. The earlier shout of "Found him!" indicated they were after him. When did they start targeting him?
Maybe during some moment in the mist these past few days, or maybe an evolved one saw him earlier but didn't charge blindly, choosing instead to retreat and gather companions before coming back. After all, there were always cautious ones.
If it was the former, he was unlucky to be spotted by someone—or rather, some ones—with influence in a large evolved group. Otherwise, how could so many evolved ones gather so quickly in this dense mist?
This was what you'd call incredibly unlucky.
If it was the latter, they might be something like a "Raymond Extermination Squad."
Maybe, but at this point, those details didn't matter anymore.
What mattered was—how to kill his way out.
Raising his brows, seeing that the enemy didn't immediately rush in, Raymond was about to say something when Ben Mao growled: "Meow—!"
In the next instant, three chosen ones suddenly appeared about ten meters away from where there had been nothing.
Raymond's pupils contracted sharply!
At that moment, he realized that the enemies were far more cautious and cunning than he had thought!
The shout of "Found him," and the encircling net of hundreds of evolved ones were just a cover for an ambush!
The enemy had misled him into thinking they were using invisibility to approach and surround him, making him subconsciously believe the invisibility was now dispelled.
Revealing themselves was intentional!
It was a trap to mislead him and distract him; the ambush by these three chosen ones was the real killing move!
In a flash, Raymond grabbed his submachine gun and fired wildly at one of the chosen ones: "Rat-a-tat-tat—!"
The most surprised-looking one among the three revealed chosen ones was likely the one with the ability to hide themselves and their companions.
Its invisibility probably weakened with more people, making them easier to detect; otherwise, hundreds of evolved ones could just invisibly ambush him.
Even so, this ability was still extremely dangerous!
Easy to dodge an open attack, but hard to guard against a hidden one!
Whether to break through now or to prevent future ambushes, this chosen one was undoubtedly the priority target!
Bullets tore through the air at terrifying speed, attacking the enemy like a storm!
"Thud! Thud—!"
The sharp sound of bullets piercing flesh echoed continuously, blood splattering, with a dozen bullets hitting in an instant!
However, Raymond's hasty shooting meant none hit vital points, not even causing serious injury.
Meanwhile, the roar of the submachine gun and the clear pain of bullets hitting flesh jolted the stunned invisible chosen one back to its senses!
Along with it, the hundreds of evolved ones surrounding Raymond and Ben Mao regained their focus!
In an instant, the roars were deafening, and a horde charged!
From the ground!
From the sky!
Dense hordes of evolved ones swarmed, like a giant net descending!
A thick stone wall rose abruptly, blocking all the bullets aimed at the invisible chosen one!
The next moment, with a cat's meow, the stone wall vanished, but the invisible chosen one was already gone, having used that moment of respite to activate its power and disappear from Raymond's sight.
Should Ben Mao reveal it again?
No!
Raymond pulled out two contact grenades, removed the pins, and threw them without looking!
When borrowing Ben Mao's power, his actions were extremely fast!
"Ben Mao!"
"Meow—!"
At the next moment, with a light sound of "bang," the contact grenade hit something in the seemingly empty space.
Then, the violent shockwave and raging flames engulfed that spot!
"Ah—!" The invisible chosen one screamed, revealing its form.
What greeted it was a barrage of bullets!
"Rat-a-tat-tat—!"
Raymond emptied the remaining bullets, turning the chosen one's head into a honeycomb!
By now, the hundreds of evolved ones were nearly upon them!
Everywhere he looked, they covered the sky!
Raymond put his hand on the last grenade.
The initial plan of "swiftly eliminating the leaders and breaking out during the chaos" had failed due to the ambush, and facing this many enemies head-on would be too much of a burden for Ben Mao!
He was ready to sacrifice himself as bait!
But just then, the ground suddenly shook!
Ground shaking catastrophe
The earth shook violently! Over this period, Raymond had witnessed numerous earthquakes, both big and small, but none had come with such ferocity, as if an invisible giant hand had ripped the earth apart!
The ground cracked open with countless large fissures, ready to swallow anyone whole. Buildings made of steel and concrete crumbled like they were made of tofu. Cracks, collapses, screams, and wails filled the air... Civilization and order disintegrated in an instant!
Extreme panic swept through and dominated all the evolved beings. In the face of this apocalyptic natural force, even their original target, Raymond, was forgotten.
And all this happened in just one or two breaths! From a calm without warning to a world-ending disaster, it was like switching slides, jumping from one scene to another in an instant! Too fast! Too fast!
---
At that moment, two streets away.
Xiaoyuan was half-kneeling on the ground, her face pale, and cold sweat continuously beading on her smooth forehead. One of her pure black wings had been broken off, lying bloodied beside her. Her left side, waist, and abdomen were clearly heavily injured. Though she held her side tightly with her hand, blood still gushed out through her fingers.
"Why!" Her voice was full of disbelief, "Why would you do this!"
In her line of sight, coincidences and disasters were happening at an abnormal speed and frequency. Shaking ground, collapsing buildings, falling rocks, flying steel bars, black clouds rapidly gathering, fierce winds howling, thunder striking, lightning flashing, accompanied by explosions of various electrical devices!
All of this was directed at the goat man standing at the center of the disaster, as if the whole world was rejecting him at this moment. Yet, amidst these unpredictable and relentless accidents, the goat man avoided harm every time. It seemed extremely dangerous at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one would notice—it was a display of ease.
Because he was fully confident, he narrowly avoided every danger. This contrast didn't match his appearance. Despite his highly anthropomorphic goat form being quite striking given the current level of evolution, his demeanor was remarkably unremarkable. He lacked brutality, sharpness, arrogance, composure, and agility... He had none of these qualities.
He looked like a small, insignificant, and ordinary figure.
"A futile effort," the goat man said calmly while dodging, not answering Xiaoyuan's question, "I admit, in terms of destructive power, your ability is terrifying, perhaps the most among the Eight Sufferings. The aggregation of disasters has almost no limit; even shaking the continental shelf is not out of reach for you."
"Boom—!" A thunderbolt interrupted his words and shattered the spot where he stood! But that was all.
The goat man seemed to have anticipated it and avoided harm once again, continuing, "But even if you sink the continent into the sea, causing an apocalyptic disaster, you can't harm me, because my ability perfectly counters the 'Calamity Without Cause,' and because I am just a small, insignificant individual."
"I asked why you ambushed me!" Xiaoyuan's voice, originally timid and cowardly, became aggressive due to extreme anger. "Answer me, Si Ku!"
"Why?" Si Ku responded calmly, "Isn't it obvious?"
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan's face darkened.
Earlier, when her master was being besieged, she intended to help secretly by first causing a small earthquake to create chaos (it was easy to trigger an earthquake with 'Natural Disaster' due to the unstable state of the Earth's crust these days), followed by 'Man-Made Disaster.' But at that moment, while she was using her ability, completely focused, a deadly crisis suddenly arrived!
Had it not been for an inexplicable alarm in her heart, instinctively pushing her to fully unleash her power, causing the nearby area to collapse completely while she dodged desperately... Had it not been for this, she would have been killed on the spot or rendered incapable of fighting back. But even now, she was gravely injured.
A sneak attack from one of the Eight Sufferings...
This was completely unexpected for her, and likely for Sister Bunny as well. Only Lao Ku had betrayed their master among the Eight Sufferings, and Lao Ku Canglong would never do such a thing—he would confront openly.
Was Si Ku's ambush out of personal vendetta? Certainly not.
While she had poor relationships with others, it wasn't to the point where someone would want to kill her.
The answer was clear—Si Ku intended to harm their master!
"Now that Sister Bunny isn't here, you can't stop me," Si Ku said.
Xiaoyuan took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Apparently, the 'Calamity Without Cause' had already guided one of the Eight Sufferings here.
It was just that he had been hiding because of Sister Bunny's presence.
She slowly stood up, the pain from her wounds making her face even paler. "Why are you doing this?"
Si Ku looked at her, seemingly reluctant to answer. But faced with the questioning of a fellow Eight Sufferings member, he eventually responded calmly after a moment of silence, "Because knowledge is infinite, but life is finite."
He continued, "This world is so complex yet pure, no words can describe even a fraction of it. The more I know, the more I feel my own insignificance and ignorance..."
As he spoke, a passionate light shone in Si Ku's eyes. "The mysteries of life! The origins of the universe! The shores of truth! The end of the world! I want to know everything! However, my lifespan is limited, and one day, I will die with a heart full of regrets, never having the chance to learn all that I desire... I refuse to accept this! I want infinite life! I want immortality! No, I must do this!"
Hearing this, Xiaoyuan's face immediately darkened.
Si Ku continued, "Though the exact method is still to be explored, there has never been a better time! Sister Bunny isn't here, and that one hasn't grown enough to be a threat, and our master is in trouble! This is the perfect opportunity! I..."
Xiaoyuan interrupted, "After all that, it's just for desire?"
"Yes," Si Ku admitted without hesitation, then asked in return, "What's wrong with desire?"
With a serious expression, he shouted, "Is it wrong to 'want to know'? Is it wrong to 'want to witness'? What's wrong with 'desiring' and 'pursuing' something?"
Xiaoyuan shook her head. "Xiaoyuan doesn't understand."
Perhaps realizing he was too agitated, Si Ku suppressed his emotions, his tone returning to calmness. "Forget it, why am I telling you this."
Xiaoyuan stared deeply at him and suddenly said, "Who knows, maybe it's guilt?"
Then she sighed, her tone sorrowful yet tinged with a sense of relief. "Considering the time, it's about right."
Si Ku was taken aback. "What?"
"Sister Bunny told Xiaoyuan to maintain the status quo and wait for her return, but it seems that won't be possible. Let's die here together, Si Ku." Xiaoyuan took a deep breath, looking coldly at Si Ku. She reached towards the sky with her right hand and softly uttered, "Natural Disaster."
Almost simultaneously with her words, a bright light suddenly appeared at an infinite height, quickly radiating an enormous brilliance far surpassing that of the sun!