"Roar~!"
A small bulge suddenly rose from the filthy water trench, and after the water broke apart, a massive bloodstained mouth leapt out, sharp fangs gleaming, releasing a nauseating stench that caused a dizzying sensation.
The burly man closest to the trench immediately had his muscular arm clamped down by the monster's jaw. His expression changed, and he growled, "Defend!"
His arm muscles rapidly swelled, veins bulging like coiled dragons, and his entire arm turned red and hot, steaming from the pressure.
What happened next was astonishing.
The monstrous mouth, capable of crushing steel, couldn't bite down on his arm. Its sharp fangs barely pierced the skin, but the steel-like muscle fibers held it firmly in place.
At this moment, the group finally saw the monster clearly. It had small, nail-sized scales covering its body, resembling a reptile. Its head resembled that of a crocodile, its back had fins like a fish, and its eyes were a cruel, bloodthirsty green.
Bang!
The gun in Zhao Bingbing's hand smoked as the monster's head exploded, its body falling straight down. Just before it hit the water, the burly man reacted quickly and grabbed it with his strong hands.
"Are you alright?" the young man in the red jacket immediately asked.
The burly man shook his head. His arm had returned to normal, but two rows of small, sharp puncture wounds still bled profusely.
Zhao Bingbing walked over, pushing her glasses up, her eyes glowing with a faint blue light. She said calmly, "The monster's weak points are the head, chest heart, and the fins on its back. Its bone and muscle density are roughly twice that of a human, and its bite force is about one ton. Its fangs contain a slight toxin, so we need to disinfect the wound immediately. Otherwise, in about an hour, your arm will swell up to the size of your thigh."
The burly man, after hearing her analysis, tossed the monster aside and muttered, "Damn it. Luckily, my special ability is [Defense], which instantly boosts my physical strength. If it were you guys, that arm would've been gone by now."
Zhao Bingbing replied coldly, "If it were us, we wouldn't have been standing so close to the trench."
The burly man froze for a moment, then sheepishly scratched his head.
The younger of the twin brothers pulled out some disinfectants from his backpack. Under Zhao Bingbing's careful instructions, the wound was cleaned and bandaged.
"This is a bad start, already wounded before we even begin," the burly man grumbled.
Zhao Bingbing patted his bandaged arm, completely ignoring his grimace of pain. She said flatly, "This monster is just a low-level creature squeezed out of the high-end food chain, stuck in the sewage trench. If you're careless again, you may be stuck here for the rest of your life."
With that, she turned around, pushed her glasses up, and whispered, "Stay close. There's a faint smell of blood in the air; we need to move faster."
The four of them, with serious expressions, immediately followed her.
After a few minutes of walking, Zhao Bingbing suddenly stopped. Ahead of them, around a corner of the trench, lay a large black figure. Judging by its outline, it appeared to be a crocodile-like reptilian monster, at least twice the size of an adult crocodile.
Zhao Bingbing's eyes flashed with blue light as she scanned the dark figure. Suddenly, her expression froze slightly. Ignoring the others, she swiftly ran toward the shadow.
The burly man and the others were startled. Zhao Bingbing's physique wasn't particularly strong, so if she engaged the monster up close, she could easily get hurt.
When they caught up, they saw the monster clearly under the dim light of the flashlight. To their astonishment, the creature was… dead?
The creature's appearance was similar to the one they'd just encountered, only much larger. It was lying at the edge of the trench, with a large pool of foul-smelling blood flowing from its abdomen. Its head had completely exploded, with brain matter splattered against the walls and cables.
"This…"
"Could it have been killed by another monster?"
The group looked warily around them.
At this moment, Zhao Bingbing bent down, took out a plastic bag from her pocket, and slipped it over her hand. She reached into the bloody, mangled head and began to rummage. After a moment, she pulled out a small black object with her thumb and forefinger.
"It was killed by someone!"
The young man in the red jacket and the others gasped when they saw the bullet.
Zhao Bingbing's eyes glowed with faint blue light as she spoke softly, "This is a ** bullet. Judging by the location of the bullet and the monster's body temperature, it died less than half an hour ago. This means someone entered here about half an hour before us, followed the same path, and from the surroundings… This monster didn't struggle much. The bullet must have struck its vital point in the head, killing it instantly without a chance to resist."
The young man in the red jacket froze, "Half an hour ago? Impossible. I've been watching with binoculars the whole time. No one could have slipped past me."
"What if they're an evolved being like us?" Zhao Bingbing gazed at him.
The young man in the red jacket fell silent.
Zhao Bingbing tossed the bullet aside and said coldly, "This person's ability is likely invisibility or digging through the earth, which allowed them to avoid detection. Also, they're a marksman who knows the monster's weak points. I suspect they're also someone with evolved vision, like me."
"Impossible!" The burly man exclaimed in disbelief, "Can a person have two special abilities?"
"I don't know. From a genetic standpoint, it's impossible, but with the appearance of such extraordinary viruses, it's not out of the question that an evolved person could have two abilities," Zhao Bingbing said calmly.
"So, why did they come here? Did they, like us, discover the little thing?" The young man in the red jacket frowned. If that were the case, they'd have another powerful rival.
Zhao Bingbing shook her head, "The probability is low, about 12.8%. The walking grass has been in my tracking data. If this person had invisibility, I should have been able to detect them. So, they likely have another purpose for coming here. What that is, I suspect it's related to these monsters. Perhaps there's something about these monsters worth their attention, and that thing could be related to evolution."
If Chen Chao were here, he would definitely marvel at the woman's wisdom—almost all her guesses were right.
"Evolution?" The young man in the red jacket's eyes gleamed. "So these monsters have something that could trigger our evolution? Can you tell what it is?"
Zhao Bingbing's gaze swept across the crawling monster. "I don't know. At least this monster doesn't show signs of being dissected, so everything is just speculation. But I think we should avoid getting too close to this person. I feel like… they're very dangerous."
The young man in the red jacket smiled, "Even if they're that powerful, they're just one person. We have five people, three of whom are evolved, and we have guns. No matter how strong they are, they'll die."
Zhao Bingbing stared at him, "I don't want to complicate things. Catching that walking grass is enough for us to build influence in the army."
The young man in the red jacket, meeting her cold gaze, sighed and said with a wry smile, "Alright, I'll listen to you."
Meanwhile, Chen Chao crawled out from the sewer.
Based on the map in his memory, this should be the herbivore section of the zoo.
However, herbivores infected by the virus turned into carnivorous creatures. Chen Chao had chosen this area because these herbivorous creatures were relatively weaker in the early stages.
His goal was to obtain the [Gene Energy] inside them. Though it wasn't as potent as the evolution energy in the bodies of special undead creatures, it had the advantage of quantity. Almost every mutated creature had some amount of [Gene Energy] inside them.
Looking around, he saw vast grasslands and forests.
In the forest, he could vaguely make out some moving figures. He turned to the golden dog and said, "Wait here for me."
The golden dog obediently licked his shoe, nodding to show it trusted him to go ahead.
Chen Chao patted its head and tied a small bomb around its neck. He whispered, "If you try to run, this bomb will explode and blow your head off."
The golden dog froze in place, its tongue hanging out, not daring to move. It looked at Chen Chao with a pleading, sad gaze.
Chen Chao smiled and patted its head before using his light manipulation ability to conceal himself and quietly make his way into the forest.