The night was thick with fog, draped over the barren wasteland like a shroud. The tang of gunpowder clung to the mist, and the soil scorched beneath.
Wei Long's boots thudded against the ground, thud-thud-thud, his breath coming in short, panicked breathing small gasps.
He wasn't just running.
He was fleeing.
Years of experience as the most decorated soldier somehow failed him. Only fear clouded his thoughts.
It was like primal.
Ramming in his chest, his every calculated instinct he'd relied on for survival seemed to be covered in darkness too.
He hadn't expected this.
He was a highly accomplished soldier, a legend among his peers.
His name was whispered with reverence.
He had survived countless wars, led squads through impossible odds, and completed missions deemed suicidal by others. Yet now, with every step he took, Wei Long could feel the suffocating grip of dread tightening around his ribcage.
The government had promised him freedom, financial security, and care for his ailing parents.
No more impossible missions.
Just one last task.
This mission!
As long as he accepted, they would give all the benefits immediately even if he failed!
That's too good to be true.
And so he had accepted.
How could he not?
But as the reality of this mission unfolded, Wei Long immediately understood why they hadn't prepared him for this.
There's no need for preparation.
It would all be useless.
His squad—brave men who had always laughed in the face of death—were gone.
All of them.
The 'target' or the creature had torn through them like paper.
They had tried.
Oh, they had tried.
First, they used high-caliber rifles, unloading entire magazines into the creature's shimmering black scales.
Clink-clink-clink!
The bullets ricocheted harmlessly, like pebbles bouncing off steel.
Then came the explosives.
Carefully placed mines detonated with deafening booms, shattering the earth and sending shockwaves through the ground.
Yet, when the dust settled, the creature emerged unscathed.
Finally, they called for air support.
Missiles rained down from the sky with whoosh-crash! precision, lighting up the night with fireballs. But the creature—immune to even this—shrugged off the assault as if it were nothing more than an inconvenience.
And now it was after him.
Wei Long's instincts screamed.
Run.
Don't stop.
Don't look back.
However, the distant roar of the creature—a guttural, bone-rattling sound that echoed across the landscape—sent icy shivers down his spine.
He couldn't tell if it was just behind him or miles away.
He wasn't about to risk finding out.
Ahead, Wei Long spotted a jagged hole in the ground. It looked deep—deep enough to buy him time.
Without hesitation, he dove in, landing with a muffled thud on the rocky floor.
Kabag!
The air was damp and heavy with the smell of decay. Wei Long's hands trembled as he reached into his pack, pulling out a small, worn holy cross.
He clasped it tightly. His lips moved in a whispered prayer, the words were desperate.
"God, if you hear me, grant me strength—not for mercy, but to finish what I started. If I'm going down, let it count. Let it mean something. Amen."
Suddenly, the ground shuddered, cutting his prayer short. Rocks dislodged from the walls, tumbling down with a hollow clink-clink-clink.
Wei Long froze, his heart pounding like a war drum.
Slowly, he looked up through the narrow opening of the hole.
And there it was.
The creature's enormous, reptilian eye filled the gap, its slit pupil narrowing as it focused on him.
The pale moonlight reflected off its glossy surface, giving it an almost otherworldly glow.
Wei Long's breath hitched.
Then, the eye disappeared, only to be replaced by a maw of jagged, yellowed teeth.
The creature's mouth stretched into what could only be described as a sadistic grin.
Scratch-scratch-scrape of claws writhed the walls, inches from his face. He scrambled back, barely out of reach.
His body reacted instinctively, raising his rifle.
Wei Long fired.
Bang!
The shot echoed in the confined space.
Bang!
Bang!
Each bullet struck the creature's claws, sending sparks flying. But it didn't retreat. It didn't flinch.
Wei Long kept firing.
Bang!
Bang!
Click.
The magazine was empty.
He fumbled with his pack, searching for another weapon. His fingers brushed against the cold, cylindrical surface of a grenade.
Above, the creature let out a guttural growl, its hot breath rushing into the hole like a furnace.
Then, its mouth opened wide, and a powerful suction began to pull at Wei Long.
Loose debris, dust, and even the air around him seemed to be dragged toward the gaping maw.
Wei Long gritted his teeth, holding onto the wall with one hand as the other clutched the grenade.
"Is this going to work?"
So be it!
Try everything!
Pin out.
Throw..
The grenade went straight into the creature's throat.
The suction stopped as the creature instinctively snapped its jaws shut.
Wei Long pressed himself against the wall, bracing for the explosion.
And then—BOOM!
The ground shook violently.
Flames roared up through the hole, bathing everything in a sickly green light.
Wei Long shielded his face, the heat searing his skin.
"It worked!?"
He couldn't believe it!
They tried almost everything!
For a brief moment, he thought he had done it. He thought he had won. But the explosion was far stronger than it should have been.
The grenade alone couldn't have done this.
Something deep within the creature—its bio-engineered core—ignited with an unnatural fury, amplifying the blast into a monstrous inferno.
The green flames surged forth, consuming everything in their path.
Wei Long didn't have time to react or even feel the pain. Darkness enveloped his eyes, swallowing his vision whole.
…
Far away, in a hidden military headquarters buried deep beneath the earth, a room full of monitors displayed the aftermath.
The screens showed the creature's lifeless body sprawled across the wasteland, its once-impenetrable scales charred and cracked.
The room erupted into cheers.
Generals, commanders, and officials from allied nations stood, clapping and exchanging relieved smiles.
One of the generals, a grizzled man with a thick gray mustache, spoke first.
"It's over. The creature is dead." His voice was heavy with emotion.
Another, a younger officer, shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it. After everything… it's finally over."
An older woman, her uniform adorned with medals, leaned forward, her gaze fixed on the screen. "The creature's dead," she uttered. "We stopped it before it reached the ocean and evolved. The world owes that man everything."
The gray-mustached general nodded solemnly. "We owe it all to him. To Wei Long. If he didn't, I'm afraid that Bioengineered weapon of destruction would have grown—" he stopped.
Silence fell over the room.
Slowly, as one, they rose from their seats and saluted the screen where Wei Long's last stand played on a loop.
"You have saved the world, soldier," the older woman said quietly. Her voice was thick with gratitude. "You have saved us from a global apocalypse."
The room remained silent, their salutes seemed determined.
They knew the cost of this victory.
Wei Long, the hero they had sent to face the impossible, had paid the ultimate price.
His name would never be forgotten.
In the history of mankind, there are warriors whose sacrifices shine brighter than their victories.
Wei Long's light will never fade, for in his final hour, he shielded the world from the darkness.
…
In an endless span of darkness, Wei Long was there, his body—or was it a body?—frozen.
The last thing he remembered was the explosion, the searing heat, and the sensation of being swallowed by green flames.
Surely, this was death.
It was so dark he couldn't even see his hands—if he still had them. Yet he could feel his thoughts moving, strangely detached from a body he wasn't entirely sure existed.
Just as the despair of endless blackness began to creep in, a faint glow appeared before him.
The glow expanded, forming words.
Installing...
Wei Long blinked.
What?
Installing?
Installing what?
He watched the glowing text flicker, the little pulsing dot at the end dragging on like a poor marching soldier.
In a second, the screen shifted.
The glow intensified, and new text appeared in a crisp, radiant font.
Name: Wei Long.
Level: 5 Mortal Beast.
Age: 8 hours.
Race: Dinosaur Hybrid.
Current: Juvenile Dinosaur.
Innate Ability: Predatory Bio-engineering.
Clan: Blue Eye
s White Heaven Dragons.
Abilities:
Bio-engineered Mortal Healing (Peak).
Bio-engineered Mortal Toxic Scales (Peak).
Bio-engineered Mortal Camouflage (Peak).
Bio-engineered Mortal Reptilian Communication (Peak).
Bio-engineered Mortal Predatory Senses (Peak).