"Mutated creature!"
The shout sent a ripple of panic through the entire banquet hall.
Everyone froze for a moment, then chaos erupted.
"Wait, a mutated creature? Here?!"
"How did it get inside the hotel?!"
"Are you serious?! Where did it come from?"
"They say it crawled out of a seafood shipment in the kitchen! It's a mutated lobster—huge, bigger than an elephant! Two chefs are already dead!" The student who had spread the warning was pale and shaking. "It's rampaging through the hotel, killing anyone it sees."
"Bigger than an elephant?!" someone exclaimed, their voice cracking in fear.
"Was this on purpose? Did someone smuggle it in?"
"Great. Now what? Should we try to escape?"
"Escape? Are you crazy? What if we run right into it?"
"We should hide!"
"I say we fight it! We have a few people with talents here, right?"
"Fight? Did you not see the video of that mutated boar last night? They couldn't even pierce its skin with bullets. We're toast!"
The room descended into a chaotic mixture of arguments, fear, and confusion. Most of the attendees were fresh graduates, unarmed and inexperienced. They had seen videos of these creatures online, and they knew how dangerous they could be. The idea of facing one in person was almost too much to process.
"Everyone, calm down!" Lynn stepped forward, her voice steady and commanding. "Move away from the doors and retreat to the back of the hall. I've already called for backup."
Her calm demeanor had an immediate effect. The crowd began to slowly shuffle toward the corners of the room, trying to keep quiet. Lynn organized a small group of students with combat-related talents to form a defensive line near the entrance.
Meanwhile, Ned leaned toward Ethan, his face pale. "Dude... mutated creatures are no joke. Do you think my iron fists can handle this?"
Ethan smirked and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Relax, we've got Lynn up front. Plus, I'm here. You'll be fine."
Ned swallowed hard but nodded. "Man, you're way too calm for this. Are you secretly some kind of war hero?"
"Just stay behind me and try not to freak out," Ethan replied, his tone lighthearted but firm. With his Thunder Breathing, Microscopic Movement Technique, and Great Strength Bull Demon Fist, he was confident he could handle a low-level mutated creature without much trouble.
Lynn glanced back at Ethan, catching his casual demeanor. For a moment, her eyes softened in surprise.
Ethan noticed and winked at her. "Don't worry. I've got your back."
"Be careful," Lynn whispered. "Don't get reckless."
"Got it," Ethan said, flashing a calm smile.
Ned nudged Ethan and whispered excitedly, "Dude, did you see that? Lynn actually cares about you! Man, you're living the dream!"
"Basic stuff," Ethan replied with a smirk.
The tense quiet was shattered by a loud BAM.
Everyone jumped, their eyes darting toward the entrance. The doors burst open—but it wasn't the creature. It was Ged, stumbling back inside, his face pale and drenched in sweat.
"Ged, what's going on out there?" someone asked urgently.
"There's... there's not just one," Ged panted, struggling to catch his breath. "There are two... two mutated lobsters. They've already killed dozens of people. One's being held off by our security team, but the other... it disappeared. We don't know where it is."
"Two?!" The news sent another wave of panic through the room.
Even Lynn frowned. She had fought mutated creatures before and knew how difficult they were to handle. Two at once was a nightmare scenario. If they reached the hotel's populated areas, the casualties could be catastrophic.
Suddenly, someone screamed. "It's outside! It's right outside the window!"
Everyone turned toward the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows on one side of the banquet hall. There, looming like a nightmare, was a mutated lobster at least seven meters long and three meters tall. Its black-red armor glinted under the lights, and its enormous claws scraped against the glass with an ear-piercing screech.
"Holy... it's huge!" someone whispered in terror.
The creature's triangular, lantern-like eyes stared into the room, its gaze cold and calculating. It seemed to be testing the glass, pressing its claw against it as if trying to figure out what separated it from the humans inside.
"Everyone, stay quiet," Lynn instructed, her voice low and steady.
The room fell into a tense silence. People clamped their hands over their mouths, holding their breath. The only sound was the faint scraping of the lobster's claws against the glass.
For a moment, it seemed like the creature might leave. It slowly backed away, its massive form fading from view as it moved toward the corner of the building.
The tension eased slightly. People began to exhale, their relief palpable.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass exploded through the hall as a dropped wine glass hit the floor. The mutated lobster froze for a split second, then whipped its head back around, its eyes glowing with renewed aggression.
With a deafening roar, it charged forward, smashing through the window in a shower of broken glass. The creature's enormous form barreled into the hall, its claws raised like a pair of deadly guillotines.
"Move!" Lynn shouted.
The banquet hall erupted into chaos as the mutated lobster lunged toward the terrified crowd.