The setting sun dipped below the horizon, darkness began to envelop the land, and the city lights gradually flickered on. For a moment, it seemed as if heaven and earth had reversed; no stars or Milky Way were visible in the sky, but instead, the ceaseless flow of vehicles on the ground formed a river of stars, and the scattered lights on the buildings transformed into countless constellations.
8:00 PM.
Meng Ran stood on the rooftop of a tall building, looking at a nightclub not far away. That was Ur's lair, and the destination for this trip.
"Xiao Bai, analyze the situation inside."
"Received. Detecting and analyzing."
Soon, Xiao Bai began to report, "There are a total of one hundred fifteen people inside the building. All of them are armed with handguns, and fifty are carrying heavy weapons, including light and heavy machine guns."
Based on Xiao Bai's feedback, a panoramic view displayed in his mind, along with thermal imaging from his eyes, allowed Meng Ran to fully understand the situation.
Good heavens! This Ur was indeed not simple, and the Crocodile Gang truly possessed immense power to acquire so many weapons. This three-story nightclub had indeed been fortified into a bunker.
Meng Ran retrieved two straight swords from the system, crossed them, and strapped them to his back. He also checked the rest of his gear: a handgun, a dagger, and various system-produced grenades that he could access at any time.
"Xiao Bai, initiate the death countdown: twenty minutes."
"Received."
At the same time, the large screen in Times Square began to change. The scrolling death threat had stopped, replaced by a blood-red twenty-minute countdown.
After checking his gear, Meng Ran leaped from the building and stealthily approached the nightclub, cleanly slitting the throats of the few guards outside.
Then he entered through the door and swiftly dealt with the few people in the corridor. This time, it wasn't silent; Meng Ran shattered a glass.
The sound of the broken glass caught the attention of the guards on the first floor. At a nod from a minor leader, several men, handguns raised, slowly approached the corridor entrance.
The machine guns mounted on the bar and those held by the gang members were all raised, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
While everyone's attention was focused on the entrance, Meng Ran had already emerged from a ventilation duct in the corner, landing silently on the ground.
Meng Ran couldn't bear to break the silence. With a flick of his hands, he pulled out four explosive grenades. Two were thrown onto the bar where the heavy machine guns were mounted, and the other two were tossed into the air.
The two grenades in the air collided with each other, then bounced apart and fell to the ground.
Hearing the sound, the gang members all turned towards where it originated, but what greeted them was only a violent explosion.
Shrapnel sprayed in all directions. In an instant, almost everyone on the first floor fell to the ground. Only a few who reacted quickly or had cover in front of them managed to escape.
The moment Meng Ran threw the grenades, he flipped over a table and used it as a shield.
However, he still felt some discomfort during the explosion.
Meng Ran could feel Venom whimpering. Although Venom had become much stronger than when he first possessed him, thanks to this period of evolution, noise and fire were still his genetic nemeses.
"It seems I'll have to find a way to strengthen Venom in the future, to improve his resistance."
With so many people and heavy weapons, Meng Ran would have had a much harder time and might have been injured if he hadn't used grenades.
When the explosion ended, Meng Ran immediately rolled to his feet, drew his handgun, and targeted the remaining individuals who had escaped the blast.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After a few shots, the entire first floor, apart from Meng Ran, contained no living beings.
Hearing the explosions and gunshots downstairs, the people upstairs inevitably grew tense.
Ur, on the third floor, looked at the calm surveillance monitors in front of him, then listened to the gunshots coming from below, and immediately realized what was happening.
The surveillance footage in front of him was the same as before; no one had broken in, and everyone was patrolling as usual, with no anomalies.
However, the intense gunshots from downstairs clearly indicated that things were far from calm, and that their surveillance system had a problem.
As soon as Meng Ran told Xiao Bai to start the countdown, the surveillance here had already been taken over by Xiao Bai.
"Damn it! He's not alone, someone else is helping him," Ur cursed.
Not being able to see the actual situation downstairs made him uneasy.
Soon, the gunshots ceased, and silence returned. But no one came up to report the situation.
"Could it be that no one is left on the first floor? That's impossible!"
"Scar, take a few men and check the second floor."
Ur was a little agitated. He turned to Scar beside him and gave the order.
"Yes, sir!" Scar obeyed, taking a few men and opening the thick bulletproof door to check the second floor.
On the second floor.
Everyone was on alert.
Scar spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Boss, the second floor is clear, and we are now on alert."
Hearing Scar's report, Ur breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Then stay down there on alert. If that demon isn't dead, deal with him on the second floor, understand?"
"Understood!"
Scar put away the walkie-talkie. He waved his hand, signaling for a few men behind him to go to the stairwell and check the situation.
The men, guns raised, slowly moved forward. When they reached the stairwell, they signaled that it was clear, then continued to descend.
After descending the stairs, the men saw only chaos; the guards who had been on the first floor lay scattered everywhere.
The men were shocked and immediately picked up their walkie-talkies, preparing to report the situation.
Instantly, several tentacles shot out from a hidden spot, wrapping around the men's necks, preventing them from making a sound.
The walkie-talkie in the leader's hand also fell powerlessly to the ground after a few struggles.
Meng Ran twisted all their necks, then placed them on the ground without making a sound.
After doing all this, Meng Ran stepped back, merging with the darkness.
Upstairs, Scar saw that there was no movement after the men went down, so he picked up the walkie-talkie and started calling out.
Unfortunately, after several calls, no one responded.
The people on the second floor suddenly felt a chill, and an inexplicable fear enveloped everyone's hearts.
The stairwell was unlit, and the dark entrance to the stairs was like a gaping maw, mercilessly devouring those who entered it.
Just as everyone was uneasy, the sound of glass shattering from the second-floor window, accompanied by the thud of several objects falling to the ground, rang out in their ears again.
The next moment.
Dense smoke appeared along with deafening explosions.
Another large group of people on the second floor fell.
Feinting, a repeat performance.
The moment the window shattered, Meng Ran rolled in from outside, hid behind a pillar, and conveniently dealt with the two men guarding the window.
Smoke billowed, and intense gunfire began to erupt.
The guards on the second floor who hadn't fallen coughed and propped up their guns, unleashing a rain of bullets towards the window.
Scar also pushed the corpses off himself and staggered to his feet.
Although most of the shrapnel had hit the guards around him, one piece had still cut his calf.
Scar picked up a machine gun nearby, roaring loudly while venting his anger with the gun in his hand.
Meng Ran, however, moved nimbly and calmly amidst the hail of bullets, moving along the wall as if treading on waves, silently harvesting lives with his straight swords. He quickly circled around to the rear of the group.
In this short time, the sound of pouring bullets had already halved; those were lives silently harvested by Meng Ran as he moved through them.
Having circled to the rear, Meng Ran sheathed his twin swords and drew his handgun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Meng Ran held the gun in his right hand, pressing it against the back of Scar's head. With his left hand, he swiftly pulled the trigger. In an instant, only two people remained on the second floor.
Scar felt the cold touch on the back of his head, swallowed dryly, trembled as he dropped the gun in his hand, and raised his hands.
Meng Ran was somewhat surprised by Scar's compliant behavior. He hadn't even spoken yet, and this guy was already so cooperative!
Meng Ran held up the gun and said coldly, "Slowly turn around."
Scar trembled slightly, obediently turning around slowly to face Meng Ran.
As Scar turned, his heart suddenly tightened at the sight of Meng Ran, and his throat went dry with tension.
What evil and darkness this was! A body filled with explosive power, like a sculpture, encased in a black battle suit, exuding an unsettling aura.
Beneath the black hood, a pair of pale, narrow eyes glowed with terrifying light.
As he watched, a large mouth full of sharp teeth opened beneath those eyes. A long, serpentine tongue, twisting flexibly, licked around the edges of the mouth, and a few drops of viscous fluid splattered onto Scar's face as the tongue moved.
Meng Ran actually didn't much like revealing this mouth. He usually only showed his eyes when wearing the Venom battle suit, but considering tonight's judgment, Meng Ran decided to sacrifice some coolness to maximize the horror and terror.
"Aha! Looking at your face, so full of stories, I know you're a minor leader worthy of a name, aren't you?"
The large, fanged mouth indeed emitted a spine-chilling sound. It was like a demon's call, piercing and terrifying.
Scar's legs felt weak. He stammered in reply, "Y-yes, yes."
He had originally cooperated by dropping his gun and turning around to lower Meng Ran's guard, hoping to find an opportunity to strike. He believed that with his skills, there was a chance to turn the tables.
After all, Mr. Ur had shown him great kindness, rescuing him from the slums and giving him his current life and status. He naturally wanted to repay Mr. Ur.
But all his plans and arrangements were crushed by fear the moment he turned around. Facing such a terrifying monster, Scar simply couldn't muster any will to resist.
This was simply a demon that had just crawled out of hell. He wasn't a street hero wearing a mask and pretending to be a demon; he *was* the demon!
Meng Ran was pleased with his answer; it meant his judgment was correct.
The crimson long tongue licked Scar's cheek, leaving a trail of sticky saliva.
Scar looked at the gaping maw in front of him, feeling the hot, damp breath on his face and the wet tongue on his cheek. His whole body felt drained of strength, soft and weak, and he couldn't stop trembling.
"Well then, let me borrow your body for a bit. This will be your last bit of usefulness before you die."
Meng Ran said in a hoarse voice, words that made Scar instantly collapse to the ground.
With that, a thick, black, soft tentacle drilled into Scar's mouth as he lay on the ground, trembling and retreating backward.