"Begin phase two immediately. And remember—bring the target to the exact location our employer specified."The cold, commanding voice snapped through the comms like a blade. The man receiving the order shuddered, blood pumping hot as adrenaline flooded his veins. A savage gleam flickered in his eyes.
"Heh… it's been a long time since we've had this kind of fun." He licked his lips, excitement twisting his smile. "Vulture, use your energy to pin down that beast. Captain wants the prey delivered alive. No mistakes."
Without breaking expression, he shifted closer to his partner and whispered—only for their ears. A heartbeat later, his teammate blurred, flickering out of sight and melting seamlessly into the panicked crowd.
A thunderous roar tore through the air.
The massive feline monster—bigger than any tiger, with muscle plating its body like armor—was once again smashed into the ground by Chen Fan's overwhelming force. The impact shook the street, sending dust clouds billowing upward. Yet even so, not a single wound marked the creature's strange, stone-like hide.
"What a tough bastard," Chen Fan muttered, lips curling into a cold grin as the creature rose to its feet again. "Fine. Let's see just how long you can last."
He prepared to strike——but an icy spike of danger suddenly stabbed through his chest.
A split second later, a violent gust tore across his ear. Something hit him—fast, hard, unstoppable.
BOOM!
Chen Fan felt as if a speeding aircraft had slammed into him. The shockwave blasted him across the street and straight into a concrete wall. The entire wall dented inward under the force of his impact.
Screams burst through the underground refuge levels:
"God—what happened?!""The monster's counterattacking!""Look at its eyes! They were normal before—why are they blood-red now?!"
Pinned inside the crushed wall, Chen Fan forced his vision to focus. The cat-monster now stared at him with twin orbs glowing like fresh blood.
"Damn… it mutated? No—this thing's gone berserk."
A chill crawled across his back. He wrenched himself free from the wall and roared toward the underground crowd:
"What the hell are you still doing down there?! It's gone feral—move! Unless you want to DIE!"
His voice trembled with fury—and worry.
Pain surged through him. His blood churned violently, rising to his throat until—
Pfft—!
A spray of dark blood burst from his lips.The earlier collision had injured him more than he'd realized.
But with the clot freed, he could breathe again.
In the Alliance central command, Zhao Ying sat rigid before the surveillance screens. When she saw Chen Fan spit blood, she slammed a hand against the console.
"Chen Fan!"Her heart tightened painfully, breath catching as if she'd been punched.
"Where the hell are the reinforcements?! What are those idiots doing?!"
The battlefield was devolving rapidly.
The berserk cat tore into the nearest cluster of civilians, its claws slicing through the air like guillotines. One swing—and a person was cut clean in half.
"You bastard!" Chen Fan's eyes twisted with rage. He sprang forward, seized the monster by both ears, and heaved with all his strength. Veins bulged across his arms.
"GET—OFF!"
With a wet, ripping sound, the creature's ear came clean off in his hands.
The cat shrieked—an ear-splitting cry full of agony and murderous hate. Its blood-red pupils locked onto Chen Fan.
Cats never forget grudges.This monster was no exception.
It roared—high, sharp, deranged—and launched at him like a crimson missile.
Among the chaos, a pair of venomous eyes watched the clash with twisted satisfaction.
"Good," the man murmured darkly. "Now it's getting interesting."
He pulled a small vial from his pocket. A curl of sickly green vapor drifted out before the wind carried it away——and straight into the monster's path.
The cat inhaled the smoke.
Its killing intent exploded—doubling, tripling—its focus snapping away from Chen Fan as it charged instead toward the fleeing civilians.
"Enjoy your final moments, Chen Fan," the man whispered. "This may be your last fight."
He signaled his hidden partner; both men exchanged satisfied smirks before vanishing from sight.
"Damn it!"Seeing the monster aim for the crowd, Chen Fan's expression hardened. He leapt upward, landing on top of a streetlamp. With a grunt, he ripped the thick electrical cable straight out of the metal pole.
Blue lightning arced violently across his body—yet did nothing to harm him.
"Run! MOVE!" he shouted, sprinting after the monster while dragging the live cable behind him.
He swung the wire like a lasso and—
WHIP!
The crackling line looped perfectly around the monster's neck. Chen Fan yanked with all his strength, forming a tight, locked knot.
Then he vaulted onto the creature's back, fist blazing with electric energy, and hammered down blow after blow, thunder echoing like war drums.
But the cat no longer cared. The drug-fed beast barreled forward, ignoring pain and blood, charging straight toward the city outskirts.
The survivors, now out of immediate danger, collapsed in trembling relief as the shadow of the monster finally vanished down the distant highway.
A few minutes later, the roar of engines filled the battered street.
Three figures arrived—too late.
The first wore the same black combat suit as Chen Fan, short hair bristling, eyes sharp. Behind him stood two men in dark-blue tactical gear.
"Looks like a serious fight went down here," the leader muttered. His gaze traced the dent in the wall where Chen Fan had been slammed. His eyelids twitched involuntarily.
"With an impact like that… anyone weaker would've been smashed into paste."
He tapped his communicator.
"Liu Wei to Headquarters. Who was fighting the monster earlier? And where is the creature now?"