Beset on all sides, completely surrounded, hopelessly outmatched, with no escape...
A flurry of desperate phrases flashed through Zhou Chen's mind, but his hands didn't slow in the slightest. He grabbed a grenade from his tactical vest, pulled the pin, and hurled it with all his might toward the Fire Slave.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar erupted as the grenade detonated in a flash of light. The massive blast sent the Fire Slave flying. Shrapnel rained down like a sudden squall, whizzing through the air and spattering foul-smelling black blood across its body like blooming flowers.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT... Gunfire echoed from the distance. The Ascender named Shen Xi was taking potshots from the shadows, countless bullets whistling through the air and peppering the shipping crates, sending splinters flying.
Zhou Chen quickly ducked behind cover. He glanced back and saw the Fire Slave already scrambling to its feet. Its body was riddled with holes from the shrapnel and the blast. A shocking cavity had been blown open in its chest, and deep within the dark flesh, he could faintly make out a core that looked like a Black Crystal.
However, as its flesh writhed, the wound began to heal under the effects of its powerful Life Force, and the Crystal was soon covered once more.
"Is that the core crystal?" Zhou Chen asked.
"Yes. The only way to kill a Fire Slave is to shatter its crystal. Otherwise, it will keep regenerating. They're extremely difficult to deal with."
As Yang spoke, he unclipped a grenade of his own and tossed it over. Amidst the roar, the Fire Slave was sent flying again.
"Why does it feel like this Double-bladed Turkey is too dumb to dodge?" Zhou Chen asked, perplexed as he watched the creature stubbornly endure the grenade blast head-on.
"What the hell kind of name is 'Double-bladed Turkey'..."
Yang raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that Zhou Chen could maintain such a positive attitude at a time like this. He thought for a moment before continuing, "It might have something to do with your Ability. Before you jumped down, I heard you fire two shots. You must have imbued the bullets with your Ability, right?
"I'm guessing your flames completely burned away Shi Meng's residual consciousness, which is why its intelligence is gone and it's acting like a complete idiot now."
"Should I hit it a few more times, then?"
"It doesn't have a mind anymore. What's left for you to burn?
"Here's the plan. I'll hold off the Double-bladed Turkey. You go deal with Shen Xi. Can you do it?"
Behind the cover, Yang tried to move his shoulder. The flesh in his wound was already regenerating and healing; it was no longer a major issue. He then glanced at the positioning dot on the portable screen on his wrist. "Even if you can't finish him, you have to tie him up. There's a squad on its way to support us."
"I'll do my best." Zhou Chen was about to move out when Yang called to him again.
"If you manage to kill him, remember to blow him to pieces. We don't want him turning into another Fire Slave," he reminded him.
Zhou Chen nodded. Using the crates for cover, he quickly crept toward the enemy's position.
Meanwhile, the Fire Slave got up from the ground. After taking two grenades, its body was mangled, but it was rapidly healing as its flesh writhed and knitted back together.
It walked toward Yang step by step, its pace quickening until, with about a dozen meters left, it suddenly accelerated. It charged forward, brandishing its two massive Bone Sabers like a soul-reaping Hellish Evil Ghost.
'So fast...'
Zhou Chen caught the scene out of the corner of his eye, his heart pounding in terror. That burst of speed was two or three times faster than when Shi Meng was alive.
'So this is what they mean by turning evil makes you three times stronger?!'
Yang stomped hard on the ground. Propelled by a gust of wind, he shot backward like an arrow released from a bow, dodging the two black Bone Sabers that tore through the air.
He rolled across the ground and pulled the trigger of his shotgun. Countless red-hot pellets erupted from the barrel. Even with the Fire Slave's terrifying physical resilience, the immense impact of the close-range blast forced it back several steps.
After steadying itself, the Fire Slave pushed through the shotgun's barrage, wildly swinging its arms to hack and slash at everything.
Countless crates shattered on impact. Even metal containers exploded under the onslaught of those terrifying Bone Sabers. If they struck a person's body, they would undoubtedly slice them in half in an instant.
Yang constantly dodged and weaved, firing whenever he found an opening, using his Wind Manipulation Ability to keep it entangled.
By this time, Zhou Chen had already snuck up behind the enemy.
Shen Xi was still firing at Yang, but he suddenly spun around, a mocking smile spreading across his face as he looked at Zhou Chen.
"Did you think I didn't know you were trying to sneak..."
BANG!
Zhou Chen didn't give him a chance to finish. A shower of steel pellets flew out as the muzzle flashed.
Blood spurted out as the force of the impact threw Shen Xi backward, and he slammed hard against a crate.
Zhou Chen burst forward, closing the distance in an instant, and fired a shot straight into his face.
Then a second shot, and a third.
He reloaded, then fired again.
"Enough!"
Shen Xi, his face a mangled mess, roared as his body was instantly engulfed in cold, black flames. It began to swell rapidly as it burned.
Zhou Chen sensed something was wrong and retreated explosively. In that instant, a terrifying Power erupted from the Ascender's body like a bomb. The shockwave sent black flames sweeping out in all directions.
A pillar of dark fire shot toward the ceiling. A visible shockwave swept through the entire warehouse, crushing the countless nearby crates to splinters with unstoppable force.
Zhou Chen was thrown back by the blast. Luckily, he had retreated quickly and was only caught in the aftershock.
At the epicenter of the explosion, Shen Xi was laughing, his body convulsing violently as he allowed the evil, cold flames to consume him, transforming him into an Abyssal Creature.
'These transformations are supposed to be passive, so how did yours become an active Skill with an AoE...?' Zhou Chen thought through a jolt of pain. He struggled to his feet, when suddenly, his gaze locked onto something on the floor in the distance.
Amidst a pile of shattered wooden crates and fragmented goods, a perfectly intact chainsaw lay silently.
'A chainsaw?'
Zhou Chen was stunned for a moment. Gold, jewels, and ornaments were one thing, but why would there be a chainsaw in a smuggling warehouse?
Chainsaws aren't valuable. A smuggling ring wouldn't waste their time trafficking something like that.
Unless... it possessed some unexpected value.
The fact that it survived the explosion unscathed was proof enough that it was no ordinary item.
'It might be one of the Extraordinary Items!'
"Ah... My Lord has blessed my Soul!"
"Power! I can feel the Power!"
In the distance, Shen Xi spread his arms joyfully, his face full of piety as he muttered all sorts of mystical-sounding prayers.
He still retained his human form, but the aura he exuded had become sinister and cold. His eyes were filled with Darkness, completely infected and mutated by Abyssal Power.
When his prayers were complete, his gaze shifted coldly toward Zhou Chen, filled with undisguised malice.
Without a second thought, Zhou Chen lunged for the chainsaw. At this point, he had no other choice. If he didn't want to die here, he had to grab it, even if it turned out to be some evil Forbidden Object.
The moment he picked up the chainsaw, a sharp, intense pain shot through his palm.
It was as if an invisible, fanged mouth had opened on the chainsaw's handle, tearing into the flesh of his palm and greedily sucking the blood from his body!