The darkness of the Imperial Physician's Underworld was shattered by a sound that defied the laws of anatomy—a wet, splintering crack of bone expanding against stone. From the corridor's throat, the Stage 5 Mutation emerged, and it was a masterpiece of alchemical horror. It stood nearly eight feet tall, its flesh a translucent, marble-gray that revealed the pulsing, violet machinery of its unnaturally enlarged heart. Unlike the mindless "trash" in the warehouse, this creature moved with a terrifying, calculated silence, its eyes possessing a glimmer of the predatory intelligence that made it "attractive but antagonist in nature".
"Lu Yan, don't let it close the distance!" Lin Xiyao shouted, her "Heavenly Forensic" System flaring into an overdrive of sapphire light.
[Heavenly Forensic System: Boss-Level Analysis] * Target: Stage 5 Alchemical Chimera (The "Crimson Fang"). * Composition: 40% human, 60% mutated lupus-catalyst. * Weakness: The aortic valve is exposed every 3.2 seconds due to the accelerated "Lunar Miasma" pump. * Hazard: Acidic saliva with a pH of 1.2; will melt standard steel on contact.
Xiyao's fingers flew through the iron-bound chest, retrieving the Dragon-Blood Salve. She didn't just hand it to Lu Yan; she performed a "System: Tactical Infusion," coating the black-lacquered spring saber in a shimmering, crimson film that sizzled as it touched the cold iron. This was the "action" phase where the preparations of the previous chapter met the visceral reality of combat.
Lu Yan seized the weapon, his amber eyes narrowing into vertical slits as the "Stability Pill" worked to keep his human mind anchored amidst the feral surge. He lunged, not as a man, but as the Brocade-Clad Beast reclaimed. The obsidian blade whistled through the humid air, leaving a trail of red sparks where the salve reacted with the underground's stagnant "qi".
The clash was a "dramatic event" that shook the very foundations of the laboratory. The monster's claws, long as daggers and dripping with caustic ichor, struck the spring saber with the force of a falling mountain. Lu Yan skidded back, his boots furrowing the stone floor, his breathing a ragged, heavy rasp.
"The heart, Lu Yan! Strike when the violet light dims!" Xiyao screamed, her "Golden Finger" highlighting the monster's rhythm in a series of flashing orange markers before her eyes.
The three "Feral" survivors didn't cower; they moved with a "weak-to-strong" coordination that Lu Yan had instilled in them, flanking the behemoth and distracting it with rapid, hit-and-run strikes. They were the "classic support characters" of this nightmare, their loyalty to the Alpha giving them a desperate, heroic edge.
Lu Yan saw the opening. As the monster lunged for one of the ferals, its chest plates shifted, revealing the throbbing, violet core. He leaped, utilizing the warehouse's verticality even in this cramped space, his body a blur of silver-embroidered silk and raw power. He drove the Dragon-Blood blade deep into the monster's aortic valve.
A shriek of agonizing frequency tore through the lab. The monster didn't just bleed; it erupted in a flash of alchemical fire as the salve neutralized the "Wolf-Spirit" catalyst in its marrow.
[System Update: Boss Defeated] * Experience Gained: 800 XP. * System Evolution: Unlocked 'Soul-Essence Extraction'.
Note: You can now analyze the memories stored in the blood of high-tier mutations.
As the creature's remains dissolved into a puddle of grey ash, Lu Yan slumped against a stone pillar, his human face pale and drenched in sweat. He looked at the black saber, then at Xiyao. The "emotional connection" between them was no longer just a pact; it was a bond forged in the crucible of horror.
"Xiyao," he rasped, his hand trembling as the "Stability Pill" reached its limit. "The monster... it wasn't just a guard. It was wearing a Jinyiwei ring. One of my own men from the Fifth Platoon."
Xiyao knelt beside the ash, her system already extracting the "Soul-Essence." The truth was far more "infuriating" than a simple mutation. "It's worse than that, Lu Yan. This man didn't transform by accident. He was fed the catalyst by someone he trusted. The Eunuch Wei isn't just making monsters; he's harvesting his own soldiers' loyalty to fuel them."
The chapter ended with the "page-turner hook" of Xiyao discovering a hidden map within the "Soul-Essence"—the location of the primary "Lunar Altar" hidden beneath the Empress's own gardens.