The underground tunnel stretched endlessly into darkness. Kai Ren moved quickly but carefully, his footsteps silent as he followed the narrow passage deeper beneath the ruins. The sound of corporate hunters above gradually faded, replaced by the distant echoes of dripping water and shifting stone.
His breathing remained steady, but his senses stayed sharp.
The Bloodhound gene was still active.
Every scent in the tunnel reached him clearly. The damp smell of underground rock mixed with rust and ancient dust. Beneath those familiar scents lingered something else—something faint but unfamiliar.
The Rift Zone had many layers.
Most scavengers never ventured beyond the outer ruins. Those areas were already dangerous enough. But the deeper regions contained creatures far stronger than anything near the city walls.
Kai had no choice but to move deeper.
Behind him, the corporate hunters would soon reach the chamber where the artifact had once been. They would find the unconscious soldiers. They would understand that someone had taken the power source.
And they would begin hunting him.
Kai continued forward until the tunnel widened slightly. Broken pipes ran along the walls while old maintenance cables hung from the ceiling. At some point long ago, this underground passage had probably been part of the city's infrastructure before the Rift outbreak destroyed most of the district.
A faint rumbling sound echoed through the stone.
Kai stopped.
His enhanced hearing caught it immediately.
Something was moving further down the tunnel.
Heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Unsteady.
Kai crouched and raised the rifle he had taken from the corporate soldier. The weapon felt heavier than his old scavenger blade, but his hands were steady.
His nose caught the scent next.
Rotting flesh.
Mutated tissue.
A creature emerged from the darkness.
It was roughly human-shaped but far larger. Its body had swollen into something grotesque, its skin stretched and cracked while patches of dark bone protruded through the surface like armor. One arm had mutated into a massive claw, while its eyes glowed faintly red in the dark.
A Mutant Stalker.
Kai recognized the creature immediately. During the early years of the Rift catastrophe, many humans had been exposed to unstable gene fragments. Some survived and evolved. Others… became things like this.
The Stalker sniffed the air.
It had already noticed him.
The creature lunged forward with surprising speed.
Kai fired.
The rifle thundered inside the narrow tunnel. The bullet slammed into the creature's shoulder, tearing away flesh and bone fragments. But the Stalker barely slowed.
Kai stepped sideways as the massive claw smashed into the wall beside him, shattering chunks of stone. Dust exploded through the air.
Too strong.
The creature attacked again, swinging wildly.
Kai moved faster.
The Bloodhound gene sharpened his reflexes. His body twisted away just before the claw struck again. The impact cracked the tunnel floor.
Kai fired another shot directly into the creature's chest.
This time the bullet struck something vital.
The Stalker staggered.
Kai didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward and drove the rifle barrel under the creature's jaw before pulling the trigger.
The shot echoed like thunder.
The Stalker collapsed heavily onto the stone floor.
Silence returned.
Kai lowered the rifle slowly.
Then the system appeared.
Enemy Eliminated
Mutant Stalker Gene Detected
Devour Evolution Available
Kai stared at the message.
His heart was still beating quickly from the fight.
But the system had already begun analyzing the corpse.
Mutant Stalker Gene – Common Quality. Absorption Possible. Would you like to devour?
Kai nodded slightly.
"Devour."
The corpse began glowing faintly as blue energy streamed out of the mutated body and flowed directly into Kai.
The sensation returned immediately.
Warm energy spreading through his muscles.
His body absorbing strength.
The system updated.
Evolution Points Gained: 2. Endurance +2. Mutant Bloodhound Gene Stability Increased.
Kai flexed his hand slowly.
His body felt stronger again.
But the system displayed something new.
New Gene Available
Mutant Stalker Gene
Effect: Night Vision Enhancement
Gene Slot Required
Kai studied the interface.
He still had empty gene slots.
But instinct told him something important.
Genes could evolve.
Better genes would appear later.
If he filled all his slots with weak abilities now, he might regret it later.
Kai selected Reject Gene.
The system confirmed the decision and absorbed only the raw energy from the corpse.
The tunnel fell quiet again.
Kai glanced back in the direction he had come from.
His enhanced hearing caught faint echoes.
Distant voices.
The corporate hunters were getting closer.
They had found the chamber.
Kai moved deeper into the tunnel.
The passage sloped downward gradually until the air became colder. The walls began changing as well. The concrete structures of the old city gave way to rough stone formations covered in faint purple veins.
Rift energy.
Kai had heard stories about these deeper regions. Areas where the dimensional fractures had spread underground, mutating both creatures and the environment itself.
A faint glow appeared ahead.
Kai slowed his pace.
The tunnel opened into a much larger cavern.
Purple crystals grew along the walls like jagged teeth, emitting faint pulses of energy. The ground was uneven and covered with strange organic growths that looked almost alive.
Kai stepped inside carefully.
His senses immediately detected movement.
Not one creature.
Several.
Small shapes moved quickly between the crystals.
The creatures finally revealed themselves.
Mutant Crawlers.
Spider-like beasts roughly the size of large dogs. Their bodies were covered with chitin-like armor while their multiple eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
A nest.
Kai slowly raised the rifle again.
There were at least six of them.
Too many for a direct fight.
But the Crawlers had not noticed him yet.
His enhanced smell detected something else inside the cavern.
Gene energy.
Strong gene energy.
Somewhere inside the nest.
Kai crouched behind a large crystal and observed the creatures carefully.
At the center of the cavern lay something different.
A larger Crawler.
Nearly twice the size of the others.
Its body pulsed with brighter purple light.
The Alpha.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
If he could defeat the Alpha…
The gene reward would be far greater.
The system reacted immediately.
New Mission Generated
Objective: Eliminate Mutant Crawler Alpha
Reward: Rare Gene Chance
Bonus Reward: Evolution Points
Kai's heartbeat slowed.
This was dangerous.
But it was also an opportunity.
He checked the rifle magazine again.
Enough ammunition.
The Crawlers continued moving around the cavern, unaware of the predator watching them.
Kai slowly adjusted his position.
He waited patiently.
The moment the Alpha separated slightly from the group—
Kai fired.
The shot echoed across the cavern.
The Alpha Crawler shrieked as the bullet struck its side.
Instant chaos erupted.
The smaller Crawlers rushed toward the source of the attack.
Kai moved immediately.
He fired two more shots while retreating toward the narrow tunnel entrance. One Crawler collapsed instantly while another staggered but continued crawling forward.
The Alpha screeched again and charged.
Its speed was terrifying.
Kai dropped the rifle and grabbed the combat knife he had taken from one of the hunters.
The first Crawler leaped.
Kai twisted sideways and drove the blade into its underside where the armor was weakest. Dark fluid splattered across the stone as the creature collapsed.
Another attacked immediately.
Kai ducked beneath its legs and slashed upward, cutting through the joint connecting its limbs.
But the Alpha was already reaching him.
Its massive claws smashed downward.
Kai rolled away as the impact shattered the ground where he had been standing.
The Alpha turned instantly and lunged again.
Kai's body moved on instinct.
Predator instinct.
He sidestepped the strike and climbed onto the creature's back, plunging the knife repeatedly into the glowing sections of its armor.
The Alpha shrieked violently.
The remaining Crawlers hesitated.
The blade struck deeper.
The glowing veins cracked.
With a final violent scream, the Alpha collapsed.
The cavern fell silent.
The remaining Crawlers scattered and fled deeper into the tunnels.
Kai stepped back slowly, breathing heavily.
Then the system appeared again.
Alpha Enemy Eliminated
Rare Gene Detected
Mutant Crawler Alpha Gene Available
Kai stared at the message.
This time, he did not hesitate.
"Devour."
The Alpha's body dissolved into streams of glowing energy that rushed into Kai's body.
Power surged through him.
Stronger than before.
The system updated again.
Mutant Crawler Alpha Gene Acquired
Ability Unlocked:
• Enhanced Reflexes
Evolution Points Gained: 6
Kai felt the change instantly.
His muscles reacted faster.
His balance improved.
His senses sharpened again.
And deep inside the Rift tunnels, far from the corporate hunters still searching the ruins above, a new predator had begun evolving.
Kai Ren looked deeper into the endless underground passages.
The deeper Rift waited ahead.
And stronger prey.
His hunt had only begun.