65: Chapter 65 The Mother

Lin Mo stood outside the command center, the firelight reflecting red against his face.

The giant beast had already squeezed half its body inside. The three-meter-thick reinforced concrete wall was like paper before it. It lowered its head, opened its massive maw, and a dark red beam of light erupted from deep within its throat—

"Boom—!!!"

Everywhere the beam passed, three barracks were instantly vaporized.

Rubble, steel, human bodies—everything turned to ash within that red light.

The shockwave from the explosion flipped an armored vehicle over ten meters away. The twenty-ton steel behemoth rolled like a toy, crashing into a nearby trench.

"Scatter! Everyone, scatter!"

Yuan Shoucheng's roar was almost inaudible amidst the chaos.

But his body was faster than his voice.

This battalion commander of the Seventh Battalion, a Rank Five early-stage Awakener, rushed in front of Lin Mo the instant the beast's second red beam was about to fall. He raised both hands, and a golden spiritual energy barrier exploded in front of him—

"Boom!!!"

The red light collided with the barrier, the blinding glare illuminating the entire camp. Yuan Shoucheng let out a muffled groan as his feet plowed two deep furrows into the ground, his whole body pushed back seven or eight meters.

But he had blocked it.

"Lin Mo! Their target is you! Retreat, now!"

Lin Mo did not hesitate.

He had already stuffed that heart back into his spatial ring. The moment the ring was back on his finger, the beast's movements paused slightly.

Those dark red eyes turned toward him.

No, they turned toward the ring on his finger.

"Roar—!!!"

The giant beast let out a world-shaking roar, its voice carrying some indescribable emotion: greed, longing, and a hint of... fear?

It began to stride toward Lin Mo.

With every step, the ground trembled.

Behind it, even more fierce beasts were flooding into the camp.

Seventeen Rank Three Mimics.

Four Rank Four Mimics.

They no longer disguised themselves in human form, revealing their true appearances instead: twisted limbs, rotting crimson skin, and massive maws filled with fangs. They darted through the camp, pouncing on every living person they saw.

A student soldier had just rushed out of the barracks when he collided head-on with a Rank Three Mimic.

Before he could even scream, the massive maw clamped down on half his body. A "crack" of shattering bone mixed with the sound of splashing blood, sounding exceptionally piercing amidst the firelight.

Another girl screamed as she ran backward, tripping over a corpse. Before she could crawl back up, a Rank Four Mimic stood before her. It didn't kill her immediately; instead, it lowered its head, staring at her trembling face with its dark red eyes.

Then, it smiled.

On that twisted face, a human-like smile actually squeezed out.

"Don't be afraid. It will be over soon."

Its sharp claws pierced through her chest.

Lin Mo saw it all.

He saw veterans rushing in from all directions—some with blades, some with guns, some bare-handed. They threw themselves at the fierce beasts, using their own bodies to block their path.

One veteran's arm was bitten off by a Rank Three Mimic. He used his other hand to pull a dagger from his waist and plunge it into the creature's eye. The Mimic roared in pain and shook him off, pulling out the dagger along with its eyeball.

But such a fatal injury didn't stop this Mimic. After letting out a few hisses, the monster actually swallowed the eyeball skewered on the dagger in one gulp, then howled as it charged at the veteran.

Another veteran, dragging a heavily injured leg, desperately pushed a student back.

"Run! Run fast!" he roared, then turned to face the pouncing beast.

He saw Yuan Shoucheng standing before the giant beast. The golden spiritual energy barrier was already riddled with countless cracks. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth and his hands were trembling, but he did not retreat a single step.

Lin Mo didn't know what that heart was, nor why it could attract these monsters.

But he knew everything was happening because of that thing.

He gripped the zhan chao tightly.

In his Dantian, his spiritual core had recovered some spiritual energy. Though it was far from enough—

He took a step forward.

A hand pressed down on his shoulder.

Lin Mo turned back.

It was Wu Yong.

The Rank Four peak-stage veteran was currently covered in blood—whether it was his own or the beasts', it was hard to tell. But his eyes were bright, shining like two burning fires.

"Don't move. Your mission is to protect that heart!"

"But—"

"No buts. Do you know what that is? Do you know why it can attract a Fifth-Order Lord?"

Lin Mo didn't know.

He looked up at the approaching giant beast, at the Mimics wreaking havoc in the camp, and at the blood and corpses covering the ground.

"That is a Mimic Broodmother's heart. It can contaminate any human who touches it. Take it and leave, otherwise, the number of people who die today will be ten thousand times more than this."

He patted Lin Mo's shoulder, then turned and walked to Yuan Shoucheng's side, standing next to him.

The two longest-serving veterans of the Sixth Battalion stood side-by-side, facing that Fifth-Order Lord.

Yuan Shoucheng glanced at him sideways, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Old Wu, looks like we're both going to meet our end here. Wonder if anyone will collect our bodies?"

"Collect my ass. It's crawling with Mimics out there; I don't want those things collecting me."

"If we die, we die. In eighteen years, I'll be a hero again."

Yuan Shoucheng laughed.

In that smile, there was no fear, no despair—only the calm acceptance of life and death unique to a veteran.

"Fine, then let's do it together."

Lin Mo opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But his voice was swallowed by a world-shaking boom.

The giant beast moved.

It suddenly accelerated, its massive body like a moving mountain, crashing toward Yuan Shoucheng and Wu Yong!

Both roared simultaneously. Golden and silver-white spiritual light exploded in front of them, turning into two pillars of light that soared into the sky!

Collision—

"Rumble—!!!"

The entire camp trembled.

The shockwave flipped everything within thirty meters. Barracks collapsed, armored vehicles rolled, and human bodies were swept up like fallen leaves, tossed in every direction.

Lin Mo's body was sent flying by the shockwave, crashing into an overturned armored vehicle. His back throbbed with pain as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

But he didn't stay down.

He struggled to his feet and looked toward the center of the collision.

Dust and smoke filled the air there; nothing could be seen clearly.

Only a low growl came from within the dust.

The giant beast was still alive.

Lin Mo's heart sank to rock bottom.

Just then, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed his wrist.

Lin Mo looked down.

It was Yi Xiaoyu.

The short-haired girl had run to his side at some point. She was covered in dirt, with a streak of blood on her face, but her eyes were bright.

"Lin Mo, let's run."

"Where to?"

"There's a tunnel under the command center that leads directly outside the camp."

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment.

"How do you know?"

"Shen Yi told me. Let's hurry and escape for our lives!"

Lin Mo looked at her and remained silent for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

"I can't leave."

"Why?!"

Lin Mo looked up at the dust-filled battlefield.

"Because those bastards came here for me."

He pulled his hand away from Yi Xiaoyu and stood up.

"System, advance my trait."