117: New threats

Filming ended, and Lu Jianchuan changed back into his casual clothes. Carrying the Rabbit King, he left the noisy set and walked to a relatively quiet corner.

"So, the process of you gaining your evolutionary abilities was similar to what you just acted out?" the Rabbit King's thoughts came through, carrying a sense of inquiry.

"Somewhat similar, but... not quite the same."

Lu Jianchuan gazed at the abandoned warehouse set in the distance, his eyes looking far away and his voice dropping an octave.

"The script was written for dramatic conflict. But as for me... I disobeyed orders and went to investigate on my own. As a result... I caused the death of Uncle Li, my Senior." He paused, seemingly suppressing something. "It was under those circumstances, in that warehouse, that I completed my first evolutionary transformation."

(I'm sorry, Rabbit King, but there are some things I really can't tell you. About the existence of 'The Forger', about the true source of this power...)

A trace of apology flickered in his heart, but he had to remain tight-lipped about the core secrets of 'The Forger'. Fortunately, he really had completed his transformation in that warehouse, so his words weren't an outright lie.

"I see..." the Rabbit King's thoughts paused for a moment. "Are you very sad?"

"Of course," Lu Jianchuan answered without a hint of hesitation. His voice was soft, yet it carried immense weight.

"And you still haven't moved on?"

"No." Lu Jianchuan shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the distance as if he could pierce through time and space to see that night filled with blood and regret. "I don't think I'll ever move on. Something like this is like a thorn stuck in the heart; it will always be there, reminding me."

"Alright." The Rabbit King's thoughts softened slightly. "Do you want to... pet me? I've observed you humans, and you all seem to like touching fluffy things; it's said to relieve emotions. I... don't mind."

Hearing this, Lu Jianchuan looked down at the smooth, snow-white fur of the Rabbit King in his arms. A faint, bitter smile finally appeared on his face. "Heh... No thanks. Thank you for the kind offer. It's fine; it's been so long that I've... long since gotten used to it. One must always look forward, and I am growing too."

Just as he finished speaking, the Rabbit King in his arms suddenly snapped its head up. Its red eyes scanned sharply toward a direction outside the abandoned set, its muscles tensing up.

"What's wrong?" Lu Jianchuan immediately noticed its abnormality.

"I sensed... something like us." The Rabbit King's thoughts became grave and urgent. "As you know, after evolving, my perception became very powerful. I've sensed another lifeform evolved from the evo factor, and it's moving at high speed... in that direction!"

Lu Jianchuan's gaze sharpened, and all distracting thoughts were instantly suppressed. Without hesitation, he turned and shouted to the director who was still packing up equipment, "Director Zhang! I'm done here. Something's come up, so I'm leaving first!"

"Oh, okay, Jianchuan. Goodbye! Be careful on the road!" Director Zhang called back from a distance.

Lu Jianchuan withdrew his gaze and stared down at the Rabbit King, his tone resolute. "Tell me, which direction? What's the specific location?"

Lu Jianchuan twisted the motorcycle's throttle to the max. The silver-white vehicle sped through city streets and secluded paths, precisely following the directional guidance constantly transmitted by the Rabbit King on his shoulder via its thoughts.

"Turn left... go through that abandoned parking lot... It's stopped. It's in the corner of that wasteland ahead, and... the energy reaction is increasing. It's splitting!"

The motorcycle drifted and charged into a weed-choked wasteland. The scene before him made Lu Jianchuan's stomach churn.

He saw three creatures the size of Corgis, looking like constantly writhing dark red lumps of flesh, frantically devouring the carcass of a stray dog.

The distorted eyes and mouths on their bodies emitted a grating, faint hissing sound.

Just as he locked his gaze on them, one of them swelled up after swallowing a large amount of flesh. Then, like cell division and accompanied by a sticky tearing sound, it forcibly ripped another lump of flesh from its own body. That lump of flesh writhed rapidly upon hitting the ground and reshaped itself into another complete monster within a minute.

Three became four.

"What... are these things?" Lu Jianchuan felt a wave of visceral disgust.

"A type I've never seen before... What disgusting things." The Rabbit King's thoughts were also filled with loathing, but even more so with vigilance. "Their aura consists only of pure hunger and... pain."

He couldn't let them continue to split and feed!

Lu Jianchuan slammed on the motorcycle's brakes and carefully placed the Rabbit King from his shoulder into the sidecar attached to the motorcycle. "Stay in the car and be careful!"

He flipped off the bike and unhesitatingly pressed the crimson orb on his left-wrist armband.

"Vroom—"

Silver-white biomass fluid instantly covered his entire body. The sharp-lined armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and his deep blue eyepieces locked onto the four distorted creatures ahead that had just noticed him and were emitting threatening low growls.

The battle erupted instantly!

The four Fissure Beasts lunged at Lu Jianchuan from different directions like boneless bouncy balls.

Lu Jianchuan sidestepped the first one's pounce and threw a backhand punch at the second. It felt like hitting resilient rubber; the monster merely rolled away, its distorted body writhing a few times before it stood back up as if nothing had happened. The third and fourth took the opportunity to close in, attempting to latch onto him and bite.

"Ordinary physical attacks are very ineffective!" Lu Jianchuan judged instantly.

He no longer hesitated. With a shake of his arms, dazzling blue-white electric arcs instantly crackled on his silver-white gauntlets!

"Zap—!"

He took the initiative to meet them, his fist covered in violent electrical currents slamming hard into the nearest Fissure Beast.

The moment the current surged in, the dark red lump of flesh let out a sharp, agonizing shriek that no normal creature could produce. Its entire body convulsed violently and became paralyzed. The randomly distributed eyes and mouths on its surface opened and closed frantically. Then, under the overloaded bioelectricity, it rapidly charred and carbonized, emitting puffs of black smoke before becoming completely still.

"It's effective!"

Lu Jianchuan's spirits rose. Moving like lightning, he charged toward the other three. Electric arcs leaped around his body, and every precise strike was accompanied by the grating sound of electrical burning and the monsters' death wails. The threat posed by these monsters' splitting and regeneration appeared fragile before the powerful current that could instantly destroy cellular structures.

A moment later, all four Fissure Beasts had turned into charred, motionless remains on the ground.

Lu Jianchuan deactivated his transformation. Panting slightly, he looked at the four charred corpses on the ground with a furrowed brow. After a moment's thought, he retrieved a spare sealed bag and heat-resistant gloves from the motorcycle's trunk.

"I need to take one back for the organization to study," he said to the Rabbit King in the sidecar. At the same time, he carefully placed a relatively intact charred corpse into the sealed bag, sealed it tightly, and tossed it into the sidecar. "This thing is too bizarre. If we don't figure out its source and mechanism, it'll probably cause even more trouble later."

He glanced at the other three remains. To be safe, he summoned his armor again and used high-temperature flames to incinerate them completely into ashes, eliminating any possibility of regeneration.

Having finished this, he immediately hopped onto his motorcycle and sped toward GUPA Headquarters with the Rabbit King and the "sample." He had to hand this thing over to the researchers as soon as possible; there was surely a greater conspiracy hidden behind this bizarre multiplying monster.