156: escape failed

The Giant Python, having just completed its evolution with its consciousness still hazy, turned its cold, drill-like head, assessing the chaotic and dangerous situation before it. The source of its pain, powerful threats, the calls of a strange "kin"... all of this caused its instincts to flare with frantic warnings.

Its newborn Chaos wisdom, mixed with a few warm memories, reached its first clear conclusion at this moment: Leave! Get far away from these dangers and conflicts!

It did not respond to the bat's call, nor did it attack anyone. Its massive body, covered in a spiral carapace, twisted violently, and the long-prepared "main shaft" and coiled tendons suddenly released their accumulated energy!

Boom! Its hideous drill-like head was not aimed at any enemy, but instead slammed downward, ruthlessly gouging into the concrete ground beneath it! The piercing screech of high-speed friction and the sound of shattering stone erupted simultaneously; the hard ground was easily broken through like tofu before the specialized biological drill.

Amidst the flying dust, its massive body spiraled downward with startling efficiency. Its hard shell and spiral structure made it seem as if it were born for burrowing, quickly carving a deep, neat-edged hole into the ruins. It looked as if it would completely submerge underground and make its escape in the blink of an eye!

This unexpected move left the other three present stunned for a moment.

"What...?!" The Giant Bat Evolution clearly hadn't expected this powerful individual, which had just finished evolving, to flee without a fight, even ignoring its recognition as "kin."

A surge of anger from being slighted and "betrayed" instantly replaced its previous intent to recruit. It let out a sharp, piercing shriek: "Screee—!! Cowardly deserter! You are unworthy of the power of evolution! You have already found your way to death!!"

Its wing membranes flapped violently as it prepared to pursue, but the Giant Python's burrowing speed was extremely fast, and the kicked-up dust and rubble severely interfered with its echolocation.

On the other side, Shen Mingyuan was also distracted by this sudden turn of events. A good opportunity! The thought flashed through his mind instantly.

The buzzing and dizziness in his ears remained intense, and dull pain throbbed from where he had been kicked in the chest and abdomen. The energy circulation of his armor was also quite unstable.

Facing a perfectly healthy Giant Bat Evolution and an insidiously cunning Zhu Zicong with unknown abilities, a head-on confrontation was definitely not the best course of action.

Taking advantage of the Chaos created by the Giant Python and the moment the bat was distracted to leave the battlefield was the rational choice.

Enduring the discomfort, he exerted force through his feet, intending to retreat in the opposite direction of the bat and Zhu Zicong—toward the relatively intact area of the Rescue Center.

However, the very moment his figure shifted slightly, a cold, oily voice slithered into his ears like a venomous snake:

"My, my... Mr. 'Black Knight,' where are you going in such a hurry?"

Shen Mingyuan's heart tightened, and his movements involuntarily faltered for a second.

Not far away, Zhu Zicong, whose face was charred black and whose right eye was nearly impossible to open, had somehow managed to steady himself.

His remaining left eye stared fixedly at Shen Mingyuan. Although intense pain distorted his expression, that sense of madness and calculation hadn't diminished in the slightest.

He didn't try to stop the burrowing Giant Python, nor did he help the bat; instead, he precisely seized the moment Shen Mingyuan intended to withdraw.

Zhu Zicong raised a blood-stained hand and pointed casually toward the outskirts of the Rescue Center—where the terrified cries of evacuating staff and trapped animals could still be faintly heard. Further away was the silhouette of the city's residential area.

"The game isn't over yet; how can the protagonist exit first?"

Zhu Zicong's voice carried painful gasps for air, yet it was even more hair-raising. "If you leave now... if I get into a bad mood, I might just want to try out those little toys that made the animals 'bloom' earlier. If I scatter them toward that crowded area over there... what would the effect be? Bang! Bang! Bang! Would it look even better than fireworks?"

He licked his dry, bleeding lips, his remaining eye flickering with an inhuman, gambler-like light. "I'm serious.

Since it's already a mess here, a little more excitement won't matter, right? So, my dear Knight, will you stay to continue 'upholding justice'... or do you plan to test my... execution?"

Shen Mingyuan's figure completely froze. Beneath his helmet, his expression became incredibly grim.

He didn't doubt the truth of Zhu Zicong's words for a second—what wouldn't a madman who used living creatures as experimental subjects and bombs be capable of?

Leaving might mean hundreds or thousands of innocent civilians being caught in this biochemical terrorist attack. Staying meant facing two dangerous enemies with a heavily injured body.

"You... bastard..." Shen Mingyuan squeezed the words through his teeth. His hand holding the "twin stars" trembled slightly from the force of his grip, but the muzzle pointed at Zhu Zicong became steady once more.

He slowly turned his body, abandoning his plan to retreat. His dark red lenses locked onto Zhu Zicong and the bat, which was becoming increasingly irritable due to the python's escape.

He couldn't leave.

Seeing that the burrowing Giant Python had completely disappeared into the dust and the hole, and with no hope of pursuit, the Giant Bat Evolution violently turned its head toward the most threatening remaining target in the field—Shen Mingyuan.

Fury from its prey escaping and its own injuries burned in its cold vertical pupils. The muscles around the scorch marks and damage on its wing membranes rippled, seemingly accelerating their recovery.

Shen Mingyuan endured the ringing in his ears and the pain in his body, taking a deep breath as his armor assisted in regulating his breathing rhythm.

He brought his hands together. With several "click" sounds of precise mechanical and biological structures interlocking, the two "twin stars" pistols in his hands smoothly combined and extended, rapidly transforming into a sniper rifle with a compact and sharp silhouette.

Dark red energy circuits converged on the gun's body, flowing toward the muzzle and emitting a low-pitched charging hum.

"Oh, it even transforms? Quite a fancy new toy." Zhu Zicong let out two sarcastic clicks of his tongue from a distance, but the hand covering his face and his slightly retreating steps betrayed that he had no intention of immediately stepping forward to fight for his life.

His remaining left eye darted around, scanning between Shen Mingyuan and the bat.

"Screee... gaa... Human... die!" The bat evolution let out a sharp hiss. Its hatred for Shen Mingyuan was clearly higher—it was this "Black Knight" who had caused it significant injuries.

With a flap of its wings, its massive body brought a whistling wind as it pounced once more with raw power!

This time, it didn't fire its sonic cannon from a distance. Instead, it intended to close the gap and use its wing-blades and sharp claws for the kill, while the close-range sonic vibrations could continuously interfere with this enemy who seemed exceptionally sensitive to sound.

"Go on! He's at his limit!" Zhu Zicong shouted loudly from behind, his tone urgent as if he were desperate for victory himself.

The bat made a sharp turn in the air, its cold gaze sweeping over Zhu Zicong as a dissatisfied gurgle came from its throat. "Hmph... you humans... always hiding behind... weak!"

"I'll look for a chance to sneak attack! His attention is on you!"

Zhu Zicong quickly defended himself, though his body honestly shrank further into the shadow of a broken wall. At the same time, he said rapidly in a deliberately flattering tone, "After all, I'm not as powerful and reliable as you! Look at this strength, this speed—this is what evolution should look like!"

Hearing this blatant flattery, the Giant Bat Evolution snorted a stream of air with high-frequency vibrations from its nostrils, making a sound akin to a sneer.

A flash of undisguised contempt and arrogance, belonging to a high-level predator looking at a lower life form, crossed its cold vertical pupils.

This flattery seemed to please it, and it further deepened its inherent prejudice against the human race as being "dependent on petty tricks and words, with weak personal strength."

"Screee... Naturally... so." It raised its hideous head, its wing membranes unfolding arrogantly to their full extent, showcasing its power and uniqueness. "True power... stems from evolution itself... not... cunning words."

This conversation was not quiet; Shen Mingyuan heard it clearly and sneered in his heart.

He endured the noise interference from his hearing System, which grew increasingly sharp as the bat approached. He raised the sniper rifle steadily, his dark red lenses locking onto the massive black shadow charging at high speed, calculating the lead and the bat's possible evasion trajectory.

Just as the bat was about to enter the optimal pouncing distance and Shen Mingyuan was about to pull the trigger in that split second—

"Beasts are just beasts after all..." A whisper, so soft it was almost inaudible and filled with deep mockery and calculation, drifted from the shadows where Zhu Zicong was hiding.

These words were too quiet, completely drowned out by the sound of the bat cutting through the air and its own hissing. Immersed in its sense of power superiority, it noticed nothing.

Before the whisper even faded, Zhu Zicong's figure, like a melting wax statue, silently slid backward into deeper shadows and ruins. With a few bounds, he completely left the core area where the fierce battle was about to erupt, his presence rapidly receding and vanishing.

He had actually abandoned this "powerful and reliable" ally without hesitation and slipped away alone!

In the field, only the poised Shen Mingyuan and the Giant Bat Evolution—which only had its prey in its eyes, was completely unaware of its companion's "tactical relocation," and was pouncing with all its might—remained!

Warning signs flared in Shen Mingyuan's heart. Zhu Zicong's escape was by no means a good thing; that guy definitely had other schemes!

But now, he had to face the life-or-death crisis before him first. The foul wind kicked up by the bat was already blowing in his face, and the high-frequency vibrations distorting the air once again enveloped the surroundings. The buzzing in his ears intensified instantly!

He pulled the trigger of the sniper rifle, and a condensed dark red beam shot toward the bat's head. Simultaneously, he exerted force through his feet, attempting to retreat rapidly toward the side and rear to open up some distance!