214: Strange beasts and beasts

The monster looked at the sofa leg in He Jingrui’s hand, which was being swung with such force that it whistled through the air, and felt the soft flesh beneath its hard shell ache faintly.

Especially that cold gaze, as if He Jingrui was looking at a piece of dead meat, made its heart pound.

This reminded it of how it used the identity of Mi Zong Huan Ying to lure those with a desire for exploration and then torture them to death; it had also worn that same superior look.

Brutal tormentors are often most afraid of the day they themselves become the 'fish' on the chopping block.

Because they know better than anyone how terrifying those tortures truly are.

Lu Chuan keenly noticed the monster's fear of He Jingrui and immediately gave He Jingrui a look.

He Jingrui understood, and the sofa leg in his hand was about to smash down hard on the monster's head.

With his strength, which could easily snap an iron chain, if this blow landed, even with the monster's head protected by a keratinous hard shell, it would likely burst open like a watermelon.

Thus, the fear of death instantly overshadowed its loyalty to the island nation.

“I'll talk! I'll talk!”

It spoke in a clumsy Chinese, its sharp voice laced with fear and trembling.

“We… we are the Empire's super gene-modified warriors!”

“Gene-modified… warriors?”

Lu Chuan frowned, keenly catching the key information.

When he looked at the monster's 'distinguished appearance' again, the disgust on his face deepened a few more points.

“The Little devils are so deranged, transforming their own warriors into these neither-human-nor-ghost-like forms?”

The monster gave a bitter laugh.

“The Empire is surrounded by sea on all sides, and the coastal cities have been occupied by terrifying Strange Beast, so we can only withdraw our limited forces to core cities for defense! In this situation, for survival, and to reclaim our homeland, the 'Gene Warrior' project is the best choice! The modifications gave us power, but they also… also turned us into this!”

Mentioning power, a hint of pain and twisted fanaticism flashed in the monster's vertical pupils.

Ding Xinyang couldn't help but interject, his face full of shock and disbelief.

“ Strange Beast? What Strange Beast? Such a huge event as the large-scale fall of the island nation, why is there no news at all from the outside world?”

The monster looked at him with a gaze that was both envious and pitying.

“Blockade! Absolute blockade! Any country that still has the power to protect itself is blocking news of this!”

Ding Xinyang was so overwhelmed by everything he had seen and heard today that he was beside himself, losing his usual quick wit, and subconsciously asked,

“Why block it?”

The one who answered his question was Lu Chuan, who was standing by.

“Because we pursue stability, and stability is the prerequisite for development! External disturbances will only cause social order to collapse.”

Ding Xinyang understood immediately, and then the shock on his face slowly turned into confusion.

This feeling was like having always believed he lived in a peaceful and prosperous era, only to pull back the curtain and discover that the so-called 'safety' was just an easily punctured hollow shell.

Lu Chuan continued to look down at the monster and asked,

“You haven't finished answering my previous question; continue.”

The monster secretly glanced at the menacing He Jingrui, swallowed with difficulty, and braced itself to continue speaking,

“We came to Modu this time, carrying the hope of the Empire!”

Hearing this, Lu Chuan snorted coldly.

“Hope? What hope? You infiltrated Modu, impersonated netizens to trick people into coming for 'entertainment,' and this is your hope? Speak! What is your true objective?”

The sofa leg in his hand thumped heavily on the ground, making a dull sound.

The monster was startled by the sound and shivered, seeing He Jingrui impassively toying with the sofa leg, looking as if he could smash it down at any moment, its psychological defenses further crumbled.

“No… not just entertainment! That was just… just incidentally! We need… we need to collect resources, and some data!”

“Resources?” Lu Chuan pressed.

“Yes! We gene warriors can grow stronger by consuming the fear, despair, and other negative emotions of ordinary people! Mi Zong Huan Ying… and those people who came later, provided excellent resources, but… but it's not enough! We need more!”

The two antennae on the monster's head constantly wriggled, as if it had given up, throwing caution to the wind as it confessed.

“In… in addition, Modu is… our first large-scale testing ground! We need to understand your city's structure, its defensive capabilities, to… to prepare for subsequent actions!”

“Subsequent actions?”

Lu Chuan and Ding Xinyang exchanged glances.

He Jingrui's gaze also instantly grew colder, the sofa leg in his hand stopped rotating, firmly locked on the monster.

His voice was completely different from usual, carrying a chilling killing intent.

“What are you trying to do?”

The monster felt the almost tangible pressure, and its mouthparts opened and closed more rapidly.

“The Empire… the Empire needs a new homeland! We need land! We need resources! Modu… is one of the closest, most prosperous, and also… also most suitable targets for us! We infiltrate, collect intelligence, create chaos, weaken you… and then… then wait for the follow-up troops…”

Lu Chuan scoffed disdainfully.

“Just you? Also, why now?”

Feeling the killing intent from Lu Chuan and He Jingrui, the monster felt bitter, but as long as there was a slight chance of survival, it would not give up.

“Be… because, we received intelligence that Modu is suspected of showing signs of Strange Beast invasion, and furthermore, China's genius researcher seems to have been staying in Modu, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Hearing “ Strange Beast invasion,” Lu Chuan's expression shifted, and many things suddenly became clear in his mind.

Sure enough, the so-called earthquake was just a smokescreen; it turned out the real disaster was an Strange Beast invasion.

And these Little devils monsters were also here to take advantage of the chaos, truly a despicable race.

He Jingrui's voice was terrifyingly low,

“Follow-up troops?! How many more of you are there? Where are they?”

“I… I don't know the exact number! The first batch… it wasn't just me! We infiltrated separately! Later… later there will be even stronger modified warriors… even… even possibly more terrifying things…”

The monster seemed to realize it had said too much, and its voice began to become vague.

“Things? What things?” Lu Chuan pressed closer.

A strange light, mixed with fear and reverence, flashed in the monster's eyes.

“That is… that is the Empire's ultimate power… they… they…”

Just as the monster was about to speak, an unexpected change occurred.