218: special powers

Roswell found his body suddenly sinking into a quagmire, making it difficult to move.

His expression changed drastically in an instant.

This was the Silver Fox activating its ability, using powerful Mental Power to restrict Roswell's movements.

Although protected by the Mental Shield, the Silver Fox couldn't use a Mental Attack on Roswell.

But that didn't matter; the uses of Mental Power were not limited to just that simple method.

The Awakened Tiger's body, bolstered by Mental Power, suddenly unleashed an even more ferocious attack.

With one side gaining and the other losing, the difference in strength was immediately apparent!

The Awakened Tiger, which had previously been toyed with by Roswell, instantly burst forth with power.

Its massive tiger claw directly struck Roswell's body.

Such a terrifying attack, even Roswell, as a Cyborg (Modified Human), couldn't withstand.

The sharp claws easily tore several gashes in him.

They were still gashes, but with the added volume of the tiger's claw, this strike was completely different from the previous minor skirmishes.

It instantly ripped Roswell's body apart... into pieces!

An instant kill, it was an instant kill!

No one expected that with just the addition of one Silver Fox, the battle situation would instantly undergo a qualitative change.

The remaining four people's pupils contracted sharply.

They never imagined that this Silver Fox would be so formidable.

Joseph's body began to tremble violently; the shadow of death had already enveloped him.

He immediately shouted, "Retreat, retreat!"

"This Silver Fox is not something we can deal with."

After speaking, he turned around without looking back, attempting to escape from the Silver Fox's attack range.

Silver Fox plus Awakened Tiger.

One plus one had an effect far greater than ten; it was absolutely not something they could handle.

However, thinking of escaping now was simply too naive.

The Silver Fox stared with fierce eyes at the four upright apes who had destroyed its villa, and its Mental Power erupted again.

The four who tried to escape instantly felt the same as Joseph, sinking into a quagmire formed by Mental Power, their speed greatly reduced.

In just a moment, they smelled the pungent odor from the Awakened Tiger.

That was the unique scent of a carnivore.

Danger!

Joseph unhesitatingly fired three shots behind him.

Although he didn't have a direct line of sight behind him, his powerful perception allowed him to easily pinpoint the Silver Fox's location.

These three shots absolutely couldn't miss!

If they could just slightly hinder the Silver Fox's advance, the four of them might be able to escape from the tiger's maw.

No one expected that such terrifying power was contained within the Silver Fox's small body.

The other four were the same.

Special armor-piercing bullets, more expensive than gold, were unleashed like water towards the direction of the Silver Fox.

Intense fear made them empty all their bullets, attempting to buy themselves a moment of respite.

However, in the face of such a barrage of bullets, the Silver Fox was very disdainful.

With a thought, a Mental Power shield condensed once more.

The seemingly terrifying special armor-piercing bullets hitting the crescent-shaped Mental Power shield only caused small ripples.

If it hadn't been an emergency before, and there was no need to waste Mental Power.

The power of special armor-piercing bullets alone would not have been able to break through the Silver Fox's Mental Power shield.

These bullets, on which the four had placed high hopes, did not slow the Silver Fox down in the slightest.

This also meant that they were about to face the Silver Fox's most ferocious attack.

This time, they would experience the powerful suppressive force of the Awakened Tiger.

They barely managed to turn and fight, but one by one, they were killed by the Silver Fox, ultimately becoming its food.

Seeing the satisfied expression in the Silver Fox's eyes, it seemed very pleased with these meals that had come to its doorstep.

These modified humans, pieced together from the bodies of Awakened Beasts, ultimately failed to withstand a more powerful Awakened Beast.

Their entire bodies became food for other Awakened Beasts.

As for the Awakened Wolves killed by the five?

They also became food.

Wasting food is not a good habit, especially in the wilderness where resources are not abundant... In the distance.

Two people were watching the battle through special binoculars.

They stood far enough away, and being downwind, they weren't discovered by either side of the battle.

Hudson shook his head and said, "They failed."

"Killed by that Silver Fox, suspected to be the Lord of the Forbidden Zone, with terrifying strength."

"The power gap is very large."

"Even sending more modified humans would be useless."

Facing Hudson's report, Etna looked indifferent, saying, "As expected."

"Although these modified humans are powerful, if the Lord of the Forbidden Zone here were that easy to deal with."

"Then we wouldn't need to act; the nearby Awakened Beasts would be enough to destroy this place."

"To have existed for so long in the New World, Crazy Zoo naturally has its reasons for existence."

At this point, Etna's expression became excited, saying, "What powerful strength."

"I didn't expect the Lord of the Forbidden Zone here to be a Mental-type Awakened Beast."

"However, the stronger it is, the more combat power it can provide us after being subdued."

"This is actually a good thing for us."

"Perhaps it will be the key to our victory against Tiger King Farm."

Hudson's gaze was not as optimistic as Etna's, saying, "Lord Etna, while that reasoning is indeed true."

"How to subdue this Silver Fox, however, is a problem."

"With our current strength, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to deal with this Silver Fox."

"Even if we manage to capture it, whether we can subdue it is an unknown."

This wasn't Hudson trying to pour cold water on Etna.

In fact, through countless battles between Americans and Awakened Beasts, everyone had gradually come to recognize the strength of these Awakened Beasts.

As well as their wild, beastly souls.

Many Awakened Beasts would even rather commit suicide than be tamed by humans.

Their path to conquering the New World was not entirely smooth sailing.

In response to Hudson's words, Etna scoffed, saying, "Hudson, you're still a bit too naive."

"Facing the power of the collective, even if the Silver Fox's individual strength is great, it will only be captured."

"Once the mechs on the periphery break through the Awakened Beast's blockade and enter the core area, the Silver Fox will be nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter."

"As for whether the Silver Fox can be tamed? I am 100% confident."

"The smarter the creature, the more it fears death, especially a fox known for its cunning."

"Even if it's just to gain an opportunity to escape, it will play along with us."

"Even if it's uncooperative and refuses our taming, I'm not without options."

Just then, the third person behind them spoke, saying, "Don't worry, my lords."

"If this Silver Fox doesn't know what's good for it, I will absolutely make it submit to us."

"Becoming our best asset in attacking Tiger King Farm."

"I have my own special methods!"

The speaker was none other than Milosh, who had once raised Awakened Bees.

It must be said that the abilities Awakened by Espers were truly strange and varied.

Unless they had a clear understanding of their abilities, like Lin Tianwei, they could only rely on intuition to judge their powers.

Milosh was in this situation.

He thought that the reason he was able to subdue the Awakened Queen Bee was due to his long-standing connection from beekeeping.

His ability was merely to allow him to communicate simply with giant beasts.

It was the most useless of useless abilities.

However, this perception underwent a drastic change when Milosh, by Chance, encountered an Awakened Rat.

It was a calm night.

Milosh, having finished a full day's work, was preparing to go home and get a good night's sleep, to conserve energy for the work awaiting him tomorrow.

In the New World, especially in America, which championed freedom, people were still divided into different classes.

And Milosh, with his useless ability, was undoubtedly among the lowest class.

He could only obtain enough food to survive through constant effort.

This aspect had surprisingly remained completely unchanged from before the world mutated.

Furthermore, due to the powerful physiques of Awakened, he even had to work longer hours each day.

This life filled him with despair, yet he was helpless.

After all, who would willingly choose death when they could live?

No choice.

Although he had a large income from selling Awakened Honey, Milosh had never expected that the Awakened Queen Bee would one day be taken away.

This led to him living a life of extravagance before, rarely saving any money.

After losing the Awakened Queen Bee, he returned to a life of suffering.

However, precisely because of this, he harbored immense hatred for Lin Tianwei, who had stolen the Awakened Queen Bee.

But no matter how much he hated, he was completely helpless.

Because he knew that he couldn't do anything to the terrifying Lin Tianwei.

Once he showed even a hint of hostility, he would be killed even from a thousand meters away.

However, hatred does not disappear; it only brews, brewing into a terrifying monster.

It would only change when Milosh gained the ability to seek revenge, or after his death.

Awakened Rat?

These were the most common Awakened Beasts in the city.

Even having arrived in the New World, humans still couldn't escape the shadow of these creatures.

There was no way; their terrifying reproductive capacity alone made people incredibly desperate.

Coupled with the fact that Awakened Rats always hid in dark corners.

The cost of eliminating them and the rewards were completely disproportionate.

This led to America almost completely tolerating the existence of Awakened Rats.

Only in high-level areas were Awakened Rats specifically hunted down.

This situation meant that encountering a terrifying Awakened Rat on the way home from work was a very normal occurrence.

If lucky, one might wait for the patrol's rescue.

Unlucky? Didn't wait for the patrol's rescue?

Becoming a pile of bleached bones was the tragic end for such unfortunates.

Given the well-known response time of American patrols.

Clearly, Milosh was the lucky one who drew the worst straw.

However, just as he thought he was about to die in the rat's maw, he discovered something very strange.

This Awakened Rat had actually stopped moving, merely staring blankly at him, with no intention of attacking him at all.

Not only that, Milosh also felt an indistinct connection forming between himself and the Awakened Mouse.

It gave him the same feeling he had when he was with the Awakened Queen Bee.

This discovery filled him with immense joy.

Could it be, could it be that he didn't possess a useless Esper ability, but a BUG skill capable of controlling powerful Awakened Beasts?

At this thought, Milosh's expression instantly became excited.

He tried to issue a command to the Awakened Mouse in front of him.

To his ecstasy, the Awakened Mouse actually followed his instructions.

It was very obedient, like the dog he had trained for countless years.

It was a pity that this dog had been devoured by an Awakened Beast during the early stages of the world's mutation while trying to save him, which Milosh found quite regrettable.

Such a delightful discovery naturally made Milosh ecstatic.

He felt that his life had taken a turn for the better, a turn that could change his destiny!

If it weren't for the fact that it was already night, he would have even wanted to report his ability to an Esper recruitment agency on the spot.

He didn't want to spend another second on this kind of work, where both his body and soul were being exploited.

That night, Milosh stayed up all night!

If he hadn't seen the obedient Awakened Mouse standing beside him, he would have even thought that what happened last night was just a dream.

But then his eyes became firm.

Having recognized his true ability, he was finally going to have good days.

He might even gain the power to take revenge on the Tiger King because of this.

The Esper recruitment agency was very efficient.

Or rather, it was very efficient for Espers with powerful abilities.

Milosh and his Awakened Mouse immediately received special reception.

He once again enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.

Under the direction of the Esper appraisal team, Milosh began to command the ferocious-looking Awakened Mouse to perform various ridiculous orders.

It was like a clown performing in a circus.

However, Milosh was extremely cooperative.

In fact, he himself was very curious about what his ability was and to what extent it could be used.

Even if it wasn't to show off his ability, just to understand it, he couldn't refuse to demonstrate.

Under Milosh's strenuous performance, the Awakened Mouse, though still alive, became a puppet of flesh and blood.

Under Milosh's command, it performed all sorts of bizarre actions.

Even when faced with the command to gnaw on itself, the Awakened Mouse didn't hesitate in the slightest.

Its sharp teeth gnawed at itself until it was a bloody mess, yet it showed no sign of stopping.

Such excellent performance naturally aroused the interest of the Esper appraisal team.

Able to unconditionally manipulate Awakened Beasts?

If this Esper ability had no upper limit, it would be incredibly terrifying.

After all, humanity's greatest enemy at present were the terrifying Awakened Beasts.

In fact, they had always been under the shadow of an existence called the Tiger King, unable to even entertain the thought of resistance.

For this, the Esper appraisal team even specially brought in a fifth-tier Awakened Lizard.

For ease of classification, humans categorized Awakened Beasts into tiers one to nine based on their displayed strength.

The strongest was ninth-tier, and the weakest was first-tier.

As an existence that enveloped the entire America under his Tigers Might, Lin Tianwei was undoubtedly ninth-tier.

However, whether the descriptor 'ninth-tier' alone could describe Lin Tianwei's strength was yet unknown.

Although a fifth-tier Awakened Beast didn't sound like a high rank, it was already an elite among Awakened Beasts, possessing terrifying abilities.

One should know that the Awakened Mouse, which could easily kill Milosh, was only a second-tier Awakened Beast.

The difference between them was not small at all.

However, facing the new Awakened Beast, Milosh was horrified to find that his Esper ability seemed to have lost its effect.

He couldn't connect with this Awakened Lizard at all, and naturally couldn't control it.

Could it be that his Esper ability was still useless, only effective against low-tier Awakened Beasts?

This discovery filled Milosh with terror.

This was like a rollercoaster ride, instantly kicking him from heaven to hell again.

Dense cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

After all, the people from the Esper appraisal team were more professional; combining Milosh's experience, they offered their suggestion.

They suggested Milosh try again after killing the Awakened Mouse.

Milosh's Esper ability might be powerful, but it might have a quantity limit.

One was the limit.

Although this situation was rare, it was not entirely impossible.

If this were the case, Milosh's Esper ability might be even more powerful than he imagined.

Because the greater the restriction, the more significant the effect of the Esper ability often was.

Milosh might be able to control very high-level Awakened Beasts.

Faced with the possibility of losing a powerful Awakened Beast, and the possibility of understanding his Esper ability better.

Milosh gritted his teeth and chose the latter.

He had to gamble; he couldn't not gamble.

Once the desire for power ignited, it could never be extinguished.

Thinking of this, he unhesitatingly took the long knife handed over by the Esper appraisal team.

Almost without any hesitation, he directly struck at the Awakened Mouse's neck.

Hot blood splattered all over him, especially his face, making it look even more ferocious.

However, Milosh soon suffered the consequences of his recklessness.

Although the Awakened Mouse was only a second-tier Awakened Beast, its blood was by no means something an ordinary Awakened could endure.

Not only did it contain Poison, but it also contained terrifying toxins and bacteria.

Even in the new world, Awakened Mice were synonymous with plague.

Fortunately.

Milosh was not alone here.

The people from the Esper appraisal team would never allow an Esper, who might be a powerful Esper, to emerge before them without assistance.

Water, like a waterfall, instantly washed over Milosh's body.

Before the Awakened Mouse's blood could cause significant damage, it thoroughly cleaned Milosh.

The Awakened Mouse was dead, so it was time to continue testing Milosh's Esper ability.

This time, Milosh finally felt something.

An indistinct connection began to form between him and the Awakened Lizard.

However, he quickly broke out in a sweat.

This time, establishing the connection was not so easy.

The sense of rejection coming from the Awakened Lizard made the establishment of this connection extremely difficult, with the possibility of failure at any moment.

Intense pain also began to invade Milosh's brain.

This was a sign of excessive Mental Power depletion.

Possessing only one Esper ability, an overly powerful Esper ability was instead a burden on his body.

What to do?

If he couldn't establish a connection with the Awakened Lizard, he wouldn't be able to prove the power of his Esper ability, nor would he be able to gain the power and status he desired.

Tell the truth?

The Esper appraisal team wouldn't listen to such nonsense; they only believed in facts they could observe.

There was only one Chance, and he absolutely couldn't miss it.

Next time, he might not encounter such a good Awakened Beast as a fifth-tier Awakened Lizard to prove his strength.

Thinking of this, Milosh gritted his teeth and fully activated his Esper ability.

The violent tremor in his brain made Milosh suffer immensely.

But he had no intention of giving up, constantly trying to link with the Awakened Lizard.

Heaven helps those who help themselves!

Milosh's efforts finally paid off; at the moment his spirit was about to collapse, he successfully established a connection with the Awakened Lizard.

Not only that, this connection even began to feed back into his spirit.

Following this connection, a very magical energy was transmitted from the Awakened Lizard.

This energy not only nourished Milosh's almost depleted vitality but also began to Reinforcement his body.

It allowed him to evolve from the most ordinary Awakened, gaining the physical strength of a typical physical Esper.

This ability to receive feedback from controlled Awakened Beasts was equally terrifying.

As long as he proceeded gradually, Milosh could completely use this ability to contract increasingly powerful Awakened Beasts step by step.

Although this might seem wasteful of Awakened Beasts, seeing his decisive manner in killing the Awakened Mouse.

He certainly wouldn't mind doing such a thing.

It sounds complicated, but in fact, all of this only took three minutes.

The people from the Esper appraisal team were very shocked.

They didn't expect such a miraculous change to be discovered in just three minutes.

Then they were ecstatic.

Being able to unearth a powerful Esper also brought them great rewards.

Most importantly, as discoverers, they could also gain a favor from the Esper.

This was the best possible outcome for them.

Next came some simple attempts, and after confirming that Milosh had completely controlled the Awakened Lizard, they also made a summary.

Milosh possessed a powerful Esper ability, suspected to be able to contract high-level Awakened Beasts.

And he could feed back the power of the contracted Awakened Beast to himself, making himself stronger, which was an extremely heaven-defying ability.

This discovery immediately drew the attention of the Esper appraisal institution, which reported Milosh's situation to their superiors at the first opportunity.

Such a terrifying ability naturally drew the attention of the superiors.

Milosh's status also rose accordingly, and he once again lived a life as extravagant as before.

Or rather, an even more extravagant life.

With America's deliberate cultivation, Milosh gained a large amount of Awakened Beast resources.

His physical fitness and abilities also became increasingly powerful.

By now, he could even contract eighth-tier Awakened Beasts.

As for ninth-tier Awakened Beasts?

It wasn't that he couldn't contract them, but there was simply no opportunity to try.

Ninth-tier Awakened Beasts were incredibly rare, basically the Lord of the Forbidden Zone in powerful human forbidden zones.

They often had an incredibly terrifying number of subordinates.

Under these circumstances, even entering the core of the forbidden zone was a luxury, let alone getting a Chance to contract the Lord of the Forbidden Zone. (End of this chapter)