At extreme speed, the pale shadow zipped into a gap between the rubble. Less than half a second later, it flashed back out.
Its mouth had evolved into mandibles, frantically gnawing on a chunk of flesh to replenish matter and energy.
It gave Shi Tie Zhu one last look, then turned and charged outside.
Boom! Another artillery strike blasted a huge breach into the mountainside, opening up a path. The pale monster shot out and raced toward the vast Martian wilderness beyond.
Shi Tie Zhu's brows knitted sharply. That artillery strike had come at the worst possible time. But there was nothing he could do. An ordinary person's combat rhythm was already far too slow to keep up with his; he could not expect ordinary people to coordinate with him seamlessly.
If Chen Jin escaped, they would surely be able to find him again. After all, Big Head was still in their hands. But this fellow had considerable potential. If he slipped away, there might be unforeseen complications.
He had to stop him!
But he was truly too fast. His fleeing figure was like a missile. Shi Tie Zhu broke into a full sprint, yet he was still left far behind.
This was exactly what Shi Tie Zhu had feared most.
But just as he rushed out of the cave, beneath the sunlight, above the mountain peak, beyond the cliff, a transport flying boat suddenly rose into view. Blue plumes sprayed downward from its four jet nozzles as the pot-bellied vessel ascended from below the cliff, blocking Chen Jin's path head-on.
The slow, unarmed flying boat could never have stopped Chen Jin from escaping, but inside its open cabin door stood a person, holding a gun.
Bang—!
A thunderous gunshot rang out. Faster than the sound was the Hypersonic Warhead,