Disparity

"How could this happen..."

Su Shijie felt the oppressive aura brought by that Contaminated Beast, and his heart sank.

It shouldn't be possible. This place was so close to the shelter—how could such a high-level Spirit Beast have been contaminated?

Their luck was terrible!

Run while his dad held it off? That would let his dad advance or retreat as needed?

That wouldn't work. Even with his dad holding it back, his sudden departure would likely trigger the Contaminated Beast's instinct to pursue weaker prey. Running now would just be throwing his life away.

What he should do now was minimize his presence as much as possible and pray that the Spirit Beast's brain had been badly damaged by the contamination, so it would attack his dad, who had provoked it, first.

Otherwise, either he died, or both of them died!

"The Contaminated Beast's instinct for slaughter will overpower the Spirit Beast's own reason. So as long as I don't deliberately show concern for you, and you move as little as possible, it should still be drawn to me.

"Remember, don't run until I've completely drawn its attention.

"When you run, be decisive. Don't hesitate. Once you're gone, I'll find a way to shake it off."

Su Ren stared fixedly at the Contaminated Beast ahead, his tone calm.

Then, he slowly raised the saber in his hand and pointed it toward the Contaminated Beast.

The instant he lifted his blade and drew its gaze, the sound of bullets leaving the chamber rang out in rapid succession.

Although the Contaminated Beast noticed the danger in time and dodged, several blossoms of black blood still burst across its body, and it let out a pained, furious howl.

He was only using the iron hook on his severed arm to brace the M-7, pulling the trigger through the vibrations from exerting force.

Yet that accuracy, no worse than if he were holding it normally, fully proved that even after loafing around in the shelter for so long, his dad's combat ability had not diminished in the slightest!

Unfortunately, although the M-7 was known as an electromagnetic hand cannon, an Energy Block capable of powering an ordinary Electromagnetic Handgun for a thousand shots could only support a hundred shots from it. While an ordinary pistol held a hundred rounds, its magazine held only twenty.

Its power was enough to kill Spirit Beasts of any level within the Awakened Rank, and it even posed a tremendous threat to Spirit Beasts of the Transformation Tier.

But the black wolf's tough fur, standing erect like steel needles, was like the add-on ceramic armor of a tank. When hit, it relied on the explosive dispersal of the impact to greatly reduce the bullets' damage.

Though black blood now streamed from its body where it had been shot, the bullets had at most wounded its muscles. They might have somewhat affected its movements, but not by much.

Instead, they made it even more frenzied, and a little faster!

After landing five consecutive shots, Su Ren did not greedily try to deal more damage. He moved at high speed, drawing the battlefield away from Su Shijie while continuing to calmly seek opportunities.

In a battle of this level, there was no way a cripple like him would have a chance to change magazines.

Twenty rounds were everything he had.

The first five probing shots had all landed, but clearly failed to achieve the effect Su Ren had expected.

The only thing that reassured him was that he had indeed drawn its aggro. The Contaminated Beast did not even spare Su Shijie, that small fry, a glance. All of its attention was fixed on him.

As long as he didn't do anything stupid, Su Shijie would remain safe until Su Ren died...

Clang!

Far faster than Su Ren, the mutated claws of the black wolf collided with Su Ren's alloy saber.

The violent gale swept up great swathes of rotten leaves.

Even though Su Ren used techniques to deflect the force, his center of gravity was still forced steadily backward.

Only by firing two shots into the black wolf's abdomen at close range did he temporarily drive it back.

After forcing the black wolf back, Su Ren slid several meters along a thick branch before steadying himself. It was clear that he was at an absolute disadvantage in close combat.

There was an obvious gap in both strength and speed.

The only reason he had any advantage at all was because the Psionic Alloy saber in his hand, personally forged by Sergei, was somewhat superior to the black wolf's claws.

After their earlier exchanges, the black wolf's claws had clearly sustained some damage.

But the problem was that it was still uncertain whether Su Ren could hold on long enough to cripple those claws and bring that advantage into play.

With his disadvantage in speed and reaction time, Su Ren could not hit the same spot repeatedly. Once his bullets ran out, his death would be inevitable!

With such a speed gap, escape was impossible!

The black wolf had only retreated earlier because it did not dare let Su Ren shoot the same spot repeatedly. It was a tactical withdrawal.

Su Shijie, watching from nearby, had already realized this as well.

His dad telling him to seize the chance to leave, then find an opportunity to retreat himself, had only been meant to comfort him.

Once his dad had been targeted, he had no possibility of escape at all!

The difference in speed was simply too great!

Run?

Indeed, now that his dad had drawn that beast's attention, there was a considerable chance Su Shijie could safely make it back if he ran.

But even though he knew that was the best choice, even though he had always hated those wishy-washy, dawdling people in movies, when it happened to him...

When it happened to his dad, he simply could not take that step.

Eighteen years of painstaking care, along with his dad's tolerance for his willfulness—scene after scene from their daily life echoed through his mind without warning.

If it were anyone else, hesitating for even a second would be irresponsible toward his own life. But now...

Run. Staying would only mean throwing your life away for nothing.

Who knew whether Soul Tendrils would work against a monster of this level? Don't gamble on the odds.

Run. Don't waste this chance.

Death is terrifying. You've already experienced that pain and fear once—have you forgotten?

Weren't you the most afraid of dying?

Weren't you terrified?

Didn't you want to live?

His thoughts were a mess, as if he were trying to comfort and persuade himself. But then Su Shijie bit through his lip, forcing himself awake.

I've even got a cheat. If I can't save my own dad, what use is this cheat to me!

That was right. He was afraid of death, terrified of it, but even when he drowned in his previous life, he had still gone through with it. Some things could not be avoided just because he was afraid!

What had to be faced would always have to be faced!

Fuck it!

Although some distance now separated them, the violent wind from their brief exchange earlier had still reached him.

The noise, over a hundred decibels, made Su Shijie feel as if a plane had flown past nearby. His ears rang, and he could hear nothing.

But even so, even though it was difficult to keep his eyes open, Su Shijie still did not dare relax in the slightest. He forced himself to calm down.

Because he had only one chance to make a move—his one and only chance to help his dad.

But he could not shout or warn him. He feared distracting his dad, and he also feared the black wolf would notice him and casually swat this troublesome nuisance to death first.

All he could do now was wait for the right moment...

The thunderous crack of bullets breaking the sound barrier rang out from time to time amid the rapid, brief exchanges between the two.

Every time, Su Ren had to rely on gunfire to force the black wolf back and buy himself time to catch his breath.

Moreover, there was still a problem with his left leg when he put weight on it, so he could only keep maneuvering through technique.

That black wolf kept targeting his left side.

Although Su Ren had not missed a single shot, and the black wolf now bore more than a dozen wounds, its movements had inevitably been noticeably affected.

But thanks to its agility, not one bullet had struck a vital point, nor had he managed to hit the same area repeatedly.

At this point, only six bullets remained in Su Ren's gun!

Though Su Ren had no obvious wounds apart from his physical exhaustion and looked far better than the blood-soaked, battered black wolf—

The moment his magazine ran dry would be the moment he died...

Su Shijie had been enduring the gale and the scratches left by flying wood chips on his face, staring at the battle the entire time. At last, he saw what he considered an opportunity.

A chance where his dad, the black wolf, and himself were almost in a straight line!

"Dad! Kill it!"

After roaring the warning with all his strength, Su Shijie charged forward without caring whether either combatant had heard him.

As he sprinted, four thick invisible tendrils instantly burst from behind his back and lashed wildly toward the black wolf.

At that very moment, the black wolf happened to be launching another attack on Su Ren.

Although it had also sensed the disturbance behind it, the black wolf had already initiated its pouncing motion. It clearly could not forcibly change its momentum because of some insignificant bug behind it.

It held an all-around advantage over Su Ren, but it could not abruptly alter its move and expose an opening.

As long as the Psionic Alloy saber in Su Ren's hand landed successfully, it could still inflict substantial damage.

Even worse damage than the bullets!

His son was charging forward, and Su Ren naturally could not retreat in the slightest.

After receiving his son's warning, he immediately understood what his son intended to do.

His son had already told him about his ability. The only thing that could possibly help now was the soul attack of those tendrils!

Whether it succeeded or not, they only had this one chance!

His strongest slash of the battle cut toward the black wolf before him.

At the same time, he used his remaining bullets to restrict the black wolf's movements during the strike.

Bang! Bang!

Just as the first two gunshots rang out, the Soul Tendrils, moving much faster than Su Shijie himself and barely able to catch up, successfully plunged into the black wolf's body.

But the instant they entered and touched the black wolf's soul, the gap between them made Su Shijie feel as if his head had slammed directly into an iron plate.

Blood immediately sprayed from his nose.

His consciousness nearly scattered, and stray thoughts continuously rose in his mind.

"I'll ram you to death if I have to!"

Though it felt as if his head were slamming into an iron plate, Su Shijie still twisted his face and continued ramming forward.

The second tendril!

The third!

The fourth!

Even if I have to use my face, I'll leave an imprint on that iron plate!

Awooo—

Su Shijie was not having an easy time, but neither was the black wolf.

The instant it was struck by the Soul Tendrils, its own will seemed to collapse.

Within the mind that held nothing but slaughter after contamination, chaos suddenly erupted. It was as if it had temporarily lost control of its body, leaving it stiff from head to toe.

Though the black wolf's stiffness did not last long—

For Su Ren, who had survived by living on the edge of a blade, it was enough.

The next moment, he emptied his remaining bullets, then brought his blade down and severed the wolf's head.

The wolf's head flew into the air as black blood sprayed out.

Su Ren was also sent flying by the final lingering momentum of the giant wolf's body.

But as he flew back, he knew that this danger had finally ended...

Good lord, he had never imagined that Su Shijie could decisively interfere at the crucial moment even against an enemy with such an overwhelming advantage...