Raging Tiger Has No Ravines Before Its Eyes

Mid-spring, the second lunar month, the season of Awakening of Insects.

In a season that should have been defined by "all hibernating creatures startled into movement, plants stretching out in every direction," the earth remained deathly still, devoid of any vitality.

On a desolate street, a manhole cover shifted, then was lifted and set aside by a hand.

Luo Yan poked half of his Heads out from the opening, scanning his surroundings with vigilance.

Everything within his line of sight was nothing but broken walls, ruins, and rubble.

This was once a city of bustling traffic and endless streams of people.

Now, the noise was gone, and the prosperity had vanished without a trace.

All that remained were drifting dust, scraps of paper, bloodstains, and withered bones.

Dust and grime were everywhere, permeating the air with an atmosphere of decay and heaviness.

This was the third year since the Giant Beast Calamity.

After those massive, unidentified creatures descended from the sky, the world headed toward extinction in less than half a year, and all order was swept away.

The survivors had lived in hell ever since.

Woo.

The wind picked up.

As the wind stirred Luo Yan's jet-black hair, he quickly climbed out of the manhole and pulled the cover back to leave it slightly ajar.

Beneath the cover, a rope tied with non-slip knots swayed incessantly in the wind.

Luo Yan's clothes were tattered and covered in filth, with a sturdy pouch strapped to his waist.

Every part of his body exposed to the air was wrapped in layers of waterproof fabric.

Only a pair of crimson eyes remained visible.

At this moment, a Thunderous Roar rumbled across the sky.

It began to rain.

Luo Yan liked rainy days; the Rain Water could wash away his scent.

Luo Yan also hated rainy days; the Rain Water caused a toxin known as Red Poison to accumulate in large quantities, increasing the chance of infection and worsening his condition.

Red Poison was brought by those life forms people called "Giant Beasts."

When the blood of a Giant Beast came into contact with the air, it spread this toxin.

It caused irregular red spots to appear on people's skin and stained the eyes of the infected a deep crimson.

When that crimson covered the entire pupil, it meant the patient was not far from death.

Just like Luo Yan.

The crimson in his eyes was already close to consuming his pupils.

Splash.

The Rain Water washed over the earth, kicking up a scent of wet mud.

Luo Yan had already pulled down the diving goggles he wore on his head to protect his eyes.

He then put on a waterproof helmet, making himself "impervious to all toxins."

Next, Luo Yan skillfully navigated through the streets and alleys.

He passed a dilapidated hotpot restaurant and walked by a collapsed cinema.

Suddenly, his eyes burned, and he hurriedly stopped.

At this moment, Luo Yan's gaze became vacant, as if he had lost focus.

In his vision, the scene of the street suddenly grew dim.

He saw several clusters of greyish light moving forward at the intersection ahead, about to enter the crossing.

This magical "vision" had appeared after the Giant Beast Calamity.

Before the disaster struck, Luo Yan had bought an Ancient Book titled Foundation Establishment Art online.

According to the seller, it was a treasure he had risked his life to dig out of an ancient tomb.

It was a lost cultivation method.

It was a type of Visualization Technique.

Luo Yan had once been obsessed with such things.

After buying it, he had actually practiced according to the contents of the Ancient Book.

But it had no effect.

However, after the Giant Beast Calamity, Luo Yan clearly felt that this so-called Visualization Technique began to take effect.

Every time he practiced, he could feel tiny sparks of warmth injecting into his body, and soon after, streams of warmth would rush toward the top of his head.

Not long after, he discovered that he could sometimes see certain anomalies.

He could see the gray light emitted by humans, Giant Beast parasites, Giant Beasts, and other creatures.

Just like now, it always allowed him to sense danger in advance.

Luo Yan immediately lightened his footsteps, silently shrinking into the trunk of a car nearby.

Only a narrow slit remained.

A moment later, creatures as large as wolfhounds passed by.

They looked like ticks, with wolf-like Heads, pointed jaws, and protruding snouts.

Four or five of these things passed through the nearby street, stopping from time to time to observe their surroundings.

Extremely vigilant.

These were Wolf Tick, one of the parasites found on Giant Beasts.

Over the past two years, Luo Yan had dealt with them many times.

He knew clearly that these things had keen hearing and were drawn to the scent of blood.

They were adept at blood-sucking, fierce and cruel, and rarely traveled alone, usually moving in packs of three or five.

Luo Yan was not at all surprised to encounter Wolf Tick.

Because deep within this city, in the area that used to be the city center, a Giant Beast lay dormant.

A living Giant Beast!

It had a Sheep-faced Humanoid appearance, tiger teeth, human claws, and a voice like an Infant Cry.

Whenever night fell, if one heard the sound of a baby crying, it was that Giant Beast calling out.

It had used the sound of an infant's cry more than once to lure prey into its trap.

Inside the car trunk, Luo Yan only carefully departed after all the Wolf Tick had left.

Not long after.

He crawled out from a ventilation duct.

The other end of the duct was a supermarket.

The supermarket had largely collapsed, but the food section had miraculously remained intact.

Thus, it became Luo Yan's "secret granary."

However, because the only way in and out was the supermarket's exhaust pipe, Luo Yan could not bring out too much food at once.

He was also unwilling to do so.

Because that would arouse suspicion, attract attention, and bring a death sentence upon himself.

There were no police to maintain order anymore.

To survive, one had to rely entirely on oneself.

At this moment, Luo Yan's waist pack was already filled with seven or eight individually wrapped loaves of bread and sausages.

Although these items were expired, thanks to preservatives, they were still edible.

As for whether eating them would cause illness, no one cared about that anymore.

As long as there was something to eat!

On the way back, the rain stopped.

Luo Yan's steps became a bit lighter.

These loaves of bread and sausages were enough to last him a week.

Thinking of this, Luo Yan felt a sense of satisfaction and happiness.

Unfortunately, happiness comes and goes quickly.

When Luo Yan arrived at the intersection where he had discovered the Wolf Tick, his eyes felt a slight burning sensation again.

Then, he saw a humanoid, gray light shadow appear inside a bus with a collapsed roof nearby.

Luo Yan made a prompt decision, turned around, and ran.

"Damn it, this kid is quite sharp." Someone in the bus cursed, and then a burly man rushed out.

He had a sturdy build, and his hands and face were covered in hideous scars.

He immediately let out a whistle.

From an internet cafe ahead, where the door had vanished, two more men ran out.

They were either holding knives or carrying clubs.

They were all armed.

The three men blocked Luo Yan's path from the front and back.

Luo Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and pulled an automatic pistol from behind his waist.

He disengaged the safety and racked the slide to chamber a round.

Crouching slightly, Luo Yan assumed a standard shooting stance and slowly retreated.

"Wait, wait, wait, let's keep things civil."

The burly man, clearly the leader, raised his hands and forced a smile: "I've long heard that Brother Luo is well-informed. You know exactly where to find food and where to get medicine."

"Rest assured, we know the rules and won't pry into where those places are."

"It's just that the three of us have been starving for days, and looking at how bulging your pack is, Brother Luo, you must have had quite a haul."

"How about this? Share a little food with us."

"From now on, we brothers will follow your lead, Brother Luo!"

While the burly man spoke, the other two men moved intentionally or otherwise behind him.

One of them, Horse Face, quietly pulled out a handgun.

It turned out he intended to use the burly man as cover to take Luo Yan out by surprise.

But at that moment.

A cold glint flashed in Luo Yan's eyes.

The burly man realized something was wrong and screamed for them to get down.

Bang!

Gunshots echoed.

Even with both hands gripping the handle tightly, Luo Yan's arms were uncontrollably jerked into the air; he felt as if his hands were about to be torn from his body.

However, that single shot left a bullet hole in Horse Face's forehead, while the back of his head was completely blown apart.

Blood, brains, and scalp with hair splattered across the face of the companion behind him.

That man immediately lost control of his bladder.

Luo Yan turned and ran.

He sprinted toward the sewer entrance he had come from.

Only then did the burly man scramble up, first grabbing the gun Horse Face had dropped, then shoving his remaining companion: "Get after him, unless you don't want to eat!"

The man snapped out of his daze, wiped the blood from his face, and followed the burly man in pursuit.

The burly man fired.

Unfortunately, his aim was abysmal, and he failed to hit Luo Yan.

Luo Yan had already reached the sewer entrance.

He dove in immediately.

He grabbed the rope tied to the manhole cover.

Using his body weight, he pulled it down!

The cover slammed shut.

The burly man ran over, cursing, threw the handgun aside, and tried to pry the cover open.

Suddenly.

He heard a strange sound.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

His expression shifted, and as he turned back, he saw four or five Wolf Tick darting toward them.

Those creatures had eight legs and moved with incredible speed.

The burly man's face drained of color, and he shouted: "Brother Luo, quickly open the cover and let us down."

"We were wrong."

"We shouldn't have targeted you."

"Please, be the bigger man and spare our lives!"

Beneath the manhole cover, Luo Yan's eyes remained calm and rippleless.

As if he hadn't heard the burly man at all, he kept a death grip on the rope.

Furthermore, he flipped into a handstand, pressing his legs firmly against both sides of the cover.

He used every ounce of his strength to hold it tight, ensuring there was no chance of it being opened.

Soon.

Screams, curses, and Gunshots rang out from above.

But those sounds vanished quickly.

All that remained was the sound of slurping.

Luo Yan knew that the Wolf Tick were draining the two men of their blood.

Even if that shot hadn't killed Horse Face, it wouldn't have mattered.

Luo Yan fired his weapon primarily to lure the Wolf Tick over.

Those things would never miss the slightest disturbance in their vicinity.

Furthermore, once they caught the scent of blood, they would become incredibly frenzied, losing all reason and instinctively attacking their prey.

As long as the Wolf Tick was drawn in, those two men would have absolutely no chance of survival!

A moment later, the Rain Water flowing down from the manhole drainage holes gradually began to mix with a trace of blood.

Only when he could no longer hear the slightest movement above did Luo Yan release the rope and climb the ladder from the well to the surface.

Luo Yan pulled a flashlight from his waist pouch, switched it on, and began to walk forward.

After walking for a while, he emerged onto the surface from another exit.

He still needed to make a trip to a pharmacy.

He had to find some painkillers, otherwise, when the Red Poison flared up, he would have a very difficult time enduring it.

While on his way to his destination, he suddenly felt the ground shake.

It was as if a giant beast was on the move!

Luo Yan quickly hid himself inside a shoe store.

A moment later, he did not see a giant beast.

Instead, he saw a convoy!

That convoy featured three heavy-duty trucks that could truly be called "monsters," with cargo beds nearly as large as a building; there was no telling what was inside them.

Each wheel was nearly as tall as Luo Yan, and one had to climb a ladder nearly two meters high just to enter the driver's cab.

The tremors in the ground were primarily caused by them.

In addition to these "monster"-class heavy-duty trucks, there were several Armored Vehicle units covered in antennas and radar.

But there were even more SUVs equipped with mounted Machine guns.

This was an army!

Luo Yan couldn't help but feel excited.

Where there was an army, there was organization.

Where there was organization, there might be an antidote for the Red Poison!

Luo Yan absolutely did not want to die!

Moreover, he knew that he didn't have much time left.

He might be able to live for another half a year.

Or perhaps even less!

The convoy rumbled past him.

An Armored Vehicle equipped with a massive metal battering ram led the way.

It guided the vehicles behind it deeper into the city.

Luo Yan hurriedly followed.

Fortunately, this metropolis, once nicknamed Flower City, was now filled with obstacles everywhere, making the convoy's progress quite slow.

Otherwise, Luo Yan doubted whether he would have been able to keep up.

Judging by the direction the convoy was heading.

Luo Yan boldly speculated that they were going toward the city center, heading for the area around the Galaxy Stadium!

But a giant beast lay dormant there.

What were these people doing going there?

Could it be to annihilate the giant beast?

This was something Luo Yan found hard to believe.

After the Giant Beast Calamity, the survivors of Flower City had all hidden underground to live.

That Sheep-faced Humanoid giant beast had built its nest in the Galaxy Stadium, but as long as one didn't approach that area, there would be no trouble.

Of course.

The threats in the city were not limited to that giant beast.

There were also various Giant Beast parasite species scattered throughout the city by the giant beasts.

Even so, the survivors still did not want to leave the city.

Because the situation outside the city was even worse.

In the current era, lacking long-distance transportation, if one encountered a Giant Beast parasite or ran straight into a giant beast outside the city.

The probability of survival would be infinitely close to zero.

Luo Yan shook his Heads to focus his mind.

He utilized his Mystic Vision to track the gray clusters of light representing life, trailing far behind the convoy.

Suddenly, he saw a dense mass of gray light clusters emerging from a side street on the left.

A swarm of Giant Beast parasite!

Instantly, a question surfaced in Luo Yan's mind: follow or not?

Follow, and he might die, but he would have a chance to obtain the antidote.

Don't follow, retreat now, and he could live in temporary safety.

Almost in an instant.

Luo Yan already had his answer.

"A tiger sees no ravines before it!"

His gaze was firm; instead of stopping, he quickened his pace.

As he halved the distance to the convoy, Gunshots suddenly rang out!

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

The high-impact Gunshots made Luo Yan's eyes sharpen, and he immediately dropped to the ground.

Then he saw it.

Countless parasites crawled out from the streets, from gaps in buildings and windows, and from under the chassis of cars.

They converged into a black tide, crashing toward the convoy.

The Machine guns mounted on the convoy's SUV roared and bellowed.

The smell of gunpowder immediately permeated the air.

The black tide was obstructed, with insects constantly being sent flying into the air by bullets, blasted into pieces.

At this moment, some parasites that resembled mites but bore human faces on their bodies leaped frantically onto those "monster" trucks.

They were Human-faced Mite, a type of Giant Beast parasite.

These things were incredibly stubborn.

Once they latched onto prey, they would "settle down," using sharp, barbed limbs to anchor themselves to the target's body.

Then they would release a bio-acid of astonishing intensity, capable of dissolving a living person in about 10 seconds.

Now, a large number of Human-faced Mite were clinging to the cargo beds of the heavy trucks.

These basin-sized insects were rapidly releasing bio-acid, melting the container walls.

However.

The convoy clearly had countermeasures.

A cloud of mist suddenly sprayed out from around the heavy truck containers.

After the mist evaporated, the insects clinging to the containers froze and fell off.

Luo Yan gasped at the sight.

He was glad he hadn't been reckless; otherwise, he would be the one frozen into an ice cube right now.

Suddenly.

Luo Yan saw that the container of a heavy truck at the rear of the convoy had already been melted into an irregular gap!

The swarm of insects around it was almost completely wiped out!

The opportunity had arrived.

Luo Yan patiently suppressed his impulse until the two SUV near the truck cleared out the remaining insects.

Only when they rushed forward to support the front of the convoy did Luo Yan dash out!

He passed over the insect-strewn ground and arrived near the slowly moving truck.

With a powerful leap.

He grabbed the crash bar, which was a full two meters off the ground.

He climbed up.

Just as he was about to crawl into the gap.

Suddenly.

A black shadow leaped from the ground.

It was a Human-faced Mite!

Luo Yan could see its soft, sponge-like abdomen.

He saw it frantically waving its seven or eight limbs.

A cold glint flashed in Luo Yan's crimson eyes.

He exerted all his strength and threw his Dagger.

The Dagger turned into a Black Threads, piercing the soft abdomen of the Human-faced Mite, causing it to shriek and fall to the ground.

Luo Yan did not dare to relax, quickly scrambling up and slipping into the carriage through the gap.

The moment he entered the carriage, his vision blurred, and vague flickers of light flashed before his eyes.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

A strange sensation welled up within him.

This caused Luo Yan to suddenly collapse.

Fortunately, there was no one in the carriage.

Otherwise, the commotion alone would have been enough to attract attention.

He quickly looked up to survey the carriage.

The space inside the carriage was impossibly vast.

In the front stood a colossal object, covered by a tarp and secured with ropes to prevent it from being blown away.

Luo Yan quickly hid himself.

Just as he was congratulating himself on his success, a piercing alarm blared throughout the carriage.

Luo Yan initially thought he had been discovered.

Unexpectedly.

The carriage's broadcast system chimed in simultaneously: "Attention! Attention! Spatial Shockwave detected reaching critical threshold!"

"The 'Jambu Realm Space' will open in three seconds."

"Three, two, one..."

"Jambu Realm Space opened!"

"Giant Beast deployment imminent!"

"Entering Level 1 combat readiness!"

"All mecha transport bays deploying."

"Mecha startup sequence initiated!"