Zhang Xiao was quick on the draw and had already raised the Stun Gun.
At the instant the host was about to land, she pulled the trigger. A bullet wrapped in blue electricity shot out like a venomous snake and struck the host squarely in the chest.
"Crackle."
Electricity exploded outward. The host's body convulsed violently, the light in its purple eyes rapidly dimming until it finally collapsed limply to the ground and stopped moving.
Wind swept across the hillside, sending scattered grass clippings swirling. Sunlight spilled across the sweat-covered protective visors of the group, reflecting into tiny shards of light.
Just as Liu Jialin and the others thought the mission had ended, something suddenly changed.
The host lying on the ground suddenly began to heave violently, like bellows clutched by an invisible hand. Each contraction came with the crisp sound of bones grinding out of alignment.
The next second, a purple Parasitic Worm poked its head out of the host's shattered mouth, trailing slick mucus and threads of blood as it shot out like a twisted bolt of lightning.
When it landed, its abdominal feet crushed the dry soil, leaving a string of shallow prints. Wherever mucus dripped, the blades of grass instantly curled up.
Liu Jialin's pupils shrank to pinpoints. The sound of her companions sucking in breaths came clearly from behind her... This was precisely the culprit that had plunged a vast area of the eastern suburbs into crisis.
"Catch it." Someone tried to grab the Parasitic Worm. But before their foot had even taken half a step, the faint crunch of gravel beneath their shoe had faded when Liu Jialin shouted sharply, "Don't get close. Fall back, now."
Her voice trembled slightly with urgency. Cold sweat slid from her temple along her sideburn and dripped onto