Space Entrance... Open!

When they heard the shout.

Everyone ran over, their expressions grave.

And saw—

Doberman was already panting from his fight against Brute Force.

But—

Brute Force had taken some damage too. Its body was badly dented from the blows, but the damage wasn't serious overall.

Panting, Doberman said:

"Having brains really makes a difference."

"Seriously..."

"It's gotten way harder to deal with!"

Doberman spat, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

It was clear they weren't having an easy time against the Brute Force aberrant. Fortunately, they'd temporarily restrained the tumor, giving them a chance to get away.

However—

With Brute Force still here, they couldn't simply flee.

But that was exactly what Chu Yunyi had in mind.

After all, killing aberrants earned Credit Points. They might as well kill a few more while they were here.

At that moment, Chu Yunyi's passive skills were active: NO.5 [Eidetic Memory], NO.7 [Perfect Order], and NO.8 [Effortless Mastery]!

Before long—

He became so absorbed in observing and learning that he lost himself in it. He watched quietly, committing the group's fighting styles to memory.

Chu Yunyi went from a complete novice to someone who'd begun to grasp the basics.

Each member of Wild Dog House had their own strengths and weaknesses in combat.

Doberman fought with bold, sweeping movements. Greyhound relied on speed, darting in and out. Teddy favored fierce, relentless attacks.

Golden Retriever lent a hand from time to time.

Also—

Golden Retriever and Pomeranian were holding off two smaller tumor clumps—the ones that had split off from the larger tumor earlier.

Watching the fight—

Although the group worked well together, not one of them had even the slightest smile.

'Boom...'

Brute Force finally collapsed. Its muscles and tendons had been smashed to pieces, and there wasn't a single patch of uninjured flesh on its body.

But seeing this—

No one felt the slightest bit of joy.

Suddenly—

The huge lump on Brute Force's head dropped off, then turned into countless threadlike strands that crawled across the ground.

"Not good!"

"Stop it!" Doberman roared, immediately scanning the ground.

But—

The lump had never been very big. Now it had become countless threads of flesh and blood scattered across the ground. How could they possibly find it?

Even someone with sharp eyes would need time.

"It's over there." Chu Yunyi glanced over and immediately spotted it clinging to the metal box.

It was the metal box that had contained the tumor.

Chu Yunyi hadn't spotted it by somehow seeing the thing on the shallow grass. It had become easy to see after clinging to the metal box.

'Swish...'

The metallic threads gathered into a clump and burrowed into the box.

The next moment—

Doberman stopped short as he arrived, frowning.

"It's too late now."

"You all go. I'll see if I can hold it off by myself."

Doberman looked deadly serious, as if he were delivering his final words.

'Squish...'

A wet, slippery sound rang out.

Before anyone could say anything heartfelt, the metal box containing the tumor began to change.

As the sound echoed—

The once-soft tumor turned into a jellylike mass and slipped through the narrow gap in the metal box in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it."

"It was already disgusting enough. Now it's got a brain too? How are we supposed to fight it?" Teddy muttered.

Doberman's face darkened at that.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?!"

At their usually mild-mannered captain's furious shout, everyone fell silent. It was as if they were all ready to face death together.

Except... Chu Yunyi.

As everyone tensed, their expressions grim—

'Whoosh!'

A clump of tumor latched onto Golden Retriever's thigh, bringing a searing pain like fire.

"Ah!!" Golden Retriever screamed and immediately started trying to scrape the tumor off his leg.

But this thing—

Once it stuck, it wasn't easy to remove.

Like a lotus root snapping but still clinging by its threads, even after he removed the whole mass, countless tiny strands remained embedded in his flesh.

In the blink of an eye—

The little tumor grew larger as it continued to feed on flesh and blood.

Before long—

The tumor attacking Golden Retriever had grown to the size of a human head. It was horrifying to look at.

The other small tumor lay hidden in the grass, seemingly waiting for its moment.

'Squish...'

The metal box was now completely empty. The tumor inside had all burrowed out.

This time—

The tumor had changed somewhat. Countless strands of flesh and blood had formed a lump within it, shaped like an animal's brain.

'Whoosh!'

The enormous tumor charged straight at Doberman, as if it had decided he was the strongest fighter.

"Anyone who stays here, I'll kick out of Wild Dog House myself!"

"I said, go!"

Doberman issued his final warning and charged at the tumor.

In Wild Dog House, the only ones who could probably hurt the tumor were Doberman and Golden Retriever.

Both of them used mechanical arms, which counted as blunt weapons.

Weapons like Teddy's and Greyhound's, on the other hand, would only make the tumor split apart and become even harder to deal with.

At Doberman's harsh words, everyone hesitated.

Escaping on their own would be good, of course. But getting everyone back safely would be better.

"Why don't we each hold it off for a while,"

"then slowly retreat into the city?" Pomeranian suggested, asking them to consider whether the plan might work.

Nearby, Greyhound was helping Golden Retriever remove the tumor and had no time to answer.

Teddy said:

"Even ordinary tumors are hard enough to deal with."

"This one's fused with an Intelligent Brain! It'll definitely try to kill one of us, no matter what! Even if we hold it off, at least one of us will die."

At Teddy's suggestion, everyone fell silent.

Because—

They knew that running away seemed to be their only option now.

'Boom!'

Doberman swung his arm, knocking the tumor back a few inches, but it immediately charged at him again, refusing to give ground.

A large mass of tumor tried to engulf Doberman's entire body.

Fortunately, Doberman moved quickly and pulled away, but his artificial skin had already been corroded, exposing the muscle beneath.

Even the prosthetics that had been wrapped up looked somewhat decayed.

"Can't you understand plain speech?!"

"I told you to go!" Doberman shouted, his voice nearly breaking.

Hearing this, everyone stopped lingering. They quickly cut the tumor off Golden Retriever and prepared to retreat.

Out of nowhere—

Chu Yunyi said, "Does this thing eat ordinary food?"

Everyone stared at him in confusion.

What was he trying to do?

At a time like this, why was he saying something so random?

But Golden Retriever was the only one who took the question seriously.

He didn't know why Chu Yunyi had asked, but he believed Chu Yunyi had some means he didn't know about.

Enduring the burning pain in his calf, Golden Retriever replied, "No. Tumors are only interested in living things."

Hearing that—

Chu Yunyi smiled. "Good."

The next moment, Chu Yunyi held out his hand. Ability NO.15 [Portable Space] activated!

Space Entrance... Open!