The Charge

"...Honestly."

Tang Zhean sat among the army array. He neither attacked nor defended.

In terms of numbers, three people with three guns in each direction was already enough to make the defense line dense. If the line was breached, one more person wouldn't make a difference.

Besides, Tang Zhean had never seen himself as a soldier or a fighter. He was a researcher, and he could also serve as a strategist. The reason he'd joined Lu Yuanming and the others for this Clearing Operation was simply to get firsthand data up close.

Tang Zhean's attention was now focused more on Lu Yuanming.

From a rational standpoint, what Lu Yuanming was doing at that moment was foolish!

They knew nothing about the enemy, they were in a dangerous situation, ammunition was limited and precious, and the civilians were numerous and in chaos... All of this was more than enough to show how foolish and impulsive Lu Yuanming was.

That was right. If Lu Yuanming were merely a leader of a faction, or a powerful fighter, then all this would be proof of his foolishness and impulsiveness.

But aside from being the leader of the organization, Lu Yuanming was also the Lord, the Messiah, in the eyes of these Westerners. In that case, his actions were at least somewhat understandable.

Though they were still incredibly foolish.

That was the rational view.

Tang Zhean also knew that people weren't machines. Beyond reason, they had emotions too.

He didn't dislike a genuine do-gooder, as long as that do-gooder wasn't a weakling who showed off by putting his own people's lives on the line.

Looks like it's still up to me!

Tang Zhean thought to himself, This guy's worth sticking with. When there's trouble, he really does step up. Which means he needs power all the more. When someone with power steps up, he's a hero, a champion, a man who turns the tide when all seems lost. When a weakling steps up, he's just sending himself to his death—a loser, a bleeding heart. There's quite a difference. All the more reason for me to help him!

Thinking this, Tang Zhean felt the weight of his responsibilities on his shoulders. His heart filled with ambition and visions of the future, and for a moment he sank into his own emotions, inspiring and moving himself.

Then he noticed that the passage outside the hall was strewn with corpses—some belonging to monsters, others to civilians.

They had died twice. After dying in the Material World, their information had been reduced to Dark Matter World Creatures. So what happened if they died again in the Dark Matter World?

If this is the world after death, what happens if you die here too...?

Tang Zhean had wondered about this even when he was still in the Material World. He'd originally thought that after dying in the Dark Matter World, the body would vanish into nothingness, like Information Scatter. But in reality, death in the Dark Matter World also left a corpse. That was fascinating—or perhaps... terrifying.

Tang Zhean had a feeling that this might involve some truth beyond the limits of horror...

While Tang Zhean's thoughts wandered, Lu Yuanming had already begun a desperate battle against the monsters.

After dropping onto the street, Lu Yuanming was immediately exposed to the monsters all around him. Hundreds of them swarmed toward him, and more came pouring out of the surrounding darkness with every passing moment, like an endless tide. Lu Yuanming stood firm amid the monster horde, an unyielding reef!

Lu Yuanming absorbed two Colorless Light Particles... He'd discovered this ability only after Tang Zhean had given him the idea.

He could absorb Colorless Light Particles at will, allowing him to unleash tremendous fighting power for a short time. It was also the power of Order of Matter that Tang Zhean had told him about: he could draw strength from the order of the Material World, including the beliefs that came from it—in other words, these Colorless Light Particles, which held the purest blessings and wishes.

Each additional particle made Lu Yuanming's power erupt by a Geometric Multiple, but it also increased the strain. He could absorb one Colorless Light Particle to triple his Physical Quality and reaction speed for about ten minutes. Or he could absorb two to increase his Physical Quality and reaction speed sevenfold, and extend the duration to a full two hours.

But there was a price. Once the energy from one Colorless Light Particle ran out, he'd be weakened for about an hour. He'd tried absorbing two Colorless Light Particles once before, too. When the two-hour burst ended, he'd lose all ability to fight. Even a child could kill him then, and he'd remain weak and powerless for two days. He'd need someone to protect him during that time.

(So... I have to end this fight within two hours!)

With two Colorless Light Particles absorbed, a faint glow rose from Lu Yuanming's entire body, like flames. As his Physical Quality surged sevenfold, the movements of every monster around him seemed at least five times slower—a Super Slow Motion effect.

Lu Yuanming's Semi-automatic Rifle roared. Every shot hit a monster in the eye or right in the middle of its forehead. His sevenfold Physical Quality had also improved the stability of his arms and his sensitivity to bullet trajectories. At that moment, he was a sharpshooter every bit as good as Peter, if not better. Meanwhile, his other hand thrust the Fine Steel Spear again and again.

Each thrust cracked the air with a sonic boom. At that speed and force, no matter what kind of monster he faced, one thrust punched a gaping hole through it. Some were even pierced clean through and split in half.

In just a few minutes, dozens of monster corpses had piled up at Lu Yuanming's feet.

Just then, the Super Giant Skinless Monster lunged at him. Its nine-meter-tall body barreled toward him with tremendous force.

Lu Yuanming saw it all. With his Sense of Time slowing everything to a fifth of its normal speed, there was no chance he'd fail to react. As the giant monster reached out with both claws to tear him apart, Lu Yuanming shot two nearby monsters with his Semi-automatic Rifle. One was a Man-wolf leaping at him; the other was a serpentine creature with a savage maw. After he killed them both, the Super Giant Skinless Monster's claws were less than a meter away.

In that split second, Lu Yuanming dropped low, then sprang upward with all his strength. The ground shattered beneath him as he leapt more than three meters into the air, just clearing the monster's grasping claws. But that wasn't all. As he came down, Lu Yuanming ran straight up the Super Giant Skinless Monster's arm. No matter how violently its arm and claws lurched and swayed, in less than a second he'd charged right up to the monster's terrifying head.

Everything around him moved in slow motion. Lu Yuanming even had time to study the giant monster's hideous face. It had no brows, eyes, ears, or nose, only a savage maw—and yet, when it faced Lu Yuanming, it seemed to show a hint of shock and fear.

In a flash, Lu Yuanming thrust the Fine Steel Spear straight into the giant monster's forehead with a thunderous whoosh. The immense force toppled it, and the spear pinned its head firmly to the ground. The monster didn't die at once; its body kept twitching, its claws flailing wildly.

Lu Yuanming landed on the ground and yanked out the Fine Steel Spear. Then he gripped it and hacked down at the monster's neck. Once, twice, three times. Every blow unleashed tremendous force. With his current strength seven times greater than normal, he was truly no weaker than these Super Giant Monsters. Then he seized the monster by the hole in its forehead, braced his foot against its body, and wrenched upward with all his strength. He tore the giant monster's head clean off. Black blood sprayed into the air as Lu Yuanming held up its head and looked around.

From the moment the Super Giant Skinless Monster attacked to the moment Lu Yuanming leapt, charged up, and killed it, the whole sequence had taken only a second or two. He'd killed the giant monster in the blink of an eye. The monsters around him were still charging, but when Lu Yuanming stood with the monster's head in his hand, the tide around him faltered. He even saw some monsters hesitate and glance around, as if searching for something.

(Do monsters have intelligence too? No, perhaps it's instinct. Even monsters are alive, and being killed means death. The instinct to survive would make them hesitate...)

But monsters were still monsters. Lu Yuanming didn't hesitate. If they weren't coming for him, he'd go kill them instead.

Lu Yuanming dropped the giant monster's head and ignored the large number of White Light Particles pouring out of it. He broke into a run and charged straight into the monster horde.

With his Steel Armor on, Lu Yuanming didn't even bother dodging or blocking. He plunged straight into the monsters. His tremendous strength burst forth, and he slammed into the ones in front of him, sending several flying. Then his spear thrust again and again, each strike killing a monster. His Semi-automatic Rifle kept firing in his other hand, dropping monster after monster. In an instant, Lu Yuanming had carved his way into the monster tide and smashed it open. His target was another Super Giant Monster—the old friend he'd been searching for all along.

The Super Giant Man-faced Dog.

Monsters killing people wasn't unusual. But a person chasing monsters to kill them? That was a rare sight.

As Lu Yuanming fixed his gaze on the Super Giant Man-faced Dog and charged toward it, the monster hesitated. It didn't retreat, but neither did it advance to meet him.

The distance between them kept shrinking.

At that moment, Lu Yuanming looked more like a monster himself.

The newcomers descending from the Material World all around them, onto the tops of nearby buildings, watched the scene unfold.

A powerful human hero.

Was charging straight into the monster horde!