Predalien

Predalien

The unlucky man was not unlucky at all. He could even be called fortunate. Before long, Colorado's National Guard would come looking for him and take him into protection as a witness. That meant that as long as the tactical nuke did not fall from the sky according to the original plot, he would most likely not die in this disaster.

He could survive.

Many people could survive because of this.

Of course, some other damned things would die as well.

[Killed one Xenomorph Queen. Received 3,000 reward points and one C-rank side story.]

There was a slight difference from what he had expected.

In Si Ming's memories, the first-generation Xenomorph Queen had only been worth a flat 3,000 reward points. Yet this wounded alien head he had snatched came with an additional C-rank reward.

"Sure enough, in the evaluation system, I'm still an ordinary unenhanced human."

Newcomers always gained the most. This was a kind of preferential treatment within the Main God's evaluation system. Just like how the original Ape Emperor, as a newcomer, had earned a B-rank side story and 5,000 points just by dodging a laser corridor. What Reincarnators earned in the worlds of reincarnation depended on the total amount of enhancements they had purchased from the Main God. Newcomers who had not bought anything naturally received the highest proportional returns.

Good.

Si Ming breathed slowly and rhythmically, feeling the Night Battle Qi that had been slightly depleted during the previous battle gradually recover in full. An invisible sense of fullness gathered throughout his limbs and bones, gradually transforming into a swelling sensation.

The total amount of Night Battle Qi was growing from the exhilaration of battle.

No, that was not right. The true reason should have been that this physique, enhanced through overlapping attributes, was gradually recovering the reserve capacity it should originally have possessed. Compared to the low point when he had first awakened, the amount he had now could undoubtedly be called its peak.

The effects of the Battle Qi gauze armor and physical enhancement both improved again as a result. By his estimation, his overall combat power had increased by roughly twenty percent.

Grrr— His stomach growled with hunger. The iron law of conservation of energy was still quite effective at this stage.

"Good thing I prepared in advance."

There were compressed biscuits in his marching pack. With a little water, they could quickly replenish sufficient nutrition. And...

The rain was getting heavier.

Carrie gently wiped food scraps from the fast-food table, silent grief clutching her heart—her husband, Ray Adams, had been a town deputy, and that morning, he had been found hanging upside down deep in the forest where the hunter father and son had disappeared, his entire body stripped of skin.

Who could be so cruel? So vicious? Who could commit such a horrifying atrocity? She did not know. She only knew that she had lost him forever. Pain and weakness lingered in her chest and gut, and she nearly lost her footing. Before she could even finish wiping the table, she was about to collapse.

"Carrie?" The fast-food restaurant manager looked at her with concern. "We can close early today. If you want someone to talk to, you can stay here."

"No, it's fine." She covered her mouth. She took several deep breaths. "I can handle it. And Darcy will come keep me company tonight..."

Outside the fast-food restaurant, the downpour grew heavier and heavier. Not long ago, there had been faint rumbles of thunder, almost as though something had exploded near the town center.

Splash— Water was forced aside as an old muscle car stopped outside the fast-food restaurant. A figure appeared at the entrance, and the manager was just about to tell him they were closed.

"Sorry, we're closed—"

He could not finish the sentence.

He saw the figure stepping out of the rain.

His build was clearly no different from an ordinary person's, yet his presence was as mighty as a giant's. When he stepped into the restaurant, all the lights in the front hall seemed to dim. An invisible yet intense stench of blood spread out, washing over the nerves of living creatures, as though a dreadful slaughterhouse had manifested before them!

It was a man, a man in combat gear.

He was more than a man. He was an executioner, a butcher. At least ten living creatures had died by his hand just moments ago!

And he looked at them, revealing a savage, chilling smile.

"Hm, I actually made it in time."

All the sensations vanished. The dreadful impression that had appeared before the two of them instantly turned into a harmless illusion. The grinning butcher became a mild-looking Asian youth, carrying a bulging marching pack on his back.

The lights flickered, and a faint dusk-colored gleam seemed to flash over the youth's body. The terrifying sense of danger from before immediately felt like an illusion that had never existed. Even the shotgun in his hand seemed to take on the cheap texture of plastic, while his combat gear looked like cosplay equipment picked up at a flea market.

"Boss, get me something to eat." The youth casually found a seat, then tossed the marching pack at his feet. There was something indescribably awkward about his accent and phrasing, but both Carrie and the restaurant manager could understand him easily.

"Carrie, get this gentleman a combo meal. There are still two burgers in the cabinet." The manager gestured to Carrie. His eyes held vigilance, along with confusion that had yet to fade. Then the tall, sturdy man rolled up his sleeves and sat down beside the youth.

"Never seen you before, buddy. From out of town?"

The food was brought over: cola, burgers, and fries left over from the early closing. Without hesitation, the youth stuffed a burger into his mouth. He swallowed the double-patty burger, as big as a casserole pot, in three neat bites. He was clearly starving; he could even drain a large drink in a single gulp.

"Tourist," the youth answered while swallowing fries. Carrie almost wanted to fry him two more chicken wings and make another burger. But the youth paid her no mind, merely placing the toy-like shotgun beside him. "And I'm here to verify a question."

That did not seem to be a toy. The moment it left his hand, its heavy weight became apparent. The manager was already considering whether to secretly call the police station, but in the end, he restrained himself and did not rashly let Carrie leave his sight.

"What question?" he asked, feeling somewhat nervous.

Yet in just those few exchanges, the Asian youth had already swallowed the last fry.

"Just a story." The youth glanced at Carrie, and the waitress, who had been about to head into the kitchen to make something else, stopped in her tracks. "In the forest, there was a snake king, and a hunter was hunting it. But when the hunter had victory firmly in hand, the snake king fled its nest. It had the other little snakes lure away the hunter, while it found a rabbit burrow and ate every wild rabbit inside."

"...Poor rabbits," Karen said instinctively. For some reason, she suddenly felt strangely sympathetic.

"They were indeed pitiful." The youth smiled. "So, there is another version of this story. While the hunter was hunting the snake king, another tourist entered the forest. This tourist not only stepped on and killed many little snakes, but also set off a string of loud firecrackers. As a result, many little animals that had not known the hunter and snake king were fighting began fleeing everywhere."

Rumble— Another muffled peal of thunder sounded in the distance, and the windows and floor lightly shook. If it had not been pouring outside, the manager and Karen might even have thought a tank was firing on the street.

"An interesting story." The manager's face practically spelled out the word boring. "But I don't see what question there is in it."

Yet the youth merely turned his head, seeming not to look at either him or her.

"Of course there is." The youth picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth. He placed enough money to buy three fast-food meals on the table. "I really want to know whether, after the tourist has turned the hunter and snake king's fight into a complete mess, the snake king can still escape from its nest. And..."

He paused.

"Whether the first place it reaches after escaping is still that rabbit hole."

The air suddenly fell silent.

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere burst outward in every direction from the youth as its center. A faint sound seemed to come from the kitchen. But at that very instant, the seated Asian youth abruptly grabbed and raised the shotgun beside him!

Boom! The muzzle flash that erupted from the barrel was nearly a meter long. The ammunition loaded in that firearm was definitely not ordinary!

A scream rang out.

Karen's scream was drowned beneath the monster's roar. A dreadful, ferocious, dark giant shadow appeared in her and the manager's field of vision amid a series of collisions!

They saw it. The black giant shadow was as huge as a compact car. Its thick, enormous tail, covered in sharp spikes and blades, swept out fiercely, bringing with it a vast, shrieking gust of wind.

"The answer is, it's still the same place!"

The youth's voice suddenly rang out. A huge, brutal pulling force immediately seized the two around their waists and backs. It was a sharp grab that nearly tore their outer clothes apart. The next moment, they were violently hurled away, smashing hard into the fast-food restaurant's doors and windows.

At that moment, the restaurant manager was most grateful that not a single piece of his building materials was Made in China. The fragile window glass shattered in an instant, and their bodies, scraped in many places, fell into the curtain of rain. They scrambled up from the mud, screaming wildly. The older manager reacted first and screamed at Karen.

"Run! Karen, run!"

Bang bang! Another burst of gunfire rang out, accompanied by shattered glass and overturned tables and chairs. Flashes and explosions erupted in rapid succession inside the fast-food restaurant. Two indistinct black shadows tangled at high speed in the cramped building, attacking and colliding.

Fast, far too fast. Through the rain, Karen and the manager could not even tell who held the advantage between the youth and the monster. A wall seemed to have been smashed through. A light bulb seemed to have burst. And just as the indoor lighting dimmed, another flash erupted from the kitchen!

Boom!

The boiler had been blown apart. Natural gas leaked out, then ignited. The smaller black shadow seemed to be at a disadvantage as it rushed toward the outside, while the larger giant shadow pressed forward without hesitation!

Was he going to lose? Was that man going to lose?

Karen had only just climbed up from the rain when despair filled her eyes. Yet in the very next instant, an incomparably blazing white light burst from the depths of that despair!

Crack—

More than an explosion, it sounded like thunder erupting. A blaze far greater than any gas explosion tore through every door and window in the fast-food restaurant, carried by a powerful shockwave, becoming a vast roaring blast that bore down upon the two outside.

This was not gas—it was explosives! It would take at least half a dozen High-Explosive Grenades linked together to create an effect like this. And the grenades would have to be mixed with flashbangs!

Karen suddenly remembered the marching pack the youth had placed by his feet.

Then, amid the monster's shrieks and howls, she was swept up by the blast and violently thrown farther down the street. Excruciating pain spread through her body, and darkness swallowed her in an instant.

She fainted.

She had no idea how long she had been unconscious.

When she awoke to vigorous shaking and the manager's disheveled, rough face gradually came into focus, she saw that the entire fast-food restaurant was burning fiercely in flames.

Was it... over?

She did not know.

But in the next moment, the half-collapsed door that had already been teetering amid the flames snapped and fell in a suddenly exploding burst of air.

The youth stepped out of the fire, carrying the monster's head.

Night rain. Wind rising. The hem of his clothes was slightly dirty.