"Ding! Final target, E-49, has been deployed!"
The system's voice rang out abruptly. Meng Lang and Fang Ran stiffly exchanged a look, then both turned to look down below.
The black mist churned violently, as though the ground had become the surface of a furnace. Then it suddenly surged upward, gathering together as it rose from the ground into the air, slowly condensing into a gigantic figure.
"Oh?"
The girl captain of Qing Ting perked up as she watched the gathering black mist, sensing the locations of the others in the city.
It seemed the nearest people would still take some time to arrive. Enough time for her to prepare something.
On the rooftop, Fang Ran swallowed with difficulty and asked Meng Lang in a trembling voice:
"Bro, what the hell is that thing?!"
"Didn't you hear it? E-49!"
Meng Lang lowered his voice, speaking as though it were obvious.
Fang Ran was still frozen stiff. Holy shit, why is that thing so huge?! This is beyond anything I know!
Wasn't D-27 just an ordinary Zombie?
Then E-49, which ranked above D-27, should at least have been some monster around the size of an animal, right?
However, Fang Ran had no idea that last time, he had happened to encounter D-27's disguised true form. Right now, he stared at the pitch-black monster below, which kept growing until it stopped at the height of three stories, as big as a dinosaur, and screamed inwardly!
This is fucking nothing like what I imagined!!!
Wait, was that scamming bastard's Power Bank supposed to send me to fight things like this?!
"Little bro, don't panic. It's only the bottom of the barrel among the fifty E-Rank targets. It definitely won't be that strong, don't worry!" Meng Lang comforted Fang Ran.
Hearing that, Fang Ran relaxed slightly, only to hear Meng Lang add:
"Though E-Rank trash like us would still be dead meat if we ran into it."
Fuck you!
Fang Ran really wanted to spray his face with spit, but he knew perfectly well that if he had to fight that thing down there, never mind whether he could win—even just looking at its size would be enough to wreck him mentally. There was absolutely no way he could do it.
Besides, Fang Ran had the instinct of someone used to bad luck. There was no way he would be able to swing that incredibly powerful sword from last time again.
"Bro, what do we do? I feel like more and more people are flying toward this area."
Fang Ran looked grim as he watched people flying over from the distance, his mouth twitching.
Damn it! I knew there had to be people who could fly!
"Little bro, stay low and don't panic. Zero-kill Chicken Dinner is our creed!" Meng Lang used his huge cape to hide them both and declared fearlessly, "Don't worry. Those people are definitely here for the special reward for killing the target. They won't have time to bother with us."
"Oh, so that's how it is?"
Fang Ran nodded solemnly. He immediately believed Meng Lang and confidently relaxed.
Fang Ran was utterly confident.
Meanwhile, inside the supermarket building, a silver-white blur darted through corridors and rooms.
At last, Ling found the place she had been searching for.
Equipment Power Supply Room Authorized personnel only
Ignoring the words above, Ling directly used telekinesis to open the door and flew into the room. Looking at the electrical control equipment covered in blinking indicator lights of every color, Ling let out a low, resentful laugh.
"You forced me into this. If I don't show you what I'm capable of, you really won't learn!"
Fang Ran had successfully chickened out completely, thoroughly infuriating Ling. So, Ling decided to teach Fang Ran a lesson he would never forget, one that would make him never dare pull this kind of stunt again!
But with Fang Ran determined to keep hiding to the bitter end, Ling had no way to force him into battle.
So.
In her soul-data form, Ling curled her lips into a little devil's smile. Using telekinesis to control the equipment, she forcibly adjusted several settings—the settings that supplied power to every store in the entire building!
That was right. Ling's plan was exactly that!
First, lure a large number of E-Rank cannon fodder monsters here.
Then detonate the power and blow up the entire building!
By then, surrounded by enemies on all sides, she would see how Fang Ran and that shady friend of his could keep hiding!
Ling ground her little fangs together and smiled maliciously.
"Look forward to it, Fang Ran. To make sure this building gets blown up, I've thought of more than just oil, fire, and exploding electrical appliances at the load-bearing pillars. I even thought of dust explosions~"
"Once Ling has lured in enough monsters, then completely overloads every piece of equipment in this building with high voltage, then..."
Ling was not worried in the slightest, because she had calculated everything. Fang Ran, Meng Lang, and all those people outside—absolutely no one would discover the measures she had set up.
Fang Ran, she looked forward to hearing him scream when the monsters surrounded him.
"Hehe~" Thinking of that scene, Ling unconsciously chuckled, utterly confident.
In the battle zone on the plaza below, E-49 had now fully appeared. It had a little dinosaur-like body, black hide, and four limbs that looked incredibly powerful. If it had to be described, it resembled a saber-toothed tiger enhanced and demonized, as though it truly had been dropped here from somewhere.
Whoosh!
The wind crashed down violently as someone in a cape descended atop a whirlwind. Looking around at the empty surroundings, he muttered excitedly:
"Great! I'm actually the first one here!"
The special reward is mine!
Thinking excitedly, he waved his hand and silently recited something. A Wind Blade formed in his hand. But just as he was about to make the first move and kill E-49, several more figures arrived!
One wore enormous Metal Gauntlets, battle aura swirling around his entire body.
One held a longsword, his eyes sharp and greedy as he stared at E-49, then turned an ill-intentioned look toward the first man to arrive.
The last one carried all kinds of weapons and firearms on his body, holding a silver-white Desert Eagle in his hand as he strode fiercely toward the center of the plaza.
Of course, this scene had more participants than just these few!
Fang Ran's first impression had indeed been correct. There had been quite a lot of people aboard that transport plane—fifty in total. The reason only these few had appeared here now was naturally because...
All the others capable of competing for it had been eliminated.
The rest knew they lacked the strength to contend for the final deployed target, so they hid and only killed the minor cannon fodder monsters.
The four people now circled E-49, all watching one another warily. E-49 seemed to have sensed the danger as well, roaring in vigilance at the four people who had faintly formed an encirclement around it.
"What's this supposed to mean?"
The man wearing Metal Gauntlets and covered in battle aura spoke first. He was C-Rank, the highest-ranked of the four. Seeing that the other three seemed unwilling to move, he asked coldly.
"What do you mean, what does it mean? Whoever gets it, gets it!"
The man holding the sword replied with a sneer. The other two did not object, as if they tacitly agreed.
"Heh! Fine! Then come and try!"
Hearing what the three meant and realizing he might be targeted first, the C-Rank man laughed deeply and struck first!
He smashed his fist viciously at one of them!
The other three were not about to fall behind either, unleashing their abilities one after another! They did not only attack the C-Rank man—they struck at E-49 at the same time as well!
Wind Blades, sword energy, and the roar of gunfire!
They erupted across the street all at once!
In the shadows, the girl quietly appeared behind a billboard. Wrapped in electromagnetic energy, she gave off not the slightest trace of presence. Then she smiled confidently and lightly snapped her fingers.
The intense electrical light she had planted beneath their feet instantly spread out and attacked the four of them!
This was the method she had been preparing all along. Though there was only one C-Rank among them, there was a truth countless people believed in during Night Battle: you could never know how bizarre your opponent's abilities might be.
So the girl chose the safest approach.
The girl was utterly confident.
Before you continue