Scavengers, Danger!

A mere three minutes.

That twelve-meter-long behemoth had been entirely consumed by Calamity.

All that remained on the ground was a thick layer of reddish-brown powder—the waste residue left behind after Calamity's absorption—spread across the earth like a fall of red snow.

Lin Fan glanced at Calamity in his hand.

The originally pitch-black blade did not look much different now, though the matte finish on its surface seemed to have deepened.

Then, a stream of data slowly refreshed across his retina:

[Industrial carbon steel devoured: 48 tons.]

[Calamity growth progress: +0.2%, current progress: 0.27%.]

[Current load compatibility: +0.2%.]

[Weapon density increased, current weight: 3,100 kilograms.]

"..."

Lin Fan watched that barely-moved progress bar, his mouth twitching.

"Forty-eight tons of steel, and that's all I get?"

"Talk about an appetite."

Though he grumbled internally, Lin Fan did not dwell on it.

After all, it wasn't a picky eater; even scrap metal would do, which was rare enough.

Still, the conversion rate was outrageously low. To fill that progress bar, he would probably have to devour half the county.

"Whatever, it's a large quantity and it fills me up, plus it replenishes my stamina. I'm not losing out."

Lin Fan flipped his wrist, and Calamity vanished into thin air, retracted into the space ring on his finger.

The terrifying weight that had been crushing his body instantly lifted, and Lin Fan felt his entire being turn weightless.

"Continue."

He raised his head, his gaze locking onto the fuel pipe entrance beneath the gas station.

Since the stuff on the surface was gone, he couldn't let the underground supply go to waste either.

He had to make this trip worth his while!

But just then.

Lin Fan's ears suddenly twitched.

Vroom, vroom, vroom!

It was the roar of a high-displacement engine, and judging by the direction, it was barreling in from the county entrance.

"Someone's here?"

Lin Fan's movements paused, and his brow furrowed instantly.

Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled his body back, sticking to the shadows of the gas station's half-collapsed wall like a gecko.

He slowed his breathing, his entire presence instantly merging with the surrounding ruins.

Please don't notice me...

Only a dozen seconds later.

Screech!!

A harsh sound of braking rang out.

A black off-road vehicle, welded with anti-collision steel beams and modified to look like an armored car, pulled up to the gas station entrance with extreme arrogance.

The doors were shoved open roughly.

Four burly men in black tactical gear jumped out.

They carried identical combat blades, and their waists were bulky with the unmistakable outlines of firearms.

Most conspicuous were the badges on their chests—a vulture picking at carrion.

"Damn it, what rotten luck!"

The leader was a bald man with a face full of flab and a hideous scar running across his entire visage; he didn't look like a good bird.

He carried a modified large-caliber heavy machine gun, kicked a piece of rubble aside, and spat as he spoke.

"Didn't the intel dealer say this gas station was a Shadow Cat den? Where are the cats? There isn't even a single hair!"

"Boss, something's not right."

A thin team member beside him held a life-form detector, scanning the surroundings with a deep frown.

"There's a scent of blood."

"It's faint, and the wind has scattered most of it, but it's definitely fresh."

As veteran warriors who licked blood off their blades year-round, their noses were sharper than wild dogs in the wilderness.

"Did someone beat us to the punch?"

The bald man narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint flashing within.

"If they did, where are they? Where are the bodies?"

His gaze swept back and forth across the empty ground of the gas station, finally fixing on the strange reddish-brown powder.

At the sight of it, he was stunned.

"What the hell is this?"

Another member crouched down, pinched a bit of the "red snow" between his fingers, and sniffed it. His expression changed instantly.

"Boss, it's rust powder..."

He looked up, his voice tinged with uncertainty:

"And... I remember the map marked this as the spot for a heavy tanker truck."

"Where's the truck?"

The bald man's pupils contracted sharply at these words.

A tanker truck weighing dozens of tons, gone into thin air?

Leaving only a pile of red powder?

"Some mutant monsters have highly acidic corrosive fluids that can melt metal in an instant..."

The bald man gripped his heavy machine gun, his previously arrogant air receding significantly.

"Or it's some kind of special mutant we've never seen before."

"Everyone, be careful. This place feels evil."

In their understanding, things like space rings didn't exist, and they couldn't possibly imagine someone "eating" a tanker truck.

The only explanation was that something they hadn't encountered was hiding here!

"Boss! Over there!"

The thin member who had been staring at the life-form detector suddenly shouted, pointing his finger at a shadowed corner of the half-collapsed wall.

"There's a weak heat signature! It hasn't moved! That thing is hiding there! Looks like a person!"

"Damn!"

The flesh on the bald man's face twitched, and his fierce eyes instantly locked onto Lin Fan's hiding spot.

Click!

The sound of a heavy machine gun being chambered echoed.

The pitch-black muzzle pointed directly at the broken wall.

"Come out!!"

"I don't care if you're human or ghost, if you keep hiding, I'll blast that wall into dust! I'm counting to three!!"

In the shadows behind the wall.

Lin Fan sighed softly.

Got careless.

He silently reviewed the situation in his mind.

I avoided visual detection and didn't make a sound, but I forgot these bastards have thermal imaging.

Still lacking experience.

However...

Lin Fan's brain raced, instantly analyzing the current situation.

Four men, four guns, and one heavy machine gun.

Fight them head-on?

That was suicide.

But what was his current identity?

A student scavenger.

Since he couldn't win with force for the moment, he would just have to win with acting.

Lin Fan took a deep breath.

The ruthless, decisive edge he had just displayed vanished instantly; his facial muscles quickly slackened and sagged.

The sharpness in his eyes faded, replaced by the fear and dullness of a high schooler who had never seen the world.

He even made a point to glance at the cheap, fifteen-yuan rubber shoes on his feet.

Then, he slowly raised his hands and walked out of the shadows.

His hands were empty, and he carried that shriveled canvas bag on his back.

His shoulders were slightly hunched, and his legs were shaking uncontrollably.

"Don't... don't shoot!"

"Gentlemen, please don't shoot!"

Lin Fan's voice carried a tremor and a hint of a sob, like a little quail scared out of its wits.

"I... I'm a good person!"

Seeing that the person who walked out from behind the broken wall was actually a youth in cheap camouflage, with a childish face and a somewhat foolish look, the four members of Vulture Squad were clearly stunned.

The atmosphere at the scene froze for a second.

This vibe... was it not a bit too far from the "terrifying mutant monster" or "insidious master thief" they had expected?