The Monster That Broke Through in Battle!

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

Xu Yuan kept firing.

Pinned down by the machine gun, the human skins that had climbed onto the platform could neither charge nor run. Bullets tore their bodies apart, keeping them from the barricade.

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered.

The human skins clung to one another, merging into a single mass that slowly rolled toward the platform—

Bullets blasted countless scraps of skin away.

But...

The "ball of human skins" endured Xu Yuan's relentless fire, gradually taking shape as a giant several meters tall.

And that wasn't all.

From the collapsed tunnel mouth came the sound of stones being shoved aside.

More human skins were gathering!

Xu Yuan thought fast and glanced back at his teammates.

Jiang Xueyao was prying a dozen or so gray-white spirit stones from the formation plate.

The drain was enormous!

"How many more times?" Xu Yuan asked.

"Enough for five attacks like that," Jiang Xueyao said.

Five?

Xu Yuan grabbed the machine gun, swiftly changed its ammo box, clipped several more boxes to his belt, and opened fire again.

Crash—

The collapsed tunnel mouth burst open.

Human skins flooded into the subway station like a tide, sticking themselves to the giant monster one after another.

With each skin that joined it, the monster's aura grew stronger.

"This monster can break through in the middle of a fight?"

Xu Yuan was startled.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

Those words over the radio—

"All special action teams, law enforcement units, military personnel, and police officers, proceed to Drum Tower Street Sub—"

Everyone was heading to Drum Tower Street Subway Station!

And that wasn't all.

The same kind of monster had appeared at Xinzhou Subway Station too.

What's more—

The civilians had all been evacuated from the subway stations.

Jiang Xueyao didn't need to reveal the answer. It was easy enough to work out—

The final battle would take place in the subway tunnels.

If so...

There was no point staying here!

Retreating immediately, before the monster overran their position, was their best choice!

Even if other threats waited aboveground—

At least they would be far from the battlefield where the final showdown would take place!

"Jiang Xueyao, start the car. Xiao Bing, carry the child. Afei, guard them. I'll cover the rear—"

"Let's go!"

Xu Yuan spoke rapidly.

Jiang Xueyao caught the car keys he tossed her and immediately ran toward the subway exit.

Yang Xiaobing and Zhao Afei followed close behind.

Xu Yuan held the machine gun and kept firing at the monster.

But the monster moved with increasing ease, growing faster by the moment.

It leaped onto the ceiling and raced toward Xu Yuan on all fours.

Too fast!

I can't get away!

"Xiao Bing, make the mushroom go limp!"

Xu Yuan roared as he fired.

Already on the stairs, Yang Xiaobing shuddered. Her face reddened as she clasped her small hands together and swiftly formed a hand seal.

In an instant—

The mushroom shrank, softened, and flopped onto the floor, hanging there motionless.

Boom—crash—

With its support gone, the ceiling collapsed!

Broken slabs of reinforced concrete, mixed with masses of dirt and rubble, came crashing down. In one blow, they pinned the monster beneath a small mountain of debris.

Only the monster's head remained exposed. Its body was trapped fast, and it struggled desperately to rise.

Xu Yuan stepped forward, drew his shotgun, and aimed at its head.

"If you're still alive, I'll see you at Drum Tower Street Subway Station."

Bang!

The shot blew the monster's head apart.

Countless scraps of torn human skin burst outward and whirled through the air.

Xu Yuan put away the shotgun and left, reloading the machine gun as he walked. He soon reached the surface.

The car hadn't moved.

"What's wrong? Is the car broken?"

Xu Yuan's heart sank.

"I don't know how to start a car," Jiang Xueyao said calmly, tossing the keys back to him.

"Neither do I," Yang Xiaobing said.

Zhao Afei stammered, "I've seen other people start cars, but I'm afraid—"

Xu Yuan let out a breath and waved a hand.

"You gave me a scare. Everyone in. Let's go!"

It was perfectly normal for high school students not to know how to drive.

Jiang Xueyao took her place on the roof again. Yang Xiaobing sat in the back with the little boy and Zhao Afei.

Xu Yuan took the driver's seat, with his pile of guns on the passenger seat.

"Did anyone look at the station signs? Which way is Drum Tower Street Subway Station?"

He asked.

Yang Xiaobing pointed in one direction.

"Good. We'll go the other way. The farther from there, the better."

Xu Yuan stepped on the gas and turned the wheel. The car roared and swiftly picked up speed.

"Look!" Zhao Afei shouted.

A colossal figure leaped from the subway station behind them and landed with a thud.

It was the monster.

Its head was gone, but its whole body was made of human skins. A head protruded from each skin, and every one stared fixedly at the speeding police car.

Countless scraps of human skin danced through the air, then settled on its neck and began to "grow."

Was it growing another head?

Thud, thud, thud—

The monster kept striding forward. Its heavy body cracked the concrete road beneath its feet with every step.

It was gaining speed!

Jiang Xueyao watched from the car roof for a while, then spoke.

"It's roughly at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refinement. We're no match for it."

Xu Yuan silently counted the time.

Five or six minutes had passed.

They had to hold out another twenty-five minutes to win the match!

Twenty-five minutes!

"It's coming! It's coming!"

Zhao Afei suddenly screamed himself hoarse.

At almost the same instant—

The humanoid monster accelerated again and leaped with all its might—

It closed much of the distance in a single bound, landing just a meter or two behind the car. It reached out its giant hand of human skin—

The car's rear swung sharply around as Xu Yuan turned onto a side road and drove up onto an overpass.

The monster grabbed empty air. Unable to control its momentum, it tumbled onto the road.

"Great driving—but it's still getting stronger, and faster too."

Jiang Xueyao's voice came from the roof.

"I know. That's why we're on the overpass," Xu Yuan said.

"What do you mean?" Jiang Xueyao asked.

Xu Yuan didn't answer. He floored the accelerator, pushing the car faster still.

The overpass was crowded with cars. Some had crashed into one another; others burned, sending up billowing black smoke.

The police car wove between them like a nimble fish.

They drove on for a while.

Then Xu Yuan sensed something was wrong—

Had the monster given up the chase?

That made no sense.

Unless—

Xu Yuan suddenly shouted:

"Xiao Bing, send the crane up to look around! Quick!"

"Ah, okay!"

Yang Xiaobing pulled out a talisman, quickly folded it into a paper crane, and tossed it out the window.

A White Crane soared into the sky and circled overhead.

Almost immediately—

The White Crane let out a rapid string of cries.

Yang Xiaobing's face went pale. She said at once:

"The monster's climbing and leaping along the bridge pillars. It's already ahead of us! It's about to—"

She didn't finish.

A colossal figure hauled itself up from beneath the overpass and appeared directly ahead of the police car, blocking the road.

It was the Human-Skin Monster.

Its head had grown back!

"Everyone else, jump out—Jiang Xueyao, your turn!"

Xu Yuan shouted.

"I see what you're planning," Jiang Xueyao said, the corners of her mouth lifting.

She took out the formation plate and gave it a light tap.

The plate immediately shone with waves of spiritual light.

"Go."

Jiang Xueyao spoke softly.

Strands of spiritual light rose from the plate and once again formed the phantom of a giant hammer, which swung toward the Human-Skin Monster.

"Aaaaah!"

Every human skin on the monster roared as it struck the hammer with all its might.

Clang—

It shattered the hammer, but the blow sent it flying too. It rolled toward the edge of the overpass.

A fall from there would leave it badly hurt, if it didn't kill it.

More importantly—

It would buy them a good deal more time.

But the Human-Skin Monster remained unhurried. The countless heads packed across its body opened their mouths and bit hard into the road.

Its innumerable heads and teeth scraped against the surface, producing a long, piercing screech.

At last—

The enormous monster stopped at the edge of the overpass!

"You fools think you're so clever."

The monster's voice boomed.

The next instant—

Xu Yuan drove the police car straight at the monster and slammed into it.

Thud!

A muffled impact rang out.

The police car weighed over two tons and hit it at full speed. Though the monster had nearly regained its footing, even it couldn't withstand the blow.

It smashed through the concrete barrier and fell from the overpass.

The police car barely stopped in time.

Xu Yuan opened the door, unbuckled his seat belt, and crawled out.

He saw Jiang Xueyao gripping Zhao Afei by the collar and Yang Xiaobing holding the little boy. They had already jumped from the car.

All four stood off to the side, watching him.

"You nearly went over with the car just now."

Zhao Afei spoke.

"You're insulting my driving skills," Xu Yuan said.

He walked to the edge of the overpass and looked down.

The monster had slammed into the concrete below, cracking it with long fissures.

Even the bridge deck had shaken.

But it was still alive. It slowly pushed itself up and looked toward him.

The monster's gaze met Xu Yuan's.

"I'll eat all of you, one by one—especially you. I'll take my time eating you."

The monster spoke calmly.

"I'm flattered. I haven't taken a shit in three days," Xu Yuan replied just as calmly.