Star Rank Hunter

Chapter 420: We Are Here Too

After being a part of Ci Jincheng’s Tapir Extermination squad for so long, everyone had developed a tacit understanding. Moreover, the members of this squad were no fools. They might have seemed reckless and ignorant, but in reality, they were better at playing dumb than anyone else.

The slight abnormality Cillin had shown just now wouldn’t mean much to strangers, but to those who knew him well, it was practically a “spasm.” And when the word “spasm” was applied to Cillin, it meant one thing: there was a problem!

This was why Ci Jincheng, Knight, and the others had rushed forward to help him. Now, they had their answer.

Wheeze had obtained blood samples from the people he scratched. From the information within those samples, Cillin realized these individuals had not come through normal channels.

Their genes had been artificially modified. This modification wasn’t the self-perfecting repair brought about by genetic serums, but rather a Miracle-style embedding. The people at Miracle liked to implant numerous functional genes into formidable individuals to make them stronger, more well-rounded, and far more lethal—even if such alterations drastically shortened their lifespans.

All of this information could be gleaned from their blood. The people in the city weren’t just wearing thick protective suits to ward off viruses; they were also doing it to avoid leaking further information. There were always individuals who exposed their flaws when they broke out; their facial features and physical appearance would undergo abnormal changes when they grew emotionally agitated. Thus, the protective suits served as an excellent cover.

Ci Jincheng and the rest did not doubt Cillin’s conclusion. Upon receiving this message, they quickly and secretly passed the intelligence on—each using their own methods—to Hulandu, Zweig Feihang, and the others who had gone to meet Senator Beythor.

Meanwhile, the group resting here began to communicate with one another using various covert methods, unsure if there were any hidden surveillance devices in the area.

Knight walked over to Colonel Max, who was exuding a gloomy aura, and said, “Colonel Max, I’m really sorry. Those guys are a bunch of fucking bastards...”

Max belonged to the Third Army. For him to be left behind by Hulandu meant he was definitely trustworthy. When Knight said this to him, he undoubtedly conveyed his true message through a method known only to the two of them—not through hand gestures, but through some other means entirely imperceptible to outsiders. Cillin didn’t think for a second that Knight would spout nonsense at a time like this.

After Knight finished spouting these pleasantries, Max played along and said quite a bit in response.

Therefore, Cillin came to a conclusion: this guy was also great at playing dumb.

Hulandu had left some people here and others at the spaceport. After all, this was Beythor’s territory. They certainly wouldn’t be allowed to bring a massive entourage inside.

Cillin and the others rested here. They didn’t take immediate action, simply relaying the information to all their personnel in the fastest and most covert way possible so they could prepare themselves quickly.

“There is a Dream Tapir in this city.”

This was the second message Cillin sent them. However, after learning that the city guards were Miracle’s people, the presence of a Dream Tapir here was no longer surprising.

They weren’t sure if Senator Beythor was connected to the people from Miracle, or if Miracle’s people had simply infiltrated the area.

Regardless of which scenario it was, making early preparations was always a good idea.

To determine the truth of the matter, they would have to wait and see the reaction from Hulandu’s side.

Going to war with Beythor would mean absolute hostility. In that case, they might end up facing the city guards of the entire planet.

Two minutes later, Knight received a message from Hulandu: “Retreat!”

This single word confirmed Beythor’s stance. They were absolutely on opposing sides.

Just as Knight shared this news with everyone, an explosion erupted from the central administration building where the negotiations were taking place.

“Retreat!” Knight roared.

In an instant, the seemingly peaceful calm violently shattered.

The city guards converged in their direction, and the group resting here launched their counterattack.

They had to break out of this place—preferably completely out of Central City.

They couldn’t worry about Hulandu’s side, and it seemed Hulandu hadn’t expected them to wait around anyway. They acted on two separate fronts. Knight, Pride, and the others dodged the enemy’s attacks while retreating toward the outskirts of the city.

There were also residents in the city who knew absolutely nothing, though they were a minority. These few residents perished in the indiscriminate attacks launched by the city guards. These innocent people had only been left behind to serve as a smokescreen, nothing more. In times like these, the people living at the bottom of society were always the collateral damage.

The city guards charging at them were no longer as conservative as they had been during their initial clash with Cillin. Pincer-like chelicerae pierced right through their protective suits, and their entire physiques began to mutate, resembling those biochemical orcs. However, the level of these city guards was a tier higher; they possessed human intelligence and were driven primarily by human thought processes, capable of self-control. They were just like the superior experimental subjects Horay Hanson had once selected.

No longer holding back, these city guards covered over ten meters with every leap. They could clear a street from end to end in the blink of an eye.

Mengqialuo had long since thrown away his protective suit. To him, the thing was a restraint—a complete restriction. He rarely used his hands, mostly relying on his wings, but when faced with these city guards, he brought his hands into play. Like Shusag, he possessed retractable, razor-sharp claws on his hands that could easily pierce through an enemy’s body. His entire arm was like forged steel, and whenever it smashed into the city guards, the only sound was the sharp crack of shattering bone.

Mengqialuo couldn’t properly control the strength of his strikes, which was why he didn’t use his hands often. But when dealing with these people, he didn’t need to worry about holding back at all. Cillin had said it himself: fight without any restraint!

The scanning and detection machines in the sky clearly displayed the positions of Cillin and his group, providing operational reference points for the city guards rushing in from other areas. The earlier scans hadn’t been meant to check if the newcomers were carrying viruses, but rather to memorize their physical features, effectively marking them.

Crash!

One of the detection machines flying in the air plummeted, smashing into the ground as if it had been completely paralyzed.

Crash! Crash! Crash—

One by one, the detection machines plummeted from the sky, never to rise again. All of their programming had dissolved into instant chaos; they had no idea how to react, and no idea how to fly. They could only surrender to the pull of gravity, smashing into the ground and becoming scrap metal.

This was Wheeze’s masterpiece.

Looking up through the transparent energy shield, a massive ball of fire could be seen out in space, incredibly conspicuous even in the bright light of day.

The spaceport had exploded; the battle over there had also begun. Shrapnel from the explosion entered the atmosphere, the friction creating a fiery glow that rained down on the planet like a meteor shower, seemingly raising the temperature of the entire world. However, no one was in the mood to admire this “meteor shower” right now. The air was filled with a scorching, increasingly thick aura of murderous intent and the stench of blood.

Max directed his subordinates, keeping Knight and the others protected in the center. Since Hulandu had entrusted them to him, Max was determined to do everything in his power to get these young men out safely, even if it meant leaving his own life behind.

However, Max hadn’t expected that aside from the city guards, there would be other things they needed to deal with.

Outside the city lay a broad moat. Knowing Miracle’s twisted nature, they certainly wouldn’t have placed anything gentle in those waters. At this very moment, massive numbers of grotesquely shaped creatures were crawling out of the moat and rapidly closing in on their position.

Just as Max was preparing to order a change in direction, Cillin shouted at him, “Don’t change direction! Keep heading that way and cross the river!”

Max thought about it and realized he was right. Since it was a moat, the river practically encircled the entire city. Where else could they hide? It was better to face it head-on.

Before Max could finish his thought, Cillin added, “Don’t fire at the river beasts! Focus entirely on the city guards!”

Max choked for a moment, and the next second, Knight roared at him, “Do as he says!”

Because of this, not only did Max’s side refrain from engaging the surging river beasts, but the city guards also completely ignored them. This allowed the river beasts to close the distance even more rapidly.

The city guards were hoping the river beasts would block these intruders and tear them to shreds. Meanwhile, Max and his men were fraught with anxiety, unsure of whether they should open fire on the river beasts after all. The monsters were, after all, getting closer by the second.

However, they soon discovered that things weren’t quite playing out that way.

Normally, the creatures in the river would help the city guards fend off external enemies. But now, these hideous monstrosities had turned around to attack the city guards inside the walls. They didn’t even pay attention to the few Legion soldiers who had fired at them at close range moments prior. Instead, they charged straight at the city guards with absolute clarity of purpose.

The creatures crawling out of the river ranged in size from as small as watermelons to as massive as thirty or forty meters long. Thrashing their long tentacles and snapping their large, serrated pincers, they slipped right through the gaps in Max’s formation and lunged at the city guards. The long-legged ones simply leaped directly over their heads, making a beeline for the guards.

Max could clearly smell the stench of mud and waterweeds wafting off the river beasts as they rushed past his sides, over his head, and from every direction. It was an odor he used to find utterly repulsive, but right now, it excited him even more than the perfume worn by the woman he secretly fancied.

Max had no idea what was actually going on. All he knew was that they finally had a way out.

Cillin glanced at Lung, and Lung flashed an “all sorted” hand gesture.

He could tame even the colossal leviathans of the sea, so what were a few river beasts? Even if these creatures were the products of genetic modification, river beasts were still river beasts. They retained their aquatic instincts, which meant they would still respond to Lung’s summons.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

High overhead, several hazy spots appeared on the massive energy shield enveloping Central City. From these points, like solid ice thawing, multiple sections began to spread outward, slowly “melting” away.

In the sky outside the energy shield, four robots were flying about. The blue strips of light on their faces flashed as they powered up their onboard weapons and launched their assault against the shield.

Looking up at the sky, Cillin smiled.

The two messages Cillin had received earlier were as follows:

The first: “Captain, we are here too.”

Sent by Eudy.

The second: “I’ll let Ice Cream go play. I won’t be showing up myself.”

Sent by Yin Wushe.