Chapter 16: Welcome Aboard

The leader nodded and waved his hand again.

The five of them continued forward.

Ahead, the tunnel suddenly widened, forming a circular underground space.

Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the manhole cover overhead, illuminating the central puddle of stagnant water.

And crouching beside that puddle was a shadow.

The leader raised his hand. The five of them simultaneously raised their guns and took aim.

Suddenly, the shadow moved. It turned its head sharply, a pair of eyes burning like twin flames in the darkness.

“Fire!”

Five electrode darts shot out simultaneously, blue electric arcs cutting through the air, weaving into a net of electricity.

But it was still a step too slow. The shadow sprang up like a coiled spring.

The electrode darts embedded themselves where it had just been crouching, blue arcs dancing, but hitting nothing.

The shadow clung to the wall, scurrying across it like a gecko.

“He’s so fast!” someone exclaimed in shock.

“Don’t panic, block the exit!”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, the shadow pounced down from the wall.

Sharp claws tore through the air with a shriek that seemed to rip the atmosphere itself.

Bang—!

The member on the far left didn’t even have time to react before he was sent flying.

Three deep gashes were torn into the bulletproof vest on his chest, and blood gushed out.

“Ah Wei!”

The leader shouted loudly, yanking the pistol from his waist.

“The target has lost all reason! Switch to lethal force!”

The other three immediately discarded their stun guns, pulling submachine guns from their backs.

Safeties clicked off, rounds were chambered, and a dense torrent of fire was unleashed toward the purple shadow.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—!

Gunfire exploded within the sewer, deafening.

Bullets struck the walls, punching out craters, and hit iron pipes, sparking dazzling flashes.

The shadow leaped, rolled, and dodged through the hail of bullets like a frenzied beast.

Bang!

A purple flower of blood bloomed on the freak’s shoulder. A bloody hole was punched through his thigh. A deep furrow was plowed across his abdomen by a bullet.

“Prepare to reload! You two, keep suppressing fire!”

Seizing the moment when half the team was reloading, he roared and charged out through the gunfire. One swipe of his claws sent a man flying. One bite severed another’s neck.

Purple blood and red blood mixed together, splattering across the walls.

In the blink of an eye, four of the five men were down.

Only the leader remained standing in place, his magazine empty, his hands trembling.

“You… you monster!”

The leader threw his pistol. It struck the freak’s head with a heavy thud.

The yellow-haired freak’s head snapped to the side from the impact, but he didn’t fall.

Seizing the chance, the leader pulled a grenade from inside his jacket, finger hooking the pull ring, his eyes bloodshot.

“Let’s go to hell together!”

The yellow-haired freak’s pupils contracted, and he prepared to leap back.

Just as the leader was about to pull the pin, a black shadow shot from the side, piercing through his chest.

Thud—

He looked down at the bloody hole, a froth of blood bubbling from his mouth, and then fell straight down.

The grenade slipped from his hand, rolled to the edge of the gutter, and did not explode.

“Who’s there?!”

The yellow-haired freak tensed his entire body, his eyes fixed on the direction the shadow had come from, a low growl of warning rumbling in his throat.

Martha stepped out of the darkness. She glanced at the corpses on the ground, then turned to the panting shadow.

“Not bad,” she nodded. “Your first fight, and you’ve already killed five men.”

“It’s you?!”

The yellow-haired freak remembered her. She was the one who had forced the potion down his throat, the one who had turned him into this monstrous, inhuman thing.

“Give it up. You can’t beat me.”

With just a casual glance from Martha, the yellow-haired freak’s will to fight instantly evaporated.

The gap in power was too vast. It was like a mouse being stared down by a snake. Something deep in his blood screamed at him to run.

But he couldn’t even move.

“The potion I gave you contains my magic power.” Martha walked up to him, looking down from her superior height. “Do you know why I turned you into this?”

Cold sweat poured down the yellow-haired freak’s back. He didn’t answer.

“Because humans are too weak,” Martha’s voice struck his heart like a hammer. “Too weak to protect even themselves. Too weak, so they get abandoned by others. Too weak, so they can only live like rats in dark corners.”

“Do you have a home? Is there anyone who cares about you? Would anyone shed a single tear for you?”

The yellow-haired freak was slightly stunned. Images from his past flashed through his mind.

No one.

“But we are different,” Martha extended her hand. “We can give you power. Give you dignity. Give you the chance to hold the lives of others in your hands.”

“Join us.”

Her hand stopped in front of him, as if waiting for his reply.

The yellow-haired freak looked down at that hand, then at his own hand covered in sharp claws. He suddenly let out a soft, derisive laugh.

“Heh…”

He lifted his head, his eyes filled with self-mockery.

“Do I even have a choice?”

He reached out and grasped Martha’s wrist.

—

“I’m sorry, your situation does not meet the standards for applying.”

At the government service hall, White Li had come with Lin Du to apply for disaster relief funds.

But as soon as they submitted their materials, the clerk smiled and pushed them back.

“Ah? What do you mean?” White Li was dumbfounded.

The clerk stepped aside, revealing the notice board on the wall behind her.

The board was densely packed with various clauses, the red, bolded title particularly eye-catching.

[Monster Disaster Compensation Fund Application Guidelines]

The clerk tapped the third clause with the tip of her pen. “You see, to receive compensation, you need to provide at least proof of minor injury, or proof of property loss.”

“Uh…” White Li tugged at her patched-up school uniform jacket. “Does my torn school uniform count?”

The clerk smiled and shook her head.

“That… falls under self-repairable clothing damage. It’s not within the compensation scope.”

“Hurry up, will you? I’ve been waiting forever.”

A drawn-out, impatient voice came from behind. A middle-aged man holding documents was stomping his foot.

“Alright. Sorry to trouble you.”

Seeing the commotion behind them growing, Lin Du grabbed White Li’s wrist and pulled her outside.

“Hey, hey, hey—wait a minute!”

Stumbling a few steps as he dragged her, White Li stubbornly looked back. “I have injuries! That should count as minor, right? My arm is bruised! My knee is scraped! My back still hurts!”

The clerk smiled and waved them off, though her smile now held a hint of urging.

“Give it up,” Lin Du chuckled. “Even with a Grade 2 minor injury, you wouldn’t be standing here jumping around like this.”

“And whose idea was it to come here for the funds?” White Li pouted, following behind Lin Du as she reluctantly walked out.

Exiting the hall, sunlight hit them in the face.

“Hey, look, are those high school sweethearts?”

“Ah, youth is wonderful.”

With her Fox Clan hearing, White Li clearly caught the whispers around them.

Only then did she realize Lin Du had been holding her wrist the entire time, from inside the hall until now.

Her face flushed red, and she patted the back of his hand.

“Hey.”

Lin Du looked down at his hand, then at her wrist, as if just realizing it. He abruptly let go.

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