A few minutes ago, second-floor platform of Rongda Chemical Plant.
A corrosive, acidic stench mingled with the scent of stale rust. At this moment, Chen Lang crouched behind a discarded reaction kettle while the lowered voice of a colleague came through his headset, carrying a hint of absurd astonishment.
"You said you were held up by a girl? Buying a jianbing guozi for two hundred yuan?"
Chen Lang adjusted the focus of his tactical eyepiece, his brow furrowing tightly.
He turned his head, his gaze passing through the gaps in the intricate maze of pipes to land on the distorted silhouette below that was almost merged with the shadows.
"I understand. Do not be careless. I will keep an eye on the interior."
Cutting the communication, Chen Lang's fingers tapped unconsciously against the cold barrel of his gun.
"Could it be a lunatic from the Divine Descent Cult?"
He narrowed his eyes, searching the darkness for any possible unusual movement.
"No... those rats in the gutters are best at disguising themselves. How could they use such a nouveau riche method of throwing money around to attract attention? That is far too stupid."
The logical chain in his mind rapidly collapsed and reconstructed. Chen Lang pursed his lips, unable to find a reasonable explanation.
"Forget it. Regardless of which deity she is, if she dares to cross the line, she can forget about leaving."
Chen Lang took a deep breath, forcibly pushing distracting thoughts from his mind. His hands gripped the specialized stun pistol once more. With the rise and fall of his breathing, the muzzle steadily locked onto the monster below.
That was the terrifying existence known as a reviver.
In the darkness, that originally deathly still mass of flesh suddenly twitched.
"Hmm?"
Chen Lang's pupils constricted slightly.
"Wait... this fellow's state is not right."
Through the low-light night vision goggles, he saw clearly that the monster, which had been curled in the corner as if long dead, was now like a machine being repowered. The muscle fibers across its entire body began to vibrate violently.
Chen Lang was not unfamiliar with this vibration.
This thing possessed despair-inducing regenerative abilities. If conventional kinetic weapons hit it, the speed at which the wounds healed was even faster than the time it took to change a magazine.
Only high-voltage current could instantly paralyze its freakish nervous system.
As long as the blue electric arcs lit up, this ferocious beast would turn into a frightened stray dog, howling as it retreated back into the depths of the shadows.
It was precisely by grasping this weakness that they had laid this power grid, wearing it down like taming a hawk for half a month.
Over this half month, it had gone from initially crashing madly into the power grid to later having its skin and flesh torn open and being on its last breath; it should have accepted its fate long ago.
To reduce consumption, it had even entered a state of suspended animation similar to hibernation.
But now...
That tooth-aching sound of bone friction rang out again. The monster slowly propped up its body, a low, turbid roar emerging from its throat.
It was craving.
That craving even outweighed its fear of the electric current.
"It just happens to be when that strange girl appeared..."
Chen Lang felt a chill crawl up his spine. The perfect overlap of the two events in time made him scent danger.
He quickly pressed his headset, speaking at a rapid pace:
"Grizzly calling command center. The target is showing abnormal restlessness! Repeat, the target is showing abnormal restlessness!"
A steady, powerful voice of a middle-aged man immediately came through the headset, accompanied by static:
"State the situation."
Hearing this, Chen Lang immediately explained everything that had just happened, adding at the end:
"The girl outside had just approached when the reviver in here began to show abnormal conditions. There may be some connection between the two!"
While reporting, Chen Lang stared fixedly below.
By now, the monster had stood up completely. Its turbid eyeballs emitted a faint, blood-red glow in the dark, staring fixedly in the direction of the chemical plant gate.
"I understand. Chen Lang, continue monitoring. Do not act rashly. I will immediately have Thunder..."
"Roar—!!!"
A shrill roar suddenly exploded, interrupting the communication.
Chen Lang's eyes widened abruptly.
In his field of vision, the monster that had still been testing the waters moments ago now seemed like a cannonball exiting a barrel. Its hind legs kicked off the ground, causing the concrete to instantly crack. Its massive body turned into a black afterimage, charging straight toward the exit!
And Chen Lang's position happened to be right in its path.
"Sir! It is charging over!!"
Chen Lang bellowed, his physical reaction faster than his brain.
He stood up abruptly, holding the gun with both hands, the crosshairs instantly boxing in the rapidly approaching black shadow.
Without any hesitation, his index finger pulled the trigger.
"Bang—!"
A flash of dazzling thunder light erupted from the muzzle.
The specialized projectile tore through the air, accurately boring into the monster's body.
Sizzle—!!
Blue high-voltage electric arcs exploded instantly, like countless tiny lightning snakes madly boring into the monster's flesh and blood, ravaging its nervous system.
According to past experience, it should have immediately collapsed to the ground, twitching in pain.
However, reality dealt Chen Lang a heavy blow.
The monster merely staggered. Its muscles convulsed madly due to the intense pain, but within those blood-red eyes, the madness did not diminish in the slightest.
It did not retreat!
It tanked a current sufficient to kill an adult elephant and accelerated again!
"The current failed?!"
Chen Lang's heart squeezed violently. Seeing that giant maw full of sharp teeth rapidly enlarging in his vision, the stench of the wind pressure almost brushed against his face.
There was no time to think. Survival instinct made him dive to the side.
"Damn it!"
His body slammed heavily onto the dust-covered floor, followed by a roll.
Swish—!
The foul wind whistled past.
The monster's sharp claws grazed his scalp, the resulting airflow scraping his cheek painfully.
Chen Lang knelt half-prostrate on the ground in a sorry state, quickly turning his muzzle, preparing to face the ensuing life-and-death struggle.
However, the expected attack did not arrive.
The monster did not even spare him a glance, as if he were merely an obstructive stone. It smashed through the wooden crates and discarded equipment along the way, sprinting toward the chemical plant gate like it had gone mad.
"?"
Chen Lang was stunned, his hand holding the gun frozen in mid-air.
It did not chase me?
This defied logic! Revivers were bloodthirsty by nature; how could it let go of prey right at its mouth?
Unless...
Chen Lang turned his head sharply toward the direction where the monster had disappeared, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
There was something whose attraction to it reached an extreme.
So great that it would rather endure the intense pain of its nerves being torn by electricity just to ignore all obstacles and rush out!
That meant something outside was attracting it, and this attraction even outweighed its fear of the current!
Thinking of this, cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
Then, Chen Lang's gaze sharpened, and he heavily pressed the red alarm button at his waist.
"Chen Lang! What happened! Please respond! What is the situation with the reviver!"
Lei Zheng's anxious roar came through the headset.
Chen Lang panted heavily, staring at the deformed gate that had been struck. His voice was dry and urgent:
"Sir... the reviver has lost control! It broke through the defense line and is rushing out!"
"Outside, there seems to be something with a fatal attraction to it!"