A Land Rover sped recklessly across the desolate plains.

"Why won’t this thing shake off?" The tall man clicked his tongue in frustration. "Is it still on the roof?"

Lao San glanced at the rearview mirror. "Yeah, it's clinging on tight. There are a few more behind us, and they’re catching up fast!"

Ruan Xing tilted his head slightly, but all he could hear was an eerie, meaningless, rustling sound.

These things have no intelligence.

A shrill screech echoed from the roof as the metal ceiling was torn apart.

A pair of massive, rock-hard pincers punctured a hole in the roof, slowly scraping it open. Soon, a sliver of light peeked through, revealing two long, slender antennae that trembled as they crossed. Then, a pair of egg-sized eyes peered in through the gap.

The tall man cursed. "Stop the car! That thing’s trying to crack open my skull. Damn it, those pincers are tough. I spent a fortune reinforcing this metal roof, and it still cut through like butter."

He reached for the gun at his waist, loaded it, and fired two shots into the roof.

The screeching stopped.

It was shot.

The man exhaled deeply and glanced around the trashed interior of the car. "That thing scratched up my car. No way I’m letting it die for nothing. Cut off the pincers, they’ll probably sell for a good price. Lao San, get your tools."

With that, he yanked open the door, followed by his Third Brother, who stepped out to help.

Not long after, Ruan Xing heard a series of gunshots ringing out.

Leaning against the car wall, he peered outside through a window barely big enough to fit a watermelon.

Seven or eight giant ants, each as tall as an adult man's waist, had completely surrounded the two.

The tall man held a gun in one hand, another holstered at his waist, weaving swiftly between the snapping pincers.

Lao San was more brawny, wielding a large blade and hacking at the ants' heads, but he could only slow their advance.

Both of them were clearly top-tier fighters among ordinary people. Courageous and capable, holding their ground even against these monsters.

Ruan Xing glanced at the stocky man lying inside the car.

Yeah, this guy’s definitely out of luck.

“Caw, caw!”

A perfect chance to escape!

A crow shrieked from inside a cage.

"Human! Let me out!"

Even though it knew humans couldn’t understand its words, the crow still did everything it could to make its presence known.

Ruan Xing asked flatly, "Why should I save you?"

“Caw?”

The crow’s beady eyes widened.

"You… you can understand me?!"

"Are you an Awakened?"

“Caw! Just open the damn cage!”

Seeing that Ruan Xing wasn’t moving, the crow got desperate. "Let me go, and I’ll work for you! You kill, I keep watch! You eat meat, I drink the soup—"

It did its best to suck up to him. After all, this was the only human it could communicate with.

Then, it watched as Ruan Xing decisively turned around, opened the car door, and slipped out without a sound, leaving behind an indifferent silhouette.

"...…"

So that question earlier… was just to shut it up?

When the two men finally dragged themselves back to the car, exhausted and carrying an ant’s head, their faces went blank as they saw the empty vehicle.

Meanwhile, the crow flapped furiously in its cage in the corner, screeching like it was tattling on someone. "Caw! Caw!"

—

Ruan Xing's chest heaved as he ran.

This body wasn’t in great shape. He was already gasping for breath after just a short sprint. But he kept pushing forward, running as fast as he could away from those people.

Earlier, he spotted some abandoned buildings in the distance through the car window. They weren’t exactly close, but there weren’t any better options right now.

As for what the crow had said? He didn’t care. Only an idiot would take extra baggage while trying to escape.

Finally, he reached the outskirts of the abandoned buildings.

This was an abandoned villa district, and its architectural style vastly differed from the world he knew. The golden ornaments on the gate were now covered in a thick layer of dust, untouched for years.

The sun had almost set. The sky loomed dark and oppressive, with red clouds bordering on black. Heavy shadows draped over the buildings as if they might swallow a person whole.

Without hesitation, Ruan Xing dashed into one of the courtyards.

Inside, he found a broad-bladed knife.

It seemed like the owner had either left it behind in a hurry or met some kind of accident while using it.

Exerting effort, he sawed through the ropes that bound his hands, then quickly found a room to hide in.

The room was meticulously arranged. Its overall decor followed a clean, monochromatic black, white, and gray scheme. Directly across from the doorway, an entire wall was densely lined with shelves displaying shoes, so many that they covered the entire surface like an exhibition.

Ruan Xing didn’t understand why such ugly shoes were treated like prized collectibles, but it wasn’t hard to guess that the room’s owner was young and quite spoiled.

On the adjacent wall hung a family photo. A warm-looking couple rested their hands on a boy’s shoulders, smiling brightly.

The boy was wearing the very shoes displayed in the first compartment of the shoe wall.

Beside him stood a slightly older girl who didn’t look nearly as happy, her expression was somewhat stiff.

There wasn’t much inside the drawers, but right in the center sat a small box.

Inside was a silver ornament, intricately designed with hollowed-out patterns, threaded with a red string. A few tiny bells dangled from it, jingling softly when shaken.

The moment Ruan Xing picked it up, his expression shifted in surprise.

He could sense magic energy coming from this little trinket!

He tried to tap into the magic within the ornament, but it contained too little energy. After several failed attempts at casting minor spells, he had no choice but to give up for now.

Before he could examine it further, the roar of an engine echoed from outside.

Those two had caught up.

Ruan Xing quickly stuffed the ornament into his pocket, glanced around, and slipped into the wardrobe.

"Boss, Xiao Ying says that kid ran here."

Lao San parked the car, his black clothing soaked in dark patches, looking utterly vicious.

The tall man pulled out a disc-shaped detector and twisted the dial. The screen lit up, and the numbers flickered rapidly.

"Pollution level: 43%. Right on the safety threshold," he muttered with a frown.

"Who the hell expected to run into a whole swarm of communal pollutants? This could easily be ranked D-class! Good thing we were fast enough to escape. Otherwise, we’d end up like Lao Er—" Lao San grumbled.

The tall man’s eyes sharpened. "We can't let that kid slip away."

"Xiao Ying, keep watch."

Lao San parked the car on the main road and fed a chunk of meat to the crimson-bellied eagle perched on his wrist. With a sharp cry, the bird darted out through the car window.

"You sure dote on that thing," the tall man snorted, extinguishing his cigarette. "You won’t even eat the meat yourself, but you’ll feed it to a damn bird?"

Lao San grinned. "We've been my partner for years. Besides, you know what Xiao Ying is capable of."

The tall man didn't argue. "Let’s go."

Summer nights descended quickly. By now, darkness had fully settled in.

Something felt off.

As the tall man stepped into the courtyard, he asked, "Did you hear something just now?"

Lao San shook his head.

Strange.

Thinking he had imagined it, the tall man continued forward, until the sound returned moments later.

A faint buzzing.

Humming.

Like the annoying whine of mosquitoes on a summer night, lingering and inescapable.

But this was worse. Much worse.

The tall man felt dizzy and nauseated like his insides were twisting into knots.

Something was definitely here!

Without hesitation, he immediately activated the detector and saw the numbers shoot up at a terrifying speed.

In just a few seconds, the green screen turned a blinding red.

51%!

His face darkened. "Run to the house, now!"

As pollution level soared, the buzzing sound became a deafening, vibrating drone, and a massive shadow loomed overhead.

It had the shape of a human. The upper half of its head was identical to the ants that had attacked them earlier. Below the neck, however, was the upright torso of a man.

The only difference was that instead of human arms, three pairs of spindly, insect-like limbs extended from its sides.

It hovered in midair, its long, translucent wings vibrating at high speed. Under the glare of the car's headlights, its shadow flickered between light and dark.

The Ant-Man opened its mouth, emitting an inaudible frequency. Invisible soundwaves rippled through the courtyard, instantly shattering every window.

That buzzing, this was the source!

The tall man was closest to the creature, so the sound hit him hard. His organs churned violently, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as his face turned ashen.

He fired a shot, but the bullet missed. Instead, the creature’s limb stabbed into his chest, causing fresh blood to soak his clothes.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a handful of explosives and hurled them at the monster, finally forcing the creature to back off.

Lao San dragged the tall man into a backroom, taking cover beneath a window and firing at the creature. But hitting a fast-moving target like this was nearly impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t land a shot.

His hands trembled as fear crept into his bones.

An overwhelming, paralyzing fear was taking over.

They had spent years surviving beyond the walls, scavenging from the outskirts of polluted zones. The creatures there were usually D-class at most, dangerous enough that even a team of three had to be careful when retreating.

Surviving an entire swarm of D-class today had already been a miracle.

But now they were facing something closer to C-class.

Despair crept into Lao San’s eyes.

"Xiao Ying!"

Desperate, he called for his most loyal companion.

The crimson-bellied eagle, though small, was a mutant species with formidable attack power. It dived at his command, momentarily disrupting the monster’s movements.

It’s all because of that little bastard! If we caught him and made it back to the city safely, I would’ve made his life a living hell!

Lao San clenched his gun so tightly it nearly embedded into his palm.

Suddenly, a faint rustling came from inside the wardrobe.

"Who’s there?!"

"You really think you're gonna hit it like that?"

Lao San turned and saw the very person he wanted to tear apart stepping out of the wardrobe.

His clothes were rumpled and stained with dirt. His wrists were covered in red marks, evidence of the struggle to cut himself free.

Yet his posture remained unruffled, almost elegant as if he had just walked out of a formal event rather than a life-or-death chase.

A stark contrast to Lao San’s current disheveled state.

Lao San swung his gun toward him.

"Put the weapon down, and I’ll teach you how to deal with it." the youth said softly.

His voice was low and hypnotic, like a devil’s alluring whisper. Irresistible and commanding.