"Meow!"
The cat head let out a wretched scream, and the entire monster body shot forward like a cannonball, slamming into Lin Binbin.
The impact was immense. Lin Binbin actually felt himself losing footing against the creature beneath him—he was about to lose control and crash down.
But Lin Binbin had been prepared. Using the dog head as a pivot point, he suddenly pushed off, launching himself into the air and shedding the stitched monster's forward momentum.
Click. Leather shoes met the ground with a crisp, pleasing sound.
Lin Binbin spun around to look back, settling into a defensive stance.
But he found the stitched monster riding its own momentum, charging straight off the balcony and vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.
"That... did it just run away?"
Lin Binbin couldn't believe it, couldn't understand.
This stitched monster was clearly different from those mutated, rabid animals before—it seemed to retain some rationality and wouldn't go berserk for flesh and blood at any cost.
Also, it was a fair bit tougher to kill.
"AHHH!!!"
From the night, another human scream rang out—agonizing, brutal—mingled with all sorts of panicked commotion.
Lin Binbin didn't follow the stitched monster outside.
Because he couldn't handle that much—he couldn't show too much of his ability in front of other people.
"Oh?"
Suddenly, his attention was caught by the object in the hand of the male homeowner, who'd just breathed his last.
It was a stone no bigger than a phone, faintly glowing with a pink-purple luminescence. From it, Lin Binbin could sense a mysterious yet familiar energy.
"Not a wasted trip. Even though I couldn't avenge you, at least let me take a little service fee. My appearance fee is quite high these days."
"So, I'll be taking this stone."
As he muttered to himself, Lin Binbin picked up the stone and examined it.
"What is this thing? Could those animal mutations have something to do with it?"
"Maybe only Lady Bai Zhi would know."
"No time to waste. To avoid complications, I'll deliver it to Lady Bai Zhi right away."
Tucking the stone into his pocket, Lin Binbin stepped outside—only to see several residents collapsed in pools of blood on the neighborhood road, most beyond saving.
Seeing the tragic state of these innocents, Lin Binbin furrowed his brow slightly. Living in this complex really was dangerous. Those residents who'd moved out—hard to say if it was misfortune or a lucky escape.
Bang! Bang!
Outside the complex, several loud reports echoed from the distance.
Lin Binbin followed the sound. Beyond the crowd of onlookers keeping their distance, people were taking photos and videos or discussing the scene in terror.
"So disgusting, so horrifying. What the hell is that monster?"
"I saw that thing tear half a person's neck open with one claw. Thank god I ran fast, huff huff..."
"Keep shooting! Kill this monster!"
The stitched monster was surrounded by a group of silver-white machines, their bodies gleaming with a metallic sheen—Enforcers, ten of them at that.
Lin Binbin was not surprised the Enforcers had shown up, but so many at once was fairly uncommon.
Because Enforcers never tired and were highly capable.
So a single district normally only needed two or three Enforcers to patrol and monitor.
It seemed the Enforcement Department had been keeping a particularly close eye on this area recently.
Bang!
Gunfire once again shattered the night sky. The Enforcers raised their hands, muzzles flashing from their palms, and over a dozen bullets poured out in an instant, tearing the monster's flesh open, riddling it like a sieve, dark blood blacker than the night sky pooling everywhere.
For a moment, screeching cat cries and shrill turtle wails rang out, causing the onlookers who heard them to grimace in pain and discomfort.
"No!"
Abruptly, the woman's face on the front of the stitched monster—the one that should have been long dead, that had shown no movement until now—let out a hoarse scream, like a broken bellows.
The onlookers' expressions instantly twisted from pain to horror. A bone-deep, visceral unease seized them all.
Even Lin Binbin's expression darkened. He forcibly held back the urge to rush in and finish off the stitched monster himself.
Because this was far too eldritch.
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown—an indisputable truth.
Bullets continued pouring madly. The monster's body became a mangled mess of blood and flesh, and the sounds it made grew weaker and weaker.
At last, after trembling for several seconds, the monster collapsed with a thunderous crash.
As if an invisible hand gripping their throats had been pried loose, Lin Binbin heard heavy breathing erupt from the people around him.
"Finally dead. If bullets couldn't kill this thing, what chance would humanity have?" someone nearby exhaled in relief.
Lin Binbin slipped away from the crowd quietly.
Without any apparent reason, a thought crossed his mind:
If Lady Bai Zhi had faced these Enforcer machines, she could have taken them all down in the blink of an eye.
...
"You're saying a fusion-type monster appeared in the city and killed quite a few people?" Bai Jie asked, surprised.
"Exactly." Lin Binbin nodded.
"This subordinate also brought this. Though I don't know what it is, I thought it might be of help to Lady Bai Zhi."
So saying, he presented the stone.
Bai Jie recognized it immediately—it was a meteorite fragment.
At the same time, ding!
[Faint spiritual energy reaction detected]
It pulled the meteorite fragment over with spider silk, suppressing the delight in its heart and stabilizing its emotions, speaking calmly:
"Well done. I do need this. On the surface, it's a meteorite fragment, but in truth, it is the very origin of the changes in this world..."
At this point, the composed voice betrayed a hint of appreciation: "Human boy, you've truly given me no small surprise."
"Tell me. How should I reward you?"
Lin Binbin's heart raced. He too forcefully held back his excitement: "This subordinate... would like Lady Bai Zhi to bestow the 'spirit fluid.'"
The demonic spider's fangs twitched involuntarily.
Mutated Venom? Is this kid getting addicted?
But it couldn't be helped—few people could resist the allure of power, Bai Jie included.
Bai Jie remained silent for a long moment. Just as Lin Binbin was losing hope, thinking he'd be refused, the spider's voice finally drifted over:
"You may."
Color instantly rushed to Linbin's face. Overjoyed, he said: "Thank you, Lady Bai Zhi!"
Snow-white silk shot out, pink-purple luminescence streaking through the night sky.
After the Mutated Venom was administered, Linbin's Vitality successfully rose to 20.
A trace of lingering infatuation remained in his eyes as he gazed longingly at that mysterious silhouette concealed high in the darkness. In his heart, he swore to find more meteorite fragments.
To date, Bai Jie had given Lin Binbin a total of five drops of Mutated Venom, but still not yet a medium dosage.
Bai Jie was in no rush to give Linbin more venom—it served as motivation for him to work harder in service.
"From now on, if you discover more monsters like that, don't rush to attack. Best to contact me through my familiar first. Otherwise, if the monster kills you, I won't be collecting your corpse."
"Yes. This subordinate will remember."
Hearing the warning, Linbin suddenly realized he had been a bit arrogant when he first found the stitched monster—charging at it without much thought.
But he didn't regret it. He felt it had all been worth it.
After lingering a moment, Lin Binbin descended the mountain through the night.
Bai Jie, meanwhile, activated Skill: Bite/Maul to begin siphoning the spiritual energy within the meteorite fragment.