The monsters had moved aside. Not in a chaotic way, not with fear, and not even with caution. But with a strange and unnatural order.
As if a sea of wild creatures had suddenly split in two.
Lian stood in the middle of the street, looking at the open path in front of him. He was in no hurry to move. After all, if he were in that unknown creature’s place, he would never leave such an obvious opportunity without a trap.
So he waited.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Ready for any sudden attack. Ready to defend himself at any moment.
All his senses were active. He monitored even the smallest change in the air current.
But nothing happened. No attack occurred. No ambush was activated. No monster jumped out from the buildings.
Silence. The only thing that existed was silence. Finally, Lian took the first step. One of the Bloodfang Hounds was only a few meters away from him.
The wolf-like monster slowly turned its head. Its red, hungry eyes fixed on Lian.
But it did not attack. It did not even growl. It just looked, and let him pass.
Lian passed by several other monsters as well. They all behaved exactly the same. They were all awake. They all saw him. But none of them reacted.
At that moment, the truth became clear to him. This behavior was not natural. The monsters had not decided not to attack. They had been ordered.
And whoever gave that order... wanted to see him.
"So my reasoning was right. That creature really wants to see me." Lian whispered quietly and looked around.
His gaze fell on the humans again for a moment. Empty and hollow, they continued walking in a circle. He was curious to know if the government was watching this scene with satellites.
If so, they had probably seen his power too. So all his efforts to hide his power until now had been in vain.
But he did not care. It was not that he was worried about that. His real concern was them finding out about his class and innate talents.
Then his gaze fell on the city hall building.
The city hall building was located in the city center. One of the tallest buildings in the area. In the past, it was probably a symbol of power and management of this city.
But now... it looked more like a massive tomb.
The large metal doors were half open. The window glass was broken. The wind passed through the dark hallways, making a sound like the whispering of the dead.
Of course, even with that, it was generally intact. Perhaps it could be said to be the most intact building in the entire city.
Lian stood in front of the entrance for a few seconds, then entered and looked around. The first floor was empty.
Office desks were overturned. Papers were scattered everywhere. But contrary to his expectations, there was no trace of battle.
No blood, no signs of struggle. As if everyone had gotten up one day and left.
The second floor was the same. Offices untouched. Computers off. Chairs in their places.
Third floor.
Fourth floor.
Everything was the same.
But the further he searched, the stronger a strange smell became.
At first it was faint. But gradually it reached a level that even he could not ignore.
The smell of blood. The smell of rotten flesh. And something much stranger. A smell that did not resemble anything he had experienced before.
A living smell.
A smell that seemed to come from the body of a massive creature.
Finally, he found its source.
At the end of one of the hallways, behind thick security doors, was the entrance to the city’s underground shelter.
The same place where thousands of people were supposed to take shelter during a disaster.
Lian opened the door, and a moment later, he stopped. The shelter was gone. It no longer resembled a human structure.
The walls were covered with thick layers of fleshy material. Massive red roots hung from the ceiling.
Some of them were moving slowly. Like living creatures. The ground under his feet pulsed in some places.
Slowly, rhythmically. Like a heartbeat.
Lian frowned. He felt like he had entered the body of a massive creature.
Not a building, not a shelter. But a living organism. The further down he went, the worse it got.
Empty shells were scattered everywhere. Bones, skulls, pieces of flesh, organs that were no longer recognizable.
Some human, some monster, and some... a combination of both.
In a corner, something caught his attention.
Several half-complete corpses. Or perhaps it would be better to say, several half-made creatures. One had a human hand but a reptilian body.
Another had an almost human face, but its jaw had turned into a monster’s mouth.
Some were still moving. Weakly, aimlessly. After a few seconds, they would become still again.
For the first time since entering, Lian felt disgust.
This place was not a den, not a laboratory. It was something much worse. Like a factory for producing monsters.
He really wanted to know what kind of crazy bastard owned this place.
A few minutes later, he entered the main hall.
And there... he stopped.
Dozens of massive eggs filled the entire hall. Some were two meters tall, some even three. Their shells were semi-transparent.
And inside some of them, something was moving.
Suddenly, one of the eggs shook. A strike from inside hit the shell. Then another strike. Then silence again.
Lian looked around quietly. The more he saw, the more sure he became. This place was not just where the monsters lived.
This was their production line. Their birthplace. Their construction site. And this thought made him feel a strong sense of danger.
If he was not mistaken, inside these eggs should be Red-Eyed Stalkers.
"What is this?" At that moment, a drop fell on his cheek. He unconsciously raised his hand. The liquid was thick and sticky.
When he looked at his fingers, he saw its dark red color.
Blood.
He slowly raised his head.
And for the first time since the start of this mission... he felt real terror. A massive creature was clinging to the ceiling.
At least seven meters long.
A body like a spider, but nothing like natural creatures. Its legs were made of flesh and bone.
Between its joints, human hands could be seen. On its stomach, several half-absorbed faces were placed.
Faces that still showed traces of pain and terror.
But the most terrifying part... was its head.
The head of a young woman. Beautiful and delicate, with Eastern features.
Pale, lifeless skin. Empty eye sockets. And a mouth that was split from both sides almost to her ears.
An impossible, sick smile was carved on her face.
"Oh my god..." Lian unconsciously whispered... What was this?
A system notification appeared.
[Broodmother of Flesh]
[Rank: Normal]
[Level: 20]
Lian stared at the notification for a few seconds, then looked at the creature again.
Countless questions formed in his mind.
Where had this thing come from? How had it entered the city? Why had no one noticed its existence?
Did the Federation know about it? Was the government hiding something?
But the scariest question was something else. If this was just a normal Broodmother... then what was that white-eyed creature?
Before he could think further... he heard a voice. The same voice. The same voice he had heard in his nightmare.
Quiet, soft, and stranger than anything... completely human. The voice did not come from any direction. It was as if it was whispering directly into his mind.
A male voice. Quiet, pleased, and terrifyingly intelligent.
"Are you enjoying my daughter’s beauty?"