Chapter 41 Past Memories

Vehicles kept moving, and half a minute later, a burst of gunfire and screams erupted from ahead.

"Ah—Help!"
"They're crazy, they've all gone crazy—"
"No, please, don't eat me."

Bang! Bang! Several more gunshots rang out, accompanied by the sounds of ricocheting metal and heavy objects collapsing.

Three off-road vehicles screeched to a halt. Qiaolong jumped out, gesturing for his gang members to follow. The men racked their bolts and advanced cautiously in combat formation.

Hexia pressed gently against the seat, then leaped out. Her lithe body glided through the dark cavern without making a sound.

Although ordinary people could barely see anything in the enveloping darkness—relying only on headlights and occasional flashlight beams—this was hardly a challenge for her.

The abilities granted by her transcendent class activated, projecting the surrounding environment into her mind like a radar scan. Not even the blind spots behind her were missed.

The class she had chosen as a child purely out of fear of the dark turned out to be remarkably useful in this subterranean environment.

Avoiding the rocks in the dark, Hexia drew the gun from her coat pocket, gripped it in her palm, and adjusted slightly to its weight.

Though she had never fired a real gun before, her school had provided a week of simulated electronic firearm training and introduced the basics of handling various weapons.

The Rose Federation had not fought a war in a long time, so military education had been whittled down to just that bare minimum.

It was said that four hundred years ago in the Federation, every high school student had to undergo nearly half a year of military training, mastering the use of various weapons, the piloting of fighter jets, and even the simple operation of warships. The civil war back then was brutally fierce, with millions drafted into military service almost every month.

She followed quietly behind. A few gang members occasionally turned back and looked in slight surprise at the quietly moving girl, realizing she was far from the mere vase they had initially assumed.

Soon, gunfire broke out ahead.

The intense gunfire merged into a continuous roar. Under such concentrated firepower, the erratic, out-of-control mutants in the distance were shredded into pulp and slowly collapsed.

Half a minute later, Qiaolong raised his hand, signaling the men behind him to cease fire.

A squad protected Hexia in the center as they passed through the brightly lit area, while several others scanned the surroundings and questioned the survivors.

"Where did these out-of-control freaks charge from just now? What else do you know?" A gang member yanked a trembling man to his feet, slamming him against the stone wall to force him to talk.

"I, I..." His fingers trembled, his voice full of terror.

Though the underground world was brutal, witnessing out-of-control mutants devour living humans was still too horrifying. The sight of intestines and organs being ripped out was something he would likely never forget for the rest of his life.

"I'll talk, I'll talk." Seeing the gang member press the muzzle of a gun against his forehead, the man finally forced himself to calm down.

"They charged from the East Gate—yes, that direction by the eastern pipeline. At first, we thought it was an enemy raid, but then we realized something was wrong."

"Didn't you fight back?" Qiaolong stepped forward from among the gang members.

"We tried shooting, but one of them was terrifyingly fast. It moved like lightning, and scattered bullets weren't fatal to it. It rushed over and bit Will's head right off."

"After that, everyone panicked. Some people started running, then the line broke, and well... it turned into what you see now."

"What about that thing? We didn't see any special mutant just now."

"I don't know. It might have gone somewhere else, or it could be hiding in some corner."

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone present immediately scanned their surroundings in high alert, yet still found nothing.

"Above us." A girl's cool voice suddenly broke the tension in the crowd.

Everyone instantly looked up. Sweeping beams of light revealed a blood-red, hideous figure clinging to the rocks on the ceiling.

Sustained gunfire erupted once more as the group concentrated their fire, but the creature was indeed blindingly fast, darting back into the darkness before many of the bullets could find their mark.

***

Mutant Human
Status: Slightly wounded, mutated (loss of reason, beast-like)
Class: Slicing Blade Sequence 4 - Unknown (Comprehensive Evaluation: Excellent Dark Silver Rank)
Abilities: Physical Enhancement, Beastly Perception, Razor Blade Claws, Infection

Hexia watched the creature flee into the corner ahead, gathering a brief profile in her mind.

Although this creature had gone mad and even mutated, it still retained a shred of intelligence, knowing how to dodge and escape, along with employing basic misdirection and ambush tactics.

"Ignore it, let's keep moving." Qiaolong frowned as he watched the direction the monster had escaped, deciding that hurrying to save lives took priority.

"Understood." The others put away their weapons, shielding Hexia in the middle, and pressed forward at a brisk pace.

Vehicles could no longer pass through the path ahead, forcing them to proceed on foot. It was like navigating a complex maze, but they were deeply familiar with the route and showed no hesitation.

Finally, after more than ten minutes of trekking, the group arrived at another stronghold.

In the rugged cavern, a corner was sealed off with concrete and steel frames. The central iron door was tightly shut, and several gun barrels protruded from a window on the side.

Corpses and bloodstains remained on the ground outside, and the air still lingered with an un dissipating burnt odor.

"It's Brother Long." Recognizing Qiaolong and his men, the people inside shouted out. The iron door then rolled open, revealing a long corridor within.

Following the group through the corridor, Hexia could hear the sounds of painful moaning echoing from a room ahead.

It seems more than one person is injured, she thought.

The guards along the way cleared a path. Passing through two more steel doors, they finally reached a comparatively clean room. The space, as wide as a classroom, held eight beds. Seven of them were occupied—some patients had simple bandages applied, others were unconscious, and two were sealed inside square blocks of ice, obscuring their conditions.

"Well, well, Qiaolong, you're back."

A woman leaning against the wall sported striking purple-and-green dyed hair, dark red eye shadow, and wore a deep purple jacket and leather pants, looking very much like a lounge girl from an underground bar. However, her job right now was likely that of a medic here.

Putting down the personal terminal she had been toying with, she strolled over. Hexia noticed she even wore black nail polish.

Such a lack of professional etiquette, the girl thought to herself.

As someone who had planned to apply for the Irene Medical Academy since her second year of middle school, she vividly remembered her teacher warning in class that medical personnel were strictly prohibited from wearing nail polish. Not only would it interfere with treatments, but it would also leave patients with a very poor impression.

While many girls in her class embraced various manicure trends, Hexia was one of the very few who never touched such things.

"Is this the doctor you invited?" She looked up and down at Hexia, who was masked and hooded, her expression full of disdain.

"She looks like an underage student. You'd probably have better luck dragging someone off the