At this life-or-death moment, adrenaline surged wildly through his veins.
Facing the dark-blue mutant charging straight at him, a flicker of fear flickered in Jiang Jin's eyes for the first time, only to be instantly drowned by an even fiercer, more savage aura. Roaring with rage, he unleashed both fists simultaneously, two pillars of flame thicker than before intertwining as they slammed toward the creature!
"BOOM!"
The flames struck the mutant's chest once more. The immense explosive force halted its forward momentum, even forcing it to stumble half a step back. The charred patch on its chest expanded, emitting the hissing sound of burning flesh. But it only let out a pained roar. Its bone claws plunged into the ground, stabilizing its stance. Its blood-red eyes locked onto Jiang Jin with a gaze so filled with venom it seemed almost tangible.
"Its defenses are strong! Fire isn't doing much!" Jiang Jin shouted between gasps, the repeated bursts of intense flames taking a heavy toll on him.
"Lu Zhao, distract it! Jiang Jin, target its joints and eyes!" Gu Xun's voice remained icy calm, like cold water dousing boiling frustration. His hands traced invisible patterns, coalescing the thin airborne moisture into a swirling, damp mist that enveloped the mutant, attempting to obscure its vision and senses.
Lu Zhao understood instantly. Suppressing his fear, he swung his hands swiftly, sending several condensed wind blades whistling through the air. No longer targeting the creature's solid body, they sliced precisely toward its knee joints, elbow joints, and those blood-red eyes!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The mutant clearly possessed some intelligence. It swung its bone claws to block, and the collision of wind blades against bone claws produced a metallic clang. Most were deflected, but one blade still grazed its knee, leaving a faint white mark, while another narrowly swept past its eye, eliciting a furious snarl.
This damage was negligible, yet it succeeded in enraging it! It reared up abruptly, abandoning its frontal assault on Jiang Jin. Its thick hind legs kicked off the ground, and it charged in a zigzag pattern, using the abandoned vehicles along the street as cover. Moving so fast it was merely a dark blue shadow, its target was clearly Gu Xun and Lu Zhao, standing slightly further back!
It had determined these two were the true source of the trouble!
"Watch out!" Jiang Jin's eyes widened in fury. He lunged forward, only to be momentarily blocked by a shopping cart deliberately overturned by the mutant.
As the bone claws, gleaming with a cold light, were about to touch Gu Xun, his pupils suddenly contracted. He frantically squeezed out his last reserves of mental energy!
"Hum!"
A thick, dazzlingly white rhombic light shield instantly solidified before him and Lu Zhao! Pure energy swirled within the shield, emitting an aura intensely repulsive to the mutant.
"Sssshhh!"
The bone claw slammed into the shield, producing a bone-chilling screech of friction! The shield trembled violently, its light flickering erratically. Gu Xun's face instantly turned as white as paper, a trickle of blood seeping from his nostrils. Yet he gritted his teeth, desperately maintaining the shield's existence.
The bone claws failed to tear through the shield immediately, causing the mutant's movements to freeze for an incredibly brief moment.
Now!
"Get the hell out of my way!" Jiang Jin's roar echoed closer! He charged like a cannonball. This time, he didn't unleash flames from afar. Instead, he compressed the blaze within his entire body, concentrating it into his right fist. That fist seemed to transform into a miniature sun, carrying the momentum to incinerate everything along with all his fury and strength. It slammed viciously into the relatively vulnerable spot the mutant had exposed during its attack—its spine!
"BOOM!! CRACK!!"
An incredibly muffled explosion erupted, accompanied by the distinct sound of cracking bones!
The intensely compressed flame energy detonated upon impact! The mutant let out an earth-shattering howl of agony. A charred, bloody hole gaped in its dark-blue back, revealing shattered bones! Its forward momentum was completely shattered by this self-sacrificing strike. Its massive body staggered forward, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
It struggled to rise, but its damaged spine and weakened hind legs denied it the strength.
Jiang Jin wasn't unscathed either. His right fist was torn and bleeding, his entire arm trembling uncontrollably. The extreme compression and release of energy had left him momentarily weakened.
"Lu Zhao!" Gu Xun shouted hoarsely. The moment his words fell, the light shield shattered into a sky of sparkling points. His body went limp, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
No further words were needed. Lu Zhao understood. Life or death hinged on this very moment! He cast aside all distractions, summoning every last ounce of wind energy within him in a desperate gamble. Air compressed and whirled violently between his hands, emitting a piercing howl, until it coalesced into a highly condensed, visible spiral wind drill!
"Haaah!" Lu Zhao summoned every ounce of strength, driving the spiraling wind drill downward with brutal force, aiming straight for the monstrous head of the fallen mutant!
"Thud!"
This time, there was no resistance! The drill easily pierced the relatively fragile eye socket, penetrated the brain, and began to violently churn!
The mutant's movements froze instantly, followed by violent convulsions. Finally, it went completely limp, utterly still.
The battle was over.
Dead silence hung over the alleyway. Only the three of them remained, their breaths coming in heavy gasps like broken bellows.
Gu Xun struggled to steady himself, wiping blood from beneath his nose, his eyes utterly drained.
Jiang Jin knelt on one knee, staring at his bloodied, mangled fist before glancing at the mutated creature, now finally dead. His expression was complex—a mix of lingering fear, a hint of satisfaction, but mostly a dark, brooding mood born from having his strength challenged.
Lu Zhao collapsed onto the ground, his heart still pounding wildly as he stared at the horrific corpse. For the first time, he realized with crystal clarity what a terrifying hell the outside world had become.
They had won, but what they gained was merely another chance to struggle on. The road ahead remained long and arduous.
The appearance of that blue-black mutant was a cold warning—evolution was not humanity's exclusive privilege.