Chapter 49: Appearance
The bright moon hung high, and the midnight city of Zuer was very quiet. In the eastern part of the city stood the Duowenfa Hospital.
Inside the hospital building, lights in a few rooms were still faintly lit. The Zuer Empire had a very humane law: no heavily polluting factories were allowed within two kilometers of institutions like hospitals, schools, and orphanages. Therefore, the environment near Duowenfa Hospital was quite pleasant.
Near this gray-white building, one awakened after another emerged from the surrounding alleys.
"Lord Reinhardt, the evacuation of nearby civilians is complete. The patients inside the hospital will need some more time."
A middle-aged man in military uniform, with a square face, spoke in a low voice.
"Specific time."
Reinhardt was still as taciturn as ever, but his current status was vastly different from before.
"At least half an hour."
"Twenty minutes."
"Yes."
The middle-aged officer waved his hand, and members of the Seventh Unit, all dressed in black, entered the hospital, quickly taking control of the medical staff at the front entrance.
The patients inside the hospital were evacuated floor by floor, making as little noise as possible.
Boom!
A dull thud came from the third floor of the hospital. A twisted corpse flew out and landed with a thud near Reinhardt.
Reinhardt glanced coldly at the corpse and pressed two fingers to his head.
"May the Holy Spirit be with you."
Reinhardt murmured. The Zuer Empire did not believe in gods but in a non-existent Holy Spirit, giving those with empty hearts something to hold onto.
"Attack."
"Sir, only a small portion of the patients have been evacuated."
The middle-aged officer spoke in a deep voice.
"I'll take responsibility."
As soon as Reinhardt finished speaking, awakened individuals rushed into Duowenfa Hospital. Dozens of seconds later, roars and explosions followed one after another.
Thump!
It was like an earthquake. The entire hospital began to tilt. A muscular figure charged out of a nearby shop, and over a dozen tentacles as thick as buckets emerged from his back, pressing against the slowly tilting hospital building. If this structure collapsed, the patients trapped inside would be crushed by the debris.
With a cracking sound, blood burst from the tentacle man's body. The tentacles he extended barely held up the weight of the entire hospital, and the fact that he wasn't flattened into a meat paste was a testament to his strength.
But even so, the muscles on the tentacle man's body were rapidly tearing. Duowenfa Hospital slowly tilted and fell.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed over ten meters from the tentacle man due to the high pressure. His fists clenched tightly, eight tentacles propping up the hospital building while another eight pierced into the ground, slowing the building's collapse.
Reinhardt looked at the tentacle man, pulled down his collar to reveal his fierce face, and nodded to him.
The tentacle man grinned. His legs had already sunk into the ground. With a rumble, Duowenfa Hospital tilted and fell, crushing the tentacle man beneath it.
Reinhardt stepped forward and walked into the hospital. As he moved, he pulled out a finger-thick glass bottle, poured out some white powder onto the crook of his thumb, a relic known as 'Bone Ash.'
Raising his hand to his mouth and nose, Reinhardt inhaled the relic 'Bone Ash' through his nasal cavity. Within two seconds, he felt his sense of touch dull significantly. This was a temporary loss of pain sensation, greatly enhancing his body's recovery ability.
Over a dozen specters with five or more eyes rushed out of the hospital building. These specters were covered in blood, and some had lost an arm.
As soon as they burst out of the hospital, they stopped in their tracks. An awakened individual blocked their path.
"L-Leinhardt?"
A six-eyed specter stepped back, looking around, trying to find another escape route. Of course, it recognized Reinhardt. He was one of the three most famous hunting dogs under Kukulin Bai Ye. In the eyes of the specters, Reinhardt was the strongest 'hound,' but not the most terrifying one. The most fearsome was an old man with mismatched eyes.
Zzzt!
Blue-white electric current spread out from Reinhardt. The dozen or so specters didn't even have a chance to dodge before being engulfed by the powerful current.
"Ah!!"
A piercing scream tore through the night sky. At the same time, in the southern part of the city.
Drip, drip...
Blood dripped from the tips of Ges' hair. He sat on the corpses of several specters, holding a map in his hand.
"Not much luck. All three eye chambers have been moved. I wonder if the boss will send someone with a late-night snack. I'm starving."
Just as Ges was about to stand up, a figure wearing a metal mask emerged from the darkness.
"Hey, stop right there. Take off the mask."
Ges stared coldly at the masked man. A translucent spore drifted out from his collar.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot comply with your will."
The masked man stepped out of the darkness. On his metal mask was a pattern of the Jack of Diamonds.
Rustle...
Playing cards danced in the masked man's hand. He finally drew a Nine of Clubs. This card slowly disappeared, and the next moment, a black number 9 appeared on the back of Ges' left hand. Not only that, but the 9 began to gradually deform, quickly turning into an 8, and was still changing toward 7.
Ges raised his hand, looking puzzled. For some reason, he licked the number on the back of his hand. A strong smell of sulfur filled his mouth.
6, 5, 4, 3, 2...
When the countdown reached 2, Ges swung the short rod covered in horizontal blades in his hand.
With a cracking sound, Ges smashed his own left forearm and leaped backward.
Boom!
Golden flames exploded, quickly vitrifying the ground nearby. The wind pressure pushed Ges, who was in midair, further away.
"A wise choice."
The masked man's voice came with a hint of amusement. Ges, now missing an arm, sneered. He was very puzzled—where had his subordinates gone? A minute ago, they were patrolling nearby, but now they were nowhere to be found.
Rustle.
The playing cards danced in the masked man's hand again. This time, he drew an Ace of Spades.
"An instant kill. Your luck is not good, sir."
The Ace of Spades disappeared in the masked man's hand. The next moment, a black number 1 appeared on Ges' forehead.
"Oh? It seems to be on my head."
Ges raised his remaining arm, trying to tear off the skin on his forehead.
Boom!
Golden flames engulfed Ges. When the flames dissipated, only the lower half of the body remained, slowly turning to ash.
The masked man turned to leave, but the unique sound of flesh regeneration came from behind. He turned to look, his hand holding the playing cards frozen in midair.
"Roar!!"
A monster about 1.7 meters tall, covered in black scales, raised its head and roared.
Boom!
The black-scaled monster appeared in front of the masked man. The masked man, Mr. J, was puzzled, momentarily unsure what this thing was. In fact, it was Ges, demonized Ges.
...
Central Street, a warehouse piled with wooden crates. Several specter corpses lay on the ground, and explosions could still be heard outside.
Su Xiao folded the map in his hand and looked around at the eyeballs in the warehouse.
[Hunter has located Eye Chamber (14).]
"An unexpected gain."
Su Xiao stepped out of the warehouse. Mrs. Nancy had provided sixteen possible locations for eye chambers. He was personally responsible for four of them, while Ges and the other two handled the remaining twelve. If all went well, they would confirm whether these places had eye chambers tonight.