Panshi Fortress, Underground Seventh Floor, Central Water Purification Hub.
Under the colossal alloy dome, the deathly silence was replaced by a viscous, heart-like thumping sound: "Thump... thump..."
That sound was muffled and heavy, carrying a primal vitality, penetrating the cold metal pipes and congealed air, echoing through the empty space like the prenatal murmur of an ancient beast awakening in the abyss.
The Central Purification Reactor—that colossal vessel, like a heart of steel—had now completely become a terrifying incubator.
Countless tiny, dark-red flesh buds squirmed, entangled, and fused wildly! They greedily devoured organic matter and metal ions from the wastewater, emitting a faint "sizzling" sound, like billions of hungry insects gnawing!
The flesh buds converged! Swelled! Forming huge, tumor-like dark-red sarcomas!
What was chilling was... the surface of the sarcoma was hardening at a visible speed... congealing! And revealing patches of... extremely fine, yet shimmering with a cold metallic luster... black scale patterns!
An indescribable aura, as if from the depths of primeval chaos, cold, tyrannical, and bearing the absolute might of a superior being... slowly permeated outwards from the depths of the sarcoma, like an invisible tide!
Dragon's might!
Though faint... it carried an undeniable... bloodline suppression!
"Thump... thump... thump..."
Inside the sarcoma, the heart-like thumping sound... grew clearer! More powerful!
Each thump! Made the entire reactor tremble slightly! Making those newly formed scale patterns... shimmer with an even colder light!
The hatching... was nearing its end!
Lower Level of the Fortress, D-Zone Soldier Dormitory.
The bloody slaughterhouse was now enveloped by a strange "order." The cold power of rules, like invisible shackles, froze the chaos and stripped away emotions.
The rigid zombies were like statues with their pause buttons pressed, maintaining their pouncing or biting postures, their crimson eyes frozen with a crazed bloodlust, yet their bodies were unable to move an inch.
And the "surviving" soldiers, their eyes blank and numb, like puppets from which the souls had been drawn, mechanically raised their firearms, aimed at the rigid zombies' heads, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunshots were monotonous and cold.
Each shot was accompanied by the explosion of red and white matter and the crashing fall of a zombie statue.
There were no screams, no wails, only the dull thud of bullets penetrating skulls and the heavy impact of bodies hitting the ground.
The smell of blood and decay in the air was still strong, but the chaos and panic... had been replaced by an even more suffocating... deathly silence and... coldness.
The price of rule reboot... was the complete freezing of emotions and souls.
A soldier walked expressionlessly to a rigid zombie.
The zombie's sharp claws were less than ten centimeters from his throat, and its fangs still hung with viscous blood and flesh fragments. The soldier's eyes were empty, as if looking at a stone, as he raised his pistol and aimed at the zombie's brow.
Bang!
The zombie's head exploded! Dark red blood and grayish-white brain matter splattered across the soldier's face!
But he showed no reaction, not even blinking an eye, merely mechanically wiping the filth from his face and turning to walk towards the next target.
Fear? Disgust? Pity? These human emotions... had been completely stripped away by the rules. What remained... was only cold... execution of orders.
Outside the Special Care Ward.
The sounds of fighting in the corridor had ceased; severed limbs and shattered internal organs littered the ground, and viscous blood reflected a dark red sheen under the pale light. The air was filled with a nauseatingly strong smell of blood.
The alloy door panel was covered in deep claw marks and dents, as if it had been ravaged by a giant beast. The lock was severely deformed, the metal twisted, as if it could break apart at any moment.
Inside, Chen Xue leaned against the cold door panel, slumped on the ground. Her face was ashen, bloodstains not yet dry at the corners of her mouth, her chest heaving violently, each breath bringing tearing pain.
The silver light in her palm had long since extinguished, and the over-expended mental energy and abilities made her vision swim, too weak to even lift a finger.
Chen Xue stared blankly at the door panel, which had stopped trembling, listening to the faint sounds of bodies sliding in the deathly silence outside the door, her eyes filled with the blankness of surviving a catastrophe and... a lingering trace of... fear.
Just now... what was that sudden internal strife among the zombies?
Why... did they fight each other? Why... precisely when the shield was about to collapse?
She instinctively turned her head to look at Ling Chen, who was still "unconscious" on the hospital bed. Ling Chen lay quietly, his breathing faint and steady, as if all the bloody turmoil outside had nothing to do with him. That pale, weak face, in the dim light, appeared exceptionally... innocent.
"Was it... a coincidence?"
Chen Xue murmured to herself, her voice hoarse and weak. She struggled to crawl over to check on Ling Chen's condition, but her body felt as heavy as lead. The moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her chest, making her groan and collapse back onto the ground.
Just then!
"Boom—!!!"
A giant sound, far more muffled and impactful than before! As if a ten-ton hammer had slammed into the fortress's foundation! It suddenly came from deep underground!
The entire ward! No! The entire Panshi Fortress! Trembled violently... in this terrifying roar!
Crash—!!!
Dust fell from the ceiling! The monitoring instruments on the walls shook wildly! Screens flickered! Alarms instantly blared! The ground undulated like waves!
Chen Xue was jolted directly off the ground, then fell heavily! She clutched her head in terror! Feeling the entire building groan under the unbearable strain!
"What's happening?! An earthquake?!" Chen Xue shrieked!
On the hospital bed.
Beneath Ling Chen's tightly shut eyelids, the cold will of the Soul Jade Physique rippled slightly.
Not an earthquake.
It was... the Dragonborn... breaking out of its cocoon!
Underground Seventh Floor, Central Water Purification Hub.
That central purification reactor, as massive as a mountain... had now completely... exploded!
The thick alloy shell! Like paper! Was brutally torn apart! Twisted! Blown away! By an unimaginable, terrifying force from within!
Countless huge metal fragments flew out like cannonballs! Emitting deafening roars!
Viscous, foul-smelling wastewater mixed with dark-red flesh... surged out like a bursting dam! Instantly flooding the entire hub space!
And in the center of that surging torrent of filth! A... colossal and... hideous... figure... slowly... stood up!
It... or rather... He!
Nearly five meters tall! Covered in nascent black scales that shimmered with a cold metallic luster! Dark-red, lava-like patterns flowed along the edges of the scales!
At the ends of his thick, pillar-like limbs were sharp, scimitar-like claws that gleamed with cold light! A massive tail covered in grotesque bone spikes dragged behind him like a steel whip!
Each swing brought a tearing shriek through the air!
Most terrifying of all... was His head!
Covered in thick, helmet-like black bone armor!
Through the gaps in the bone armor, two points of crimson light... like searchlights from hell... slowly lit up!
That light was cold! Tyrannical! Filled with endless hunger and an absolute majesty that transcended all living beings!
He slowly opened His massive mouth! Revealing two rows of fangs as sharp as daggers! Deep in His throat... a dark-red, magma-like light... was gathering!
"Roar—!!!"
A roar filled with ferocity, majesty, and... endless hunger! Like a thunderclap from a clear sky! It suddenly exploded!
The terrifying sound wave mixed with a substantial dragon's might!
Like a storm of destruction! It instantly swept through the entire underground space! Hard alloy walls were torn apart like paper! Twisted! Huge pipes were snapped like noodles! Broken instruments and metal fragments were swept high into the air! Like withered leaves in a storm!
The Dragonborn! Had been born!
His crimson eyes slowly rotated, scanning this filthy birthplace.
In that gaze... there was no gratitude... no confusion... only... a pure, black hole-like... desire to devour!
He was hungry!
He needed... flesh! Energy! Everything... that could fill this newly born body!
His gaze... pierced through layers of rubble and twisted metal... as if substantial... locking onto... the upper levels!
That fortress... filled with... vibrant life force!
Panshi Fortress, Command Center.
"Warning! Warning! A violent explosion has occurred in the Underground Seventh Floor Water Purification Hub! Energy level... Bone Eater Realm initial stage! Continuously rising!"
"Warning! Ultra-high intensity life energy reaction detected! Spectral signature... Dragon type! Confirmed!"
"Warning! Structural damage! D-Zone load-bearing column broken! C-Zone passage collapsed! Energy shield overloaded and offline!"
Piercing alarms and the cold, urgent reports from the staff were incessant.
On the holographic sandbox, the three-dimensional model representing the Underground Seventh Floor area was instantly covered in a dazzling crimson! A huge, continuously expanding light point, emanating terrifying energy fluctuations... like a malignant tumor... flashed wildly at the heart of the fortress!
The violent trembling of the fortress made the control console shake! Lights flickered wildly! Alarm red lights splashed across everyone's faces like blood!
Qin Weiguo gripped the edge of the control console tightly, barely managing to steady himself! His face was ashen, his eyes filled with unbelievable horror and... a deep-seated... fear!
A dragon! It really was a dragon! Crawling out from the heart of the fortress?!
"Energy shield! Restore the energy shield! All defensive weapons! Aim at the Underground Seventh Floor! Open fire! Blast it to pieces!" Qin Weiguo roared hoarsely! His voice distorted by extreme shock and fury!
"Energy system overloading and cooling! Shield restoration requires... three minutes!"
"Underground Seventh Floor structure collapsed! Weapon system offline!"
"Dragon type target... moving! Target... upper living quarters!"
The staff's cold voice was like a death sentence!
"No—!!!" Qin Weiguo's eyes were bloodshot!
That was where Lin Wei was!
Just then!
Rumble—!!!
The fortress trembled violently again! More intensely than before! On the thick alloy walls of the command center, spiderweb-like cracks actually... appeared! Dust sifted down!
Immediately after!
A dull, ultimate impact sound, as if from the deep core of the earth... mixed with the ear-piercing screech of twisting and breaking metal! Came from below!
"Report! Underground Sixth Floor and Seventh Floor partition... breached! Target... is... breaking through upwards!"
Fortress Outskirts, Wilderness.
The blood moon hung high. Cold moonlight spilled onto the barren land, stretching the shadows of ruined walls and twisted dead trees like specters.
The desolate wilderness... began to... stir!
Initially, it was a faint, tide-like "rustling" sound. Coming from all directions. Growing closer! Louder!
Then! Low roars! Sharp hisses! Heavy footsteps! Countless pairs of... eyes glowing crimson, eerie green, and pale white! Densely packed! From the shadows of ruins! From behind collapsed buildings! From dry riverbeds! Surfacing like a tide!
Mutated beasts! Corpse Rhinos, bull-sized and covered in bone armor! Shadow Claw Cats, swift as wind, with claws gleaming with cold light! Corroding Poison Lizards, spitting acid that corroded the ground! Even... in the sky! Circling and emitting shrill screeches... Corrupted Wing Vultures!
This was precisely the 19th day of the apocalypse, and many mutated beasts and infected had already evolved to the Bone Eater Realm, with some fast ones perhaps already touching the third-stage Steel Viscera Realm.
A beast tide! A scale far exceeding previous beast tides! Like schools of sharks smelling blood!
Completely drawn by the soaring dragon's might and the rich scent of blood from within the fortress! Madly... surging from all directions... towards Panshi Fortress!
The fortress's energy shield... had gone offline under the previous rule overload and the Dragonborn's emergence!
The heavy alloy gate... groaned under the unbearable impact of the tide-like zombies and mutated beasts!
Internal strife! External threats! Dragon disaster! Beast tide!
Panshi Fortress... like a lone boat in a storm! Instantly... completely surrounded by the tide of death!
Special Care Ward.
The violent tremors and terrifying roars made the ward like a small boat in a raging storm! Chen Xue was shaken and rolled onto the ground, clutching her head and screaming in terror!
On the hospital bed, beneath Ling Chen's "tightly shut" eyelids, the cold will of the Soul Jade Physique, like the most precise radar, scanned the chaotic situation inside and outside the fortress.
The Dragonborn emerging! The beast tide besieging the city!
Very good, the stage... had been set to the extreme.
The more chaotic the scene, the more suitable it was for him to begin his performance.
His thoughts stirred slightly. An invisible command, like an invisible radio wave, instantly pierced through space, connecting with... Zhuang Han, who was lurking in the shadows outside the fortress!
Command:
Infiltrate the beast tide!
Target: Special Care Ward!
Form: Complete beastification!
Mission: Publicly... "tear apart" and "devour" me!
Requirement: At least three witnesses! Including... Chen Xue!
Command delivered!
Outside the fortress, Zhuang Han, who had already been summoned, his crimson beast eyes... suddenly lit up! Filled with savagery and... absolute obedience!
Zhuang Han's bone-spiked body began to violently... expand! Twist! Deform!
The dark-jade bone armor covering his skin spread! Covering his entire body! His head deformed! Fangs exposed! A massive tail covered in grotesque bone spikes... burst out of his body!
In just a few breaths! A bone-spiked giant beast, as if crawled out of hell... appeared amidst the beast tide!
It let out a deafening roar!
With an aura of crushing everything! It slammed into the zombies and mutated beasts blocking its way! Like an out-of-control locomotive! Charging fiercely towards the fortress's crumbling alloy gate!
Target... Special Care Ward!
Ling Chen's "death" script... officially... began!