His subordinate, startled by his ferocious face and hoarse roar, trembled and scrambled out.
Hu Banshan again rushed to the floor-to-ceiling window, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold glass, his wide eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the area covered by the power of the three overlords.
The city's clamor seemed to vanish, leaving only his own heart, heavy as a drum, echoing in the silent top floor of the headquarters.
He smelled it—the intertwining scent of extreme panic and death, quietly descending upon the city he believed he controlled, in a way he couldn't comprehend.
And he could only cower in this steel cage, awaiting an unknown judgment.
As time passed, the news brought back by the scouts became increasingly alarming.
Hu Banshan felt his throat dry, each breath carrying a metallic, rusty tang.
The tempered glass pressed against his forehead was as cold as frozen bones, yet it couldn't quell the boiling fear and confusion in his mind.
Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window, the silhouette of Dream City stretched under the dim light, the once familiar streets and towering buildings now shrouded in an ominous, deathly gray, like a giant still life awaiting consumption.
His Giant Tiger Alliance headquarters, this building that once symbolized power and authority, now resembled an elaborate birdcage, trapping him, the self-important bird, and exposing him to the impending storm.
"Bodies... transferred... nine hundred ninety thousand..."
His subordinate's trembling repetition echoed like a curse deep in his ear canal, making his temples throb wildly.
Wan Youyu, that madman! What evil had he truly wrought?
Was a million lives as sacrifices for his experiments not enough? He even hid nine hundred ninety thousand "successful" monsters?
What did this mean?
A tide of corpses large enough to engulf all of Dream City!
The three overlords had poured all their strength into the encirclement, only to poke a much more terrifying hornet's nest?
Hu Banshan could even imagine how Mao Wudi's arrogant face must now be twisted and ashen, how Tie Zenshan's heavy footsteps must tremble with panic, and how Rou Moyu's lips, always bearing a three-part smile, must be stiff and cold as frost.
They weren't celebrating victory; they were desperately trying to mend the fold after the sheep had been stolen, attempting to prop up an already leaning precarious building with their flesh and blood!
What 'fisherman's gain'?
What 'looting a burning house'?
Hu Banshan now felt his previous thoughts were utterly foolish.
In the face of terror powerful enough to overturn everything, his pathetic ambition and authority were as insignificant as a speck of dust at a giant's feet.
His proud Giant Tiger Alliance—those elite warriors, stockpiled weapons, and territory cultivated over many years—seemed so fragile and powerless in the face of the three overlords' current display of extreme vigilance and frantic search.
He didn't even dare to imagine what it would mean if Mao Wudi and the others locked down the entire city, digging three feet deep, yet still couldn't find any trace of those vanished bodies...
It meant those things might have already been moved, or perhaps were lurking in some corner of the city, or even... beneath his Giant Tiger Alliance's territory!
The thought sent a wave of stomach-churning spasms through him.
"Alliance Leader!"
Another subordinate almost stumbled in, his face paler than a corpse.
"It's bad! The three overlords' people... they... they're heading straight for us! The ones leading them... the ones leading them are the leaders of the three overlords!"
Hu Banshan abruptly stood up from his seat, his body swaying, as if the entire building trembled with his fear.
Hu Banshan felt a chill shoot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head, as if all the blood in his body instantly solidified.
The three overlord leaders personally leading the team!
What did this mean?
He didn't think his small, giant-level leader status warranted a personal visit from the three overlords, and all three of them!
This was definitely not an ordinary visit or negotiation; it might even be an extermination or a reckoning.
"How many people?" he hoarsely pressed, his voice as dry as sandpaper rubbing.
"About several thousand!" His subordinate's teeth chattered.
"Mao Wudi, Tie Zenshan, and Rou Moyu are all at the very front! Their aura... Alliance Leader, the killing intent emanating from them... can be felt from several streets away!"
It's over!
Hu Banshan's mind went blank; all his previous hopes and prayers were crushed by this stark reality.
The other party didn't even bother with the most basic disguise, directly approaching with the most overbearing stance.
His proud headquarters' defenses, in the face of the combined power of the three overlords, were probably not much stronger than paper.
"Boom—!"
A dull, massive thud suddenly came from downstairs, accompanied by violent vibrations, as if the entire building shook.
That was the sound of the headquarters' outermost, strongest alloy gate being forcibly blasted open!
Immediately after, piercing alarms shrieked throughout the entire building, but instead of the expected sounds of gunfire, there was a deathly silence. Everyone felt the overwhelming pressure, especially the terrifying prestige emanating from Mao Wudi and the other two's walking nine bars, which weighed on everyone's hearts like a tangible entity.
No one dared to make a move, as if just one glance could crush the entire Giant Tiger Alliance into dust.
"Hu Banshan, get your ass out here!"
Mao Wudi's voice boomed like thunder, making the entire building resonate. Hu Banshan felt his eardrums ache and his legs weaken, but he knew he had nowhere left to run.
They had already reached the door; hiding anymore was useless.
He took a deep breath, forcing his body to stop trembling, and walked step by step to the window, leaping from the windowsill to land steadily in front of Mao Wudi and the other two.
He opened his mouth, wanting to feign composure and ask:
"Sirs, why such a large mobilization? I wonder where my Giant Tiger Alliance has offended you; please enlighten me!"
As soon as his words fell, Mao Wudi gave a cold laugh, his gaze like a knife locking onto him.
"Hu Banshan, we warned you not to develop that agent anymore, and not to continue mass-producing Mutants, which are pathogens, using that agent. But you feigned compliance while secretly continuing your experiments. Now, you've caused a huge mess. What do you think we're here for?"
Hu Banshan's face was ashen, cold sweat pouring down.
He opened his mouth, trying to argue, but found his throat so dry he couldn't utter a single word.
At this moment, he dared not resist in the slightest, because the aura of the three people before him was so powerful that he couldn't even think of resisting.
At this moment, all he felt was regret. After learning that the agent produced pathogens, he should not have ignored the warnings and desperately manufactured the agent in private to prevent his faction's overall strength from being left behind.
Although he stopped using the agent after receiving the notification, he knew that it no longer mattered.
"Mao... Mister Mao!"
Hu Banshan's voice was distorted by extreme fear, and he tried to force out a humble, even fawning smile, but the muscles in his face were stiff like frozen earth, only producing a twisted, ugly expression.
"I was also forced into it. The agent can turn ordinary people into Mutants, but after I learned that the agent was a pathogen, I immediately stopped using it. I only manufactured some to prevent Wan Youyu from widening the gap in strength if an antidote became available later."
Cold sweat beaded on Hu Banshan's forehead. He had only just learned of the agent's true danger—that it would bring about a disaster even more terrifying than a pathogen outbreak.