It was Jiang Qi’s first time facing a World-Devouring Species head-on, and he couldn’t help feeling nervous.
“Officer Shen said World-Devouring Species aren’t limited to living things. This one looks like it’s made of metal...”
“If it’s a Mechanical Body, will my Psychic Shock even work?”
An ominous premonition surfaced in Jiang Qi’s heart.
A mechanical disc hovered in the center of the open space.
The instant its screen flickered, a ripple almost impossible to see with the naked eye tore through the curtain of rain—
“Psychic Shock spanning dozens of meters...”
Alarm bells rang in Jiang Qi’s mind, but his body couldn’t react in time.
His whole body toppled backward against his will, and the world before his eyes was completely drenched in a thick crimson!
【Reversal】 activated.
The lethal Psychic Shock warped the moment it touched Jiang Qi, transforming into a wild storm of emotion.
“Hahahahaha!!!”
Uncontrollable laughter spilled from his throat, clearing the curtain of rain around him.
Jiang Qi covered half his face and regained control of his body.
But blood was already running from his nostrils, and his head began to throb violently.
His vision refocused several times, yet his thoughts remained clear.
He quickly assessed the World-Devouring Species before him.
“A Mechanical Body, with a Psychic Shock that far exceeds my attack range.”
“This is the worst.”
Jiang Qi had no means of launching a physical attack at range, and close-quarters combat was out of the question.
Looking at the disc’s sturdy shell, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, he silently abandoned the foolish idea of testing its hardness with his fists.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
Six barrels fired in succession, and bullet-like projectiles flew toward Jiang Qi from different angles.
Run!
His body reacted swiftly, charging between the abandoned buildings.
In his Left Eye, the projectiles’ trajectories flickered like a silent film.
He could see their trajectories!
His Left Eye had changed.
“They’re much slower than ordinary bullets, but they can turn at a slight angle.”
“And my physical abilities have improved immensely. Is this the power of Rust?”
As the thought flashed through his mind, the first bullet struck an unfinished concrete wall.
“Bang!”
The entire wall vanished.
Cold sweat ran down Jiang Qi’s face.
Under no circumstances could he get hit!
As he dodged and weaved, the second and third bullets blasted a huge section of the abandoned buildings flat.
The remaining bullets traced strange arcs through the air, then turned back toward Jiang Qi.
“Good. My speed and reflexes are just enough to dodge these projectiles.”
“This monster’s attacks have a gap between them, and reloading takes longer than I expected. This is my chance!”
Jiang Qi’s pupils darted as he calculated their trajectories.
Two bullets passed on either side of him, missing his body by less than twenty centimeters.
Only one bullet left.
Then, everything changed!
The two bullets on either side suddenly burst with net-shaped energy, and an electrical net locked firmly around Jiang Qi.
“E...electricity...”
Jiang Qi’s muscles stiffened instantly, and every inch of his skin burned with searing pain.
He crashed to the ground, unable to move even a finger.
He could only watch as the last bullet flew straight toward the space between his brows.
Death was right before him.
Just before it struck, the projectile flashed blue and abruptly vanished.
In its place was the cold mechanical disc.
It stopped less than a centimeter from Jiang Qi’s eye.
“Heh...”
The screen, right before his eyes, displayed a sneer.
Rain fell on both their faces.
Perhaps because of the electric current, Jiang Qi was trembling all over.
You’ve got to be kidding me...
Teleportation? Or did it switch places with one of its own projectiles?
Wasn’t it said that the vast majority of World-Devouring Species had no intelligence and couldn’t communicate?
Was this thing... mocking me?
He gave a bitter smile.
It’s over.
One of the barrels lifted high, gradually changing shape into a syringe before plunging viciously into Jiang Qi’s neck.
—The mechanical disc began devouring Jiang Qi.
An indescribable emptiness spread from his neck as his life force was frantically drained away.
Jiang Qi’s consciousness gradually sank into darkness.
“......”
A drop of dark azure liquid fell from Jiang Qi’s eye socket.
Azure Mist seeped from the needle in his neck and mingled with Rust Lake water pouring from his Left Eye.
“Rustle... rustle...”
A cold, bronze texture rapidly spread from his Left Eye, forming a plain, expressionless mask.
Each strand of Jiang Qi’s hair gradually lost its softness and turned into Copper Rust.
His eyes were slowly replaced by a swirling Azure Vortex.
Grayish-blue crystals surged out of the Void, forming an ancient suit of Armor that covered his entire body.
In just a few seconds, Jiang Qi disappeared.
In his place stood a towering azure humanoid creature.
Majestic and deathly still, it looked like an ancient Deity from myth.
The needle embedded in its neck rapidly decayed, the Corrosion quickly spreading upward—this body was devouring the mechanical disc’s tentacle in an even more violent manner!
Beep—!!!!
The mechanical disc emitted a piercing shriek, and the sneer on its screen turned to sheer terror!
The disc suddenly vanished from sight and appeared fifty meters away.
All five barrels roared at once, louder and more urgently than before!
Five more powerful projectiles tore through the air, shooting toward the Azure Silhouette!
The Azure Silhouette stood up without making a move.
Before the projectiles could enter a ten-meter radius around it, they rapidly rusted into powder in midair and disappeared.
The disc let out a shrill, alarm-like wail!
It actually jettisoned its remaining five barrels!
The barrels linked together in midair, forming a massive energy net that covered half the construction site, then dropped over the Azure Silhouette!
At the same time, the disc flickered again, appearing next in front of a Rift.
By then, it had dimmed until it was almost impossible to see any luster.
Without the slightest hesitation, it plunged into the Rift.
But a hand reached out from the Rift.
A huge hand covered in Bronze Armor grabbed the disc, crushing its metal shell until it caved in and warped!
Sparks burst wildly.
The azure figure emerged slowly from the Rift, carrying its prey, and returned to the ground.
【Left Eye Space】
Jiang Qi opened his eyes in a daze.
When he woke up, he saw himself beating up a big disc.
“Is this... my body?”
But he couldn’t control it. Looking closely, he realized he seemed to be trapped inside his Left Eye.
A notebook lay to his left, with a drop of azure liquid floating beside it.
“Rust Lake water.”
He looked at the azure figure outside.
“Just one drop of water turned me into this... and I’m trapped inside my own Left Eye.”
Jiang Qi pondered.
Then he picked up the notebook and flipped through it. The few words originally on the first page quickly vanished, as if erased.
At the same time, new writing appeared.
【An enemy has arrived】
Before he could think any further, the scene outside came into view.
【The battlefield outside】
The disc dangling from the Azure Silhouette’s hand began to rust, and soon fell completely silent.
All that remained in its hand was a hollow metal ring with three protrusions.
An unfamiliar hunger washed over him, and then a sight that left Jiang Qi utterly dumbfounded appeared.
The Azure Silhouette opened its mouth and bit down on the ring.
The incredibly clear grinding of gears echoed again and again in the Left Eye Space.
“It... it ate it?”
Jiang Qi’s hair stood on end, and a strange sensation shot straight to his soul.
He even imagined he could taste metal in his mouth.
And felt a... primitive, savage satisfaction that wasn’t his.
“I ate a World-Devouring Species...”
Thud—!!
At that very moment, a figure slammed into the open space ahead and to Jiang Qi’s right, and a terrifying wave of scorching heat exploded outward in a ring!
Two dark red points of light were faintly visible through the heat haze.
A towering figure walked out, a cigar still dangling from his mouth. Five red cloud patterns at his collar swayed gently.
Outside, the azure figure remained unmoved.
It opened its mouth and stuffed the remaining Half of the ring inside.
Crunch... crunch...
The sound of chewing carried far across the desolate open space.
“Inspector Wang!”
Jiang Qi shouted desperately from within the Left Eye Space, but not a sound came out.
Outside, the azure figure only made a distinct swallowing sound.
Wang Huan surveyed the battlefield, his gaze settling on the azure figure as his Wristband flashed.
“I’ve reached the Rift.”
“Initial assessment: two World-Devouring Species engaged in combat ahead of schedule. The azure Humanoid Species has already... eaten the other one.”
“I’ll take it from here.”
The Wristband stopped flashing.
Wang Huan took a step forward.
Boom!!!
The ground beneath the Azure Silhouette exploded without warning!
A massive column of flame, hot enough to melt steel in an instant, shot skyward and completely engulfed it!
Yet the raging flames lasted less than a second.
A dark power began eating away at them from within.
The flames rapidly decayed, turning into powder that filled the sky.
The fire was dead.
A deep look of surprise appeared on Wang Huan’s impassive face.
What kind of bizarre ability was this?
Could it really kill another Elementalization ability outright?
At the sight of this, the temperature around him continued to rise visibly.
Two streaks of scorched flame cut across the ground.
The next instant, Wang Huan appeared in front of the Azure Silhouette!
Wang Huan clenched his right fist, wreathed in dark red flames, and swung. The white steam nearby twisted instantly into thin threads!
Bang!
The blow landed squarely on the Azure Silhouette’s left chest!
A thin azure crack appeared on the Armor’s surface.
Second punch, third punch!
Then came its ribs, lower abdomen, the insides of its knees, and its neck!
Wang Huan’s figure became a blurred line of fire, each blow heavier and more explosive than the last!
One final punch!
Wang Huan concentrated all his Strength into a single point and struck straight at the Azure Silhouette’s expressionless Bronze Mask!
The vortex in the Azure Silhouette’s eyes abruptly contracted.
Boom—!!!
After Azure Mist and steam collided violently, the Azure Silhouette was sent flying backward.
Wang Huan steadied himself and looked down at the flames on his hands and legs as they slowly rusted.
It wasn’t just Corrosion; Rust was spreading upward along the flames.
“Tsk.”
The flames on his limbs jolted violently!
The corroded parts quickly went out, turning dark brown and solidifying into volcanic rock that fell to the ground.
The Azure Silhouette had already gotten back up.
Copper Rust surged from the Void, filling dozens of cracks around its body like a living thing.
Wang Huan’s pupils shrank to pinpoints.
“A corrosive effect that takes hold on contact.”
“Terrifying resistance to physical attacks, on top of this visibly powerful regenerative ability...”
“Close combat is too risky, and I’d have a hard time taking it down in a war of attrition.”
Wang Huan muttered to himself, brows knitted tightly.
“An extremely bizarre and troublesome ability.”
“Most importantly, it eats its own Kindred. Unheard of.”
A thin line of light reflected in Wang Huan’s dark red pupils, and something locked firmly onto the Azure Silhouette.
“You’re too dangerous.”
He looked around. There was nothing but the abandoned construction site and a vast stretch of wilderness.
This was the best battlefield.
“Very well.”
A strong wind swept in, tilting the curtain of rain across the wilderness.
Wang Huan raised his right hand and held it open in midair. The flames roaring over his body instantly dwindled to a flicker.
“Crack—”
Red, web-like fissures suddenly split open in the air.
Before the first drop of molten rock could even hit the ground, it instantly evaporated rainwater across a vast area, sending up billowing white smoke.
The molten rock rapidly coalesced in Wang Huan’s hand into a dark red firearm over a meter long.
The firearm’s surface was pitted, yet it twisted his entire right hand and the surrounding Space in a violent distortion.
A sight made of flames extended above it, touching the thin line reflected in Wang Huan’s pupils and forming an “X”-shaped fluctuating marker.
Inside the Left Eye Space.
Jiang Qi was already drenched in cold sweat.
He could feel an unprecedented threat of Death looming over “him”!
He desperately stirred up the Azure Mist in his eyes, struggling to break free.
He didn’t want to die!
And he especially didn’t want to die at Inspector Wang’s hands!
The earlier bullet explosion remained vivid in his mind.
Even though the power of “Rust” seemed unfathomable now, he didn’t dare gamble on what would happen if Wang Huan’s shot hit him!
The azure figure seemed to be affected slightly by Jiang Qi’s struggle.
Jiang Qi roared with all his might.
“Inspector Wang, don’t shoot! It’s me, it’s me!!!”
But what reached the outside world...
was the azure figure suddenly opening its mouth and letting out a loud laugh at Wang Huan.
“Ha!!!”
The sound wave stirred the Red Cloud at Wang Huan’s collar, and his coat rustled.
One,
two,
three,
four.
The four Red Clouds at his collar ignited one after another, and Wang Huan pulled the trigger.
The ground was wiped flat, and a tremendous roar echoed throughout the Fourth District.