Chapter 11: The Arrival of the Fierce Beast

Hearing this “rustling” sound, the power within Zhou Liming’s body boiled up again without him even controlling it.

A “bang” from a gunshot rang out; it was crisp, yet became prolonged under the echoes of the tall buildings on the street. This patch of “rustling” sounds suddenly paused, falling into half a second of silence, and then the “chirping” sounds rang out even more cheerfully, while the “rustling” crawling sounds became even louder.

“No, no, ah…”

The human voice came to an abrupt stop, and sensitive ears could hear the sound of flesh being torn apart. Without thinking, the person who had just fired the gun must have been devoured by these monsters that could make “chirping” sounds.

Zhou Liming clenched his fists. For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity with these monsters, as if blood like theirs was flowing through his own body. This force within his body became restless as more and more monsters occupied the city, seeming to cheer for joy, or perhaps trying to break out of its shell.

“No, I won’t turn into the appearance of a Fierce Beast again, absolutely not!” Zhou Liming’s stubbornness kicked in as he stared with eyes that were gradually turning bloodshot. “Water, water, I need water.”

Zhou Liming gasped for breath, his whole body starting to tremble again, and his palms were covered in sweat. He walked to the small window on the iron gate and looked outside. The small yard was empty; apart from some messy documents scattered everywhere and mixed with fallen leaves, there was nothing. The parking lot that had been full of cars when he first came in now had not a single vehicle; it was completely empty.

“Water!”

Zhou Liming placed his hand on the opening in the iron gate used for delivering food, gritted his teeth, and used sudden force.

Under Zhou Liming’s monster-like roar, power surged through his arms. The places where the heavy iron gate was welded to the wall could not withstand this powerful force. Amidst the sounds of metal shattering, the entire iron gate was lifted up by Zhou Liming.

Although Zhou Liming knew his strength would be great, he absolutely never imagined it would be this strong. This iron gate was not heavy, but to tear apart several welding spots as thick as an arm, how much power did that require? Yet it had just been forcefully torn apart by him, and he only felt slightly out of breath.

With a loud “clang”, Zhou Liming threw the iron gate into the corridor.

At this moment, Zhou Liming felt terrible, only feeling faint scales beginning to emerge on his skin again. The restless power was about to find an outlet, ready to burst out.

Rushing out like an arrow, Zhou Liming used his fastest speed to sprint to the water tap in the yard. He stuck his entire head under it, turned on the tap, and let the cold water soak him. His head, which had been feverish and mad just now, quickly cooled down under the cold water. Zhou Liming tried to control this power within him; he did not want to turn into an out-of-control beast.

Since this power existed inside his body, it could certainly be controlled; he just hadn’t found the method yet.

He realized that when this power appeared, it was because of his emotions. Thinking about it calmly and carefully, it wasn’t his emotions affecting the power, but the power affecting his emotions. Whenever this force appeared, his emotions would reach the edge of losing control, and then he would become cold-blooded and ruthless, viewing all life as worthless weeds.

Zhou Liming was very scared. He was just a high school student, yet he had to bear everything happening to him.

He forced himself not to be afraid, trembling as he recalled every detail of what had happened to him. It seemed that every time his emotions lost control, his power increased a bit, as if it could grow. The genes in his body were constantly being modified, gradually transforming towards perfection. This time period was very short… only seven days.

So, the reason must have been the injury he suffered when the meteorite belt entered the Earth; the cause definitely lay on that day.

Combining this with the Fierce Beasts landing on the continent now, Zhou Liming’s eyes went wide. “Meteorites, yes, the meteorites carried the power to change biological genes, and I have been modified like those creatures. I… I am also a Fierce Beast; I have been infected by this power.” He pulled at his hair, unable to believe the truth he had discovered.

“Why is it like this, why is it me, why…”

Zhou Liming roared at the sky, completely failing to hear a faint “rustling” sound coming from behind him, nor did he sense a slightly bloody scent approaching.

“Ah… watch your back!”

From the detention room where Zhou Liming had previously detected weak breathing, a scream rang out. A woman’s voice came out, filled with terror.

Zhou Liming whipped his head around, his wet hair flinging out a string of water droplets. His bloodshot eyes stared behind him, and then his pupils contracted.

What came into view was a mouth exaggerated to the extreme, occupying almost the entire head, with two rows of sharp teeth flashing with cold light. Above the huge mouth was a small, black nose and two eyes as small as black beans. A circle of lumps grew around the head. It had six legs with strong, powerful toes, similar to those of a lizard. Its tail was proportional to its body, raised high like a scorpion’s.

Now Zhou Liming finally knew what the large patch of “rustling” sounds was about earlier; it must have been the sound made by this kind of Fierce Beast crawling.

This Fierce Beast, which looked like a Multi-legged Insect, was not huge; its length was about the height of a seven or eight-year-old child crawling on the ground. However, its appearance let people know that they possessed power that did not match their size. Especially on its two rows of snow-white, sharp teeth, a strip of blood-soaked cloth hung, letting anyone know immediately what it had just been doing.

As Zhou Liming turned his head, the Multi-legged Insect immediately launched an attack. Its six legs crawled like a sprinting lizard, its mouth opened wide, and it bit toward Zhou Liming’s waist.

With a “boom”, Zhou Liming’s mind went blank. He had no intention of dodging at all; he just stared blankly at the approaching big mouth.

As his life was threatened at this moment, Zhou Liming seemed to be provoked. Very naturally, he suddenly threw out his fist, plunging his entire hand into the big mouth. The mouth of the Fierce Beast, which looked like a Multi-legged Insect, snapped shut, and its teeth bit down. But what puzzled it was that its teeth, which could easily tear prey apart, seemed to have bitten onto steel, and they cracked and broke.

“Ah ah ah!”

His arm, covered in scales, left Zhou Liming unharmed. Dark black Bone Spurs appeared. Amidst a “buzzing” vibration, a frequency of hundreds of millions of vibrations per second smashed the entire head of the Multi-legged Insect Fierce Beast into pieces in a fraction of a second. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, splashing all over Zhou Liming.

The body of the Multi-legged Insect collapsed softly. The crisis was over, and Zhou Liming’s hand, which had just transformed, returned to its normal state.

A wonderful feeling made Zhou Liming, whose face had been tense with panic, reveal a smile, for he had finally found the method to control this power.

However, his smile only lasted for a second. On the street outside, a car suddenly fell from the sky, smashing in front of the Public Security Bureau and scattering into a pile of parts. Something seemed to be running; its pale green body ignored all obstacles on the street, charging recklessly. From time to time, one could see its two spike-like upper limbs slicing through steel.

Zhou Liming shuddered. Compared to the Multi-legged Insect from earlier, this Fierce Beast gave him an even more dangerous feeling.

“Run, flee this dangerous city.”

A thought rose up. Zhou Liming did not know how many powerful Fierce Beasts were still in this city; what was shown before him was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Zhou Liming turned around abruptly. The person in the detention room not far away, who had been staring at Zhou Liming, seemed to realize what Zhou Liming was about to do next. She immediately shouted desperately, “Wait, let me out, let me out! I don’t want to die, I beg you, I don’t want to die!”

The fate of staying behind would definitely be being killed and eaten by a Fierce Beast. She did not know what was wrong with the world, but she knew that the entire city was finished now.