Chapter 1 The Ultimate Evolution

Fang Senyan, witnessing such an astonishing attack, was certain it was the work of the Contractor group. However, the immense power didn't faze him much, as it clearly wasn't a conventional attack. If such power were commonplace, what would become of the other Contractors?

Therefore, it was logical to deduce that using such power either required a powerful, one-time item or came at a great cost, or perhaps both.

It was also logical that whoever used this power was in dire straits. Why else would they use a trump card like this at the very beginning?

"What the hell kind of information is this?"

Fang Senyan couldn't help but curse. Given the current situation, choosing Mushroom Rock as the rendezvous point was obviously a mistake. There might be significant danger nearby. Rushing there would be a disastrous piecemeal attack, sending them in waves to their deaths.

For example, if there were a hundred Cockatrice near Mushroom Rock, Fang Senyan would have no choice but to flee.

An intelligence-based Contractor unfamiliar with the Cockatrice would be quickly overwhelmed and killed, even Zi!

The Cockatrice's damned biological ability was too powerful. Once they gained a numerical advantage, the situation would shift qualitatively.

Time passed quickly. Soon, the Sunwheel Flowers began to bear fruit and wither, and the conditions for Fang Senyan's departure were ripe.

As Fang Senyan debated whether to head to Mushroom Rock, he noticed thick, brownish-red smoke billowing into the sky to the west. It lingered for a long time, clearly a signal fire made with damp leaves and a special smoke agent.

The source of the smoke was about seven or eight kilometers away in a straight line, and the terrain was conducive to escape. Fang Senyan immediately headed towards it.

At his current speed, the distance wouldn't take long. However, after traveling two or three kilometers, the massive Ramtas suddenly lowered his body and carefully twitched his nostrils. He then raised his crude staff high and slammed it into the ground.

A wave of faint green light rapidly spread out from the point of impact. Within seven or eight meters, the grasses and shrubs flattened submissively, resembling carefully combed hair. This revealed several strange, giant footprints in the damp soil.

The footprints indicated that their maker was a behemoth that walked on four legs and skillfully concealed itself while stalking its prey. Ramtas then plucked a coarse, curled hair from a nearby bush. The hair was grayish-green with a metallic sheen.

Android One examined the hair and said, "Master, it should be a Ferocious Beast."

He paused, then added, "A very powerful Ferocious Beast."

The mention of Ferocious Beasts brought the issue of species invasion to mind. When humanity began interstellar colonization, technology underwent an explosive period of rapid development. Billions of humans spread like a plague, frantically occupying the solar system and then expanding outwards at an alarming rate, much like the fervor of discovering new continents during the Age of Exploration.

During this process, Earth's native species were inevitably spread to various planets in the universe. Because it was difficult to find natural enemies or other constraints in an instant, this was a startling and unpredictable phenomenon. Consider some examples of controlled species invasions on Earth:

The carnivorous red snail (rapanathomasiana) was transplanted from Japan to the Black Sea in 1947. Ten years later, it had almost completely wiped out the oysters on the Black Sea's Tauta beach.

The proliferation of Chinese mitten crabs in Germany caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

The number of wild rabbits in Australia exceeded six hundred million. They destroyed pastures and severely squeezed the living space of over forty million goats and sheep, causing the government severe economic losses.

When Earth's biological immigrants arrived in the vast expanse of the universe, they first faced radiation from cosmic rays and solar winds, and then adapted to the local environment through evolution.

In this series of evolutions, the Ferocious Beast was born.

They inherited the characteristics of their Earth-based blueprints, but became more ferocious, more difficult to deal with, larger, and more aggressive. The most notable feature of Ferocious Beasts was that, unless killed, their combat power would increase with injury!

The group continued forward. As more clues were discovered, Android One provided a series of accurate data:

"This is a Ferocious Wolverine. It has grown to twenty feet long and weighs three thousand five hundred pounds."

"According to offline database information, the Ferocious Wolverine's teeth are as sharp as razors. There have been incidents where its teeth effortlessly tore through the armor of marines, so it should be considered to have a biological ability that ignores defenses."

"If a Ferocious Beast is injured in battle, it will not flee but will enter a ferocious state, gaining a 25% increase to all attributes. If it is in a state where it cannot attack any enemies (such as in an iron cage), it will harm itself to death."

"The first attack of this creature is often accompanied by a strong impact. There have been instances where it knocked over a medium-sized mech with one blow. Its impact force is no less than that of an ordinary tank, so creatures ambushed by it often lose their balance and fall, facing its teeth and claws."

"The Ferocious Wolverine's terrifying sense of smell allows it to easily track prey from two kilometers away, which is often the prey's blind spot."

"........."

Fang Senyan felt a chill run down his spine as he reviewed this information. He scanned his surroundings warily, checking for signs of the Ferocious Beast following him. Its attack style was simply too brutal—simple, effective, and lethal! And there was that insane biological ability: ignoring defenses!!

Don't think this is the most hated ability of Ts; in fact, other contractors hate this ability even more, because Ts at least have more health points to defend their lives in addition to their defense, and their defense is "ignored", then what else can they do besides resigning themselves to fate?

*

Soon, the group discovered the still-smoldering fire. The fire covered at least ten square meters, and it appeared that the surrounding trees had been felled to create it. The fire had been confirmed to have included Alliance-specific smoke agents, meaning it couldn't have been made by local natives. There were many chaotic footprints around the fire, suggesting a sense of panic.

At this moment, Ramtas twitched his nostrils a few times and made a sharp, pig-like snort. He raised his staff again and struck the ground. The dense grasses and plants immediately flattened to the ground once more, separating to form a line pointing towards a nearby thicket, where half a limb was revealed.

The limb was clearly an android's arm, with a jagged end and sparse wires. Milky-white nutrient fluid dripped, soaking into the soil. A group of red-headed ants seemed interested in this new liquid and had gathered around.

Android One walked over, picked up the arm, and said, "Broken with one strike, Master. It seems this android got in the Ferocious Wolverine's way."

Fang Senyan nodded. The androids assigned to them were designated for "special purposes," and their limb strength was manufactured to the highest standards. Even so, it had been severed with one blow, indicating the Ferocious Wolverine's ability to ignore defenses was quite powerful.

Android One held out the severed limb to Fang Senyan and said, "Master, I have no intention of encroaching upon your lawful gains, but the probability of you carrying this severed limb back as a trophy is 1.14%, and its value after being carried back is 214 Universal Points. If you reward us with this trophy, it could save you four thousand points in repair costs, as well as providing sufficient manpower in critical moments. May you reward it to us?"

Looking at Android One's ramrod straight posture, and the other two androids who had already begun carefully collecting the dripping nutrient fluid, Fang Senyan felt a strange and cold-blooded sensation. While the androids were indeed considering things from his perspective, their actions made him feel quite uncomfortable, as if he were facing merciless ghouls.

Fortunately, Fang Senyan quickly restrained these emotions. He couldn't allow these fleeting negative emotions to affect his calm judgment over a mere ordinary android corpse. He nodded and said, "Your request is approved."

Soon, Fang Senyan's group discovered a corpse nearby—or rather, the remains of the owner of the severed arm.