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The air in the underground tunnel was foul and murky, filled with the smell of rust, moldy concrete, and a faint, rotten stench. Hurried footsteps echoed through the dark passageway, each step feeling like a blow to the heart of a dying person.

"There's trouble ahead! Stop!"

Lin Mo, who was running at the front, suddenly stopped and raised his right fist as a signal.

Li Haotian followed closely behind, quickly raising his gun and warily scanning the dimly lit space ahead. He saw that the passage fifty meters ahead was blocked by several thick blast-proof fences, and a dozen red laser sights pierced through the gaps in the barbed wire, weaving a web of death in the darkness.

"Dragon Shield's fortifications? No... that's not right." Liu Hu narrowed his eyes, the heavy machine gun in his hand already warmed up, the soft hum of its rotating shaft like the growl of a wild beast. "That's the enemy."

Before the words were finished, the sound of synchronized mechanical operation echoed from the darkness. Those figures in the shadows slowly emerged—a group of armed personnel completely clad in specially designed black combat suits. Their movements were stiff yet precise; the sounds from their joints weren't the friction of muscles, but the clicking of gears meshing. The leader, a commander, was the most imposing, over two meters tall, his right arm completely replaced by a large-caliber cannon, and an unidentified black metal plate embedded in his left shoulder.

"It's a cyborg unit from the 'Pioneers' Corporation." Su Wan looked at the insignia on their bodies, her face turning pale. "How could they be at this depth?"

"This is what you call catching a turtle in a jar." Li Haotian sneered. "Liu Hu, clear the way!"

"Roger that! My cannon's been itching for a minute!"

Liu Hu roared, and the "Tyrant" heavy machine gun in his hand instantly spat out dazzling tongues of fire. Large-caliber bullets poured out like a torrential rain, tearing through the darkness and also tearing through the fragile blast fence ahead. The cyborg soldiers at the forefront didn't even have time to raise their guns before they were instantly blasted to pieces by the terrifying kinetic energy. Parts and flesh exploded in the narrow passage, like a cruel fireworks display.

However, the commander did not back down.

He strode confidently through the hail of bullets, those bullets powerful enough to pierce light armor barely sending up a few sparks as they struck him. He raised his massive mechanical arm, the dark muzzle aimed at Liu Hu.

"boom!"

A high-explosive shell whistled out and exploded less than three meters from Liu Hu. The massive shockwave, mixed with concrete fragments, slammed into Liu Hu. Even though he was wearing an exoskeleton powered armor, the force sent him flying, crashing heavily into the wall to his side.

"Cough cough... This is a tough nut to crack!" Liu Hu scrambled to his feet from the rubble, wiping the blood from his mouth. His eyes gleamed with ferocity. "Little Black, go!"

The little black creature, which had been lurking in the shadows, let out a sharp screech and transformed into a black streak of light, lunging towards the commander's face.

At that very moment, a sudden change occurred.

The commander did not dodge, or rather, he simply could not dodge. The black creature's sharp claws easily tore apart the composite material helmet covering his face, but there was no expected splatter of blood, nor any exposed bones.

The moment the helmet shattered, everyone gasped.

What a terrifying face it was!

The commander's left cheek was still normal human skin, though covered with bulging veins and twisted scars, but the right cheek... was completely a writhing mass of dark red flesh. It wasn't human tissue at all, but a gelatinous creature that looked like it had been squeezed out of a mirror. It rolled and squeezed as if it were alive, and you could even see a few tiny tentacles weaving and wandering among the flesh, connecting to the neural interface at the back of the head.

What's even more disgusting is that in the center of that mass of flesh and blood, there was no brain, but instead an eyeball with only the whites of the eyes, bloodshot and staring intently at the people in front of it.

"A creature in the mirror..." Su Wan covered her mouth, her stomach churning.

"roar--!"

The half-human, half-monster commander let out a non-human roar; the sound was no longer the vibration of his vocal cords, but rather the sticky sound of something wet rubbing against his trachea. His strength surged instantly, and the mechanical cannon on his right arm jammed and deformed, before he casually ripped it off by the roots and tossed it aside.

Without the restriction of heavy weapons, he was actually faster.

Before Liu Hu could adjust his gun, the monster had already charged at him. Its unmodified left hand had inexplicably swelled up, its nails growing into daggers, reaching for Liu Hu's throat.

"You're asking for death!" Liu Hu suddenly turned to the side, and at the same time, the fighting dagger in his hand stabbed into the opponent's wrist.

But this did nothing to stop the monster's onslaught. The dagger pierced flesh like it had pierced a tough clump of sinew; no blood flowed out, but instead, the flesh instantly wrapped around the blade. Then, the monster unleashed a powerful whip kick, as heavy as a battering ram.

"Snap!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out. Liu Hu was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the wall behind him, creating a large, human-shaped crater in the concrete. He spat out a mouthful of blood, a large dent in his power armor, and instantly collapsed, his life hanging in the balance.

"Liu Hu!" Su Wan exclaimed, wanting to rush over to his rescue.

"Don't go! You'll just be throwing your life away!" Li Haotian grabbed Su Wan, his eyes instantly turning icy cold.

At that moment, the monster commander slowly turned around, a cruel smile appearing on his half-flesh, half-human face. He stuck out his tongue and licked non-existent blood from his fingertips, then strode heavily toward Li Haotian.

With each step, the ground trembled slightly.

"Ordinary physical attacks are not very effective against this kind of fusion." Li Haotian's mind raced, he gripped the tactical dagger in reverse, and adjusted his breathing to an extremely calm rhythm. "Its bones and muscles have been strengthened by that creature. Unless we destroy its central nervous system, or... completely shatter its spine."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Lin Mo's voice rang in his ears. This mysterious superhuman was also covered in blood, clearly indicating that the fight just now was not easy.

Li Haotian didn't answer; he moved.

Instead of retreating, he charged towards the monster.

The monster roared, its swollen left claw sweeping down with a whooshing sound, a strike powerful enough to cleave an armored vehicle in half. At the last second, Li Haotian slid in, narrowly slipping under the monster's armpit, and plunged his dagger into the monster's side.

"clang!"

With a crisp sound, the dagger merely sliced ​​through the surface of the opponent's combat uniform before bouncing off as if it had pierced a steel plate.

The monster's defense is amazing!

The monster was clearly enraged by the "fly." It suddenly turned around, and the black metal plate on its right shoulder suddenly cracked open, ejecting several sharp metal spikes that pierced straight into Li Haotian's back.

Li Haotian rolled on the ground to avoid the attack, but several metal spikes still grazed his thigh, and blood instantly stained his trouser leg.

"Xiao Hei! Create an opportunity!" Li Haotian shouted in a low voice.

The little black creature, which had been hovering over the overhead pipe, seemed to understand Li Haotian's intention. Instead of attacking the monster's physical form again, it leaped onto a searchlight at the top of the tunnel.

"Sizzle—"

Xiao Hei unleashed its power, crushing the searchlight in its hand. But that wasn't its goal. Immediately afterward, all of Xiao Hei's fur bristled, and its pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints. A strange fluctuation rippled around its body—its unique ability: visual deception.

In the monster's eyes, there was originally only one Li Haotian, but suddenly, it seemed as if more than a dozen Li Haotian figures emerged from the surrounding darkness. Each "Li Haotian" was in an attack stance, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.

This is the weakness of the creatures in the mirror—they rely too heavily on visual perception, and when that perception is distorted, they experience brief periods of confusion.

The monster froze, wildly swinging its arms, shattering several false afterimages, its eyes showing confusion and rage.

It's now!

Seizing this fleeting opening, Li Haotian leaped up from directly beneath the monster. He didn't attack its limbs or its grotesque head, but instead concentrated all his power in his right fist.

In his hand, a tiny explosive bomb, no bigger than a thumb, had appeared—a special piece of equipment he had acquired at the black market in the antique district. Although not very powerful, it was incredibly destructive in a confined space.

The monster sensed the threat below and tried to duck, but Li Haotian was incredibly fast.

"Get in...!"

Li Haotian roared and punched the gap between the monster's spine and cervical vertebrae. There was a mechanical interface there that had slightly opened due to the violent movement just now.

The miniature explosive bomb was forcibly shoved into the gap, even wedged between two artificial vertebrae.

After doing all this, Li Haotian did not hesitate at all. He kicked the monster's abdomen with both legs and used the force to fly backward. At the same time, he curled up into a ball and tightly protected his vitals.

"What?" The monster finally reacted, reaching out to touch the back of its neck, where it felt cold and hard.

next second.

"boom!!!"

A muffled yet violent explosion ripped through the monster's body.

Although this explosive bomb is small in size, it is filled with high-purity thermite, which generates a temperature of several thousand degrees Celsius in an instant.

The monster's spine was instantly melted and severed, its massive body resembling a snake stripped of its spine, letting out a piercing scream. Immediately afterward, a terrifying shockwave from the explosion spread outward from its body, scattering flesh, mechanical parts, and bone fragments mixed with black slime like bombs.

The entire passage was instantly engulfed in a rain of blood and smoke.

As the smoke cleared, the once-arrogant monster commander was gone. All that remained on the ground was a pile of still-burning limbs and a pool of dark red flesh twitching slightly, trying to reform.

Li Haotian got up from the ground, ignoring the bloodstains on his body, and quickly walked to the mass of flesh. He pulled out his dagger and plunged it in, until he completely shredded the disgusting lump of flesh.

"Liu Hu!" Li Haotian turned to look at the corner of the wall.

Su Wan was kneeling beside Liu Hu, injecting him with a hemostatic injection. Hearing Li Haotian's shout, she raised her head, her face pale with the aftermath of a near-death experience, but a hint of joy in her eyes: "Luckily, I only broke two ribs and had my lung punctured, but I won't die."

Li Haotian breathed a sigh of relief, walked to Liu Hu's side, looked at his injuries, and then at the pile of still-smoking wreckage.

"This is the parasite of the creature in the mirror..." Li Haotian frowned as he looked at the pile of scrap metal and mangled flesh. "It can completely devour a person's will, turning the brain into a breeding ground for this monster. If D.H.I.E.L.D. or the 'Frontiers' Corporation were to mass-produce this kind of thing..."

He didn't continue, but the consequences were predictable.

"Captain..." Liu Hu struggled to open his eyes, forcing a grim smile, blood still bubbling from his mouth, "This bastard... he's really strong..."

"Stop talking." Li Haotian patted his shoulder, then stood up, his gaze fixed on the depths of the tunnel. There, the darkness remained thick, seemingly without end.

"Su Wan, give Liu Hu a shot of adrenaline. We must leave here immediately. The explosion just now will definitely attract more monsters."

Li Haotian replaced the magazine on his pistol and pulled the bolt; the crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent tunnel.

"As long as we're still standing, nothing can stop us."

Xiao Hei jumped back onto Li Haotian's shoulder, making a low growl in its throat, its golden pupils gleaming with a captivating light in the darkness.

The flesh-and-blood machinery has been pulverized, but the path to slaughter on the ground has only just begun.