As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

Jiangcheng Special Abilities Branch.

It was 2 p.m., and the sun was blazing.

In the rapid response team's office, Xiaoyuan was dozing off on the table, drooling almost out of her mouth.

Old Zhao was reading the newspaper, Su Lin was organizing medical reports, and Cixian was still facing his computer screen, which displayed lines of complex data.

Li Xian leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-open and half-closed, seemingly looking at documents, but actually thinking about what to cook for dinner that night.

The years are quiet.

Then--

"Drip—drip—drip—"

A piercing alarm suddenly went off, echoing throughout the office.

Xiao Yuan was startled and almost rolled off the chair.

"What's going on? What's happening? Enemy attack?!"

Magnet String was the first to stand up, his gaze fixed on the computer screen.

His pupils contracted slightly.

"Underground," he said, his voice tense, "underground in the city center, about two thousand meters deep, unknown energy fluctuations have been detected."

Everyone was stunned.

Two kilometers?

What does this mean?

Ordinary detection equipment can only probe to a depth of two or three hundred meters underground at most.

The newly developed electromagnetic detector, Magnetic String, can theoretically detect objects up to one kilometer away.

Now they've actually detected energy fluctuations at a depth of two thousand meters?

"What about the intensity?" Wang Tao rushed out of the office, speaking rapidly.

Magneton stared at the screen, his expression growing increasingly serious.

"It's still rising... Preliminary assessment: Grade A or above."

Grade A or above.

Two thousand meters deep.

The combination of these two words instantly froze the atmosphere in the entire office.

"Could it be a false alarm?" Old Zhao asked.

Magnetic String shook his head: "I have tested the detector countless times, and the error rate is less than one percent. Moreover, this signal is very clear and is not noise."

Wang Tao took a deep breath and picked up the communicator.

"All rapid response teams, level one alert! Notify the director, the assault team, and all members below level B to prepare for evacuation!"

"yes!"

The office instantly became busy.

Xiao Yuan ran to the equipment room to get her gear, Lao Zhao went to get the car, Su Lin started contacting the hospital to prepare to receive the wounded, and Ci Xian continued to stare at the screen, monitoring the changes in energy fluctuations in real time.

Li Xian also stood up and slowly walked towards the equipment room.

But his expression was completely different from the tension of those around him.

After all, there's really no need for him to be nervous about this.

and……

He sensed it.

That thing underground.

Two thousand meters deep, a gigantic creature radiating intense heat is slowly moving upwards.

Its energy intensity far exceeds that of ordinary Class A alien beasts.

S-class.

This thing is S-class.

Li Xian raised an eyebrow.

An S-class alien beast? This thing can be hidden underground in Jiangcheng?

He thought about it and found it somewhat interesting.

But only a little bit.

At the entrance to the equipment room, Xiao Yuan was frantically putting on a protective vest.

"Brother Xian, hurry, your gear is in locker number 3!"

Li Xian nodded, slowly opened the cabinet, and took out the training uniform that he had hardly ever worn.

Looking at his "slacking off at work" expression, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but say, "Brother Xian, this is an A-level alien beast! How come you're not nervous at all?"

Li Xian glanced at him.

What's the point of being nervous?

It's not like he can't beat them.

"Being nervous won't help," he said casually. "Relax and just do what you need to do."

Xiao Yuan paused for a moment, then realized that what he said seemed to make a lot of sense.

But something just doesn't feel right.

Xiao Yuan leaned closer to Li Xian and whispered, "Brother Xian, have you ever seen an A-level alien beast?"

"I've met you," Li Xian said.

Xiaoyuan's eyes lit up: "Is it amazing?"

"It's alright," Li Xian thought for a moment, "I could slap you to death."

Xiaoyuan: "..."

What kind of answer is that?

He decided to stop asking.

In just two minutes, everyone had assembled.

Branch Director Zhang Jie also arrived.

This was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with gray hair, but he was in good spirits and exuded a steady, A-grade aura.

He was accompanied by another group of people.

There were seven people, led by a man in his early thirties with a buzz cut, a burly build, and sharp eyes.

When Li Xian saw them, his eyes flickered slightly.

He recognized this group of people.

To be precise, he had seen it.

That was before he joined the rapid response team, and before he even met Lingdang.

At the time, the seven people were besieging a Rift Lizard in the market—a Class B alien beast with thick skin, tough flesh, and astonishing strength.

Of the seven of them, only two were at grade B, and the rest were all at grade C.

Facing the Earth-Splittering Lizard, they fought with all their might, using various supernatural abilities to attack it...

But the effect was minimal.

The Earth-Splittering Lizard was like a heavy tank, crushing all their attacks and closing in step by step, about to break through the spatial blockade.

If Li Xian hadn't happened to be passing by and dealt with the Earth-Splitting Lizard, not only those seven people, but everyone in the entire market would have been in trouble.

Of course, they didn't know it was Li Xian who did it.

In their view, it was an unknown powerful figure wearing a Sun Wukong mask who took action to eliminate the Earth-Splitting Lizard.

After that incident, Li Xian also opened the door to a new world.

That meal, the meat of the Earthshaker was braised, and it tasted really good.

From that time on, he embarked on a path of never looking back, hunting exotic beasts.

Later, the matter became an unsolved case. The General Administration even sent people to investigate, but they found nothing.

Several months later, when they met again, the seven people had completely changed.

Li Xian glanced at it.

Five B-level, two peak C-level.

Compared to their previous two B-level statuses, their strength has increased significantly.

If they encountered the Earthshaker again now, they should be able to handle it easily.

"Director Zhang." Wang Tao went up to him and quickly reported the situation.

Zhang Jie's expression turned serious after hearing this.

"Grade A or above, two thousand meters deep?" he confirmed.

"Yes." Magneton pointed to the screen. "The fluctuations are still rising. It's estimated that it will break through the ground within 15 minutes."

Zhang Jie nodded and looked around at everyone.

"Everyone, listen to my command!"

His voice was steady and powerful.

"Members below Rank B, proceed to the city center immediately to assist the police in evacuating the surrounding crowd. Members of Rank B and above, come with me to the scene to set up a cordon."

He paused, then looked at Li Xian.

He knew that Li Xian was Li Yu's brother, and he also knew that Li Xian was just a slacker in the quick response team.

But now is a critical moment, and we don't have enough manpower. Anyone who can come will be fine.

"Li Xian, this is the first time you've dealt with such a powerful beast, isn't it?"

Li Xian nodded: "Yes, Director Zhang."

"I heard you did a good job in the amusement park incident," Zhang Jie said. "This time, stick with us and do your best."

Li Xian: "...Okay."

He thought to himself, "I could just stay home and let you guys handle it."

But he didn't say.

Xiao Yuan and her fellow Class C members immediately set off to evacuate the crowd.

Li Xian followed Zhang Jie, Wang Tao, Cixian, Lao Zhao, and another group of five people, and drove to the city center.

The atmosphere in the car was somewhat heavy.

The magnetic string keeps a close eye on the portable detector, reporting energy changes in real time.

"The fluctuations are getting stronger... approaching the peak of A-rank... no, they're still rising..."

His voice grew increasingly strained.

Wang Tao gripped the steering wheel tightly and asked in a low voice, "Could it be an S-Class?"

The carriage was silent for a moment.

S-class.

This is not a joke.

Jiangcheng only has two S-level students—Li Yu and Chen Zhe—but they are both currently at the school.

If it really is an S-class alien beast, these people are probably...

"Don't scare yourself," Zhang Jie said, his tone still calm.

"Even if it's an S-rank, our mission is just to buy time. Xiaoyu and Chen Zhe will arrive soon."

Everyone nodded, but their nervousness did not lessen.

Li Xian leaned back in his seat, watching the street scene rushing past the window.

His senses remained fixed on that underground object.

S-class.

It is indeed an S-class vehicle.

Moreover, the energy fluctuations are very unstable, like it's either furious or fearful.

What are you afraid of?

He thought about it, but couldn't come up with an answer.

The car stopped at a square in the city center.

The area has been cleared out and cordoned off.

Police cars and personnel from the Bureau of Superpowers in protective suits are evacuating the last group of people.

Zhang Jie led everyone to the center of the square.

"Everyone, prepare to set up a spatial blockade." He quickly made the arrangements.

"Control the barrier's range to within a diameter of one hundred meters, and compress its activity space as much as possible."

"yes!"

Everyone quickly sprang into action.

Wang Tao and the captain of another team—the man with the buzz cut—were in charge of setting up the barrier.

The magnetic string continues to monitor energy fluctuations.

Li Xian stood to the side, seemingly helping, but actually...

daze.

It wasn't that he wanted to space out.

This stuff is just too bland.

S-class is correct.

But that's about it.

As Li Xian sensed its chaotic and furious energy fluctuations, only one thought occupied his mind:

Is this enough to eat?

What's the quality of its meat like?

Would the bell like it?

No, the meat of an S-class alien beast is too high in energy. Bell is only 26 points right now, so eating it might cause indigestion.

forget about it.

As he was thinking, Magnet String suddenly exclaimed.

"It's coming out!"

Everyone immediately went into battle mode.

Zhang Jie clenched his fists, unleashing a surge of immense spiritual power that reinforced the spatial sealing barrier.

Wang Tao and another team leader stood on either side of him, ready to deal with any emergencies.

Old Zhao and his five-man team also dispersed, each assuming a fighting stance.

The ground began to shake.

It wasn't a slight tremor; it was a violent, earthquake-like shaking.

The paving stones in the center of the square were cracked, and a blinding red light shone through the cracks.

Then--

"boom!!!"

With a deafening roar, the ground exploded!

Countless stones and dirt flew everywhere as a gigantic figure shot into the sky from the ground, bringing with it a wave of heat!

Everyone looked up.

That was a... bug.

It is the size of a heavy truck, entirely black, with dark red patterns on its shell.

The patterns were glowing, like flowing lava.

Its head is a huge mouth, with countless sharp teeth constantly opening and closing, making a grinding sound that makes your teeth ache.

Eight thick, segmented limbs landed steadily on the ground, and with each landing, the ground would crack in a spiderweb-like pattern.

What's most terrifying is its aura.

Scorching, violent, and filled with a destructive desire.

S-class.

Lava mineral worm.