At eight o’clock, all personnel entered the designated ambush area.
Chen Gu followed Marcus, taking cover in a bamboo grove. This was a quiet, upscale residential district where Division Chief Zhou Shenyu even resided in a villa complex. The main road outside the bamboo forest was a private roadway for this area.
Marcus said, "The station has conducted a detailed investigation. Zhou Shenyu usually works overtime at his office until eight in the evening, and his driver typically brings him home around eight-thirty. Our plan is for the Special Operations Team to capture Zhou Shenyu on his way home. The Action Team is responsible for monitoring his home. Zhou Shenyu and his wife have two children, and we have largely confirmed they are all normal humans."
As he spoke, headlights appeared in the distance, and a luxurious maglev car approached rapidly. Marcus asked over the channel, "Can the target be confirmed?"
The outpost quickly responded, "Target confirmed, target confirmed. Proceed with the operation."
Marcus immediately ordered, "Release the maglev capture net!"
As the maglev car entered the ambush zone, four Action Team members carrying bazooka-like launchers fired four capture nets. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! The large nets pursued the maglev car, swiftly enveloping it. The vehicle, caught by surprise, flipped several times in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground.
Marcus shouted, "Action!"
Mecha Warrior Melincha was the first to charge out. She held a heavy shield and, with a loud BANG, slammed it into the vehicle. The point of impact caved in massively, and the heavy maglev car actually slid several more meters. Then, the Mecha Warrior rushed forward. Her steel arm pierced through the car door with a HISS, and with a yank, the door flew off. Inside, the driver was bloodied and unconscious.
She casually lifted the driver out, set him aside, and was about to dive in to pursue Zhou Shenyu inside.
However, from a distance, Chen Gu saw Melincha suddenly jerk backward, executing three quick backflips. A pitch-black bone blade shot out from the car, grazing her body and nearly impaling her.
Silver Eagle, cloaked in silver, floated down from the night sky, his hands firing a particle stream that bombarded the bone blade. The particle stream swirled around the bone blade, consolidating into a particle vortex storm!
Then Charles opened his mouth and unleashed a blazing particle stream that struck the maglev car, rapidly melting its shell. The surrounding temperature soared.
The bone blade suddenly softened, turning into a liquid. Melincha, who had already charged back, thought it was Silver Eagle’s doing and roared, "Well done!"
Charles, embarrassed, reminded her, "Be careful!"
The black liquid, which the bone blade had transformed into, surged out of the car like a ROARING flood. Upon hitting the ground, it solidified into a powerful Mutant covered head to toe in bone spikes and armor!
It roared, and bone spikes—PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!—shot out from its body, fast as bullets and dense as rain. Melincha was charging forward and was instantly engulfed, with nowhere to escape!
Chen Gu couldn’t resist the urge to rush out, but Marcus held him back. "Trust your teammates. They’re all battle-hardened; a small skirmish won’t be enough to stop them."
Melincha suddenly declared, "Relative speed to zero!"
The ’Relative Arbiter’s’ signature ability: ’Relative Speed’!
After Melincha uttered these words, the relative velocity between her and the bone spikes indeed became zero, rendering them motionless in relation to each other. Since the bone spikes possessed extremely high speed, Melincha now also moved at that same speed. Then, with a casual twist of her waist, she effortlessly stepped out of the dire situation.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
The bone spikes struck the surrounding pavement, liquefied once more, then solidified into black bone beads. They rolled back to be retrieved by Zhou Shenyu, who had transformed into a Mutant!
Chen Gu and Joseph both sighed in relief, nodding to each other. The veterans are indeed battle-hardened; they won’t be defeated so easily.
However, this time the bone Mutant had learned its lesson. It no longer sprouted numerous spikes but instead retracted them all, condensing them into a thick layer of bone armor on its surface. Then, its arms slowly elongated, transforming into two disproportionate, three-meter-long giant blades. Chen Gu was astonished: I always thought the ’forty-meter-long greatsword’ was just a meme!
Silver Eagle’s and Melincha’s abilities were suppressed by the bone Mutant’s sturdy defenses. However, the two fought with perfect coordination, covering each other in a combined assault, leading to a temporary stalemate.
Chen Gu asked, "Team leader, what Energy Level is Zhou Shenyu as a Mutant?"
Marcus evaluated inwardly. Silver Eagle and Puppet were both First Energy Level. Generally, a Beta Level (Level 2) Mutant could fight a First Energy Level Professional but would be at a disadvantage. Since Zhou Shenyu could suppress both of them, he had to be a Gamma Level (Level 3) Mutant.
Marcus then immediately said over the communication channel, "Banshee, what are you waiting for?"
A piercing scream suddenly erupted. The bone Mutant’s body quivered, and a fine network of cracks appeared on the surface of its bone armor!
Chen Gu’s eyelids twitched. That little siren has such powerful lungs; I’d better avoid provoking her in the future...
A large amount of black liquid seeped out from its body, filling the cracks. It then solidified once more, and the external bone armor actually became even thicker and more resilient—though this repair process was clearly not easy for the bone Mutant, as it left the creature gasping heavily from the effort.
The Banshee emerged from the darkness nearby. Tonight, she was carrying a silver trident taller than herself, as thick as a child’s arm and obviously very heavy.
Selena joined the fray. She no longer expected a single scream to cripple the Mutant. Instead, she relentlessly attacked with the trident—which was larger than herself—while emitting a low, chant-like song from her throat. These songs induced all sorts of chaotic thoughts in those who heard them. While the battle-hardened Professionals could resist this, for Mutants—creatures inherently chaotic—it often caused the bone Mutant to stutter or freeze momentarily.
All three were First Energy Level, but together they could firmly suppress a Gamma Level Mutant.
Professionals were rare, and high Energy Level Professionals even more so. In grassroots units like city precinct bureaus, the strongest Professionals were often only Second Energy Level. Their ability to handle higher-level Mutants depended on such teamwork. The abilities of different Professions were diverse, and when combined, they created a synergistic effect where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
Joseph sighed in relief, but Marcus kept his gaze fixed intently on the battlefield. He continually lectured the two rookies behind him, "As long as the Mutant isn’t dead, you can never let your guard down."
"Only a dead Mutant is a safe Mutant."
Marcus hadn’t even finished speaking when the situation on the battlefield suddenly shifted. A dark figure darted in at an angle. It was so close that even Marcus, despite his constant vigilance for the unexpected, didn’t have time to intervene.