Three aberrations each restrained a hostage.
They moved slowly along the concrete wall of the underground garage.
The Bone-Blade Aberrant walked at the front, its blade always pressed against the hostage's carotid artery.
The Thorn Aberrant positioned itself in the middle, its thorny tentacles wrapped around the hostage's waist and abdomen, deliberately retracting the thorns to prevent immediate death.
The Bone-Armor Aberrant brought up the rear, its sharp claws gripping the hostage's throat.
The purge team members maintained vigilance, their eyes tracking the aberrations' movement.
Other team members rushed toward the collapsed hostage group on the ground.
"Keep your heads down! Don't look at them!"
One team member pressed down on a middle-aged programmer who tried to look up, while his other hand already pulled out hemostatic gel from the first aid kit: "Apply pressure to the wound!"
The programmer struggled to get up, but two team members firmly pressed down on his shoulders.
"Right now, you just have to trust us! Going over there now would be suicide!"
That single statement.
The programmer could only grit his teeth and accept treatment.
Meanwhile, all survivors received effective medical treatment and psychological comfort.
Not far away.
The three aberrations held their hostages, slowly moving out of the underground garage.
They had now reached the street.
Captain Chen stood not far from them, his right hand behind his back, making an almost imperceptible hand signal toward the distant high-rise buildings.
Su Zhan's eyes narrowed.
He had noticed Captain Chen's covert signals behind his back earlier.
His entire body was already tensed, spiritual energy quietly gathering, ready to activate his ability at any moment.
Five hundred meters away.
Metal glint flashed from the rooftop of a tall building.
Five entirely black anti-materiel sniper rifles were positioned at the rooftop edge.
These specialized weapons designed specifically for aberrations had barrels as thick as an adult's wrist, equipped with high-explosive armor-piercing rounds capable of penetrating 30cm thick alloy steel plates.
"Wind correction complete."
"Targets locked."
"Loading completed."
Five snipers simultaneously pressed their eyes against thermal imaging scopes, crosshairs locked on the foreheads of the three aberrations.
"Three, two, one!"
Five fingers in tactical gloves simultaneously pulled triggers.
Muzzle flashes were compressed by suppressors into dark red shockwaves.
Five bullets spun through the air, tearing through the atmosphere as they left the barrels.
At that exact moment!
The three aberrations simultaneously burst into action!
Moving their bodies with full force in large movements.
This was their instinctive perception of death threats.
They had relied on this intuition to avoid countless lethal dangers.
"Abyssal Gaze!"
Su Zhan roared inwardly, the golden eye of his pocket watch emitting golden light.
He didn't dare make the first move.
But as long as someone else initiated, he would immediately act.
Follow the team initiation!
The three aberrations' evasion movements instantly slowed down.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Clang! Clang!"
Five sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
Two bloody holes exploded in the Bone-Blade Aberrant's forehead, white fluid splattering on the wall behind it.
The Thorn Aberrant's temple was pierced through.
The tentacles wrapped around the hostage's waist weakly drooped.
Only the Bone-Armor Aberrant's occiput produced two crisp sounds.
The specialized bullets had merely left dents in its gray-white bone armor.
"Roar—!"
The Bone-Armor Aberrant emitted a furious roar.
They were already nerve-sensitive from holding hostages, and now under attack, they instinctively wanted to kill the hostages.
Complete madness!
The bone claws suddenly tightened, about to crush the hostage's throat!
Su Zhan pushed Abyssal Gaze to its limits.
The Bone-Armor Aberrant's movements slowed.
But the bone claws had already been gripping the hostage's throat.
The distance to the hostage's windpipe was simply too close!
"Bang! Bang..."
A series of sudden gunshots.
Lin Yu had somehow rushed to the flank,
specialized pistol in hand smoking.
A rapid succession of bullets fired out.
One bullet hit the aberration's right eye, dark green mucus instantly exploding.
But...
The bone claws still clamped down.
"Crack!"
A crisp sound.
The hostage's neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
The next moment.
The second wave of sniper rounds arrived in quick succession.
Five armor-piercing rounds blasted into the Bone-Armor Aberrant's skull, finally piercing through that damned bone armor.
The Bone-Armor Aberrant collapsed powerless to the ground.
Su Zhan's twin blades were already drawn, blade light sweeping through like a blizzard.
The crisp sound of blades cutting through bone continued incessantly.
So hard to kill!
The aberrations' recovery ability was too abnormal.
He knew this deeply—because he was one himself.
So follow-up attacks had to be thorough.
As he performed the finishing moves, he thought to himself.
These sniper rifles could actually kill aberrations of similar strength to him.
But from what he knew, this was pretty much the limit of firearms.
If these weapons ever targeted him someday...
He absolutely couldn't give them the opportunity.
He needed to immediately improve his strength now.
As long as he reached Stream Realm or Medium Threat level, he wouldn't need to fear these things anymore.
"Confirmed dead."
Captain Chen announced hoarsely.
He hadn't acted, not because he didn't want to.
The three aberrations had been watching him closely, so he couldn't make a move, only discreetly signal behind his back.
The programmer suddenly rushed over like a madman, kneeling in the pool of blood and lifting his wife's body.
"Xiao Wen! Xiao Wen!"
His fingers trembled as he wiped the blood from his wife's mouth, only smearing it more: "We promised to go tomorrow, to celebrate Niu Niu's birthday! How could you... Aaaaaah!"
Lin Yu stood frozen in place, his eyes hollow like he'd lost his soul.
"You did your best."
Captain Chen stepped forward and heavily pressed his shoulder: "Anyone in your position would..."
Lin Yu violently shook off his hand, punching the wall.
His knuckles immediately split open, but he seemed to feel no pain.
Captain Chen sighed, turning to look at Su Zhan.
The meaning in his eyes was clear—help out.
Clearly, he knew who his young subordinate admired.
At times like this, naturally idol's comfort worked best.
Su Zhan frowned.
He didn't want to bother with this kind of trivial matter, but looking at Captain Chen's exhausted eyes, he still walked over.
Briefly saying: "You did well."
Lin Yu sharply looked up, tear tracks still wet on his face: "R-really?"
"Mn."
Su Zhan pointed with his blade tip at the aberration remains on the ground: "That aberration's hand was already on the hostage's throat. At that distance, unless there's overwhelming strength difference, like Commander Qin's level, no one could have saved them."
Lin Yu's breathing finally stabilized somewhat.
He randomly wiped his face, tactical glove bloodstains smearing across his face, making him look even more disheveled.
"Clean up the scene."
Captain Chen timely interrupted, signaling the medical team to come remove the bodies.
The programmer still clung tightly to his wife, refusing to let go.
They finally had to administer sedatives to separate them.
Su Zhan looked at Lin Yu.
Suddenly feeling emotional.
This was how young people just entering society should react after experiencing such scenes.
Not like himself, like some old veteran.
Thinking about his transmigration to this world.
He had experienced too many life-and-death crises along the way.
Seen too many bloody scenes, fought too many battles.
But how long had it actually been since his transmigration?
The answer was only just over half a year.
These more than six months of experience had brutally forced him to become a veteran.
Forced him to become an awakener solely focused on becoming stronger, on gaining power.
Su Zhan deeply sighed.
But none of this could be changed, because he was still in crisis.
Without growing stronger, there was only waiting for death.
He actually felt some envy toward Lin Yu—overall, his pressure was far less intense.
Thinking this way, he followed the main team back to the building entrance.
The sounds of fighting from upstairs had now stopped.
And Su Zhan began feeling nervous again.
The battle had ended—who won?
And were the enemies upstairs Du Shanhe?