Chapter 502: 502

Chapter 502: Flee Into Darkness

The first thing Meng Chao was certain of was that the hunting squad was not Vortex’s final target.

While the thirty-three Heaven Realm superhumans were a force to be reckoned with, they were not so important that they could completely change the tactical situation.

But Vortex still paid a huge price to destroy them.

The thousands of robbers in Dragon City, the cultivation resources that it had gathered with great effort, and the large number of puppets it managed to turn into its subordinates in the lair had all been used as bait and died with the hunting squad.

Forget about the countless cultivation resources that it wasted, the most crucial thing was that it had revealed its existence and lost its tactical flexibility and the element of surprise.

The secret police and the abnormal beast research department had already set up defenses outside. Vortex could not possibly carry out a second wave of large-scale robberies and destruction.

Besides, the thirty-three Heaven Realm superhumans might not have been killed by the super crystal bombs either.

Based on his injuries, Meng Chao deduced the power of the super crystal bombs and analyzed the situation with the hunting squad’s cultivation realms in mind. At the very least, two-thirds of the Heaven Realm superhumans had the chance of surviving. They would just temporarily lose their fighting ability and have to retreat from the battlefield.

If he analyzed things based purely on the use of resources and exchange of fighting power from both sides, this was still a very unequal trade.

At the very least, Vortex, who had the initiative and had calmly set its traps, would not be satisfied with just this.

Right from the start, it knew that no matter how it set up its trap, it would be impossible for it to kill thirty-three Heaven Realm superhumans.

But as long as it could temporarily cripple them and force them to retreat, it could continue to calmly carry out the next stage of its plan.

Right then, Dragon City was engaged in a major battle that could shock the entire world.

The peak fighting powers of human civilization and monster civilization were holding each other back, and like intersecting fangs, they were pinned at the borders of Dragon City.

Before the great explosion that caught all of them off guard, the hunting squad to which Meng Chao was assigned was the only fighting force that humans could send deep into the lair and the only mobile force that was strong enough to handle the situation.

If this mobile force was severely wounded, the lair would enter a vacuum period in terms of fighting power.

Even if Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong and the other veteran hunters were still alive, they were heavily wounded and their spirit energy was drained. They had to retreat from the lair for the time being and be treated in hospitals or cultivation rooms. They needed to meditate and recover their fighting strength.

Based on the severity of their wounds, the treatment would last from three days to half a month.

And the Heaven Realm superhumans as well as Deity Realm superhumans fighting at the borders of Dragon City would also be drained after fighting Hell Beasts and Apocalyptic Beasts, even if they managed to win. They would be exhausted and need a long time to recover before they could join another battle.

The secret police and abnormal beast research department naturally had some forces they could use, but right then, there were plenty of tactical strongpoints and fundamental facilities like the water treatment plants, power generator plants, spirit energy purification and pressurization factories, hospitals, schools, and densely populated residential areas that had to be defended all over Dragon City.

They had to set up defenses everywhere, so they were really short on fighting power.

It was impossible for them to set aside the vital parts of the city and form another force to enter the bottomless pit that was the lair.

Before the operation, Vice Director Nie Chenglong of the abnormal beast research department had clearly said that if the hunting squad’s operation failed, they would carry out the second plan. They would lock down the lair from the outside and not let a single rat that might carry the zombie virus, Blood Flower spores, or Deification Capsules escape.

When the battles at the borders came to an end, they would mobilize their forces to completely solve the problem in the lair.

‘The highest fighting powers and armed forces from the clubs within Golden Tooth Lair had also entered Leprosy Village with us just now. They should have suffered devastating losses during the major explosion.

‘For the next three to fourteen days, the clubs will be in an unprecedentedly weak state. Their might would definitely be challenged.

‘If Golden Tooth Lair were to be locked down at this moment, Vortex would be able to do as it pleases inside.’

Meng Chao did not have any fondness toward the clubs in the lair, be they Golden Tooth, Black Bone, or Poison Scorpion, but he had to admit, the worst form of law was still better than no law.

And the absolute form of lawlessness might be what Vortex wanted.

‘No, I have to stop it. Vortex will definitely want to throw the lair’s order into chaos, so I have to prevent it from invading the clubs and make a mess out of the lair!’

Meng Chao sucked in a deep breath and used up nearly ten thousand contribution points for six Middle Stage Healing Skills.

When the golden light flowed through his entire body like warm dew and his repeatedly crushed cells let out comforted moans, his originally destroyed and withered meridians were repaired one by one. They became full and crystalized once more. Due to being repaired too well after they were repeatedly torn, they became even stronger than before.

When Meng Chao’s body was healed without any medicine, the hunger from his cells flared like sparks set off in the plains. It instantly swelled up like a sea of fire that filled his entire body.

Contribution points could cure his body, but energy did not come out of nowhere.

If he did not replenish his energy in time, he would be like those robbers who took too many Deification Capsules and used their lives in exchange for fighting power. He would be wrung dry and turn into dust.

Fortunately, he had Raging Dragon Blood with him.

He had stuffed that super gene medicine inside his nano fighting suit.

With great difficulty, Meng Chao pulled his right arm out from under the distorted reinforced concrete.

There was only a limited amount of space beneath the ruins. He could only dislocate his shoulder joints and elbow joints and use the connection between his muscles and tendons to make his right arm move like a python until it was in front of his chest and he found the Raging Dragon Blood.

He used his thumb to break open the lid of the super gene medicine, and a sharp needle was revealed.

There were three ways to take Raging Dragon Blood. It could be taken orally, injected into the bloodstream, or injected into the rectum.

If he took it orally, his intestines could absorb medicine, and with the help from his crystalized organs of his digestive system, the medicinal properties would slowly and gently be released. The side effects would be the weakest and the absorption rate the highest.

If he injected it into this bloodstream, the medicinal liquid would reach his blood and flesh and instantly replenish his spirit energy and restore his fighting strength.

There was no need to even mention how effective it would be to inject it into the rectum. It would be even faster than a regular injection, but the side effects also would be the greatest.

In truth, since Raging Dragon Blood was one of the most domineering gene medicine in Dragon City, taking it was a very dangerous thing in itself.

If a superhuman were heavily injured and their vitality magnetic field and mental strength indice fluctuated but they still forced themselves to take Raging Dragon Blood, not only would they be unable to recover to full health, they might even enter spirit energy deviation and explode.

Even people as powerful as Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong and the other veteran hunters would not dare to take Raging Dragon Blood after they were attacked by the super crystal bomb and their cells were torn apart by the spirit energy tsunami.

But Vortex would never expect that there would be a bizarre existence like Meng Chao, who had incredible self-regeneration abilities.

Shick!

Meng Chao stabbed the needle with the Raging Dragon Blood into his arm.

In an instant, he felt a fierce dragon formed by magma rising in his blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and spirit meridians.

As the raging dragon bared its teeth, a piercing pain descended onto Meng Chao, but this time, the pain did not last for long before it turned into an indescribable pleasure. The raging dragon blended into his flesh and blood, allowing him to control the explosive power.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

The reinforced concrete that pinned him down and seemed indestructible was reduced to dust when he stretched his back.

‘I’ve regained around 80% of my power. That should be enough for the time being.

‘Before the explosion, the enemy was hiding in the dark while we were exposed in the open. But after the explosion, the enemy is now exposed, and I’m hidden in the dark. Vortex won’t be expecting me to run around energetically while knowing about its existence!’

Once Meng Chao pushed the reinforced concrete high enough that he had enough space, he brought his wrist up to check the tactical watch.

The screen had shattered and was covered in dust.

But even if the screen was in perfect condition, the chip inside would be facing interference, just like the neural tactical data link chips. It might even be blocked.

So, Meng Chao decided to yank off the neural tactical data link chips behind his ears and his tactical watch, then crush them.

They were in a battlefield where spirit energy magnetic field interference was incredibly strong. The two tools would not only be useless baggage, but the enemy might even be able to use them to monitor him. In a worst case scenario, the enemy might even use the brain-computer ports in the neural tactical data link chips to invade his brain.

Based on the memories of his previous life, many people had used neural networks and brain-computer ports, which turned their brains into defenseless cities. They were invaded by enemies who were skilled in mind attacks and learned a painful lesson from it.

Meng Chao had returned from the apocalypse and paid more attention to protecting the safety of his brain compared to the superhumans of the era.

He listened carefully in the dark and began contemplating his choices.

Right then, the most important thing to do was to find a way to escape.

Above him were the ruins. The wreckage from when a giant of a building that was nearly one hundred meters tall collapsed was not a joke.

With his maximum punching strength and endurance that surpassed those of other superhumans at his level, he could activate Demon Subduing Pole, swing his arms, and blast his way out with explosions all along the way.

But if he did that, he might destroy the fragile balance of the ruins weighing tons that was keeping everything together.

If a second collapse happened, he might end up being crushed again.

He did not have an endless supply of contribution points and Raging Dragon Blood, and they were not omnipotent. Meng Chao did not want to take unnecessary risks.

Besides, the Vortex might be lurking in the area and observing the battlefield.

If he crawled out with a swagger from the ruins, it would discover him immediately, and he would lose the element of surprise and initiative.

At that moment, Meng Chao sensed a faint flow of air coming from under him.

He could also hear rustling sounds.

‘That’s right. This building had a really large and complicated underground structure.

‘When the enemy buried the super crystal bombs, its main purpose was to destroy the area above the surface, so it focused all its firepower there. At most, the first three floors underground would have collapsed.

‘The areas further down should have only caved in at some points. They might be distorted and some parts might be unpassable, but it’s impossible for all of them to have been reduced to ruins.

‘Instead of fleeing upwards, it’s better for me to flee downwards!’