Chapter 35: Mysterious Enemies

Odin was under immense stress as he faced off against a relatively strong meta-human for the first time in his life. He understood that evolved humans were more dangerous than mutated beasts at the same evolutionary level. They were more intelligent and could utilize tactics and strategy in combat. Thus, if it weren't for his sisters in the cabin, he would have chosen to avoid the battle and already escaped.

"Who are you, people? Why are you after us?" He asked while utilizing his spatial sense to inspect the creepy adversary veiled in darkness. But even after focusing all his spirit energy waves, he still couldn't make out the features of the enemy.

"Dead men have no need for answers." The enemy cackled, his husky voice piercing the silence of the night. Then, without giving Odin a moment to prepare, he unleashed more throwing knives with a slight flick of his wrist.

"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"

Flashes of knives instantly shot through the darkness, darting towards Odin with tremendous momentum. They covered all areas around Odin, preventing him from escaping their menacing impetus.

"Shit! Danger!"

At that moment of life and death, Odin's senses screamed, tickling at every neuron in his brain. His body instantly started pumping out adrenaline as his instincts took over control of his body. Without thinking and without any reservations, he teleported out of harm's way.

"Eh!" The enemy exclaimed after witnessing Odin's act of disappearing into thin air.

But Odin didn't give him a chance to react. Within an instant, he went through the foggy space and teleported behind the enemy. His blade skills came into effect, and all the power in his body immediately converged into his arms. Then, without thinking, without measuring, he unleashed a frightening chop towards the figure masked in darkness.

The enemy was an expert, though. He sidestepped, stumbling back with alarm to dodge the machete blade.

But before he could correct his posture, Odin pursued with a cold relentlessness. He planted his foot forward and swung his machete downward to cut at the enemy's silhouette. He'd timed his move perfectly with his spatial sense to ensure the foe wouldn't escape.

"Puchi!"

Finally, Odin felt his machete bite deeply into what seemed like flesh, and the enemy let out an agonized cry. But that didn't cause Odin to halt his actions. His heart racing like a predator on the hunt, he chopped forward once again, the speed of his machete terrifying to the extreme due to his enhanced strength and agility.

"Aaahhh!"

The enemy squealed like a pig in a slaughterhouse as he stumbled back as fast as he could. He was obviously seriously wounded but still trying his best to dodge the relentless attacks with meta-human reflexes and speed.

Odin continued attacking. He couldn't even see what parts of the enemy’s body were being injured. All he knew was that every time his machete slashed forward, it made firm contact with his opponent.

The enemy's condition finally looked pitiful as he staggered back blindly, blood flowing freely all over his body. But that didn't elicit any feelings of mercy within Odin. His opponent had witnessed his teleportation ability. He had to die.

Breathing in, Odin stepped forward with one final burst of speed and slashed horizontally to sever through the enemy’s torso. He then relaxed his blade when his opponent tumbled lifelessly to the ground like a dead pig. It was then that the familiar blood-red notifications manifested before his vision.

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[Killed One Pseudo-Type-I Meta-Human]

[Origin Points +15, Current Origin Points: 66/80]

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[Special Core Meta-Genes beneficial to Host detected within the body of the slain creature]

[Whether to absorb??]

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"Absorb."

Odin gave the mental command immediately. He didn't need to deliberate since he'd already instructed the Origin Order to notify him only when there were beneficial genes to absorb.

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[Host's command received]

[Now, starting the absorption of the beneficial core meta-genes for the Host]

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The Origin Order immediately started assimilating the foreign genes into Odin’s body, causing him to wince in pain. Familiar prickling sensations assaulted his brain and his vision blurred. Fortunately, his high willpower and spirit attributes enabled him to resist the ache and discomfort. He managed to hold on until the end of the torturous ordeal.

He blinked to clear his head and focused on the new blood-red notifications occupying the space before him.

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[Core meta-genes of the darkness attribute successfully absorbed and incorporated into the Host's body and soul]

[Evolution prerequisites accomplished]

[Physique +1, Agility +1]

[The Host has acquired the Darkness Affinity and Shadow Stealth meta-powers]

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"Phew!"

Odin exhaled a lungful of air to calm his still racing heart. He didn't try to test his new darkness affinity and shadow stealth abilities. Instead, he utilized his spatial sense to inspect the enemy's corpse that was no longer veiled in darkness.

The next moment, Odin's heart shook as he witnessed the dead body's bloody and mangled state, with some parts like an arm and a leg missing. His stomach roiled, and he felt like vomiting. His head even began to spin as he couldn't believe that he was the person who had put the corpse into such a state.

"Ka-chunk-creeeeeeak!"

The sound of the cabin door creaking open pushed Odin out of his state of shock. It brought him back to the present, and his mind went on high alert again. He tightened his grip on his machete while his spatial sense spread out of his spirit sea. He was ready to act and decimate any enemy trying to threaten his sisters.

"Odin! It's me, Christian." A suppressed voice sounded in the darkness to soothe Odin's nerves. "Please, don't attack!"

"Oh, it's you, Christian," Odin remarked while using his spatial sense to confirm the identity of the old guard. "Weren't you affected by the Chloroform?"

"I was," Christian replied, lighting a flashlight and walking over. "But I have some resistance towards the effects of Chloroform. So, I managed to wake up quickly. I'm sure Iris will also wake up soon since she has the same training as me."

"I see," Odin said, relaxing.

"I heard sounds of combat when I woke up a minute ago," Christian said, moving the flashlight about to observe the place. "Ew!" He let out a sound of disgust the next instant. "That is one pathetic corpse. How did he offend you to deserve this kind of treatment?"

"It was an accident," Odin whispered.

"Oh, I see," Christian intoned, without sounding doubtful. "Did you manage to subdue all the attackers in the end?"

"I captured one and killed the other two," Odin replied. "I need you to help me interrogate the one I captured alive. We have to learn more particulars about the organization behind them."

"The enemies were from an organization!" Christian exclaimed. "How do you know this?"

"They are indeed from a mysterious organization," Odin confirmed. He then told Christian about the details he had gleaned from the conversation between two of the assailants.

"I see," Christian said after hearing his tale. "But I still don't get why they would waste time attacking this resort standing in the middle of nowhere?"

"That's also what I would like to know," Odin said. "And that's why I need you to interrogate the captive to fish out the details about the organization from his mouth."

"That's easy," Christian intoned. "Where is the captive?"

"Here," Odin replied, focusing his spatial sense on the spot he had left the captive. But the next instant, his mood sank when he noticed that the captive's body was bloody and full of holes made by throwing knives.

"Where is he?" Christian asked again.

"This guy might also be dead," Odin replied, shaking his head. He moved forward and immediately checked the body on the ground for a pulse. He immediately confirmed that the captive had already turned into a bloody corpse.

"Well, is he alive?" Christian pressed.

"Nope, the guy is already dead," Odin replied, sighing. "Damn it! And here, I thought we would get to interrogate him and know some details about the organization behind him."

"It seems like you faced off against a professional," Christian remarked. "Those never leave witnesses even if they die during a mission."

"The last enemy was indeed a handful," Odin admitted. "His throwing knives were very menacing. They are what ended this guy's life."

There was silence between them for a few seconds until Christian spoke again. "I think we need to shift out of this resort as soon as possible," he suggested. "If these people are specifically after us, we must avoid them by keeping on the move until we find out more details about them. That's the only way forward."

"I also think so," Odin agreed, sighing again. "It's really a bummer to leave this peaceful resort after doing so much to make it safe for us."

"Indeed." Christian nodded. "But as the saying goes, we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails to move forward. Otherwise, we'll capsize in this sinister sea that is the apocalypse."

"True," Odin agreed. "Let's organize and leave as soon as the girls wake up. We can head to Missoula and hide among the surviving crowds for some time. I don't think the enemies will be able to locate us in such a place."

"We can't be sure about that since they have already located us once," Christian said. "By the way, did you check the corpses for anything that might give away their identity?"

"No," Odin replied. "I was just from combat when you stepped out of the cabin.

"Okay. Then, step aside," Christian instructed. "I'll do the honors and check the corpses. I might get lucky and find an ID or a similar document."

"Suit yourself," Odin gave the go-ahead, stepping back.

Christian nodded and immediately got to work. He spent dozens of seconds stripping down the belongings of each of the corpses. He was meticulous and went through them one by one. But in the end, his efforts bore no fruit. He didn't find any clue that could shed some light on the identity of the assailants.

"Well, that was unfruitful," he said, standing up and clapping his hands. "There's nothing on the sorry bastards to identify them."

"I expected as much," Odin observed. "Let's head back into the cabin. We must prepare to set off as soon as possible."

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