Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Meanwhile, on the outer battlefield.

Xu Leyu and the support team from Nanhan City finally arrived.

A storm of flying metal projectiles rained down, tearing apart the swarms of superpowered beings rushing toward them.

Xu Leyu shouted, "Reinforcements have been dispatched from Mountain City! Xiao Zhi! Where are Jia Jia and Zhong Qian?"

Cheng Hezhi began to answer, "They—"

Boom!!

In the distance, Kula's earth-shattering roar and colossal form materialized out of thin air. Everyone could discern its rage from the sound.

All the newly arrived personnel instantly tensed, clenching their jaws at the sight: "It's a Humanoid Alien!"

Xu Leyu's expression turned grim: "This is trouble."

They had encountered Humanoid Aliens only two or three times at most, and those few encounters were enough to leave a profound impression. Aside from Jia Jia, these were a group of formidable and virtually unstoppable monsters.

Cheng Hezhi gazed intently at the turbulent mountain forest and stated firmly, "Jia Jia and the others are in there."

Night fell, engulfing the mountains in darkness.

The polluted area, shrouded in the pitch-black night, was completely blanketed in mist. In the gloom, the eerie screeches of Aliens and the sporadic gunfire rose and fell.

Xu Leyu and the others swiftly launched their offensive with artillery bombardment. The moment the shells exploded, shattered debris mingled with rainwater, and the ground was saturated with the nauseating stench of rotting Aliens.

This wasn't the first time Ping Yi and his comrades had encountered Aliens. They had seen countless Aliens and mutated beasts throughout their journey, experiencing dangers of all magnitudes. Yet, this time, they couldn't help but feel their stomachs churn, instinctively frowning.

Yang Xiaotong cursed under her breath, "Why are these things here even more disgusting than what we saw during the assessment?"

Cheng Hezhi paused, ultimately deciding not to share Zhong Qian and the others' suspicions and discoveries about these Aliens at this moment. Now was not the opportune time.

However, with the timely arrival of support from Nanhan City and the national Special Forces, the pressure on the outer perimeter of the polluted area significantly eased.

The exhausted Mountain City action team could finally catch their breath, their taut nerves relaxing slightly.

Xu Leyu quickly adjusted personnel deployment with Cheng Hezhi, then turned and said, "Le Chen, you stay here. One team, follow me into the mountains."

"I'm coming too," Cheng Hezhi said. "Jia Jia and the others have been in the mountains for several hours. The Humanoid Alien's activity hasn't ceased—they might be in trouble."

Lin Jiaxu and Zhong Qian had been gone for a long time, and the continuous tremors and roars made Cheng Hezhi worry about their condition.

Xu Leyu pondered. There were ample support personnel on the outer perimeter, so his presence wasn't indispensable. Moreover, the Humanoid Alien inside indeed needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. She nodded in agreement.

As soon as Ping Yi and the others heard that Lin Jiaxu was still in the mountains, potentially for hours, they immediately volunteered: "We're going too!"

Xu Leyu looked at them and stated bluntly, "No. The Humanoid Alien in the mountains is beyond your capabilities. There are also countless medium- and high-risk Aliens in there. It's too dangerous for you."

But Ping Yi held his ground: "But Jia Jia is our teammate too! We can't just wait here!"

They had all embarked on this mission together, and staying behind would leave them uneasy.

Just then, Cheng Hezhi's terminal beeped.

After reading the message, he suddenly said, "Bring them along. Jia Jia sent me a message saying they've captured some people."

*

Lan Ying and the others were finally apprehended.

Although the environment within the polluted area was conducive to their hiding, it also provided an ideal setting for the Thorn Team to operate.

By now, the Thorn Team had already encircled the polluted area. No matter how these individuals tried to conceal themselves, they couldn't simply vanish. Surrounded on all sides by the Thorn Team, they were trapped with no means of escape.

"Finally caught you, rats. You sure can run."

With these individuals captured, Lin Jiaxu's accumulated techniques were almost ready.

Lin Jiaxu's pause was noticed by Kula, who mistook it for exhaustion. Just as it was about to rejoice, Lin Jiaxu suddenly turned around.

Lin Jiaxu no longer dodged or weaved. Instead, he faced Kula directly and even offered a slight smile, slowly raising his bow.

"Finally, I can finish you off."

Lin Jiaxu stood before Kula, rain soaking through his clothes and clinging to his skin, yet his expression remained serene as he calmly drew the bowstring.

A dark red light gathered on the bowstring, and the surrounding air suddenly swirled violently. The power contained within the arrow compressed continuously, absorbing everything in the surrounding atmosphere.

The pollution in the air, even the surrounding rainwater, was steadily being consumed by the dark red energy.

Lin Jiaxu crafted only one arrow.

Yet Kula froze completely. The arrow continued to gather power, the dark red glow deepening and intensifying. A terrifying, potent energy radiated from the arrow.

Danger!

If pierced, survival was impossible!

Kula immediately attempted to flee.

But Lin Jiaxu had been leading it on for so long precisely for this one decisive strike. There was no way he would grant it an escape.

"Trying to run? Too late." Lin Jiaxu said calmly, "Zhong Qian!"

Not far away, on the right side where Kula hadn't noticed, Zhong Qian had already closed in.

"Whoosh—"

The arrow was released.

In that instant, the orange-yellow flames on Zhong Qian's long blade slashed out simultaneously. The blinding fiery light pierced through the darkness, completely sealing off all of Kula's escape routes.

"Roar!"

Kula panicked completely but couldn't evade the attacks coming from both front and back.

Xu Leyu and the others, rushing to the scene, watched as the blazing flames tore through the gloom and mist. A blinding white light vanished, replaced by an even more terrifying and impactful dark red that nearly devoured the entire area.

The entire mountain forest seemed as if it had been bitten by a colossal beast. All the Aliens sensing the danger frantically tried to flee, but before they could escape, their cries were abruptly cut short.

In an instant, they were completely swallowed by the eerie dark red vortex and annihilated.

A full ten minutes later, the glow from Lin Jiaxu's arrow finally dissipated completely.

The mist formed by the pollution also faded away.

The light devoured the Alien, along with everything on the ground. The rain continued to drizzle, leaving behind nothing but mud and exposed mountain rocks.

Not far away, Ping Yi and the others stared blankly at the scene, their throats tightening once more.

Every time they thought they had learned enough about Lin Jiaxu, he would always prove them wrong in unexpected ways.

What they knew about him was merely the tip of the iceberg.

"Is this... Lin Jiaxu's power?" Cheng Xin murmured, his voice trembling slightly.

It was overwhelmingly powerful—so much so that he didn't even dare consider challenging him.

It took Yang Xiaotong a while to snap out of her daze. Shaking her reddened arm, she said, "Don't you think... this rain is a bit hot?"

"Absolutely!" Ping Yi rolled up his sleeve, revealing reddened skin. "Xiaotong, hurry up with some ice! I’m practically getting cooked!"

"Since you were all so mesmerized, I thought you didn't even feel the heat."

Yang Xiaotong rolled her eyes but quickly conjured ice and snow to cool everyone down.

However, the temperature in the pollution zone was already low, especially under the rain, and it soon dropped even further.

Xu Leyu glanced at the pollution detector and relaxed slightly. "The pollution readings are falling. That Humanoid Alien must have been dealt with."

"That’s great news."

Everyone felt a bit more at ease.

But unlike their relief, Lin Jiaxu’s expression was serious.

He stared intently at the fleshy mass ahead, which kept breaking down and regenerating, still trying to take shape.

At the same time, a sweet scent hung in the air—one that Lin Jiaxu had been aware of from the beginning. It was the strong, polluting scent emanating from Kula.

But by now, Lin Jiaxu had been in the mountains for so long that the sweet, pervasive smell clung to him, his surroundings, and the air everywhere. He didn’t notice anything unusual.

Nearby, Lan Ying and the others were bound by thorns and gagged. They whimpered with closed mouths, their expressions stiff.

Lin Jiaxu had deliberately avoided harming them, so it made sense they were unharmed. But why was this Alien still regenerating? He had clearly struck a fatal blow—how did it still have energy to regenerate?

He was completely baffled. "It doesn’t make sense... Zhong Qian, we both used our superpowers. Why isn’t it dead yet?"

Zhong Qian studied intently at the fleshy mass, frowning. "Something’s wrong. An Alien shouldn’t have such strong regenerative abilities after being severely injured."

The Humanoid Aliens they had encountered before would either lose all ability to resist or die instantly after being injured to this extent or attacked with such force.

For Kula to not only survive but also have excess energy to regenerate and struggle so rapidly was highly abnormal.

Without hesitation, Lin Jiaxu had Zhong Qian contain it with fire, the last remaining chunk of flesh.

He gathered small superpower orbs in his hand, striking Kula each time it attempted to regrow. When the fleshy mass swelled into a larger ball, Lin Jiaxu hurled another orb.

Bang—

It exploded.

It regrew.

Bang—

It exploded again.

It regrew, and he threw again.

After nearly a hundred repetitions, constantly draining its last reserves of regenerative energy, the fleshy mass finally lost all ability to struggle.

But that didn’t mean it was dead.

With its final strength, Kula grew a mouth from the flesh and let out an eerie, hoarse laugh. "Lin Jiaxu! So what if you kill me? Do you think you’ve won?!"

"Humans will never coexist with Aliens! Once they learn what you truly are, what the Nereids represent, they will fear, despise, and abandon you! Until they finally kill you with their own hands!"

Lin Jiaxu: "..."

He couldn't be bothered arguing with these delusions of the Aliens. "Oh. And then?"

Zhong Qian couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

Kula nearly choked on Lin Jiaxu’s indifferent tone. "And then... and then... Do you think humans will ever accept Aliens? What do you think would happen if the people of Zhongzhou found out that their most hated enemy is right within their government agency? I’d love to see their faces when they learn you’re an Alien!"

"Will they go mad with rage or disgust? Ha!"

As Lin Jiaxu listened to Kula’s hateful, curse-like words, he expressionlessly tossed another superpower orb. "If you have nothing useful to say, shut up."

Even about to die, it was in such a hurry to die.

Xu Leyu and the others, who had followed the trail to find them, had already heard Kula’s words.

Xu Leyu and her companion remained calm and unfazed, but Ping Yi and the others exchanged awkward glances. Although they were already well aware of Lin Jiaxu’s identity, hearing it exposed by an enemy felt strangely unsettling.

Especially since they had known all along.

Yang Xiaotong, the least bothered among them, curled her lip and said, "Jia Jia is our friend and teammate. Who can’t tell it’s trying to drive a wedge between us? Come on, we have the government's backing. Do you really think Jia Jia and we would be so easily swayed? Right?"

Ping Yi nodded without hesitation. "Exactly. No matter what Jia Jia is, he’s our friend."

Cheng Xin also said firmly, "We’ll always stand by Jia Jia."

They had witnessed Lin Jiaxu’s actions firsthand. With the chaos unfolding abroad, how could they be swayed by a few words like these?

Besides, if they didn’t trust Lin Jiaxu—who had long been aware of the truth, continuously saving lives and helping humanity—who would they trust? An Alien that created countless Aliens to attack humanity?

What a joke.

Listening to the newcomers’ words, Xu Leyu smiled faintly.

Jia Jia had a good eye for friends.

It seemed this Alien was unaware of what had happened to Lin Jiaxu before—back when his identity had already been largely exposed.

Within the Alien Bureau, Lin Jiaxu’s identity was an open secret, especially among the early members of the action teams, who knew everything clearly.

This Alien was simply projecting, thinking they would hold any grudges against Lin Jiaxu because of its words.

Cheng Hezhi shook his head. Having witnessed Lin Jiaxu’s journey firsthand, he knew that trying to shake their trust in him so easily would greatly underestimate humanity.

"Lin Jiaxu! You are destined to be one of us! You will never live as a human!" After being struck by the superpower orb, Kula struggled for a few more seconds before the flesh on the ground and its wails completely dissipated.

"What does that mean?" Zhong Qian’s heart tightened, and he instinctively looked at Lin Jiaxu, his expression suddenly shifting drastically.

He suddenly seized Lin Jiaxu: "Jia Jia, your face!"

"My face? What's wrong with my face?"

Lin Jiaxu couldn't see his own face, but he suddenly felt a piercing sensation that stung through him.

At some point, Lin Jiaxu's eyes had turned back completely into bizarre, blood-red pupils, while his face seemed to be cracking like aged porcelain, with fissures creeping and extending to his limbs and entire body.

He lowered his head, his eyes widening slightly. His body... the exposed skin was dissipating bit by bit.

Lin Jiaxu had lost control.

This was very ominous news, but he hadn't completely lost control.

The dim night sky was veiled in gloom, and amidst the clouds, two strange crimson moons slowly and uncannily appeared.

Like a pair of eyes, they drifted shut, then drifted open again.

But no one dared to look directly into these eyes.

Zhong Qian and Xu Leyu were stunned beyond words. Before they could even process what was happening, they spotted two new moons materializing in the sky—and they knew that these moons seemed to be Lin Jiaxu!

No, to be more precise, they were Lin Jiaxu's eyes.

Zhong Qian thought calmly, these eyes were exactly the same as when Jia Jia was a child or when he altered under stress—filled with coldness and eeriness.