He looked much younger now than when they first met, even his voice had changed. Even old friends who'd known him for decades wouldn't recognize him. He believed his disguise was impeccable.

"I guessed it. After all, there aren't many with such powerful mental strength who also oppose the state."

"Don't act so high and mighty. Just as there are power-hungry individuals like you, there are those like me, devoted to martial arts mastery. We should've stayed out of each other's paths."

"What a joke! Do you even recall the number of people you've killed? You're a felon; I'm a soldier. It's inevitable that our paths would cross."

"How many lives have been taken by your command, Marshal Shao? We're both killers. What makes you so righteous?"

Behind Master Wei stood dozens, some clearly Chinese, others foreign. The commonality? Their lifeless eyes. Differentiating them from regular humans. Mutant beasts obediently lay behind them.

The eerie combination gave even the experienced Shao Qi chills.

"Who are they?" he inquired.

Master Wei grinned, clapping, "Let me introduce. After you destroyed my Heaven's Temple and the underground lab, had it not been for those incidents, these men and beasts would've been ours."

"They're test subjects?" Miao Miu gasped, "But it hasn't been long since the lab's destruction."

"It's a pity Jiang Shun isn't here. He'd brag about his accomplishments, backed by foreign governments, an endless supply of test subjects, and funds. The tech was already advanced, success was within grasp."

Shao Qi approached his subordinates, sweeping his gaze over the beings, "I'm grateful our country didn't need such technology. What's your intention in bringing them here today?"

Master Wei smirked, "Heard you evacuated the base ahead? See, I've easily taken over one. These are just appetizers. After killing you, I'll lead these perfect creations straight to Dawn City."

"What do you gain from this?"

"Killing you is reward enough... Oh, and the man with you, now your spouse? Imagine his horror seeing your severed head, hehe..."

With a swift movement, Shao Qi hurled his blade at him. The enemy dodged swiftly, hiding behind the group, and whistled, signaling them to attack.

Initially, only three subjects from Jiangnan Base killed many. Now, there were dozens.

Miao Miu engaged too, soon realizing how formidable these not-quite-human entities were, surpassing even those that crawled out of coffins before.

They combined human intellect and physique with beastly instincts and skills. During combat, parts of their bodies could even morph into a beastly form.

This was beyond their understanding of human experimentation. No wonder foreign powers were eager to support. If armies were transformed into such hybrid soldiers, they'd be invincible.

Sha Qi's blade struck the shoulder of an orc, using only half his strength. The blade pierced the flesh, spilling crimson blood. Yet, the creature seemed impervious to pain; one of its hands grabbed the blade, flipping it, and Sha Qi rolled backward in response.

Lifting his sword, Sha Qi eyed the reckless orc charging towards him. His pupils shifted as one arm transformed into a bear's claw.

If one hadn't witnessed it firsthand, such technology would be hard to believe.

After a few attempts, Sha Qi realized that although these test subjects had cognition, they lacked speech and human emotions. They resembled robots embedded with chips, no longer fitting the definition of humanity.

Yet, compared to robots, these orcs were far superior in terms of offense, defense, and combat prowess. Even the warrior-like robot they had previously created paled in comparison to these beings.

Sha Qi had only four men on his side. Having discovered the answer he sought, he showed no further mercy.

However, these orcs weren't easy prey. They demonstrated tactical awareness and teamwork. Furthermore, with Master Wei observing menacingly from the background and mutated creatures still standing by, the situation was challenging.

Considering these beings were lab creations, the dormant mutated creatures were clearly not natural. Despite the ongoing chaos, they remained motionless.

Were it not for their faint breathing and open eyes, Sha Qi might've mistaken them for sculptures.

"There's no end to them!" Miao Miao's whip was severed by pincers. Switching to a military dagger, they still held an advantage in close combat, since these modified humans relied mainly on their beastly attributes rather than refined martial arts.

However, being outnumbered, their stamina dwindled rapidly, their weapons were damaged one by one, and all bore injuries.

Sha Qi knew the strategy: capture the leader to subdue the followers. Yet, Master Wei was cunning and avoided direct confrontation.

"Thought you wanted revenge? Why won't you face me?" Sha Qi taunted.

Master Wei responded calmly, "As of now, I can't defeat you. After you've dealt with these perfect creations, we'll see if you're still standing. Perhaps I might even leave your body intact."

Sha Qi was curious to see if eliminating Master Wei would halt the creatures' attack. Hence, he relentlessly tried to get closer.

Master Wei's greatest strength was his evasiveness. With a swift turn from Sha Qi, Wei vanished, and the dormant creatures started rising, their bodies shaking and emitting deep growls.

These mutated creatures embodied the most fierce variants, from tigers, lions, bears, leopards, desert wolves, desert eagles, to even two mutated camels, though their abilities were unknown.