Yunhua City Armed Command Center.

The main hall was filled with computers and other equipment. The Commander stood on a platform, pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Haven’t you pinpointed the source of that scream yet?"

"We can only confirm it’s somewhere in the southern Nankai District. We can’t lock down the specific location yet."

"If that scream sounds off just one more time, we’ll be able to pinpoint the exact location within a minute!"

"Is that so." The Commander gave his order. "Have the armed squad proceed to Nankai District and stand by. Notify them immediately once you have the exact coordinates."

Just as the Commander finished speaking, a voice came over the radio: "Commander, a group of six claiming to be the Third Squad has appeared. Should we grant them access to the command room?"

Hearing "Third Squad," the Commander immediately replied, "Let them in."

He had previously received a notice from high command. The "Third Squad" was a special unit stationed in Yunhua City with high-level clearance. The local armed squads were required to cooperate and support their operations.

The main doors opened, and a group of six walked in. They all looked very young—none appeared to be over thirty, and a few even looked like they were under twenty.

The man in the lead strode up to the Commander and said, "Hey, have you found the Screamer’s position yet?"

The condescending tone irritated the Commander, but considering the orders from high command, he suppressed his anger and replied, "Not yet. We’ve only confirmed it’s in Nankai District."

"Only the district? Your efficiency is pathetic," the man said, dissatisfied. "Forget it. We’ll head over first. Notify us on the comms channel immediately if you get any updates!"

With that, the man left with the other five. As soon as the six were gone, an adjutant with a buzz cut couldn’t help but curse, "Who the hell are they?! Why do we have to listen to a bunch of snot-nosed kids?!"

The Commander said grimly, "Assisting their operation is a direct order from high command. We have no choice but to comply. Just notify them when we have the precise location of the scream."

"What’s so special about them? Have all those Sublimation Coins that were supposed to be centrally distributed been spent on them?" The adjutant’s tone was full of suspicion. "Some of the soldiers are already unhappy about this."

"I know," the Commander said. "This isn’t the time for complaints. Let’s focus on the mission. If you have grievances, write them up in a formal report after this is all over. I’ll submit them all at once."

...

"...Thank you?"

Other than "thank you," Guan Tong really didn’t know how to respond to Shi Jingyi’s compliment about his name.

Shi Jingyi glanced at the Silver Hunter in his hands. A shotgun with such a unique design and material immediately looked like a product of the terminal.

"Is that your Psychic Power item? It’s very powerful. Even if I hadn’t shown up, you could have easily handled these Living Dead, couldn’t you?"

Guan Tong’s mind raced. ’If people think this gun is my Psychic Power item, it would help me hide my real one, the Wordless Book.’

Speaking of which, he was also curious about Shi Jingyi’s incredible combat performance from earlier.

"That kung fu of yours just now, was that some kind of Psychic Power skill?"

Shi Jingyi raised a slight eyebrow. "More than twenty years of arduous training, through winter and summer, isn’t something you can just cash in for."

"..."

"However," Shi Jingyi added, "without the enhancement of Psychic Power, my kung fu wouldn’t be nearly this powerful."

"Psychic Power can enhance kung fu?"

Shi Jingyi nodded, raising her right hand and opening her palm.

"There are countless ways to use Psychic Power. Besides being consumed by related items, it can also be used to strengthen the body."

As she spoke, Guan Tong saw a faint, flowing light appear in her palm, which then spread to her fingers and wrist.

His pupils contracted. "Psychic Power can be used like this?"

He had always thought Psychic Power could only be used to fuel related items or abilities. He never imagined that Psychic Power itself could be applied directly to the body as a pure form of energy, without any medium... No, that wasn’t right.

It wasn’t that Guan Tong hadn’t thought of it; it was that he had never heard of anyone being able to do it. No one had ever mentioned it online, and there wasn’t even a record of it in the official white paper’s entry for Psychic Power!

’Does this mean only Shi Jingyi can use Psychic Power purely as energy to strengthen her body?’

As if sensing Guan Tong’s thoughts, Shi Jingyi said calmly, "The path of application lies within one’s own heart. However, to use this power as I do, you must first learn how to circulate your qi and build a foundation."

"Circulate...qi..."

"You’ll understand soon enough." Shi Jingyi didn’t explain further. She looked at the numerous Living Dead corpses inside the warehouse and sighed.

Guan Tong remembered that after Shi Jingyi had broken through the roll-up door to enter the warehouse, she had said, "I’m too late."

It sounded like she had come here specifically to rescue someone.

Just as he suspected, Shi Jingyi soon found the body of a young woman among the many corpses of the Living Dead. Only half of her body remained; the other half had been blown away by one of Guan Tong’s No. 3 shells.

Shi Jingyi stared silently at the corpse for a moment, a pained expression appearing on her fair, heroic features.

Guan Tong asked, "Is she..."

"An apprentice from the martial arts hall. I rushed over as soon as I got her distress call, but I was still too late."

Guan Tong was about to offer his condolences when a CREAKING sound suddenly echoed from above!

He and Shi Jingyi looked up at the same time to see a giant claw tear open a metal panel on the warehouse roof. A crimson eyeball the size of a basketball then peeked in, its blood-red gaze sweeping over the two of them inside.

The Mother Transformer!

Guan Tong was instantly certain—this had to be the Mother Transformer! It really was in this industrial park, and the commotion in the warehouse had likely drawn it over!

"What is that monster?"

Shi Jingyi frowned, while Guan Tong immediately raised his gun and aimed at the crimson eyeball.

"BOOM!"

Without any hesitation, he fired one of his most powerful No. 3 shells!

The explosion instantly blasted a large hole in the warehouse roof, but the monster’s form had vanished. A chill went down Guan Tong’s spine; he knew it must have reacted with incredible speed and dodged!

But in the next moment, the enormous monster leaped down from the hole, a long, sharp foreclaw slashing toward Shi Jingyi’s head!

DONG!

At the critical moment, Shi Jingyi clenched her fists, and a pale white barrier of energy rapidly formed with her at its center. When the monster’s foreclaw struck it, it was instantly repelled by an astonishing force!

’This is another use for Psychic Power? Generating a 360-degree protective barrier? How much Psychic Power would a flawless, omnidirectional defense like that consume in a single use?’

Amid his surprise, Guan Tong also got a clear look at the monster—the Mother Transformer’s appearance.

If he had a choice, he would have preferred not to. The moment he saw it clearly, he felt a wave of nausea and nearly gagged.

This Mother Transformer was a monster made entirely of countless corpses stitched together!

Its single, basketball-sized eye was actually dozens of pairs of the Living Dead’s pale red eyes, strung together in circles with strands of hair. Its bloated torso below was also pieced together from multiple Living Dead bodies. Its massive, several-meter-long claw was composed of multiple colons twisted together in the middle, while the sharp tips were made of human fingernails and teeth.

The sight of this Mother Transformer, pieced together from innumerable corpses of the Living Dead, made Guan Tong feel physically ill. He immediately pulled the trigger, firing five No. 2 slugs in quick succession!

The Mother Transformer, its claw having been repelled by Shi Jingyi’s "energy barrier," hadn’t yet readjusted its posture. However, it seemed to sense the threat from Guan Tong’s shots and rapidly rolled backward.

"THUD! THUD!"

Three of the five No. 2 shells missed, but two found their mark, blasting two large holes in its body—each slug powerful enough to blast through a tree trunk!

But before Guan Tong could feel any joy, the Mother Transformer immediately grabbed a few Living Dead corpses from the ground, stuffed them into the holes blasted open by the slugs, and, with a squirming motion, rapidly fused them into its body.

This scene sent a shock through both Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi.

If the monster could heal itself like this, wouldn’t the hundreds of mangled Living Dead corpses scattered throughout the warehouse all become its "Blood Packs"?!