"I don’t know. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a monster like this."

This was also the first time Xiaoqi had ever seen a monster that looked and sounded like a normal person.

"Haha, gotcha!"

Just then, an excited voice rang out.

The hearts of Xiaoqi and her companion trembled as they looked up.

They saw a player from Sinful City holding a single-shot rifle, an excited look on his face as he closed in on them.

Bitter expressions appeared on their faces. ’So we were caught after all.’

But just then, a figure flashed past with incredible speed. Before the player from Sinful City could even react, he was dragged away.

Xiaoqi and her companion were stunned. They whipped their heads around, looking everywhere in terror.

AH!

Along with a bloodcurdling scream, a body dropped from the ceiling, slamming hard onto the floor.

The two of them jumped in fright, a cold chill shooting right up their spines.

They hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the enemy, yet the player from Sinful City had already been eliminated.

Just then, the figure charged toward Xiaoqi and her group again.

Their faces instantly turned ashen.

Just as they thought they were done for, a series of gunshots rang out.

The figure instantly changed direction, rapidly dodging the bullets.

"Long Ming!"

Xiaoqi and Cloud Fish looked up. Seeing Long Ming and his two companions rushing over, they cried out with delight.

"Are you guys okay?"

Long Ming, leading Johnny and Nak, rushed to their side, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

"We’re fine, but what do we do now?"

Xiaoqi asked Long Ming anxiously.

"Let’s go, now!"

Long Ming’s expression shifted, and he decisively led them forward at a run.

However, the figure had no intention of letting them go. It caught up from behind with incredible speed and pounced on Nak, knocking him down.

"Help!"

Nak screamed in terror.

Johnny immediately turned and fired.

BANG!

But the figure instantly darted away, and the bullet struck Nak right in the back.

"You..."

Nak’s eyes went wide. He gasped his last and died.

An extremely awkward expression appeared on Johnny’s face. ’How humiliating.’

"Don’t just stand there, run for your life!"

Long Ming continued to lead them in a desperate run forward.

But it was no use. Just as they were about to reach the bend in the staircase, a figure shot down from the ceiling and landed in front of them.

Long Ming’s group stopped in their tracks.

"Long Ming, this thing isn’t letting us go,"

Xiaoqi said nervously.

"In that case, we’ll just have to get rid of it!"

A grim look flashed across Long Ming’s face. He perked up his ears, his eyes darting around, trying to track its movements.

As the figure rapidly closed in, Long Ming immediately pulled the trigger.

BANG! BANG!

Every single bullet missed.

"It’s no good! It’s moving too fast, I can barely see it!"

Johnny could only make out a blur and had no idea where to aim.

Just then, the blur circled around and charged them.

"Get back!"

Long Ming instinctively sensed extreme danger, and the hairs on his arms stood on end. He subconsciously shoved Xiaoqi aside and dodged with a sideways roll.

SWOOSH!

The figure shot through the space where they had just been.

Long Ming scrambled up from the floor. His expression hardened as he tapped his wristband, retrieved a swiftness injection, and jabbed it into his arm.

When he opened his eyes again, a flash of green light glinted in them.

A strange sensation instantly washed over Long Ming’s entire body.

He suddenly felt his body become unnaturally light, his reflexes quickening along with it.

Meanwhile, the blurry figure continued to circle the group at high speed.

Long Ming held his breath, his eyes glued to the moving figure, and decisively pulled the trigger, firing three shots in a row.

In that instant, one of the shots connected, and an ugly, crawling Corpse Monster was revealed.

BUZZ!

Their wristbands buzzed, and a notification message popped up.

Tagago (Corpse Monster)

Note: Evolved Species.

Tagago opened its mouth at Long Ming and let out a furious roar.

"What a disgusting monster!"

Johnny swallowed hard.

"Stay away from me, all of you."

Long Ming edged to the right, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the others. ’It’s clearly fixated on me.’

Just then, Tagago circled around and charged Long Ming at incredible speed!

Long Ming decisively opened fire!

BANG! BANG!

But Tagago’s body twisted with unnatural agility, dodging the shots.

The bullets ricocheted off the floor, sending sparks flying.

Johnny fired too, but he couldn’t land a single hit.

In an instant, Tagago was on top of Long Ming, slashing at him with its sharp claws.

Long Ming dodged with a sidestep at the last possible second.

But it wasn’t enough to avoid the attack completely. Tagago’s claws raked across his chest.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Long Ming retreated and glanced down at the wound. Dark, blackish blood was oozing from it.

His expression changed as he glanced at his wristband.

Notification: Minor Corpse Monster virus infection detected. Administer virus serum or Genetic Potion within ten minutes to prevent transformation.

A countdown timer immediately popped up on the wristband.

Seeing the countdown, Long Ming’s heart sank. He fixed his gaze on Tagago.

Having missed its strike, Tagago began darting back and forth, looking for another opening.

"Long Ming, are you okay?"

Xiaoqi asked anxiously, seeing that he was hurt.

"I’m fine!"

Long Ming held his breath, his body and nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Seeing no opening, Tagago scrambled up the wall to the ceiling with incredible speed, then scurried across it toward Long Ming.

Long Ming immediately raised his pistol and opened fire on the creature.

BANG! BANG!

The bullets riddled Tagago’s body.

Holes appeared all over Tagago’s body, but it endured the fusillade, leaping from the ceiling and pouncing viciously at Long Ming.

With no time to dodge, Long Ming was tackled to the ground.

Tagago then opened its jaws, lunging in for a bite.

Long Ming threw up his hands, desperately holding back Tagago’s lower jaw as they grappled on the floor.

Johnny immediately raised his single-shot rifle and fired at Tagago’s back.

BANG!

The bullet slammed into Tagago’s back, sending blood flying.

But even that didn’t make Tagago let go of Long Ming.

"Bro, hang on!"

Johnny fumbled to reload.

"AHH!"

Seeing that Long Ming was about to be overpowered, Xiaoqi rushed forward in a panic, pulled out a tactical knife, and screamed as she stabbed it into Tagago’s back.

One stab, two, three!

Tagago cried out in pain and its claws loosened.

Long Ming seized the opportunity, drew his own tactical knife, and plunged it deep into Tagago’s heart.

Tagago immediately let out a painful wail, its life rapidly fading.

Long Ming seized the chance to kick Tagago aside.

Tagago writhed in agony on the floor.

Panting, Long Ming climbed to his feet, ejected the magazine from his automatic pistol, slammed in a new one, and repeatedly pulled the trigger at Tagago’s head.

BANG! BANG!

After taking several bullets to the head, Tagago collapsed and stopped struggling.

"*Phew.* We finally got it."

Johnny let out a sigh of relief.

"There’s still another monster."

Cloud Fish said, her voice filled with tension.

"That’s right, and that one’s even more terrifying! But it was attacking that group of people, so we took the chance to escape,"

Xiaoqi explained, her body trembling slightly.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

Johnny was completely dumbfounded.

"Let’s move!"

Long Ming wasted no time leading them away, running for the stairwell.

Just then, Long Ming spotted a skeleton in a white lab coat lying on the floor ahead. Something that looked like a chain was sticking out of its breast pocket.

As he ran past, he bent down, smoothly grabbing a golden pocket watch and stuffing it into his backpack.

Cloud Fish was a little dumbfounded when she saw this.

"Long Ming, you’re picking things up at a time like this?"

"It was right there,"

Long Ming replied with a calm expression.

"That’s badass, man. I was scared to death."

Johnny couldn’t help but give Long Ming a thumbs-up.

Long Ming said nothing, simply leading them in a hurry down the stairs.