Silver knew those kinds of worms, he had just read about them. The adults were mostly Tier Three and Tier Four burrowing predators. To top it off, they were massive and abnormally aggressive, nightmares underground.

It also carried a disgusting characteristic that every worm-type beast had. They tend to feed on their own children and raise them as reserves.

Dillian continued.

"We found juveniles and killed them." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

That sounded reasonable, Silver didn’t see any problems with that. That was until he kept talking.

"The mother wasn’t there."

Silver closed his eyes briefly.

’Of course she wasn’t’

This was the protagonist, nothing could ever be simple. The man continued.

"When she returned...The nest erupted and..."

The silence deepened. Dillian looked away, his breath shaky.

"... Three people died."

The words landed heavily. One of the women clenched her fists, and the remaining male contractor lowered his head.

Silver immediately understood from the reaction that they weren’t just teammates but friends and they were gone, just like that.

Dillain’s jaw tightened.

"They stayed behind... They knew we all couldn’t outrun it."

The parking lot suddenly felt colder. Silver had seen this before. It was just a different world but the same result. People sacrificing themselves so others could live.

Dillain looked emotionally exhausted. Silver knew exactly what he was going through.

Survivor’s guilt.

Before anyone could respond, the ground shook. The shaking was small, almost negligible but it happened again.

Silver froze.

Every instinct inside of him screamed that this was an immediate danger.

His eyes widened.

"No."

Dillian’s face turned white. The reaction alone confirmed everything.

The shaking intensified. Around them, concrete cracked and dust fell from the ceiling.

Dillian shouted.

"RUN!"

The floor exploded outwards. A massive shape erupted upward as everything blasted outwards with it. The creature burst through the lower level like a living missile.

Silver only caught a glimpse. It was huge, armored, and monstrous.

Then one of the Dillain’s remaining teammates disappeared. The giant maw closed around him. Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere as he disappeared. A scream lasted less than a second, then nothing.

Silence filled the room as everyone froze in horror and shock.

The Ground Worm rose fully into view at that moment, adding to the horror of it. It was enormous and very, very hungry

The massive creature was almost twenty meters, it shattered the lower levels before crashing back down. The impact shook the entire mall.

Silver’s ears rang.

His heart hammered in his chest, almost painfully. And unlike the excitement he felt fighting scavengers or Dusk Hounds, there was no thrill this time. He could only feel that he was in real danger.

"System, what’s its tier?" He asked internally.

[Full-grown Ground worm: Tier 4.]

Silver felt like laughing but it wasn’t the time for that. The number flashed through his mind immediately. A Rank 1 contractor fighting a Tier Four beast was suicide.

Pure and simple. Even Shawn would have at least struggled against something like this and Shawn was stronger than most Contractors.

Silver wasn’t stupid enough to confuse courage with stupidity. This time, he didn’t have anyone to make sure he didn’t die.

The protagonist was also present which meant he might turn into cannon fodder if he decided to fight.

The worm’s enormous body twisted. Its armored segments scraped against concrete. The creature’s circular mouth opened. Hundreds of jagged teeth rotated inside the maw.

The sight alone made his stomach turn. Beside him, Ravenna’s face had gone pale.

Dillain’s group looked even worse. One of their companions had died less than ten seconds ago. The blood hadn’t even settled yet.

Silver made his decision immediately.

"Ravenna."

His voice cut through the chaos. She looked at him, her pupils quivering.

"Run."

There was no hesitation, discussion, or heroic speech to encourage her, just one final word. For a moment she looked ready to argue then Silver grabbed her shoulder, hard enough to make her focus.

"Listen carefully."

The worm slammed into a support pillar and the entire floor trembled.

Silver ignored it.

"Get to the car."

"What about..."

"Get. To. The. Fucking. Car."

Something in his tone finally convinced her. This was the former soldier in him, a man who had watched people die before. The part of him that understood exactly how quickly things could go wrong.

Ravenna’s lips tightened.

Silver continued.

"I’ll cover you."

"No."

"Ravenna!"

The name came out sharper than intended. She stopped before panic could take over. Silver pulled the key card from his pocket and then shoved it into her hands.

"Start the vehicle."

The key card hit her palm, still slightly warm from his heat. She caught it automatically.

"Drive toward the highway."

"What if..."

"I’ll follow."

The Ground Worm suddenly shrieked, the sound echoing through the mall like a siren.

One of Dillian’s female teammates stumbled backward. The worm immediately noticed her.

Silver’s expression changed.

"NOW!"

Ravenna moved, finally conceding. She turned and sprinted. Silver hadn’t realized how athletic she actually was until now. She disappeared down the escalator.

Dillian stared after her then looked toward Silver.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

He was stunned. He stared at Silver in surprise. Silver pointed at the worm.

"That’s a Tier Four."

"I noticed."

"Good."

Silver started backing away.

"I can’t fight it but if you want to, it’s all yours"

Dillian’s jaw tightened. The surviving woman beside him looked exhausted and terrified.

Silver continued, regardless.

"I’m just a Rank One rookie. I can’t fight that," he explained.

He didn’t want any bad blood on him. Silver believed that karma was real, he didn’t want it to hit him.

Dillian looked toward the half corpse of his teammate then toward the worm. He turned to Silver, and conflict filled his face.

Silver saw it on his face; guilt, responsibility, and anger, all mixed. That was the worst possible combination.

Silver sighed internally.

"The people who died already sacrificed themselves," Silver’s voice became quieter, "Don’t waste it."

The words hit where it intended, Silver could see it. The protagonist’s expression shifted.

The worm suddenly slammed into another support beam and the ceiling cracked, chunks of concrete began falling.

Silver’s instincts screamed for him to move, now. The Ground Worm lunged, the gigantic head shot forward like a train.

Dillian dove aside. His remaining teammate rolled behind a pillar.

Silver drew his pistol.

[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets struck the creature’s armored hide. Tiny sparks appeared and nothing more.

Silver wasn’t surprised, the rounds weren’t meant to kill it, only distract it. The worm’s attention shifted briefly to the area. That was enough.

Silver turned and ran.