Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Just as Han Zu was fully focused, trying to trace the complete trajectory of the energy cycle within the core, a violent tremor suddenly came from the entrance of the hall. The tremor didn't originate from the contraction of the fleshy walls, but rather from a dull thud of metal colliding and a violent, chaotic roar reminiscent of some creature's howl. The tremor intensified, the fleshy ground beneath his feet began to crack, and a viscous, reddish liquid seeped from the fissures, making the stench in the air several times stronger. Han Zu's senses were instantly pulled back, and he frowned, looking towards the entrance.

The once tightly closed tunnel of flesh and blood was now violently ripped open, leaving a gaping hole. The muscle tissue at the edges of the hole writhed frantically, attempting to close it again, but was torn apart by an even stronger force, revealing the dark outline of the tunnel's depths. The next second, countless twisted figures surged into the hole—the army of fleshy monsters continuously created by the Creation Engine, the most brutal primal guardians of this underground space.

First to charge in were packs of predators. These hound-like mutants crawled on all fours, their bones protruding to form sharp spurs, their slimy skin gleaming oily in the dim light. They were incredibly fast, their joints cracking as they pushed off the ground, corroding the ground with tiny, steaming pits. Dozens of predators fanned out, their scarlet compound eyes fixed on Han Zu, who hovered in mid-air, low growls emanating from their throats.

Following closely behind were several colossal figures, each ten meters tall. Their bodies were crudely pieced together from flesh and bone like alloy parts, their exposed muscle fibers twisting like steel cables. Rotating turbines were embedded in their chests, each rotation spewing out scorching orange shockwaves that distorted the surrounding air. The colossi's arms resembled modified hydraulic drill arms, their drill bits edged with serrated blades that constantly rubbed together, sparking blinding flashes. They strode with heavy steps, each step causing the ground to tremble violently, cracks spreading outwards from their feet.

Even more chilling was the presence of dozens of tumor-like parasites following behind the colossus. These limbless monsters propelled themselves forward by wriggling along suckers on their undersides. When their mouthparts opened, they revealed a dense array of sharp teeth, from which churned green acid that emitted a pungent odor. They moved slowly, yet were like mobile artillery emplacements, ready to unleash deadly acid upon their targets at any moment. In addition, there were several new, never-before-seen aberrations mixed in with the monsters—their bodies resembled elongated humanoids, their arms transformed into long, thin tentacles covered in suckers and barbs. Their heads lacked facial features, instead displaying only a constantly opening and closing fleshy orifice from which piercing hissss could shatter an ordinary person's eardrums.

The horde of monsters, like a black tide, instantly filled the entrance area of ​​the hall. A strong stench of blood and burning permeated the air, making it thick and sticky. Han Zu could even sense that the mutated creatures emitted energy fluctuations of the same origin as the core structure, only far more violent and chaotic.

"Squeak—" The little mouse on his shoulder squeaked uneasily, its golden tail tightly wrapped around Han Zu's neck, its body curled up into a ball.

Han Zu's eyes turned cold. The appearance of these monsters disrupted all his thoughts. He could clearly feel that as the monster horde surged in, the previously suppressed flesh walls within the hall contracted even more, and the purple veins glowed with an eerie light again, as if stimulated by some force, accelerating their absorption of the core's energy. The muscle tissue on the walls writhed wildly, even extending countless thin, fleshy tendrils towards the monster horde, as if welcoming their arrival.

The predators launched the first attack. They moved with lightning speed, dozens leaping simultaneously, their bony claws slicing through the air with a sharp, piercing sound, aiming for Han Zu's limbs. These mutants' attacks were precise and ruthless, clearly the result of countless hunting exercises. But in Han Zu's eyes, their movements were as slow as snails.

Han Zu didn't even need to use his energy shield; he simply shifted his body slightly to the side, dodging all the attacks. The predators missed their target, their bodies crashing into the fleshy wall behind them like cannonballs. The fleshy tendrils on the wall instantly coiled around them, tightly enveloping them. The predators let out shrill roars, their bodies deforming under the pressure of the tendrils, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible. Finally, they ceased their struggle completely, becoming part of the wall, nourishment for the creation engine.

But this is only the beginning.

The colossus strode heavily toward Han Zu, its hydraulic drill arm raised high, the drill bit spinning wildly, crashing down with a force capable of tearing everything apart. The whistling sound of the drill arm slicing through the air was deafening, and the wind pressure even carved a deep crater into the ground below.

Han Zu snorted coldly and threw a punch. Pale gray energy condensed on his fist, forming a shimmering gauntlet. The moment his fist collided with the hydraulic drill arm, a deafening roar erupted. A visible shockwave spread outwards from the point of impact, blasting away predators in the vicinity, their bodies turning into a bloody mist in mid-air.

The colossus's hydraulic drilling arm was blasted apart, shattering parts and splattering flesh and blood everywhere. A sharp alloy fragment whistled through the air, slicing a parasite's body in two, splashing green acid everywhere. The colossus's massive body staggered back several steps, its chest turbine instantly shutting down, billowing black smoke, and the red light in its eyes rapidly dimming. It let out a defiant roar, then collapsed with a crash, smashing into the ground and creating a huge crater in the congealed flesh. A large amount of crimson fluid instantly gushed from the bottom of the crater.

Han Zu's movements didn't falter for a moment. He flashed, appearing above the head of another colossus as if by teleportation. The colossus sensed the danger and frantically swung its other drill arm, trying to throw him off. But Han Zu's feet were firmly planted on its head, unmoving. He bent his knees and exerted force, sending pale gray energy piercing through the colossus's skull like a cannonball.

"boom!"

The colossus's head exploded instantly, sending red and white slurry and alloy fragments flying everywhere. Its massive body swayed before collapsing with a roar, crashing to the ground and kicking up a thick cloud of blood mist.

The parasite's acid sprayed out. Green droplets fell like rain, covering the entire space around Han Zu. This acid was extremely corrosive; even alloys could be completely corroded in an instant.

Han Zu's energy shield instantly deployed, a pale gray light enveloping him like an eggshell. Acid landed on the shield, hissing and releasing plumes of white smoke. But the shield remained unbreakable, without even a crack. Han Zu casually waved his hand, unleashing an energy blade that swept across the sky like a crescent moon. The parasites still spewing acid were instantly sliced ​​in two, green acid splattering everywhere and corroding the ground into small, smoking pits.

The humanoid mutants also launched an attack. Sharp screeching erupted from the fleshy holes on their heads, and invisible sound waves assaulted Han Zu. Wherever the sound waves passed, the air vibrated violently, and ripples spread across his energy shield. Han Zu frowned slightly; although the sound waves couldn't penetrate his shield, they caused a sharp pain in his eardrums.

His eyes turned cold, and a thin thread of energy condensed at his fingertip, shooting towards one of the humanoid mutants. The energy thread burrowed into the fleshy hole on its head like a venomous snake. The mutant's body stiffened abruptly, then let out a piercing scream, its body visibly shriveling up until it turned into a pool of foul-smelling pus.

Han Zu's fighting style was simple and brutal. His strength far surpassed that of these monsters, and each strike was accompanied by their death. However, the number of monsters was simply too great, and new aberrant creatures continued to pour out of the gap in the tunnel. Wave after wave of predators charged forward relentlessly, fearless of death; the colossi, though slow-moving, were like mobile fortresses, constantly compressing his space; and the sonic attacks from the humanoid aberrant creatures were like leeches, constantly interfering with his senses.

What's more troublesome is that the parasites' acid, while unable to penetrate his energy shield, is continuously draining its energy. Han Zu can clearly feel the shield's light dimming at a slow but steady pace. If this continues, his energy shield will collapse completely before long.

Han Zu's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He could feel his attention being constantly diverted. Every time he tried to refocus his senses on his core structure, attacks from monsters would rain down on him, forcing him to distract himself. Although his internal energy was abundant, this endless drain was not a sustainable solution.

He needs to act quickly.

Han Zu took a deep breath, and the pale gray energy within his body surged wildly. The large hole in his chest expanded again, and countless energy tentacles extended from it, waving in the air like octopus tentacles. The tips of the tentacles gleamed with a sharp light, sweeping towards the horde of monsters with a devastating force.

Wherever the energy tentacles passed, blood and flesh flew. Predators were sliced ​​to pieces, colossi were pierced through, and humanoid mutants were entangled and instantly minced into a bloody pulp. The monster horde's offensive was temporarily halted; they let out terrified roars and began to retreat.

Just as Han Zu was preparing to press his advantage and wipe out the monsters completely, a strange buzzing sound suddenly rang out from the other side of the hall.

That was the sound of space being distorted.

Han Zu was familiar with this sound; the soldiers from the Ferdinand family had appeared here using teleportation technology.

Han Zu's senses instantly swept across that direction, and he saw the air ripple like water, with concentric blue ripples spreading in mid-air. At the center of the ripples, the light grew brighter and brighter, eventually forming a massive teleportation portal. The blinding blue light illuminated half of the hall, and within the light, figures clad in silver-white power armor could be vaguely seen.

As the light faded, a group of soldiers appeared in a corner of the hall. Their armor was engraved with the Ferdinand family's griffin emblem, their helmet visors gleamed with a cold red light, and their Gauss rifles exuded a dangerous aura. There were at least a hundred of these soldiers, spread out in battle formation, their guns all pointed at Han Zu.

These people weren't actually reinforcements from the Ferdinand family, but rather the main force that had arrived with the previous squads. They had gotten lost in the underground passages but unexpectedly followed the monster horde's route and found their way here. Clearly, these soldiers weren't stupid; they knew that following the monster horde would lead them to the core location.

The commander of the reinforcements was a tall man who stood at the head of the column. He removed his helmet, revealing a scarred face. His left eye was a mechanical prosthetic, gleaming with a cold blue light. When he saw the scene inside the hall—the monster's remains scattered all over the floor, Han Zu hovering in mid-air, and the core structure in the center emitting a ghostly glow—a flash of horror immediately crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by fanaticism.

"That's him!" the commander roared, his voice echoing through the hall via the armor's loudspeakers. "Fire! Kill him at all costs! Take the core!"

Dozens of Gauss rifles simultaneously unleashed blue energy beams. These beams traveled at incredible speeds, raining down on Han Zu like a storm. Their power was immense, enough to pierce the armor of a heavy tank, and easily tear apart even the alloy shell of a colossus. However, when they struck Han Zu's energy shield, they merely created ripples, causing no real damage.

Han Zu's gaze grew increasingly cold. One wave subsided, another rose. These soldiers' attacks, though ineffective, were far more irritating than the monsters. Their firing rate was extremely high; energy beams rained down on the shield like dense raindrops, causing its energy fluctuations to become increasingly unstable. What frustrated him even more was that these soldiers seemed to have realized his target was the core structure and began consciously firing towards it.