As a symbiotic being, I raise children amidst the chaos.

"The...eleventh." As Bronya's voice fell, Dust's tentacles suddenly exerted force, piercing through the mercenary's body with astonishing power and speed. The latter's eyes widened, his pupils contracted sharply, and his face still held extreme terror and disbelief.

"Brother Chenyuan, there are only a few mercenaries who have infiltrated the orphanage for now," Bronya said calmly, putting away the thermal imager. "There should be more on the outer perimeter, but this thing I made has reached its limit."

As soon as Bronya finished speaking, Dust's tentacles began to slowly retract, as if savoring the energy they had just gained. The scene was both bloody and eerie, sending chills down one's spine.

"I see. That makes things a bit tricky." Hearing Bronya's words, Chen Yuan frowned slightly. 'My current simulated body is a little inconvenient, but if I rashly take Bronya out, what if she gets hurt…'

[It's very simple, host. You just need to coexist with Bronya.] At this moment, the system's voice echoed in Chen Yuan's mind. [Unlike Seele and Xing, Bronya isn't physically weak; she should be able to adapt to your power.]

"Yes, I can do that too!" These words were like a wake-up call, and Chen Yuan realized there was another way. The reason he hadn't wanted to symbiotic with Xi'er and the others before was partly because their physical strength wasn't enough to support Chen Yuan's powerful abilities.

Secondly, they are not psychologically mature enough and are easily dominated by the feeling of power filling their bodies, just like Annie did back then. But Bronya will not have this problem.

"Bronya, do you believe me?" With that thought, Chen Yuan gritted his teeth and turned to look at Bronya.

"Next, I'm going to do something... rather outrageous. It's embarrassing, but it's the only way I can think of to resolve the situation."

“Brother Chenyuan, I understand what you’re going to do.” Bronya smiled slightly, as if she had guessed what Chenyuan was about to say. “I’ve heard Xing mention this before. Although she described it in a very mysterious way, it seems to be true that your power will increase rapidly.”

"You...you knew all along?"

“Of course, Brother Chenyuan.” Bronya cradled Chenyuan in her hands, then continued, “After all, I’m a mercenary, so extracting information is relatively easy for me. And of course, there are other things too…”

'What on earth did Xing tell Bronya?!' Seeing Bronya closing in, Chen Yuan jumped off her and onto the ground. He was now absolutely certain that Xing had embellished the story of that night.

"What's wrong, Brother Chenyuan?" Bronya tilted her head, her small face full of confusion, as she looked at Chenyuan who had jumped to the ground. "Weren't you going to possess my body?"

'Don't use such a strange way of putting it!' Chen Yuan thought to himself before turning to look at the innocent-looking Bronya. 'It's okay if you don't use that method! Fine, whatever you want.'

After taking a deep breath, Dust Fate transformed into a black liquid, from which numerous black tentacles extended to envelop Bronya. Although there was no obvious change in her expression, her tension could be felt from her tightly closed eyes.

The power of karmic connections flowed rapidly within her body, like countless tiny streams slowly converging into a river. She felt a powerful force surging forth from within, and her muscles, bones, and even her soul were elevated in that instant.

As the power of the mortal realm completely, entirely, and without reservation possessed Bronya, her body was instantly replaced by a layer of silvery-white skin that reflected an eerie luster and appeared exceptionally supple.

The once slender and soft fingers have now transformed into powerful and sharp claws, each tip gleaming with a cold light that sends chills down one's spine.

Her spiral twin tails were wrapped by tentacles, gradually turning into a pair of sharp spikes that shimmered with a silvery-white metallic luster, while her eyes turned into a deep purple, with the symbiote's signature gaping maw below them.

"Ha...ha..." After catching his breath a few times, Chen Yuan stood up, then stuck out his tongue and waved it in the air. He easily caught the scent of the other mercenaries lurking around the Cocolia Orphanage.

"Found it!" After locating the target, Chen Yuan suddenly shot out two tentacles from his chest and slammed them against the wall. With the pull of the tentacles, a tremendous force instantly propelled Chen Yuan towards the mercenaries.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the mercenary leader, still unaware of the impending doom, fiddled with his communicator, completely oblivious to the death that was about to befall them.

Under the deep darkness of night, an atmosphere of anxiety and unease permeated the mercenaries' makeshift camp. "Damn it!" the leader slammed his communicator to the ground, cursing, "What kind of junk is this? There's not a single signal!"

The air around them seemed to freeze. His men glanced nervously in his direction before quickly turning away; no one wanted to provoke him at this moment.

Everyone tried to minimize their presence. Some pretended to be carefully checking their equipment, some pretended to be chatting casually, and some even secretly hid in a corner, lit a cigarette and puffed away.

Below the leader, a young communications soldier was frantically fiddling with the radio in front of him, his fingers flying across the buttons. His brow was furrowed, and his expression revealed deep confusion and unease.

"How can this be? No one is still responding, even though the signal is perfectly normal!"

Suddenly, a terrifying thought ran through his body like a chill. He looked up, his gaze fixed fearfully on the leader. The man swallowed hard, his lips trembling slightly, and uttered the chilling guess in a trembling voice, "Could they...could they all be dead?"

"You're talking nonsense!!" The leader slapped the man to the ground, his expression extremely ferocious. "That damned woman, Cocolia, isn't even here right now. There are only some children and caregivers left in this orphanage!"

"Get yourselves together, all of you!" the leader roared. "If we pull off this job, we brothers will be set for life! Get your gear ready, and we'll wipe out everyone in that orphanage if necessary!"

With their leader's roar, the mercenaries, though filled with fear, were also driven by their lust for money and began nervously preparing their weapons and equipment. In the darkness, the camp lights illuminated their hardened faces, and each of their eyes gleamed with a beastly light.

"A bunch of stinking rats, you've got no chance!" Just then, Chen Yuan's figure suddenly appeared in their sight like a ghost. He was incredibly fast; two tentacles shot out like arrows, piercing directly through the bodies of the two mercenaries. Blood instantly stained the night red, and terrified screams echoed through the camp.

In this sudden situation, the leader reacted the fastest. Almost at the same moment, just as he was about to pull the trigger, Chen Yuan appeared before him silently, like a ghost.

Chen Yuan's purple eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty light. His hands gripped the leader's shoulders tightly like iron hoops. Then, with a tearing sound of flesh being ripped apart, Chen Yuan forcibly tore off the leader's arm.

The scene unfolded so suddenly that the leader didn't even have time to cry out in pain. The surrounding air seemed to freeze in the face of this violence. The leader collapsed to the ground in agony, his gun rendered useless in the ensuing engagement.

The remaining mercenaries were stunned by the sight before them; they had never seen such an abstract and gruesome creature. In shock and fear, time seemed to freeze, and the air was thick with the tension of an impending explosion.

"Shoot! Shoot now!" A mercenary finally recovered from his shock, his voice hoarse and urgent. "Shoot that monster! Do you want to die here?"

The remaining mercenaries awoke with a start, and gunfire erupted like popping beans, shattering the stillness of the night. Bullets, sparking, streaked across the darkness, attempting to claim the life of the ominous figure before them.

However, faced with this torrential attack, Chen Yuan merely gave a disdainful snort. The spikes behind his head expanded rapidly, as if alive, forming an indestructible shield made of spikes.

The bullets that came flying in, no matter how fast or how powerful, were instantly deflected upon contact with the spikes, falling helplessly to the ground with a clanging sound.

"It's over? Then it's my turn!" Retracting the spikes, Chen Yuan let out a piercing scream, and countless tentacles instantly erupted from his body, like giant nets, firmly trapping the remaining mercenaries.

The tentacles were as flexible as if they were alive; they tightly wrapped around the mercenaries' bodies, rendering them unable to move or resist.

The mercenaries struggled in terror, but their strength was insignificant before Chen Yuan. Their screams and pleas for mercy echoed in the night sky, but Chen Yuan ignored them all.

As the tentacles slowly contracted, the mercenaries' bodies seemed to fall into an invisible nightmare. Their muscle fibers twisted painfully under immense pressure, as if gripped tightly by an invisible demonic claw, mercilessly squeezed and deformed.

Finally, their bodies reached the breaking point. Amidst heart-wrenching screams, they all fell into hell.