**(1) Laboratory in the Ruins**
The office reeked of thick blood and an indescribable, bizarre odor—a mix of metallic rust and decay. Outside, the city's wails served as a constant, hellish backdrop, the fires deepening the crimson hue of the moonlight.
Lin Mo leaned against the cold glass curtain wall, breathing raggedly. The horrific wound on his shoulder had vanished, leaving only a faint, electric tingling beneath his skin and a strange... fullness. He could clearly "sense" the presence of those silver nanites. They lay dormant within his blood and bones, like obedient pets or cold weapons, waiting for his call. The shattered remains of Old Wang lay a few steps away, a silent testament to the world's madness.
Su Ting huddled under a desk, hands clamped tightly over her jacket pocket—where she'd hidden the blood crystal from Old Wang's skull. Her body still trembled slightly, but her eyes held less pure terror now, replaced by a barely suppressed, near-fanatic excitement. She stole glances at Lin Mo before quickly looking away.
"We have to get out of here," Lin Mo's voice cut through the silence, low and commanding. He stood up, flexing his arm, the unfamiliar surge of newfound strength unsettling. He walked to the fire axe, picked it up, its cold weight offering a sliver of reassurance. "Downstairs. The garage. Find a car, get out of downtown!" His gaze swept over the hellscape outside the window. Staying in this high-rise was suicide. Food, water, the encroaching monsters... it would become a tomb soon.
"Wh... where to?" Su Ting's voice was hoarse.
He moved towards Old Wang's corpse, suppressing his nausea, using the axe handle to probe the shattered skull. Besides gore, he found no other blood crystals. One per monster? Or did they require specific conditions?
"You... what came out of you... what was that?" Su Ting finally asked, her voice laced with fear and a trace of greed.
"Don't know," Lin Mo answered curtly. He truly didn't. When had the nanites infiltrated him? Triggered by the Blood Moon? Or earlier? He had no clue. "But they saved us. Now, if you want to live, stay close. Don't touch anything strange, especially that thing in your pocket!" He warned sharply, his gaze like a knife stabbing towards her pocket.
Su Ting stiffened, instinctively clutching her pocket tighter, and looked down without another word.
**(2) The Taste of Metal**
The door to the fire escape was chained shut with heavy links. Clearly, before the power died, the building's security system had activated some emergency protocol, sealing the stairwell. Ordinary force couldn't budge the thick chains or sturdy lock.
Lin Mo frowned. The elevators were obviously dead and unpredictable. The stairs were the only way out.
"Move." He gestured for Su Ting to step back.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Mo focused, trying to "communicate" with the cold silver entities within. As his will directed, the faint silver tracery beneath his skin on his right arm flared to life!
"Vrrrm—"
A faint yet distinct metallic hum filled the air. Countless grain-sized silver particles surged instantly from beneath the skin of his right arm, drawn together like iron filings to a magnet, rapidly coalescing into a shimmering stream of cold silver light!
This time, Lin Mo was prepared. He felt a peculiar connection, as if the nanites were extensions of his own limbs. He directed his will – *Target: Lock and Chains!*
The silver swarm obeyed without hesitation, pouncing forward!
"ZZzzzzzrt—!"
An ear-scraping, acid-on-metal sound erupted! The lock and thick chains covered by the silver swarm visibly dissolved and disintegrated! The hardened stainless steel melted away like snow under a blazing sun, reduced to fine metallic dust greedily absorbed and devoured by the nanites!
The entire process took less than ten seconds!
*CLANG!* The freed chain and mangled lock clattered to the floor. The fire door swung open, revealing the pitch-black maw of the stairwell.
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed. As the silver swarm consumed the metal, a warm current accompanied by a faint energy sensation flowed into his body, concentrating mainly in his right arm. He instinctively clenched his fist, an unprecedented sense of power flooding his muscles.
He walked to a heavy solid wood desk nearby – the kind requiring two strong men to lift. Lin Mo extended his right hand, fingers splayed, pressing against the metal edge binding the desk. A flicker of will, and the swarm surged again, swiftly dissolving and devouring the small metal strip.
This time, the influx of strength was clearer, and its nature felt slightly different? He gripped a thick wooden leg of the desk with one hand, grunted, and heaved!
*CRACK!*
The sturdy wooden leg snapped clean off in his grasp! Splinters flew!
"Iron... strengthens muscles?" Lin Mo looked at his hand, thoughtful. He'd just consumed the iron corner binding.
"Oh god..." Su Ting gasped behind him, her eyes wide with shock and that glint of greed intensifying.
Ignoring her, Lin Mo scanned the office. He needed more tests, needed to understand this key to survival! He found a coil of pure copper wire used for network jumpers. Will directed the swarm once more.
Silver particles enveloped the copper wire. The familiar "ZZzzzrt" sounded as the wire rapidly vanished.
This time, the energy flooding his body was utterly different! It didn't target his muscles but surged like a cool electric current into his brain and limbs! The world seemed to shift into slow motion!
Su Ting's fear-induced trembling hands became clearly visible, slow-motion oscillations. The distant flames and smoke from explosions outside unfolded in slow, traceable paths. He could even hear the faint rush of his own blood and the sudden acceleration of Su Ting's heartbeat!
"Copper... neural acceleration!" Lin Mo understood. Consuming different metals granted him distinct, temporary but potent enhancements!
**(3) Severed Cables and the Baptism of Fire**
Testing complete, Lin Mo wasted no time. He handed the fire axe to Su Ting for defense – though he doubted her ability to use it effectively – and led the charge into the blackness of the fire stairs.
Emergency lights here were even dimmer, barely illuminating a few steps down. The heavy smell of dust mixed with a faint tang of blood hung in the air. From the depths below came the terrifying sounds of banging, snarling, and sporadic screams.
They descended cautiously. At the fifth-floor landing, they encountered their first lone mutant – a woman in a janitor's uniform, half her face rotted, yet moving with unnatural speed. Lin Mo didn't use the swarm. Relying solely on his enhanced strength and neural acceleration reflexes, he cleanly split its skull with the axe, the fluidity surprising even him. No blood crystal this time.
The lower they went, the stronger the foul air grew, the denser the monsters' snarls. When they reached the platform between the second and third floors, Lin Mo froze, grabbing Su Ting before she collided with him.
The fire door leading to the lobby below was wide open. By the flickering light from outside, they could see dozens of shadowy, misshapen mutants milling about the lobby! Attracted by the noise from the stairs, they were snarling, trying to surge upwards!
Going back meant death. Charging through? Facing over a dozen mutants, even with the swarm, Lin Mo doubted he could protect Su Ting.
His gaze darted around, finally landing on a smashed-open fire hose cabinet on the wall. The hose was pulled out, but beside it lay a metal alcohol blowtorch, still half-full of fuel!
A bold plan formed instantly in Lin Mo's mind.
"Stay here! Don't move!" he barked, shoving Su Ting into a relatively safe corner of the landing. He then lunged like a panther towards the cabinet, grabbing the blowtorch!
Simultaneously, he willed the swarm! Silver nanites erupted from him like a storm, targeting—the large metal conduit cover plate embedded in the wall!
"ZZzzzrt!" The swarm tore into the plate like paper, exposing a dense bundle of insulated wires! Among the thickest were the power cables feeding the elevator motors!
Lin Mo twisted the blowtorch valve, splashing high-proof alcohol onto the exposed thick cables!
"ROAR!" Mutants below, scenting prey, scrambled upwards! Fetid breath washed over him!
Lin Mo's eyes turned icy. He pulled a lighter salvaged from Old Wang and flicked it without hesitation, igniting the alcohol-soaked cables!
*WHOOSH!*
Blue flames roared to life! They raced along the alcohol trail! Intense heat scorched the cable insulation, filling the air with acrid smoke!
"Not enough!" Lin Mo mentally roared. The swarm, obeying his will, abandoned the conduit and surged towards the blazing cables!
"ZZZZRT—CRACKLE!"
This sound was fiercer! The silver swarm ignored the flames, voraciously devouring the red-hot, softened steel cores! Simultaneously, they greedily consumed the terrifying heat!
Lin Mo's body shuddered violently! An indescribable burning sensation engulfed him, as if every cell was plunged into a furnace! His skin flushed an unnatural red. Sweat beaded and instantly vaporized into steam! Agonizing pain threatened to overwhelm him!
But he gritted his teeth and held on!
The swarm devoured metal and heat amidst the inferno at a terrifying pace! Seconds later, the thickest cables, under the dual assault of heat and nanites, groaned under the strain!
*SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!*
Several heavy, muffled bangs! The most severely melted and devoured sections of cable snapped violently! Immense tension instantly unbalanced!
Then, a horrifying, ear-splitting shriek of metal grinding on metal tore through the air from above!
*KABOOOOOM—!!!*
An earth-shattering crash erupted from the elevator shaft! The entire building seemed to shudder! It was the sound of an elevator car plummeting out of control! A thunderous impact and a cloud of dust blasted from the elevator doors on the first floor!
The sudden, cataclysmic noise drowned out all mutant roars!
The mutants surging up the stairs instinctively froze at the deafening, close-quarters blast. Some were knocked off their feet, snarling in confusion. Their attention was utterly riveted on the elevator shaft!
Now!
"GO!" Lin Mo roared through the searing pain inside and out. He grabbed the petrified Su Ting and shot down the stairs like an arrow! Neural acceleration still active, his speed was ghostly. He wove Su Ting through the gaps in the chaotic horde, sprinting straight for the side door passage leading to the underground garage!
As they plunged into the passage, Lin Mo felt the burning pain beneath his skin rapidly subside, replaced by a peculiar adaptability to heat. The devoured heat seemed to have granted both the swarm and himself a new resistance!
**(4) Garage Hunter and the Reaping Sequence**
The underground garage was darker than the stairs, lit only by a few flickering emergency lights. The air reeked of burning rubber, thick blood, and a... feral, den-like stench. Car alarms wailed discordantly, adding to the chaos.
"Huff... huff..." Su Ting leaned against a cold support pillar, gasping for breath, the desperate sprint having drained her.
Lin Mo scanned the surroundings warily. Massive concrete pillars loomed like silent beasts, casting deep shadows. Wrecked and mangled vehicles were everywhere. It was perfect ambush territory.
Suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end! An intense wave of viscous malice radiated from behind a thick pillar to their right!
"Look out!" Lin Mo shoved Su Ting away!
Almost simultaneously!
"ROOOOAR—!!!"
A thunderous, metallic-grinding roar exploded! A massive shape lunged from behind the pillar, a wave of foul air preceding it, slamming into the spot where Lin Mo had stood!
*CRUNCH!* The concrete floor cracked!
In the flickering emergency light, Lin Mo saw the attacker.
It was a mutant born from a man in tattered security guard gear! But its mutation dwarfed Old Wang's! Nearly three meters tall, muscles grotesquely swollen, bursting the uniform. Its skin was armored in thick, dark brown, crocodile-like scales! Its arms had mutated into massive claws tipped with sharp bone spurs. Its head was reptilian, jaws gaping to reveal rows of jagged teeth dripping saliva. Most striking was the large, deep crimson, almost blood-black crystal embedded in its forehead!
A Scale-Armored Corpse Behemoth! A boss-level mutant! It clearly possessed hunting intelligence, knowing to ambush!
The behemoth roared, missing its strike, its crimson vertical pupils locking onto Lin Mo. Its powerful hind legs drove it forward, its hulking frame bearing down with crushing force! Its speed was shockingly fast!
Lin Mo's pupils constricted! Neural acceleration snapped on! The world slowed. He could see the grime in the crevices of its scales, the wind whistling off its claw tips!
"Iron Claws!" he mentally commanded! Silver nanites surged again, rapidly coalescing into three gleaming metal talons along his right forearm!
*CLANG!*
The Iron Claws met the Behemoth's bone claws in a shower of sparks! The colossal force numbed Lin Mo's arm, sending him staggering back! Its strength was immense! His enhanced muscles were overpowered! And the claws had only left white scratches on its scales! The defense was monstrous!
"ROAR!" Enraged, the behemoth charged, its massive claw sweeping in with an air-rending shriek! The arc was wide!
Lin Mo rolled desperately aside. The car door behind him tore open like paper! He thought fast. Outmatched in strength and defense! Needed brains!
His gaze swept the garage, landing on a thick coil of copper-core charging cable for electric vehicles hanging on a wall! Copper! Neural Acceleration!
A plan snapped into place!
"Su Ting! Over there! Throw me that cable! NOW!" Lin Mo yelled, dodging the behemoth's frenzied attacks by razor-thin margins thanks to his accelerated reflexes.
Su Ting jolted into action, scrambling towards the cable. Survival instinct overriding fear, she dragged the heavy coil and hurled it towards Lin Mo with all her might!
"Catch!"
Lin Mo timed it perfectly. A sideways slide evaded another lunge, his left hand snagging the thrown cable end! Simultaneously, his right forearm claws clashed with the behemoth again, using the impact to gain distance!
"Tangle it!" Lin Mo flung the cable end at the charging behemoth! Simultaneously, he willed the swarm with full focus!
A portion of the silver nanites detached from the Iron Claws, swarming over the other end of the cable like silver smoke, voraciously stripping away the insulation to reveal the yellow metal beneath!
The behemoth, dismissing the flimsy "rope," swung a claw to sever it!
But Lin Mo was faster! Under neural acceleration, he moved like a phantom, circling the behemoth at high speed, whipping the stripped cable like a lasso around its thick legs!
"ZZzzzrt!" Nanites clinging to the bare copper wove it instantly into tight coils! Thick loops of copper wire cinched around the behemoth's ankles and calves!
The behemoth looked down, confused, claws swiping at the bindings.
"NOW!" Lin Mo's eyes flashed! He ripped away a large section of insulation from the cable end in his hands, gripped both bare copper wires tightly, and with all his strength, slammed them onto the exposed, sparking charging port of a wrecked electric car nearby!
*CRACKLE-ZZZZAP—!!!*
Blinding blue lightning arced like frenzied serpents along the thick copper cable! High-voltage current surged unimpeded through the copper wires binding the behemoth's legs, flooding its scaled body!
"AAAAAARRRGGGHHH—!!!"
The Scale-Armored Behemoth unleashed an ear-splitting, distorted shriek of agony! Its massive body convulsed violently as if struck by an invisible hammer! Its tough scales offered little defense against the current! Dark brown skin instantly charred black, belching thick smoke! The stench of burning flesh filled the air!
Paralyzed! Excruciated! Its colossal frame lost balance, crashing heavily to its knees!
The chance!
Lin Mo didn't hesitate! He exploded forward like a coiled spring! The three Iron Claws on his right arm, empowered by the swarm, gleamed lethally! Target—the behemoth's momentarily defenseless, relatively vulnerable knee joint!
"SHATTER!"
*CRUNCH-SHRIEK!!!*
A sickening sound of splintering bone and shearing metal!
The claws drove deep into the side of the behemoth's left knee with brutal precision! Raw strength combined with the nanites' cutting edge shattered tendons, ligaments, and bone in an instant!
"ROAR—!" The behemoth bellowed in despair, its left leg utterly destroyed, its body crashing sideways in a cloud of dust!
Lin Mo pressed the advantage! The claws rose again, radiating deathly cold, aiming straight for the behemoth's pain-wracked, gaping maw! He would destroy its core!
But as the claws were about to strike home, the dark red blood crystal on the behemoth's forehead flared with blinding crimson light!
An invisible wave of force, charged with violent psychic impact, exploded outwards!
Lin Mo's head felt like it had been hammered! Darkness swam before his eyes, his movement freezing!
*THUNK!*
Though impaired, the claw still plunged deep into the behemoth's lower jaw, tearing off half its face, but missing the brain core!
The behemoth shrieked with dying, venomous hatred. Its remaining right claw lashed out with its final strength, swinging like a battering ram at Lin Mo!
*WHAM!* Lin Mo was sent flying like a ragdoll, smashing into the door of an SUV, crumpling it inward! He tasted copper, blood spraying from his mouth!
The behemoth thrashed wildly on the ground a few times, then fell still. The dark red crystal on its forehead dimmed.
Lin Mo struggled to his feet. Excruciating pain radiated from his chest; ribs were likely broken. But the nanites' potent healing was already kicking in, the pain receding. He walked to the behemoth's corpse, eyeing the dark red crystal with apprehension. It could defend itself?
He extended an Iron Claw, carefully prying the crystal from the behemoth's forehead. It felt warm, heavier than Old Wang's, with thick blood seeming to swirl inside, radiating potent, seductive energy.
**(5) The Army's Voice and the Mark of Fate**
As Lin Mo examined the unique crystal, a faint, crackling radio broadcast, riddled with static, emanated from a wrecked police car nearby:
"...zzzzzt... all... survivors... attention... zzzzt... this is... Eastern Theater Temporary Command... stat—ic..."
Lin Mo and Su Ting perked up instantly, rushing closer.
The broadcast was unstable, clearly disrupted by the Blood Moon's energy:
"...military... established... primary shelters... coordinates as follows... zzzzt... A3 Shelter... West Suburbs... old military base... B7 Shelter... North District... underground bunker complex... repeat... zzzzt..."
"...Blood Crystals... confirmed... from mutant cores... contain... evolutionary energy... can induce... human potential... zzzt... but warning... WARNING... daily... safe absorption... limit... ONE! REPEAT! MAXIMUM ONE PER DAY! Excessive absorption... will cause... irreversible... mental corruption... and... physical collapse... RISK... EXTREME..."
"...survivors... proceed... to shelters... if possible... military... provides... protection... and... basic supplies... zzzt... beware... the 'New Dawn'... organization... they are... zzzt... liars... demons... zzzzzzzzzzzz..."
The broadcast dissolved into pure, ear-splitting static.
One per day? Safe limit? Mental corruption? Physical collapse? Lin Mo stared at the clearly larger, more dangerous crystal in his hand, brow furrowed. The military's warning and Old Wang's fate confirmed the danger. That "New Dawn" group sounded sinister too.
Su Ting stared fixedly at the dark red crystal in Lin Mo's hand, her breathing becoming ragged again, naked desire flooding her eyes. But she glanced at Lin Mo's cold profile, touched the smaller crystal in her own pocket, and forcibly restrained herself.
Lin Mo took a deep breath, pushing down the ache in his chest and the weight of the broadcast. Priority one: find a working vehicle, escape this hellhole. He headed towards a heavy-duty SUV that looked relatively intact.
He needed power. Needed to understand this crystal. Needed to face the unknown dangers ahead. The military's warning echoed, but the lure of the powerful mutant's crystal was immense. What would it grant? Greater strength? Or deeper madness?
A struggle raged within him. Ultimately, the craving for power and the desperate need to survive overrode the warning. He needed to recover from the fight, needed to grow stronger to keep himself (and perhaps Su Ting) alive!
He raised the dark red crystal, feeling its warmth and pulsing energy. No more hesitation. He opened his mouth and swallowed it whole!
The crystal dissolved instantly. Instead of blood, it felt like a stream of molten, viscous magma searing down his throat!
"Ugh!" Lin Mo grunted, body convulsing violently! Rampant energy detonated inside him! His blood felt like it was boiling! Bones groaned! His skin flushed an unnatural dark red, veins bulging like worms beneath the surface! Pain a hundred times worse than consuming metal wracked him!
Simultaneously, a vast, purer stream of life energy surged through his limbs, repairing injuries, strengthening muscles and bones! He felt his strength skyrocketing, his senses sharpening, his connection to the silver swarm within growing clearer!
Yet, at this peak of agony and power—
A cold, mechanical, utterly emotionless voice, like the most precise instrument, spoke directly into his mind, drowning out all else:
**[Detecting high-purity life source... absorbing... analyzing host DNA sequence...]**
**[WARNING! Detecting anomalous marker on host DNA!]**
**[Marker source identification... matching database...]**
**[Marker confirmed: Reaping Sequence - No. 97!]**
Lin Mo's body froze solid! As if doused in ice water!
Reaping Sequence? Number 97? A marker? Whose marker?!
Profound terror and the unknown coiled around his heart like icy serpents.
**(End of Chapter 2)**