After successfully blowing up one of the enemy's Licker-like monsters with a single shot, the other two finally came to their senses. Although their intelligence was low, their instinct for danger was far greater than that of an ordinary person.
To be honest.
If it weren't for the fact that the sniper rifle, forged with Lucas Reeve's grandmaster-level talent, fired its round too quickly for these monsters to react, an ordinary firearm would have been completely useless.
The two remaining monsters bolted to either side, their long, sharp fingers plunging into the hard walls like forks. They moved as if on flat ground across the near-ninety-degree surface, transforming into crimson streaks of light. In a pincer movement, they charged toward Lisa, their sharp claws and menacing teeth glinting with white light, seemingly ready to tear her to shreds.
Terrified, Lisa rolled on the ground and pulled the trigger again. However, this time, the Originium Round missed its mark. The monsters were about to pounce.
Lucas Reeve casually grabbed Lisa by the collar and pulled her to his side.
Immediately.
[Knight of Owner]
Attribute Bestowed: Cutting
Crimson and pitch-black patterns covered the [Fire-Lightning Cloud] in Lucas Reeve's hand. Then, the sword in his hand erupted with countless flashes of light. These monsters, whose bodies could withstand crossbow bolts, bullets, and even Originium bombs, had no chance to even breathe under the blade of Lucas Reeve's specially imbued sword.
A hundred slashes in a second.
Instantly, the moment the two monsters landed, they were sliced into an unknown number of pieces.
It had to be said.
If these monsters were the product of an experiment, they were a success.
Their speed, reaction time, and strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, and even exceeded that of ordinary Elite Operators. Moreover, their bodies were so tough that conventional weapons couldn't break through their defenses, and even if they did, they could recover at an extremely rapid rate.
In a one-on-one fight, Franka could at best handle one or two of them.
After all, Franka's Thermite Blade, as an unstoppable single-target skill, was the ultimate counter to such creatures. Of course, if she were outnumbered, she wouldn't have much of an advantage. But in a solo fight, her Thermite Blade combined with her natural agility made it no wonder she ranked in the upper echelons of Blacksteel Worldwide's Elite Operators.
The greatest use for such monsters was in urban warfare, for annihilating ordinary infantry. With their high speed, high health, high defense, and high attack, they were a nightmare for regular soldiers who couldn't even breach their defenses.
One could only say that every monster or person has a different area of expertise.
Individually, these monsters were likely inferior to skilled Elite Operators. But if one of them and an Elite Operator were to simultaneously face a hundred fully armed soldiers, the monsters would undoubtedly have the advantage.
Biological weapons created for war...
Lucas Reeve found it boring.
He didn't want to drag this out any longer, going down floor by floor....
"Ceobe, let me borrow your body for a bit."
Lucas Reeve grabbed Ceobe's hand. Ceobe let out a small "ah." Every time she lent her body to him, he'd make her stomach growl with hunger, but she didn't resist, obediently surrendering control.
After all.
Lucas Reeve's current special physical state relied on Lisa's magical energy supply and couldn't sustain too many high-consumption actions. In terms of combat power, it was naturally inferior to using Ceobe's body directly.
Lucas Reeve grabbed the nearby Lisa and hoisted her onto his shoulder. Then, using Ceobe's body, he raised a middle finger to a nearby camera, a disdainful smile on his face. Immediately after, he swung Ceobe's little axe and smashed open the elevator doors, then forcibly tore open the floor of the elevator car.
He jumped directly into the elevator shaft, following the guidance of the soul threads.
Meanwhile, in the main control room.
The Patriarch of the [Wolf Fang] was trembling with rage. He couldn't understand how that big black gun barrel could have blown his precious test subject's head off, nor could he comprehend how this young man could so easily slice his test subjects into hundreds of small pieces with the sword in his hand, leaving them no chance to recover.
He didn't understand.
After all, his precious creations had been specifically tested against the 'most advanced' weapons imported by the Sicily family from Raythean Industries. Ordinary weapons couldn't even scratch them, and even the 'most advanced' weapons or bombs could only barely break their defenses.
What the hell was this?!!
"Boss, bad news!! That person jumped down the elevator shaft and is coming down to kill us!!"
A few minutes later, a hurried voice echoed from behind the main control room.
The Patriarch ignored it, still unable to wrap his head around the situation.
It was the same feeling of defeat as having a beloved treasure, cultivated with great expense and effort, being smashed like a toy by someone else.
"Found you..."
Lucas Reeve used a spear to stab into the wall of the elevator shaft to break his fall. After successfully descending to the seventeenth floor, he saw the soul threads becoming clearer. Lucas Reeve knew he was close.
Due to the many floors.
The people on the lowest levels were unaware of the commotion Lucas Reeve had caused above, or perhaps, even if they knew, they weren't interested.
From the tenth floor down, it was almost exclusively experimental areas. All sorts of cruel human experiments were being conducted around the clock on the remaining eight floors, including the cultivation 'farm' for the 'Wolf Pack' and the testing ground for the Licker-like monsters from before.
As for the researchers responsible for these experiments, a few were madmen cultivated by the [Wolf Fang] family itself, but the rest were mostly talented students or highly skilled researchers kidnapped from all over Siracusa. These researchers were kept here for one purpose only: to conduct research ceaselessly and accumulate power for the family. Any who dreamed of escaping were killed on the spot.
Over time.
Most of the researchers gradually became numb.
Even knowing that the experiments they were conducting were inhumane, there was nothing they could do.
If they didn't experiment on others, they would become the subjects on their former 'colleagues'' operating tables.
As for being rescued?
Impossible.
[Wolf Fang] was one of the ruling families of Siracusa. In the territory it controlled, it was the emperor... Besides, the other Siracusa Mafia families were mostly cut from the same cloth. Being controlled by this kind of mafia... Siracusa was basically rotten to the core. Only one researcher, who had once studied abroad in Columbia, still held onto a tiny sliver of hope. After all, they had seen the wider world and knew that [Wolf Fang] could only run rampant in Siracusa. In Columbia or Victoria, they were nothing.
"What a beautiful work of art...."
In the laboratory.
Parvis, the former Director of the Structural Section at Rhine Lab, paced around the operating room. His murky eyes constantly scanned up and down the little girl strapped to the operating table, his own eyes filled with madness.
He had seen many, many people with special constitutions.
But...
This was the first time he had ever seen someone who could communicate with the 'underworld.' If he hadn't watched the complete recording of [Wolf Fang]'s capture operation years ago, Parvis might not have believed it. He had watched the recording and seen with his own eyes the countless spirits lingering around the little girl. These spirits continuously gnawed at the Mafia members trying to catch her. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered, and she was just a ten-year-old girl. No matter how powerful her abilities, they were far from their peak. Naturally, she was captured once her strength was exhausted.
Over the years.
Although [Wolf Fang] had continuously experimented with the little girl's blood, the results were minimal. At most, they had created a few test subjects who could barely control ghosts. However, not only were these subjects unable to command the ghosts to kill, but over time, they would be devoured by the ghosts and die tragically.
Therefore.
This experiment naturally piqued the interest of the former Rhine Lab Director, Parvis.
Since being temporarily dismissed from Rhine Lab several months ago, the position of Director had been handed over to a student he had never been particularly fond of. At first, this student followed his orders, but as time went on, his respect for him seemed to diminish. His ambition grew, and he even wanted to permanently occupy the Director's chair.
During this time, Parvis had been conducting experiments with the Loken Water Tank in Columbia. One little girl, in particular, showed outstanding performance, adapting to the artificial infected organ with almost 100% perfection and gaining unparalleled power. This power was so great that even Parvis was somewhat shocked. If she were to mature, she might even be able to crush that detestable woman, Saria!!
And upon learning that Siracusa had such a special girl, Parvis rushed over almost immediately.
To the right of the operating table, an artificially made infected brainstem organ was submerged in a container of special solution. According to the Loken Water Tank's experimental experience, perhaps after implanting this special organ, this little girl could materialize the ethereal ghosts, just like that Feline girl in Columbia who could materialize her consciousness into countless invisible hands. If so, perhaps this little girl could also materialize spirits.
However, the relatively cruel aspect of this experiment was that.
Anesthesia could not be used, because under anesthesia, the brain would cease to function, preventing effective fusion with the infected organ. The fusion had to be performed while the subject was fully conscious, without any anesthesia. Of course, this carried risks, but Parvis was confident in his skills.
Moreover, to prevent struggling, a sedative would be injected, but not an anesthetic.
Keeping the test subject's brain awake but their body immobile, able to clearly feel the pain but unable to resist—this was the state Parvis desired.
After the sedative was injected into the little girl's body.
Little Moti, hidden in a corner using a special ability, grew anxious. Just as the scalpel was about to cut the little girl's skin.
Suddenly!
The piercing sound of metal being cut echoed.
With a loud boom.
The massive alloy door of the operating room was forcibly cut open, and the figure of a small, adorable girl walked in.
"Ahhhh!"
The surrounding assistants suddenly screamed. Parvis's scalpel, about to pierce the skin, also stopped. He was about to shout, but Lucas Reeve grabbed him by the neck, and with a casual toss, threw him into the hallway outside. The elderly man's head slammed against the wall, and he instantly passed out.
"Well, well... isn't this that guy?"
Lucas Reeve shooed away the other researchers and then looked curiously at the unconscious Parvis on the floor.
"Mr. Reeve, you know him?"
Lisa asked in a low voice, but her attention was entirely on the little girl on the operating table, who was two years younger than herself.
"Don't know him, but I've seen him."
Lucas Reeve said casually.
If he wasn't mistaken, this person should be called Parvis, Silence's former teacher and department director. After all, Lucas Reeve had definitely seen a photo of such a prominent figure on the Rhine Lab official website. He was an out-and-out genius and madman. However, he had heard that this director was temporarily dismissed due to the Ifrit Flame Demon Project incident. He never expected to run into him in Siracusa.
Interesting...
Lucas Reeve scanned the room and noticed a small teddy bear in the corner, enveloped in a special spiritual power.
Lucas Reeve walked over with an icy gaze, snatched the teddy bear, and held out his hand.
"Hand over the souls! If they are harmed in any way, you die!"
A monstrous spiritual power was released. Little Moti's heart was in a complete panic. Under this intense pressure, he became somewhat incoherent. Fortunately, he was just a doll; otherwise, he might have wet his pants.
Is this the power of a god?!!
Although the divinity wasn't that strong.
A god was still a god. A starving camel is still bigger than an ant.
He hurriedly undid the thread on his chest, took out the four soul beads from inside his body, and carefully returned them to Lucas Reeve, apologizing with utmost sincerity.
"I'm sorry... we... we had no other choice.... These four souls have been constantly nurtured inside my body. Not only have they not been damaged at all, but I guarantee they will also benefit greatly.."
Little Moti was terrified that the god before him would crush him in a single breath.
Others send a wolf to devour a tiger.
He... sent a tiger to devour a bug...
"My commission isn't cheap..."
Lucas Reeve hoisted the little girl, who was immobilized by the sedative, onto his shoulder. He stuffed the teddy bear into his pocket, then stacked the unconscious Parvis on top of his other shoulder. He had Lisa pick up the nearby artificial infected organ and take a few pictures.
The sound of footsteps outside was growing louder and more numerous.
The controller of this base was probably livid by now.
But Lucas Reeve couldn't be bothered with a direct confrontation; it was a waste of time. As for this cruel experimental facility, he would deal with it after they left.
With a flash of golden brilliance.
A sacred light condensed into the shape of a long spear in Lucas Reeve's palm.
[Holy Lance]
[Unsealing!!]
With a single thrust of the Holy Lance, a pillar of light capable of destroying everything pierced through from the seventeenth floor underground all the way to the surface, shooting straight into the sky.
When the light dissipated.
A massive, incredibly deep crater could be seen above the base, leading directly to its lowest level.
"Goodbye~"
Lucas Reeve manipulated Ceobe's agile body, leaping back and forth before bursting out from underground and returning to the surface. Then, carrying a whole group of people, he ran back to their previous location and returned the four souls to Jessica and the others' bodies.
A little while later.
Jessica slowly opened her eyes. When she first saw Lucas Reeve, she was stunned for a moment, then she gave a sweet, delicate smile.
"Husband, you're awake. I still want another child.. hehe..."
Lucas Reeve: "?????"