The blue lake reflected the golden sun, hanging there like an egg soaking in a bowl, suspended between sky and water.
"Ben, if you want to beat me, go train for a few hundred more years!"
Upgrade stretched out its flexible arms, its body shifting rapidly before instantly morphing into a massive hammer.
"Roar!"
Wildmutt kicked off the ground and shot forward like a cannonball, sharp claws slicing through the air as it lunged straight at Upgrade.
Upgrade swung the iron hammer, carrying a surge of brutal force as it met the attack head-on.
Boom!
The solid hammer sent Wildmutt flying in an instant, the impact exploding with a thunderous crash.
Standing on the lakeshore, Upgrade watched Wildmutt splash into the water and let out a cold laugh.
"Ben Tennyson, you're still too inexperienced."
"Kevin, your opponent is me."
A deep, powerful voice came from behind.
Humungousaur's massive figure appeared at Upgrade's back, towering like an undefeated god of strength, radiating an overwhelming aura.
"So it's you, Lucian," Upgrade chuckled. "What, done playing the hero already?"
"Enough talk. Make your move," Humungousaur snorted.
"Hey, don't rush. You should be thanking me," Upgrade said with a shrug. "If I hadn't hijacked that bus today and thrown that woman out, how would you have gotten your heroic save-the-damsel moment?"
"Yeah," Humungousaur replied calmly. "I really should thank you."
As he spoke, he walked toward Upgrade, rolling his shoulders and clenching his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly.
Upgrade sensed danger and immediately activated his energy, his body shifting at high speed.
"Not good. Kevin's turning into another alien again."
Humungousaur's eyes widened as he charged forward at full speed, trying to take him down before the transformation finished.
He tightened his fist, the air exploding with a violent whistling sound as his punch came crashing down.
Whoosh!
A blue afterimage shot past in the next instant, narrowly dodging the blow.
Now transformed into XLR8, Kevin didn't slow down at all, sprinting straight toward the bus.
In the blink of an eye, he was already standing on the roof, transforming back into Upgrade.
By the time Humungousaur arrived, Upgrade had once again taken control of the bus. Its surface was coated in flowing black-and-green liquid, brimming with a high-tech sheen.
"Didn't see that coming, did you, Lucian?" Upgrade burst out laughing. "As long as I can beat you, I don't care what methods I use."
He planned to use the passengers' lives as leverage against this terrifying enemy.
Seeing the monster return and hijack the bus again, the passengers were terrified out of their minds, screaming in despair.
They pounded on the windows and shouted desperately, begging the approaching Humungousaur for help, hoping this kind-hearted dinosaur would step in once more and drive the monster away.
The woman in black stockings stood frozen, staring blankly at the bus in front of her, her mind completely overwhelmed by fear.
[Ding~ Alien Hacker Mission Triggered]
[Intervene again to rescue the bus, free it from Kevin's control, and ensure all passengers' safety]
[Upon successful completion, receive a random enhancement effect]
System alerts echoed through Humungousaur's mind.
Time seemed to loop back to the beginning.
The out-of-control bus.
The lakeside shore.
Humungousaur standing between them.
The only difference was the woman in black stockings now standing in front of the bus.
Humungousaur's mind raced as he considered how to save it.
Free the bus from Kevin's control while keeping every passenger safe. The difficulty of this mission was no joke.
"Damn this system. If the reward is trash after this, I'm definitely cursing it out," Lucian muttered inwardly.
Kevin quickly noticed the panicked woman in black stockings, and an idea immediately formed.
"Little Lucian, don't you love playing the hero?" Upgrade laughed wickedly. "Then let me give you another chance."
Humungousaur's gaze sharpened as he instantly stepped in front of her.
Shk! Shk! Shk!
In the next moment, countless razor-sharp spikes burst from the surface of the bus, like a threatened porcupine bristling with deadly intent.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Spear-like black spikes slammed into Humungousaur's body again and again, sparks flying as metallic impacts rang out.
Upgrade's attack had little effect on him. It stung slightly, but the spikes couldn't even pierce his skin, leaving nothing more than faint scratch marks.
Several venomous, snake-like spikes slipped past Humungousaur's massive body with eerie agility, flashing with a cold, sinister gleam as they shot straight toward the woman in black stockings.
Humungousaur roared in fury and threw out a rapid barrage of punches, smashing the ambushing spikes midair.
Even so, a few still grazed her. The black stockings on her long legs were torn open with several large gashes.
Her short skirt didn't fare any better. Under the sudden assault, it ripped apart, leaving it ragged and torn.
Staring at the shattered spikes scattered on the ground, the woman swallowed hard and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Save… save me, Big Dinosaur. I don't want to die…"
"Relax. With me here, you're not dying," Humungousaur replied in a low, rumbling voice.
Joking aside, he was still counting on the system's reward. Letting any of the passengers get hurt was not an option.
"What a touching scene. I almost shed a tear," Upgrade mocked, dripping with sarcasm as he looked at Humungousaur.
Humungousaur tightened his grip on the woman, then raised his head and said coldly,
"For dealing with you, one hand is enough."
"Then let's see you try!"
The moment the words fell, the bus erupted as thick, resilient tentacles burst out, surging forward in overwhelming numbers and engulfing Humungousaur.
Countless vine-like tentacles bristling with sharp barbs intertwined into a massive net, trying to strangle him inside it.
"Big dinosaur…"
The woman's face turned deathly pale.
"Roar!"
Humungousaur let out an earth-shaking roar. His body swelled like an expanding balloon, rapidly growing larger.
In just a few breaths, he shot up to twenty meters tall.
Now towering over everything, Humungousaur clenched his fist and smashed apart the incoming tentacles one after another, unstoppable, carrying the momentum of a force that nothing could block.
"Big dinosaur, you're amazing!"
The woman stared with wide eyes, her red lips parted in shock and excitement.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The giant Humungousaur tore through the tentacle cage like it wasn't even there, ripping it apart and charging straight up to the bus.
"Up you go."
He hoisted the bus with one arm, grabbed the woman with the other, then spread his thick legs and sprinted away from the lake.
As long as the bus was moved farther from the water, the passengers' danger would drop drastically. That way, he could finish the mission and deal with Kevin properly.
Dense spikes erupted from the bus again, slamming wildly into Humungousaur's body, but they barely did anything.
Seeing his attacks fail, Upgrade flew into a rage and abandoned the bus altogether.
His body collapsed into a pool of black liquid that gathered on the roof. Then, with a powerful rebound, he launched himself backward and rolled to the ground behind Humungousaur.
"You forced this!"
Upgrade snarled viciously as his features twisted and reshaped, rapidly transforming into the towering Diamondhead.
Humungousaur caught the change out of the corner of his eye.
"Damn it!"
Right now, he had the woman in one hand and the bus on his shoulder.
He himself could tank Diamondhead's attacks without much trouble, but the passengers definitely couldn't.
"You're finished, Lucian! Take this!"
Diamondhead raised both arms, which transformed into dense clusters of sharp crystal spikes before blasting forward in a violent barrage.
Crystal spikes filled the sky like a torrential storm, completely engulfing Humungousaur's massive form.
Without time to think, Humungousaur stuffed the woman safely into his mouth, then freed one arm and wrapped it around the entire bus, shielding it with his body like an iron wall.
Only this way could he keep everyone from being hit by Diamondhead's crystal "rain of swords."
The woman let out a muffled cry of surprise.
Humungousaur felt his head spin as a strong wave of perfume filled his mouth. The overpowering scent nearly made him throw up…