Chapter 438

Chapter 438

They emerged from the subway and paused at the top step, scanning their surroundings. As expected, the scene was identical to the rest of Dead City: every building, every inch of surface was covered with a thick layer of Ravage Contamination.

Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed, of course. Sensing their presence, bulbous growths began swelling from the ground and walls all around them, expanding rapidly and morphing into monsters of all sizes and shapes.

The sharp crackle of energy gunfire rang out, but whoever was firing remained hidden from sight. The direction of the gunfire, however, was clear: the large four-way intersection looming ahead of them.

“I think they’re coming from that direction,” Catalina said, pointing. “Should we go toward them?”

“No. Stay where you are. It’s better not to stray far from the subway. As for those humans, they should come into view soon enough.”

“Yeah, but these things are already developing,” Catalina said, glancing at the swellings that kept growing and transforming into mutants. “Jake, maybe we should…”

Before she could finish whatever she wanted to say, a group of humans emerged from one of the streets. They ran as fast as they could, fists flying and knees pumping. A second later, it became obvious what they were running from: a large group of ravagespawn was chasing them, hot on their heels.

There was no time to take in all the details, but Jake had already noticed the most essential ones. For a group that had somehow managed to survive in this dangerous city, he’d imagined they would be formidable, outfitted in advanced armor and armed with high-level gear.

But what he saw didn’t impress him at all. They didn’t look much different from the survivors of New Hope. The ragtag human team wore old, tattered clothes with mismatched colors and frayed fabrics. Their appearance was scruffy and weary.

It was baffling. In New Hope, even partially evolved Ravage monsters were a serious threat, giving survivors a hard time. Here, in Dead City, the creatures had already reached their most dangerous stage. The fact that these humans had managed to survive so long amidst fully developed ravagespawn was nothing short of astonishing. There was definitely more to those humans than it appeared at first glance.

As the group of survivors sprinted diagonally across the intersection, one of them swung her sidearm backward and squeezed off a volley at the creatures chasing them. The gun crackled, unleashing glowing energy bolts that tore through the air toward their targets.

The shots drilled into one of the monsters that moved on all fours, carving large, gaping holes out of its flesh and sending chunks of meat flying. One shot completely severed one of the creature’s front limbs, sending it tumbling away in a spray of goo. Another shot found its mark, perforating the beast’s head with such force that half of its skull turned into a melted mess.

The impacts caused the monster to lose its balance, and it went rolling across the ground, propelled by the momentum it had gained from its previous charge. A moment later, it came to a halt, the remaining limbs jerking spasmodically in death throes before the creature finally went still, its glowing eyes fading out.

The survivors kept running from the monsters, occasionally firing back and taking down, or at least incapacitating, some of them. The weapons carried by this group of humans were astonishingly powerful. They were far beyond anything the New Hope survivors had managed to create, that much was certain.

Jake couldn’t help but wonder where they had obtained those energy-based weapons. It was obvious that the survivors who had lived in this city before the Race Contamination appeared hadn’t reached such a level of technological development. Otherwise, they would most likely have been able to contain the spread of infestation or perhaps even eliminate it entirely.

This suggested that the group had secured these weapons either after the city had already fallen to the infestation or at least when it was teetering on the brink of being completely enveloped by it.

However, despite being armed with powerful weapons, the group obviously wasn’t strong enough to repel the monsters chasing them. Jake could see that if he didn’t lend them a hand, they would be wiped out in the next several moments.

Catalina must have come to the same conclusion, because she turned her head to look at him and said, “We gotta help them! Those monsters are almost on top of them!”

As the group of survivors reached the center of the sprawling intersection, they turned right toward the entrance to the subway where Jake and Catalina stood. Either those humans noticed it and decided to use it as a hiding place from the monsters, or they had known about it and had been heading there all along. Jake assumed it was most likely the latter, all things considered.

What they hadn’t anticipated, however, was finding a woman and an obsidian-skinned mutant standing at the subway entrance.

The two humans in the lead, a male and a female, froze mid-step, their eyes wide with shock as they stared at him. Jake didn’t blame them. He knew all too well how terrifying he looked.

One of them whipped up her sidearm and fired. The shot was nearly perfect, an energy bolt searing past just over Jake’s shoulder. He didn’t even flinch, though.

The humans behind the leading pair were forced either to slow down to avoid crashing into them or to swerve around and risk losing their balance. One of them wasn’t fortunate enough and lost their footing, tumbling to the ground. Another tripped over the fallen human and went down as well.

Most of the humans had either slowed down or gone completely still. But losing their momentum wasn’t wise, considering the pack of ravagespawn was right on their heels. Jake knew he had to act fast, or they would all be dead in the next several seconds.

He burst into a sprint toward them, going from complete stillness to top speed in an instant. The female survivor who had initially been in the lead popped off another shot at him. But since it was rushed and poorly aimed, the energy bolt missed him by a wide margin.

Realizing that Jake intended to help the survivors, Catalina shouted, “Don’t shoot! We’re on your side! We’re trying to help!”

The strangers ignored her, however. Somebody fired another shot in Jake’s direction, and it caught him in the shoulder. The energy bolt perforated a sizable hole in his flesh. The impact was powerful enough to stagger him, and he could see mana seeping out of the wound. Regular weapons could barely scratch his armor, but the weapons the strangers were armed with were much more powerful, capable of drilling into his armor deep enough to cause mana to leak out.

Catalina shouted not to shoot at him again, but the strangers ignored her just as they had before. Another shot rang out, and this time Jake dashed aside, knowing it would cost him speed but unwilling to take the hit.

He then triggered a gravity leap and shot up into the air. As he passed over the survivors, he briefly hung in midair, his left hand reshaping itself into a grappling hook. He fired it at the gorilla-like ravagespawn and, when it caught hold, gave the cord a hard yank, slingshotting himself straight toward the beast.

He had already morphed his right hand into a drill, and as he slammed against the monster’s back, he immediately drove the spinning tip of his drill into its skull. The drill bit into the monster with a grinding sound, and almost immediately, spiderweb cracks began to zigzag from the point of impact, leaving behind a weakened spot that promised to make any follow-up attack much more efficient.

He morphed his right hand into a smashfist and slammed it into the monster’s head with a resounding thud, once, twice, and upon the third strike, the head burst apart like a ripe fruit, splattering fleshy pieces across the ground. Before the body of the monster could even collapse to the ground, Jake had already jumped down. Without missing a beat, he engaged another nearby monster.

All the ravagespawn seemed to forget about the humans, turning their attention to Jake instead. The survivors regained their composure and stood watching as he tore through the pack of monsters with surprising ease.

“Is that… what I think it is?” a man asked hesitantly.

“No,” a woman replied, studying the figure. “It looks different.”

“Looks like ravagespawn to me,” another muttered.

“But it’s fighting alongside us,” someone said, bewildered. “What the hell is going on?”

“Enough chatter,” barked a commanding female voice. “Whatever it is, it’s on our side, and that’s all that matters right now. Later, that young woman will surely explain who they are, what’s happening, and how they got here. For now, we fight. Let’s help our unexpected ally finish off the remaining monsters.”

But while they talked, Jake had already taken care of most of the ravagespawn. Accurate shots fired by the human survivors dealt with the rest.

A sharp cry from the subway entrance snapped Jake’s attention in that direction. The monsters that had begun forming when he and Catalina emerged from the tunnels were now fully developed and charging straight toward her.

Luckily, the survivors reacted with practiced efficiency, born from many weeks, or even months, of enduring Dead City’s horrors. They instantly opened fire, slaying the creatures before they could even get close to Catalina. Their composure and aim were definitely commendable.

However, more and more swellings were already beginning to appear on the Ravage Contamination all around them.

“Come on,” a woman shouted to Catalina. “Get into the subway. We can hide there from the ravagers.” She then looked back at Jake. “You too. If you can understand me.”

“Silvia, are you sure this is a good idea?” a male human whispered to her, glancing toward Jake with a frown. “What if that thing is connected to…”

But Silvia didn’t let him finish. “It just saved our hides, Finn. So, for now, we’re giving it the benefit of the doubt.” Raising her voice to address the rest of the group, she called out, “Everyone, into the subway! Move!”

Her people didn’t need to be told twice. The group bolted for the subway entrance and raced down the stairs, vanishing inside.

Jake stayed where he was for a moment, scanning the area. The swellings continued to grow, transforming into monsters, but none had yet fully formed.

Then he dashed toward Catalina, who hadn’t joined the others but had waited for him at the top of the stairs instead. Once he reached her, the two of them headed down into the subway together.