Epoch of Twilight

Three large bombers were still dropping fuel-air bombs endlessly into the sea of fire, waves of flames rising and spreading. The waves from the explosions were never-ending as they blasted into the clouds.

Within a minute, the three bombers had already dropped nearly a hundred fuel-air bombs, blasting everything within several kilometers’ radius into a sea of flame. Their destructive force was akin to a mini nuclear bomb.

Fuel-air bombs were also called “Asian Nuclears”. It was inhumane to use such a blasting mechanism against living targets. Those killed by them died either of suffocation or high temperature. As the human race progressed, such explosives had been banned by the United Nations, much like biochemical weapons. It felt surreal to see them used again that day.

Hedong City had always had a stable environment. It had never experienced any serious threats. Due to the recent increase in population, the village near the defense works had been evacuated, and the outskirts, which were only marginally safe, had been flooded with people.

Even if the outskirts had been occupied by mutated beasts by now, there was probably still a large number of survivors.

Luo Yuan’s face was pale as a sheet. It was clear to him that the military would never make such vicious attacks if they had a choice. Everyone knew that the public outcry after a war had the ability to drown anyone.

Had Hedong City been forced into a corner?

Despite the fact that he was strong enough to battle a blue level mutated beast, he felt as desperate and as lost as anyone at that moment. His own strength seemed insignificant in this ferocious situation. Once Hedong City had fallen...

Luo Yuan watched in stupor for a moment before he turned towards the huge skull. He took a few steps, but tripped on a pile of mud. His machete flung out of his hand.

He stood up and picked it up, his hands shaking and his body trembling. He had stayed strong because he had not felt hopeless, but when faced with the possibility of no hope, no one could remain unaffected.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.

He retrieved a synthesized dark blue level bullet and pushed it into the barrel. He aimed at a wall and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A hole appeared on the wall after a deafening sound.

Luo Yuan went over to check. The hole was almost the same size as the bullet, which meant that the bullet had gone through the wall smoothly. The collision had not changed its shape. He nodded his head. He could go on synthesizing.

A few minutes later, white-jade colored bullets had formed a pile on the ground.

He only stood up after he had synthesized Wang Shishi’s shuttle to dark blue level.

He had to do something. He could not bear this any longer. As he looked far away into the distance, the hesitant expression on his face was replaced by determination.

The world had gotten dangerous and unfamiliar. There was no longer an absolute safe place to hide. Instead of finding hiding spots or hiding in dark corners and waiting for death, it seemed logical to try his luck once again.

This threat could very well be his chance. Blue level mutated beasts, which were usually hard to find, were everywhere now, some of them so severely injured they were drawing their last breaths.

As long as he could trigger a mission.

It had always been a mystery to him how the system chose to assign certain missions. It never seemed to assign one without reason.

After all this time, Luo Yuan had began to notice a vague pattern. His assumption was finally confirmed. After the mutation had started, most of his missions had been related to killing mutated beasts.

Whether the system was some sort of developed technology or mysterious force, it still had to abide by the balance of energy. Each upgrade of energy into his body after leveling up must have originated from somewhere.

Before the mutation, missions were a few months apart and as his level increased, the time period between them had gotten shorter. He had inferred that the power was coming from himself as his appetite had increased significantly during that period; other than his own exertion, he guessed that part of his strength was used by the system for his level up.

Missions had been assigned far more frequently after the mutation, and it was a big possibility that some of the mutated beasts’ special powers had been absorbed by the system. The reason behind the system’s frequent missions were the strong mutated beasts that were around.

Assigning missions was just a tactic. The evolution of the host was the real motive here; and to evolve, the host needed to continuously absorb energy.

He go a roll of tape and taped the cuffs of his pants shut. The outside seemed like the wild, filled with strange, dangerous mutated beasts – any recklessness could result in his death. He was not ready to head out. He did not feel calm enough yet.

He sat down on a decided spot and drew a light circle on the carpet with his machete, cutting the piece off easily.

He began to wipe the blade, again and again. With each wipe, his heart calmed and his breathing slowed. When his pulse had become faint, he stood up slowly.

He left the house briskly without a sound. The mutated frog by the entrance of the residential area lay motionless on the ground. If its body had not been convulsing from time to time, people would have thought that it was dead.

Luo Yuan approached it soundlessly and stabbed the machete into its head quick as lightning, twisting the blade. The pain made the mutated frog momentarily regain its consciousness before dying. Luo Yuan had already retreated several meters away before it could make a last attack. He left the outskirts of the residential area without giving the frog a second glance.

A large mutated boar was taking crippled steps down the street. Its body was filled with holes from the machine guns, its black fur dyed crimson red with blood as the beast moaned and cried. Two white clouds huffed from its nostrils as its green fist-sized eyes looked around warily.

Suddenly, a glass window on the third floor of a nearby building cracked open. Among the glass shatters, there was a black shadow. A blue ray flashed and the next moment a blade sliced through the beast’s head.

The shadow landed on the floor and sprang towards somewhere in the distance.

That’s when the mutated beast reacted. It stopped angrily and turned its head in search of the human who had dared challenge it. Its head slid off its neck slowly, blood spraying out in jets under the pressure.

A little farther away, Luo Yuan was leaning against the junction of a wall, breathing heavily.

“This is the tenth blue level mutated beast and the third E Level Mission already! It’s been too long for this craziness! I should be able to level up once I complete another mission!” The smirk on the corners of Luo Yuan’s mouth went away as soon as it had appeared.

Perhaps it was the injuries he had already sustained by the mutated beasts, but no matter how well he had performed, all three missions of his had only been graded as ‘Average’. However, they had also awarded him 4800 EXP. In addition to what he’d already had, his EXP was now 8900/9600, only 700 EXP until his next level up.

A few minutes later, the boar succumbed to its death. He approached it cautiously and began gulping down the blood dripping down its headless neck.

The slightly salty copper blood had a hint of sweetness, a taste he had gotten used to after consuming it several times. He could even differentiate between the different types of beasts now.

His body boiled in crimson as he gulped down the fresh blood, his depleted energy recovering in an instant. It was his last resort for recovering his energy as mutated beasts possessed plenty of active energy that normal food lacked.

Had it not been for this, his energy would never have lasted him that long during a battle. Even if the battle was only a few seconds long, fully unleashing his power and strength was still a huge burden on his weak body.

He was slightly disappointed that he had not evolved, even after drinking so much blood from mutated beasts. He could only blame his bad luck for it.

After a while, his energy had reached its peak once again. He picked up his machete and walked down the street with light steps.

Ten minutes later, he suddenly stopped and changed direction, walking hurriedly towards another street.