Chapter 8: A Desperate Gamble

A sharp, excruciating pain erupted from his neck. Ye Yang was so terrified that he felt as if his soul had left his body. What on earth was this thing? How could its claws be so massive? How could it simply lift him into the air like that?

As the saying goes, a dog will jump over a wall when cornered. Even if Ye Yang didn't resort to biting, he knew he had to fight for his life. His mercury dagger was too short, so he summoned every ounce of his remaining strength and swung the iron pipe behind him with a desperate, sweeping motion.

With a loud *bang*, the impact sent a jolt of numbness through his arm. The forced twisting of his body triggered another wave of agony in his neck, nearly causing him to black out. Yet, that very impact forced the claw to loosen its grip just enough for him to break free.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Ye Yang didn't care about anything else. He lunged frantically toward the cave entrance, grabbed Qi Fang, and dove inside. From start to finish, he hadn't seen what was behind him, and he dared not look. A violent gust of wind howled at his back, and the instant they vanished into the opening, another massive claw slammed into the ground, sending sand and debris flying in all directions.

"What... what is this? A zombie? No! Damn it, what kind of monster is this?" Ye Yang roared, his voice shrill. He was terrified to the point of madness; he had been on the razor's edge of death.

Qi Fang was equally stunned. Having seen everything, her face had turned deathly pale. She stared at Ye Yang with a dazed expression, then shook her head with a bitter, hollow laugh. "A Mutant. It's a Level 2 Mutant. We're doomed. Even if I still had bullets, I couldn't beat this thing. Even with a rocket launcher, it would be hard to kill."

"What the hell is that?" Ye Yang felt his head spinning. Unlike Qi Fang, he wasn't ready to give up; he clung to a sliver of desperate resolve. A Level 2? What was that? A mutation of a zombie?

He soon found out. A gargantuan head loomed over the opening, its face so twisted and grotesque that it no longer belonged to the realm of humanity. It was a beast—a monster, perhaps something between a werewolf and a gorilla. The head was also unnaturally, monstrously large. Judging by the size of the skull and the breadth of its shoulders, the creature had to be over two meters tall.

Wiping cold sweat from his brow and rubbing his aching neck, Ye Yang gritted his teeth. "What do we do? What is it afraid of? Mercury weapons? Can we poison it?"

Qi Fang gave a bitter shake of her head, her expression one of utter resignation. Still, she explained: Mutants were weak to mercury, as were all monsters from other dimensions. The difference was that a Level 1 zombie would die from a single scratch, but this thing had a much higher resistance. Unless it was struck in a vital spot or suffered a series of lethal wounds, it simply wouldn't die.

Ye Yang looked at the small knife in his hand, which struggled to even slice an apple. He fell silent. He would surely be killed long before he could strike a vital point. The disparity in size and strength was far too great, and having observed the creature from the cave entrance, he knew its speed was terrifying.

"Are we just waiting to die?" Ye Yang punched the sand pile in frustration. He refused to accept this. He had struggled so hard to kill those zombies, only for a Level 2 Mutant to appear out of nowhere? Was this it? Was it Game Over? What was the point of following Qi Fang this far? He hadn't found his parents or Xiao Ya yet.

*Boom!* A sound erupted from outside the cave, like a heavy iron hammer striking the earth. Clouds of sand poured in, nearly knocking Ye Yang off his feet. Stumbling to regain his balance, his eyes burned with a blood-red intensity. The monster outside must be trying to force its way in; it clearly had no intention of waiting.

The rumbling continued relentlessly. As the sand poured in, the opening grew wider. Soon, both of them were buried up to their knees. Ye Yang struggled to climb out, his grip still locked tight on his knife, eyes fixed on the entrance.

"We can't beat it..." Qi Fang whispered. She had seen Mutants before and knew their true strength. When they attacked human villages, it usually took several people, all armed, just to drive one back. And them? They had nothing but the small knife in Ye Yang's hand.

"Stay out of this! I'm going to fight!" Ye Yang gritted his teeth. He pulled Qi Fang behind him, his eyes glued to the hole. He would not give up. After everything he had been through, dying here would be an insult to himself and to the father who had frozen him to save him.

Looking at Ye Yang, Qi Fang was taken aback once more. He seemed so weak, and they had only known each other for a few days, yet he was always shielding her during crises. Back outside the city, she had boasted about how she, the "Master," would protect her "Slave Number One," but in the end...

A deafening roar interrupted her thoughts. The cave opening suddenly lit up, expanding to several times its size, before plunging into darkness again. A massive, razor-sharp claw reached in, lunging straight for them.

"Look out!" Qi Fang's face turned ghostly white. She couldn't help but want to throw her arms around Ye Yang—at least for a final moment before death.

Suddenly, a hand pressed against her chest and pushed her back. A figure surged forward: it was Ye Yang. A flash of white light erupted—the knife in his hand.

The blade struck the webbing of the claw with pinpoint accuracy. Thick, black, foul-smelling blood sprayed out instantly. Ye Yang tried to dodge, but his hand remained locked onto the knife.

With a howl of pain, the Mutant outside flailed its claw, the sheer force sending Ye Yang flying. He crashed into a table in the clinic, his knife nowhere to be found.

"Are... are you alright?" Qi Fang rushed forward in alarm, but Ye Yang waved her off.

"Don't come over here!" Ye Yang roared. His chest felt tight. That strike hadn't hit a vital organ; even with the mercury's toxicity, it likely wouldn't do much. And now, he had lost his only weapon. Was he truly finished?

The creature roared again, and another claw reached in, followed by its horrific head. Its bared teeth were even more grotesque than before, terrifying Qi Fang to the point where she forgot to even move.

"Run!" Ye Yang kicked the girl, sending her flying out of reach. In that same instant, the claw clamped firmly around his waist. The Mutant let out a raspy, monstrous laugh and lunged forward with its gaping maw, ready to bite.

"Damn it! Hell! The price of being a hero is really too damn high," Ye Yang groaned. Facing those fangs, he knew it was truly over, but... he still refused to quit.

He slammed his left hand forward, shielding his chest, but the Mutant bit down on his arm. Ye Yang let out a piercing scream as his bones shattered instantly. The force was unimaginable.

"Let go... damn it... let go..." Ye Yang's vision was clouded with a crimson haze. In his desperation, he ignored his own survival and swung his right fist wildly, pounding against the creature's head.

However, the Mutant’s body was far too dense. Ye Yang's punches were pathetically weak; not only were they useless, but his right hand was soon dripping with blood from the impact.

The pain in his left arm intensified as the bones were reduced to powder. A crushing force squeezed his waist, and he struggled to breathe. The monster's power was horrific; it could easily snap his spine at any moment.

"Damn... you... let..." Ye Yang still would not yield. He was fighting—truly fighting—with every remaining scrap of his life. Nearby, Qi Fang watched with tear-filled, bloodshot eyes. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to charge, holding her empty shotgun. Even if she could only use it as a club, she would not sit by and watch Ye Yang die.

"Get back! You idiot... don't come over here," Ye Yang bellowed. Qi Fang’s frail frame wouldn't survive a single touch, not even a flick of a finger.

Dizziness began to cloud his mind—a sign of the weakness following extreme agony. His punches grew sluggish. After a moment of despair, he let out a final sigh. He had truly lost.

*Crack.* A strange sound emanated from his waist. Ye Yang knew what it was. A bitter, twisted smile appeared on his face. Steadying his failing body, he put every last bit of his remaining strength into one final punch, aiming straight for the Mutant’s eye. Even in death, he would make this monster pay.

Though, he knew the price would likely be pitifully small.

The moment he threw the punch, Ye Yang lost consciousness. His left arm was pulverized, and his spine had been crushed. He could no longer endure the agony. Only now did he realize how strong a Level 2 Mutant truly was, but it was too late.

Yet... as his fist flew forward, a faint, grey-black halo suddenly appeared on his right arm. The light clung to his skin, and a pattern began to manifest with startling speed.

It looked like a tattoo, but it wasn't; it seemed to be emerging from within the arm itself. The design was savage and terrifying, resembling a tiger, yet its fur was as monstrous as the beast before him. As the pattern fully revealed itself, an incomparable, overwhelming power surged into Ye Yang's hand.

*BOOM!* His fist struck the Mutant’s eye socket with perfect precision. A black substance spread rapidly from the eyeball. The Mutant froze, its movements coming to a dead halt. It looked up at Ye Yang in astonishment, a flicker of pure, utter disbelief crossing its hideous face.

*Crack.* Its eyeball ruptured, blood spraying in all directions. Almost simultaneously, its eye socket, its face, and even its massive skull began to split. First a thin line, then horrifying, blood-red fissures spread, growing wider and wider.

With a thunderous crash, the Mutant’s entire head and half of its body split apart. It toppled to the ground, twitched a few times, and then went completely still.

*Thump.* Qi Fang collapsed onto the floor, her eyes wide and round as she stared at the dead Mutant and then at the unconscious Ye Yang. The girl was completely frozen in shock.

What had happened? What was going on? Could anyone tell her? Who... who was the real monster here?