Chapter 177 176: Hunting Reincarnators
At night, neon lights illuminated the entire City.
Chicago's skyline shimmered in the night, the glass curtain walls of skyscrapers reflecting multicolored lights, the streets woven with traffic, and the crowds bustling.
This City that never sleeps operated as usual, completely unaware of the impending disaster.
On the outskirts of the City, on the top floor of an abandoned industrial building.
A youth stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking up at the night sky.
He looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, with a clean-cut face and a faint, lingering smile at the corners of his mouth.
His eyes flickered with an unusual light under the reflection of the neon signs.
In the sky, meteors trailed long plumes of fire as they streaked across the horizon.
A smile slowly curled onto the youth's lips.
"Interesting."
He spoke softly; his voice wasn't loud, yet it was exceptionally clear on the empty rooftop.
Behind him, two men who looked identical stood side by side.
They wore the same black combat uniforms, had the same short hair, and even their postures were exactly the same.
Twins, and the kind of Twins so in sync they seemed to share a single soul.
"It seems the plot is about to unfold."
The youth turned around, his gaze sweeping across the other side of the rooftop.
"Eleven plot participants, including one Hunter."
He paused, the smile in his eyes deepening.
"But this alone isn't enough to push the mission difficulty to S-rank."
On the other side of the rooftop, three Reincarnators, tightly bound by ropes, knelt on the ground, trembling.
Their faces were pale, their eyes filled with fear and despair.
The youth walked up to them, looking down at these three ants from above.
"Weak."
He spoke indifferently, his tone full of disappointment.
"Truly too weak."
The twin on the left stepped forward, his gaze also sweeping over the three Reincarnators before he looked up at the sky.
"This world wasn't that strong to begin with."
He spoke, his voice identical to the youth's.
"So I reckon the plot must have been strengthened."
He paused and added.
"There were more than three meteors just now. Which means there are more than three mutated giant beasts."
The youth's eyes narrowed slightly.
The other twin also walked over, and the three of them stood side by side, watching the direction where the meteors had disappeared.
After a moment, the youth started laughing.
That smile was arrogant and excited.
"Then I'd really like to see just how powerful these giant beasts are."
He raised his right hand.
His sleeve suddenly tore apart!
A hideous dragon claw replaced his original arm!
The dragon claw was covered in dark purple scales, with thick, powerful fingers and sharp black talons at the tips.
It extended from the youth's arm, creating a bizarre and shocking contrast with his human body.
The youth turned around; his eyes had turned into dark gold vertical pupils.
He walked up to one of the Reincarnators.
It was a burly man with a fleshy face, but now he was shaking all over, unable to even speak.
The dragon claw rose.
And pressed gently against his head.
"No... don't... I beg you..."
Before the burly man could finish his plea, the dragon claw suddenly tightened!
"Crack!"
Like crushing a ripe watermelon, the man's head exploded within the dragon claw!
Blood, brains, and bone fragments splattered everywhere!
A scream echoed across the rooftop, then came to an abrupt halt.
A few drops of blood splattered onto the youth's face. He stuck out his tongue, lightly licking the blood from the corner of his mouth, his smile becoming even more radiant.
"Comfortable."
The other two Reincarnators had completely broken down.
They struggled desperately, trying to break free from the ropes, but the ropes were made of some unknown material and didn't budge an inch.
The youth's gaze fell upon one of them.
"Speak,"
he asked nonchalantly.
"Where are the other two?"
He paused and added.
"I know you should be able to contact each other."
That Reincarnator's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling, but he couldn't speak.
The other burly man suddenly spat, a glob of saliva landing near the youth's feet.
"Kill me if you're going to kill me!"
He roared, the last of his stubbornness burning in his eyes.
"If you want to get the Captain's location out of me—forget it!"
The youth was slightly taken aback, then he laughed.
That smile was even more radiant than before.
"Loyal. I admire you."
As the words fell—
The dragon claw swept across!
The burly man's head flew straight off!
Blood gushed from the neck like a fountain, and the corpse slowly slumped to the ground.
The smile remained on the youth's face, as if he had just killed an ant.
He turned to the last Reincarnator.
It was a middle-aged man, whose face was now ashen.
He looked at the corpses of his two companions on the ground, the fear and despair in his eyes almost overflowing.
But he gritted his teeth and remained silent.
He knew he couldn't survive.
But he wouldn't reveal the Captain's location.
The youth looked at him, the interest in his eyes gradually fading.
"Boring."
He raised his dragon claw, preparing to end the life of this last ant—
Just then!
"Whew!"
A Flashbang was suddenly tossed up from below!
The Flashbang exploded precisely at the edge of the rooftop, and the blinding white light instantly swallowed everything!
Immediately after, two figures vaulted over the edge of the rooftop!
One of them shouldered a Four-barreled Rocket Launcher and, without a word, pulled the trigger!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Four rockets trailed plumes of fire, streaking toward the youth's position!
The other person turned into a blurred shadow, rushing at extreme Speed to the bound middle-aged Reincarnator, grabbing his shoulder and jumping off the rooftop with him!
Having succeeded, the one with the rocket launcher didn't linger for a second.
He unclipped all the grenades from his waist, tossed them all toward the youth, and then likewise leaped off, disappearing into the night.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!"
The rockets exploded, the grenades exploded, flames soared into the sky, and the entire rooftop was blasted beyond recognition!
Thick smoke billowed, and debris splattered everywhere.
A moment later.
The smoke cleared.
The youth stood in the same spot, unscathed.
His dragon arm was held in front of him; all the previous explosions and shrapnel had slammed into that giant claw covered in dark purple scales.
Not a single scratch.
He slowly lowered the dragon claw, looking in the direction the two figures had disappeared, a playful smile curling on his lips.
"They ran away..."
The Twins beside him also didn't give chase.
They just stood there quietly, looking at the rooftop that had been blasted into a mess.
"No rush."
The man on the left spoke.
"As long as we keep an eye on those three, we can lure them all out."
The youth nodded, and the dragon claw slowly retracted, returning to the form of a normal human arm.
He turned around, walked to the edge of the rooftop, and looked down at the brightly lit City below.
"According to past dungeon experiences, a Hunter's strength won't be much greater than a Reincarnator's."
The youth spoke softly, his tone carrying a hint of disappointment.
"That's why I find it boring."
He looked up toward the direction where the meteors had vanished.
"What truly interests me are those giant beasts that are about to mutate."
Behind him, the rooftop door was pushed open.
A woman and an old man walked in.
The woman wore a tight combat suit and held a tablet, scrolling through something on the screen as she walked.
The old man followed silently behind her, but a sharp glint, uncharacteristic for his age, flashed in his eyes.
"Boss."
The woman walked to the youth's side and handed him the tablet.
"The tracking and positioning have been installed."
The youth took the tablet and gave it a casual glance.
But the woman didn't seem intended to stop.
"However,"
she paused, a mysterious smile curling on her lips.
"I think there's a news clip you'll be very interested in."
The youth looked up at her.
"Oh?"
The woman didn't say much more; she simply pulled up a video and handed the tablet back to the youth.
The video began to play.
On the screen was a busy street in Chicago.
The crowds were bustling, and traffic flowed incessantly. The camera focused on a secluded corner—
A Silver-haired Little Girl was standing by the railing.
A Black man walked toward her, leaning down as if saying something.
Then—
The little girl's body suddenly fell backward, crashing through the metal railing with a thud and falling into the river behind her!
The Black man froze on the spot, and in the next second, he was surrounded by an angry crowd, who began to kick and punch him.
The video ended.
The youth's eyes narrowed slightly.
In the eyes of ordinary people, this was just a nasty incident of someone being pushed into the water.
But in their eyes—
That little girl had smashed the railing herself and jumped into the river.
How could a little girl who looked less than ten years old have the strength to smash a metal railing?
Unless...
A smile slowly curled onto the youth's lips.
That smile was more meaningful than any before.
"Interesting."
He handed the tablet back to the woman, his dark gold vertical pupils flickering with excitement.
"That Hunter..."
"It's likely her."
"But it seems the other party is planning to hide."
"Don't worry, she can hide for a while, but she can't hide forever."
Beside him, a bloodthirsty glint flashed in the woman's eyes; she loved playing with children like this most of all.