While chaos was erupting in the underground lab, Leon's recovery room door opened quietly. Leon, who was just starting to move around a bit, startled when he saw his two visitors.
One was a young woman with snow-white hair and mysterious purple eyes he'd never seen before. The other was a young man with light green hair... Ling Tian! The guy he'd fought in DryZone!
"Hey there, little boy," the white-haired woman said in a sweet voice that had an unsettling chill underneath. "Interested in creating a new world with us?"
"Who... who are you?" Leon asked, his voice shaking. His eyes stayed fixed on both of them warily while his right hand slowly reached toward the katana leaning against the wall.
"Answer our question first," the woman said, her purple eyes studying Leon.
"No thanks," Leon said, frowning. Even though his body was still weak, his eyes flashed with determination.
The white-haired woman sighed softly. "Such a high-potential kid. What a waste." She turned to leave, then stopped and looked back with a cold smile. "You're going to regret this, little boy... hehe..."
That sharp little laugh lingered as both figures vanished from the room. Suddenly! Dozens of Vine-born roars thundered from outside! Leon didn't hesitate—he grabbed his katana and bolted from the recovery room. But he found only emptiness. Both visitors were gone, leaving only the sounds of Vine-born rampaging throughout the city!
Xiao Yan, who'd just reached the central dome, sensed something was very wrong. Commotion echoed from the underground lab along with lots of people who looked like they'd just woken up, their faces full of confusion and alarm.
"Why do all the townspeople look like they just woke up?" Xiao Yan frowned. "They seemed normal before." He muttered to himself before shaking off his doubts. "Whatever. Better check the situation first!"
Before he finished speaking, one of the floating swords beside him shot ahead of him down to the lab at high speed!
Thunk!
The blade pierced straight through the heart of a tiger-human hybrid Vine-born that was about to pounce on Shion, who was raising her massive sword to defend herself. The creature convulsed violently before crumbling to black dust in an instant!
Xiao Yan sensed several more Vine-born causing havoc nearby. He raised his index and middle fingers to his forehead again. Dozens of weapons appeared in the air, shooting out in different directions where roars could be heard. A thick silver aura radiated from Xiao Yan's body. He jumped onto one of the floating swords in midair, a long spear appearing in his hand, aimed at a massive Vine-born charging at fleeing civilians!
BANG!
A silver beam from the spear tip struck the creature with perfect accuracy. Its body disintegrated instantly! Soon the spear floated back to Xiao Yan's hand while the other blades continued attacking the remaining Vine-born.
Special Operations Units 2, 7, and 9, who'd just woken up from their sleep, were confused by what was happening. But their combat instincts kicked in and they quickly gathered themselves to help clear out the bizarre mismatched Vine-born that were invading the city.
Xiao Yan's floating swords took out Vine-born that were mixed combinations of rats, tigers, elephants, lions, lizards, and other creatures.
Screams, clashing steel, and monster roars continued for about ten minutes before everything gradually died down.
Shion, Leon, Cyrus, and the other Unit Four members, along with fighters from other units, stood looking at the damage and chaos with confusion. What the hell was all this about?
Xiao Yan, floating in the sky, looked down at the scene below with furious eyes. How dare they pull something like this! His aura flared with rage.
And just then, he sensed the real Kim Min-sae's life force! She was still alive! Without hesitation, he shot back toward Pool Wither at maximum speed!
Xiao Yan hovered above Pool Wither, his sharp eyes scanning the area until he spotted where Ling Tian had jumped down earlier... a massive water tank!
When he looked down into the giant tank, he saw Kim Min-sae's body lying unconscious. Her condition was pitiful—two swords pinned through both her hands, with some kind of device collecting the blood flowing from those wounds...