Chapter 331

Chapter 331: Who Threw the Firecracker?

Three, there are definitely three sources like this, each growing at an unstoppable speed, and their strength is similar to the griffin they masquerade as.

These are true Fifth Level Extraordinary Beasts; only such individuals possess strength comparable to their own.

Lin Qingliu’s expression turned serious again, the earlier excitement from destroying one of the will of the mycelium’s brains was skillfully concealed.

He and the will of the mycelium were in a race, with both sides having something they needed to destroy and something they needed to protect.

Now, the outcome of the first round ended with Lin Qingliu shattering a main brain, and the outcome of the second round would depend on whether he could handle the incoming beast tide.

Three Fifth Level Extraordinary Beasts and an unprecedented beast tide plunged the entire forest into a state resembling exhaustion.

Even the trees below, dancing their final dance in the flames, moved more gently.

"SSS~"

From a distant space, Lin Qingliu seemed to hear the sound of claws tearing through their cocoons.

They seemed to be coming.

As expected, a reminder was necessary…

Lin Qingliu sensed Fulan’s position, and with a thought, sent out a clone that had returned to the mental health clinic.

Self-detonation truck, it’s decided!

—

The morning sunlight poured in through the viewing window, shining on the black and white mottled figure of "Holy Shield."

Covering his chest with his hand, he stood up from the chair, an unavoidable sense of alarm rising in his heart.

Since undergoing surgical transformation, he had never felt such discomfort.

Although he had prepared himself mentally beforehand, when the heart palpitations that could occur at any moment over 24 hours began to disturb him, he understood the weight of the name "Holy Shield."

After accepting this title, he had forsaken his previous name, living each day with nearly ascetic dedication.

Unlike the other four humans who underwent surgical transformation, Holy Shield needed to keep his abilities activated, which placed immense pressure on his body and was one reason why his heart palpitations gradually turned into sharp pain.

Indeed, such a heavy burden is not something just anyone can bear.

Although the physical discomfort was extremely apparent, he did not feel too worried.

As long as he did not stray too far from the spire, even if something happened, he could maintain his life. As for switching out an artificial heart, perhaps it seemed like a tall tale to ordinary people, but to him, it was not out of reach—

A backup organ had long been preserved, waiting for the original inside him to fail.

However, this time the sharp pain felt different than before; he always sensed something tangible pressing down on him.

What is it?

Holy Shield stepped into the elevator toward the terrace at the High Position, planning to see if anything notable was happening.

With an uncomfortable accelerate, Holy Shield swiftly ascended.

Arriving at the floor where the terrace was located, he looked outside at the warm sunlight, and his mood lifted considerably.

There seemed to be a few clouds far away on the horizon, but they were of no consequence to the current scenery; two suns still radiated warm light in the sky.

Wait, two suns?

The autumn breeze carried a chill, and Holy Shield felt his fervor cool in an instant.

His eyes, trembling with shock, lifted to the sky, towards the blazing star too intense to gaze upon directly, and a larger, rounder object nearby that emitted no light.

"Damn it," Holy Shield muttered under his breath.

He finally understood the source of his chest pain—a colossal sphere, dozens of meters in diameter, floated ominously in the distant sky above.

Though still beyond the shield’s reach, it was clear to the naked eye that the object was becoming more distinct.

It was either growing larger or drawing nearer, and neither boded well.

As the object veered towards the spire, workers in the inner city began to crane their necks skyward.

Holy Shield promptly activated the yellow alert, then reconsidered and escalated it to orange.

Now, he could clearly discern that the object was heading this way, reminiscent of the Fifth Level Extraordinary Beast from that fateful night.

"Why the hell is this happening again?!"

Holy Shield cursed as he alerted his remaining teammates.

Thanks to their previous encounter, he felt more adept this time; he believed they could swiftly handle even the Fifth Level Extraordinary Beasts.

Just then, he noticed the massive sphere had altered its course, speeding westward.

It accelerated rapidly until, with a resounding "bang," it exploded into a vast shower of flesh and blood above the outer city’s western district.

"What the—?"

Holy Shield’s jaw nearly dropped in disbelief; he couldn’t fathom why such a blood-like bomb would detonate, especially in the outer city and, more critically, outside the shield.

Theoretically, post-explosion, the biological field’s strength should plummet, and traversing the city’s protective shield would be akin to instant death.

But… in a flash, Holy Shield’s mind was flooded with past experiences:

The evolution of extraordinary beasts, the incident at the research institute, the turmoil in the outer city…

These events, possibly linked to the extraordinary beasts beyond the city, always seemed to catch them off guard.

Reflecting on this, he deactivated the orange alert and switched to red, signaling the highest level of danger—

Damn it, there’s definitely something sinister afoot!

"Hey, what’s going on?"

The members of the first team chimed in on the communication channel.

Except for Infinite Scroll, who was prepared for the unfolding events, the other four appeared utterly perplexed.

It was understandable; whether it was the Fifth Level Extraordinary Beasts or the corresponding super beast tide, both had been successfully repelled in recent days.

But what was happening now?

"Extraordinary beasts are self-destructing above the outer city’s western district; we need to get to the scene immediately."

"Connect with the superhero teams’ channels; we must deploy more personnel. This might not be as straightforward as it seems."

As per protocol, they left Infinite Scroll, who lacked combat prowess, stationed deep underground, and hastened towards the area where the extraordinary beasts’ remains were descending.

Simultaneously, an expansive shield capable of enveloping three city blocks began to form, perfectly encapsulating the explosion’s radius.

This was, of course, Lin Qingliu’s clever ploy; such an explosion, though seemingly trivial, was bound to unsettle numerous superpowered individuals, prompting them to converge on the western district, thereby enabling a quicker response to the impending beast tide.

After all, humans couldn’t possibly consult the will of the mycelium to ascertain who had set off that colossal firecracker.

As for the components of this harmless yet terrifying blood bomb… the Divided Thoughts, having reverted to its original form, declared its consent.