Chapter 365
Jake rushed to Rajan’s aid while reloading his shotgun on the run. The survivor continued to retreat, firing at the massive monster advancing toward him.
Most of the bullets he fired pinged harmlessly off the armor covering the majority of the creature’s body. The few that found the gaps between the armor plates dealt little to no damage. The brawler probably wasn’t even aware of them piercing its body.
Rajan backed up until he suddenly tripped over the body of a dead mutant, crashing onto his back. The assault rifle flew from his grip, but the survivor quickly drew his heavy-caliber pistol from its holster, opening fire on the approaching beast while still lying supine on the ground.
However, the heavy-caliber bullets failed to halt the mutant’s relentless advance.
Just as the armored brawler closed in on Rajan and was about to swing its maces at him, Jake took aim at the back of the monster’s knee and squeezed the trigger. The explosive slug hit the creature’s leg and detonated, causing the brawler to drop to one knee.
At the same time, the monster smashed its maces into the floor where Rajan had just been; the survivor had rolled to the side just moments before. Racking another round into the chamber, Jake pointed his shotgun at the back of the brawler’s head and fired once more.
The explosive slug detonated upon striking the helmet the monster wore, tearing the metal apart. Just as the brawler turned its head to look at Jake, he fired again, and this shot did the trick: half the creature’s head exploded.
The now-dead monster collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud. Jake released his grip on the shotgun and extended his right hand down. As Rajan grabbed hold of it, Jake helped the survivor to his feet.
“Thanks,” Rajan said, surprising Jake, who had expected him to respond with something like, “I could’ve dealt with it myself.”
Averting his gaze from the bandit he had just saved, Jake spun around to look in the direction where he had last seen Felix. As it turned out, he was no longer trapped in the corner of the room. Kira had clearly come to his rescue, and now they were paired up, fighting off groups of mutants on the other side of the room.
The fight lasted for a few more minutes. There were no more close calls for the three humans, mostly because Jake did his best to protect them from the mutants closing in from all sides.
At one point, he noticed Felix staring at him with a puzzled expression. It was just a fleeting glance before Felix turned his attention back to the mutants surrounding him, but the look of confusion in his eyes was hard to miss. Felix was obviously suspicious of him.
Finally, the fight was over. Jake and the three survivors scanned the dead bodies for loot, plucking ammo and stims from the pockets of their ragged clothes. Then they made their way toward the shaft housing the magical platform that would take them to the roof of the building.
Just as Jake was about to follow Kira and Rajan out of the room, Felix stepped into his path, his gaze fixed on him with intense intensity.
“I should thank you, Mute,” he said.
Since Jake couldn’t respond, he pretended to look confused, as if he didn’t quite understand what Felix was talking about.
“I saw you save Kira’s life,” Felix continued. “And then you helped Rajan as well. Not to mention, there were countless other times when you kept us safe without us even realizing we were in danger.”
A surprised look must have crossed Jake’s face because Felix added, “Yes, I’ve been watching you. Kira and Rajan probably didn’t realize it, but I kept a close eye on you the whole time, so I did notice the way you fought. You were incredible. Your shots were always accurate, you were constantly on the move, intentionally diverting the mutants’ attention from us, and you dodged their attacks flawlessly. Not a single one managed to hit you. I’ve never seen anyone move like that before, including you. We made it through this floor only thanks to you. While I really appreciate it, I can’t help but wonder what changed. How come you started moving like a dancer of death all of a sudden?”
Jake typed a single word on Aaron’s PDA and showed the screen to Felix.
“A spell, you say?” Felix said, shifting his attention back to Jake. “I see. Well, once the mission is over, you have to fill me in on that spell because I've never seen anything like it before. But for now, let’s move. The boss on the roof isn’t going to kill itself.”
They joined the other two team members on the platform, and a few moments later, they emerged on the rooftop. There was only one enemy on the roof, occupying its center.
The creature was a strange blend of humanoid and insectoid features. It stood upright, resembling a person in shape but with distinct insect-like characteristics. Its eyes were large and multifaceted, similar to those of a fly, giving it a wide field of vision and an eerie appearance. Delicate, shimmering wings sprouted from its back, reminiscent of a dragonfly’s. Its body was encased in a tough exoskeleton, providing an armored shell that looked both intimidating and resilient.
Obviously, none of the three humans had ever encountered such a creature, so they pulled out their PDAs to scan it and learn what its special abilities were. Jake pretended to do the same, even though he had already appraised the elite enemy with a single thought and learned that it was called a stormwing.
The stormwing had three abilities: one that allowed it to summon minions, another to create powerful gusts of wind, and the third to emit powerful sound waves. Jake couldn’t help but wonder what kind of unique genetic materials could be harvested from this creature.
After examining the monster, the four of them spread out, surrounding the stormwing. They nodded to each other and then opened fire on the elite creature. As soon as they did, it took to the air, soaring a few meters above the ground, marking the start of the final battle of the mission.