Xu Shuangyao leaned against the cold remains of a server cabinet, eyes closed, and forced herself into a semi-meditative state. She needed to recover her strength, but even more so, she needed to calm down. The stinging pain from the teeth marks on her neck was like tiny needles, constantly irritating her nerves, reminding her of the thrilling life-or-death moment just now. It also made her clearly aware of the lingering, aggressive, mutant Alpha aura in the air, like poisonous thorns.

Pei Du huddled in the shadows a few meters away, his body twitching intermittently. The shadow of the crown between his brows was so faint that it was almost invisible. Only the occasional flash of dark golden light proved that the terrifying power had not disappeared, but was only temporarily suppressed. He was like a severely wounded and dying beast, struggling on the edge of pain and confusion.

Sudden!

Xu Shuangyao's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened! Her pupils suddenly contracted!

It’s not because of Pei Du.

Rather, it was an extremely subtle sound, almost blending into the flow of air... No, it was more like a... disturbance of breath.

Cold, sticky, with a sweet smell of rotting fungi.

This scent… was faint, yet incredibly familiar! It was the scent of the highly activated bacteria and blood of the "Eradicator"! But more… subtle, more… dispersed! Like countless tiny spores, it silently permeated the air!

trap!

Xu Shuangyao's muscles instantly tensed! She made no sound, clinging to the cold metal wreckage like a gecko, minimizing her presence. Her sharp gaze, like a scanner, penetrated the layers of shadows in the metal graveyard, capturing any movement.

There were no heavy footsteps, no hum of charging machine guns, no scream of chainswords.

Just... dead silence.

But that sweet, rotten smell, like a living thing, slowly and steadily... converged towards their location! Even more terrifying, this smell seemed to have some strange guiding force, with an extremely clear target... locking onto the unique, mutated, thorn-toxin-like Alpha pheromone emanating from Pei Du!

They weren't relying on vision or heat! They were tracking the mutated pheromones that Pei Du emitted when he lost control, as obvious as a beacon! They used him as a trap to lure him... pheromone beacons!

"Pei Du!" Xu Shuangyao lowered her voice and warned hurriedly, "Wake up! Something is coming! They're tracking your pheromones!"

Pei Du, crouching in the shadows, suddenly jolted! A sharp, struggling glint flashed through his pained, dazed eyes, but the shadow of the crown between his brows flickered only faintly before illuminating. He was clearly still unable to fully shake off the mental and energy drain of his recent loss of control. He struggled to stand, but his arms gave way, and he nearly fell again.

It's too late!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several barely perceptible sounds of breaking through the air rang out from the shadows in different directions! As fast as lightning!

Xu Shuangyao's pupils suddenly constricted! That wasn't a bullet, nor was it an energy beam! Instead, it was several hair-thin, nearly transparent mycelium spikes! Their tips shone with a cold, faint blue light, clearly some kind of highly toxic or potent nerve paralyzing agent!

The target was not Xu Shuangyao, but all the arrows were shot at Pei Du, who had just struggled to get up and was moving slowly!

Pei Du relied on his well-honed fighting instincts and rolled to the side the moment the spikes approached him!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Three mycelial spikes pierced the ground where he had been, sinking into the hard metal and concrete, leaving only tiny holes! But two more grazed his shoulder and outer thigh! His tough combat uniform was easily torn apart, leaving two charred burn marks on his skin! Although it didn't hit directly, the paralyzing toxin seemed to penetrate quickly through contact!

"Ugh!" Pei Du groaned, his rolling movement obviously slowed down, and half of his body began to feel numb!

At the same time, the surrounding shadows seemed to come alive!

Six figures slid silently like ghosts from behind the collapsed server cabinets, through the cracks in the twisted steel bars, and even from the metal ceiling mezzanine covered with thick fungal moss!

They were significantly slimmer than the Eradicators encountered earlier in the depression, standing less than two meters tall. Their bodies were covered in a dark gray mimic armor that blended seamlessly into the shadows of the surrounding environment. Instead of a harsh relief of thorns, the armor's surface rippled subtly like chameleon skin, reflecting the surrounding light. Their heads were also smooth hemispheres, but their electronic eyes were a deep blue, like the cold ocean. Instead of bulky machine guns and chainswords, their arms had transformed into sharp bone blades resembling mantis forelimbs, and from their wrists emerged mycelial jets resembling bee stings!

Their movements were swift and light, landing silently like the deadliest shadow hunters. Instantly, they surrounded Pei Du, who had just dodged a tumble! Their dark blue electronic eyes locked onto the remaining thorn pheromone source on his body, cold and efficient.

"Secondary Eradicator: Tracker Team." A cold electronic synthesized voice came from one of the Trackers, devoid of any emotion. "Target Alpha carrier pheromone locked. Execute: Live exfoliation procedure."

Living peeling!

Xu Shuangyao's heart felt like it was pierced by an ice spike! These monsters weren't here to kill, they were here to capture Pei Du, along with the uncontrolled power of the Crown of Thorns within him, alive!

“Roar!” Pei Du roared like a trapped beast, enduring the paralysis in half his body and the weakness of overdrawn energy. He suddenly pulled out the tactical dagger from his waist! With a flash of the blade, he fiercely stabbed the nearest pursuer!

clang!

The dagger accurately pierced the tracker's bone blade! Sparks flew!

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