Something is wrong.
At first, he thought Li Wen had betrayed them, designing the demise of Edgar’s subordinates. Now, looking at Li Wen’s expression, things were likely not that simple.
Without showing himself, Lin Yuan, still holding his shield, shouted, "Li Wen! What happened?!"
Li Wen, seated, remained silent, only chuckling.
"Heh, has this kid gone mad?"
Before Lin Yuan could ponder further, Li Wen lunged.
On all fours, with a wide grin as if he had eaten a golden, smiling fruit, he moved with incredible speed. Lin Yuan only managed to steady his stance before Li Wen collided with him.
The immense force sent Lin Yuan, along with Carol Anna behind him, flying several meters. They landed, stumbling back a few steps before dissipating the momentum.
Li Wen didn't press his attack. Instead, he tilted his head, gazing at Lin Yuan as if contemplating something.
No, at this point, it should only be referred to as "it."
After the collision, Lin Yuan realized the Li Wen before him was no longer a normal human. The proportions of his limbs to his body were completely disproportionate, having elongated significantly. Crouching low, his entire back bulged into a massive hump, splitting his clothes and revealing skin that was a dark red, as if covered in newly formed scabs.
Now, Li Wen looked at Lin Yuan, his mind chaotic. This seemed to be someone very important to him.
"Quick, run, safe..."
Lin Yuan only caught the word "run" before anything else.
Blood-redness once again consumed the last shred of Li Wen's sanity. His eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins, and he opened his gaping maw, charging towards Lin Yuan.
"Good, you've come!"
Although he didn't know why Li Wen had transformed into this state upon their reunion, there was no time to ponder. The highest respect he could offer was to help Li Wen find peace.
Aside from his head, which remained unchanged, and his skin not having melted away, Li Wen now bore a striking resemblance to a Licker from Resident Evil.
He crawled on all fours, possessing astonishing jumping ability and strength. Until Lin Yuan could discern his current attack patterns and rhythms, he could only defend passively.
Carol Anna, hiding behind Lin Yuan, occasionally fired a stray shot.
Seeing his prey running towards him like a gift, the enraged Li Wen naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. He pushed off with his legs, his entire body launching forward like a cannonball.
"Here it comes!"
"Coming at me with this move right away? Just as I intended!"
Seeing Li Wen charging with outstretched claws, just like before, Lin Yuan wasn't foolish enough to confront him head-on. Timing it perfectly, he dodged sharply to the side. As their figures crossed, the iron bar in his hand slammed down towards its head.
This blow was delivered with full force. The crisp sound of bone shattering echoed in the deathly silence of the negative fourth floor. A significant portion of Li Wen's head clearly caved in.
His body, subjected to the immense force, performed an aerial brake before slamming hard onto the ground.
Having landed a successful hit, Lin Yuan immediately leaped back several steps, drawing his pistol.
The sheer power of the .50 caliber round directly blew Li Wen's head apart.
Sensing Li Wen's death, the bulge on his back inflated even further. The skin, now almost transparent, seemed on the verge of yielding to something about to break free.
However, Carol Anna did not grant it that opportunity.
As it stirred, five rapid shots from her silenced its movement.
The monster hidden within the bulge flowed out from the damaged skin, revealing its true form. Carol Anna cried out in shock.
"Hydra parasite? Lin Yuan, get away!"
Hydra?
Lin Yuan maintained his vigilance. The moment Carol Anna spoke, he retreated a few more steps.
The corpse of Li Wen, still lying on the ground, began to move again.
"No way?"
"It’s still alive even without a head?"
Before his internal complaints finished, Li Wen's body had already risen to face him from the side. The bulge had completely disappeared, leaving only tattered, bloody skin clinging to its back.
The blood vessels beneath the skin on other parts of its body seemed to be pushed outwards, revealing numerous pulsating bulges.
This progression was rapid. Just as Lin Yuan switched his rifle from his back to the front, Li Wen, or rather, the new entity, had finished its evolution.
The half-neck, still bearing bone fragments, was forced open, and a disgusting insectile head grew out. It resembled a withered eggplant, with two pairs of compound eyes at the top, and it swiveled to look at Lin Yuan.
After the bulges under the skin finished their movement, they burst through the skin, revealing tentacle-like appendages with enlarged heads, resembling burrs.
"Bang bang bang!" Lin Yuan and Carol Anna had no time to appreciate this "peculiar beauty." Within two seconds, they emptied their rifle magazines.
Holding his pistol in one hand, he held a flashbang in the other.
After running out of bullets, he tossed it.
The flashbang was flicked away by a tentacle, flying towards Lin Yuan's head. But Lin Yuan swatted it back with a flick of his hand.
It turned into a game of badminton.
Unfortunately, the monster now occupying Li Wen's body did not have the chance to continue. Its five-second countdown was up, and the flashbang detonated directly above its head.
The intense glare and shockwave blinded it, making it impossible to orient itself. Lin Yuan, meanwhile, grabbed a shield fragment he had discarded earlier and hurled it violently towards the monster's neck.
However, due to its thickness, the fragment only lodged itself in the creature's neck, failing to decapitate it.
"Clang—!! Bang!" The sound of metal colliding echoed through the corridor, followed by the thud of something hitting the wall.
Lin Yuan watched the head roll to the side and chuckled, "If it can't be severed, a good knock will suffice."
"Lin Yuan, be careful!"
Just as Lin Yuan was about to signal Carol Anna to leave, Carol Anna, raising her shield, charged forward.
In his peripheral vision, he had already seen the tentacles lunging.
"Bang!"
"Ah!"
Carol Anna shoved him aside, only to be sent flying by a tentacle, landing on the ground nearby, her fate unknown.