Chapter 106: Cyborgs

Night fell, shrouding the earth. The entire city was immersed in ink, pitch black.

Every night, Jiangbei City became a playground for predators. The outside world was bustling, filled with incessant roars, and the slaughter continued to unfold. Finding the people from the Tech Corporation was no easy task for Lin Dong; in such a massive city, it was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Within his territory, the one with the best reconnaissance ability was Brother Crow. However, in the dead of night, it dared not fly indiscriminately for fear of encountering natural predators or other mutated raptors, such as night owls or falcons.

But soon, Lin Dong recalled a certain corpse that might prove useful. He stood up from the sofa, and his figure vanished instantly from where he stood.

...

In an adjacent area, Dumbo was standing in the middle of the street, spouting off as he held a meeting for several of his elite subordinates.

"Jiangbei City hasn't been peaceful lately. Many mutated beasts have broken in, and human Awakened ones are running wild everywhere. We must be careful."

"Don't worry, Boss, I've been very careful," a subordinate nodded repeatedly, continuing, "I ran into a group of humans today wandering around our territory, and I didn't even make a move."

"Is that what you call being careful? That’s cowardice!" Dumbo was somewhat annoyed. Some humans had broken in, and his subordinate had remained indifferent, yet spoke of it so grandiosely.

The subordinate looked embarrassed. "Boss, then what do you suggest we do?"

"From now on, whoever enters our territory must be eliminated! We will defend our land to the death!" Dumbo declared righteously, sounding rather like a corporate manipulator.

However, no sooner had the words left his lips than a figure appeared out of thin air behind him—silent, impossible to detect.

The subordinate opposite Dumbo saw this and immediately shuddered. "B-Boss, did you just say 'whoever'?"

"That’s right! Whoever!" Dumbo emphasized.

The subordinate pointed in terror at the figure behind him. "What about him?"

"Uh..." Dumbo sensed something was wrong and quickly turned his head, just in time to see Lin Dong staring right at him. He was so frightened that he took two steps back, his soul trembling. When did this god of death arrive? Was he here to kill him?

Lin Dong asked slowly, "What did you just say?"

"I... I was born to my mother," Dumbo replied, his wits scared out of him, beginning to babble incoherently.

Seeing his pathetic display, Lin Dong realized he wouldn't amount to much. "I’m here to have you do something for me."

"Do something? Doing things is great... I love doing things," Dumbo replied repeatedly, feeling a bit relieved—as long as he wasn't getting killed.

Lin Dong continued, "The humans from the Tech Corporation have been running wild lately. Can you find them?"

"Yes! I can definitely do that!" Dumbo nodded like a pecking chick. His awakened ability was [Super Hearing]; he might be useless at other things, but he was a professional at tracking people.

Lin Dong was satisfied. "Just find them for me."

"Oh, no problem..." Dumbo’s eyes darted around, and after a moment of thought, he asked, "Boss, is there... any benefit for me?"

"The benefit is that if you find them, I won't kill you," Lin Dong said.

"..." Dumbo was speechless. He understood the subtext: if he didn't find them, he would be killed. This guy was planning to get free labor to the bitter end.

"I'll find them! I'll find them!" Although they were in his own territory, he had seen Lin Dong’s methods earlier; killing him would be effortless. He wouldn't even have a chance to react.

The elite subordinates watched him, all looking bewildered. "Boss, that’s not what you said just a moment ago."

"That was then, this is now. Your intelligence evolved too poorly; haven't you heard of the saying about those who recognize the inevitable?" Dumbo scolded his subordinates.

Immediately, he began to track the humans for Lin Dong. Lin Dong was curious to see how he used his awakened ability.

He watched as Dumbo pressed his ears to the ground, legs straightened, and rear end stuck high in the air, activating his [Super Hearing].

In an instant, every subtle sound flooded his ears: insects crawling, mice foraging, even the falling of dust. His hearing radiated outward, extending for several kilometers.

"I think I found them, they're over here..."

With his ear still pressed to the ground, Dumbo moved his legs, sliding forward like a vacuum cleaner. It was a rather comical sight. Lin Dong was left stunned. "This guy is a real talent..."

Dumbo, pressed against the ground, moved at a surprisingly fast pace and soon vanished into the darkness ahead.

Lin Dong followed in his footsteps.

About twenty minutes later, a beast's roar echoed from the distant street, shaking the earth and shattering the glass of nearby buildings. A massive tiger with a white forehead appeared. It was robust, weighing over a ton. Most striking was its pure white coat with black stripes, looking incredibly imposing. Clearly, this was a mutated white tiger.

But at this moment, the giant tiger was in a sorry state, appearing to be on the run. Its white fur was stained with scarlet blood, and it was covered in slash wounds from blades.

The white tiger barreled down the street, leaping and darting, its movements still agile as it smashed through abandoned vehicles. Behind it were the Tech Corporation’s "Beast Hunting Squad," consisting of four people and one second-generation cyborg.

The cyborg had a physique similar to a normal human, with grayish-white skin, a bald head, and eyes that lacked liveliness, clearly controlled by AI.

"Boss, look, aren't those the humans?" Dumbo said, crouching behind a wrecked car.

"Yes, I see them," Lin Dong nodded.

The Tech Corporation's squad, seeing the white tiger trying to escape, was in no rush; they were laughing and chatting. The cyborg focused its gaze, emitting a mechanical voice.

"Scanning... Calculating prey escape trajectory. Ice Prison engaged!"

With that, it raised its hand, accurately predicting the tiger's escape route, and several five-to-six-meter-long ice spikes condensed in mid-air.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The ice spikes pierced downward one after another, impaling the tiger and pinning it to the ground, forming a cage.

"ROAR—"

The tiger let out a painful roar, blood streaming, as it lost the ability to move.

"Heh, caught it!" the leader, a young man, said triumphantly.

"We’re in luck; we actually found a mutated tiger," said a female team member behind him.

The young man looked at the cyborg beside him with admiration. "This second-generation hunter is truly powerful! That terrifying calculation ability combined with its awakened power—every strike is precise and flawless. It’s far better than us."

"Thank you for the praise. You are not bad yourself," the cyborg replied in its mechanical voice; the AI program was fully capable of conversing with humans.

As the second-generation hunter had just been deployed and was currently in the experimental stage, this was the first time the four of them had brought it out. Seeing this, they all sighed inwardly... it was simply too cool.