Chapter Fifty-Nine: Entry-Level Aberrations

Ye Bai’s long blade danced in his hand, the power of his attributes burning fiercely as he cut down the aberrations blocking their path. Cao Xiaozen moved with agile steps, weaving between the monsters—each time he passed, their heads shattered like watermelons. Yaoling, wielding a pulse rifle, fired precise shots at distant enemies.

First floor, second floor, third floor—the three advanced, stepping over the corpses of aberrations, drawing ever closer to the tent that marked their destination.

They were in District D, the outermost edge of the radiation zone. Here, low-level aberrations abounded; during the day, District D was peaceful, not a single aberration in sight. But once night fell, the area transformed—creatures hiding in the shadows emerged, seeking anything edible.

The aberrations ahead were at most at the peak of reforging their bodies, many forced past human limits by radiation alone. They stood no chance against the trio: Ye Bai, Cao Xiaozen, and Yaoling. Still, ants could bite an elephant, and there were so many aberrations here.

Their tactics were simple: Ye Bai led, clearing the path; Cao Xiaozen guarded their rear; Yaoling picked off distant threats. Step by step, they approached their shelter.

Ye Bai cleaved an aberration before him, slicing it diagonally from head to arm. He was about to strike another when, suddenly, an aberration running along the edge of the building inexplicably tumbled out a window.

He had killed countless aberrations, but never witnessed this before. Though the building was little more than a skeletal frame—with edges so precarious one could easily fall—none of the aberrations had ever thrown themselves to their deaths.

“Look, siege aberration!” Yaoling said.

She had just shot down one attempting to leap across the columns, when the entire building began to tremble as if struck by a magnitude five or six earthquake.

Yaoling peered into the dimness outside. In front of their building stood a five- or six-story structure, now enveloped in dust. Steel bars and chunks of concrete erupted from its skeleton, raining down below.

Cars littered the ground—BMWs, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, even Wuling vans—all crushed by falling debris, ending a century of weathering. Some larger chunks, reinforced with steel, flattened abandoned vehicles and crazed aberrations hunting for blood. The barrage finally ceased at the plaza, with protruding rebar impaling aberrations who hadn’t died outright.

Yaoling’s warning drew Ye Bai and Cao Xiaozen’s attention. They watched as a siege aberration, having demolished untold buildings, approached.

Its tusks stretched four or five meters, jabbing in Ye Bai’s direction. Between the two massive tusks hung a trunk as tall as a floor; its body was immense and lumbering, supported by four short, thick legs—short and thick only in proportion to its vast bulk.

Ye Bai felt the creature resembled the mammoths he’d seen in the snowy world: long tusks, a lengthy trunk, and invisible eyes. But unlike mammoths, this aberration lacked insulating fur; its body was covered in black scales, perhaps to shield itself from the sun or to conserve moisture.

“This one doesn’t look like the siege aberrations we saw at the outpost,” Ye Bai observed, recalling the station chief’s video of siege monsters—none were this enormous, and none had tusks thicker than his waist, only shorter trunks.

Watching the ‘bulldozer’ about to demolish the remaining six floors, the trio’s movements quickened. If they didn’t escape before their own building was destroyed, they risked being crushed alive.

Though all three were beginner-level Star Core warriors, their physical prowess unmatched by dozens of ordinary people, that didn’t mean they could withstand tens or hundreds of tons of steel and concrete.

Ye Bai sliced another aberration, rounded the last corner, and finally reached their floor, where their tent stood.

“Quick, Ling’er, grab the food. Xiaozen, help me get the laser ropes—we’ll head to the building behind us.”

They’d already assessed the radiation zone’s details: with pre-Dark Era architecture, Yaoling had gathered useful items, including laser ropes.

Cao Xiaozen and Ye Bai snatched the ropes, activated them, and firmly anchored them to the rear building. Cao Xiaozen also grabbed a handful of ammo for Yaoling’s laser pistol.

The building began to tremble. Ye Bai glanced at the ceiling—cracks had appeared, dust raining down from above.

“Hurry, Yaoling, Xiaozen goes first!”

No one hesitated or insisted another go ahead; every second was precious, time equaled life.

Cao Xiaozen crossed first, Yaoling halfway along the laser rope. Suddenly, two tusks, as thick as thighs, pierced the floor beneath Ye Bai, each layered with black scales, gouging fissures in the planks.

The sound of steel and concrete crashing echoed constantly. Who knew how many aberrations inside had died? As Yaoling slid along the rope, she felt it jolt violently. Turning, she saw Ye Bai gripping it tightly, struggling to keep it steady, with Cao Xiaozen supporting from the other end.

Five seconds—just a blink of an eye in normal times, but today the longest five seconds Ye Bai ever lived. The building shook, the siege aberration’s tusks pierced floor after floor. Now, he could see the lower levels beneath him; cracks nearly reached his feet.

At last, Yaoling made it safely to the other building. Ye Bai leapt from the collapsing floor, grabbed the laser rope, his gloves transforming into pulleys, and used the falling momentum to glide swiftly across.

The sixty-story building could not withstand the siege aberration’s assault. It collapsed, dust billowing, a deafening roar filling the air.

Once across, the trio hurried downstairs. When the building fell, stones, concrete, and steel bars flew everywhere. The collapse buried the surrounding aberrations—including the siege monster. Against a sixty-story building, even the siege aberration was as insignificant as an ant.

Such is the world: before others, you are an ant; before someone stronger, they too are an ant. The law of shrimp, small fish, and big fish always prevails.

The sound of the collapse drew aberrations from all around. Ye Bai and his companions avoided provoking any more; who knew if killing another might bring a new horde.

They headed deeper into District D, choosing a route with fewer aberrations. Behind them, in the darkness near the fallen building, hung an aberration unlike the others—it was not gaunt, its body well-balanced.

The creature clung to a wall, its body suspended in the middle of the ruins, black eyes fixed on the buried siege aberration, unmoving. Only after Ye Bai and his group had left did it leap down.

Now its full form was revealed: feet shaped like a human’s, but toes ending in eagle-like talons gripping the ground. Its two arms were thick and black, one ending in a bone blade, the other a massive black hammer.

Its mouth stretched behind its cheeks, opening and closing, a black, snake-like tongue flickering out, covered in countless barbs.

The aberration stood atop the rubble, its back rippling like water, soon sprouting a black tentacle.

Droplets of viscous fluid dripped from the tentacle, corroding deep pits into the debris. The creature manipulated its tentacle, probing into the ruins, soon extracting a brain the size of two or three human heads. Brain fluid streamed down the tentacle, coating the bone blade.

The aberration turned the brain before its eyes, inspecting for damage. Suddenly, a gaping maw appeared, swallowing the brain whole.

Each bite sent black and yellow liquid oozing from its nearly bursting mouth. In three, five seconds—or perhaps a minute—it finally swallowed the brain.

Eyes closed, the aberration replayed in its mind all the siege monster had witnessed, until Ye Bai, Yaoling, and Cao Xiaozen appeared. Then, its eyes snapped open.

“Roar~.”