149 Someone hijacked it?

The orb of lightning emitted a blinding light as it detonated amidst the horde of zombies.

Boom!

The force of the explosion rivaled that of a small missile, instantly blasting hundreds of zombies at the center into midair.
Some were instantly incinerated into ash.

"He's even stronger than the boss!" Hu Bo was utterly stunned.
He never imagined that Xue Feng's body could unleash such terrifying power.

Bai Luer was similarly frozen in place.
The brilliant radiance Xue Feng had burst forth with the moment he leaped down...
He seemed almost like a deity.

It reminded her of a verse from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 3:
"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light!"

Xue Feng stood atop the ashes of the zombies with a smile on his face.
Even he had not anticipated the sheer devastation of the lightning orb.
Ever since the Divine Empyrean ability had ascended to level two, it not only possessed the attribute of annihilation,
but could also be combined into various other forms.

Such as chain lightning, a thunder sword, and a lightning orb, among others.
This time, Xue Feng's lightning orb was formed by compressing the immense power of the Divine Empyrean,
releasing it at the very last second for maximum impact.

Now, only the Tier-4 mutant remained before Xue Feng.

Greed flickered in the eyes of the Tier-4 mutant as it stared fixedly at Xue Feng.
In its perception, the prey before it was exquisitely delicious.

The next second, from within the armor of the Tier-4 mutant,
several tentacles suddenly extended and lashed toward Xue Feng.
The tentacles were even lined with barbs and teeth, looking utterly revolting.

"Divine Empyrean!"

Xue Feng activated his superpower once again.
The lightning struck the tentacles of the Tier-4 mutant, causing them to begin smoking instantly.

"Aah!"

The Tier-4 mutant let out a miserable shriek, its tentacles appearing extremely sensitive to the attack.
Then, an unexpected scene unfolded.

The Tier-4 mutant violently stomped its feet against the ground once more,
and leaped into the air!
Its target was not Xue Feng, but rather away from the City Garden.

Thud!

Landing heavily on the ground, it bounded into the air again.
The Tier-4 mutant was running away!

"What?"

Xue Feng was taken aback.
This was the first time he had ever seen a zombie flee.
Regardless of the type, no zombie or mutant he had encountered before had ever attempted to run away.

At most, they would camouflage themselves and wait for an opportune moment.
Yet now, the Tier-4 mutant had actually chosen to escape.

This creature possessed remarkably high intelligence.
It seemed that after tasting the power of the Divine Empyrean, it had realized it was no match for him.

Without hesitation, Xue Feng immediately gave chase.
He could not let this creature escape under any circumstances.

A high-stakes pursuit ensued.

Meanwhile, with the Tier-4 mutant gone from the scene, the remaining zombies gradually slowed down to a sluggish pace.
They no longer posed any threat to Bai Luer and the others stationed atop the villa.

"Now is our chance. Let's systematically clear out these zombies and see if there are any survivors left," Bai Luer said promptly.

"Understood!" Hu Bo and the others nodded quickly.

Hu Bo and his team had been working in coordination with Bai Luer for a long time,
and they had developed a unique combat strategy.
Bai Luer would exert gravity to slow the zombies down to a crawl,
while Hu Bo and the others seized the opportunity to smash their skulls.
As long as Bai Luer did not directly crush the zombies' heads herself,
she wouldn't consume excessive stamina.

Eliminating the zombies inside the base was merely a matter of time.
Soon, the group headed downstairs and began clearing out the remaining creatures within the compound.

Concurrently, Xue Feng continued tracking the Tier-4 mutant.
He had already noticed that after a dozen leaps, the Tier-4 mutant was running out of stamina.
Both the height and distance of its jumps had diminished significantly compared to before.

This allowed Xue Feng to take his time, deciding to wait until the mutant had exhausted its energy reserves before making his move, which would save him a great deal of effort.

Before long, the Tier-4 mutant realized that Xue Feng was relentlessly tailing it.
Hence, it simply ceased its flight and stopped altogether,
curling its entire body inside its hard shell to make a last stand against Xue Feng.

"Your strength is formidable, but your evolutionary path went awry—you're still far too clumsy." Xue Feng halted dozens of meters away from the Tier-4 mutant.

Surrounding zombies were drawn by the commotion and gathered around,
yet they did not behave like the frenzied horde from earlier.
It seemed the Tier-4 mutant was no longer controlling these ordinary zombies;
it intended to deal with Xue Feng entirely on its own.

The Tier-4 mutant appeared to understand Xue Feng's words, letting out a low growl toward him
to express its fury.

"You're angry just because I called you incompetent? Let's see how durable your shell really is and if it can withstand the power of the Divine Empyrean!" Xue Feng smiled.

Another orb of lightning materialized in his palm, intent on finishing off the Tier-4 mutant in a single blow.

However, right at that moment, an unexpected development occurred.

Bursting forth from the nearby woods came a dinosaur towering over ten meters tall!
That's right, a dinosaur!

Judging by its massive skull, ferocious teeth,
and short forelimbs, it had to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
However, a distinct scar marred the face of this T-Rex,
running straight from its brow to the corner of its mouth, giving it a particularly savage appearance.

For a split second, Xue Feng even suspected he was hallucinating.
This was the apocalypse, not the Jurassic era!
How could a Tyrannosaurus Rex possibly exist?

Yet, the scene unfolding before his eyes was entirely real.

With a single heavy stomp, the T-Rex pinned the Tier-4 mutant beneath its foot, then opened its terrifying jaws
and clamped down viciously onto the hard shell.

Crack!

Unable to withstand the immense pressure, the hard shell emitted a splintering sound.
It was evident that a few more bites would completely shatter the carapace.

[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for successfully verifying intelligence.]
[Reward issued: One reconnaissance drone.]
[Reconnaissance drone: Maximum operating radius of fifty kilometers, comes with built-in signal transmission requiring no internet connection.]

Xue Feng had no time to inspect his reward, as a realization suddenly dawned on him.
He had unknowingly followed the Tier-4 mutant straight into the zoo!
And the T-Rex before him must be the powerful awakened individual he had been searching for.

It was indeed immensely powerful!
Just looking at the fierce demeanor of the T-Rex made it clear that it was a force to be reckoned with.
With such sturdy hide, ordinary zombies would likely struggle even to bite through it.

Xue Feng had encountered numerous ability users before, among them many who could transform into animals.
He had never imagined someone could transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex!
It completely exceeded his expectations.

"Brother! That's my prey!"

Regardless of the circumstances, Xue Feng could not simply watch his target get snatched away.
He took a step forward and shouted.

The T-Rex, currently in the middle of gnawing on the Tier-4 mutant, paused slightly, then applied brute force to shatter the shell completely.
It flicked the head of the Tier-4 mutant loose, tossing it right in front of Xue Feng.

"Since it's yours, you can have it," the T-Rex said before turning as if to leave.
It seemed unwilling to contest the Tier-4 mutant's crystal core with Xue Feng, nor did it wish to converse further.

Under normal circumstances, if such a formidable opponent showed no desire to conflict,
Xue Feng would have breathed a sigh of relief.
However, given the system's prompt indicating that potential cooperation was possible with this entity,
Xue Feng had no intention of letting them part ways so easily.