"Boom!"
A fist shot out like lightning.
The White Spike attacking the black woman had its head shattered instantly, blood and gore flying everywhere.
It collapsed on the spot, a headless corpse.
The one who made the move was, of course, Vincent Fox.
But.
He moved so fast that neither Dan nor the black woman saw what had happened.
Not that it mattered.
Because the second White Spike had already charged over.
"Thump! Thump!"
This one had learned its lesson. As it lunged, it also fired two bone spikes at Vincent!
"Watch out!!" Dan shouted.
Of course.
If Vincent had to rely on that warning, he'd have already been hit.
The spikes fired by the White Spike packed serious power and were as fast as sniper rounds.
But they still couldn't escape Vincent's superhuman reflexes.
He didn't even dodge.
Just raised his hand and flicked twice.
Clang! Clang!
Both bone spikes were swatted down.
Then, Vincent stepped forward, closing the distance in a single bound.
The White Spike reacted quickly, swiping at him with both forelimbs.
But Vincent was even faster. He grabbed both claws, pulled hard.
"Rip!"
The White Spike was torn clean in half.
Savage.
This time, Dan and the black woman saw it all with their own eyes.
And they were completely stunned.
Vincent's strength was beyond reason.
It made them question if this man standing before them was even human.
What kind of human could do something like that?
"What are you two standing around for?"
After finishing off two White Spikes, Vincent turned and said, "Get to the exit and guard it. Don't let a single one escape!"
This time.
Neither Dan nor the black woman questioned him.
They immediately obeyed, falling back to cover the exit and giving Vincent full control of the cargo bay.
At this point.
The entire nest had been stirred.
Endless howls echoed through the ship, wave after wave.
Vincent stood calmly at the entrance, ready for battle.
No matter how many came, they were just White Spikes.
They were nothing to him.
At the exit.
Dan and the black woman stood guard, expressions grim.
The sounds coming from the cargo hold roaring, fighting, screeching were terrifying.
There were too many of them.
If Vincent failed...
They'd be completely overwhelmed.
And once the White Spikes escaped, with their insane reproduction speed, it wouldn't take long for them to overrun the planet.
Humanity wouldn't even make it to 2048.
Extinction would begin now.
"Dan, how do you even know him?" the black woman suddenly asked.
She meant Vincent, of course.
"I don't," Dan said, clearly unsettled. "He came to me."
He was starting to realize Vincent might've used him.
Vincent probably didn't need help killing the White Spikes. He just needed Dan's father's plane.
"I've never seen anyone that strong," the black woman said gravely. "No, forget human. He's something else entirely. If you told me he was a god, I'd believe you."
Dan fell silent for a moment.
Then said quietly, "Whatever he is, if he kills those things, that's good enough for me."
"I don't think it's that simple," she replied, frowning. "Someone that powerful... If he really came from the future, then your daughter's plans wouldn't have failed so fast. He could've changed everything."
Dan's heart sank.
But he wasn't blind to reality.
"Right now, all that matters is stopping the White Spikes. We can deal with the rest after they're gone."
Still, he tightened his grip on his weapon.
Her words had clearly struck a chord.
The howls and shrieks from the cargo bay went on and on.
It wasn't until three, maybe four hours later that they finally stopped.
By then.
The sun had already begun to set.
Hearing approaching footsteps from inside the ship, Dan and the black woman tensed, raising their weapons.
Then.
Vincent walked out.
He smiled when he saw them.
He looked a bit rough.
His clothes were torn. Several bone spikes were still embedded in his body. Blood flowed from multiple wounds.
One massive gash on his shoulder went deep to the bone.
That came from a huge female White Spike the strongest of them all.
Even so.
Vincent still carried that same overwhelming aura.
Unshakable. Unstoppable.
"Earth is safe now," he said with a smile. "Every White Spike is dead."
He could say that confidently.
The system had just notified him.
In ten minutes, he would be teleported back to the real world.
Vincent sat down near the entrance of the cargo bay to rest.
Dan and the black woman stared at him in disbelief.
Looking at his injuries, they could imagine how intense that battle must've been.
But all those terrifying monsters.
Killed. By. One. Man?
Dan couldn't help but speak up. "Vincent... Do you want to see a doctor? Or at least come to the plane and bandage up a bit?"
Vincent just waved it off. "No need. Dan, I need to apologize. I lied to you. I never went to the future. But in the end, the result is what matters. The White Spikes are dead. Your daughter's tragedy will never happen. Now, I hope you can be a good father. Give her a complete family."
Dan's expression changed.
Because in the original future, he'd become a deadbeat, abandoning his family and dying in a car crash.
That trauma had devastated his daughter.
Only he and his daughter knew that story.
And yet, Vincent just said it outright.
"Who are you, really?" Dan asked, his tone sharp.
"I'm the one who came to save you," Vincent said calmly. "If I hadn't come, you might've died here. Your daughter losing her father so young... That would've been far too cruel."
Dan was speechless.
He knew it was true.
If not for Vincent, he and the black woman would've died hours ago.
And the White Spikes would've overrun the world.
The black woman interrupted, "It's getting dark. Are we just going to stay here all night?"
"You two should get going," Vincent said, smiling faintly. "My time's almost up."
They froze.
"What do you mean?" Dan asked.
Hearing the countdown in his mind, Vincent stood up and waved.
"Goodbye, both of you."
And then.
He vanished.
Right before their eyes.
Into thin air.
"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!"
The black woman screamed. "He's a god, isn't he?!"
Dan stared at the empty spot where Vincent had been, completely stunned.
They cautiously stepped into the cargo bay.
What they saw.
A mountain of bloodied corpses.
The mangled remains of White Spikes piled up like hell itself.
They couldn't even imagine what kind of battle had taken place.
At that moment.
Even Dan had to admit...
"Maybe he really was the god who came to save humanity," he murmured.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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