Wind shrieked across the desolate highway. Thien Anh held his breath, his index finger gently increasing pressure on the trigger.
BANG!
The Armor-Piercing round shrieked through the air, burying itself squarely in the temple of the lead truck's driver. His head detonated like a rotten melon, splattering blood across the windshield.
The vehicle lost control, lurching like a drunkard before slamming into an ancient tree by the roadside.
CRASH!
The screech of colliding metal was deafening. The domino effect began. The six trucks behind, trailing too close and moving too fast, had no time to react.
SCREECH—THUD! CRASH! CRASH!
Massive iron husks slammed into one another, piling up into a smoking heap of twisted metal. Panicked screams erupted, but that wasn't the worst of it. The true nightmare descended from the rear.
The mutant pig pack, scenting fresh blood from the wreck, charged in a collective frenzy. Hundreds of gargantuan boars with blood-red eyes swarmed the trucks like a tide of living flesh.
"Help! Help me!" "No! Don't bite! AAAAAAGH!" BANG! BANG! BANG!
The feeble gunfire from a few survivors was swiftly swallowed by feral squeals and the sickening sound of wet rhythmic gnashing.
CRUNCH... SQUELCH...
Bones shattered. Entrails were dragged out. Fresh blood painted the asphalt crimson. A symphony of death, performed under the high noon sun.
Thien Anh lowered his rifle, his lips curling into a cold, cynical smirk.
"Finished."
He felt no guilt. Killing these people wasn't just about hating their methods; it was about his own survival. If he allowed them to return, his location would be compromised. Armed, organized factions would swarm this area like flies to honey.
"The world taught me one thing: to live in peace, you must pull the weeds by the roots," he muttered, his eyes never leaving the scope.
The pigs, having gorged themselves on human flesh, began to be drawn toward the massive Dreadwing carcass in the distance. They lumbered forward.
"Thinking of stealing Thien Lang's meal? Keep dreaming."
Thien Anh resumed his work as a reaper.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Each shot dropped a high-tier mutant pig. Even the Bone-Plated Boars, with their thick hides and fatty tissue, couldn't withstand an AP round to the eye.
The dim-witted swine, seeing their kin fall, only lunged to tear at the new corpses, unaware that the reaper was checking them off his list, one by one.
Below, Thien Lang had turned the hollowed-out Dreadwing into a fortress. He crouched inside, waiting for each pig to stick its head into the opening in the belly.
THWACK!
The moment a boar poked its head in, Thien Lang's razor-sharp fangs crushed its skull. The carcass was dragged inside instantly.
Thien Anh observed from above, nodding in approval. "Smart."
But the smile on his face suddenly froze.
The ground beneath his feet vibrated—a subtle, deep tremor. It wasn't from explosions, nor from beasts. A low, rumbling groan, like thunder from beyond the horizon, echoed toward him.
ROAR... ROAR...
Thien Anh panned his scope toward the headwaters of the Ca River.
His pupils constricted to pinpricks.
In the distance, a wall of murky, brown water—dozens of meters high—was surging forward, devouring everything in its path. Skyscrapers struck by the torrent collapsed like sandcastles. Ancient trees were uprooted; vehicles were swept away like plastic toys.
The dam burst.
The relentless earthquakes of the past few days had finally torn the massive hydroelectric dam at the headwaters asunder.
"Ki! Run! Home! Now!"
Thien Anh screamed, his voice cracking, as he slid down a drainage pipe. Below, Thien Lang seemed to sense the danger as well. He abandoned his prize and bolted into the open.
The moment Thien Anh hit the ground, Thien Lang was waiting. He vaulted onto the wolf's back, hands gripping the steel-hard fur.
"Go! Full speed! The flood is here!"
"Woof!"
Thien Lang let out a thunderous roar, his four paws digging into the asphalt before launching like an obsidian arrow. The terrifying velocity turned the roadside scenery into a blur of smeared colors. The wind lashed against Thien Anh's face, stinging like needles.
"Master... what... is that?" Thien Lang asked while running, his voice gravelly and punctuated by heavy pants.
Thien Anh glanced back. The wall of death was closing in. Its roar drowned out all other sound.
"The Deluge! It's going to drown this entire city! Faster!"
The road ahead was cracked and littered with obstacles. But Thien Lang weaved left and vaulted right with masterful agility. He leaped over charred car wrecks and used crumbling walls as springboards.
Behind them, the murky water carrying thousands of tons of debris and corpses snarled, desperate to swallow the two small creatures.
A skyscraper was struck by the wave, collapsing directly alongside their path.
"Watch out!"
KABOOM!
Massive concrete blocks rained down, kicking up clouds of dust. Thien Lang gritted his teeth and threw himself through a narrow gap between two colossal boulders.
Only 500 meters to the bunker.
400 meters.
The water had begun to lick at their heels.
"Keep going, Ki!"
Thien Lang channeled every ounce of strength into his limbs, his corded muscles rippling beneath his glossy black skin. He made his final sprint.
WHOOSH!
They dove into the alley leading to the bunker. Thien Anh leaped off, lunged for the hatch, and his fingers flew across the keypad. The heavy steel door groaned open.
"Inside! Quick!"
They tumbled in. Thien Anh slammed the door shut instantly, spinning the valve to engage the safety bolts.
CLANG—THUD!
Just in time. The roar of water slamming against the exterior echoed through the steel. The entire bunker shuddered violently, as if it might cave in. The sound of the rushing current and the clang-clang of debris hitting the door was terrifying.
Thien Anh leaned against the door and slid to the floor, gasping for air. Sweat poured off him in rivers.
"We... we made it."
Thien Lang sprawled across the floor, tongue lolling as he panted, yet his eyes shimmered with the exhilaration of having cheated death once more.
"Water... is... terrifying."
Thien Anh let out a weary, jagged laugh, patting the wolf's head.
"Yeah. When Mother Nature loses her temper, there's no stopping her. Now... let's weld this door shut for good."