The morning mist in the Amazon rainforest was as thick as ink, and the humid air, mixed with the stench of rotting leaves and mucus, clung to Liam's combat uniform. He followed Professor Marcos through the vines, stepping carefully. As soon as he stepped into the periphery of the mine, the blue-black halo around him suddenly dimmed—the energy interference field officially took effect, forcing his brain activation level to drop from 17.8% to 17.2%, and his neural symbiosis stability plummeted to 80%. The dull pain in his chest returned, and every breath was accompanied by a blunt ache.
[Warning! The energy interference field suppresses symbiotic energy. Myocardial damage rate has increased to 12%. It is recommended to reduce activity intensity!] As soon as the AI's prompt sounded, Professor Marcos suddenly stepped empty. The ground split open a crack instantly, and corrosive mucus gushed out like a fountain, swallowing half a towering tree in an instant. The trunk melted at a visible speed in the mucus.
"Be careful!" Without thinking, Liam reached out to pull Marcos, while gathering the remaining energy to prop up a shield in front of him. The mucus slammed into the energy shield with a harsh hissing sound, and the shield thinned at a visible speed. Liam's activation level briefly dropped below 17%, and the severe pain in his chest made his eyes darken, with a trace of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. Marcos supported the shaky him, full of guilt: "I'm sorry, I was too anxious and forgot there was a Reaper corrosion trap here."
Liam shook his head, clenched his fists and barely stabilized his figure: "First find the mine vein, we can avoid the traps." At this moment, the advantage of his increased bone density had not yet fully manifested. Every exertion was accompanied by muscle twitches, and the slight progress of the previous gene adaptation was almost imperceptible under the suppression of the interference field.
Deep into the rainforest, the outline of the mine vein gradually became clear, and the Reaper remnants guarding the mine vein also appeared as expected—one enhanced leader with an energy intensity of 60 units, wrapped in dark green corrosive vines, followed by six ordinary Reapers. They hid in the crowns and bushes, forming a natural ambush circle with the rainforest environment. Before everyone could react, the leader waved his vines sharply, and dozens of thick vines rushed out like poisonous snakes, instantly wrapping around the ankles of two soldiers and dragging them towards the mucus trap.
"Scatter! Close combat!" Liam roared and pulled out his energy spear. Due to the suppressed activation level, the light of the energy spear dimmed a lot, making it difficult to launch long-range attacks. He was forced to rush forward, cutting off the vines wrapping the soldiers with the spear tip. The Reaper took the opportunity to pounce, and the corrosive liquid splashed on his arm, burning through his combat uniform instantly. The burning pain on his skin made him grit his teeth, but the increased bone density allowed him to resist the impact forcefully, stabbing the Reaper's biochip with a backhand spear.
The battle fell into a stalemate. The leader's vines were extremely tough, difficult to cut with the energy spear, and could continuously absorb the energy of the rainforest vegetation to repair itself; the ordinary Reapers kept launching sneak attacks. The weakened counter-weapons in the soldiers' hands overheated frequently, and they could only barely hold on with rifles, with increasing casualties. Liam shuttled between the vines and mucus, barely maintaining his activation level at 17.5% in the extreme battle. His myocardial damage continued to worsen, but he accidentally found that every time he endured an impact or corrosion, his myocardial cells were slowly healing themselves, and his neural symbiosis stability was gradually recovering.
After finally breaking through the ambush circle, everyone sneaked into the storage room deep in the mine vein. Under the dim light, four β-7 crystals were emitting a faint blue glow. Just as Liam reached out to take the crystals, Professor Marcos suddenly rushed forward, stuffed one crystal into his arms, and guarded it tightly behind him.
"What are you doing?" Liam's voice was cold, and the energy spear was instantly aimed at Marcos, with anger in his eyes, "We risked our lives to find the crystals to break the shackles and fight the Reapers, but you hid the crystals privately?" Kane and the soldiers also raised their weapons one after another, and the atmosphere dropped to freezing point in an instant.
Professor Marcos trembled all over and suddenly burst into tears: "I'm not hiding them privately! Half of the children in the tribe die of genetic diseases every year, and this kind of disease can only be treated with the energy of β-7 crystals! I have been studying crystals for so many years, not only to fight monsters, but also to save those children!" He tremblingly took out photos of the tribal children. The children in the photos were pale and thin, as if they could be blown down by a gust of wind.
The energy spear in Liam's hand drooped slightly, and the anger in his heart was gradually replaced by bitterness. Looking at the photos, he thought of the ordinary people on the streets of Washington he guarded, of Dr. Gray's daughter, and of those who were unaware but yearned for a peaceful life. He suddenly understood Marcos' difficulties. Just then, the door of the storage room was smashed open with a bang. The Reaper leader rushed in with the remaining ordinary Reapers, and the vines went straight for the crystal in Marcos' arms—they also needed the crystal to repair the transformation device.
"Be careful!" Liam instantly put away his energy spear and stood in front of Marcos. His energy activation level soared to 18.2% in the crisis. Marcos looked at Liam standing in front of him, full of guilt. He suddenly pushed Liam away, blocking the leader's corrosive beam with his own body. His shoulder was instantly covered with mucus, and the severe pain of flesh melting made him let out a shrill roar, but he still guarded the crystal in his arms tightly.
Liam was completely enraged. The severe pain in his chest seemed to be dispelled by anger. His activation level steadily climbed to 18.2%, his bone density increased by another 15%, his lung genes began to autonomously adapt to high energy consumption, and his breathing became smoother. He jumped up, and the energy spear condensed an unprecedented light. Avoiding the leader's vines, he accurately stabbed its biochip. The leader let out a earth-shaking roar, and its huge body collapsed with a crash. The energy in its body was instantly absorbed by Liam.
[Detected that the host has absorbed the energy of the enhanced Reaper leader. Activation level has broken through 18.2%, myocardial damage has healed by 2%, neural symbiosis stability has increased to 86%, and bone density and lung gene adaptation have increased simultaneously!]
After the battle, everyone hid in an abandoned thatched house of the tribe. Marcos' shoulder was treated urgently, but he was still weak. He tremblingly took out the privately hidden crystal and handed it to Liam: "I'm sorry, I was too selfish. Here you are." Liam did not take it, but shook his head, picked up one crystal and stuffed it into his hand: "Keep it for the treatment of the tribal children. We have three enough."
Marcos was stunned, with tears in his eyes: "Thank you. I will try my best to develop a treatment plan as soon as possible, and I will also help you fight the Reapers." He pointed to the rainforest outside the window and said softly: "This rainforest is our home. We must not only guard the crystals, but also these children and this peace."
Liam walked to the door of the thatched house, looking at the mist-shrouded rainforest in the distance. His activation level stabilized at 18.2%, and the dull pain in his chest eased a lot. He knew that this battle not only allowed him to obtain the crystals, but also made his body complete an extreme adaptation, bringing him one step closer to breaking through 20%. Marcos' persistence also made him more determined in the meaning of guardianship—whether it was the ordinary people in the city or the children of the rainforest tribe, they were all people he was willing to guard at all costs.
At the same time, in the temporary stronghold, Technician Wang was video-calling his family. The screen showed the scene of heavy rain in his hometown, with farmland flooded and his family looking worried. Looking at the screen, then at the crystal acquisition plan on the table, Wang held back his tears: "Dad, Mom, don't worry. After I finish my work, I will go back to help you rebuild the farmland. No matter it's a natural disaster or a monster, we will all live well."
After resting for a while, Liam and his party packed their luggage and prepared to set off back to the temporary stronghold with three β-7 crystals. The mist in the rainforest was still thick, but Liam's eyes were more determined—he knew that the test of gene editing was still waiting for him, and Hale's residual forces had not yet been eliminated. But as long as he had comrades by his side and people who needed to be guarded, no matter how dangerous the road ahead was, he would move forward bravely. When his activation level finally climbed to 18.5% and his neural symbiosis stability stabilized at 88%, Liam knew that in this battle for crystals in the rainforest, they won not only the crystals, but also mutual redemption in despair.