"So... what exactly is our objective here?"
"Those Giganotosaurus. Dodgson has his eyes on them."
"All four? What about the massive one?"
"Do you think you can actually bag that thing? Only an idiot blinded by vengeance would go looking for trouble with it... Though, it does play right into our hands."
A specialized team had slipped through the breach in the Mojave Reserve's perimeter fence. They bore the unmistakable grit of seasoned mercenaries, looking completely out of place alongside the mindless slaughter carried out by the Whitemasks.
"Aunnng!"
In the distance, an Edmontosaurus let out a desperate, strangled cry. Its neck had been ensnared by a weighted bola chain thrown from a slayer vehicle. As asphyxiation rapidly set in, the massive herbivore collapsed uncontrollably onto the dirt.
"Burn it alive!"
Before the dinosaur could even attempt to find its footing, a barrel of gasoline was dumped from a passing jeep, drenching its hide in a horrific, slick liquid.
Another jeep followed closely on the heels of the first, a blazing torch tracing a fiery arc through the air before impacting the Edmontosaurus.
Instantly, a column of flame erupted into the night sky. The slayers let out a chorus of ecstatic cheers and accelerated away in their jeep, abandoning the damaged bola without a second thought as they sped off to hunt down their next target.
"This isn't culling... This is sheer sadism."
"Let's just pray our targets are still breathing."
Roar—
Across the vast, open wasteland, four predatory silhouettes sprinted in tight formation toward the Dreadnoughtus Oasis, one leading, three following close behind.
Katyusha let out a low, commanding growl. Catching sight of the towering, sky-scraping shadows of the Dreadnoughtus bordering the oasis, she signaled the pack to slow their pace.
"Aunnng——"
The prey answered the hunters. The colossal shadows began to part in an orderly fashion, revealing a stark white monarch who stepped forward beneath the moonlight. The White King halted, standing face-to-face with the Giganotosaurus family.
"Aunnng?"
Little White, the young Dreadnoughtus, hid safely behind the towering forms of the herd's elders, peering out with curiosity at a sight that was definitely not hardwired into its evolutionary DNA.
Katyusha didn't possess Carlo's strange, herbivore-charming aura; she had simply led her family here based on the information Kafka had provided.
The White King was equally perplexed by the sudden arrival of these Apex predators. After all, the only carnivore he truly tolerated was Carlo, who had vanished just moments prior for reasons unknown. Therefore...
The situation dissolved into a tense standoff. Katyusha and her pack had no desire to pick a fight with a herd of sauropods; they only wanted to find Carlo. Conversely, the White King had no intention of clashing with the Giganotosaurus family; he simply wanted Carlo to return quickly.
Seriously, why did that guy / Boss leave without leaving a single clue / checking in with the family first?
Strangely enough, a bizarre line of cognitive brainwaves seemed to align perfectly between the two species.
Vroom—
The roar of modified engines shattered the fragile peace. High-intensity headlights, garishly modified and aggressively bright against the dark landscape, cut through the night as a convoy charged toward the oasis.
"Aunnng!"
The leader of the Dreadnoughtus herd instantly went on high alert. This approaching fleet looked infinitely more dangerous than the pack of Giganotosaurus.
The Giganotosaurus family turned as one to glare at the incoming threat. By the time they looked back, several members of the Dreadnoughtus herd had already begun an orderly retreat.
To their surprise, the White King looked back at the carnivores and deliberately shifted his posture, leaving a clear gap in the defensive wall of male Dreadnoughtus, seemingly gesturing for the predators to retreat alongside them.
Katyusha hesitated for a fraction of a second, then unleashed a deep rumble to voice a token of gratitude the sauropod would likely never understand, before leading her family into the dense cover of the jungle.
The Boss had sent them here for a reason.
The White King tilted his massive head slightly, watching the apex predators retreat in tandem with his own kind. He snorted a heavy plume of hot air and took a decisive, earth-shaking step forward.
Thud...
The ground trembled violently as the living wall of Dreadnoughtus synchronized with their monarch, stepping forward in unison. One step, two steps...
…
Mojave Reserve, Border Zone.
Carlo took a deep, centering breath. He lowered his massive skull and tucked his tail, compressing his entire body from above into what looked like an imperfect, tense 'Z' shape.
Then, with explosive force, he wrenched his torso! Pivoting hard on his planted hind feet, his entire body spun a full 180 degrees! Using the sweeping momentum of his tail, he launched a massive boulder dead ahead!
Thud!
The giant rock pulverized the terrain, kicking up a massive shroud of dust and completely cutting off the path of an oncoming jeep.
Crash—!
The screech of crumpling metal echoed out. Unable to brake in time, the jeep slammed into the boulder and was instantly totaled. The driver, who had neglected to wear a seatbelt, shattered the windshield, flying headfirst into the dirt and snapping his neck instantly.
Number fifteen.
Granted, these people weren't highly trained military personnel, but they were still seasoned poachers who had hunted dinosaurs for over two months. The main issue was... what kind of dinosaur utilizes environmental geometry to launch ranged attacks?!
Has anyone ever seen a Tyrannosaurus rex forgo biting just to pelt people with heavy artillery?!
Then again, failing to buckle up was entirely on them.
"Now, do any of you still think this thing is just an ordinary animal?"
Out in the clearing, roughly ten vehicles equipped with high-powered cluster spotlights had formed a perimeter with a hundred-meter radius, pinning Carlo directly in the center of their crosshairs.
Five lighter vehicles circled him relentlessly, probing his defenses. They lobbed smoke grenades, hurled Molotov cocktails, and a few exceptionally daring individuals even leaned out of their sunroofs to fire heavy crossbows at him.
Though, notably, none of them dared to pull out a whaling harpoon gun again.
Every time a vehicle was reduced to scrap metal, a backup jeep from the sidelines immediately filled the gap, recklessly throwing themselves into the fray just to delay Carlo's advance.
The clearing had been transformed into a dystopian Colosseum, and its only true audience members were the relaxed Lucian and his active livestreaming rig.
Lucian was thoroughly enjoying himself, chatting casually with the streaming broadcast's live comment section. Because the camera setup lacked sufficient height, it had been propped up on a book with a four-character title. Only the words "Strive" could be faintly made out on the spine.
"At this point, I seriously doubt conventional firearms would even scratch him."
Lucian internally lauded his own tactical foresight once again. Although the systematic slaughter of dinosaurs had generated immense capital, he hadn't wasted funds equipping his entire syndicate with firearms. Only a select vanguard carried them, such as the squad that had been instantly vaporized at the start of the engagement.
Instead, he had hoarded the bulk of his financial resources to fund the grand finale of this entire performance.
What he didn't realize, however, was that his star actor was already planning his exit.
Heavy panting...
Carlo's pulse was racing, though it wasn't the onset of an Enrage state; it was pure, unadulterated urgency.
His olfactory radar informed him that an increasing number of humans were converging on the Dreadnoughtus Oasis, right where Katyusha and the pack were stationed. Even his own personal territory was receiving special corporate attention. Stego bro... Stego bro seemed to have gone completely berserk into a killing frenzy?!
He needed to get back to his family immediately, but he couldn't afford to lead this entire motorized infantry straight to them. He had to think of something.
The shroud of night still blanketed the wasteland. The goons in the jeeps were entirely dependent on the spotlights to track his positioning, but Carlo couldn't outrun the speed of light from those perimeter vehicles. Therefore...
Wait, that makes no sense.
I can bring down a helicopter with a projectile. Why can't I hit a stationary car?
Carlo suddenly recalled an incident from his youth when an intrusive, unscrupulous helicopter had hovered right over his territory to spy on him. Back then, he had successfully driven it off by hurling rocks.
Time to test the theory.
Carlo lowered his head, clamping his jaws around a massive piece of fractured bedrock, sending a shower of pulverized gray dust cascading to the floor.
"Scat! Watch out!"
Learning from their previous casualty, the surrounding jeeps instantly scattered, desperate to ensure they wouldn't be the unlucky target Carlo selected.
Low growl...
The next instant, the massive boulder tore through the night sky, its trajectory swallowed entirely by the black canvas of darkness.
"Haha! Missed—"
Shatter—!
One of the blinding spotlights focused on Carlo suddenly went dark, causing the stage lights of the arena to instantly dim.
———————
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