The lightning spear was still flying toward the helicopter!
Its Speed was extreme, making it impossible to dodge!
Ivy's pupils contracted sharply!
She raised her hand, her slender fingers tapping lightly in the void!
An invisible ripple spread outward from her fingertips!
The moment the ripple touched the lightning spear—
The spear's Speed suddenly slowed down!
It wasn't just a little slower; it was as slow as slow-motion in a movie!
Lucas seized this critical moment and yanked the control stick!
The helicopter tilted and changed direction!
The lightning spear grazed the tail of the helicopter and disappeared into the night sky in the distance!
"Whew—"
Everyone in the cabin breathed a sigh of relief.
Leon slumped in his seat, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
Shiki gasped for air, his heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.
Ivy retracted her hand, her face slightly pale; that move just now had consumed a significant amount of her Spirit.
She turned back to look at the building that was gradually moving away.
The broken windows, the towering flames, and that figure standing on the edge of the ruins with lightning crackling all over her body...
Those eyes, filled with anger, were staring fixedly at the direction they were heading.
Ivy took a deep breath and turned around.
"Let's go."
Her voice echoed in the cabin.
Given the current situation, even if she was reluctant, she could only give up on Rex for now.
After all, her strength was too great!
And it was clear that her strength went beyond that.
She was clearly holding back inside this building.
As the armed helicopter disappeared into the sky, the fire that had engulfed the building suddenly went out, and at the same time, all the lights in the building went out as well.
At this moment, a woman with disheveled hair stood on the edge of the building, looking in the direction where the armed helicopter had disappeared, her face gloomy.
But soon, she started to laugh again.
"Since you forced me to unleash 100% of my strength, there's no need to suppress my power in this dungeon anymore."
She whispered, her voice chillingly cold, as a flash of purple lightning crackled around her.
Compared to before, the lightning now carried a powerful sense of destruction.
...
The sky was slightly bright.
Inside the abandoned factory, a few rays of gray morning light filtered through the dilapidated windows.
Rusted machine wreckage was scattered everywhere, and a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the ground.
Ivy leaned against a concrete pillar, her complexion having recovered slightly from before, but it was still pale.
She closed her eyes, her breathing gradually steadying, but in her mind, she was constantly reviewing the thrilling encounter just now.
That woman.
That lightning.
That lightning spear that had almost cost them their lives.
If Lucas and the others hadn't arrived in time...
She opened her eyes and looked at the three men opposite her.
Lucas, a burly man standing 1.9 meters tall with a scorpion tattoo on his right arm, was currently sitting on an abandoned machine, silently wiping his weapon.
Leon, a thin man wearing glasses, was lowering his head and fiddling with a portable computer, the screen flashing with dense streams of data.
Shiki, a middle-aged man, was leaning against the wall, quietly smoking a cigarette.
"How did you know our location?"
Ivy asked, her voice echoing in the empty factory.
If Lucas and the others hadn't appeared in time, they probably would have been wiped out this time.
Before taking action, she had observed the vicinity of that building for two days and only decided to act after confirming there was nothing unusual.
She believed she had a very clear grasp of the Invaders' movements.
Lucas looked up and glanced at her.
"Ever since our last failure."
He pointed at Leon.
"Leon has been using his hacking skills to hack into and utilize the entire City's surveillance system."
Leon adjusted his glasses and took over the conversation.
"To reverse-monitor the movements of those people."
His fingers swiped across the computer screen, pulling up segments of surveillance footage.
Streets, intersections, building entrances—every corner was under his surveillance.
"At the same time, this also includes when you came here and what you were doing."
Ivy's pupils contracted slightly.
So that was it.
They had been under surveillance the whole time, she just didn't know it.
"You were lucky this time."
Lucas continued.
"Those Invaders all left Chicago yesterday, leaving only that woman behind."
"Left?"
One of Ivy's team members asked, frowning.
"Where did they go?"
Lucas and Leon exchanged a look, their expressions becoming serious.
"According to surveillance tracking, their target seems to be those giant beasts."
Leon said, his voice low.
"Giant beasts?"
"Yes, they probably went to obtain the blood of those giant beasts. Or, to control those giant beasts."
Control.
These two words felt like a huge boulder weighing on everyone's hearts.
If someone among those people could control those mutating giant beasts...
Ivy's complexion became even more serious.
As a Balancer, only she knew to what terrifying level she had raised this dungeon.
If these giant beasts were controlled by those Invaders...
Then, the difficulty of this dungeon would skyrocket!
She took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in her heart.
"Then do you have any news about the Hunter?"
She asked that most crucial question.
The Hunter.
That mysterious existence who had yet to appear was their only chance to turn the tables.
Now that they had caused such a big commotion.
The Hunter should have long since noticed the anomaly.
But why hadn't it appeared yet?
Lucas was silent for a moment, then revealed a bitter smile.
"There isn't."
Three words, like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads.
Ivy was silent.
Her team members were silent.
Lucas and the other two were also silent.
In the abandoned factory, only the occasional bird chirping from outside the window and the faint bustle of the City in the distance remained.
"Could it be..."
After a long time, one of Ivy's team members spoke with difficulty.
"Is the Hunter also afraid of their strength, so it's gone into hiding?"
His voice carried uncertainty, along with a hint of wishful thinking that even he didn't want to believe.
No one answered him.
Because no one knew the answer.
Six days had passed since the dungeon opened.
Six days.
Those Invaders were recklessly hunting Reincarnators, while the Hunter, who should have been on their side, had yet to appear.
What exactly was the reason?
Could it be that it really knew it wasn't a match for those Invaders, so it chose to hide and wait for the dungeon to end?
Although there wouldn't be any penalty for hiding until the dungeon ended, and those Invaders wouldn't waste time searching for someone who was hiding—
But this time was different.
The goal of these Invaders was to hunt them down.
Every participant was on their kill list.
When the last day finally arrived and all the Reincarnators had been cleared out, would those Invaders let the only Hunter go?
They wouldn't.
They would find it.
And then—
Kill it.
Thinking of this, everyone's heart sank to the bottom.
"Let's plan for the long term."
Leon said, his voice calm to the point of cruelty.
"Since the Hunter isn't appearing, we should hide too. Surviving this period is the only way out."
He was the most rational one among them.
Without the Hunter, they had no chance to turn the tables.
Facing those Invaders whose strength crushed them, hiding was the safest plan.
Although it was shameful.
Although it was frustrating.
But at least they could survive.
Ivy was silent and did not argue.
Because she knew that Leon was right.
Although she was a Balancer and the leader of this team, in the face of absolute strength, any plan was just futile.
She looked at her team members.
They kept their heads down, and no one spoke.
She looked at Lucas and the other two again.
Lucas's expression was heavy, Leon was expressionless, only Shiki...
A trace of sadness flashed in Shiki's eyes.
Ivy's heart tightened; she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't speak.
The sky was gradually brightening.
The morning light filtered through the dilapidated windows, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
In the abandoned factory, seven people sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
No one knew that the Hunter, which had been so slow to appear, was currently sleeping quietly in the deep sea.
No one knew that its evolution still needed one more day.
Four Mutations, two evolutions...