The Natives of This World Are Fierce

The armed police reacted with incredible speed. The moment they received the order, they split into squads under an Officer’s command and took off at a run.

Judging from the reaction on the roof just now, they had definitely hit some damn thing.

They were only human, so a bit of fear was inevitable. But the soldiers’ will to fight was strong enough to overcome their fear of the unknown. Right now, they had only one thought.

’Eliminate the target!’

As they ran, an Officer was constantly shouting to the troops.

"Check and change your magazines! Check and change your magazines!"

Some of the nearby workers, who had been panicked or stunned by the gunfire, were also mobilized by the armed police. Many manned the nearest water sprayers, while the rest were all evacuated.

Since it was their lunch break, there wasn’t too much chaos.

Meanwhile, Huang Jiutian rushed downstairs with Tao Xingzhi and Xiaoliu, continuing to act as their eyes.

When they got downstairs, Tao Xingzhi grabbed three automatic rifles from a nearby armed police soldier. He kept one for himself, tossed one to Xiaoliu, and just as Huang Jiutian thought the third one was for him, it flew toward the leader surnamed Li.

In that moment, the pot-bellied Li Donglai looked surprisingly natural as he chambered a round and raised his rifle, just like Tao Xingzhi and Xiaoliu. It didn’t strike Huang Jiutian as out of place at all.

The three of them, along with the armed police soldiers originally assigned to protect them, took off running.

The construction site’s entire sprinkler system had been activated. Water cannons were operating everywhere, and some armed police had even hauled out high-pressure fire hoses from the firefighting system.

While sprinting, Huang Jiutian took off his nearsighted glasses. He’d never felt like his vision was this good before.

"It went into the pit with the excavators!"

The splashing water everywhere certainly affected visibility, but as long as they had Huang Jiutian as their eyes, they could track its general direction. The water would also force the insectoid monster to reveal itself.

Following Jiutian’s shout, Xiaoliu yelled into his walkie-talkie.

"All units, concentrate the water curtain lockdown on the center and perimeter of the earthwork excavation area! I repeat, concentrate the water curtain lockdown on the center and perimeter of the earthwork excavation area!"

SPLASH! Sprinklers and high-pressure hoses swiveled around, making it look like a torrential downpour up ahead.

For a moment, you couldn’t see anything inside without paying absolute, undivided attention.

"All personnel, if you spot a non-human target, open fire and kill it immediately!"

The command echoed repeatedly over the walkie-talkies.

Aside from the monotonous sound of splashing water, the construction site, usually filled with the constant, noisy roar of machinery, had fallen into an eerie silence.

Several drones had already been launched into the air.

This was a newly excavated area, mostly only three or four meters deep. From high above, the cluster of excavators looked like toys in a shallow box. Fortunately, it was lunchtime and no excavation was in progress, so there were almost no drivers in them.

Everyone surrounded the area in silence. The splashing water had filled the air with a thin mist, but countless pairs of eyes stared without blinking.

Many of their clothes were soaked through, and it was hard to tell if they were drenched in more sweat or more water.

Imagine if a tiger escaped from the zoo and you were part of the team trying to capture it up close. What would that feel like?

The pressure of the current situation was just as great, if not greater. After all, no tiger was invisible.

The armed police Officers had already ordered the water pressure to be slowly lowered, reducing the density of the water curtain to improve visibility.

"Is it still in there? Can you see it?"

Tao Xingzhi asked Huang Jiutian in a low voice, who never left his side.

Jiutian frowned as he looked into the pit. Tao Xingzhi wouldn’t let him get too close, so his line of sight wasn’t great. At the very least, a lot of excavators were blocking his view.

However, thanks to the sensation from Qin Xiaoxia’s Magic Power, he knew the thing was down there.

"It’s still in there, but it seems to be hiding. I can’t see where it is. It might be better if you let me climb one of the tower cranes!"

"Are you sure there’s only one?"

Huang Jiutian looked at him.

"I can only say that based on the current situation, it looks like there’s just one."

Tao Xingzhi cradled his rifle, a thoughtful look on his face. The leader surnamed Li had a similar expression.

’It knows how to hide. It seems to have a fair bit of intelligence...’

These mutated monsters were the most feared type. If it were just rampaging mindlessly, no matter how ferocious, modern weaponry could teach it a lesson—or rather, teach it how to be a proper monster.

As for letting Huang Jiutian climb a tower crane, the situation was already like shooting fish in a barrel. The moment it moved, it would be spotted. It was better not to take the risk for now. What if he slipped and fell? They should at least wait until the water curtain was reduced and no longer effective.

At this point, Jiutian wasn’t too worried about the insectoid monster escaping.

Based on the group’s brief but impressive reaction earlier, he believed that even if the trapped insectoid monster could fly, it would be shot down.

But as for himself...

He noticed that now, whether they were standing still or moving, Tao Xingzhi and Xiaoliu basically flanked him on his left and right, staying less than an arm’s length away, as if he were the leader among the three of them.

Even the big construction site leader, Li, stayed close by and had arranged for a large number of armed police to form a protective perimeter.

Time passed by, one "slow" second at a time.

The water curtain, under deliberate control, gradually subsided to a level that was more conducive to human vision.

Since the construction was primarily underground, the tower cranes weren’t as tall as those for typical skyscrapers. Two snipers had already climbed to the top of one of them.

Their sniper scopes slowly scanned the area below, their heartbeats remaining steady.

A puddle in a muddy patch suddenly rippled. Then, within the nearby drizzle-like water curtain, a faint silhouette wavered out from under an excavator’s bucket.

BANG!

The gunshot from above made everyone’s heart skip a beat, but no one looked up. All eyes were fixed on the pit below.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three more shots rang out almost simultaneously, all from the snipers up high.

Another period of silence followed.

Five minutes later, Huang Jiutian wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"It’s dead!"

The Magic Power in his arm had stopped stirring, but his heart was still pounding.

Hearing Huang Jiutian’s words, everyone nearby let out a huge sigh of relief, but not a single one of them lowered their guard.

After some more time had passed, perhaps because its cells began to die off en masse along with the main body, parts of the insectoid monster’s corpse in the pit gradually became visible.

Only then did many people truly relax.

On the roof of the prefab building, the three other insectoid monster corpses had also become visible long ago. They were in worse shape than their counterpart in the excavation pit, having been basically riddled with holes.

It was a grayish-white monster, roughly the size of two adult humans. Including its tail, it was about four meters long. It had segmented limbs equipped with suckers that were also good for jumping. Aside from some rather sharp angles on its body, its other method of attack was likely the retractable proboscis in its mouth.

If you ignored the legs, its overall shape was somewhat like a gecko, but it had more insect-like features.

The reinforcing scientific and hazmat teams arrived on site about half an hour later. They sealed themselves in heavy-duty isolation suits and went down to move the insectoid monsters’ corpses.

The construction site, however, remained under lockdown.

「...」

In another prefab building, Huang Jiutian sat uneasily on a chair.

Across from him sat Tao Xingzhi and Xiaoliu, as well as the big construction site leader, Li. Outside, a number of armed police stood guard with their guns.

Both Tao Xingzhi and Li Donglai were looking at him with thoughtful expressions, making Huang Jiutian feel extremely anxious.

"Huang Jiutian?"

"Y-yes."

"When did you acquire this Ability?"

Jiutian’s heart was thumping uncontrollably as he tried desperately to think of how to answer.

"I... I’m not sure exactly when..."

A glint appeared in Tao Xingzhi’s eyes.

"Then let me rephrase. When did you *discover* you had this Ability?"

Jiutian bit his lip slightly and exhaled.

"About two weeks ago. But back then, I wasn’t sure myself. What really convinced me was what just happened!"

Tao Xingzhi nodded, then immediately asked another question.

"Why did you suddenly pretend to have a stomachache earlier?"

"Because I thought they were coming for me. I didn’t want to get anyone else involved!"

Huang Jiutian said this with a clear conscience, his tone gradually calming down.

Everyone present was taken aback.

Li Donglai nodded at him.

"That’s rare!"

Heroism isn’t nonexistent in the real world, but the "if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me" mentality is far more common.

"Why did you think that?"

Tao Xingzhi’s questions continued relentlessly.

"Because I was the only one who could see them. I thought that was reason enough."

Tao Xingzhi privately made a note. ’His thinking is very clear!’

But there was one thing he didn’t say.

Tao Xingzhi had a gut feeling. He thought that maybe these insectoid monsters weren’t after Huang Jiutian. It was a strange thought, but he felt like they were actually coming for *him*.

Afterward, the men asked Huang Jiutian some questions about his family background, focusing more on his diet, health, and daily habits.

The detailed questioning took nearly two hours before they finally let Huang Jiutian get some rest.

The prefab building was a senior engineering staff’s break room. It had a bed, and they told him someone would bring him his late lunch.

Mmm, although they didn’t say it outright, to put it simply, our dear student Huang Jiutian had been "pleasantly" placed under house arrest.

「...」

Tao Xingzhi, Xiaoliu, and Li Donglai walked out of the prefab building together. Li Donglai was getting on in years, after all, and his physique wasn’t what it used to be. He had expended a lot of energy just now, so he excused himself to go rest.

Tao Xingzhi lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, letting the smoke roll around in his lungs for a good while before reluctantly exhaling.

"Prepare to draft a report summary..."

He paused, then continued.

"Suspected New Human discovered!"

PS: Thank you to readers Qilang Qianyang and Fengkuang Zuzhou for the 1,000-coin donations, and to Wo Ye Bu Xiaode Shazi, Wuye Yu, and tonyni for the 500-coin donations. Thanks also to Qingtian de Wuya, Ba le Ni de Yanjie Mao, Yuehuo Yue Kaixin cc, Qingyi Cike, Reader 160224113338289, ★Fengchang Zuoxi★, AnS, Bading Bag, and Reader 20180503010719649 for the 100-coin donations~~

I was shamelessly tempted to split this into two Chapters! ε=(´ο｀*)