461: Chapter 457 I am now in my complete form.

the collective snorted coldly. The two plates of armor on its back suddenly flared open to both sides, then slammed together toward the center, closing in on Lu Jianchuan like two massive door panels.

Lu Jianchuan leaped backward. The armor plates slammed shut in front of him with a bang, making the ground tremble. He didn't stop; the moment his feet touched the ground, he lunged back and smashed a fist against the armor.

the collective didn't defend. It reached out and grabbed Lu Jianchuan's arm, its fingers tightening around his forearm like iron pincers. Then, it spun violently, swinging Lu Jianchuan's entire body around before slamming him hard into the ground.

Boom!

A crater exploded into the ground. Lu Jianchuan lay in the pit, and before he could get up, those two armor plates had already been raised high and were crashing down toward him. He rolled to the side, and the armor plates grazed his shoulder as they smashed into the earth, sending gravel flying.

Before he could steady himself, another limb swept in from the side, swatting him away.

"Senior!" Ye Ouyang's voice came from the distance.

Lu Jianchuan adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed on his feet, sliding several meters. He looked up, just about to rush back, when a figure dove down from a nearby high-rise—

Lin Yuan.

Like a cannonball, he kicked the collective in the head. With a thud, the collective's head tilted slightly, but it didn't even budge its feet. It glanced down at Lin Yuan and gave a casual swipe, sending Lin Yuan flying like a swatted fly, rolling several times on the ground.

A silver-white shadow swept in quickly from the other side. It was Lin Xun; the barbs on his arms gleamed coldly as he slashed at the collective's ribs—an ear-piercing sound of metal scraping rang out as the barbs left a white mark on the armor, without even breaking the skin.

the collective looked down at him.

Lin Xun looked up, met its gaze, and even raised a hand to wave.

"Hello."

the collective kicked him away. Lin Xun flew back and landed next to Lin Yuan, the two of them lying side-by-side on the ground.

Lu Jianchuan walked over and looked at the two men on the ground.

"You guys..."

Lin Xun bounced up from the ground, patted the dust off himself, and grinned.

"Heh heh, we're here to help you."

Lin Yuan also climbed up, worked his numbed shoulder, and nodded to Lu Jianchuan.

"We weren't infected, so we came specifically to help out."

In the distance, Ye Ouyang stood on the roof of a low building, waving desperately toward them.

"I'm here! I'm here!"

Lin Yuan waved back at him.

Lu Jianchuan looked at Lin Yuan, his gaze falling on the red armor he wore, then looked toward Ye Ouyang.

"Be careful. This armor drinks your blood. If you feel unwell, end the fight immediately and go find Ye Ouyang. Let him heal you; don't push yourself too hard."

Lin Yuan rolled his neck; the red armor gave off a dull luster under the sunlight.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." He smiled. "It's not my first time using this armor."

the collective stood in place, not attacking while they spoke. It just watched them quietly, only speaking once they had finished.

"Finished chatting?" Its voice echoed from within the massive armor. "Shall we continue the battle?"

Lin Xun flexed his wrists, the barbs glinting in the sunlight.

"Of course."

He was the first to charge out. Lu Jianchuan followed closely behind. Lin Yuan circled around from the side, his red figure darting quickly through the ruins, preparing to launch an attack from the flank.

Lu Jianchuan threw a punch, colliding head-on with the collective's fist. A massive recoil traveled through his entire body from his fist, but he gritted his teeth and didn't retreat.

Lin Xun was like a bolt of silver-white lightning, darting under the collective's arm and climbing up its armor. He was too fast, his figure leaving a trail of afterimages on the armor's surface as the barbs on his arms repeatedly slashed at the gaps in the armor—the armpits, the side of the neck, and the inside of the elbow joints.

Those were the weakest points of the armor, but the barbs only left a few shallow white marks upon impact.

the collective didn't even spare him a glance. With a casual grab, it snatched the "bug" scurrying across its armor.

Its fingers tightened, lifting Lin Xun to eye level, just about to smash him into the ground—

Lu Jianchuan lunged from the side, grabbing the collective's arm. He kicked off the ground, using his full strength to yank it aside. the collective's arm was pulled off course, and Lin Xun slipped through its fingers. Lu Jianchuan used the momentum to fling him toward Ye Ouyang in the distance.

"Catch!"

Lin Xun flipped twice in the air and landed steadily on the roof of a low building. Ye Ouyang hurried over, his claws already glowing.

Before Lu Jianchuan could steady himself, the two armor plates behind the collective suddenly slammed together, trapping Lin Yuan, who was about to launch a sneak attack from behind. Lin Yuan's fists struck the armor plates, producing only a dull thud.

the collective's voice came from within the massive armor, echoing with a sense of condescending pity.

"Meaningless. There is no way for you to win."

Before it finished speaking, those two armor plates shattered into countless tiny tentacles. The tip of each tentacle bore a sharp Bone spurs, densely packed like a living thicket of thorns. They lunged in all directions, heading straight for Lu Jianchuan.

Lu Jianchuan dodged a few, then reached out and grabbed one of the lunging tentacles, his fingers locking tight. He kicked off the ground, using the force to spin, swinging the tentacle along with the collective behind it. the collective's massive body was lifted off the ground, tracing an arc in the air before being slammed violently into a nearby high-rise.

Boom!

The wall exploded as the collective was embedded into the building, bricks and dust pouring down like a waterfall.

Lu Jianchuan let go, panting heavily. At some point, a Bone spurs from a tentacle had lodged itself in his left forearm, piercing through his armor and into his flesh. He gripped the Bone spurs, gritted his teeth, and pulled it out, bringing a spray of blood with it.

Lu Jianchuan was about to step forward, but Lin Yuan was faster.

The red-armored figure swept out from the side, punching the collective in the face just as it stood up from the ruins.

the collective's head was knocked aside, but it immediately turned back and threw a punch into Lin Yuan's face. Lin Yuan was sent flying out of the building, through the swirling dust, and crashed into the ruins outside.

Ye Ouyang crouched on the roof of a low building, his golden armor glowing softly in the afternoon sun. He stared at the massive structure in the distance—that mass of tangled flesh and the giant eye that remained open—his mind churning with a single thought.

"What would happen if I gave that thing Ultra-Regeneration?" He narrowed his eyes, carefully studying the structure of the building. The flesh was writhing slowly, like some massive living creature breathing. It didn't look like a normal organism... "If I gave it Ultra-Regeneration, it wouldn't become even stronger, would it? Would internal organs work?"

As he was thinking, a gust of wind swept past him.

Lin Xun charged out from his side, moving so fast he was almost a blur. His figure left a trail of afterimages among the ruins as he headed straight for the massive flesh building.

"If I can't break your armor, can't I break your main body?"

Sensing someone rushing toward its main body, the collective's massive frame suddenly turned to intercept—Lu Jianchuan and Lin Yuan lunged at it simultaneously from both sides, using a punch and a kick to pin it firmly in place.

Boom!

The three of them crashed into the nearby high-rise, walls exploding with one large hole after another as dust billowed from the cracks on every floor.

Lin Xun didn't look back. His gaze was locked onto the giant eye, his speed increasing.

Tentacles surged from deep within the building, densely packed like a living forest. Each one bore sharp Bone spurss, flailing in the air to block all his paths forward. Lin Xun's figure darted through the tentacles, dodging left and right, ducking and weaving—the tentacles grazed his body, but not one could touch him. The barbs on his arms left shallow scratches on the tentacles, his eyes never leaving the core.

The giant eye tracked his trajectory, its pupil contracting and focusing.

Lin Xun slid past the side of a tentacle and was about to accelerate for a final sprint—

A figure blocked his path.

Lin Xun braked hard and did a backflip, landing on the ruins several meters away.

At some unknown point, a crowd of people had flooded into the building. They stood amidst the flesh, beside the tentacles, forming a thick human wall. Hollow eyes, stiff bodies—like a silent wall, they stood between him and the giant eye.

Lin Xun clenched his fists, the barbs slowly retracting from his Arm Blades.

He couldn't harm ordinary people.

In the distant building, Lu Jianchuan punched away the bricks pinning him down and looked in that direction, his voice tinged with mockery.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't use these ordinary people as human shields?"

the collective stood in the middle of the ruins, the tentacles slowly retracting and merging back into the armor. Its voice came from within the massive armor, unhurried.

"This is merely a contingency." It paused. "Besides, the transfer of their consciousness is almost complete. By then, these bodies will be nothing more than bodies to them, no longer a necessity."

It looked down at its hands, then looked up again.

"When that time comes, these can be formally used to deal with you."

Lu Jianchuan's brow furrowed.

This is trouble.

the collective suddenly threw out its arms, and countless tiny Tail-Spurs exploded from the surface of its armor, shooting in all directions. Lu Jianchuan and Lin Yuan retreated simultaneously as the spurs pinned into the ground where they had just been standing.

the collective didn't pursue. It turned and sprinted toward the building.

One step. Two steps.

It leaped into the air and threw a punch at Lin Xun.

Lin Xun rolled to the side, and the punch grazed his body before smashing into the ground. A massive crater exploded, cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb. He scrambled up and ran—not to flee, but to create distance.

But he no longer needed to charge.

From deep within the building, several thick tentacles reached out, piercing into the back, waist, and shoulder blades of the collective's armor. Those tentacles melted and flowed over the armor's surface, undergoing Fusion with its body. Flesh surged, armor deformed—the extra limbs retracted, and the exposed flesh was pulled back in. Its size was shrinking, but its density was increasing; every inch of the armor was becoming dense and hard.

A few seconds later, it stood upon the ruins.

That set of armor was now completely different.

With a purple base, red patterns flowed from the pauldrons to the breastplate like solidified magma. Behind it was a dark red robe-like skirt that fluttered slightly in the afternoon wind. There was no excess flesh, no exposed tentacles—only a complete, streamlined set of armor.

It looked up and faced Lu Jianchuan.

"Now, I am a Complete Being."

Its voice came from behind the visor, without echo or static, as calm as if stating a fact.

"It wasn't a waste of time to spend so long analyzing everything about you." It flexed its wrists. "Adjusting my form based on your fighting styles. Now, I am truly—complete."