Chapter 19: The Beast’s Evolution and Unveiled Power

“Roar, roar, roar!”

With the damage sustained this time being significantly greater, the Gorilla Beast’s animosity fiercely shifted towards Lin Xi.

In less than a second, the Gorilla Beast was upon Lin Xi, its arm, though encased in a concrete shell, still exuding palpable power, swinging down with devastating force.

Yet, the shotgun in Lin Xi’s hand remained unloaded, not even having ejected its spent casing.

It was clear that the Gorilla Beast’s fist would land squarely on Lin Xi, sending her flying.

Bang!

However, the sound that echoed in the next instant was not the impact of a fist, but the deafening roar of a shotgun blast.

The concussive force this time was even more immense than before, violently repelling the beast that had been charging at Lin Xi, sending it hurtling backward.

What was even stranger was that despite such colossal power, Lin Xi, holding the weapon with a single hand, appeared utterly unaffected by any recoil.

The reason lay in the fact that this was no ordinary shotgun; it was a magical firearm crafted by Lin Xi using her mana.

Consequently, it could defy the laws of physics to a certain extent. Moreover, because she had merged the spells for creating the firearm and its ammunition into a single “program,” she could instantly generate the weapon and load its bullets with a mere thought.

In essence, the magical firearm she produced retained the high destructive power of a shotgun while boasting the rapid-fire rate of a machine gun, yet it had virtually no recoil, allowing her to wield it with absolute freedom.

Coupled with her magic that allowed her to control her senses, she could observe every internal movement of her enemies and predict their actions, resulting in an almost infallible hit rate that struck vital points with unerring precision.

Her only concern was whether her mana reserves would suffice, but her magical aptitude far surpassed that of other ability users at the same rank, leaving her with virtually no discernible weaknesses in actual combat.

As for the only remaining vulnerability, close-quarters combat, she now had a solution for that as well.

“Roar, ahhh!”

“Bai Li!”

“No problem.”

Just as the concrete-armored Gorilla Beast endured the barrage of bullets, attempting to push forward and assault Lin Xi, Bai Li materialized behind it with an uncanny, ghost-like stealth.

Before the Gorilla Beast could even react, Bai Li seized it and, with a powerful swing, slammed it onto the ground.

Lin Xi, with perfect synchronicity, ceased her firing to avoid accidentally harming Bai Li.

Of course, even if she hadn’t stopped, Bai Li would not have been harmed; at most, her clothes might have been damaged.

“Guh…! Roar…”

“Are you done screaming?”

Granting the Gorilla Beast no time to rise, Bai Li stepped onto its back, simultaneously grabbing its arm, which was encased in hardened concrete.

With a swift twist, wrench, and pull, the rigid shell tore away as if it were the armor of some colossal giant.

Since the solidified concrete had adhered directly to the Gorilla Beast’s skin, its epidermis and even its underlying muscles were ripped along with it.

“Although I had a premonition, seeing it in person is still quite astonishing…”

Lin Xi gazed at the Gorilla Beast, lying motionless on the ground like a doll torn apart by a child, a look of profound surprise on her face.

She had tested her shotgun’s rapid-fire capability numerous times and understood its immense power.

For the Gorilla Beast to endure such a dense barrage, push forward through the bullets, and only suffer what amounted to superficial wounds, its physical fortitude was truly beyond imagination.

“This beast likely possesses D-rank strength, and being a body-specialized type, it can be even more troublesome in certain situations.”

Lin Xi herself was only a low-D rank, having just reached that level recently, making it quite challenging for her to deal with slightly stronger opponents of the same rank.

Similar to many power-ranking systems, the higher an ability user’s rank, the greater the disparity in strength and the more arduous the progression.

It’s akin to game levels: the further one advances, the harder it is to level up, but the power gap between levels also widens significantly.

However…

“It seems Bai Li’s ability rank is merely for show, doesn’t it?”

If Lin Xi and the Gorilla Beast were separated by a minor realm, then Bai Li was an entire major realm above them, and with abilities of the same type, there was no question of any counter-relationship.

“It’s merely technique. Didn’t I take down a burly man not long ago, even without my abilities awakened?”

‘Though I had already awakened at that time, I am confident I could achieve the same feat even as an ordinary person.’

“Is that so? But I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right…”

“It’s just your imagination, Xi Xi.”

‘Yes, that’s right.’

Not only Bai Li, but Lin Xi was also putting on an act.

If a certain black cat were present, it would probably quip, [“You two drama queens, hurry up and start dating, then get frisky (TL Note: A playful, internet slang term, ‘sese’, often used to imply romantic or sexual activity in a lighthearted, teasing manner.)!”]

“Guh… ahhh…”

Suddenly, the Gorilla Beast, lying prostrate on the ground, let out a pained groan.

“Hmm? Bai Li, did you hold back? It’s usually best to kill these berserk beasts directly.”

Due to the unique physiological structure and life forms of these beasts, they were inherently difficult to kill completely.

Furthermore, most modern beasts possessed intelligence, making direct elimination problematic in various ways.

Thus, the current strategy was to reason with them if possible, and eradicate them if they lost their minds.

This particular Gorilla Beast had already attacked civilians and, according to monitoring, had completely gone berserk.

Keeping it alive would only lead to further harm to humans or even other peaceful beasts.

“No, I also managed to land a few blows that bypass its defense and strike directly at its internals. Even if it doesn’t die, it should at least lose consciousness.”

“Defense-ignoring… In any case, this beast is still conscious, which means its physical body has likely reached a remarkably high level.

I’ll call for backup and see how to handle this.”

Since neither of them could completely kill the beast, any further attacks would be futile.

Therefore, they needed to find ability users specifically capable of dealing with such a situation, or else bring it back to a research facility for study.

However, these assumptions were merely one part of the reason.

“Ugh… ahhh!”

The Gorilla Beast let out a cry unlike its previous ones, and its massive body, once resembling a gorilla, suddenly shrank to the size of an average adult human.

Yet, the aura emanating from it grew even more potent.

As it howled, the surrounding concrete seemed to gain a mind of its own, flowing into the beast’s torn wounds and ceaselessly repairing its injuries.

Simultaneously, the remaining unabsorbed concrete began to contract, and then a massive spike suddenly erupted from the ground, sending Bai Li, who was not far away, flying into the distance.

Lin Xi could discern that this was neither coincidence nor mere hatred, but a calculated action.

For a beast of its type, Bai Li posed a far greater threat than she did.

In other words, in a mere short span, this beast had evolved to a point where its abilities had comprehensively increased, and it now possessed the capacity for thought.