Page 9
The sun began its slow descent toward the horizon, painting the sky with increasingly vibrant hues of orange, blood-red, and deep purple. The beauty of the twilight was undeniable, with the hills now tinged a golden ochre and the shadows of the trees lengthening dramatically, dancing in a somber waltz over the road. The air began to cool, and a chilling night breeze blew through the bus's cracks, bringing with it a smell of damp earth and a sense of foreboding, a promise of darkness and terror.
Jhon didn't need radar to sense the impending danger. Although the HUD screen only showed the timer for the crates, his heightened senses, enhanced by Predatory Sense, were already picking up on the changes. The whisper of wind in the bushes seemed more ominous, and the rustling of foliage, once a natural melody, now sounded like stealthy footsteps.
"Attention, John! Night is falling!" Loli's voice echoed in his mind, its tone now deep and full of warning. "Don't leave your vehicle at night! Predators are more active and more dangerous in the dark. Your protection is the bus!"
Jhon turned on the bus's headlights, illuminating the road ahead with a pale, yellow beam, struggling to cut through the growing darkness. He continued driving, maintaining a steady speed, his icy eyes scanning the darkness gathering at the sides of the road. Shadows danced and twisted, seeming to conceal shapeless, menacing forms.
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew heavy. It wasn't just the smell of earth, but an acrid, metallic, and nauseating odor that Jhon recognized: the smell of decaying flesh and the hot breath of a hungry beast. The roar of the bus engine, once a sound of reassurance, seemed to fade under the pressure of the oppressive atmosphere.
A swift movement, a dark blur coming from the bushes to the right. Jhon caught only a glimpse: glowing yellow eyes, fangs gleaming in the headlights. A gigantic creature, resembling an abomination of wolf and bear, with matted fur and claws like metal blades, lunged. The impact was brutal. The bus shook violently, the metal creaking in protest. Jhon felt the vehicle rock, and the sound of claws scraping against the bodywork was a scream of metal and fury.
"First contact, Jhon!" Loli exclaimed, her voice tense and urgent. "That's a Corrupted Barghest! Sharp claws and incredible brute strength! And be careful! The bus was already old before you even arrived; it won't be able to withstand many impacts like that! Your vehicle's integrity is decreasing!"
The HUD confirmed it. A damage icon flashed, and the bus's health bar, an alarming red, began to dwindle. Jhon saw the Raging Beast cling to the side of the bus, its claws tearing at the already worn bodywork. There was no way to continue driving; he would be disintegrated along with the vehicle.
With an abrupt, decisive turn of the steering wheel, Jhon swung the bus in a tight arc, crossing the eight-lane highway. The wheels screeched on the smooth asphalt as the eight-meter-long vehicle came to a stop, positioned perpendicular to the road. The rear of the bus, now facing the danger, served as a makeshift wall, a massive shield against the darkness. He cut the engine, the sudden silence seeming even more deafening amid the monsters' roars. The air grew thick, and the growling sound and putrid smell intensified.
Jhon opened the driver's door with a metallic creak, the frigid night air filling the cabin. He leaped out, his movements fluid and calculated, every muscle tense and ready. Without hesitation, he positioned himself with his back to the armored side of the bus, using the vehicle as a safe haven, a guarantee that no attack would come from behind. The Enhanced Desert Eagle felt like an extension of his own arm. He raised it, activating the laser sight. A crimson red dot danced in the darkness, sweeping the terrain. Jhon, the assassin who had been molded to be the perfect weapon, was ready. The confrontation would not be an escape, but a hunt. And he was the predator.
Page 10
The circle of monsters tightened around Jhon, each shadow lurking closer, each growl louder and more menacing. The air was thick with the stench of decay and the acrid smell of animal fury. Jhon's Predatory Sense hummed with the presence of dozens of red auras. Some were large and imposing, moving with the calculated slowness of a titan; others, smaller and more agile, danced in the shadows like evil spirits.
"John, they're coming from all sides! You're surrounded!" Loli's voice echoed in his mind, apprehension replacing his usual exuberance. "Be careful, there are many of them, and they're hungry!"
But Jhon didn't seem to hear. His icy eyes, almost luminous in the darkness, were fixed on the approaching horde. His back was to the bus, which, despite being dented and scratched, still offered an impenetrable wall. His mind, a cold, calculating algorithm, was already processing hundreds of variables: the trajectory of each attack, the speed of each creature, the most effective points of impact. The Enhanced Desert Eagle felt cold and heavy in his hands, a promise of destruction.
The first to break the siege line was a Thorny Wolf, a beast of grotesque proportions, with matted fur and dagger-sharp teeth. It leaped from the shadows, a gray blur of fury, with astonishing speed. The red dot of Jhon's laser sight fixed itself, unwavering, between the creature's glowing eyes. The sound of the gunshot, muffled by the silencer, was barely audible, but the impact was devastating. The Thorny Wolf's head exploded in a cloud of dark particles and a putrid stench, and its massive body disintegrated in the blink of an eye, without even touching the ground.
A deafening roar erupted from the horde. A Raging Beast, furious at the fall of its companion, charged at Jhon. It was a mountain of muscle and claws, and its furious eyes gleamed with an uncontrollable bloodlust. Its razor-sharp claws glinted in the light of the bus's headlights. Jhon aimed for the creature's chest and fired three quick shots. The impact of the .50 Action Express bullets was brutal, each striking with the force of a jackhammer. The Raging Beast staggered back, letting out a howl of pain that echoed across the road, but it did not fall. Its thick hide was incredibly resilient.
"Damage to the body is less effective, Jhon! Focus on the weak points! Head or joints!" Loli advised, her voice urgent.
Jhon, with his cool mind, had already realized this. As the Raging Beast staggered, trying to recover, a Venomous Arachnid, the size of a pony, swooped down on him. Its fang-filled jaws dripping with a viscous greenish liquid, opened in a deadly strike. Jhon dodged with the almost supernatural agility of a feline, rolling to the side and avoiding the attack by a split second. In the same movement, he stood up and, instead of shooting, used his new ability.
"Wolf Bite!" Jhon thought, activating the ability. A subtle aura of red energy enveloped his right fist, his muscles contracting with inhuman strength. He delivered a direct, powerful punch to the Venomous Arachnid's tough shell. The blow not only caused damage but also left a dark mark where the monster's skin began to disintegrate in a venomous bleed, its greenish innards bubbling. The arachnid screeched in pain, a high-pitched, bloodcurdling sound, and writhed, its movements becoming slow and uncoordinated.
The Raging Beast, finally recovered, charged again. But Jhon was already moving. He darted to the side, seizing the moment the creature lost its balance to take aim. His target: the Raging Beast's knee, an obvious junction, where the bone was most exposed. The shot was precise and devastating. The creature's leg bent unnaturally, and it fell with a heavy thud, a groan of agony escaping its throat. Jhon gave no quarter. He closed in and delivered a final shot to the head, transforming the Raging Beast into a cloud of dark, foul-smelling dust.
The horde of monsters, though numerous and relentless, was being methodically decimated by Jhon's hands. He moved like a shadow in the darkness, his precise shots and lethal agility transforming him into a predator even more dangerous than the creatures surrounding him. Each fallen enemy disintegrated into light and left behind items, which Jhon knew he could collect once the main threat was eliminated. The night would be bloody, but Jhon was ready for every drop of blood, for every new challenge. He was the wolf among wolves.