The villagers had barely caught wind of the incoming monsters when panic erupted. Screams echoed through the mountainside as people scrambled toward the familiar waterfall cave. Those who knew the terrain led the way, feet pounding the muddy forest floor. Even the ones carrying children didn’t slow down much—villagers helped one another without hesitation, taking turns piggybacking the young or supporting the weak. Survival demanded unity now.

  Just as they neared the waterfall’s entrance, a shrill screech pierced the air behind them.

  Black shadows burst from the trees.

  “Shit!” Miles cursed under his breath, the last one in line. Without missing a step, he reached into his vest, pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and flung it backward.

  Boom!

  The blast rocked the narrow trail behind him, and for a brief second, the shadows retreated—but not for long. The mutated bats, each nearly the size of a grown man, surged forward again. Their grotesque wings flapped violently, churning air thick with the scent of blood and rot.

  Miles kept running. Every few strides, another grenade flew from his hand, a calculated rhythm of destruction and delay. Each explosion echoed like thunder, sending shrapnel and charred bat flesh flying.

  By the time he reached the cave entrance, his breath came in ragged gasps, but his mind stayed sharp. He hurled a coil of climbing rope to the waiting group. “Paige, go first! I’ll hold them off!”

  Paige caught the rope and nodded, though her eyes glistened with fear. “You better make it back alive,” she growled, voice trembling. “I can’t take losing someone again.”

  “No promises,” Miles said with a wry grin, already pulling the pin on another grenade. “But I’ll do my damn best.”

  Paige secured the rope around a sturdy boulder and rappelled into the darkness below. The cavern dropped steeply into an underground river system. Once she landed safely, she called up, signaling for the villagers to follow. One by one, they clipped into the rope, sliding down into safety. Those with children strapped them tightly to their backs.

  Meanwhile, Miles stood alone at the cave’s mouth, a six-barrel rotary gun braced in his arms. He squeezed the trigger, and a thunderous roar filled the cave. Bullets ripped through the charging bats, wings shredded mid-flight, bodies collapsing into writhing heaps.

  Five thousand rounds later, the weapon’s barrels glowed red-hot. Miles didn’t hesitate—he tossed a cluster of grenades behind him and slammed a new ammo box into place.

  Another volley. More screams. More explosions.

  Half an hour passed like this—an eternity of noise, smoke, and blood.

  Finally, Paige radioed up, her voice calm. “Everyone’s down. Pull back.”

  Miles didn’t need to be told twice. With a guttural shout, he lobbed the last of his grenades, then slung the ruined rotary gun aside—its barrels now warped and cracked from the relentless heat. Without missing a beat, he threw his remaining ammo and explosives toward the cave interior.

  The bats surged forward, sensing weakness. Hundreds of them.

  But Miles turned and dove from the ledge, yanking the pin from a special grenade he’d kept tucked against his chest. While still airborne, he hurled it into the heart of the cave.

  A blinding flash.

  The mountainside erupted.

  The explosion tore through the earth, shaking the entire region. Water from the falls exploded upward, a geyser of steam and fire blasting out from the cave. A shockwave of flame and rock followed, collapsing the tunnel behind him. Chunks of mutated bats were flung into the air like rag dolls.

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  Miles tumbled into the river below just as the cave caved in behind him.

  When he surfaced, gasping for breath, Paige was already in the water.

  “Miles!” she screamed, plunging in. She dove, hands cutting through the murky depths, her heart pounding. Was he alive? Was he conscious? Was he—

  Her fingers brushed against his arm.

  She gripped him tightly, pulling him upward, wrapping her arms around his chest as she swam toward the shore. Villagers rushed to help as soon as they saw them.

  Together, they hauled him onto dry land. Paige immediately flipped him upside down, trying to drain any water from his lungs. Then she pressed her hands against his chest, performing CPR.

  “Miles! Come on!”

  No response.

  She clenched her jaw and leaned in, pinching his nose, and gave him mouth-to-mouth.

  Miles, of course, was very much awake.

  He had no trouble holding his breath—not with 15 Constitution. The truth was, he could probably stay underwater for fifteen minutes without issue. But as Paige’s soft lips touched his, he decided to enjoy the moment just a little longer.

  For research purposes, obviously.

  But Paige wasn’t fooled. She noticed the steady pulse in his neck. The way his eyes twitched behind closed lids.

  “Oh, you bastard,” she muttered.

  With a scowl, she punched him in the stomach.

  “Ugh!” Miles doubled over with a cough. “Hey! That’s assault!”

  Paige snorted. “Next time you try to steal a kiss, try not to look so smug while faking death.”

  The villagers chuckled. The tension broke like dawn after a storm.

  Miles stood, rubbing his stomach with an exaggerated wince. “Okay, okay, I get it. Let’s get moving. This mountain might not be done with us yet.”

  With Paige leading the way, they pushed deeper into the forest. Miles brought up the rear as usual, though now his rotary gun was gone, and he was down to his own supplies.

  They moved through rugged terrain—no trails, only overgrown vegetation and slippery rocks. But the mountain folk were used to hiking. Even with children in tow and cuts on their legs, they pressed forward without complaint.

  Miles, however, noticed signs the others didn’t.

  Red-eyed birds glaring from branches. Rotten-furred rodents scurrying across paths. Swollen, twitching bodies of creatures caught halfway through mutation.

  “Not good,” he muttered, tightening his grip on his assault rifle.

  Just as the road finally came into view far below them, hope flickered in every heart. They quickened their pace—until a shriek tore through the underbrush.

  A blur of black lunged from the forest.

  A woman screamed as something sank its fangs into her arm, dragging her into the trees. Miles caught a glimpse—a thick black serpent, half a meter in diameter, eyes glowing red.

  “Move!” he shouted. “Everyone, run! Paige, take the lead!”

  The villagers obeyed without hesitation, practically tumbling down the slope. Miles covered the rear, firing at anything that moved. Flames roared as he used incendiary rounds, igniting trees and shrubs. But the humid forest resisted the spread—this wasn’t like the dry frontside mountains.

  As they reached the edge of the woods, another horror emerged.

  A serpent, twenty meters long, thick as a tree trunk. Iridescent scales shimmered with deadly color—poison, Miles guessed, lots of it.

  Paige fired first. Bullets sparked harmlessly off the monster’s scales.

  “Go for the eyes and mouth!” Miles yelled, swapping to his sniper rifle.

  He dropped to one knee, steadied his breath, and fired.

  Boom.

  The bullet pierced one of the serpent’s eyes. Blood sprayed as it screamed in agony.

  But pain only made it angrier.

  It lunged at Paige—far too fast to dodge. She was snatched in its jaws and dragged into the jungle.

  “PAIGE!” Miles bellowed.

  Her voice echoed back faintly, “Save the villagers first!”

  He turned to the trembling crowd—over two hundred people staring at him with terror in their eyes.

  “GO!” he shouted. “Get to the road! Mayor, call the military for evac!”

  The village chief fumbled for his phone. “Yes—yes! Right away!”

  The survivors didn’t need telling twice. With adrenaline surging, they ran, faster than they’d ever run in their lives.

  Within minutes, they burst from the trees and reached the roadside. Military trucks were already inbound—five heavy transports to extract the survivors.

  Miles checked his system.

  Survivors rescued: 230

  Total saved: 240

  But it wasn’t over yet.

  Emergency Mission: F-Rank

  Objective: Rescue Paige

  Time Limit: 3 Hours

  Reward: 50,000 Game Coins / 1,000,000 EXP

  He stared at the screen, heart hammering.

  “She’s still alive,” he whispered.

  He turned toward the jungle.

  A soldier stepped in his path. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Miles looked him dead in the eye. “To save someone.”

  And with that, he vanished into the woods.

  “Wait—he’s crazy!” the soldier yelled.

  The village chief shook his head. “No, sir. That man saved us all. If anyone can do it, it’s him. He’s not just a soldier. He’s a damn hero.”

  The officer stared into the trees, expression unreadable.

  “Who is he?” he muttered. “And what kind of unit produces someone like that?”