[Today's release count 1/3]
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Ivan didn't know it, but according to the original story, Cha Hyun-soo would've gotten jumped by the fast monster while scavenging supplies in the underground parking garage.
Lee Eun-hyuk and the others, seeing that Cha Hyun-soo wasn't coming back, would've driven out to rescue him.
The second they left, the spider monster would've crawled down through the vents to the first floor, snatched Kim Soo-young right in front of Han Doo-shik's group, and nearly killed her.
Everyone hiding on the first floor would've locked the doors out of fear, too scared to help. Then Park Yu-ri would've snapped and rushed out to save the kids, with Lee Eun-yoo following her and chewing out the cowards for forgetting what the drills were even for.
But none of that shit was happening now.
Because Ivan had already killed the spider monster ahead of time, the only problem left was the fast bastard currently staring them down.
"This monster's crazy fast. Doctor Greevs, watch yourself," Cha Hyun-soo whispered, eyes locked on the creature not far away. "But it hasn't spotted us yet."
He really didn't want to fight this thing head-on. He'd already seen how terrifying its speed was.
"Good," Ivan replied.
Right after he spoke, he hunched over and started coughing violently. He clamped a hand over his mouth, and blood trickled out between his fingers.
"This…" Ivan lifted his hand with a fake look of shock, staring at the red smeared across his palm.
"You're infected," Cha Hyun-soo said immediately. The guy had seen it before.
"Nosebleeds usually come with hallucinations. You'll start seeing someone who looks just like you. No matter what that thing says, don't listen to it."
Ivan almost wanted to laugh. The fast monster was charging straight at them, and this kid still had time to give him a fucking lecture. *Putain*, he was dying inside.
BANG!
The next second, Cha Hyun-soo was sent flying like a ragdoll.
"That speed…" Ivan narrowed his eyes, watching the fast monster skid to a stop after the hit.
Its leg muscles were grotesquely overdeveloped, bulging like thick cables. Red, lava-like light glowed from its heart and legs.
You could clearly see the throbbing, blood-red heart inside its chest, pounding like a fucked-up car engine. Boom. Boom. Boom.
"This still isn't fast enough. Not even close," the fast monster snarled, twisting its head toward Ivan.
In a blink, its body vanished from where it stood.
"Wanna dance with me?"
Without a sound, several slits cracked open across the back of Ivan's skull. His vision pushed to its absolute limit, but he could still only barely catch the blur of the thing's movement.
It wasn't as fast as A-Train or some of the real speedsters, but the gap wasn't huge.
"Here it comes." Ivan spun around just in time. A massive force slammed into him. Bang! He crashed straight through the door of a black sedan, crushing the metal inward.
The monster didn't stop. It immediately turned its eyes on Cha Hyun-soo, who had just gotten back on his feet.
"Shit," Cha Hyun-soo muttered. He saw Ivan get launched and go still. In his head, Ivan had only been infected recently, so his body should still be close to a normal person's. A hit like that could easily snap ribs or worse.
Boom. Boom. Boom!!!
The monster's heart thumped like a heavy engine. Seconds later, it disappeared again.
This time Cha Hyun-soo was ready. He raised the stun gun in front of him, hoping the creature would impale itself if it tried to ram him.
Too bad the monster didn't play along.
A brutal force grabbed his shoulder. Before he could even turn his head, the monster hurled him across the garage.
"Had your fun yet?"
Ivan's voice came from behind the monster. He had appeared there without warning.
From what he observed, the thing's insane speed came from that overworked heart in its chest. Organ modification like this was exactly what Ivan wanted. What if he had multiple hearts?
With that thought, he started analyzing the monster's ability.
If he was right, its desire wouldn't be much of a threat to him. Probably not even as strong as his gluttony desire.
To stop it from running, a bladed tentacle shot out from his back. It flashed through the air and sliced both of the monster's legs clean off.
"My legs! My fucking legs!" the monster screamed. Its heart started pounding like crazy, the red glow growing brighter and brighter. Countless tiny cracks spread across its body, like magma was about to spill out.
"This fucker's gonna blow itself up, isn't it?"
The analysis wasn't finished yet, so Ivan wasn't about to let it explode. When Cha Hyun-soo finally ran over, he found Ivan squatting on the ground, casually reattaching the monster's severed legs.
"What the hell are you doing?" Cha Hyun-soo stared at him, completely lost.
"I accidentally sliced its legs off and now the bastard wants to blow itself up. I'm trying to stop that," Ivan said casually, like he was fixing a broken chair.
Cha Hyun-soo's mouth twitched hard. He couldn't wrap his head around the crazy doctor's twisted logic.
"Just kill it already."
"No no no. Don't you see? This is a perfect research subject," Ivan replied. After he reattached the legs, the monster's glowing red skin finally started to fade. Ivan let out a relieved breath.
Thank fuck it didn't die. That would've ruined everything.
"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" the monster screamed at Ivan, eyes burning with pure hatred, bloodshot and ready to spit flames.
It struggled up from the ground, but the second it tried to move, it realized its legs were on backwards.
Bang! It face-planted right in front of Ivan and let out a furious roar.
[Analysis Complete]
[Talent Skill: Heart Engine]
[Fusion Condition: Kill the complete Fast Monster]
[After fusion, the player will develop an accelerating desire. Once satisfied, the player's heart will gradually mutate, speeding up blood circulation while strengthening and reshaping the leg muscle fibers for a much tighter bond with the heart.
It will also boost the player's self-healing ability and slightly increase overall strength.
Additionally, the player will gain the ability to regulate heart output. This is directly tied to speed — higher output means greater velocity. However, pushing past the heart's limit will cause severe damage.
Friendly reminder: After shattering the desire mirror, the desire gained from this fusion will disappear with no side effects.]
"Pretty fucking interesting," Ivan muttered. He pulled out a scalpel and started carving into the monster right there on the ground. "The heart's completely transformed. This has to be the source of its power."
He scooped the still-beating heart into his palm and examined it closely. Parts of it had a glassy look, but it wasn't brittle. It was insanely tough, far stronger than any normal heart. Even outside the body, it kept pulsing with stubborn life.
Ivan didn't care when Cha Hyun-soo left to gather supplies.
The monster without its heart kept twitching and struggling for two or three full minutes before it finally died.
Once Ivan confirmed all the nearby cameras were wrecked, he slowly raised his right hand. A blinding blue laser exploded from his palm. Sizzle! The monster's body turned cherry-red where the beam hit. He cranked the power to maximum, and the corpse started carbonizing fast.
"Looks like the Heart Engine is already improving the cells' heat resistance."
The burned-out eye in his palm detached itself. Half an hour later, a brand-new one grew back. After testing, Ivan found the new eye's power limit had gone up by 0.02%.
It could now fire stronger lasers and hold the beam longer.
Adaptive self-healing might not spike his fighting strength overnight, but it was one hell of a passive skill.
[Heart Engine Talent Fusion: 2%]
Ivan stared across the empty parking garage and broke into a savage grin.
Craving more speed? Simple.
He slammed his heart output to the limit and reshaped his legs into pure sprinting form.
Then he became a blur.
He rocketed between the parked cars, smashing straight through several when he lost control mid-run. Ivan didn't give a shit. Those crashes weren't nearly enough to break his skin.
2%…5%…31%
The faster he went, the more his desire got fed, and the fusion rate climbed like crazy.
At 37%, he finally skidded to a stop. Deep cracks like dry bark had split open across his chest, leaking sharp red light. It looked like a fucking lava core was burning inside his ribcage.
"Damn. The reinforcement still can't keep up with the damage," Ivan muttered. Every breath he took blasted out scorching hot air. Before long, the temperature in his section of the garage had risen noticeably.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69