Chapter 11: Power Struggle and the Observer's Eye

The officer's words instantly froze the atmosphere in the isolation zone. The shelter chief specifically requested to see them, and deliberately mentioned "Power Enhancement" and "Perception Enhancement"; this was no coincidence.

Chen Mo's mind instantly flashed several thoughts. Had they drawn attention during registration? Or had their earlier battle with the Cleansers been observed by the shelter's scouts? Or... could Su Yu's "Observer" identity have triggered some kind of sensing?

He kept his composure, stood up, and gave Su Yu a look, signaling her to follow. "All right."

Han Qing and the others watched them with some worry; Chen Mo slightly shook his head, indicating they should stay calm.

Under the officer's guidance, Chen Mo and Su Yu passed through the crowded, noisy main thoroughfare of the shelter. Along the way, countless gazes fell upon them—numb, curious, and scrutinizing. They were led to a spot deep inside the shelter, before an area sealed by heavy metal doors; this was the original air-raid shelter's command center.

After passing strict security (mainly checking for obvious signs of monster infection), they entered a brightly lit room filled with communications equipment and a map sandtable. The air was thick with tobacco, coffee, and tension.

A middle-aged man in a slightly wrinkled uniform, his shoulder boards showing the rank of colonel, stood before the sandtable, brows furrowed. Though not tall, his posture was straight, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, bearing the dignity of long-held authority and the killer aura honed on the battlefield. He was the officer in charge of Seventh Shelter, Zhang Zhen.

Beside him stood several officers and a few people in plain clothes but with sharp demeanor, appearing to be the leaders of an awakened squad.

"Reporting to the shelter chief, Chen Mo and Su Yu have been brought." The guiding officer saluted.

Zhang Zhen turned, his gaze falling substantially on Chen Mo and Su Yu, lingering on Su Yu's face for a moment as if trying to discern something from her eyes.

"Chen Mo, Su Yu." Zhang Zhen's voice low and strong, "I am Zhang Zhen, the officer in charge here. I summoned you to learn some details and also hope to receive your assistance."

He got straight to the point without pleasantries: "You came from the western city; how was the situation on the road? Did you encounter… any unusual monsters, or… people?"

Chen Mo's thoughts raced; he decided to reveal partial information to gain trust and initiative. "There are many monster types: Demonic Hounds, Shadow Hunter Dogs, Acid Lizards, and… a boar covered in bone armor, plus a corrupted vine entity made of flesh-and-blood vines, among which there is an elite individual—a demonic flower capable of releasing energy shockwaves."

With each type he named, the faces of several officers grew graver. This information basically matched, and even exceeded in detail, the intelligence their scouting teams had obtained at great cost.

"As for people…" Chen Mo paused, meeting Zhang Zhen's gaze calmly, "We encountered four individuals wearing uniform gray combat suits, wielding energy weapons, and well-trained. They called themselves Cleansers, aiming to eliminate those in the know and retrieve 'Zero'."

"Cleansers?!" an aide-de-camp wearing glasses exclaimed in a low voice.

Zhang Zhen's eyes sharpened instantly; he gestured to silence the aide-de-camp, then fixed his stare on Chen Mo: "Did you engage them? What was the outcome?"

"We killed three; the last one self-destructed." Chen Mo said flatly, as if stating a trivial matter.

The room fell silent in an instant. Several officers and the awakened squad leaders wore expressions of disbelief. Cleansers! Their elite scouting teams that encountered such beings suffered heavy losses before barely escaping, yet this young man claims he killed three?!

Zhang Zhen drew a deep breath, suppressing his inner turmoil. He realized that this young man before him was far more dangerous and mysterious than his registered "Power Enhancement".

"Then, what is 'Zero'?" Zhang Zhen's gaze turned to Su Yu.

Su Yu's body trembled slightly; she instinctively looked toward Chen Mo.

Chen Mo stepped forward half a pace, subtly shielding Su Yu behind him, and said in a low voice: "This is a misunderstanding. The Cleansers' target is me; they believe I have come into contact with certain information I shouldn't have. Su Yu was merely caught in the crossfire." He skillfully shifted the focus, directing suspicion of "Zero" toward himself to protect Su Yu.

Zhang Zhen was no ordinary man; he would not believe so easily. Yet he did not press further, for more urgent matters pressed.

"I have confidence in your abilities." Zhang Zhen shifted tone, pointing to the outer perimeter defense line marked on the sandtable. "You've all heard the global announcement. In 24 hours, the Monster Tide will erupt. Seventh Shelter has gathered over five thousand survivors, but we have fewer than two hundred combat-capable awakened ones, and our weapons and ammunition are severely lacking."

His voice carried a heavy weight: "We need every bit of strong combat power, as well as accurate intelligence. Chen Mo, your prowess is evident. Miss Su Yu's Perception Enhancement is crucial for reconnaissance and early warning."

"I formally invite you to join the shelter's defense system." Zhang Zhen looked at Chen Mo. "I can grant you appropriate authority and resource allocations, but you must obey orders and bear the responsibility of defending the perimeter."

This is both recruitment and command.

Chen Mo fell silent for a moment. Joining the official system would mean gaining more resources and information, but also being bound by restrictions and risking exposure of more secrets, especially Su Yu's.

"We can assist in defense." Chen Mo spoke slowly, without directly agreeing to join, "but I need independent authority to act and make decisions, at least within my own squad. Furthermore, I need to know the shelter's complete monster distribution map, known monster types and weakness analyses, as well as… all information you have regarding 'Purple Corrosion' and the system."

He presented his terms, his demeanor neither humble nor arrogant.

Several officers' faces showed displeasure, feeling this young man was overly arrogant.

Zhang Zhen, however, did not grow angry; he assessed Chen Mo, seemingly weighing his value. "Very well. I will grant you command of an independent defense zone in the outer perimeter and share intelligence. But the precondition is that you prove your worth—before the tide arrives, lead a team to clear a small monster nest three kilometers to the southeast of the shelter, where many Shadow Hunter Dogs and several Acid Lizards gather, seriously threatening our supply lines. The map and intelligence will be provided by the Staff Department later."

This is a test.

"Deal." Chen Mo agreed readily. Clearing the nest would be a good opportunity for him and Su Yu to coordinate their team, raise their level, and also verify the reliability of the shelter's intelligence.

"Very good." Zhang Zhen nodded, his gaze sweeping over Su Yu again, and said meaningfully, "Miss Su Yu's perception ability, I hope it will play a crucial role in this clearing operation."

Leaving the command center, a staff officer handed Chen Mo a simple map and monster data.

Returning to the isolation zone, Chen Mo briefly informed Han Qing and the others of the situation.

"Clearing the nest? That's too dangerous!" Wang Hu was the first to object.

"This is the fastest way to gain independent authority and intelligence." Chen Mo's tone firm, "Besides, we must quickly adapt to more intense combat; the Monster Tide is no joke."

He looked at Su Yu: "This operation, your perception is key. I need you to sense as much as possible the monster distribution inside the nest, their strengths and weaknesses, and any possible elite units."

Su Yu nodded firmly, eyes resolute: "I will do my best."

After resting six hours, Chen Mo's team set out again. In addition to the original eight members, Zhang Zhen also dispatched two soldiers familiar with the terrain as guides.

Following the map's guidance, they quickly arrived at the target location—an abandoned logistics transfer station. The yard was littered with damaged crates, the warehouse doors stood wide open, and from within came chilling howls and scraping sounds.

"This is the place." A soldier lowered his voice, saying, "According to reconnaissance, inside there are at least twenty Shadow Hunter Dogs and more than five Acid Lizards, possibly also unknown mutants."

Chen Mo signaled the group to conceal themselves, then looked toward Su Yu.

Su Yu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and strove to focus her spirit. Gradually, she felt her consciousness seeming to detach from her body, spreading like mercury toward the warehouse ahead.

Chaotic energy fluctuations, bloodthirsty urges, cold auras… countless pieces of information flooded her mind. She "saw" red energy clusters gathered in the warehouse (Shadow Hunter Dogs), and also several green light clusters emitting corrosive energy (Acid Lizards). In the deepest part of the warehouse, an energy cluster one size larger than the others, dark purple in color, was emitting an unsettling fluctuation.

"Left side of the warehouse entrance… five hunter dogs… right side… three… middle… scattered… about ten… innermost… there is a large one… color dark purple… feels very dangerous…" Su Yu described haltingly what she had sensed, beads of fine sweat appearing on her forehead.

Dark purple? An elite unit? Chen Mo's eyes narrowed. Indeed, it wasn't that simple.

"Han Qing, Zhang Yang, Li Siwen, Wang Hu, Zhao Lei, you five will charge forward with me to draw fire. Su Yu, Liu Qian, and you two," Chen Mo glanced at the two soldiers, "guard the door to provide support, using this ranged weapon to pick off stragglers." He handed over a lightly damaged energy weapon taken from the Cleansers to the soldier with better marksmanship.

"Move out!"

Chen Mo gave a low shout and led the charge into the warehouse! The light of Bone Armor Technique instantly covered his body!

The warehouse interior was dim, reeking of foul odor. Almost the moment they stepped in, countless pairs of scarlet eyes glowed in the shadows!

"Roar!"

Accompanied by heart-pounding howls, waves of black shadows surged from all directions like phantoms! These were the speed-focused Shadow Hunter Dogs!

"Kill!"

Chen Mo swung his fire axe horizontally, blasting an oncoming hunter dog aside, while Energy Shot activated, a white-hot beam precisely striking the skull of another hunter dog sneaking in from the flank!

Han Qing and the others also roared as they advanced; after successive battles, their coordination grew ever more seamless, forming a makeshift back-to-back formation, wielding steel pipes and knives with all their might—though perilous, they barely held back the first wave.

"Watch out for acid!" Su Yu's voice came from the doorway.

In the depths of the warehouse, a few creatures that looked like rotting lizards lifted their heads, throats swelling, and suddenly spewed large streams of green acid!

"Scatter!" Chen Mo shouted urgently, and at the same time rolled forward sharply, evading the acid spray's coverage area.

"Sizzle—" The acid hit the ground and the cargo crates, instantly billowing thick smoke and rapidly corroding.

The battle instantly reached a fever pitch. Chen Mo stood like a rock at the front, each swing of his firefighting axe inevitably drawing blood, and Energy Shots intermittently picking off the lizards attempting to spit acid from afar. Han Qing and the others formed a defensive line around him, fiercely slashing the Hunter Dogs that broke through the fire net.

However, the number of Shadow Hunter Dogs was overwhelming, and they moved at extreme speed; occasionally a Hunter Dog would breach the line and pounce on Wang Hu or Zhao Lei inside the formation, causing Liu Qian to gasp repeatedly, while the soldier wielding an energy weapon fired nervously but with poor aim.

Just as a Hunter Dog was about to sink its teeth into Wang Hu's neck at the critical moment—

"Left side! Three inches below the neck!" Su Yu's urgent voice rang again, carrying an uncanny penetrating force.

Chen Mo, almost instinctively, fired a reverse-hand Energy Shot!

"Puff!" The beam precisely hit the spot Su Yu indicated, and the Hunter Dog let out a wail before collapsing limply to the ground.

Chen Mo felt a stir in his heart—Su Yu's perception could actually pinpoint weak points?

"The large one ahead on the right! Its energy core is slightly left of the chest!" Su Yu's voice came again, tinged with fatigue yet unusually clear.

Chen Mo fixed his gaze on the acid-spitting lizard that had just finished spraying and was about to retreat into the shadows; the Corrosive Toxic Saliva on his firefighting axe activated and was hurled out forcefully!

"Swoosh—Puff!"

The whirling axe head struck precisely at the spot Su Yu indicated, embedding deep within the lizard's body! The enhanced Corrosive Toxic Saliva detonated instantly, and the acid lizard convulsed violently a few times before going still.

【Successfully killed LV. 4 Acidic Lizard, gaining 70 experience points!】

With Su Yu's precise weak-point indications, Chen Mo and the others' kill efficiency surged! It was as if they possessed full-map vision and weak-point markers, each attack striking directly at vital spots!

The monsters in the warehouse dwindled at a visibly rapid pace.

Finally, only the entity at the deepest part of the warehouse remained, radiating dark violet energy—a monster twice the size of a normal Shadow Hunter Dog, its fur like flowing shadow, a single horn sprouting from its forehead, and purple flames blazing in its eyes!

【LV. 7 Shadow Demon Wolf (Elite)】

It let out a deep roar, and the air throughout the warehouse seemed to solidify.

"Careful! It's about to charge! Target is Chen Mo! Left shoulder has an old wound!" Su Yu's voice carried an unprecedented urgency.

Almost as her words finished, the Shadow Demon Wolf moved! It transformed into a true shadow, its speed extreme, lunging straight at Chen Mo! Its sharp claws were enshrouded in dense Shadow Energy!

Chen Mo was already prepared, his Bone Armor Technique pushed to the limit, and he dodged to the right!

"Sizzle!"

Despite his best dodge, the wolf's claws still grazed his left arm, the Bone Armor Technique emitting an overburdened groan and shattering instantly! A chilling Shadow Energy tried to infiltrate his body, but was barely repelled by the lingering power of Primordial Blood and the passive Metal Hardening.

What a powerful attack! If it weren't for Su Yu's warning and his own strong defense, this would likely have caused serious injury!

"Its weak point is the base of the horn! After each attack, there's less than a second of energy stall!" Su Yu, suppressing the dizzying fatigue from mental overexertion, shouted again.

Chen Mo's gaze hardened, advancing instead of retreating! At the instant the wolf's pounce landed, he stepped forward forcefully, his firefighting axe bearing his full strength and the eerie glow of Corrosive Toxic Saliva, sweeping upward from below, striking the horn's base that radiated violet light!

"Crack!"

A crisp sound rang out! The horn snapped in response!

"Aooo—!!!"

The Shadow Demon Wolf let out an extremely mournful wail, the Shadow Energy enveloping its body instantly dissipated, and its aura sharply waned!

Would Chen Mo let this chance slip by? The firefighting axe descended like a raging storm!

【Successfully killed LV. 7 Shadow Demon Wolf (Elite), gaining 250 experience points!】

【Level increased to 6!】

【Death Echo triggered! Successfully copied skill: Shadow Step (LV. 1)!】

【Shadow Step (LV. 1): Active skill. Enter stealth mode for a short period, greatly increasing damage of the next attack (effect ends upon exiting stealth), and slightly boosting movement speed for a short time. Cooldown 1 minute.】

A revelation about shadow and stealth surged into his mind, while a powerful heat flow surged through his entire body!

The battle ended. The warehouse was strewn with monster corpses.

Everyone gazed at Chen Mo standing beside the wolf's corpse, and at Su Yu near the doorway, nearly collapsed from mental overexertion and supported by Liu Qian, their eyes filled with awe.

Chen Mo walked to Su Yu's side, looked at her pale face, and said in a deep voice, "Well done."

Su Yu weakly smiled, but her eyes shone astonishingly. It was the first time she felt her abilities' importance so clearly.

Chen Mo knew that after this battle, Su Yu's "Observer's Eye" would truly become an indispensable core of the team. And they had also proven their "value" to Zhang Zhen and this shelter.

The tide of monster shadows still loomed, but with Su Yu's precise perception and his own Shadow Step, Chen Mo felt a bit more confidence about the approaching storm.