Chapter 1412: Shock and Escape

-The wait didn't last long.

But for the mutated beings, a three-second wait seemed somewhat too long.

The mutated being general who had originally been calm and patiently waiting for Lin An's corpse to appear, as time trickled by, gradually grew solemn in expression.

Why, despite being absolutely confident that nothing would go wrong, he now felt a strong sense of unease.

It was as if something was about to happen.

No matter how he thought, he could not imagine what accident might occur.

"Why... hasn't it come out yet!!"

He muttered under his breath, his enormous eyeball, like a blood-red lantern, continually rolling and flipping within its socket.

The constant rolling of his eyeball betrayed his current agitation.

He didn't think... his subordinates would have the mind to chat with Lin An in the vanishing space.

So...

With the ability to think hundreds to thousands of times per second, eventually, as a piercing sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out, an expression of utter disbelief mixed with shock and anger—rarely seen—suddenly appeared on his face.

What is this...!?

Boom!

A slight tremor.

All that could be seen was a bloody skeleton dropping out of the void like trash.

Under gravity, it slammed into the hall floor with a boom.

Piles of white bones were haphazardly stacked together, with only a few strands of muscle barely clinging to the joints, maintaining a rough shape.

Even if the flesh had been completely gnawed away, only flesh like meat spikes remained clinging on.

But thanks to his extraordinary observational skills, the general instantly realized that this corpse was fundamentally that of a mutated being!

His pupils suddenly contracted.

The next second, a wind like a storm's roar erupted instantly.

No!!!

He roared, and towering rage and shock appeared on his face.

The general froze briefly, then madly rushed to the pile of bones on the ground and snatched up the bloody skeleton!

The missing skull and the chest ribs torn apart bare witness to what happened to this corpse, which vanished together with Lin An, during those three seconds!

Eaten!?!

Eaten up!!!

Unbelievable.

The general could not believe it no matter what—a mutated being of equal strength to him, merely not as powerful, had actually been devoured alive!

He stared fixedly at the bone stub in his hand still bearing flesh buds; at the chest bone, not entirely clean from Lin An's gnawing, the broken giant white bone that fell into his view... was as good as directly reconstructing the whole scene!!

Just as if he had personally witnessed the mutated being's death, the general came to his senses and roared:

Chase!!!

Search this place at top speed!! He surely hasn't fled far!!

He felt it! He felt that faint spatial power that appeared with the corpse's emergence!

It was obvious that after Lin An pulled that mutated being away and vanished, he then activated a teleportation ability from within a special space, escaping directly from their encirclement!

That lingering spatial rift was clearly the one that had just appeared!

His thick, rotting arms seemed to tremble slightly; in his furious rage, a crisp crack sounded as he repeatedly crushed the bone tissue in his hands.

Bang

Bone fragments flew everywhere, shattering from his hands like blades.

As a super existence as strong as a general-level being, he could instantly simulate the scene from the corpse remnants!

Lin An!

First, he bare-handedly pierced the mutated being's chest, tearing out its heart! Then, in an instant, he ripped off its head!

That displaced, twisted spine was undoubtedly a mark left when the skull was violently wrenched off!

In the remaining time, Lin An even gulped down the flesh and blood of his own subordinates, devouring them completely!

Moreover, from the terrifying 'tooth marks' on the corpse, he could sense Lin An's frenzy and greed as he devoured the flesh!

This is no human! It's outright a monster!

After simulating such a gruesome, bloody 'scene,' even he felt a twinge of fear!

Mutated beings devour organisms, but only to strengthen themselves, selectively absorbing!

But without a doubt, in those three seconds when no one knew what had happened, Lin An seemed to turn into the purest monster, devouring a mutated being alive! Aside from perhaps the bones containing less energy that he didn't eat, the monster-form Lin An didn't even let the brains go!

He could not even imagine how that tiny, fragile worm-like body could possibly hold so much 'food'!

Could it be that he wouldn't burst from being overstuffed!?

Just as shocked as a general-level mutated being, upon similarly realizing what had occurred, many mutated beings, despite their monster-like huge faces, all simultaneously showed expressions of astonishment.

They could not comprehend what Lin An had turned into, nor how he had accomplished all this.

Deep down, they merely felt as if they had let loose some disaster!

"Supreme General! Should we search in groups of three!?"

"Should we notify the Emperor!?"

Suppressing the shock in his heart, a mutated being over three hundred meters in size could not help but hurriedly ask.

Although they didn't know what anomaly had occurred, the fact that Lin An could kill this mutated being meant that any mutated being present was in danger!

If he remembers correctly, Lin An once said he could absorb Alien Species' power to strengthen himself! Conversely, does this also apply to them?

If a dragnet-style search is carried out, given his intelligence and strength, how could he not foresee the consequences!?

At the same time, upon hearing the subordinate's sudden reminder, the General's expression stiffened abruptly, then he seemed to hesitate a bit and still shook his head.

"No need! Scatter and search! We absolutely cannot let him escape!"

"Never mind casualties! Even if a batch dies, it doesn't matter!"

"He hasn't fled far; he's still within the blockade zone!"

After firmly repeating the same order, this General‑rank aberrant took a deep breath and then stared fixedly toward the southwest.

He could be certain that Lin An had not fled far.

First, the spatial disturbance that had just spread was extremely unstable, and the spatial energy it contained was not strong.

Obviously, Lin An's escape was due to an instantaneous transmission ability he activated; it is not a regular‑level ability, but rather some extremely inferior special ability.

The maximum distance will not exceed one hundred kilometers; upon careful sensing, he can even feel that this torn spatial rift is extremely unstable, and the landing point is very likely random.

This perhaps means that the distance Lin An fled might be even shorter!

Second, the red net sealing this area was not triggered, and the specific coordinates have narrowed to a rough range.

Find Lin An! We must find Lin An!

This is not only the Emperor's will; it also bears great influence on the future direction of the war for the entire civilization!

The bounty for killing a Perfect One is generous enough! After killing Lin An, they even hope to make use of his corpse for something!

However, just as he was about to simply dispatch all the aberrants from the war nexus to hunt down Lin An, a voice of slight astonishment, filled with amazement, suddenly sounded from outside.

All that could be seen was that, with a strange fluctuation, an aberrant that seemed somewhat 'frail' instantly appeared before the General's eyes.

"Stop! You want to hunt down Lin An!?"

"Why!? The Emperor's command!?"

The voice carried incomprehension and a low tone, as if she, having just learned this news, had never imagined such a thing would happen.

He raised his head; the General's expression stiffened, and upon seeing who had come, his instinctive rebuke was swallowed back.

The one who arrived was not a low‑rank aberrant.

That was...

Anna, whose identity is extremely special.