Chapter 515: Overseer's Watch, Quick Decision, Mutual Carnage

Bang~ bang~!

Six grenades fired in succession from the 40mm-caliber launcher, tracing faint golden arcs in midair, striking the indescribable entity.

Frankly, even if Leon closed his eyes and pulled the trigger aimed forward, he couldn't miss, given how huge that thing's size is.

Boom! Boom!

The grenades exploded one after another on that thing's viscous skin.

However, the explosive firelight from the grenades, like the trails, was the brilliant gold representing mankind's lord, the Human Emperor.

Howl…! Roar!!!

After suffering the blast's shockwave, that guy let out an earsplitting, agonized scream.

Most importantly, the golden radiance seemed to make it feel an extreme threat, causing it to struggle to flee downward.

Rumble… boom…~!!

This caused the hive to shudder violently again.

!!

Leon, standing on the metal walkway, nearly lost his balance from the violent shaking and fell over.

Fortunately, Leon promptly gripped the railing ahead with his left hand, thus avoiding a fall into the endless abyss.

Moreover, this legend was far from satisfied with the status quo; since his direct superior had already taken notice here and was providing assistance, he had to expand his gains.

Thus Leon opened the L-6's revolver-style cylinder, gripped the launcher with his left hand and tipped it down, dumping the spent casings all at once.

Ding~ ding…~!

The large casings fell onto the metal lattice walkway, producing a clear, pleasant sound.

At the same time, his right hand snatched three grenades from the rear waist pouch, quickly and accurately loading them into the cylinder.

After repeating the same motion once, Leon flicked his right hand to slide the cylinder into the launcher.

The whole reloading process was highly spectacular, akin to the male lead of action films named after the 'Rapid' series that had captivated the main universe for over a century—completing a reload in an instant while retaining flair, which matched Leon's temperament and style perfectly.

Reload complete.

Pulled the trigger.

Another six 'blessed' grenades were fired, striking the indescribable entity as it withdrew from the trial grounds.

Explosion.

Agonized scream.

Trembling.

After repeating this several times, Leon had finally expended all the grenades on his person, and he tossed the now-useless grenade launcher aside, picking up his MP5 again.

Then he flipped and jumped, actually leaving the metal walkway and deliberately plunging into the endless abyss below.

It wasn't that Leon couldn't cope; rather, the indescribable entity had already slipped out of sight!

That thing hasn't even rolled out of his dream—how could he let it go?

Immediately thereafter, in freefall, Leon gripped his MP5 with both hands, aimed downward, and pulled the trigger, spraying bullets wildly.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!" The 9mm bullets also traced golden arcs as they shot into the abyss.

Moreover, Leon couldn't be bothered to retrieve the empty magazines; he simply slapped in a fresh one, racked the bolt, and kept firing.

"Don't you dare run!!" This time Leon let out a roar.

Besides that, the Desert Eagle, VP70, Glock, and the Remington loaded with slug shotgun shells—any weapon capable of inflicting damage—Leon hurled or fired them all.

In just two minutes, his load dropped by over twenty kilograms, leaving him nearly bare, and he instantly felt much lighter.

As for that indescribable entity…

Given that the surroundings were a pitch-black abyss with no light, Leon couldn't make out the thing's full form; he could only sense it and guess it lay not far below.

Since all his thermal weapons were exhausted, then…

With a crazy yet somehow normal thought, Leon unfastened the snap on the knife sheath at his waist, drew the M12 tactical bayonet, gripped the handle with both hands, raised it high, and made a thrusting motion following his fall's momentum.

Indeed, the very act of Leon drawing the M12 caused the blade to blaze with intense brightness, even making him feel a warm, serene golden radiance that illuminated the so‑called endless abyss, dispelling the vision‑obscuring black mist of fear and trembling.

Just then.

The true form of the indescribable entity was fully revealed to Leon's sight.

It was about seven hundred meters in diameter, resembling a colossal man‑eating flower, its five petals bearing even larger eyes and tentacles.

At the center of the 'man‑eating flower' lay a ring roughly fifty meters long of sharp blades and bone spikes—a 'cavity,' or rather, a 'mouthpart.'

This appearance would simultaneously plunge sufferers of trypophobia and megalophobia into extreme panic.

As for Leon…

Simply comparing sizes, the human body is utterly minuscule; even with his blade shedding golden light, Leon seemed like a meteoroid about to burn up, a fleeting shooting star.

But if one brings him into view, Leon shows no fear whatsoever; his expression betrays eagerness, wishing to accelerate his freefall, dive straight into the flower's interior, and wreak havoc from inside out.

Thus, perhaps he could drive the man‑eating flower from the dream while also inflicting damage on its physical form in the real universe.

"You foolish bastard!!!"

Apparently sensing Leon's thought, the man‑eating‑flower‑like indescribable entity let out a shrill roar, flung its mouthparts wide, and spewed tens of thousands of slender tendrils, seemingly aiming to swallow Leon and then carry out assimilation measures on special individuals.

Indeed, this anomaly has already affected everyone in the camp, and by using special frequencies and projections it constructed a unique dream for Leon, Lin Hong, Lu Mu, and all personnel to achieve assimilation.

Once reason is lost in the dream—whether through surrender, submission, or mental breakdown—the 'delicious' soul and the intense emotions produced under extreme conditions, and everything else, will become its own, allowing it to gradually regain its former strength.

Yet this anomaly never expected that the camp harbored many individuals whose willpower and mental fortitude were off the charts, especially Lin Hong and the supporting troops.

After all, the modification surgery rendered Lin Hong and company unable to think or judge by ordinary logic.

On the contrary, Leon, about to fall into its maw, only aggravated the anomaly's headache.

As for weapon ammunition and the like, in the dream they are heavily discounted, yet the rounds fired from Leon's hand still made it feel genuine, real‑world pain.

Then, not long ago, Leon actually fired ammunition that radiated golden light, amplifying the pain it felt a hundredfold or more.

Most importantly, this anomaly also sensed from the golden light that it most hated and most disliked Spiritual Energy.

So, facing Leon's outbreak, this anomaly prepared for a head‑on clash to prove who truly is the ruler of the universe!

However

Hiss!!

The M12 blade wrapped in golden light easily sliced off the tentacles attacking Leon.

Roar!!

Moreover, the severed part of the tentacle ignited with golden flames, causing the anomaly immense pain and letting it feel the long‑absent threat of death.

Finally, seeing the golden blaze spread rapidly along the severed spot, the anomaly abandoned any attempt to devour or assimilate Leon, and without hesitation swiftly withdrew from Leon's mind, causing the constructed fictional locales such as Raccoon City and the hive to collapse with a roar.

Leon, who should still have been in free fall, suddenly lost the anomaly's active escape, ending his weightless state; immediately a wave of dizziness struck, plunging him back into unconsciousness.

Commander, Commander, are you alright?

But soon Leon heard Lin Hong's urgent shout.

Er

Immediately he felt a splitting pain from his temples, making him frown instinctively, then he naturally raised his hands to rub his temples and slowly opened his eyes, trying to observe his surroundings.

First to come into view was Lin Hong, fully armed and looking anxious.

Second, Leon discovered that, just as he had guessed in the dream, he was indeed lying in the camp, inside the simple dwelling where they resided.

He tried to stand up, but for a moment he felt an ache he hadn't experienced in over a hundred years, as if the fatigue and injuries from the dream were all feeding back into his real physical body.

Fortunately, the nanobots were functioning normally, helping his body quickly break down and metabolize lactic acid, so by the time Leon completed the motion of standing up, he had already returned to normal.

Afterwards, Leon took off the holographic glasses hanging from his shirt, put them on, and asked Lin Hong, "What's the situation at the camp?"

Lin Hong, while holding his gun and keeping watch outside the simple house through the window, reported: "Commander, my comrades and I were all affected by some kind of anomaly four minutes ago, forced into different dreams."

Then, in our respective dreams, we engaged in battle with gigantic anomaly creatures resembling man‑eating flowers; after defeating them, we successfully broke free from the dream's constraints and immediately regrouped.

Furthermore, we discovered a significant difference in time flow between dream and reality; based on our shared experiences, one day in the dream equals one minute in reality.

Moreover, it seems everyone in the camp was affected by the same anomaly, all drawn into the dream; now, apparently only we have awakened and remain sane.

Moreover

Saying this, Lin Hong glanced at the elite major general lying on the simple bed near the door, who occasionally twitched, and continued: "Moreover, Major General Rum remains in a comatose state; my comrades and I have tried various ways to wake him, but we cannot help him."

You too, Commander, except that just as we were thinking of other ideas, you woke up on your own; I truly don't know how Major General Rum's situation really is.

"One minute, one Earth day," Leon murmured to himself as he listened to Lin Hong's information.

If Lin Hong's words are true, then he must have stayed at least five days in the dream's Raccoon City and hive; otherwise his mind would have remained in a tense state.

Next, Leon drew his personal plasma pistol from his under‑arm holster, walked slowly to the window on the other side, and looked outside.

Indeed.

The AR display from the holographic glasses showed that the entire camp was eerily silent, with no one else awake besides them; moreover, the blood‑red light still emanating from the mountaintop allowed the intangible eeriness to continue spreading and enveloping.

At this point, Leon began to speculate what kind of impact the anomaly phenomenon would have on them.

By forcibly pulling them into dreams generated from their own memories, if they remain sane and composed, or if they succeed in defeating that "man‑eating flower," they can successfully liberate their consciousness and regain control of their bodies.

But if they lose all reason, willingly succumb to defeat and submission, or are devoured or killed by that "man‑eating flower," what would the result be?

For now, Leon cannot yet determine what the outcome will be, but there is one thing he can affirm: more than half, perhaps even more, of the people in this camp would absolutely not survive an attack by the dream‑dwelling anomaly creatures.

Thus Leon did not dare hesitate; he immediately opened the comms and ordered the bridge of the Griffin: "Immediately have combat personnel carry out an airdrop on our camp."

"Yes, Commander," replied the communications officer on the other end, the same one as before: "The ship‑borne Astate squad and three auxiliary military combat companies are ready for airdrop, and the Griffin is adjusting its current position and angle, expected to finish the whole procedure in four minutes."

"Well then, how is the situation with the Grey Knights?" Leon asked.

"The nearest Grey Knight entered the Rift Space fourteen minutes ago; conservatively estimated, it still needs fifteen to twenty minutes to reach Sri Lan's gravitational range."

"Very good." Leon nodded slightly and added, "Continue to stay vigilant and be ready at any moment to provide naval gunfire support for the ground forces."

All right, Commander.

Ending the communication.

Leon made a snap decision, raised his voice to command Lin Hong and the others: "Start the vehicles, withdraw from this camp first, wait for reinforcements to arrive before making plans; Lin Hong, you are responsible for looking after Major General Rum—let's go!"

Yes!

Next

The group swiftly evacuated the simple house as Leon had ordered, then boarded the three Warthog‑like vehicles already waiting outside (the three auxiliary troops tasked with guard duty, who had driven over as soon as they woke up).

As for Major General Rum, who was still sound asleep, Lin Hong simply tossed him onto the rear seat, changed his position, and let him continue sleeping.

Once everyone had boarded, they drove toward the outskirts of the camp.

Howl

It was during this gap that sharp‑toned roars began to echo one after another inside the camp.

Following closely were the sources of those roars—those "guys"—who one by one entered the field of view of Leon, Lin Hong, and the others.

All that could be seen were rotting skins; their bodies were either covered in disgustingly long thin tentacles or overrun with extra eyeballs—mercenaries and gang members—staggering out of their respective simple dwellings.

Moreover, these dazed "they" made no distinction between friend and foe, beginning to engage in wildly frenzied mutual slaughter and cannibalism.

Naturally, Leon and his companions, who remained inside the camp, also became targets.

Ha ha

At the same time, behind Leon, Lin Hong, and the others, the mountain peak emitted a loud yet low‑pitched mocking laugh.

(End of chapter)