A group of people ran across the road. Behind them, several infected chased them like beasts.

One old man fell. His daughter tried to pull him up, but an infected jumped onto him and bit his neck.

The daughter screamed.

A cultivator nearby rushed over and stabbed the infected with a spear.

CLANG!!

The spear only pierced a little before stopping.

The cultivator froze. The infected turned its head and bit his arm.

Alex moved. A green flame line shot across the street.

The infected’s head burst apart.

Mingyue appeared beside the cultivator and cut off his bitten arm before the gray veins could spread too far.

SHRKK!!

The cultivator screamed and fell to the ground.

Mingyue sealed the wound with ice. "You want to live, cut your arm," she said coldly.

The cultivator’s face was twisted in pain, but he nodded quickly.

Alex sent another flame outward.

Three infected rushing toward a group of children were burned through their heads.

The children cried and hid behind a ruined car.

Alex looked around. The situation was worse than he thought.

The city-wide formation was not active.

Only police, scattered guards, and broken robot units were fighting on the street.

That meant the city hall had fallen, or someone had blocked the whole system from inside.

Mingyue came back to his side. "The formation is useless."

Alex nodded. "Someone took over it. Probably the one behind all this."

"The sovereign?"

BAM!!!!

A loud explosion came from the end of the street.

A defense line had collapsed. Several cultivators tried to retreat, but one of them had already been bitten. His body shook, and his qi scattered.

His friend saw it and raised his sword.

The bitten cultivator looked at him with fear.

His friend’s hand shook.

Before he could swing, the bitten cultivator’s eyes turned empty.

He lunged forward.

Mingyue slashed from a distance. A purple line cut through the infected’s head.

The body fell before it reached the friend.

The friend stood there blankly, then dropped to his knees.

Mingyue did not look at him for long.

More infected were coming. Alex raised both hands.

Runes appeared in the air and spread across the street.

Green flame formed a circle, blocking one side of the road. "Infected cannot cross this flame. Bring people here."

His voice spread through the area.

Some people froze. Then they rushed toward the flame circle.

A woman carried a child in her arms. A young man dragged his wounded brother.

Several guards helped civilians move while still firing at the infected.

Mingyue moved between them and the infected. Her swords flashed again and again.

Every attack carried more qi, cutting through the hardened skin and destroying the head directly.

Ice lotuses bloomed across the road. Any infected that entered their range slowed down, then froze.

Alex’s green flame followed after, burning the head and the soul corruption inside.

For a moment, the chaos around the office was pushed back. But only around them.

Farther away, screams still filled the city.

Alex touched his communication device. "Beatrice."

There was no answer.

He pushed more qi into the rune he had left before.

The communication line flickered. Static filled his ear.

Then a weak voice came through. "Sir Alex...?"

Alex’s expression became sharper. "Where are you?"

"We are underground," Beatrice answered. Her voice was rough. "Under the maintenance tower near the east block. Rovan is carrying me. My leg is wounded."

A loud crash came from her side.

Rovan’s voice came through from the background.

"Tell him we are under attack! And tell him this tunnel is cursed!"

Beatrice clicked her tongue. "Shut up and block the left side!"

"I am blocking it!"

Alex’s eyes moved toward the ground.

"What is your situation?"

Beatrice breathed heavily before answering.

"The infected are everywhere. They cannot use techniques after turning, but their qi hardens their bodies. Normal attacks are useless unless we destroy the head.

The city formation is not working. We also haven’t seen any Celestial cultivator come out."

Alex’s face turned colder.

Mingyue looked at him.

Beatrice continued, "And there is something strange underground."

Rovan’s voice came again, sharper this time.

"Come help us! There’s something weird here!"

Then Alex heard it. Through the communication line.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A heartbeat.

The sound was faint, but the moment it entered his ear, Alex’s pupils narrowed.

Mingyue also heard it. Her eyes turned cold.

The last time they had felt something like this they fought a Progenitor.

And a Primordial representative appeared.

Alex looked toward the ground.

The heartbeat came from deep underground.

Far below the city.

Thump. Thump.

The infected nearby suddenly stopped moving.

Even those frozen in Mingyue’s ice became quieter.

Their heads slowly turned in the same direction.

Toward the underground.

Mingyue’s grip tightened around her sword. "What is waking up now?"

Alex did not answer immediately. His face was calm, but his eyes had turned heavy.

Alex spoke into the communication line. "Beatrice, don’t go deeper. Mark your path and keep moving. We are coming."

Rovan shouted from the other side.

"What do you mean don’t go deeper!? Master the things behind us are trying to eat us!"

Beatrice’s voice followed. "We will keep moving. But hurry."

The line shook with another loud crash.

Then Beatrice’s voice became lower. "Alex, I think the tunnel is leading toward whatever is making that sound."

Alex’s eyes narrowed. "Then try to make other path."

"We will try."

The communication flickered.

Then another sound came through.

A scream from deeper underground.

Many voices mixed together.

Like something inside the earth had opened its mouth.

The line cut off.

Alex lowered his hand.

Mingyue looked at him.

"So? What is it?"

"Let’s talk later."

Alex looked at the people inside the flame circle.

A few guards were still standing there, stunned by what they had seen.

Alex pointed toward the nearest guard.

"Take everyone inside the building behind us. Do not let anyone bitten enter.

If someone is bitten, cut the infected part immediately or burn it. If the veins reach the neck, kill them."

The guard’s face turned pale, but he nodded. "Yes... yes!"

Mingyue raised one sword.

A line of ice formed across the road, creating a wall between the civilians and the infected. "It will not last long."

Alex nodded. "It only needs to last until they move."

Another group of infected rushed from the left.

Alex and Mingyue moved at the same time.

Mingyue’s sword cut through the front line.

Alex’s flame pierced the ones behind.

The road cleared for a moment.

Then the two of them turned toward the east block.

The heartbeat sounded again. This time, they did not need the communication line to hear it.

Thump.

The whole city trembled.

Thump.

Windows cracked.

Thump.

The infected all over the street raised their heads.

Alex’s expression darkened.

"We will probably fight another progenitor."

"What!?"

"Long story to tell, let’s talk wile moving."

"Okay."

Mingyue stepped forward.

Frozen lotuses bloomed under her feet.

Alex’s runes lit up around his hand.

The two sprint from the street, rushing toward Beatrice and Rovan.

In the way Alex explain it to MingYue. Whatever inside is artifcial progenitor.

Created from Alucard artifact as the core, fused with other progenitor remain, dyed with the blood essence of the vampire.