Endless Evolution: Last Star Chapter 5: Red Book

A convoy of armored trucks, led by a primary vehicle, sliced through the desolate sands of the wasteland.

Adam sat in the rear seat, his gaze fixed on the Dead Lands with an expression of pure boredom. Stories of this place used to make his skin crawl, but experiencing it in person felt entirely different.

Despite the Dead Lands being a lethal environment even for Phantoms, he felt an odd sense of tranquility, finding it strangely cozy and peaceful.

'It's a bizarre sensation... Just yesterday, a monster was the stuff of nightmares. Today, the best and worst moments of my life hit me simultaneously, and now I just see them as beasts of burden...' Adam mused internally while observing a pack of creatures in the distance.

The monsters were currently scavenging what remained of the Electric Eel. Lisa and her team had already harvested the most precious components—scales and teeth—and secured them in the vaults.

Adam wasn't being conceited; he was simply being realistic. While he wasn't certain of his strength against these scavengers, he knew for a fact that the Silver Weaver existed on a completely different plane of power.

"Hey! Wipe that serious look off your face! Come on, share a drink with me!" Lisa shouted, her face already flushed as she offered Adam a bottle of potent liquor.

"No thanks, that's not happening. I'm only seventeen, remember?" Adam replied, dismissively waving his hand.

Lisa's eyebrow shot up. "So what? The Citadel has no such rules! You should drink whenever the chance arises!"

After a few more failed attempts to persuade him, Lisa gave up and tossed a can of soda toward Adam instead.

"Now, this I can do." Adam cracked the can open, savoring the liquid.

In reality, Adam was struggling to suppress a joyful shout. This was only the second time he had ever tasted soda. To a resident of the slums, the sweet, carbonated flavor was nothing short of a luxury celebration.

"Seventeen? You hunted alone and took down an anomalous beast without a single scratch. To be honest, I don't trust you; you're one incredibly suspicious character," Jacob remarked, his focus never leaving the road ahead.

Adam simply shrugged, throwing the empty can out the window.

"That is your prerogative. I have no intention of becoming your friend; I am only with you until we return. After that, we won't see each other again," Adam stated flatly.

"Tsk. I'd love to end this trip right now, but there's one more Nest we have to clear before heading back." Jacob snorted, sharply turning the steering wheel as he cross-referenced their position with the map.

'A Nest... I see,' Adam thought.

The monsters varied wildly, yet shared certain human-like traits. They had their own social hierarchies, with leaders and outcasts, the powerful and the weak. While some were solitary predators, others congregated in packs to establish Nests.

"What are we hunting?" Adam asked with an air of indifference.

"Lizards!" Lisa cheered, the alcohol clearly affecting her. It was obvious that getting more details from her would be a challenge.

Recognizing this, Jacob handed a tablet to Adam, displaying a 3D model of their target.

[Thick-headed Desert Lizard - White Book, White Threat Level.

Characteristics:

-Possesses a remarkably durable forehead, resistant to even the sharpest blades.

-Its protective scales dissipate the majority of kinetic energy from explosions or blunt force.

-High resistance to heat and fire.

-Sluggish and unintelligent. Heavily dependent on the pack leader].

Adam felt a flicker of surprise. This data was sourced from OpenEye, a restricted database accessible only to high-ranking citizens and Phantoms.

This was merely the overview; further pages detailed loot drops, habitat locations, and exhaustive biological data.

'They don't realize I'm a new Phantom, so... it shouldn't look suspicious if I browse a bit, right?' Adam thought as he began navigating the interface.

As expected, Jacob didn't react. It was common for Phantoms to spend hours scrolling through OpenEye to stay updated on new discoveries.

Adam navigated to the White Book section and searched for "Silver Weaver."

[No results found for your query.]

That brief message confirmed Adam's suspicions immediately.

'Ha, Lisa called me lucky, but even I didn't realize the Silver Weaver was a Red Book monster... Damn, that's insane...' Adam grinned to himself before a new thought struck him, turning his expression solemn.

'Red Book...'

Adam entered the directory. The Silver Weaver wasn't on the first page, so he used the search function again, just as he had with the White Book.

TTTRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSKKKKKKK!!!

The truck lurched to a violent halt, sending the tablet flying from Adam's grip as his head slammed into the front seat.

Before he could recover, Lisa grabbed the device, verified the Lizards' coordinates, and jumped out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind her.

"Listen up! We have fifteen Lizards to deal with! Our main job is clearing the Nest, but an Observatory is paying a premium for every fang we bring back!" Lisa yelled with renewed energy, hauling a massive black crate from the truck's roof.

She flipped it open and donned her gear: a pair of heavy dark metal gauntlets equipped with thick plating and several exhaust vents.

"YES!!!"

The other Phantoms roared in unison, springing into action.

Adam reached for the tablet, but Jacob cut him off.

"You can browse the database later. Right now, we have work to do. The faster we kill these lizards, the faster we get back to the Citadel," Jacob said coldly, unsheathing his sword.

Adam nodded and followed.

Scanning the area, Adam noticed only a third of the group was engaging the monsters. The rest remained by the vehicles, looking anxious as they gripped their rifles, shotguns, and pistols.

"Why are you standing there? Haven't you seen Harvesters before? Go kill the beasts, let them do the butchering while you rest, and then we go home. Move it!" Jacob urged, charging into the fray.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

'So they aren't Phantoms? I guess it makes sense; someone has to handle the manual labor,' Adam contemplated.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

Suddenly, a Lizard that had been submerged beneath the sand crept toward him with lethal silence.

Its long, whip-like tail lashed out at Adam, the pointed tip aimed directly at his skull.

Adam hadn't sensed the creature in time to mount a standard defense.

In that split second, Adam’s eyes sparked as electricity surged through his nerves, causing his head to jerk back reflexively.

The tail whistled past his throat, leaving only a shallow graze that began to bleed.

Adam spun around, his eyes filled with cold contempt for the beast.

Instantly, shimmering white threads coiled around his arm. He lunged at the lizard, driving a long needle into the soft spot at the back of its head, bypassing the armored forehead.

With a violent horizontal swipe, Adam tore through the creature's neck, carving out a massive piece of flesh.

"Damn... that was close..." Adam whispered, wiping his neck as he activated Revolve.

[The gene of the Thick-headed Desert Lizard has been stored in the Vault!]

Looking across the battlefield, Adam saw the Phantoms were winning. The Lizards were outmatched. Lisa was a force of nature, pulverizing the monsters into meat with her armored fists.

'Wait... the database said they are lost without their leader. So where is it? Where is the alpha?'

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The earth shuddered. Sand cascaded down the dunes like water, and before anyone could react, a colossal head erupted from the earth.

Like a world-devouring maw, the giant jaw snapped shut, consuming several trucks and dozens of people in a single bite. The Harvesters never stood a chance; as the jaws crushed down, fountains of fresh blood sprayed across the desert floor.

Lisa's face turned ghostly pale, and a chill of pure terror ran down the spine of every remaining Phantom.