Before the apocalypse, Gavin Todd had been just an ordinary security guard. Although he awakened a superpower afterward, it was a defensive Earth Element ability with little to no offensive capability. Thus, despite joining the Todd family, who were in charge of resource management, he was never given any significant responsibility.
But driven by his sense of duty, in the moments before he passed out, he weakly called out to Robin Grant and Cynthia Grant.
"The resource warehouse has been breached by a swarm of scorpions! Requesting support from the Adler family!"
With that, he collapsed, unconscious.
"Flora, Gavin Todd passed out!" Cynthia shouted to Flora Bloom.
Flora Bloom surveyed her surroundings. Cracks riddled the ground all around them. It might not have looked like much on the surface, but if anyone passed by, giant black pincers would surely shoot out like hands from hell and drag them underground.
"Vert!"
Vert had just sliced off the giant scorpion pincer that was clamped on Gavin Todd’s leg. It then dove, snapped its two huge scythe-like arms down, and when it flew back up, it had a large black scorpion pinned between them.
The scorpion’s stinger was raised and thrashed about wildly, striking Vert’s forelimbs and body with a series of metallic CLANGS. The very tip of the black, venom-filled stinger—its sharp, barbed hook—actually snapped off when it finally struck Vert’s head.
When Simon first saw Vert, he had assumed it was just another insectoid creature appearing out of nowhere. But this fat, flying mantis was actually locked in combat with the black scorpions attacking the superpower users.
Moreover, the flying mantis used its aerial advantage to quickly slice the scorpion pinned in its scythes into three pieces in mid-air.
A black Crystal Core fell from the scorpion’s body. Vert caught it and swallowed it in one gulp.
Simon heard Flora Bloom cry out, "Vert!" and the giant, flying mantis immediately began to fly low to the ground.
It wasn’t just Simon and his wife; even Robin Grant watched the giant flying mantis nervously.
Its sudden appearance had startled them. A person could at least try to outrun something that burst from the ground. But against a creature that flew, they felt utterly helpless.
Yet, the pregnant woman not far from them had only to give a single command, and this mantis that had appeared from nowhere immediately obeyed.
Flying low over the network of cracks that scarred the ground, Vert’s massive, jade-green wings roared, a clear provocation to the creatures hiding below.
The provocation worked. Giant pincers shot out one after another as Vert flew past, but every time, just as a pincer was about to snap shut on it, the mantis would shift its body by the slightest angle to evade it.
After one full pass, the black scorpions hiding underground were thoroughly enraged.
SCREECHING furiously, they burst from the ground and swarmed toward Vert.
Many of the survivors present had never seen a regular scorpion, even before the apocalypse, let alone one so massive. And to make matters worse, these black scorpions were emerging in a swarm.
After ensuring his wife and child were safe, Titan Adler activated the base’s highest-level alert.
The base was massive; it would take a superpower user an hour to cross from one end to the other, even at top speed. The alarm blared throughout the entire base, its sound spreading ever outward. This alarm had been developed by the Thorne family’s researchers, a product of their studies on sound propagation. Its range was vast enough to be heard by everyone in the Argent Base, as well as those hunting zombies outside its walls.
Soon, superpower users from all corners of the base, and even some from outside its walls, heard the alarm and began converging on the center.
This was especially true for the Adler family’s teams of superpower users.
The Gold Ability Users formed the vanguard, followed closely by the Earth Ability Users. In the center were the Fire Ability Users, who possessed the greatest offensive power. Bringing up the rear were the Plant Ability Users, who, while lacking in attack strength, had powerful abilities for restraining enemies.
They were a well-trained force, rushing toward the Adler family’s courtyard. Initially, they were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the black scorpions; after all, they had never encountered monsters of this size.
Gradually, however, the solid defense from the front line created an opening for the attackers in the rear to unleash their powers.
No matter their size, the scorpions were still insects, and insects have a natural fear of fire. As a result, by the time the troop of over one hundred superpower users reached the gates of the Adler family’s courtyard, only a few had sustained minor injuries.
Most of the base’s ordinary residents, however, hid on the upper floors of buildings, too terrified to come out. They were utterly powerless against such enormous and numerous monsters. Their only choice was to wait for the superpower users to clear out the threat before they could even think of what to do next.