GENE DEVOURER

Chapter 40: Stinger Blade Dagger

"Got it"

WHAM!!

As if the so-called inventory didn't want to release the dagger, Marcus stumbled back, nearly falling over upon yanking the weapon free. The sudden lack of resistance caught him off guard, sending him lurching backward, arms flailing for balance like someone losing their footing during a tug-of-war match.

"Whoa!! It kinda looks cool and scary! I wonder if it would look as cool as this if it was manufactured in research facilities"

Marcus was amazed, normally, all weapons crafted from mutant beasts are intimidating and look dependable in appearance compared to arms used by humans in the pre-awakened era, but Marcus couldn't help but wonder how this system had crafted a new gear for him in a short amount of time.

"Did it just use my body as machinery to craft this weapon?"

Well, it was understandable, after all, he was the one who consumed the gene remains used for crafting.

In its glory, the dagger had a jagged blade that glinted with a metallic luster. The sharp edges of the blade ended in four black tips formed from fire ant stingers, each glistening with a faint, venomous sheen and exuding a menacing, almost horrifying presence.

Its handle was crafted from the reddish-brown exoskeleton of the mutant fire ant, giving it a unique, chitinous texture. Without the tiny hair-like structures covering its surface, Marcus would have struggled to wield the dagger, as it would have easily slipped from his grasp. However, these hairs clung grimly to his hand, as if alive, providing a firm yet unsettling grip. Originally, these hairs served as sensory organs for the ant, faintly resonating with vibrations in the air and beneath the earth, adding an eerie awareness to the weapon.

[+1 perception when wielded!]

"Interesting, needless to say, this dagger is much better than that shark teeth dagger, I wonder how much it will cost in reality"

Marcus started playing with the weapon, he released it and twirled it around and between his fingers.

"Neat"

He was amazed at how this dagger moved at a much faster speed as he twirled it around.

A thought suddenly wandered into Marcus' mind.

'Just like how I have equipped this weapon, can I also unequip it?'

The system answered by summoning the inventory window, and the green interface appeared before Marcus like an answer to his thoughts.

"Wait a minute, I can also unequip it? Like I can put it back into this space?"

Marcus didn't know what he should make of these powers, was it magical or some advanced alien technology?

Come to think of it, how can a star that doesn't show any sign of instability go supernova, even the advanced space technology of the International Space Station couldn't detect it, wasn't that one sort of alien interference at work?

"Is the inventory another dimension?

Well, I can't keep dawdling on with unanswerable questions, once I reach rank 100, I will unlock the system's secret"

"At least, that was what the system said"

With that, Marcus first opted to put the dagger in a different space, under the armor category, but that particular spot acted like an elastic wall, making Marcus' right hand bounce back as the dagger tip touched the empty space.

"What the hell? Isn't it just a space? Perhaps, I ought to put it in the same spot that I have taken it"

Marcus dipped the dagger tip into the same space he had taken it, and at once, it sucked in only the weapon from his hand. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Good grief..."

Just as the inventory window disappeared, Marcus heard some footsteps and upon looking up, he saw the strike team approaching him. Judging from how they were trudging, they all look worn out. As expected, even with such combat power, fighting such overwhelming opponents had taken a toll on their bodies.

Marcus noticed a single person among them who didn't seem tired, it was the second B rank Awakened, the man who had retired from the government Awakened league.

Come to think of it, Marcus didn't see him during the battle.

'Did he run away with his tail between his back?'

Marcus shook his head, that wasn't possible.

'Don't tell me his ability is invisibility'

Marcus stood as the group was a little distance from him, and then he noticed Ming's eyes locked on the headless and separated mutant fire ant body.

With her cross-hell weapon held tightly and resting on her shoulder, she managed to put on a brave face even though Marcus knew that deep down, she was exhausted.

'I think I have breached a contract'

"Let me have a word with you over there, Mr Zhao"

Ming walked farther from the group while Marcus followed closely behind. They soon reached the entrance of a nearby alley, its darkness yawning like an open maw, daring them to enter. Around them, the beast zone flickered with erratic, unstable light, casting jagged shadows that danced across the broken streets and crumbling facades as befitting an apocalyptic location, although some buildings seemed to have stable light.

"I don't have to remind you about the contract details, do I?"

Even tho Marcus couldn't read Ming's expression in the dark night, he could sense what she meant by those words.

'As expected of a member of the Huang clan, don't wanna leave out a dime huh?, Okay, here goes nothing'

"Accurately, I remembered it very well, but is that a way to show gratitude to someone who had just defended his life against an unprecedented monster?"

Marcus could sense Ming's uneasiness from the short distance between them.

'I think I nailed it'

"Come to think of it, unlike other clans' Awakened association, the form didn't specify the type of monster we are supposed to face, is that a legal thing?

What will happen to the Huang clan when the government Awakened League heard about this?"

"You bastard!!, Don't go running your damn mouth to the reporters when we finish this raid!"

Perhaps she realized she was overreacting, she calmed herself down and then said: "I have already doubled the rewards of the team members to pacify them since everyone was also dissatisfied, the same also applies to you, and you can also keep the beast stone you took from the mutant fire ant"

In Ming's mind, she had to say it because all she thought was that Marcus couldn't have seen any decent beast stone in the mutant fire ant, judging from its small size, it was about half the size of the adult she and the other team fought, perhaps that was why Marcus was able to survive unscathed.

In her mind, Ming was giving kudos to Marcus in a sarcastic way for being able to kill a lower-tier S-grade mutant beast, a baby one for that matter.

However, there was still something gnawing in the depth of her mind, according to the government Awakened reconnaissance squads, the Area Boss of this beast zone wasn't a mutant fire ant, does that mean the ant queen was alive and still laying eggs?