NIKKE: The Apocalypse Arrives, But the System is 100 Years Late

The massive tendrils of Material H were grotesque and unsettling.

What made them even more horrifying was the sight of countless Nikke corpses hanging from the tendrils. Their necks were tied, their bodies swaying in the air like macabre decorations. Empty, lifeless eyes stared upward at the sky, their gazes void of any emotion.

A faint, eerie wail echoed, like whispers from the depths of hell.

Mo Chen's eyes narrowed.

The material forming the tendrils was composed entirely of Nikke bodies.

Amid the writhing mass, one could make out arms, legs, torsos, even heads—crudely stitched together.

It was as if the Nikkes were nothing more than ornamental pieces adorning the tendrils.

The ghastly sight made his skin crawl, and even the Nikkes fighting in the distance were visibly shaken.

This was not something anyone could face without fear.

Even Mo Chen, with his unyielding composure, felt a chill run down his spine.

Time to finish this quickly.

Sensing the escalating threat, he knew he couldn't afford to waste a second. With the speed of a hurricane, he charged toward the tendrils, knocking aside any infected Nikkes that dared block his path.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted ahead of him. Before he could even strike, the Nikkes obstructing his way crumpled to the ground.

He glanced back.

It was Snow White.

At some point, she had emerged from the defensive position, setting up her sniper rifle on high ground. She fired rapidly, clearing a path for Mo Chen.

However, her already pale face looked even more ashen than before.

He knew she was at her limit, but her cover allowed him to focus entirely on breaking through the infected Nikke defenses.

As he drew closer to the tendrils, the corpses hanging from them suddenly glowed with a sinister red light in their eyes. Their mouths opened wide, and beams of crimson energy burst forth!

The scorching energy beams converged into a massive web, sealing off all of Mo Chen's escape routes.

But he didn't slow down. Instead, he accelerated, hurtling forward like a siege arrow straight toward the deathly beams.

Bullet-Dodging Chip, activate!

In an instant, Mo Chen's figure flickered, leaving behind numerous afterimages as he weaved through the deadly barrage. Using the momentum, he surged even closer to the tendrils.

Through precise movements, he continued to evade, navigating the storm of high-energy beams with near superhuman agility.

Though it seemed like time had slowed, the entire sequence unfolded in a fraction of a second.

At the apex of one tendril, a blinding light flared, and a beam far more powerful than the previous ones shot toward him.

Auto-dodge Chip, activate!

Mo Chen's form blurred again, splitting into shadowy afterimages as he narrowly evaded the attack.

However, the ground behind him suddenly erupted, and a massive tendril burst forth, its tip aimed directly at him.

The tendril was mere meters away, its energy charging rapidly. He had just used his dodge ability, leaving it in cooldown—there was no time to evade.

As the energy at the tendril's tip reached critical mass, ready to fire, it jerked backward as though struck by a powerful blow.

A second later, the sound of a heavy impact rang out.

Snow White had fired her anti-materiel rifle.

Mo Chen wasted no time. With a quick motion, he extended his arm and used a long-range retrieval ability to pull a nearby Nikke corpse toward him.

The Blacklight Virus consumed the corpse in an instant, transforming it into a spear.

With his muscles tensing like coiled springs, he hurled the spear with all his might, sending it streaking toward the target like a meteor.

The spear struck true.

BOOM!

The tendril exploded in a violent eruption of debris and energy, scattering pieces in all directions.

Under the immense force, the massive tendril, over ten meters thick, was torn apart, ripped cleanly into two pieces.

Mo Chen turned swiftly, his body darting forward at an incredible speed. He leaped high into the air before descending rapidly, his trajectory aimed directly at the tendril below.

The blade forged by the Blacklight Virus gleamed like a surgical scalpel, slicing straight into the tendril's protective shield.

Mo Chen's pupils contracted as he growled low.

Weak Point Piercer!

Shhhk!

The sensation was like cutting through a cake.

From top to bottom, the tendril was cleaved in half in a single stroke.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted as flames shot into the sky.

Suddenly, the tendrils writhed violently, and the corpses of the Nikkes hanging from them opened their mouths wide, emitting a sharp, piercing sound. The sound waves spread rapidly through the battlefield.

The Nikkes in combat were the first to be hit by the sound. They clutched their heads in pain, their legs buckling beneath them as groans of agony escaped their lips.

It was a Rapture summoning signal.

Mo Chen's heart sank.

As expected, the air was soon filled with the buzzing of Raptures. From the horizon, scarlet dots appeared, converging like a crimson tide.

Their numbers were overwhelming.

Not only were they swarming across the ground, but flocks of subordinate-class Raptures also filled the skies above.

Shielded types, decoys, explosive models.

The sheer volume of them—buzzing and swarming like summer mosquitoes—was enough to darken the sky as they all descended upon Mo Chen.

It was like a plague of locusts.

The sight sent a chill down his spine, but he didn't waver.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted suddenly. He glanced back to see Ludmilla leading her Nikke units, split into two teams, advancing along the tendril's flanks. They formed a defensive line, holding back the wave of Raptures with relentless firepower.

The Nikke units stood like unyielding stones amidst the storm, holding their ground no matter how ferocious the assault.

Even the reconnaissance squads joined the fight, deploying full-spectrum signal jammers to disrupt the Raptures' communications.

Without their network, the Raptures became aimless, their formations breaking apart, their attacks losing coordination and lethality.

Alice, positioned strategically, was sniping high-priority Rapture targets with precision.

Her shots targeted shielded Raptures or sniper-class Raptures that posed significant threats to the Nikke forces.

Meanwhile, Ludmilla herself had charged directly to the base of the tendril. With her machine gun blazing, she suppressed its movements, preventing it from targeting Mo Chen. Her fire even disabled its high-energy particle laser weapon, causing it to explode spectacularly.

Mo Chen felt the pressure on him ease considerably.

But he knew it was only temporary.

The area within tens of kilometers was all part of Material H's lair.

This iteration of Material H was far more formidable than anything described in the original records.

Its ability to control infected Nikkes and its grotesque tendrils were entirely new.

And as for its main body, it still hadn't revealed itself!

Mo Chen launched himself upward like a rocket, blasting off the ground with immense force.

Above, the flying Raptures swarmed toward him, drawn like mosquitoes to the scent of blood.

Many of them were self-destruct types: their explosive power was immense, capable of breaching heavy armor, let alone the lighter defenses of the Nikkes.

Mo Chen had intentionally drawn their attention to prevent them from attacking Ludmilla's forces, knowing that such an assault would result in devastating casualties.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The self-destructing Raptures nearing him were precisely detonated from afar by Alice's sniper fire.

Now unburdened, he coiled his body, every muscle taut, channeling all his energy. With a deep growl, he unleashed his attack.

"A thousand tendrils to end it all!"

In an instant, countless tendrils erupted from Mo Chen's body, spreading outward like a sea urchin's spines.

The tendrils pierced through the nearby flying Raptures in an instant, reducing them to shreds.