Deep within a derelict forge hall in the depths of the Steel Nest.

  The Slayer stood in the center of the chamber, the barrels of his Chaingun slowly rotating, radiating a dangerous heat.

  Behind him, Singularity (the Tech Daoist) was draped over a massive metal workbench, working like a surgeon performing a high-stakes operation.

  The core components of the disassembled BFG-9000 were suspended in mid-air by a magnetic field.

  "Slayer! Hold the line for ten minutes!"

  Singularity's multi-function stylus was frantically micro-engraving the BFG's energy conduits.

  "I'm carving a complete 'Taotie Siphon Array' directly onto the micron-level Argent reactor! This ancient array mimics the gluttonous beast Taotie—it will suck in all ambient energy nearby!"

  "If I miss a single stroke, this gun turns into a nuke, and we're both vaporized!"

  The Slayer didn't turn around.

  He gave a slight nod. *Understood.*

  His gaze locked onto the massive, dark tunnels surrounding the hall, connecting to the deeper abyss.

  *Thud. Thud. Thud.*

  Heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness. Accompanying them was a spine-chilling sound, high-pitched and eerie, like the crying of an infant.

  *"Waaah... Waaah..."*

  On the Slayer's tactical visor, the familiar demon icons vanished. They were replaced by twisted, unrecognizable silhouettes.

  [Unidentified Organism.]

  [Origin: Ancient East.]

  The first monster burst forth.

  It was a sleek creature, agile as red lightning. It resembled a fox, but behind it trailed nine metallic, razor-sharp tails.

  The tips of these tails weren't fur—they had been modified by the Abyss's mechanical virus into chainsaws, drills, and laser cutters.

  [Abyssal Beast: Nine-Tailed Cyber-Fox]

  This was the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, corrupted by the Abyss and mutated over eons.

  It let out a baby-like shriek, and its nine mechanical tails stabbed toward the Slayer from all angles like nine venomous vipers.

  The Slayer didn't retreat.

  He raised the Chaingun and opened fire.

  *BRRRRRRRRRT!*

  Bullets sparked off the Nine-Tailed Fox's hide. But the thing was too agile; it ricocheted off the walls and ceiling, using its speed to evade the bulk of the damage.

  *Schwing!*

  A tail equipped with a laser cutter sliced in from the flank, aiming to decapitate the Slayer.

  The Slayer ducked sharply, simultaneously extending the Doomblade from his left arm.

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  He didn't try to grab the agile fox. He predicted its landing zone.

  As the Nine-Tailed Fox hit the ground to prep for a second jump...

  The Slayer dashed forward with a slide.

  The Doomblade swept across.

  *Slash!*

  Three mechanical tails were severed at the base.

  The Cyber-Fox shrieked, losing its balance.

  The Slayer seized the opportunity, grabbing one of its remaining tails. He swung the beast like a flail and smashed it violently into the tunnel mouth on the opposite side.

  *BOOM!*

  Just as the Slayer predicted, a far more massive monstrosity was charging out of that very tunnel.

  It was a ball of flesh.

  A giant, red, faceless sphere floating in the air. Its surface was covered in strange organs that looked like fleshy loudspeakers.

  [Abyssal Beast: Sonic Hundun]

  The *Hundun* (Chaos) took the flying Cyber-Fox right to the face (or where a face should be) and let out an angry, buzzing drone.

  Immediately, the "speakers" on its body began to vibrate in unison.

  *HUMMMMMMMMMMM—!!!*

  A visible shockwave of high-frequency sound erupted.

  This wasn't a physical attack. It was a sonic weapon.

  The Slayer's shield integrity dropped to zero instantly. Piercing alarms blared inside his helmet, and his tactical visor began to glitch and distort into static.

  Behind him, Singularity screamed, "My hand! Stop the vibration! I'm gonna botch the engraving!"

  The Slayer felt annoyed.

  It was too loud.

  Louder than the Ancestor of the Blood Sea.

  He stowed the Chaingun and drew the newly upgraded Abyssal Steel Super Shotgun.

  Fighting against the sonic pressure, he marched toward the red meatball.

  With every step, his armor creaked and groaned from the resonance.

  But the Slayer's pace did not falter.

  He walked right up to the Hundun, less than five meters away.

  He raised the gun.

  The golden array at the muzzle spun wildly within the soundwaves.

  *BANG!*

  A Demon Steel armor-piercing slug, carrying enough kinetic energy to tear through space, blasted straight into the Hundun's largest "Main Woofer."

  *Splat—BOOM!*

  The Hundun popped like a balloon. Demon fluids splattered everywhere.

  The world was finally quiet.

  "Phew... that was close..." Singularity wiped the sweat from his brow. "Slayer, one more minute! Final sequence!"

  The Slayer reloaded. *Click-clack.*

  But he knew the real trouble was just starting.

  The ground began to shake violently.

  The heavy Demon Steel blast door at the main entrance crumpled like paper.

  Through the dust and debris, a beast so massive it sucked the air out of the room squeezed its way in.

  It had the body of a goat, the face of a human, and eyes located in its armpits.

  But its eyes had been modified into massive Abyssal searchlights.

  And its mouth—large enough to swallow the heavens—was now a black hole engine lined with industrial grinder gears.

  [Abyssal Beast: Mecha-Taotie]

  The beast opened its maw, generating a terrifying suction force.

  *WHOOSH—!*

  Air, debris, the corpse of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and even the floor plates beneath the Slayer's feet were ripped up, flying toward that bottomless, grinding black hole.

  It wanted to eat everything.

  The Slayer slammed his Abyssal Steel Shotgun deep into the ground to anchor himself.

  He looked at the beast.

  He was waiting.

  "Done! Slayer! Catch!"

  Singularity's excited roar came from behind.

  The Slayer spun around and snatched the BFG-9000 mid-air.

  The BFG now bore a ring of ancient, mystical carvings around its barrel—the Taotie pattern.

  The energy gauge was currently empty.

  But...

  The Slayer raised the gun, aiming it at the Mecha-Taotie that was frantically sucking in the room.

  [Passive Skill Activated: Forced Siphon.]

  The Slayer didn't fire.

  Instead, he flipped a new switch on the side of the gun—[SIPHON MODE].

  *Vrrrm...*

  The energy, the demonic aura, and even the Abyssal magic inside the Taotie that were being sucked into its mouth suddenly froze in mid-air.

  Then, they reversed direction.

  Like a thousand rivers returning to the sea, the energy flooded madly into the muzzle of the Slayer's BFG.

  The Taotie froze.

  It had spent its entire existence eating others. It had never encountered something *hungrier* than itself.

  The BFG's energy gauge began to spike wildly.

  0%... 30%... 80%... 100%... 200% (Overcharge)!

  The gun glowed with a blinding emerald light.

  The corner of the Slayer's mouth twitched upward.

  *Full yet?*

  He pulled the trigger.

  BOOM————————————!!!

  A green beam of destruction, thicker and more violent than ever before, blasted straight down the Mecha-Taotie's open gullet.

  This wasn't feeding time.

  This was a demolition.

  [Infinite Endurance vs. Gluttony]

  The Taotie died of greed.

  The BFG became invincible because of it.

  As the Mecha-Taotie was reduced to ash in a green nuclear explosion, the weapon finally completed its ultimate evolution.

  As long as there were enemies, it would never run dry.

  *Next Chapter: The Chainsaw Dulls. The gun is fixed, but the Slayer finds his chainsaw... struggling to cut through these harder bones?*