Chapter 1050 The Infected Altered Originally, all of the Retrievers' attention was focused on the man with the strange-looking sword. It had unique properties and was powerful enough to take out an Altered without even striking with the sword itself. One had already fallen to the weapon. It was quite clear to them that the troublesome one was the man, not the researcher. But Astal had seen an opportunity with his special digging traits, granted by his Altered form, to attack what he saw as a primary target—a person who was nothing more than a researcher. Someone who would be defenseless and was the main goal of their task. “What is going on?” Astal said, standing in his somewhat large, beetle-like casing on his arms and the rest of his body, looking straight ahead. Through all the dust that had been kicked up, he could see red eyes glowing through it. “Ah, how is he still alive? I'll get him!” one of the Retrievers shouted as they leapt into the air. As they got close, a large red streak of aura flew through the air and struck the man on the chest, cutting through his skin and sending him back through the air. It was a type of attack they weren't used to. “Careful, he must be an Altered as well!” Astal shouted. “It has to be some elemental power.” The Altered looked at the wound on his chest just as he was about to hit the ground, but the red eyes seen through the dust were now directly in front of him. Rickle reached out and grabbed the Altered right by the head, slamming him onto the floor. “How long have I been alive, and you think something like a surprise attack is going to get me?” Rickle lifted his other hand, while one held onto the man's face. Red aura condensed in his palm, turning into a ball of red energy. Suddenly, the energy shot from his hand and hit the Altered right in the stomach. The attack continued, burning a gaping hole through the Altered’s stomach and even destroying the ground beneath his feet. The life had long gone from the Altered's eyes, and when Rickle stood up, his hand was still holding onto the head and shoulders of the Retriever’s body. “Oh… right.” Rickle let go, throwing the rest of the Retriever’s body onto the ground. “Now, what to do with the rest of you? You’re infected, so I doubt I can gather any information from using the influence skill... but maybe I can change you into a bug or a rat, and then I won't feel so bad about getting rid of you.” Astal didn't understand anything. He was a high-level Altered, and he couldn't comprehend how a mere scientist had moved so fast out of the dust. He couldn’t comprehend the elemental powers being used, and this person hadn’t even used their Altered form. Not only that, Astal could feel the carelessness he had for life. “You... You... You're a monster! A monster!” Astal shouted, charging forward, bulldozing his way to Rickle. This time, no aura surrounded Rickle’s body; he didn’t look like he was about to strike. Instead, he held out his hand. “Right, I guess since you’re some type of Bug Altered, turning you into a bug will do!” Astal thought everything was ridiculous. What could an old man do just by holding his arm out? He was an Altered with a strong body; he would run and crash right through the enemy. As his feelings intensified, black mist began to pour from him. He took another step, but before he could even reach Rickle or get any closer— A searing pain ran down the middle of his body, and looking at the floor, he could see a thin metal object touching the ground. Astal’s body was sliced in half, and both sides split, falling to the floor. “Trust me, you should thank me that I was able to take your life so effortlessly,” Dean said, looking around for the guitar case, ready to put his weapon away. Dean had already dealt with all the others while Astal was having his spat with Rickle. “I thought you don’t usually get involved in these things,” Dean said. “That's why you brought me along, even though you could handle it yourself.” “I was going to stay out of it, but then he came for me. Anyway, it’s quite obvious that there’s something Rumper wanted to cover up,” Rickle claimed. “Yeah, I don’t think they would suddenly attack us like that. It was almost as if they were ordered to attack if they met you, knowing you would come here,” Dean said. Having put his weapon away, he continued walking with Rickle, climbing out of the first evacuation site, and they could see the temporary base not too far ahead. “What I’m more concerned about is the fact that all of them were infected and protecting this place. The reason we’re here is to try and establish what Rumper’s involvement is with the infected solutions.” “Right,” Dean nodded. “So you think those guys were indebted to him, that they were protecting this place because he gave them those infected solutions?” “Not at all,” Rickle answered. “And that’s what worries me.” “Infected, crazed Altered people—link the things together, but they’re not really linked,” Rickle said. “Couldn’t you see? Those guys were fine. They could talk, they knew what they were doing, and they were in full control.” “But even though they seemed sound, there's a chance that it was only an illusion. What worries me is the origin of the infected solutions... I fear it might be coming back.”