The mimic only thought of scratching this human… letting Denver douse the ground with his delicious red blood. However, the mimic was met with a knife to the crook of its neck. The human even twisted the knife to open the wound bigger.
Its arm swung to throw Denver away. The knife was pulled out with force, making the mimic's dark blood spurt harder. Even if it didn't die from the stab, losing blood made it feel weaker. The mimic hissed as it clawed at its neck. The pain angered the mimic to the point of visible rage. This human was not a fun target to play-hunt. It should die now after that attack.
Denver felt his body fly to the side. His back collided with a hard cement wall, making him choke out saliva. He fell to the ground, writhing in paralyzing pain. The bloodied knife in his hand was the only reminder of his stupid stunt.
However, he saw the blade rust from the dark blood on it. Denver tossed the knife away, feeling how the dark blood made his hand itchy. He looked at the mimic, which glared back at him.
"…you think I'm an easy target?" Denver couldn't help but laugh. He rose to his feet with difficulty while reaching for his gun. "I won't let you kill me…"
The mimic lunged to attack again. Denver swung the gun and fired straight at the mimic's face. The bullet didn't make a big hole, but a hole did show up in its wake. The impact against its skull made the mimic retreat and hiss at the man.
Denver didn't have to reload his gun to fire again, but he needed to make each shot count. He only had fifteen bullets in that clip. Spare bullets were left at their building's little armory.
The survival guide's assumptions were quickly abolished. This mimic was not retreating no matter how many times Denver shot its skull with his gun. However, it was correct with one thing. The mimic's weak spot was its brain. After fifteen shots, its skull had a big part crushed by the bullets. Its brain was already blasted apart when the mimic fell dead on the street.
Even Denver fell to the ground in exhaustion. A tango with death was the most exhausting dance. He weakly checked the clip and found it depleted.
"…fuck…" Denver sighed and rested against the cement wall behind him. He stared at the maps of dark blood on the ground.
A laugh suddenly pushed out of his lips. Denver laughed like a madman after successfully killing a mimic. He slowly got to his feet and stared at the lifeless mimic on the ground. Its brain looked smaller than a human's. The gray matter also looked orange under the sunlight. He would have collected it, but the mimic's dark blood corroded metal.
Denver holstered his gun and trudged back to where he left the supplies. He thought of sharing his experience with those who wanted to know. They should also make changes to the survival guide.
"Took you long enough."
The man froze in his steps and thoughts. He looked up and saw the little girl standing next to his bag. She didn't seem to be planning to eat him. However, knowing that she was a mimic made him…
'Wait, the strange voice didn't warn me against her. It just spoke about an evaluation…'
Denver banished fear from his face and continued trudging to his bag. "Did you like what you saw? Not my best performance, I'd say…"
The girl followed him with her gaze. She only assented with a hum.
When Denver looked to his side, she was gone again. However, unlike earlier, he didn't fear her all that much. If she attacked him, he already knew how to kill a mimic.
[Congratulations on passing the second stage of the evaluation! Please wait for the last stage.]
Denver shook his head and carried his supplies. However, he found an old bicycle resting against the wall. It wasn't there when he first came. Could that girl have brought it for him? Did she have the sentience to offer machines to a human in need?
Regardless, he tested the bike. After finding it sturdy enough, he used it to ferry the heavy gallons like a mule walking next to him.
…
The senior guards of the supermarket arrived at where the dead mimic lay. They looked around the place to find traces of the killer. However, they only found a knife with no blade.
The one that led the rescue murmured, "Did he kill it on his own? He didn't seem to be injured, either."
He gave an order to everyone: "Spread out and see if he passed out somewhere else. Clear out any mimic or marauder you find. You, take a partner and scout ahead. Find where that man is headed."
"Boss, do we really have to care about a single person? He didn't seem to be a VIP. Also, no VIPs remained here in the city…" His assistant didn't leave with the others. He stood around to watch the boss's back while they investigated the place.
"Not a VIP…?" The leader almost snorted. "He's the only reason why the supermarket is still here. Mr. Higgins would have abandoned this city if not for him."
The assistant frowned at those words. However, he didn't say anything when the leader's phone started to ring. The sound was soft enough for only a few people to hear.
The leader took it out and saw that the supermarket's general manager was calling him. He answered, "We're on the scene. He didn't seem to be harmed. He killed the mimic running after him. We disposed of the others following them. You don't have to worry.
"A shared account?" The leader glanced at his assistant, who leaned closer to listen in. "Other people are using his card? Bi-weekly purchases? He seemed to be living in a big place."
"A residential district goes in that direction." The assistant gestured to their north. "We could send a group later to scout the area and look for survivors. Are you willing to take them in if they begged?"
The supermarket's general manager kept mum from the other end. It was a resounding 'no'.
…
Denver reached the Dandelion Apartments after walking for an hour. He went around for a while to make sure no other mimics were tailing him. He also checked the gun shop and found nothing. With the bike carrying most of the weight, he could afford to walk longer. When he entered the building, the old guard greeted him with a big yet relieved smile. He was gone for too long.
The son unpacked the materials and began crafting at the basement parking. No one was allowed there simply because it was unsafe. However, Denver used a corner as his personal, makeshift lab.
"…do you think this is enough for whoever's eyeing us?" Denver chuckled. Since the voice would answer his thoughts, he wanted to test its sentience.
[Evaluation is incomplete. Please wait for the last stage.]
"…I'd have to fight them all, then." Denver sighed. "How many people do you think I can handle?"
[Your Symbiont Grade is… Superior Predator! Your skill rank is currently… Novice. Computing danger level against the sentient organisms called… humans…]
[Your danger level to… humans… is 150%!]