Chapter 184 – Corrosion
The creature had curled itself up so tightly that its head was completely tucked inside its body. How were they supposed to find its mouth? And how could they possibly shove a bomb into it? Force it open?
Impossible.
Even machine guns hadn’t been able to harm it in the slightest.
So, they had to find a way to draw its attention.
Someone tried kicking its back. No response. Then they began hacking at it with a knife.
Still no response.
The monster didn’t budge an inch, as if it were dead.
Liu Quanye even placed some food near its head to try and lure it.
The monster still didn’t react.
“Could it be dead?” Liu Quanye looked over at Tu Ran.
Tu Ran stepped out from the back of the crowd.
She weighed the knife in her hand, finding a comfortable grip.
Fixing her gaze on the monster, she quickened her pace and charged forward. When she was just an arm’s length away, she bent her knees, pushed off the ground, and leapt into the air.
Gripping the knife with both hands, she brought all her strength down, aiming for the spot where the laser gun had scorched the monster.
‘Immense Strength!’
Tu Ran silently chanted to herself.
The sharp blade smoothly pierced the monster’s body.
Tu Ran controlled her strength, leaving more than half of the blade outside the monster to avoid raising suspicion.
The monster jolted, its pain causing it to leap into the air.
Its massive body, now as large as a moving mountain, lifted Tu Ran off the ground.
At some point, the monster’s size had grown to resemble a small, moving mountain.
It shook its body, spinning in place, trying to fling Tu Ran off.
But Tu Ran held onto the knife handle with an iron grip, refusing to let go.
The searing pain in its back forced the monster to open its mouth wide.
It roared toward the sky, beating its chest in fury like a giant gorilla.
This was a hard-won opportunity.
All the pioneers sprang into action.
They pulled out the bombs they carried, removed the safety pins, and hurled them into its wide-open mouth, all the while shouting for Tu Ran to get out of there.
Tu Ran immediately let go of the knife handle and jumped down from its body.
“Get over here!” Min Tao shouted.
He was hiding behind a row of overturned tables.
The other pioneers also found places to take cover.
Tu Ran dashed over, quickly diving behind the table to hide with Min Tao.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the bombs to explode inside the monster, blowing it apart from the inside out.
Everyone silently counted down in their minds.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
The bombs should have exploded by now.
But there wasn’t a single sound from inside the monster.
“What’s going on?” Tu Ran peeked out from behind the table.
The monster was in the middle of devouring a table that had been in front of it.
It effortlessly snapped the table into pieces, eating it with the same ease and satisfaction as chewing dried beef jerky.
Its body was growing rapidly.
“Why didn’t it explode?”
The second-batch pioneers in the meeting room stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before them.
“No idea! This isn’t what the instructors taught us! Weren’t we told that an alien’s internal body is relatively more vulnerable than its exterior?”
“Uh… Could it be because this isn’t an alien?”
“Eh, it’s close enough, close enough!”
Many of the pioneers on the scene also peeked out from behind their cover, shocked to see the monster tearing the table apart without a scratch on it.
“What do we do now?” Min Tao asked Tu Ran, his expression serious. “Given the current situation, I’m afraid even the Executive Department’s heavy mechas won’t be able to handle it.”
Tu Ran’s jawline tightened as she stared at the monster’s increasingly massive body.
The bombs hadn’t exploded? Why not? One malfunctioning bomb might be a technical issue, but just a moment ago, they had thrown in seventeen or eighteen bombs, each with different functions, and none of them detonated. Could it be that something inside the monster was able to destroy all the bombs in an instant?
Tu Ran stood up.
She needed to find out what was going on inside its mouth.
“Who’s got a long sword? Lend it to me.”
Her blade was still lodged in the monster’s back.
“Catch.”
One of the pioneers tossed their sword to Tu Ran.
This sword was noticeably heavier than hers, and longer too—perfect for what she was about to do.
Tu Ran gripped the sword handle tightly and sprinted toward the monster.
Her target was its head.
By now, the monster stood six or seven meters tall, too high for her to jump directly onto.
Using the half-buried blade in the monster’s back as a foothold, she made two quick leaps and successfully landed on its shoulder.
The monster noticed Tu Ran’s movements and dropped the table leg it was holding, raising a hand to grab the human on its shoulder.
Tu Ran was incredibly agile, dodging left and right with practiced ease.
After all, she had done this plenty of times inside the Threshold.
The monster grew enraged.
Its movements became increasingly violent as it slapped its own shoulder with loud, echoing smacks, but it couldn’t land a hit on Tu Ran.
The pioneers watching couldn’t help but hold their breath at her boldness.
Tu Ran was biding her time, searching for the perfect moment.
She needed an opening to drive the sword into any part of the monster’s face—whether it was the eyes or mouth, it didn’t matter. But being on its back made this difficult.
Finally, the monster, frustrated by its inability to hit her, roared in fury, its mind clouded with rage as it pounded its chest.
Tu Ran’s eyes sharpened instantly.
Its head was tilted back, a perfect opportunity.
The moment to strike had arrived.
She gripped the sword handle with both hands and thrust it deep into the monster’s throat.
The creature’s head was enormous, and its throat was even deeper. The blade wasn’t long enough to reach, so Tu Ran had to extend nearly her entire arm into the beast.
The monster’s jaws snapped shut.
Tu Ran quickly withdrew the sword, not lingering for a moment.
As the blade came out, her eyes widened in shock.
“What the—!”
The conference room filled with gasps of disbelief.
The blade had melted!
The indomitable cold weapon, manufactured by the Federation’s A5 Group and renowned for slicing through iron like butter, had been corroded and melted in less than a second!
And this was just from being inside its throat. The corrosiveness of the creature’s stomach acid must be unimaginable.
The instant Tu Ran saw the blade disintegrating, she promptly discarded it and drew the dagger from her belt.
She aimed for the monster’s still-lowered eye and drove the dagger in forcefully.
The creature thrashed its head in pain, but Tu Ran clung tightly to its ear, refusing to let go. After stabbing it three times, she quickly moved to its other eye.
Time was of the essence, so she didn’t hesitate to twist the blade around inside, then bit off the safety pin of a bomb and stuffed it in.
Her movements were so fluid that the onlookers couldn’t help but wonder if she’d done this kind of thing before.
Tu Ran jumped off the monster, rolling several times on the ground before taking cover behind a table.
“Boom!”
This time, the bomb finally exploded.
Half of the monster’s head was blown apart.
Brain matter mixed with blood splattered everywhere, drenching those unfortunate pioneers who hadn’t managed to take cover. Even the cameras positioned high above were splattered.
The screen on the other side blurred, though it was still somewhat watchable.
The monster’s blood was highly corrosive as well, and the combat suits offered little protection.
The pioneers who had been splashed hurriedly stripped off their clothes. Despite their efforts, some still had patches of skin corroded away.
So cooll.
devoured