Chapter 185 – Execution
“Send them to the medical department first,” Tu Ran said as she stood up. It was still unclear what dangers the creature’s fluids might pose, so sending the injured pioneers to the hospital early was a prudent measure.
Immediately, someone helped the injured pioneers and led them to the back, away from the scene.
“Should this creature live or die?” Tu Ran quickly asked as she connected with Zero.
She couldn’t make the decision on her own under Zero’s watch.
“Die. It’s too difficult to control while alive,” Zero responded coldly.
Tu Ran looked over at Yao Bei and said, “Use the laser gun.”
The blue beam of the laser gun shot straight toward the half-blasted skull of the creature.
Without the protection of its hard shell, the laser easily pierced through.
Half of its head was sliced off at an angle, with part of the skull falling to the ground, spilling a mixture of red and yellow fluids. Yellow, viscous liquid also oozed from the wound, emitting a pungent odor.
It wasn’t dead yet.
With the remaining half of its head, it charged toward Yao Bei.
Yao Bei couldn’t find another place to aim at.
The rest of its body was still intact, and the laser gun couldn’t penetrate its flesh.
Moreover, the cut on its head was too neat, and from her angle, she couldn’t hit its interior.
All she could do was dodge quickly and then find a way to climb onto its shoulder.
Tu Ran had already noticed this.
Somehow, she had circled around to the creature’s back, stepping on the half-buried sword handle in its back, and skillfully leaped onto its shoulder.
“Throw the gun up here,” Tu Ran called down to Yao Bei, extending her hand.
Without hesitation, Yao Bei immediately tossed the laser gun up.
Tu Ran caught it firmly.
In the next moment, she aimed the barrel of the gun at the creature’s neatly cut wound and pulled the trigger.
“Zzzzz—”
The sound of energy building up echoed, followed by a blue beam of light shooting out.
Like a ten-meter-long blade, it pierced through the creature from top to bottom.
The creature’s agonized roar abruptly ceased, and its movements became sluggish. It carefully touched its abdomen, feeling the growing burning sensation inside as its organs were gradually consumed.
Tu Ran didn’t stop there. She steadied her stance and slowly moved the laser gun’s barrel, sweeping the powerful beam from left to right, slicing the creature’s massive body into front and back halves.
The creature’s only remaining eye widened, its eyeball bulging as blood vessels spread across the entire eye.
Its consciousness faded, and before it could utter a single sound, its mountainous body split and collapsed, falling in two halves.
Fluids from its internal organs splattered out.
A foul stench surged skyward, akin to opening a box in the sweltering summer that had concealed a corpse for over a month.
Still perched on its shoulder, Tu Ran hadn’t yet activated the purification function of her helmet. The stench hit her hard, causing her vision to blur, and she nearly fell off its shoulder.
Before she could faint from the overpowering odor, she stomped on its head and leaped to a platform two meters away.
This platform was where the holographic projector had been installed.
The creature’s massive body crashed to the ground with a rumble, and the sound continued for two minutes before it fully collapsed and fell silent.
An unknown yellow liquid oozed from its body, but fortunately, everyone had been prepared this time and managed to dodge in time, so no one was splashed.
However, the ground wasn’t so lucky. Large pits were burned into it, and the liquid continued to corrode the creature’s remains, releasing thick black smoke.
The original stench was bad enough, but now, with the added smell of the burning corpse, even though everyone present had activated their helmet purification systems, the stench was still unbearable. Some people even fainted from it.
Tu Ran struggled as well.
Even though she was higher up, her sense of smell was more sensitive than most, and the smoke was rising towards her. She clutched her chest, retching repeatedly.
But she couldn’t get down. The platform was originally designed for the holographic projector, and no one ever really went up there, so there was no staircase to descend.
With a drop of over ten meters, jumping down would likely be fatal.
But at least, the creature was finally dealt with.
In the conference room, the second-batch pioneers, who couldn’t smell the stench, were cheering and celebrating.
The screen was now split in two: one half showed the condition of the creature’s corpse, while the other half focused on Tu Ran, who had played the leading role in slaying the creature.
The creature’s remains were just a smoking pile of sludge, too revolting to look at, with nothing much to see.
Most people’s attention was on Tu Ran, their admiration nearly overflowing from the screen.
What was Tu Ran doing on the other end of the video?
She was struggling to hold back her nausea.
She was pondering why her superpower [Insensitive to Oil and Salt] only allowed her to block out external sounds for a short period. Why couldn’t it block out smells as well?
Why… ugh…
Tu Ran couldn’t help but gag, her eyes rolling back as she looked like she might pass out.
Zero’s sudden voice broke the silence, “There are 3,121 people in the conference room.”
“What?” Tu Ran frowned in confusion.
What conference room? What 3,121 people? Why bring this up out of nowhere?
“Your every move is being broadcast live in the conference room,” Zero’s voice was mechanical and cold.
Tu Ran: “…”
What?!
She glanced at the hovering drone in the air.
She knew about the drone, had seen the camera on it, and knew it was filming on the scene, but she had always assumed it was focused on the genetic creature. How could it have been filming her?! And broadcasting it in a conference room full of people, no less.
Had everyone just seen her rolling her eyes, looking half-dead?
How was she supposed to face anyone now?
“Can you turn it off… ugh…” Tu Ran couldn’t help but gag; the stench was unbearable. But she had to maintain her image, so she turned her head away from the drone, back facing it. “Turn it off, now!”
“This is a request from the commander. He hopes you can set a good example for the second-batch pioneers. I do not have the authority to turn it off,” Zero replied.
Tu Ran: “But it really stinks… ugh…”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a human sense of smell, so I can’t understand what you mean by ‘stink.'”
But I can! Tu Ran gritted her teeth.
“In two minutes, a helicopter carrying a deodorizer will arrive. You only need to endure for two more minutes.”
Just two minutes.
Tu Ran decided to hold her breath.
“You should turn around and show your current state.”
Tu Ran’s face turned dark with frustration, but reluctantly, she turned around.
When under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.
She was still working under Xie Zhao, so she had to listen to his orders.
Two minutes later, the sound of a helicopter roared overhead.
Then, a misty liquid sprayed out from the helicopter’s tail.
Two helicopters circled the training ground, releasing a dense fog of fine droplets that enveloped the entire area.
The foul stench was quickly suppressed.
Tu Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As the deodorizing mist dispersed, a patrol vehicle hovered in front of her, and one of the doors slid open.
Ding Naiqing poked his head out, enthusiastically calling, “Sister Ran, hop in! I’m here to get you down.”
Tu Ran instinctively glanced toward the back of the vehicle and, sure enough, saw Zhao Yan sitting there, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
