Chapter 288 – Alien Beasts’ Lair
The alien beasts were lying on the ground, sleeping. Their bodies twisted and sprawled in various directions, rising and falling like hills. Their skin was grayish-black, blending seamlessly with the earth.
If a human had stood above them at that moment, given the human’s small size, they would have mistaken the area for an ordinary hill. No one would have suspected that beneath their feet were the sleeping alien beasts.
“This is the lair of these alien beasts,” Ye Hongci said, her gaze fixed on the footage transmitted by the drones. “The surrounding mountains form a natural barrier with only two exits, making it ideal for encirclement and extermination.” She calmly gave her orders, “Split into three groups. The first group will enter from here.” She raised her hand and circled an area between two large mountains on the screen, marking the first exit of the alien beast lair.
“Group two, block this exit,” she marked the second exit on the screen.
The two exits were far apart, almost at opposite ends—one to the east, the other to the west.
“Group three will stay here and wait for my command to advance together. Understood?” She looked up at everyone.
“Understood,” everyone replied in unison.
“Begin the operation.”
With those words, the group split into three teams.
Tu Ran was in the first group, once again following Ye Hongci, heading toward the first exit.
The closer they got to their destination, the faster Tu Ran’s heartbeat raced.
She was about to kill some alien beasts.
After advancing at full speed for ten minutes, their group reached the first exit of the alien beasts’ lair.
Thirty seconds later, the second group arrived at their designated location.
With everything in place, Ye Hongci issued the command.
Everyone charged into the alien beasts’ lair together.
The first and second teams entered through the exits, while the third team members, who stayed behind, leapt directly from the mountaintop, jumping over to the other side.
The alien beasts were startled by the sudden movement, waking in a panic. In their haste to stand, their massive bodies, sprawled across the ground, caused them to trip over each other or step on their own kind.
For a moment, the scene was utter chaos. The massive herd of beasts resembled worms squirming in a pot, and the mechas that jumped in struggled to find a stable place to land.
Tu Ran didn’t rush in directly. Instead, she positioned her mecha on the mountaintop, observing the alien beasts below.
In her view, a light screen appeared above each alien beast’s head, similar to the green supernatural ability panels she had seen before, which would automatically display for those with superpowers.
This time, however, the panels were red and much simpler, displaying only a few numbers.
“666”
“999”
“2888”
“6666”
Tu Ran: …These numbers feel like the promotional price tags you see during a sales event.
“What does this mean? Will I gain corresponding mental power if I kill them?” Tu Ran asked herself inwardly.
[Yes]
She immediately received a reply.
Tu Ran: …I knew it.
Her gaze shifted to find the highest numbers among the dense light screens in front of her.
“8888, 9999, 11111…”
Most of the numbers were below 10,000, with only a few surpassing that threshold, and those were scattered.
Looking at the alien beasts with values over 10,000, Tu Ran noticed that they were all larger than the others, and they were the first to rise and stabilize themselves.
It was clear that the numbers were tied to the alien beasts’ abilities.
While Tu Ran remained seated on the mountaintop, observing the battlefield, everyone else had already jumped into the alien beast herd, engaging in combat and taking advantage of the beasts’ delayed response to initiate the slaughter.
Tu Ran’s actions were also being watched by everyone in the live stream, though no camera was specifically dedicated to her. Her figure only appeared in the background of Ye Hongci’s exclusive footage.
In the live stream room:
“There’s a mecha on the back mountain, did anyone see it?”
“Where? Are you sure you saw that? Isn’t everyone following General Ye into battle now?”
“I can confirm it. Just now, when General Ye cut off an alien beast’s head with a sword, I saw something shiny on the mountain in the background. I even paused and took a screenshot. Here, take a look.”
“[Image]”
“Damn! I’m reporting this! Someone’s slacking off!”
“General Ye is fighting in the front lines, and this guy’s hiding in the back? How can this be? How is there such a person in General Ye’s team?”
“Coward! He’s really letting us down!”
“My factory prepared supplies for this war a month in advance, and I’ve been working overtime for a month. This is how they treat my hard work?!”
“My factory too, several of my colleagues have been hospitalized from overwork.”
“Does anyone know his name? Let’s all report him together. The general will punish him for us.”
“Hold on, everyone. We need to trust General Ye. In all these years, when have we ever seen General Ye’s subordinates slacking off? This might be part of a strategy. Let’s wait and see what he does next.”
“Yeah, if he keeps doing this, then reporting him will be justified later.”
At the unanimous request of everyone in the live stream, one of the several cameras originally focused on Ye Hongci was redirected to fly above Tu Ran’s head, capturing her movements and transmitting them live.
Tu Ran didn’t notice this camera, nor did she realize that her image, sitting on the mountaintop, had already spread throughout the entire Haenden star system.
She simply selected her target, leaped down from the mountaintop, and began running toward the center of the beast herd, stepping on the bodies of the alien beasts as she went.
[Mental Power +10]
[Mental Power +15]
[Mental Power +6]
Every time her foot landed on an alien beast, such notifications appeared before her eyes.
So, it wasn’t only by killing the alien beasts that she could gain mental power—causing them damage also granted her some.
Tu Ran was even more delighted.
The mecha was large, and its weight wasn’t light. Each time it stepped on the alien beasts, it caused some superficial injuries.
Tu Ran immediately increased the force of her steps, each one seemingly driving the alien beasts deeper into the earth.
The numbers skyrocketed.
[Mental Power +50]
[Mental Power +80]
…
Finally, she reached the center of the herd, facing the alien beast with the highest number.
Nearly a quarter of the 100,000 mental power that Ye Hongci had given her.
With that kind of combat power, this was likely the leader of the herd.
Tu Ran drew her mecha’s bayonet—a simple-looking blade, but heavy in her hand.
With a swift motion, she leaped and swung the blade straight for the alien beast’s head.
There was no technique involved, just raw strength.
The alien beast didn’t dodge; instead, it charged straight at Tu Ran, crashing toward her with force.
The blade collided with the alien beast’s body, sparking a shower of sparks. Tu Ran’s arm was shaken with a numb ache, but the alien beast’s skin only left a faint red mark, the skin was cut but there was no blood.
[Mental Power +666]
Tu Ran’s strike didn’t stop the alien beast’s wild charge. She quickly shifted to the side, crouched, and leaped, landing on another alien beast’s back. As the charging alien beast leader couldn’t stop in time, it crashed into one of its own kind, sending the other beast flying several meters before it slammed into more of its companions.
Already perched on another alien beast, Tu Ran had no reason to leave. She gripped her blade with both hands and thrust it into the back of the alien beast’s skull.
The blade went halfway in but got stuck. The alien beast howled and wildly shook its head, trying to throw Tu Ran off.
Tu Ran’s nerves were on edge. She gathered all the power of the mecha into her hands, gripping the hilt tightly, using it as a pivot. She lifted her feet off the alien beast’s body, transferring the force of her body into the blade.
Finally, success.
The blade fully sank into the beast’s skull, emerging from its mouth.
The alien beast’s howl stopped, its front legs buckling and collapsing to the ground. Taking advantage of the momentum, Tu Ran flipped forward and smoothly pulled the blade out of its head.
[Mental Power +9999]
[Mental Power Collection Progress 6%]
Tu Ran quickly checked her mental power. Half of the 100,000 mental power that Ye Hongci had given her was already depleted.
From this point on, she would have to rely on the mental power gained from killing the alien beasts to replenish the energy consumed by her mecha.
Slay the beasts