Chapter 321 – Climbing
After calculating everything carefully, Tu Ran sighed deeply and looked up. “Land the helicopter.”
The helicopter silently descended to the spot where the alien beast had just left.
This area used to be an amusement park, but after the alien beast passed through, the Ferris wheel had collapsed to the ground, and the roller coaster tracks were now hanging like noodles—half of them slack and limp, while the other half dangled from other amusement facilities.
Most of the rides had not survived the beast’s passage.
Tu Ran jumped out of the helicopter, scanning the surroundings. Looking in the direction the alien beast was leaving, she recognized it.
This alien beast was one of the most common types in the Haenden Star System. Its back legs were for walking, while its front legs were used to capture food. It generally hung in midair, with a thick and long tail, great strength, and an overall resemblance to a kangaroo.
This type of alien beast wasn’t particularly lethal. It was at the bottom of the food chain in the Haenden Star System, with weak offensive capabilities and slow escape speed. Its survival was mostly thanks to its powerful reproductive abilities.
Its mental power value was around a hundred. If there were a mecha, Tu Ran could easily decapitate it with a single strike. However, she likely wouldn’t waste her mental power on such a creature.
But now, on Blue Star, encountering even the weakest alien beast made Tu Ran tense up, unsure of where to start.
“These are the most powerful weapons we have now,” Yu Boming said.
As soon as Tu Ran got out of the helicopter, an off-road vehicle drove up to her. Behind it was a range of different weapons.
Yu Boming introduced them to her.
Tu Ran gave a quick glance, then took out a laser gun from her spatial storage.
Seeing Tu Ran conjure a weapon out of thin air, everyone present was momentarily stunned.
It wasn’t the time to dwell on how Tu Ran had pulled out the laser gun. Yu Boming pointed to a group of fully armed soldiers, whose military division was hard to identify. “Their abilities are top-tier in the country. Feel free to command them to do anything.”
Tu Ran glanced down at the laser gun’s energy level—it was fully charged. Hearing Yu Boming’s words, she looked up at the soldiers and shook her head. “Not needed for now. I’ll go assess the situation first.”
With that, she sprinted toward the alien beast’s retreating figure.
The special forces team, initially unwilling to accept Tu Ran’s dismissal, froze in place when they could no longer see her figure within the blink of an eye. They looked at each other, confused.
In this situation… it seemed they weren’t needed after all.
“You all stay nearby and wait for her orders,” Yu Boming commanded.
“Yes!” The team turned and scattered, searching for Tu Ran.
Yu Boming moved away from the group and climbed into the mobile command vehicle parked nearby. Inside, there were display screens showing real-time information about the alien beast’s surroundings, allowing him to monitor everything.
The vehicle followed the alien beast at a safe distance, neither too close nor too far.
On the display, Tu Ran had already reached the foot of the alien beast.
Tu Ran looked up at the massive creature before her, resembling a mountain.
This was the first time she had seen a real alien beast from this angle. The last time, she had only encountered a virtual version of one during training in the Haenden Star System.
Standing here now, Tu Ran still couldn’t help but think: Where’s Ultraman?
With a mecha, she could look the alien beast in the eye, or at the very least, surpass its carapace.
Without a mecha, like now, she was barely taller than its toenail.
To the alien beast, she probably appeared as insignificant as a flea.
Tu Ran, the flea, fully embraced her tiny advantage. She waited for the right moment and leapt up to land on the alien beast’s toenail.
The alien beast continued walking normally, unaware that a human had climbed onto its body. Tu Ran gripped the fur around the beast’s toenail, keeping her body steady.
Fortunately, the alien beast didn’t have a foul odor.
Tu Ran breathed a sigh of relief. If it did, she would’ve been overwhelmed by the stench.
Around her, trees and parts of amusement rides were constantly knocked down by the beast’s massive feet, crashing onto the ground. Tu Ran dodged them while climbing up the alien’s leg, gripping the fur tightly to avoid being thrown off.
She moved quickly, but the beast was so enormous. After half an hour, she finally reached the alien’s shoulder.
Sweat dripped from the tip of her nose. She wiped it off with one hand, while the other tightly held onto the beast’s fur to prevent herself from being tossed off.
The scenery around her flew by at high speed. She felt as if she were standing on a moving skyscraper, the wind rushing past her face, drying the sweat as she went.
Tu Ran took a deep breath, focusing on the alien’s head, which was now in her view.
The hardest part was still ahead.
She needed to climb to the alien’s nose and place the hallucination mushroom in front of its eyes.
She wasn’t sure how good its eyesight was or if it could even see the mushroom.
Tu Ran took another deep breath, repeating her previous actions—climbing up by gripping the beast’s fur while occasionally sticking her head out to check if she was on the right track.
Finally, after a long climb, she heard the sound of the wind howling. It was directly above her, and she could even feel her hair flying in the breeze.
She looked up, and sure enough, she saw the alien’s nostrils.
She had made it.
Tu Ran didn’t rush directly upward. The wind from the nostrils was like two tornadoes, and she worried it might blow her off.
Instead, she took a more cautious approach, clinging to the exposed skin on the alien’s face and carefully maneuvered around its nostrils.
The alien beast’s fur was only present on its chest and limbs, with its face and back completely bare. If climbing up the creature had been like scaling a mountain before, now it felt more like rock climbing.
Her nails dug into the cracks in its skin, moving upward bit by bit.
Finally, she had circled around its nose. One more step, and she would be exposed to the alien beast’s line of sight.
Tu Ran tightened her grip with her right hand, while her left hand moved to her teeth, biting down to break the skin. She hoped the mushroom would grow larger this time, so she bit deeply, the blood trickling down her hand and staining her shoulder.
She was only wearing a sports outfit, so she could clearly feel the dampness on her shoulder.
A purple mushroom began to grow rapidly. It grew twice as large as usual before it finally stopped.
Tu Ran felt a slight sense of disappointment.
But there was nothing more she could do.
She placed her bleeding fingers in her mouth, sucking the blood dry. As [Diamond Body] took effect, the wound began to heal quickly. When she removed her fingers, the injury was nearly gone, leaving only a faint trace.
