Chapter 349: Desperate Measures

Bang…

The lab door was kicked open again. The joint team from Central City and Qinggang stormed into the laboratory once more.

Their actions seemed peculiar. After Xia Chong decided to cover their retreat they didn’t hesitate or fuss scattering in all directions to escape. But after only a few steps they all rushed back simultaneously.

Approaching the lab entrance they saw the monster slowly advancing towards Xia Chong.

Its powerful mental force field radiated chaotically in all directions twisting the metal parts of nearby tables and chairs sending paper files fluttering into the air like confetti and suspending various liquids mid-air refusing to let them fall.

However this mental force field was visibly contracting slowly.

It was like a tangled mess being gradually sorted and adjusted.

It seemed this ‘god’ or rather Zhao Shiming in the glass room behind it was adapting to this power.

Snap…

They didn’t dare venture deeper into the lab. The Doctor stepped forward closing his eyes and avoiding a direct gaze at the monster. Instead he rapidly calculated using other means spitting out data points. Once his calculations were precise he yelled abruptly “Now!”

The gothic-style woman immediately flicked her whip sending it lashing into the lab.

It perfectly coiled around Xia Chong who was huddled on the floor as if under immense pressure and yanked her back.

Chen Jing stepped forward catching Xia Chong and wiping the blood from her face with her hand.

Xia Chong’s body was slightly curled up. She struggled to open her eyes glancing at the people who had rushed back.

Her gaze seemed bewildered. Why had these people returned?

“With all this commotion outside the forward outpost must have detected it already.”

The Doctor looked at Xia Chong calmly stating “We no longer need to risk our lives reporting back.”

“Of course the main reason is that we can’t escape anyway.”

The rugged man wearing half a doll mask said “The paths are all blocked. Everything that died has come back to life.”

The gothic-style woman and the refined man beside him both glanced sideways at him.

They really hated people who spoke the blunt truth at inconvenient times.

“No need to worry about covering the retreat anymore.”

Chen Jing supported Xia Chong testing if she could stand steady before letting her feet touch the ground. She sighed softly:

“Our mission has changed now. Protect your own lives with everything you’ve got!”

“Everyone any ideas?”

Present were Chen Jing Xia Chong Gecko the two from the Doctor’s team and three each from the gothic woman’s and refined man’s teams.

Eleven people in total three of them Spider-types.

The other eight each possessed their own abilities developed and utilized to a respectable degree.

Logically this many people with such diverse abilities should be enough to handle many situations.

“There’s no way!”

The refined man holding a handkerchief suddenly spoke with a smile “No matter how many abilities we have there’s no way.”

Meeting everyone’s gazes he said softly “This monster has reached a level we can’t even look at directly. This means its psychic power far exceeds ours. Faced with such a gap the differences in our abilities become meaningless.”

“A drop of poison in wine can kill someone.”

“In a water tank it can give everyone who drinks the water a stomach ache.”

“But what if that drop of poison is put into a river or even the sea?”

…

He spoke softly covering his mouth with the white handkerchief muffling his voice which seemed tinged with self-deprecating laughter “Right now facing this monster we are essentially a few different drops of poison facing…”

The Doctor finished his sentence “A lake. Facing a lake.”

He glanced at the monster adding “It probably hasn’t reached the level of an ocean yet. After all the ocean is vast…”

…

While they conversed rapidly glancing at the monster with near despair it remained silent.

It kept its head lowered quietly. Visible distorted force fields surrounded it now mostly converged pulled back from all directions strand by strand coalescing around it into a field with a ten-meter radius that no longer expanded.

Behind it in the glass room Zhao Shiming rapidly manipulated various instruments.

“Initiating self-check…”

“It seems I’ve already been affected unknowingly…”

“Physical symptoms… dizziness stinging pain loss of emotional control…”

“My whole body feels like ants are crawling on it… like a bug is emerging from every pore…”

“Is it because I’m not an Ability User that this backlash exceeds my tolerance?”

“But… still bearable…”

…

After muttering to himself he suddenly raised his head.

The bronze-colored helmet on his head made him look somewhat comical at this moment.

Beneath the helmet his eyes were strange pupils constricted and the whites filled with blood threads.

Yet he seemed oblivious simply looking towards the Ability Users at the lab entrance his voice laced with excitement:

“Therefore the God’s Body power experiment… continues!”

As his voice fell the monster suddenly raised its head.

The six eyes on the sides of its head closed simultaneously then snapped open again.

The distorted mental force field maintained within a ten-meter radius around it instantly expanded outwards seemingly without limit.

Snap…

But the instant the monster looked up a vigilant Spider-type Ability User nearby immediately threw two plasma grenades. He didn’t dare throw them directly at the monster fearing its distorted force field would deflect them back.

He threw the grenades first at the half-open lab doorframe bounced them off the floor and sent them rolling forward along a groove.

Bang!

Electrical arcs erupted. The position angle and detonation time were perfectly judged.

A ball of electricity two or three meters in diameter formed a temporary wall blocking the monster’s encroaching mental force field.

Of course only temporarily.

“Anyone else who can handle this situation?”

“Now is not the time for chatting! If you really want to talk can’t you wait until you’re dead and do it down below?”

…

Someone roared hoarsely anxious and angry.

“Only Captain Xia Chong is left now.”

The refined man looked at Xia Chong calmly saying “At this point only you still have a chance to open a door and get us out of here.”

“That’s why we came back for you.”

“Trading all our lives for your last chance to escape is the most efficient course of action.”

Xia Chong abruptly looked up clenched her small fists tightly then released them powerlessly.

“It’s useless. I can’t open the door anymore…”

“After dealing with that disgusting giant infant monster I lost the ability to open doors. If I force it now I’ll just get trapped in the abyss. If I try to take all of you with me we’ll all end up stuck in that place.”

“Do you think it’s better for everyone to enter the abyss unable to live or die?”

Xia Chong raised her head weakly “Or would dying directly before this monster be quicker?”

Silence fell heavily around them.

Behind them came the slapping sound of giant python-like tentacles hitting the ground rushing towards them.

In front the monster had started walking. Its mental impact swept away the bomb’s aftereffects as it strode towards them.

Thump thump.

The powerful beating of its heart sent ripples through the air rapidly approaching them.

A sense of despair descended.

“Let’s play a game…”

An excited smile spread across the Doctor’s face. He tightened his grip on his scalpel looking at the crowd “See who dies first…”

“Last one alive is a dog!”

…

Everyone froze for a moment staring at the Doctor with strange expressions.

Then… they were tempted…

“Wait…”

Just then a weak voice piped up “Play later… Maybe… there’s another way…”

Swish swish swish

Suddenly everyone’s gaze snapped towards the speaker.

Gecko swallowed nervously feeling uncomfortable under so many stares for the first time.

The others were also puzzled. This colleague from Qinggang just seemed like an ordinary Spider-type.

Perhaps his ability development wasn’t even on par with Xia Chong’s previous female team member. Faced with such a powerful monster when so many squad leader-level individuals were helpless what could an ordinary Ability User like him possibly do?

Gecko took a deep breath his face set with determination.

Then facing the monster which seemed to be adapting to its body as it slowly approached he took another deep breath.

The next moment he suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs:

“Help me Captain…!”

…

Instantly everyone was completely dumbfounded.

That’s it?

But just as their expressions turned weird they suddenly felt something vibrating.

At first they thought it was the sound of the monster’s footsteps approaching or the noise of those thick terrifying tentacles squeezing through the hallway. But upon closer listening they suddenly realized where the sound was coming from and abruptly looked up.

Crash…

Dust and debris mixed with glass and concrete suddenly rained down from the lab ceiling as it collapsed.

Then from the hole in the ceiling a dusty figure tumbled down.

The figure’s appearance was utterly abrupt especially its landing position—smack dab on the monster’s head.

Thump

With uncanny balance the figure landed squarely on the monster’s soft head straightened up surveyed the surroundings with apparent bewilderment and then its gaze finally fell on Gecko who was still standing at the lab entrance yelling for help.

“Were you calling me?”