Chapter 140.2 – Fire Seed (9)
◎ I asked you to hold him back, not to disable him ◎
“Yo, here already?” Yin Xiao’s smile brightened. He extended his free right hand. “Could you lend me a hand?”
Song Ke helped him up, and as she glanced down, she noticed a severe electrical injury on Yin Xiao’s lean and flat abdomen, with torn flesh and continuous bleeding.
However, he casually patted the wound as if nothing had happened, whispering to Song Ke, “Those on the opposite side are all from Tokushima. The guy is Lei Zhao, S4 with lightning ability, and the woman is Yuko Noguma, S3 with mystic-type ability, capable of depriving others of their powers using darkness.”
“—Help me keep them occupied, don’t let them take the creature.”
Creature? What creature?
Before Song Ke could inquire, the pitch-black background around them rapidly receded like a tide, revealing a bizarre sight.
On the mudflat, a massive stranded body of a giant sperm whale lay on its side, with a length exceeding fifty meters, a cylindrical and sturdy head, and two small dead white eyes. A crimson crystal floated slowly in mid-air, surrounded by faint blue water vapor. No one dared to approach—it turned out to be a rare Level 4 mutant beast.
After the darkness dissipated, several Tokushima awakeners were thrown out soaked and wet. Standing in the middle was a lightly dressed woman in a blue skirt.
Song Ke took a surprised breath. Another S-level, what’s going on tonight? An S-level beach party?
Fortunately, Yin Xiao spoke up in time, explaining the woman’s identity, “She’s one of us, Zhao Yuqing, S2 water controller.”
Zhao Yuqing nodded lightly at Song Ke.
“We killed this mutated whale, but they insist it’s in their territory and demand we leave the things behind,” Yin Xiao said.
“Purely thuggish behavior, twisting the facts. Not only do they want to steal the creature, but they also want to challenge the Northern Base,” Song Ke commented.
Growing up in a fishing village, Song Ke vaguely heard that whales were praised as “treasures all over the body” in marine life. Even in the apocalypse, its edible, industrial, and research value was higher than that of ordinary creatures, especially as a Level 4 mutant beast.
The Northern Base and Tokushima fought fiercely for the ownership of the mutated whale, which made sense.
Yuko Noguma’s voice was hoarse as she threatened in a non-standard Alliance language, “Mutated whale, ours. Get lost.”
Yin Xiao sneered, “Sorry, when we killed it, it was still in the waters of the Northern Base.”
Negotiation was impossible, and it would never be possible in this lifetime. Since things couldn’t be explained, they could only resort to action.
However, the mystic-type Yuko Noguma was easy to deal with, while the attack-type Lei Zhao, with his S4 abilities, was quite formidable.
He used to be an awakener in the Northern Base, but Tokushima offered him better conditions and managed to recruit him. It’s natural for water to flow downhill, and people seek higher ground. Originally, there wasn’t much to say about this matter, but unexpectedly, Lei Zhao turned around and targeted his former colleague. Truly, there was no sense of loyalty.
Tokushima had more than one strong attack-type awakener, and as an S-level, he had the right to refuse.
Yin Xiao whispered to Song Ke, “You hold off Lei Zhao. Zhao Yuqing and I will deal with Yuko Noguma? Is that okay?”
Song Ke made an “OK” gesture behind him.
“Lei Zhao, do you think the base won’t function without you?” Yin Xiao intentionally raised his voice, attracting attention from the opposite side. “Let me introduce you. This is our new S-level.”
“Hello, please give me some advice.” Song Ke politely bowed to the two people opposite and casually picked up a collapsed power line pole.
Lei Zhao: “…”
Yuko Noguma: “?” What was this new S-level doing? Mocking them on purpose?
“It seems, it’s a bit big,” Song Ke muttered dissatisfied. “Forget it, let’s just use it.”
Lei Zhao raised both hands, and the high-voltage electricity caused by his ability instantly changed the color of the night sky. Yuko Noguma rushed towards Song Ke, but halfway, she was forced to stop by water arrows and sharp bullets, forcing her to engage in battle.
“Your opponent is me,” Zhao Yuqing said coldly.
In the illuminated high sky by the lightning, thousands of sharp lightning bolts came towards Song Ke. Dragging the power line pole, she stepped on the body of the sperm whale, used the momentum to soar into the air, and swung her right hand.
A blue twelve-section soft whip went through the air, absorbing most of the lightning along the way, emitting a sizzling electric light, and lashed towards Lei Zhao with bone-chilling malice.
“I’ll return the favor!” Song Ke understood the principle of reciprocity.
Lei Zhao’s pupils contracted, hastily gathering electric currents into a fan-shaped shield to block the rebounded attack. The lightning crackled and struck the decaying skin of the whale, and bits and pieces of tissue scattered everywhere.
Song Ke whipped the whip again, the heavy head of the whip moving astonishingly fast in her hand, like a rattlesnake. Snap! It hit Lei Zhao’s wrist!
Lei Zhao couldn’t avoid it, and he distinctly heard the bone “crack” and shatter.
As a long-range awakener, he was already at a disadvantage in close combat, and Song Ke’s soft whip seemed to be an extension of herself, moving effortlessly. One moment it swung horizontally, the next it flicked diagonally, occasionally drawing an eight-shaped figure at a 720-degree angle.
Faced with Lei Zhao’s lightning, she seemed extremely casual, dodging when she could, and enduring when she couldn’t. Her physical fitness was so strong that it seemed she couldn’t feel any pain at all!
Crack—! The lightning struck Song Ke’s shoulder, and a faint scent of burnt flesh reached her.
Smack—! The sharp whip came down, hitting Lei Zhao’s back hard, causing him to shudder in pain.
The two danced and maneuvered on the corpse of the sperm whale, pouring out their formidable awakened energy without reservation.
Distracted by the blurry vision from being whipped, Lei Zhao suddenly found Song Ke gone! Oh no! Lei Zhao raised his head abruptly, almost simultaneously, Song Ke descended diagonally from the head of the sperm whale in a cross-shaped leap. Lei Zhao’s face changed drastically, focused only on her elusive whip techniques, completely unaware that she was closing the distance between them.
Song Ke descended like a projectile, grabbed Lei Zhao’s neck with one hand, and swung him forcefully toward the ground!
“Bang—!” Lei Zhao was smashed into the sandy soil, and the turbulent airflow stirred the remnants of the sperm whale’s skin.
Song Ke acted swiftly, the whip circled around his hands, forming a knot. Then, she flexed her arm muscles and twisted in the opposite direction.
First came a clearly audible “crack.”
“Ahh—!” Immediately followed by a piercing scream, Lei Zhao’s hands were forcibly twisted.
The S-level’s screams silenced the ongoing battle for two seconds.
“Damn,” Yin Xiao stared blankly, “I asked you to hold him back, not to disable him directly.”
With one hand, Song Ke lifted Lei Zhao and threw him forcefully towards Yuko Noguma. The female awakener, who was already trapped by Zhao Yuqing and Yin Xiao, had no chance to dodge and was hit like a bowling ball, tumbling and colliding with the whale carcass.
Tokushima’s two S-levels were defeated. After this round, the Northern Base emerged victorious.
Yin Xiao and the other awakeners behind Zhao Yuqing burst into laughter without mercy. Song Ke clapped her hands, about to turn back, when she suddenly saw the faces of the opposing group turn pale, pointing in terror towards a certain direction.
She turned around abruptly—
The stranded mutated whale’s body was rapidly swelling from its belly. Due to excessive radiation and the impact of S-level awakened energy, the accumulation of decomposed gases within its body exceeded the critical point. It reached the maximum capacity the skin could endure, and the people on the mudflat could vaguely smell a nauseating stench.
“Whale explosion! It’s a whale explosion!! Run!!!” Heart-wrenching shouts echoed.
Whale explosion, also known as nature’s bomb, is the world’s foulest biochemical weapon. The power generated by the explosion of a normal adult whale is equivalent to ten thousand hand grenades. Currently, lying on the beach is a Level 4 mutated sperm whale with a length exceeding fifty meters.
Both groups of awakeners snapped out of their trance, abandoning the fight without hesitation, and sprinted away.
On the Northern Base side, Yin Xiao ran over, grabbing Song Ke’s hand and shouting, “Run!”
In the sky, Lu Xiaoyu sensed the impending danger. The flying ship dove down, its tailgate opened, and the Northern Base awakeners scrambled to climb aboard.
Amidst the endless chaos, Song Ke suddenly thought of something, broke free from Yin Xiao’s grip, and pushed him away. “You go first!”
“Hey! Don’t run around!” Yin Xiao turned to stop her, but the putrid smell in the air was too unbearable. He couldn’t help but turn aside to dry heave, and when he turned back, Song Ke had already disappeared.
“Song Ke!” After Yin Xiao’s shout, he also gagged, “Ugh—”
The sperm whale’s body had swollen to cover the sky, and the surrounding radiation energy surged, reaching the edge of detonation.
A distant, tiny figure dashed towards them. Song Ke desperately waved her hands towards the sky. “Lu Xiaoyu, fly!”
The flying ship ascended abruptly without any warning, nearly causing the awakeners in the back cabin to fall. The tailgate gradually closed, Yin Xiao hung onto the handrail with one hand, half of his body suspended in the air. He reached out to Song Ke. “Quick!”
Boom—!!!
The swollen abdomen of the sperm whale burst open directly.
Undigested, putrefied food, vast amounts of gaseous methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and countless microorganisms and bacteria scattered in the air with the bloody water, and the debris of tissues fell like a torrential rain.
Song Ke flicked the long whip in her palm, firmly locking onto the tail wing of the flying ship. Lu Xiaoyu rapidly ascended again, using the force to pull her up. Like a sharp arrow, Song Ke maneuvered through the foul wind, blood rain, and toxic air, rolling into the flying ship’s cabin with agility.
The tailgate finally closed, and the strong airflow generated by the explosion caused the entire flying ship to shake violently. The portholes were completely covered with black, rotten substances.
“Why did you go back?” Yin Xiao asked sternly, “Do you know how dangerous that was?”
Song Ke opened her palm, and a crimson crystal sparkled brightly.
“I went… to get the crystal,” Song Ke said matter-of-factly, then looked at them reproachfully, “You guys, what a waste.”
As a captain who had once experienced poverty, frugality was a virtue she took pride in. While the Northern Base enjoyed abundant resources, she was not one to indulge extravagantly; she would refuse even precious Level 4 crystals if she deemed them unnecessary.
Yin Xiao choked for a moment, “…”
“Uh… you…” Someone looked at the oblivious Song Ke and cautiously spoke up.
However, before he could finish his sentence, people in the cabin suddenly began to vomit one after another.
Song Ke wiped her face, only to find a piece of rotten whale flesh falling down.
She lowered her head in shock and looked, realizing that her coat had collected a considerable amount of debris from the whale explosion due to her vigorous flight.
A shake made one piece fall.
Another shake made two or three pieces fall.
Song Ke: “…”
Oh no, oh no. The first thought that flashed through her mind was: With Zhuang Qingyan’s cleanliness, would she be allowed to enter the door when she went back?
