Chapter 151.1 – Seed of Fire (21)
◎ Grown a Tail! ◎
According to the “Worldwide Illustrated Guide to Zombie Creatures” published after the apocalypse:
Evolutionary zombies are classified into levels 1-4. Level 4 Zombie Kings retain some human intelligence but lack conscious awareness.
The levels of mutant zombies fluctuate with the original host’s level, decreasing proportionally, with a maximum not exceeding level 4. A level 4 mutant zombie is equivalent to an S-level awakener, but so far, such monsters have not appeared worldwide.
Zombies/mutant beasts only have 1-5 levels, with level 5 mutant beasts posing a severe threat to a particular area. Although their intelligence cannot be compared to humans, even Zombie Kings, each one possesses destructive combat power capable of wreaking havoc.
The District B supplier, who was remotely monitoring the mission, obviously did not anticipate the appearance of a level 5 monster in the Elderly People’s Nation.
The commission they issued was originally just an investigative mission, intended to recover a substantial debt. As the awakeners delved deeper, facing both intense radiation and oceanic monster swarms, and now encountering a level 5 armored sea turtle, it has far exceeded their psychological endurance. These suppliers regret their decision; the Elderly People’s Nation is truly a den of wolves, no wonder the system automatically rated it as S!
Clap!
Clap, clap!!
The armored sea turtle continued its relentless attacks. Buildings on the island collapsed with a resounding crash, debris continuously falling. Luckily, the Elderly People’s Nation had a large area and could temporarily withstand its destruction, but the situation remained far from optimistic.
Lu Xiaoyu opened the map amidst the turbulence, “The movement speed has increased. In four hours, we will enter the Sea of Misfortune’s Triangle.”
Song Ke looked around. On the uneven land, awakeners were taking action one after another. Some close combat specialists found their positions and jumped down, landing steadily on the turtle shell.
Faced with the enormous armored sea turtle, Gu Ruoyi’s “Gathering” ability was nearly useless. Other group-based abilities also found it difficult, Jennifer’s flames were extinguished by the seawater before igniting, and Xu Xing’s ice shards hit the back shell with no damage, instead providing an opportunity for the turtle to scrape off many barnacles.
Xu Xing: What?! Is he now a janitor?
Yin Xiao’s expression was cold; he quickly climbed to the top of a collapsed hospital building, set up a mortar, and aimed at its two eyes.
They say, “As slow as a tortoise,” but this armored sea turtle seemed to have lived for an unknown number of years, with intelligence evidently not low. Seeing the shells flying towards itself, it desperately scraped and jumped forward. Boom!! The explosive shells missed by a hair’s breadth, only hitting its incredibly tough shell, leaving behind a burnt imprint.
Yin Xiao cursed under his breath.
Unless there is an instant-activating ability, achieving a one-hit kill is necessary. Otherwise, once there is a wind-up before an attack, it can easily escape. The armored sea turtle, with its sturdy shell and the advantage of the ocean as its home turf, makes the battle particularly challenging.
The tower where the “Kazan Locomotive” is located is the only high ground remaining in the surrounding ruins. Veronica’s eyes lit up, her brown hair flying as she slowly revealed a tarot card in her palm: The Tower card in reverse.
Symbolizing the advent of disaster, complete collapse.
Veronica’s trembling hand stroked the card, murmuring, “мыумрем. (We will die eventually.)”
Vladimir held her head, their foreheads gently touching. “God be with us, Veronica. Wait for me to come back.” After saying this, he turned and left, his robust figure stepping on the falling rubble, leaping towards the armored sea turtle, and slamming his fists heavily on its shell.
Boom! The earth shook, and even the formidable attack of the level 5 beast paused for a moment. Dylan’s sea-blue eyes sparkled with anger as he stared at the gray-white eyeball on the side of the armored sea turtle. His awakened ability, “Nightmare Descends,” was activated, freezing the movements of the beast. Its forelimbs were fixed on the sea surface, entering a state of “sleep paralysis.”
Onlooker Xu Xing’s small face puckered again.
He’s so useless; he’s being outperformed again. He could only scratch the armored sea turtle’s itch while Dylan took control of it.
Song Ke and Su Cha exchanged a glance, their spiritual tools shining in their hands. This battle seemed to have more risks than rewards, but the current situation left them no choice. If they didn’t kill the armored sea turtle, only death awaited them.
“Protect yourselves,” Song Ke anxiously reminded his companions, giving an extra look to Zhuang Qingyan.
Su Cha silently gazed at Lin Youyou, her lips moving slightly as if wanting to say something.
Lin Youyou approached with big strides, lifted her tiptoes to touch his head, and her soft fingers slid down to his neck. She gently pressed, causing Su Cha to obediently lower his head. Their noses touched, and Lin Youyou’s lips curved, “I’m not interested in raising another puppy, so… be safe, okay?”
Su Cha’s breath hitched, but Lin Youyou quickly let go, stepped back, and turned to shout at Fang Zhixu, “Old Fang! Help me check, am I wearing the life jacket correctly?”
Su Cha steadied himself and followed behind Song Ke. The two of them, one in front and one behind, jumped onto the back of the armored sea turtle with a thud and a clang.
Yang Xiaobo, who was already on top, cursing and slashing at barnacles, tried to knock a hole in it. Seeing them, his eyes widened. Why did V587’s slacker come at a time like this? Shouldn’t they be hiding?
Yang Xiaobo stood up with a “scoot,” hands on hips, advising, “Hey, don’t seek your death here. Leave this to Big Brother Yang—”
Song Ke paid no attention, soaring up and down with Su Cha. They quickly traversed the dense barnacle jungle, disappearing from sight.
Yang Xiaobo muttered, “…Big Brother Yang can’t save you now.”
On their way forward, Song Ke was suddenly stopped by a man.
The man, an awakener resembling a polar bear from Luce Federation, quickly said to her, “@#％&*…!”
Song Ke: “???” What kind of language is this?
Fortunately, the terminal had a built-in translator. Song Ke quickly opened it, and when the other saw her actions, he repeated himself quickly.
“I’m Vladimir, an S5-level close combat awakener. It’s tough to kill this beast alone, and I want to team up with you.”
In such a critical moment, powerful awakeners should unite.
Vladimir looked down at the slender girl in front of him. If Veronica said this person is a “tank,” her divination would never be wrong.
Song Ke performed a graceful knife dance, pointing to her own eyes, indicating that they would attack the beast’s head.
Vladimir: “@#％*&… (Attack together; I’ll deal with its forelimbs.)”
Song Ke glanced at the translator, nodded first, and then raised her fist with a serious expression. “Ura (Charge)!!”
Vladimir pounded his fists, responding, “Ura!”
The three of them acted separately. Song Ke jumped near the armored sea turtle’s head, where the water had already reached her thighs, making movement difficult. With a swift slash of her knife, the blade shining with a dark green glow, Song Ke instantly attracted the attention of the monstrous head, which slowly turned towards her.
On the other side, Su Cha feigned a spear thrust, pretending to stab its eyeball. The armored sea turtle, using the same tactic as before, exerted force on its forelimbs to leap forward. Unexpectedly, Su Cha suddenly changed direction, altering the attack to the thin membrane-like ears behind its eyes. This turned out to be a deceptive move, fooling it into evading in the wrong direction!
Having perfectly relayed to the front, Song Ke pushed off with both feet, splitting the waves as she jumped into the air. The spiritual tool in her palm emitted a blue light, and she accurately and steadily plunged it into the right eyeball of the monstrous beast!
Almost simultaneously, a burst shell came from a distance. Taking advantage of the moment when the armored sea turtle froze, it precisely hit its left eye. Song Ke suddenly looked up, seeing a young man on the dilapidated hospital rooftop with a sniper scope, giving her a thumbs up.
The armored sea turtle, now with both eyes injured, convulsed in pain. Amidst the gasps, it suddenly opened its mouth, and a powerful jet of air burst forth, creating towering waves that instantly overturned a large number of awakeners.
Splash! Song Ke and Su Cha both fell into the water, but they had created an excellent opportunity!
Vladimir, lurking in the water, had already taken his position. Grabbing the powerful forelimbs of the armored sea turtle, his awakened ability “Distortion” was activated!
The ten-meter-long forefin was instantly twisted into a bloody and blurry spiral, with thousands of bone spurs piercing into the fragmented flesh. Vladimir held his breath, blowing out bubbles, and his strong feet pushed against the turtle shell in the opposite direction. Under the extremely terrifying force, the entire forefin was torn off.
Other awakeners followed suit, attacking the remaining three limbs of the armored sea turtle exposed outside the shell. Various awakened abilities rained down, and while they didn’t directly tear like Vladimir, there were uneven wounds.
Dylan sprinted on the fragments of the island, finally circling to the front of the armored sea turtle. Staring at its single eye, he activated “Nightmare Descends” again. However, this time, whether due to blindness or acquired resistance, it unexpectedly failed!
Snap! The enraged turtle thrashed left and right, its hard shell colliding with debris. The ground collapsed under Dylan’s feet, and he almost fell, with his black-clad bodyguard quickly rushing over to catch him.
With its front limbs gone, the armored sea turtle shook violently in pain, entering a frenzied state. Unprepared, it leaped out of the water, its body rotating 360 degrees, and the awakeners on its back were thrown into the water. Vladimir was even carried up by the rolling waves, uncontrollably falling from a height of over ten meters.
The grey-white eyeball of the armored sea turtle oozed dirty blood, quickly locking onto its retaliatory target. It crazily chased Vladimir, and with a thud! The hard edge of the turtle shell collided with Vladimir, blood splattered in all directions, and a piece of his flesh was cut off raw!
“No—!!” Veronica on the high tower clutched the railing, screaming heartbreakingly.
Her eyes suddenly brightened to the extreme, and behind her, dark clouds gathered with lightning and thunder. The sea where the Elderly People’s Nation was located immediately stirred up fierce winds and huge waves. Everyone was shocked; this was… a weather manipulator? An awakener with the ability to forcibly change local weather, a weather manipulator capable of summoning wind and rain, is typically an extremely powerful S-level awakener!
The armored sea turtle’s retaliation was forcibly halted as it struggled to maintain balance amidst the towering waves. Veronica, an S-level dual-element awakener, had always kept her second ability well hidden. However, seeing Vladimir in a life-or-death situation, she could no longer afford to hold back her strength and only wanted to save her beloved.
Veronica frantically tried to gather a new divination card, but divination had a time limit. Although she was anxious, it was of no use.
Moments later, she muttered a curse and climbed down from the high tower, jumping into the sea to rescue Vladimir.
