Chapter 193: Volume 1 Chapter 193 Mermaid? Shark Person? (10)

The blue protective suit displayed the code A-638, presumably with an earpiece for contacting the monitoring side; the eyes beneath the helmet swept over the team's twenty-plus members, exuding intense oppression.

Bang——!

A gunshot rang out, and Jiang Zhi, out of the corner of her eye, saw 638 raise his rifle and shoot the protective-suit person who had twitched nervously.

Those nearby dared not look; cold sweat poured from beneath their protective suits, praying that 638's gaze would not linger on them.

638 lowered his gun, and hissing, cold voice commanded: "Take off your protective suits."

The jungle still hung with a thin blood mist, coiling around; outside the visor, the blood mist filled the view like fresh blood.

No one dared defy the order, trembling as they removed the protective suits draped over their bodies.

In the rearmost corner, Jiang Zhi's mind raced; her movements were slow, while a few nearby people had already taken off their protective suits, and she quietly shifted backward.

Her eyes fixed on the blue protective-suited figure, under the cover of those nearby she covertly drew a dagger and slit a corner of the black cloth covering the cage, letting the blood mist and light pour in.

The monster inside was instantly startled, emitting a piercing shriek and frenziedly slamming into the iron cage.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the cage; the highest-ranked 638 also walked over, pressed the remote in his hand, and the electric net encircling the cage crackled loudly, enraging the huge monster inside, which disregarded the net and launched repeated strikes.

638 frowned; the shark people are skilled warriors and ferocious, and the one imprisoned in the cage is one of the Shark People King's most loyal subordinates, captured together with the king years ago. Years of experiments have transformed it into a horrific form, and though the extracted shark people's blood has been used in the experiments, it has continually failed—only the king's blood is effective.

Their superiors ordered them to place this shark person near the beach in order to lure out the Shark People King.

They all knew that the Shark People King had been lingering near the island, seeking a chance for revenge.

If they could recapture the Shark People King, it would greatly aid their experiments.

But the shark people's strength and speed exceed humans by hundreds or thousands of times; no matter how severe the injury, they recover completely thanks to their extraordinary healing.

This is also the true reason they extract blood: to transform humans into a new generation indistinguishable from shark people.

A person in protective suit B-4236 approached anxiously and said, "Captain, the cage is about to burst; should we just shoot it here, or else wait for it to emerge…"

Before 4236 could finish speaking, 638 shot him dead.

"No shooting!! The creature inside must not die!!" 638's strange voice, laced with anger, cranked the electric net to maximum, intending to stun the monster inside the cage.

With a clang, the monster collapsed to the ground; the surroundings instantly fell silent, but just as everyone thought the dust had settled, a sharp sound wave from afar reverberated through the jungle, excruciatingly piercing.

Upon hearing the sound, the monster inside the cage again slammed violently against it.

This time it was even more frenzied, completely unafraid of the electric net outside the cage.

The cage shattered, a booming roar echoing to the horizon; under sunlight the monster's form was revealed: bloated, its fish tail split open to the bone, skin cracked and covered in worm-like bulges, its visage unrecognizable, yet it moved with astonishing speed—almost in the blink of an eye, several nearby protective-suit persons were torn apart and swallowed.

The crowd scattered, wailing continuously; Jiang Zhi was the fastest, darting through the dense forest as the ground trembled with the monster's leaps, showing its immense weight, yet not slowing it in the slightest.

Due to her lifelong ill fortune, the monster, having eaten people and still unsatisfied, pursued her relentlessly.

Jiang Zhi couldn't understand why, with so many others fleeing, the monster insisted on chasing her to kill her.

Sturdy trees barely hindered its speed, but this was only temporary; no matter how long she ran, the monster would not let her go.

Jiang Zhi gripped her dagger, intending to fight to the death; she tiptoed, leapt, and, taking advantage of its momentary lapse, stabbed the dagger into its eye.

The monster let out a heaven‑rending roar, its other eye turning blood‑red; it raised a hand, seized her, and slammed her hard to the ground.

Jiang Zhi slit its wrist at the thumb base, mustering all her strength to break free, but her body still crashed heavily to the ground from inertia.

She coughed weakly a few times, covered her chest and spat blood; watching the monster draw nearer, she lifted the back of her hand to wipe the blood from her lip, closed her eyes, and braced for death.

She blamed herself for being too rash; she shouldn't have joined the team just to investigate the organization.

In the instant she closed her eyes, a petite figure suddenly appeared before her, with pure black eyes coldly fixed on the monster not far away.

The monster's fury was instantly doused like cold water, leaving only boundless fear in its eyes, all stemming from the girl before it.

Within less than a second, it turned and fled, its silhouette gradually disappearing into the depths of the jungle.

Jiang Zhi heard the ground trembling, yet felt no pain; she unconsciously opened her eyes, and a familiar figure appeared in her sight.

"Ning Ningyan?" she exclaimed in astonishment.

The girl's face showed concern as she approached and asked, "What are you doing sitting here? Are you hurt?"

Jiang Zhi looked around, carefully scanning the nearby trees until her gaze settled on the girl's face, and asked, "When you came, didn't you see a monster?"

Ning Ningyan shook her head. "No, I just came over and saw you sitting here; there was no monster."

Jiang Zhi fell into thought, unsteadily rising from the ground, gazing at the destroyed trees ahead, and reflected.

It couldn't be her hallucination; clearly the monster had been provoked by her and had come to eat her.

Why, after closing and opening her eyes, had the monster vanished?

Could her eyes have the function to switch between the "inner world" and the "outer world"?

That's too absurd, right?

Jiang Zhi pondered for a long time why the monster would let her go.

Ning Ningyan, seeing her poor condition, took a handkerchief from her pocket and offered it, saying, "Are you hurt? Zhizhi."

Jiang Zhi said, "I'm fine; let's go back, it's getting late."

Ning Ningyan held the handkerchief for a few seconds, then put it back in her pocket and followed her forward.

Suddenly, she seemed to glimpse something horrifying, and she shrank into Jiang Zhi's embrace, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Jiang Zhi looked and saw bloody, mangled flesh scattered beneath the trees.

All of it was caused by that monster.

This scene was truly bloody and terrifying; Ning Ningyan, being a timid girl, could not bear it.

Jiang Zhi reached out to pat her shoulder reassuringly and said, "It's all right; let's take a different path."

Saying this, she headed toward another direction, away from that bloody stretch.

Clinging tightly to her, Ning Ningyan sobbed pitifully, burying her face in Jiang Zhi's neck and whispering, "Trouble… trouble you, Zhizhi."

Although Jiang Zhi thought their pose was a bit odd, she was merely looking after the girl, accommodating her and saying, "It's fine, don't be afraid."