Chapter 1353: NO. 257: The Beginning of the End II, Those Who Arrive Late Are Not Considered Late

NO. 257: The Beginning of the End II, Those Who Arrive Late Are Not Considered Late.

Two hundred years ago, you could hardly imagine that the term "Internet" would be listed among the options in the transportation routes chart.

But when the first Digital Monster passed through the screen and arrived in reality from the coded world built of countless bytes,

it was already destined for the present two hundred years later.

As long as Digital Monsters can come over, humans will always find a way to go there, and will also think of ways to return; back and forth, the frequency keeps increasing.

The ever more frequent interactions built ever more stable routes, even easily surpassing real-world travel time, so naturally merchants would spot the business opportunity and see the value in the phenomenon itself.

Although it still has higher development costs in terms of safety, in the key factor of "saving time" it has already won hands down.

As long as you are still constrained by real-world wind resistance, you will surely choose the Internet route in times of urgent need!

Exactly at this moment, exactly right now——

Bang bang bang bang! Boom——!!

Gunshots rang out, engines howled!

The Bellstar Beast's dual guns weakened the barrier between the two worlds; just one step shy of the final obstacle, it encountered the impact of a fighter jet formed from a special agent.

That fierce sound wave easily drowned out the startled cursing of a certain bomb person, and at the same time it echoed with a violent roar from somewhere far away.

"Words of thanks and concern will have to wait; for now……"

From the trailing end of the fluttering scarf that passed over the sprint of the huge coefficient Digital Monster, an airdrop descended; at the instant before hitting the ground, a demon-transformed shock wing eased a gust of wind, and then it was just leather shoes touching the ground.

Aomo, wearing a coat and suit, rose and reached out, thrusting his hand into the rapidly repairing Digital Gate.

This was absolutely an act that should not be imitated, but his palm gathered black Digital Soul into a ring, overlapping and intertwining, slowing the gate's repair in a scene of sparks flying like welding.

"Please leave the scene quickly, Miss." Under the gate's pressure, he slightly bent his knees, and with his original sideways stance, it looked like he was bowing in invitation.

"I don't need you to urge me; I'll run anyway, old lady!"

His slight 185 cm bend posed no trouble for the 165 cm white-haired little girl; as she shouted, she had already leapt past Aomo's field of vision, carrying a high-speed blur obvious only from explosive thrust, with only two red antennae clear.

What is this? An American cockroach?

Having seen this nickname on the Rhodes Island Forum before, someone once thought it was an overly rude nickname, but now seeing Miss W speeding into the gate, the description naturally came to mind, and the accompanying physical discomfort almost made his hand shake.

"This side seems to be a mistaken target."

The telepathy from Lipiya was undoubtedly timely, letting him, while withdrawing his hand, look toward the distance, at the monster horde that the Bellstar Beast and Jie Si Ti Si were facing, and at the Gui She running amok amidst the chaos.

"Then let's regroup; I'll retrieve the Gui She first."

The many consoles inherent in the transfer area became his cover at this moment; although they couldn't withstand a single swipe from a giant beast, they were enough to keep those monsters from seeing him.

Although he is 1.8 meters tall, before monsters that are routinely sixty to seventy meters, the sparsely placed consoles also seemed thickly packed, and appearing and disappearing among them, the agilely running Gui She was undoubtedly a real cockroach.

Not only is it hard to hit, but it also easily disappears in the smoke and dust.

"Should I wait for you at the door?" At that moment, from the digital gate behind him that had only a gap left, came the voice of another cockroach—no, miss.

"No need, go back; safety first——"

He hadn't finished speaking when he saw firelight and dust flying in the distance.

Regardless of whether the explosion a few meters away muffled his voice, Aomo saw a red-haired figure flailing and shouting wildly in midair fly over, crash beside him and slide a bit, then, as it brushed past his side, he stopped it with a outstretched foot.

"What's wrong? What's wrong!"

At the small opening of the Digital World, a golden-red eye emerged, its full curiosity covered by a demon's hand.

"Nothing."

Letting this restless miss see her subordinate's sorry state is also not good; better to have fewer troubles.

"Don't lie to me, old lady! I heard the screams—what the——"

No need to deliberately interrupt; the naturally healing barrier isolated the net from the world, and also let Aomo lower his hand and reach toward the Gui She still not risen.

"I thought you would fight more bravely……"

He said this, but his gaze was directed toward the battlefield where the giant Bellstar Beast was wreaking havoc in all directions.

When a humanoid Digital Monster has enough data, its giant form is no different from those aliens that can also enlarge themselves.

If it can have combat power comparable to Ultraman, it can naturally fight monsters.

But Aomo's fixed stare was clearly not because the giant treasure chest's vigorous movement was pleasing to the eye.

Although it is indeed eye-catching, the actual problem before us now is survival versus destruction.

"You have to yield BULLBIND from the badger; I'm not unable to challenge it either!"

Nor did he rashly shake off the helping hand; the Gui She grabbed Aomo's hand to push herself up, ignored the stains on her clothes, and simply followed his gaze with hatred, looking at the monster horde whose bodies were pierced by huge projectiles, blood flowing sideways as they collapsed.

Although they were falling, more monsters would soon fill the gaps.

Relying solely on Shaerbandis and Banadun, their survivability is nowhere near enough! They have too many people.

"If you play them well, you might get a chance to gather strength and break through."

"Feign? How would I feign? Pretend to be whatever that guy's mouth is saying……"

"Torregia Ultraman."

"Yes! Torregia, what a weird name, sounds like a corporate brand."

"Put the name aside for now; the badger won't come over, the three of the present realm must be prepared for anything, but this is the Falling Blossoms Flowing Water Beast you wanted."

Aomo said this, turning his head back, the cuff of his raised right hand faintly glowing red.

The next second, a lifelike model of the Qilin Lion Beast appeared, which he grasped and placed in the Gui She's hand.

"But can you control it alone?"

Falling Blossoms Flowing Water Beast, BULLBIND

A four-legged monster as majestic as a divine beast, its design prototype is the Strong King from the Ace Film Set; it was briefly active in Aomo's hands, and earlier was controlled by the Gui She and the badger together; its specs and abilities all come from a mental bind named 'Doublebind' / 'Double Bondage'.

Such a bind is often linked to schizophrenia, aiming to have a person send conflicting messages on different levels of communication to another, who must respond, but whatever response they give will be met with refusal or denial.

This is an inevitable dilemma, and also a painful expression typical of schizophrenia; therefore, the Falling Blossoms Flowing Water Beast normally requires two controllers and can unleash power far surpassing that of other monsters.

— Compared to other monsters whose nature is merely psychological weakness, the nature of the Blossom Flow Monster is already a sufficiently pathological expression, an extreme of alienated mental illness, and thus easily becomes the strength water barrel number in Gui She's heart.

"Of course!" Gui She, grasping it in one hand, was quite confident! "I've practiced plenty here!"

Practicing…

Isn't the waste zone just full of the old, weak, sick, disabled, and corpses awaiting disposal…

Aomo hesitated a bit, but didn't speak, merely turned his right hand, palm up, and summoned a card.

The strength water barrel acknowledged by monster eugenics was, in fact, Chen's exclusive, which Gui She did not envy.

Although this person calls himself "not stealing children's toys," in Aomo's view Gui She merely has enough self‑awareness to know he cannot control it.

Gagula's name comes from the Caligula Effect: a kind of reverse psychology that seems no big deal.

— When something is forbidden or hard to obtain, one feels more curious and wants to explore.

This is just like when you see someone muted in a group chat and their message withdrawn, you inevitably wonder what they said and type to ask.

This particularly common psychological effect not only often appears in daily life but is also actively used in marketing and advertising strategies; whenever there is a ban, someone will surely crave to defy it and crave to touch the edge.

And the strength of the Nitpicking Monster Gagula comes precisely from this defiance and curiosity.

It continually devours this unconventional emotion in Chen's hand, making Its nature ever more extreme; ultimately, only a mindset of extreme longing for the unattainable can unite with it.

Having been raised as Chen's exclusive, yet also……

— Swish!

From the card hovering in Aomo's suddenly raised palm, a bright silver streak shot forth, crossing kilometers straight to the back of the Belstar Beast, which instinctively raised its gun.

When its sharp horns rose, its iron claws extended, and its head‑back roaring silhouette became clear, the Belstar Beast promptly lowered its double guns and hastily sidestepped to avoid the dishonorable sneak attack of the Red King Iron Arm.

Her dodge also sent the Iron Arm straight toward the monstrous figure behind her.

In that second, nothing happened except a phrase hidden in the wind.

That phrase said:

"INSTANCEDOMINATION."

The Iron Arm struck empty air, and the gold‑silver giant beast, a fusion of Mogey Giant Snake, Thunderbolt Assassin, Georgio King, and Izu Mai Lu, at unbelievable speed left a long trail of light, which in the next second turned into thorough electroluminescence, drawing a winding, connected trajectory that threaded through every monster present.

Roars, wails, and lamentations—when they erupted in near‑simultaneous speed and cruelly intertwined, not a single face showed a smile.

Because the situation's development became quite strange.

"Really, you're not minding the details, Bete Star Person." In the silence, Aomo sighed softly.

When the trajectories overlapped, only when they paused could the differences be seen; and it was precisely this pause that let everyone see the Hypajeton locked in struggle with Gagula.

And beside it were two worm‑like juniors, still feeding on the Haochi corpse, not even having cleaned their utensils.

They are all Hypajetons, though the latter two are still juveniles.

They are like three brothers, but the two younger brothers don't care that the eldest is arm‑wrestling the opponent; they just eat their own food, and even if they hear the sharp airflow of Ultraman flying in from afar, they don't bother to look up.

"Are we late?" Thus: Lipiya asked, the red on its silver body no longer confined to lines—suggesting other creatures' bodily fluids, proof that their journey wasn't smooth.

"It's a bit late."

Holding the Beta Magic Blade that made Thus: Lipiya's gaze shift slightly, the card floating in Aomo's other hand was already a rare five.

"But it's not late."