Chapter 743
Man-Eating Monsters
Mimi, a human from the planet Earth, nestled comfortably in a corner of the Sett team's base. Since joining the Earth faction, her life had been incredibly pleasant. She thoroughly enjoyed Earth's cuisine, especially the spicy crayfish, which left her feeling completely satisfied with its spiciness, exclaiming "So delicious!" every time she tasted it. In her spare time, she had even learned to watch TV dramas like the Earthlings, sometimes laughing heartily at the dramatic plot twists, and sometimes feeling deeply saddened by them.
"Wow! Earthlings are surprisingly good!" the Mimi alien exclaimed sincerely. Compared to the days when she wandered the universe in fear, her current life was like paradise. She recalled what she knew about Musashi and the Frederick Pit Storm One, and a smile crept onto her lips. Although the methods were somewhat outrageous, the results were very satisfying. She often thought to herself that if she hadn't made that decision, she might still be somewhere in the universe, fleeing from predators.
"Hmph, although I tricked Storm One, well..." Mimi straightened up, her face full of pride, "I can proudly tell others that the Musashi and Frederick I created suppressed Storm One! As for how I did it, don't worry about that! It's my exclusive secret." The more she thought about it, the more amazing she felt, as if she could see the envious and awe-inspiring looks from others.
The thought of the Pitt aliens flashed with disdain in Mimi's eyes. "Especially the Pitt aliens! What you dream of, Frederick and Musashi can obtain in large quantities!" She crossed her arms, her nostrils flaring slightly. "Although this has nothing to do with me directly, in this respect alone, they have already surpassed you by far!" In her view, the Pitt aliens only knew how to plot petty invasions all day long, unlike her "far-sighted" approach, which understood how to use powerful ship girls to achieve her goals.
My Mimi alien companions are all with Storm One, and they're always thinking about mechanical monsters!
She recalled her decision to side with the Earth faction, her heart brimming with pride. "The ship girls' combat power is incredible! Look at Musashi and Frederick, they're practically weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield!" The Mimi alien danced excitedly, chicken wing crumbs flying everywhere. "It really does have its advantages that I'm obsessed with anime. Learning about the ship girls' designs from anime and then figuring out how to bring them to life—it's brilliant!" The more she thought about it, the more smug she felt, as if she had already reached the pinnacle of cosmic intelligence.
Meanwhile, things weren't so easy for Cui Ming. Early in the morning, sunlight streamed through the curtains, illuminating his face, which was covered in lipstick marks. He groggily got out of bed, quickly washed up, tied on an apron, and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone. Since becoming captain of the Seth team, this wasn't the first time he'd been treated this "enthusiastically" by his teammates. Cui Ming sighed helplessly, thinking, "Habits are truly terrifying. Before, I never imagined I'd be cooking for everyone every day with a face full of lipstick marks."
Busy in the kitchen, Cui Ming skillfully fried eggs and toasted bread, and soon the aroma of breakfast filled the entire kitchen. Meanwhile, the members of the Set team also got up one after another, yawning as they entered the dining room, as usual. Seeing the lipstick stain on Cui Ming's face, they exchanged knowing smiles, without a trace of envy. After all, everyone knew very well that the women in Cui Ming's family all had serious mental health issues, and dealing with them required immense courage and energy. Such "treatment" was best avoided.
"Captain, the typhoon weather has been acting strange lately." Beidao hurriedly walked into the command room, his expression grave, holding a stack of meteorological monitoring reports, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"Tsk," Cui Ming's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he instantly felt displeased. He knew all too well that this unusual weather was most likely related to monsters. Past experience told him that anything like this was bound to be bad, and a fierce battle was inevitable.
"Let's investigate. Kotaro, Kirisaki, you two go after you finish eating." Cui Ming quickly made the arrangements, his tone calm and authoritative.
"Yes!" Kotaro and Kirisaki responded in unison, their voices loud and firm. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with eager fighting spirit.
"Could it be the Typhoon Monster?" Cui Ming muttered under his breath, the image of the Typhoon Monster from Jack's time involuntarily appearing in his mind. That guy was not easy to deal with. Although it was a helper monster native to Earth, negotiating with it took a lot of effort. Just thinking about that experience gave Cui Ming a headache.
However, this time they were not facing a typhoon monster, but the autumn water monster, Kuryu. Meanwhile, deep in the mountains of northeastern Japan, an eerie aura was quietly brewing. Kuryu, this carnivorous monster, had just awakened from its long hibernation; its body slowly writhed in the darkness, emanating a chilling aura.
Gulong could freely manipulate the energy of wind, unleashing fierce winds and storms wherever it went. It opened its cylindrical mouth and spewed out gales with wind speeds reaching 70 meters per second, easily toppling towering trees and even leveling nearby cabins in the blink of an eye. Not satisfied with this, Gulong took a deep breath and launched the telephone pole it held in its mouth like a blowgun. With a "whoosh," the pole plunged straight into the nearby mountainside, leaving only half of it swaying outside.
Driven by his craving for human flesh, Gu Long concealed himself within the strong winds and rapidly moved towards Tokyo. Wherever he passed, the sky was instantly shrouded in dark clouds, and large raindrops poured down, accompanied by fierce winds, plunging the entire world into an apocalyptic gloom.
During its flight, an even more violent storm arose around Gulong's body. With the help of this wind, its speed increased even further, like a black meteor drawing a twisted trajectory through the air. Its head was exceptionally large, with an eerie light flashing from the central crack from time to time. Its single red eye looked particularly ferocious in the darkness, as if it could see through everything.
Gulong's entire body is structured like hard rock. When it inhales a large amount of air, its body expands violently, like a balloon about to burst. Its hands are thick and powerful; with a casual swing, it can cut a large tree in half. Its legs are flexible and slender, yet they can support its massive body, which weighs 29,000 tons, allowing it to swiftly traverse through the mountains and forests, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.
At this moment, Kotaro and Kirisaki, who were on a mission, were unaware of the terrifying opponent they were about to face. Piloting their fighter jets, they struggled through the raging storm, completely oblivious to the terrible crisis that was quietly approaching.
The main problem is that this monster eats people.
Kotaro and Kirisaki quickly finished their breakfast and hurried to the tarmac. The wind still howled, making the flags outside the base flutter wildly, and large raindrops pelted the ground, splashing up layers of water. The two were completely unaffected by the bad weather; their eyes were firm, their steps steady, and they exuded a high-spirited fighting spirit, ready to go into battle. Boarding the fighter jet, Kotaro skillfully started the engine, the indicator lights on the instrument panel flashing instantly, illuminating his sharply defined face. Kirisaki, meanwhile, stared intently at the navigation screen, his long fingers rapidly manipulating the data, meticulously planning the search route. "Take off!" Kotaro shouted, and the fighter jet shot into the rain like an arrow, flying northeast.
During the flight, Kotaro gripped the control stick tightly, constantly monitoring the fighter jet's flight status, and turned to Kirisaki, saying, "We need to be careful this time. The weather's so strange; who knows where that monster might be hiding? Oh, and let's check on Kenichi while we're at it. I wonder how that kid's been doing lately." Kirisaki's lips curled into a slight smile as he replied, "Sure, let's go see him. Maybe we can get some useful information from him."
Speaking of Kenichi, Kotaro's thoughts drifted back to a previous operation. Back then, Kenichi had inadvertently discovered clues about a mysterious organization, and it was thanks to his timely report that the Seto team was able to prepare in advance and successfully avert a crisis. From then on, Kotaro paid special attention to this clever young man, visiting him frequently, and their relationship gradually grew closer.
The fighter jet lurched forward in the wind and rain, the city below shrouded in a misty haze, indistinct and unclear. Kotaro's gaze darted back and forth between the scenery outside the window and the instrument panel, his eyes focused and vigilant. Kirisaki, on the other hand, stared intently at the radar screen, not missing a single unusual signal.
As they drew closer to their destination, a faint fluctuation suddenly appeared on the radar screen. "Wait, what's that?" Kirisaki frowned, tapping the screen to zoom in on the signal source. Kotaro also noticed the anomaly; he slightly lowered his altitude, his eyes fixed on the storm-ravaged forest below.
"Could it be Guryu?" Kotaro asked in a low voice, a hint of nervousness in his tone. Kirisaki shook his head, replying gravely, "Not sure, the signal is too weak. It could be some other source of interference. But we should still be careful." The two exchanged a glance, nodded in understanding, and continued to cautiously approach the signal source.
A chill suddenly descended upon the peaceful street, and the billboards hanging from the streetlights began to shake violently. With a piercing metallic creak, the Autumn Water Monster, Gulong, emerged from the depths of the alley with its massive head, its single eye flashing a crimson light, and the shadows on the ground instantly twisted and writhed as if alive.
Gulong opened its massive, cylindrical maw, unleashing a 70-meter-per-second gale that spewed forth debris. The glass facades of shops shattered like a spiderweb, and merchandise in the windows was whipped into the air, becoming deadly projectiles. Parked cars were overturned by the storm, tumbling across the asphalt and crashing into guardrails; any flames they ignited were extinguished before they could even rise.
"Help! There's something in the wind!" Pedestrians screamed as they were swept into the gust of wind, their clothes torn to shreds, their fingernails carving deep, bloody marks into the ground. Gulong strode forward with its long, thin, yet heavy legs, each step sending manhole covers flying high into the air. Its thick arms swept across, snapping entire rows of sycamore trees in half like straw, their canopies crashing onto convenience stores, the deafening roar of collapsing shelves mingling with the desperate cries of the shopkeepers.
Suddenly, Gulong softened its body, slithering into the street like a giant black python following its shadow. As it emerged from the bank building's shadow, the entire wall caved in, swallowing three customers in line along with the ATM. A viscous liquid, whether tears or saliva, oozed from its single red eye. It then grabbed a traffic light pole from the roadside and, using compressed air, launched it like a javelin. The pole pierced the exterior wall of a three-story office building, crashing to the ground with shards of glass and concrete.
The streets descended into chaos. Fire hydrants were ripped open by the gale, their water jets dispersing into mist mid-air. Gulong moved between shadows and its true form, tearing shop shutters to shreds and turning trash cans and shared bicycles into massive metal vortexes. It roared deafeningly, its sound waves shattering car windows a hundred meters away. Those attempting to escape by car were swept into the eye of the storm before they could even start their engines, vanishing into the darkness created by Gulong's gaping maw.
Upon receiving the emergency report of the monster's appearance, the alarms blared at the Seto Team's command center. Cui Ming stared at the holographic projection of Gulong's rampage, marveling at its unexpected abilities.
On the screen, Gulong was using its cylindrical maw to suck the signs of the entire commercial street to pieces. Several passersby who couldn't escape in time were swept into its gaping maw by the gale, their screams mixed with the piercing sound of metal tearing apart.
"This guy's shadow-movement ability is too troublesome." Aragaki operated the data analysis terminal, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Ordinary weapons are simply—"
"Let me go." Saeko Busujima had already slung her sword diagonally across her waist, her samurai boots stomping loudly on the ground. Her pupils contracted slightly with excitement as she watched the projection of Kuryu swinging his thick arms to overturn a car, her knuckles white as she clenched her fists. "The crack in its head is its weak point. If I can get close..."
Cui Ming noticed that Saeko's hand holding the knife was trembling—an uncontrollable fighting spirit when facing a formidable opponent. He nodded and said, "The whole team should coordinate with Tokishima, suppressing its wind-breathing attacks with long-range fire, and using the drone swarm to disrupt the shadow's movement with electromagnetic pulses." He turned to Saeko and said, "Go and prepare. Your Varga is ready. Find the right opportunity to get close. Whether you live or die is up to you."
“That’s enough.” Saeko knelt down on one knee and tightened her leg guards. “I’ll use its skull as a drum.”
"That thing has a pretty big head."
"That would be even more suitable." (End of Chapter)