Chapter 21 – The tentacles yanked him violently into the depths of the thorny undergrowth

The alien swarm around them hadn’t fully scattered yet, but there were clear signs it was drifting toward the convoy’s stopping point.

If nothing unexpected had happened, their motherform would be there.

It was simply how this species functioned. The smaller aliens would instinctively gather around the motherform, waiting for her orders.

Pushing forward while constantly fending off the surging alien tide, and doing it fast, turned what should’ve been a one-kilometer distance into an exhausting, near-impossible trek.

Su Fengzhou sliced down a few more reckless creatures with casual efficiency, not even blinking as blood splashed around him. “What’s the status of the research team?”

Rong Yun maintained her spiritual barrier without pause, carving out openings for the others to advance. She relayed the latest intel, her expression darker than usual. “Someone’s already spotted the alien’s mother in that direction. From the description… if we’re right, it’s the same one we speculated about back in Qiufeng Community.”

She hesitated for a second before adding quietly, “The situation at the stopping point… probably isn’t good.”

That description alone was enough. It meant they might be forced into some brutal choices.

Su Fengzhou picked up speed. “Contact the general commander. Have him dispatch reinforcements immediately. All our vehicles and survival supplies, aside from research and logistics personnel, are at the stopping point. If those get wiped out, we’re not leaving this damned place alive.”

Rong Yun: “Roger!”

The closer they got, the heavier the smell of blood in the air became.

Unlike the sickening stench of alien blood, human blood carried a raw, metallic freshness. It layered the air, thick and suffocating, sharpening the dread in everyone’s chest.

Soon, bodies began to come into view. One after another.

The rear had mostly been staffed by research and logistics personnel, people with no combat ability. If a pack of starving wolves suddenly charged into a den of rabbits… the outcome was obvious.

By then, Su Fengzhou’s movements had grown terrifyingly precise. One strike per kill. No wasted motion. He sprinted the entire way, unwilling to lose even half a second.

When he finally burst into the stopping area and saw the scene clearly, his heart seemed to freeze.

Su Fengzhou rarely blanked out like this. But the tension he’d held in all the way here had been wound too tight. When it snapped, it left him dizzy, almost breathless.

Shen Wenyan was the first to speak. “What the hell’s going on, Zhuo Yu? Where are the aliens? The swarm? And that giant motherform—you said it was over three meters tall. Where did it go?”

Everything around them made it clear that a disaster had just happened. Yet the relatively calm scene before them was still far better than the hellish carnage they’d imagined.

There was no sign of the swarm reported earlier. As far as the eye could see, there were only severed limbs scattered across blood-soaked ground.

The logistics team was nervously cleaning up. Meanwhile, research personnel in white protective suits, pale-faced and shaken, forced themselves to collect tissue samples from the remains.

The violent aftermath and the strange quiet that followed clashed against each other, yet somehow coexisted.

Su Fengzhou swept his gaze across the area but didn’t see that familiar figure among the white uniforms.

His eyes shifted to Zhuo Yu, who was still standing there in a daze, clutching his sniper rifle. Su Fengzhou drew in several slow breaths before speaking, trying to keep the fury out of his voice. “I told you to protect him. Where is Ying Xize?”

Zhuo Yu clearly hadn’t recovered yet. At the sound of Su Fengzhou’s voice, he finally forced out words, fear still clinging to them. “Researcher Ying saved us… just now, he… Boss, I’m sorry. I should’ve protected Researcher Ying. I’m sorry…”

Su Fengzhou felt something sink heavily in his chest.

Even though he tried to stay steady, each word still came out strained, like it was being forced between his teeth. “So. Where is he?”

“I don’t know, it happened too fast. A vine suddenly shot out from that thorn thicket, no, it wasn’t a vine. It was a monster’s tentacle! It wrapped around Researcher Ying and just… dragged him away.”

The memory clearly shook Zhuo Yu. Even now, he struggled to process it. “I really don’t understand. After Researcher Ying was taken, that giant alien matriarch looked furious… and then it just, took the rest of the swarm and followed after him.”

Shen Wenyan could tell the kid was genuinely terrified. His explanation was a mess, words tumbling over each other.

Better to let him breathe first before digging deeper. Shen Wenyan patted his back to steady him—

But Su Fengzhou’s next words were so cold they made his hand shake, which only triggered a coughing fit from Zhuo Yu.

Just one short sentence, low and icy enough to freeze the air. “Which direction?”

Zhuo Yu’s spine snapped straight. Almost on instinct, he pointed toward a dense patch of thorny undergrowth off to the side. “Th-that way.”

—

Ten minutes earlier.

The attack had come out of nowhere. One second, everything was tense but stable; the next, the stopping point was thrown into chaos as the alien swarm descended.

Zhuo Yu’s first reaction was to grab Ying Xize and pull him toward what little cover he could find, shielding him firmly with his own body.

They were so close that he could clearly feel the young man’s tension. And yet, even at a moment like this, Zhuo Yu’s only thought was keeping him safe.

The air filled instantly with desperate shouting and panicked cries.

The few combat personnel left behind at the site were no match for a swarm of that scale. And when the alien mother, early three meters tall, stepped into view, the crushing difference in size made it feel like the world had shrunk to nothing but ragged breathing and hearts pounding wildly in their chests.

“Researcher Ying, listen to me.” Zhuo Yu forced his voice to stay steady as he pressed a car key into Ying Xize’s palm. “You remember our vehicle’s license plate, right? I’ll do everything I can to make an opening. When I say go, run straight to the car. Don’t look back. Once you’re inside, there’s a display screen in the second row, top left. It shows the route we took. Just follow the navigation system and you’ll… you’ll have a shot at reaching the Chen Mountain lookout post. Got it?”

Ying Xize had always been calm and sharp. Even now, faced with this kind of danger, he was still steady in a way that made Zhuo Yu believe this plan could actually work.

But the next second, Ying Xize slowly shook his head. “I don’t.”

Zhuo Yu dodged another incoming strike, dragging Ying Xize with him as their space to move shrank tighter and tighter. His jaw clenched. “What don’t you understand? Do you need me to say it again?”

Ying Xize’s gaze was clear. His question was even clearer. “What I don’t understand is why you’re not the one going. If you leave me behind, you can get out safely.”

An alien lunged at them, its jaws snapping wide. Zhuo Yu barely managed to block it, kicking the grotesque, fanged face away with all his strength. Seizing that split second, he grabbed Ying Xize and bolted forward again.

“I promised I’d protect you,” he shot back without thinking. “How could I run off by myself?”

The words left his mouth before his brain had any chance to filter them.

But because of its sheer simplicity, it actually caused Ying Xize to be momentarily stunned.

A promise made is a promise kept.

In the face of life and death, this cause-and-effect, which had no logical flaws, stirred a strange feeling in his heart.

More and more aliens charged toward the rear, turning the entire site into what seemed like their gluttonous feast.

The number of them swarming toward the two men also increased.

Although Zhuo Yu of the Seventh Squad was a combat-type, dealing with these relentless monsters while protecting Ying Xize was gradually draining his stamina.

His once-sharp movements had become somewhat sluggish. He spat out a mouthful of blood and said to Ying Xize without turning his head, “Get ready. When I get this thing off me, you run for the car!”

His heaving chest, combined with his tone and expression, probably made him look like a hero in a close-up shot before a valiant sacrifice, a fact he himself might not have realized.

Zhuo Yu skillfully dodged the first alien, but before he could recover, the second one slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

With every ounce of strength, he pushed against the alien’s forelimb, which was aiming for his chest. Nearby, his spiritual form, a leopard, was fighting tooth and nail, keeping two more aliens at bay. It was a constant struggle, a battle on every front.

Even as the chaos raged around him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that danger was lurking.

Then, just as he saw an opening, he clenched his teeth and shouted, “Researcher Ying, run!”

But the footsteps he expected never came.

Instead, Ying Xize calmly pulled a metal dagger from his pocket. Not only did he stay put, but with lightning speed and a sharp gaze, he slashed open his own palm. As Zhuo Yu shifted to make room, Ying Xize grabbed him and yanked him to safety, then took two swift steps forward and drove the blade deep into the alien’s chest.

Zhuo Yu was sent tumbling.

When he regained his balance, he saw the alien’s forelimb, bloodied and writhing in pain, about to swing at Ying Xize. Panic surged through him. “Researcher Ying, watch out!”

But the worst never came.

With a slight tilt of his head, Ying Xize easily dodged. The alien’s blade-like limb began to tremble violently, as if something was terribly wrong.

The wound on the alien’s chest seemed to send it into pure agony. It shrieked loudly, then spasmed and twisted in a horrific display.

Then, as if its life had been snuffed out in an instant, it crumpled to the ground, completely still.

Its torso began to wither away at an alarming speed, shrinking into a dry, lifeless husk.

Zhuo Yu couldn’t help but gasp at the sight, his eyes wide in disbelief. His gaze flicked to Ying Xize, who, still holding his dagger, moved with lethal precision, slicing through another alien with ease.

Zhuo Yu stood frozen, dumbfounded.

Just minutes ago, he had thought of Ying Xize as nothing more than a calm, gentle research expert. He never could’ve imagined that this person, when faced with aliens, would exude a cold, ruthless decisiveness that even Zhuo Yu himself couldn’t match.

As the remaining aliens fell one by one, Ying Xize’s small dagger became a deadly force to be reckoned with. And with the protective barrier a Guide could summon at will, his entire approach to the fight had an eerie, composed quality.

After finishing off the fourth alien, Ying Xize took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling a little more heavily now.

He paused for a moment, calming his breath, then pulled a tissue from his pocket to gently wipe away the blood still trickling from his palm. With methodical care, he cleaned the alien blood off the dagger’s hilt.

Reaching down, he grabbed a sniper rifle that had fallen nearby and tossed it into Zhuo Yu’s hands. “Take it. Keep an eye out for any signs of mutation in the team.”

The instant Zhuo Yu wrapped his hand around the grip, his entire arm steadied, as if the weapon had rooted him in place.

Zhuo Yu stared at Ying Xize, struggling to form a sentence. “Researcher Ying, I… you…”

Ying Xize didn’t mock him for his inability to speak. He simply lowered his gaze, rubbing his slender, sore wrist. “Take your gun and get away from me.”

For a moment, Zhuo Yu’s mind went completely blank. “Huh?”

Then, the vibrations underfoot finally made it clear to him that the three-meter-tall alien mother was coming their way.

Zhuo Yu’s first instinct was to grab Ying Xize and run, but when he looked up, he saw Ying Xize’s eyes, sharp with warning. “If you want to live, get away from me.”

Zhuo Yu’s legs trembled slightly.

The last time he’d felt this kind of crushing pressure had been from Su Fengzhou. Now, the research expert before him was radiating the same kind of unshakable authority.

But despite that, he didn’t move.

Ying Xize seemed to let out a quiet, almost resigned sigh before offering a compromise. “Find a good spot and cover me with the sniper rifle. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

In the face of such an impossible situation, those words felt empty, but there was something in Ying Xize’s expression that made Zhuo Yu believe him, even if just a little.

Zhuo Yu quickly scanned his surroundings, pinpointed the perfect sniping spot, and bolted toward it.

Meanwhile, Ying Xize remained calm and composed, casually patting the dust off his coat as if there was no rush.

Finally, the alien mother stopped right in front of him.

The massive three-meter-tall creature completely overshadowed Ying Xize, making his figure seem small and insignificant.

The alien blood splattered across his protective suit had clearly sent the mother into a fit of rage.

With a roar, it raised its barbed forelimbs and swung them down at the defiant human standing before it.

Zhuo Yu still couldn’t figure out what Ying Xize was planning to do. Seeing him stand motionless, a seed of doubt sprouted—had his earlier words been a trick to get Zhuo Yu to leave?

But there was no time for second-guessing now.

Zhuo Yu gritted his teeth, forced his wildly beating heart into submission, and swiftly set up the sniper rifle.

With a series of sharp, controlled shots, he unleashed a barrage of bullets, all hitting their mark on the alien mother’s forelimbs.

But the damage was minimal. It barely seemed to register.

The alien’s forelimbs came crashing down on Ying Xize without hesitation, as if the bullets hadn’t even been fired, poised to split him in two.

Zhuo Yu squeezed the trigger even harder, desperation flooding his every movement.

At the same moment, a dark mass of shadows shot out from the nearby thorn bushes, swiftly filling his entire line of sight. With almost unnatural speed, the shadows surrounded Ying Xize, wrapping around him like an inescapable net.

Ying Xize’s eyes remained cold and unreadable, devoid of any emotion.

He stood there, motionless, as the tentacles, appearing out of nowhere, formed an enormous cage around him.

Thick drops of alien blood splattered from the tentacles, pooling onto the ground in a growing patch.

The alien mother’s vicious strike managed only to leave a small gash at the very tip of the tentacles, its fury unmet.

“Hehehe! Hehehe!”

The alien mother’s frustration was unmistakable.

The swarm of smaller aliens, who had been scattered and hunting nearby, immediately turned their attention to the scene. Slowly, they began to gather, drawn by the mother’s rage.

Ying Xize, however, seemed entirely unaware of the growing danger. He turned his head slowly, his gaze fixed steadily on the dark, thorn-filled underbrush.

“Heh…”

A faint, almost imperceptible chuckle drifted through the air, carried by the breeze.

The very next moment, the “cage” of tentacles that had surrounded him shattered into nothingness.

A sudden, overwhelming force wrapped around him, and before he could react, the tentacles yanked him violently into the depths of the thorny undergrowth.