Chapter 191
When the crimson flames touched the droplet of mucus filled with resentment, they didn’t extinguish. Instead, they flared up as if fuel had been added, the fire intensifying instantly.
Within a few breaths, the roaring flames consumed the mucus entirely before disappearing into the air.
The soldier lying on the crimson tiger’s back stared dumbfounded at the scene, muttering in disbelief, “This isn’t what the manual said… How is this possible?”
Ran Lie ignored his murmuring. After confirming that his flames were indeed effective against the slime monster, he let out a small breath of relief.
The monsters he had faced outside the nursery before were smaller, usually only around ten meters tall at most, thanks to Su Su’s cleanup efforts. This towering beast, standing 30 to 40 meters high, was something he had never encountered before.
This wasn’t just a difference in numbers. Only those standing beneath the monster, experiencing its overwhelming presence firsthand, could truly understand the oppressive pressure it exuded.
Looking up at the giant that dwarfed even the nearby buildings, Ran Lie felt a deep, indescribable heaviness in his chest. His breathing unconsciously grew quieter, as if afraid of startling the beast. But…
It wasn’t too bad.
Ran Lie had faced fears far more terrifying than this. Though he couldn’t recall the specific details, those experiences were etched deeply into his soul. It was this subconscious memory that allowed him to remain calm even when facing an overwhelmingly stronger enemy.
He knew that size didn’t always correlate with strength. Besides, he wasn’t fighting alone.
Listening to the continuous flute melody in the air, Ran Lie exhaled softly.
When his gaze fell on the slime monster’s massive feet just meters away, he hesitated. After some thought, he decided to head toward a nearby building instead.
Attacking the monster’s feet directly wouldn’t hit any critical points and might even cause enough pain to snap it out of the illusion Lang Ze had created.
Given the monster’s enormous size, if it went berserk, anyone near its feet would be in grave danger.
The soldier on Ran Lie’s back, Xu Xiaohui, had joined a year before Song Zehe. Seeing Ran Lie run toward the building, he assumed the tiger had realized the danger and was retreating. A smile of relief crossed his face—until he noticed the cub looking up at the top of the building, seemingly evaluating something.
Since the slime monster’s invasion, the nearby residents had been evacuated to underground shelters, and access to the ground-level building entrances was locked, requiring authorization.
In other words, the only way up was to climb, just as Lang Ze had done earlier.
“Kid, let’s leave while the monster isn’t attacking!”
Before encountering Ran Lie, Xu Xiaohui had received a message from the command center: two cubs had entered the battlefield and needed protection. The message also warned that the cubs might have been corrupted by the red mist and could become berserk, advising caution.
Xu Xiaohui understood that this crimson tiger was one of the beast-blood cubs. Whether it had gone berserk…
It didn’t seem like it. So far, the tiger hadn’t harmed him and had behaved calmly.
But Ran Lie didn’t respond to him.
As he found the right angle and prepared to leap up the building, a small spacecraft suddenly emerged from the blood mist. After circling in midair, it slowly descended near them.
What was this?
Ran Lie instinctively moved aside, wary. From the spacecraft came a familiar synthesized voice:
“Get on.”
Was that Zheng Xing? Or Xiao Zhi?
Ran Lie couldn’t tell, but in the urgency of the moment, he chose to trust it. The crimson tiger leaped lightly onto the spacecraft, landing steadily on its roof.
Once he was stable, two long mechanical arms extended from the spacecraft, securing his body to it. The synthesized voice then asked, “Ready for takeoff?”
“Ready,” Ran Lie replied.
With that, the spacecraft lifted off the ground, carrying both Ran Lie and Xu Xiaohui into the air as they approached the slime monster’s head.
Xu Xiaohui clung tightly to the tiger’s body, utterly panicked. As the spacecraft ascended and drew closer to the monster, he screamed, “What are you doing? Fly away! Fly away… Ahhh!”
As the spacecraft accelerated, Xu Xiaohui could only scream, his voice echoing faintly in the air:
“Mom, I want to go home!”
“Shut up.”
A cold, authoritative voice—clearly that of a young boy—cut through the air, silencing Xu Xiaohui instantly. Of course, his silence was also due to the fact that they had reached the slime monster’s head.
The grotesque, pus-covered slime monster loomed before them. Xu Xiaohui’s entire body was smaller than just one of the monster’s pustules. For anyone with a fear of massive objects, this scene would have been enough to cause immediate fainting.
Fortunately, the flute music continued, and the monster remained in its trance, grinning stupidly and lost in the dreamland Lang Ze had crafted for it.
Xu Xiaohui quieted down, allowing Ran Lie to focus entirely on the coming battle.
Ran Lie hadn’t particularly wanted to bring the soldier along, but the fight with the slime monster was bound to be dangerous. In this battlefield, staying close to Ran Lie was undoubtedly the safest option.
If it hadn’t been for Xu Xiaohui’s bravery in seeking him out despite the danger, Ran Lie wouldn’t have bothered bringing this “burden” along.
Now that the soldier was finally silent, Ran Lie fixed his gaze on the slime monster and prepared to attack. But just as he was about to act, the spacecraft’s spotlight suddenly turned on, illuminating a concave area on the back of the monster’s head.
“There.”
The synthesized voice spoke again. It was oddly reminiscent of the way Zheng Xing would precisely instruct them on how much water or fertilizer to use when caring for seedlings at the nursery.
Ran Lie now knew for certain who was controlling the spacecraft.
Without hesitation, he unleashed a long stream of fire directly at the illuminated spot.
Ran Lie’s mental strength had expanded to a radius of five meters, which was the maximum distance he could control his flames.
The fire immediately spread across the monster’s body upon contact.
“Ahhhhhh—!”
As the monster roared in pain and began to awaken from the illusion, the flames had already penetrated its skull, searing into its brain.
The raging fire burned fiercely, a purifying flame capable of obliterating all filth, engulfing the monster’s entire head.
Ran Lie didn’t stop there.
Under the guidance of the spacecraft’s spotlight, the crimson tiger struck wherever the light pointed, setting fire to various parts of the slime monster’s body.
Each targeted spot was among the filthiest on the monster, and the crimson flames worked with maximum effect.
The monster, now fully awake and in excruciating pain, let out thunderous roars. It flailed its arms wildly, the force of its movements creating turbulence that caused the spacecraft to shake. Mucus secreted from its pustules began flying everywhere.
Before the mucus could splatter, Ran Lie unleashed a burst of fire, using it to form a fiery shield around the spacecraft.
This was the result of his recent training in the Golden Palm technique.
The Golden Palm was a fierce and powerful martial art. Its first foundational move was to generate a protective aura, which served as the basis for all subsequent techniques.
Ran Lie had drawn inspiration from this protective aura to create a highly effective flame shield.
After all, during his encounter in the giant spider’s cave, he had survived by continuously spewing fire, keeping the spider at bay. This had allowed him to escape unscathed.
This was Ran Lie’s first time using the flame shield in combat, and the results were remarkable—
The splattering mucus turned into wisps of smoke the moment it touched the flame shield, unable to come even a fraction closer to them.
Xu Xiaohui, who was biting down hard on his molars to keep from making a sound, stared in stunned disbelief at the scene before him. Eventually, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy crap!”
The crimson tiger’s flames were this powerful?
If they had a few more crimson tigers, would they even need to fear these terrifying monsters anymore?!
The slime monster didn’t struggle for long. It barely managed to take half a step forward before all its movements ceased. The only thing left was the roaring crimson flames consuming its remaining body.
Its head truly was its weak point.
Once the intense flames burned through its skull, the monster lost consciousness and all ability to resist, leaving it completely at the mercy of the flames.
The battle was over.
*
In the command center, everyone had stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at the scene on the screen.
Every soldier was equipped with a recording device, so when Xu Xiaohui had pursued the crimson tiger, the footage from his device was displayed on the main screen.
The command center staff had watched everything unfold from a first-person perspective, witnessing every action of the small tiger.
Had twenty minutes even passed since the tiger appeared on screen? Everyone watching couldn’t help but ask themselves this question.
The answer, of course, was no.
And this crimson tiger, clearly still in its juvenile stage, had managed to eliminate a highly troublesome slime monster in such a short amount of time!
This was one of the “helpers” Yun Zixu had brought back from Base 24!
All doubts and skepticism dissipated in an instant.
After the last mission to assist Base 24, there had been rumors of the cubs contributing to the extraordinary battle.
However, the achievements of Caretaker Su—fending off hundreds of monsters single-handedly—were so dazzling that everyone else’s contributions paled in comparison.
Moreover, descriptions of the cubs’ abilities came only from a few members of the operations team. There had been no recordings, not even photos, making it difficult for anyone to believe that these children had not only overcome their bloodline berserk tendencies but could also fight monsters independently.
Most had assumed the cubs played a supporting role, with the adults handling the actual combat.
But now, the shock and confusion were replaced by joy and excitement.
Not only had they successfully defeated the monster and protected the base, but they had also gained not one but two young allies capable of turning the tide of battle!
Although the wolf-eared boy’s methods didn’t have the same visually shocking impact as the crimson tiger’s flames, his abilities were no less significant.
Without his flute controlling the slime monster, it would have been impossible for the crimson tiger to approach so easily and achieve such swift combat results.
Of course, the most puzzling element was the small spacecraft that autonomously approached the crimson tiger. Aside from the base’s AI system, there shouldn’t be anyone capable of freely controlling unmanned spacecraft within the base.
But… was their AI system really that advanced?
Could it, without receiving orders, independently analyze the battle situation and take action? That seemed highly unlikely.
Regardless, the battle was over.
While everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they didn’t dare lower their guard.
As long as the blood mist lingered in the base, they couldn’t afford to relax. New monsters could appear at any moment.
The command center staff quickly snapped out of their daze, resuming their duties to mobilize personnel for battlefield cleanup, assist the wounded, and assess the damage.
While they had been distracted, the crimson flames had burned through the slime monster’s torso. Far from diminishing, the fire grew even stronger as it continued to burn.
Interestingly, the flames didn’t produce thick smoke. Instead, they seemed to purify the surrounding blood mist, clearing the air and improving visibility.
The spacecraft returned the crimson tiger and Xu Xiaohui to the ground.
As soon as they landed, Xu Xiaohui’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The intensity of this battle had been overwhelming for a soldier like him, who had only been in service for a year. Looking up at the remaining half of the slime monster’s body, he couldn’t suppress the fear and revulsion rising in his chest.
After setting Xu Xiaohui down, the crimson tiger ignored him and began scanning the area. It then walked into a narrow alleyway between two buildings.
What’s it doing? Is there another monster hiding in that alley?
Alerted, Xu Xiaohui shook himself out of his daze, scrambling to his feet to follow. But before he could get close, a young figure emerged from the alley.
It was a red-haired, red-eyed boy who looked about ten years old. His expression was cold and serious, and his entire demeanor radiated an unapproachable air.
Could it be…
“Little tiger?” Xu Xiaohui hesitantly called out.
The boy rolled his eyes in response.
With his hands stuffed in his pockets, the boy walked over and stopped in front of Xu Xiaohui.
It was then that Xu Xiaohui noticed the nameplate on the boy’s chest. He squinted to read it carefully before saying, “Ran Lie?”
Ran Lie gave a soft hum of acknowledgment before walking off coolly.
His attention shifted back to the burning remains of the slime monster. For some reason—perhaps due to his increasing strength—this time felt different from previous battles.
Or rather, he was sensing things he hadn’t noticed before.
For example, amidst the crimson flames, he could faintly hear screams. Yet these screams didn’t sound purely pained; they carried a hint of… relief.
A trace of confusion flickered in the boy’s sharp eyes.
He had the nagging feeling that he should do something at this moment. But…
What could he do?
Tilting his head thoughtfully, Ran Lie reached into his spirit pouch and pulled out an object.
It was something his older brother A-Yan had given him the night before his departure. A-Yan had said that if he ever encountered something he couldn’t figure out, he could take out this object and use it.
That object was… a wooden fish.
Ran Lie didn’t understand why this round, drum-like object was called a wooden fish, but trusting his brother, he took out the wooden mallet, faced the monster’s burning remains, and began to strike.
Knock, knock, knock—knock, knock, knock—
On the battlefield’s ruins, the flute music ceased, replaced by the crisp, rhythmic sound of the wooden fish’s tapping.
