Chapter 9: Kite

Chapter 9: Kite

When the mother entity rose upright before Chen Jian, he truly felt the oppressive presence of this colossal being.

Its massive legs stomped on the concrete floor, as if in the next moment they would crush his head.

Looking up, Chen Jian could not even see the entity's head; his view was blocked by the chaotic, tattered tentacles flailing in the air.

He finally understood why humans worship and fear colossal beings, because such a thing

no matter how bizarre its form, the moment you see it you instantly grasp a thread of irrational, utterly uncanny

beauty.

Indeed, it is beauty.

A beauty as if a deity had descended.

—

Unfortunately, Chen Jian now had no mood to savor it, for the entity was an enemy bent on killing him.

He sprinted toward the rear of the building, and the entity's tentacles followed close behind.

“Bang!”

A tremendous impact rang out, and the already fragile building instantly shattered.

“Release the drones! Establish aerial vision!”

Chen Jian shouted the order, and the squad members reacted immediately.

In an instant, two drones shot up, and Chen Jian's smart goggles instantly refreshed with images from above.

“We can't fight it head-on! Lei Jie, report remaining ammo!”

“I have five grenades, two fragmentation grenades, plenty of bullets!”

“No matter how many bullets you have, it's useless! Shen Yue, how many rounds do you have left?”

“Less than two hundred!”

We're out of ammo and supplies.

Once Lei Jie's grenades are gone, the squad will have only small-caliber weapons left.

Obviously, these small-caliber weapons could not effectively harm this mother entity.

What to do?

Chen Jian's mind raced, but before he could reach a conclusion, a series of tactical orders were issued as if by instinct.

“Everyone disperse and contain, using aerial vision to avoid direct confrontation!”

“Use the building as cover, layer the fire, and fall back in echelons!”

“Find the target's weakness and figure out how to take it down!”

“Understood!”

At the command, the four squad members instantly scattered.

The urban terrain has one advantage: it will severely limit the speed of any large vehicle.

And obviously, this mother entity counts as a large vehicle.

As the four squad members constantly weaved through the streets, using alleys and narrow lanes to relocate, even the mother entity, despite having aerial vision, fell into confusion.

It can see.

But it cannot pass.

After all, it's just a monster, not the kind of kaiju from Ultraman or Godzilla!

The threat to the squad instantly diminished, and the better news is that the drones' thermal imaging detected no other abnormal heat sources.

Those mantises did not follow the assault.

Perhaps, as Chen Jian judged, their evolution was geared toward “hunting in the dark night,” so the strong midday sun would certainly render them immobile.

The situation is excellent; the advantage is ours.

Chen Jian instantly gained confidence, he dove into a narrow alley, confirmed the entity was not moving toward him, then paused to catch his breath and said:

“It seems it can't do anything to us—that's why Du Hu lured us underground; he also knows the mother entity can't crush us on the ground, just as an elephant can't crush an ant!”

“Indeed, but we can't do anything to it either!”

Shen Yue's voice came through the earpiece, his breathing a little ragged; obviously, as the squad member carrying the heaviest load, after intense exertion he was already somewhat fatigued.

“Run or fight, we must decide quickly!”

“What's the point of hitting if there's no weak point?!”

Chen Jian spat and said:

“This thing hardly resembles an animal; it's more like a shaped mass of fungus.”

“Its head has been blown from a triangle to a pentagon, yet it still moves freely?”

“Its brain isn't growing on its tentacles, is it?”

“It doesn't even have many tentacles left!”

Lei Jie interjected:

“Captain! I see its lower limbs are less than two meters in diameter; should we try to break them?”

“Possible!” Chen Jian's eyes lit up, then he gave the order:

“Shen Yue, fire in bursts to draw the target's attention!”

“He Shuo, use the Type 10 to strike its head! If you spot visual organs, prioritize the eyes!”

“Lei Jie, aim at its lower limbs and fire, hoping to break a leg with two shots!”

“Understood!”

The tactics shifted, and the four members' positions changed accordingly.

Chen Jian slipped out of the alley, found a firing angle, and without hesitation fired at the weak point of the mother entity's head that had already been weakened by sniper grenade bombardment.

The entity's attention was instantly drawn, but just as its head turned toward Chen Jian, Shen Yue, having created distance, also opened fire.

“Bang bang bang—”

Bullet after bullet penetrated the entity's muscle; its surface keratin layer had been completely destroyed.

Although the bullets may cause limited damage, each one that struck it now felt like a splinter driven into skin.

It must feel pain, for the splinters' harassment has plunged it into utter chaos.

“Lei Jie! Opportunity!”

Chen Jian shouted.

“Bang! Bang!”

At the instant the entity ceased movement, two grenades shot from the side, striking its lower limb joints.

Blood and flesh flew, bones wrapped in blood and slime appeared before the four‑person squad for the first time.

The mother body staggered, almost falling, but instantly grabbed a nearby skyscraper with its tentacles, steadying itself.

——

But He Shuo wouldn’t give it a chance.

“Bang!”

A 12.7‑mm bullet fired from behind struck the mother body’s leg bone with pinpoint accuracy.

A dull explosion rang out, fragments of bullet and bone spraying outward.

The next second.

The mother body completely lost balance and collapsed to the ground!

“Lei Jie! The other leg!”

“Received!”

“Boom!”

Another grenade, following the exact same procedure.

The mother body’s other lower leg severed from its torso, it utterly lost the ability to stand.

“It’s down!”

Chen Jian advanced steadily, a burst of semi‑automatic fire severing a tentacle that was swinging.

The mother body’s massive form still writhed on the ground, its astonishing muscular reaction persisting.

But it lacked strong regenerative power; once its limbs were torn apart, it could never move again.

“Safe!”

“Keep looking for its weakness, find a way to finish it!”

Chen Jian gave the order calmly, but just then his earpiece blared an alarm.

“Humanoid heat source detected, humanoid heat source detected!”

Chen Jian’s eyes flickered; the feed instantly zoomed in.

In the image, a cloaked figure stood atop a skyscraper, silently overlooking the battlefield.

Rooftop.

The man gripped a weather‑worn, antiquated walkie‑talkie, watching the struggling mother body in the street as he spoke:

“I just arrived at Chuansha.”

“Yes, that monster is here.”

“Its size is about twenty meters, confirming at least level four.”

“Exactly, it’s strong.”

“Its evolutionary path is clear, its combat methods diverse, and its survivability equally astonishing.”

“But the situation here differs somewhat from what we expected.”

“That monster”

“Is about to die.”

(End of chapter)