Killing Blow

"Send them to the Medical Department first," Tu Ran said, rising to her feet.

They still didn't know what harm the monster's fluids could cause, so getting them to the hospital early was a good precaution.

Immediately, several people helped the injured Pioneers who'd been splashed retreat to the back and leave the area.

"Dead or alive?" Tu Ran linked into Zero and asked quickly.

Under Zero's watchful eye, she couldn't make that call on her own.

"Dead. If it lives, it will be difficult to control," Zero said coldly.

Tu Ran glanced at Yao Bei. "Use the laser gun."

The blue beam from the laser gun shot straight toward the monster's blasted-open skull.

With its armored shell gone, the laser pierced through with ease.

Half its head was sliced off at an angle, and the chunk of skull fell to the ground, spilling red and yellow fluids. Thick yellow liquid also oozed from the wound, giving off a pungent stench.

It wasn't dead.

With the remaining half of its head, it charged at Yao Bei.

Yao Bei couldn't find anywhere else to aim.

The flesh on the rest of its body was still intact—the laser couldn't penetrate.

The cut on its head was clean, but from her angle, she couldn't shoot into it.

She could only dodge quickly and try to climb onto its shoulder.

Tu Ran had already noticed this.

At some point, she had circled around behind the monster, stepped on the half-buried knife handle embedded in its back, and bounced nimbly up onto its shoulder.

"Throw the gun up," Tu Ran said, looking down at Yao Bei with her hand outstretched.

Yao Bei didn't hesitate. She tossed the laser gun up immediately.

Tu Ran caught it cleanly.

The next moment, she aimed the muzzle at the monster's neatly severed wound and pulled the trigger.

"Szzzz—"

The sound of gathering energy rang out, followed by a pillar of blue light bursting forth.

Like a ten-meter-long blade, it pierced straight through the monster from top to bottom.

The monster's agonized roar came to an abrupt halt. Its charge slowed, and it gingerly touched its belly, feeling the burning sensation spreading through its internal organs.

Tu Ran didn't let up. She steadied her stance, cradled the laser gun, and slowly swept the muzzle from left to right, the ferocious beam slicing the beast's massive body into two halves—front and back.

The monster's remaining eye bulged wide, bloodshot veins crawling across the entire orb.

Its consciousness faded, and before it could even cry out, its mountain-like body split apart front and back and toppled over.

Fluids from its innards splattered everywhere.

The stench shot straight to the heavens.

It was like cracking open a coffin full of corpses on a scorching summer day, the bodies left to rot inside for a month.

Tu Ran, still standing on its shoulder, hadn't even activated her helmet's purification function when the smell hit her, making her vision swim. She nearly tumbled off.

Before she could be knocked out by the stench, she stomped on its head and leaped to a platform two meters away.

That platform was where the holographic projector was installed.

The monster crashed to the ground with a thunderous rumble. The sound went on for a full two minutes before the wreckage fully settled and fell silent.

An unknown amount of yellow liquid poured from its body. Fortunately, everyone was prepared this time and dodged in time—no one got splashed.

But the ground took a beating. Pits were burned into it wherever the liquid touched, and the corrosive fluid kept eating away at the monster's ruined corpse, sending up plumes of black smoke.

The original stench had been bad enough. Combined with the smell of burning flesh, even with everyone's helmet purification systems running at full blast, no one could block it out. Some people passed out cold.

Tu Ran was struggling too.

She was up high, but her sense of smell was sharper than the average person's, and smoke rises. She clutched her chest and dry-heaved repeatedly.

But she also couldn't climb down. This platform had been built specifically for the holographic projection, and no one ever came up here, so there was no ladder.

At ten-plus meters up, jumping off would kill her.

All the same, at least the monster had been dealt with.

In the meeting room, the second-generation Pioneers who couldn't smell the stench were dancing with joy.

The screen was split in two now—one half showing the monster's corpse, the other focused on Tu Ran, the one who'd killed it.

The corpse was just a steaming pile of blackened sludge, hard to look at, nothing worth watching.

Most eyes were on Tu Ran. Adoration practically overflowed from the screens.

What was Tu Ran doing on the other end of the video?

Trying desperately not to vomit.

Wondering why she had the "impervious to all arguments" ability.

Why could she only briefly block out sounds from the outside world instead of briefly blocking out smells?

Why... ugh...

Tu Ran couldn't help but dry-heave, her eyes rolling up as if she were about to pass out.

Zero spoke up abruptly. "There are 3,121 people in the meeting room."

"What?" Tu Ran frowned in confusion.

What meeting room? What 3,121 people? Why bring that up all of a sudden?

"Everything you're doing right now is being broadcast live in the meeting room," Zero said, its voice mechanical and cold.

Tu Ran: "..."

What?!

She looked at the drone hovering in midair.

She'd known about the drone and seen the camera on it. She'd thought it was filming the gene monster, not her! And it was being shown to that many people in a meeting room?!

Had they all just seen her rolling her eyes and looking half-dead?

Did she have any dignity left?

"Can you turn it off... ugh..." The stench was unbearable. Tu Ran couldn't stop herself from gagging. But she couldn't just ignore her image either. She turned her face away, hiding from the drone. "Turn it off now!"

"That was the chief commander's request. He hopes you can set a good example for the second-generation Pioneers. I don't have the authority to turn it off," Zero said.

Tu Ran: "But it really stinks... ugh..."

"I apologize. I don't have a human sense of smell, so I can't comprehend what you call 'stink.'"

But I can! Tu Ran gritted her teeth.

"A helicopter carrying deodorizer will arrive in two minutes. You only need to endure for two more minutes."

Only two minutes.

Tu Ran simply held her breath.

"You'd better turn around and show your condition."

Tu Ran's forehead creased with annoyance, but she reluctantly turned back.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

She was still working under Xie Zhao, so she had to listen to him.

Two minutes later, the roar of helicopters thundered overhead.

Then a mist sprayed from the tail of the choppers.

Two helicopters circled the training ground, releasing a dense spray of fine droplets that shrouded the entire field in a hazy fog.

The stench was quickly suppressed.

Tu Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Once the deodorizing mist dispersed, a patrol car hovered up to her, and one of its side doors slid open.

Ding Naiqing poked his head out, grinning eagerly. "Sis Ran, get on! I'll take you down."

Tu Ran instinctively glanced at the back of the car and, sure enough, saw Zhao Yan sitting there, staring at her with an unreadable look.