BXBX NOVEL Chapter 45
Translator: 549690339
This coastal city, after enduring a night of devastation by abyssal monsters, had completely become a playground for the beasts.
Jiang Chen stood on a high point, looking out into the distance.
Not only had the majority of the houses collapsed into ruins, but he could also vaguely make out a long trail of crushed debris several kilometers away, where the collapsed houses formed a long path of destruction.
Clearly, more than just the Decaying Parent Body had emerged from the abyss on the first night.
However, most of the monsters did not pass by the shelter but headed deeper into the land.
“If the sole objective was to pass the trial, fleeing this coastal city at the first sign of disaster would have been the best choice.”
“After all, monsters move at a limited speed.”
“Especially since they originally lived deep in the sea abyss and would find it difficult to adapt immediately to the land, which usually slows them down.”
“Even according to the maps kept at the school, this world is made up of islands of various sizes, and this one is a relatively large island.”
“It would take at least four or five days for the monsters to reach the deepest part of the island.”
“If a mecha pilot runs swiftly to reach the city at the heart of the island ahead of time…”
“Not only could they secure a considerable amount of safe time, but the strength of the monsters encountered in the end would also be greatly reduced.”
“Abyssal monsters that appear on the tenth day can’t possibly cross such great distances and reach the heart of the island instantly.”
Jiang Chen combined his understanding of the map and the movements of the abyssal monsters to make this deduction but had no regrets.
After all, for every three days the Seed of Civilization is sustained, the evaluation increases.
The total time limit for the Rank Upgrade Trial is only ten days.
This means that staying in the most dangerous coastal city and activating the Seed of Civilization at the earliest opportunity is the only way to achieve the highest evaluation.
Fleeing to the depths of the island might indeed lower the difficulty but would also lower the evaluation.
“Working together with Zero, what abyssal boss can’t we just behead and put up for sale? Why should we avoid them?”
“Bring them on, and I’ll slay as many as come!”
It seemed as if the monsters had sensed Jiang Chen’s thoughts.
The next night, a new beast broke through the sea and came up onto the land.
This creature continued the bizarre appearance of deep-sea life, looking like a gigantic sea anemone that was twenty-something meters tall.
Although a soft-bodied creature, it was wrapped in thick layers of shell, and each of its elongated tentacles had worm-like sharp-toothed feeding appendages.
It crushed houses and toppled walls on its way straight toward the shelter.
Facing this powerful monster, Jiang Chen was as uncompromising as ever, unleashing his strongest power with the flame attack.
However, flame was not the weakness of this monster.
His long-range transcendent fire only managed to shatter one layer of the shell before being extinguished by the water jets sprayed out.
After weighing his options, Jiang Chen slightly recovered his Stamina and took out his thermal light sword, wanting to completely break open the sea anemone’s shell to unleash a fiery attack inside.
In this process, he displayed extremely advanced swordsmanship.
A single lightsaber danced nearly like a curtain of rain, effortlessly slicing off tentacles as it neared the sea anemone’s main body.
However…
The size difference was just too great.
If Jiang Chen’s Mecha were the same size as the sea anemone monster,
Then these tentacles would seem quite delicate, and a single slash could sever dozens or even hundreds, easily breaking open the shell to slay it.
Now, a single slash could only sever one or two of the sea anemone’s tentacles.
No matter how skilled his technique or how quick his movements, it was difficult to completely block the attacks from all directions.
Occasionally, sea anemone tentacles would land on him, fiercely tearing at the Mecha.
The model Zero Mecha itself had only an Armor Value of eight, making it fairly fragile in the face of truly powerful abyssal monsters.
After persisting for a moment, its Armor Value dropped to zero, and it broke apart into flowing light.
[Talent Trigger: Undying Barehand, Mecha absorbed: Model Zero-Type 4.]
[Attributes: Strength 36, Agility 35, Defense 39, Enigmatic 0.]
[Special: Regenerates 0.62 health per second (doubles under sunlight), 0.14 stamina.]
[Abilities: Uncontrollable Mutation, Roots Core, Blood Demon Transformation, Seed of Flames.]
“You have no idea what you have released…”
When fighting with Zero, Jiang Chen still had some concerns.
Now?
He completely ignored the surrounding anemone tentacles, charging forward forcefully, brutally chopping up the anemone’s shell and killing with impunity inside its body.
After the slaughter, he even emerged with full health.
[Killed the Mutated Anemone, acquired module: Aberrant Feelers.]
[Aberrant Feelers]
[Rank: 0 (1)]
[Quality: Excellent (Outstanding)]
[Type: Torso Module]
[Effect One: For every 3 points of enigmatic value, gain one Aberrant Tendril (up to 6 tendrils maximum).]
[Effect Two: Aberrant Tendrils cannot be controlled, possess 30% of Mecha’s strength attribute, and will automatically attack nearby enemies.]
[Description: We are the slaves, and He is the master.]
Similar to the basic trials.
The drop rate for rank upgrade trials is extremely high, especially for these strong bosses; they’re almost guaranteed to drop top-notch modules, each a walking treasure chest.
However, when Jiang Chen saw the effects of the Aberrant Feelers, he frowned.
It was clearly a module with great potential.
Even in its 0th Rank Excellent state, it could endow a Mecha with six tendrils with 30% strength, massively boosting its combat power!
If it followed the Mecha Rank Upgrade, both the maximum number of tendrils and the strength they possessed would continue to increase!
However…
The fact that it couldn’t be controlled by the Mecha, only automatically attacking enemies, was a substantial flaw.
It was still tolerably acceptable when merely attached to the Mecha, if its strength was high enough.
But if it were to be absorbed as an ability, Jiang Chen absolutely wouldn’t accept having several uncontrollable tendrils sprouting from his body.
“Moreover, what would happen if I absorbed this kind of module that significantly changes the Mecha’s appearance or adds new equipment?”
“For instance, with Spider-Form Arm, would my body also grow two or even more arms?”
“Can the additional arms be retracted at will, or must they exist permanently?”
Jiang Chen had some concerns.
He could accept certain degrees of physical change, like the muscle expansion that came with Uncontrollable Mutation…
But at least he had to maintain a human form, right?
Even taking a step back, it wouldn’t matter during combat, but he at least had to look human in normal times, right?
Otherwise, what would he do if he scared children on the street?
“I could first absorb one or two permanent modules that don’t cause much change, to test the effects.”
Jiang Chen killed more creatures and defended the refuge.
The second night also passed quickly.
After the sun rose, he got some free time, continuing to call out Laila and the tailcoat gentleman to assist him in communicating with the mecha soul and training his transcendent abilities.
The repaired model Zero Mecha was also summoned again.
When Laila touched it, she immediately felt intense emotion.
[Zero is so sorry for not giving Master Jiang Chen an exhilarating battle!]