Inside the combat command center, having confirmed the details with Chen Chuan, Commissioner Liang said no more and ended the call directly.
In his view, while this plan was somewhat risky, it was nonetheless an excellent way to resolve the problem in one decisive stroke.
Nothing in this world was ever entirely without risk; he was willing to make the call, and equally willing to take responsibility for it.
He turned his gaze forward once more. Following Wu Qi's emergence, the Watchtower had analyzed the creature's overflowing field data, and now, on the light screen before Liang, each structure and component of Wu Qi's body was marked out.
"High-energy cell tissue, bio-energy interface, dense mutated muscle fibers, reinforced exoskeleton, multi-position joints, energy storage organs, secretory regulator, heat-dissipation scale fins, regenerative membrane, communication antennae, polyhedral compound eyes, fibrous tactile organs, micro olfactory pores..."
Item after item streamed densely down the screen, over seventy percent of which were technologies from the Linakes Federation. In fact, many cybernetic implants were byproducts born from researching active conscious entities of this kind.
When not in combat, most of the creature's functions were dedicated to field communications. Now that it had emerged to fight, all its biological systems had spontaneously shifted into combat mode.
Based on the creature's condition, the Watchtower had also compiled its potential weaknesses alongside key target areas, generating a tactical plan.
After reviewing it, Commissioner Liang immediately instructed the Watchtower to transmit the data to the field team's boundary credentials. However, the field signals in that area were suffering severe interference, and even with Andun doing its utmost to maintain stability, it would likely take a little while before the personnel on site received it.
High above Shenwei District, outside the airship, a modified bird flew toward the vessel. Bound beneath its claws was a lightweight parcel. Guided by field signals, the bird landed on the airship's foredeck.
An airship attendant stepped forward to untie the parcel and handed it to an inspector standing nearby.
After a quick inspection to ensure it was undamaged, the inspector promptly carried it to the upper front section of the airship and delivered it to Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan thanked him. Once the man departed, he unwrapped the parcel to reveal a medicine box adorned with an image of a glossy ganoderma amidst clouds, imbued with a refined, vibrant charm.
This was the emblem of Tiancong Baicao Pharmaceuticals; the medicine clearly originated from that company.
Opening it, he found only a single thumb-sized, teal-green pill. When he lifted it, a wisp of icy mist seemed to drift from its surface.
There were no markings of any kind, giving no clue as to what medicine it was, but without bothering about its specific origins, he swallowed it directly.
At first, he felt nothing unusual, but after a moment, a soothing warmth spread throughout his entire body. It felt like soaking in a warm, relaxing bath, bringing a sensation of ease to every part of him.
He could tell that this medicine was immensely helpful for repairing bodily injuries. Moreover, its potency was mild, taking effect gradually rather than with sudden force, allowing the body time to adapt.
He looked toward his second self and saw almost no signs of blurring; this was a rare medicine with virtually no side effects.
It did not stop there. A moment later, a refreshing coolness welled up in his head, making his mind feel noticeably clearer.
This was beneficial nourishment for the mutated tissues in the brain. The spirit adhered to the body, relying especially on the brain's mutated tissues for support; nourishing this area naturally benefited the mind as well, and this soothing sensation was persistent.
Such a medicine was undoubtedly rare and precious, but if the plan could be executed smoothly, this level of investment was truly trivial in comparison.
As he quietly savored the effect, he suddenly sensed tremors rippling from the world where his mental imprint had settled. He looked up involuntarily. It was very likely that another wave of pure substance would soon arrive.
With two hours remaining, he could take advantage of the window to absorb another batch.
Since no one would enter this area, he simply sat down cross-legged and focused his attention on the disturbances from the other side.
Before long, he sensed a flickering wisp of radiant light arriving. In an instant, he captured the stream of light, gave a gentle swallow, and gulped it down.
This time, however, the quantity of pure substance drifting down was far greater than before. No sooner had one wisp passed than another arrived, with more descending periodically behind them. Even he could not intercept and swallow every wisp of pure substance.
Not that he intended to; some should be left for others. Taking only what he needed was more than enough.
Almost at the exact same moment, Chu An, who was likewise waiting, said with sudden excitement, "Master, I feel it!"
As he spoke, his spirit made contact with one of the passing streams of light. The very next instant, however, his face flushed deep red.
Though his spirit had entangled that wisp of light, the substance was as agile as a swimming fish, constantly darting and leaping as if about to break free at any second, while he strained with all his might to pin it down.
Seeing this, the old man immediately understood the situation and called out a reminder: "Find a way to bind it! Even if most of it slips away in the end, don't fret—this process itself will strengthen your spirit.
"Don't be greedy or try to take it all. Use the techniques I taught you: catch whatever you can, and swallow whatever you can manage."
Hearing this, Chu An promptly followed his instructions. In the end, he still failed to hold onto the entire stream of light; most of it escaped, with only a small portion swallowed into his body. Immediately, an intense sensation of fullness surged through him.
He hurriedly used the method taught by the old man to assimilate it. Only after a long while did he slowly exhale, lifting his head to speak with visible excitement:
"Master, I felt it! There really are so many indescribable benefits, but..." He added ruefully, "A lot slipped past just now."
The old man consoled him: "It doesn't matter. If one attempt doesn't work, you can always try again. From the looks of it, far more pure substance is descending in this second stage than in the first. You can rest a bit before trying to capture more."
Once Chu An closed his eyes again, the old man cast a wary glance upward.
If one's physical constitution had not reached a certain level of strength, it was very difficult to assimilate pure substance completely in one go, even if one felt as though they had finished refining it.
And when these residues settled in the body, it was easy to draw the attention of those entities—especially with the Heavenly Gate open and a breach existing in the Ring of the World. There was no telling what anomalies might occur.
Thus, he stepped to the side, produced a long stick of incense from his belongings, lit it, and walked over to the altar dedicated to Moshen, inserting the stick into the burner.
This was an old-era practice meant to obscure the prying eyes of entities from the other side. The reason he had chosen this location to absorb pure substance was not merely its elevation, but also because religious sanctuaries of this sort inherently incorporated such obscuring effects.
Straightening up, he glanced at the statue of Moshen above, thought little of it, and turned to walk away.
Inside the Ferris Wheel Building, even though the tactical decisions and analysis reports from the rear had not yet arrived due to interference, the fighters present were all battle-hardened veterans with their own methods of assessment.
Captain Lyu was the first to step forward to test the waters. His figure flickered, arriving right in front of Wu Qi. With his fingers curled like hooks, he pecked toward its body; as his strike snapped out, it cracked through the air with a sharp crack.
Though this blow was merely a probe, he immediately discovered that this massive creature was not sluggish in the least; rather, it was exceptionally agile. Even as Lyu surged forward, it had already adjusted its stance, lifting a leg to interpose its hard exoskeleton.
He was somewhat taken aback. For a body so massive to exhibit such agility and speed was utterly terrifying. Yet he did not alter his move, intending to test its mettle.
With a loud crack, he felt a violent tremor shudder up his arm. The smooth bone armor deflected most of his force, yet even so, the ferocious jin caused faint cracks to spider across the plate.
Just then, a warning flared in his instincts. He ducked, letting a whip-like tentacle lash past overhead.
Though he seemed to have dodged it, after the tentacle whipped past, its front section whipped back mid-flight; the tip, tipped with sharp claws, struck toward the back of his head, letting out a sonic boom as it snapped around.
Had that blow landed, it would have been enough to smash through his skull. In this moment of mortal peril, rather than dodging, he pressed forward, leaving an afterimage as he slipped beneath the creature's belly and limbs.
He had originally intended to attack from underneath, but in reality he didn't linger, dashing straight through. In that single glance, he had caught sight of dense clusters of apertures along its belly; clearly, this area was not a defensive gap, but where its predatory organs lay.
Even now, the tentacle continued pursuing him. Once behind the creature, he rolled to his feet, whipped around, and deflected the tentacle with the edge of his palm.
At that moment, however, another whip-tentacle struck stealthily from his flank. Just as it was about to puncture his skull, a hand snapped up and seized it cleanly with a crack.
Yet the clawed tip writhed violently. Its muscles tautened, and a razor-sharp bone blade shot out from the center, thrusting toward his face with blinding speed.
Anticipating the movement the moment he felt the shift in his grip, he slapped it outward, allowing the bone blade to graze past his cheek as he leaned back and rapidly retreated.
Yet the whip-tentacle pursued him relentlessly, coiling toward him so that no matter which way he evaded, he could not shake the pursuit.
At that moment, a figure blurred into motion. Taking advantage of Lyu's skirmish with Wu Qi, Captain Wang charged in from the front and drove a heavy fist straight into the joint connecting the creature's belly and limbs.
It was evident he had been waiting for the right moment. His dash was lightning-fast, and his blow was backed by immense power, striking Wu Qi squarely. The impacted area burst in a spray of splintered bone and torn muscle, though Wang himself was briefly thrown off balance by the recoil.
At that instant, one of the tentacles whipped violently backward and caught him flush. The staggering force sent him flying into the air.
With a resounding crash, he smashed through the building's already riddled glass curtain wall, tumbling and skipping across the ground outside for over a hundred meters before finally slamming into a road barrier. Spitting out a mouthful of bloody froth, he slowly pushed himself back to his feet.
Chapter 585