Chapter 766: Stubborn Ch'en! Abyssal Hunter and Seaborn, Gladiia!
"Old Ch'en, how is it? Can you really contact Ren?"
"..."
The fluorescent lights of the Lungmen Guard Department (L.G.D.) office hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the stacks of paperwork. Ch'en Hui-chieh, the Superintendent, sat stiffly at her desk, her amber eyes narrowing in suspicion as she looked up.
Standing before her was Hoshiguma, the tall, green-skinned Oni who served as her partner and confidant. Hoshiguma had practically scurried over to Ch'en's desk the moment the clock struck the end of their shift, her usual calm and intimidating demeanor replaced by an eager, almost mischievous glint that Ch'en found deeply unsettling.
"Hoshiguma," Ch'en said, her voice low and dangerous, "why do I feel like you're more concerned about him than I am?"
"Cough."
Hoshiguma cleared her throat, a feigned look of innocence plastered on her face, though the corners of her mouth twitched. "I'm just sincerely trying to help you see if you two have a husband-and-wife look, you know? I feel like Old Ch'en has reached the stage where she should find a boyfriend. All work and no play makes Ch'en a dull dragon. You're starting to resemble the gargoyles on the roof."
Ch'en's face flushed instantly. A crimson tide rose from her high collar, spreading across her cheeks to the tips of her pointed ears. Her heart rate quickened, a traitorous rhythm hammering against her ribs, and her dragon tail, usually disciplined, unconsciously wrapped around her own leg in agitation.
She glared at Hoshiguma, slamming a file shut. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend! I have a city to protect! I'm just... I'm just concerned about what others said about his sudden disappearance! It's a security risk!"
"Yes, that's it. Purely professional concern. Of course."
This feigned demeanor and self-deceiving emphasis were fooling absolutely no one.
Hoshiguma shook her head inwardly as she watched her superior squirm. Old Ch'en, except for the horns and scales a dragon should have, was soft all over, but her mouth was incredibly stubborn. She was harder than the riot shields they carried into battle.
However... it's good to be stubborn. It made teasing her all the more entertaining. It was the only pastime Hoshiguma had in this city of concrete and rules.
Hoshiguma hoped that Old Ch'en wouldn't regret it later. After all... if Ch'en kept playing hard to get, Hoshiguma might just have to step in. If Old Ch'en didn't need him, then... well, the Oni were known for taking what they wanted, weren't they?
Suppressing her embarrassment and ignoring the knowing, predatory look from her partner, Ch'en hesitantly and awkwardly pulled out her terminal. Her fingers hovered over the screen for a long moment, the cursor blinking mockingly, before she finally typed out a message to Ren.
[Ch'en: Ren, do you have time now?]
She stared at the screen, holding her breath. Would he reply? Was he busy saving another world? Or simply ignoring her?
Almost instantly, a reply popped up.
[Ren: Uh-huh, I'm quite free.]
Ren wasn't in "sage mode" either. It was just that he had too many girlfriends, and the paradox of choice was a real burden for a multiversal harem king. He hadn't considered who to find or where to play for a while.
If it weren't for wanting them to enjoy life and not just be bed-warmers, Ren really wouldn't mind sinking into endless parties with them, losing himself in pleasure. But he had standards.
However, Ch'en asking this question now... it was no surprise that she had something to say. She wasn't one for idle chatter.
[Ren: Do you have something?]
[Ch'en: Do you still remember our old friends from the Longmen Guard Bureau?]
[Ren: Of course. Hoshiguma, Swire.]
[Ch'en: ...]
Ch'en stared at the screen, a vein throbbing in her temple. He listed everyone but her.
[Ren: Hmm, and you, Ch'en.]
[Ch'en: Cough, no need to emphasize me. Of course, I know you remember me. It's my job to be memorable.]
"?"
Hoshiguma looked suspiciously at Ch'en, who was standing still, lost in thought. Suddenly, a very... very rare smile appeared on Ch'en's lips.
It wasn't her usual smirk of victory after a successful raid, nor the polite smile she wore for politicians. It was soft, unguarded, and breathtakingly gentle.
Such a beautiful smile made Hoshiguma marvel. Because it was truly too feminine.
For a Ch'en who was stern and decisive all day at the Guard Bureau, barking orders and slicing through Reunion members with Chi Xiao, probably few people could see her 'little woman' side.
Let alone others. Even Hoshiguma, whose relationship with Ch'en was close and strong enough to be called family, had never seen it quite like this.
But now she had seen it. And it was dangerous. It signaled a vulnerability Ch'en couldn't afford to show.
Just as Hoshiguma was about to ask Ch'en what was wrong with her, Ch'en suddenly reined in her smile. She coughed loudly to cover her tracks, her face returning to its usual stoicism, though her ears were still pink.
"Ren will be here soon," she said smugly.
"Ah?"
Hoshiguma looked confused. What was going on now? Why the smugness?
In fact, Ch'en had just invited Ren, but not in her own name. She had used a tactical feint, a maneuver worthy of a strategist.
[Ch'en: Actually, Hoshiguma and the others want to gather with old friends, so they asked if you had time to come to Lungmen.]
[Exusiai: Oh, really? Are you having a party? Can I come too? Apple pie on me! I can bring the whole Penguin Logistics crew!]
[Ch'en: No, I'm sorry, the Longmen Guard Bureau does not welcome Penguin Logistics members. You cause too much property damage. Stay in your warehouse.]
[Exusiai: Uh, then never mind. Mean old dragon.]
[Exusiai: But we can have a second party! Call me later, Ren!]
[Ch'en: ...]
[Ren: Hoshiguma and the others want to see me? What about you, Ch'en?]
[Ch'en: Cough, haven't we been chatting frequently in the Chat Group, and we've also met during Doomsday Companion, so... it's only natural to host you properly. It's protocol.]
[Ren: Got it, you don't want to see me, then I won't go. I wouldn't want to intrude on protocol.]
[Ch'en: Huh?!]
Panic flared in Ch'en's chest. She typed furiously, deleting and rewriting, her thumbs blurring.
[Ren: Haha, just kidding, I'll be there in a bit, wait for me.]
[Ch'en: You...!]
That's how it was. The bait was taken.
Ch'en put her terminal away, her heart pounding a little faster than usual. She was waiting for Ren's arrival.
And Ren himself had already arrived in this world.
He just used his newly acquired World Travel Authority to directly access the coordinates of Terra. He didn't need a portal or a summons; he simply stepped through the folds of reality.
However, the location he appeared in was not Lungmen.
"This is..."
Ren looked down from the sky, hovering amidst the grey, heavy clouds.
What met his eyes was a stretch of... ocean. Or what passed for it in this world. The water was dark, turbulent, and filled with a malice that the sea should not possess.
Below him was the coastline of Iberia. The ruins of a lighthouse stood like a broken tooth against the horizon.
But there was no seawater on the coast. The tide had receded, revealing a landscape of nightmares.
Instead of sand and rock, there was something squirming like a mass of flesh. It covered the beach, pulsating with a vile life, a carpet of biological horror that stretched for miles.
A fishy smell, heavy with rot, salt, and pheromones, rose into the air. It was quite strong, enough to make a normal person gag.
At this moment, the coastline seemed far from peaceful.
Various creatures made of flesh and chitin—Seaborn—squirmed forward like a tide. They clicked and hissed, a hive mind driven by hunger and evolution. Some were small, skittering things; others were massive hulks of muscle and shell. But they were being stopped.
They were being quickly split, torn, and crushed by a blur of silver motion.
"Ha!"
Wielding a long, wicked spear that gleamed with a cold light was a tall woman. She was dressed in an elegant black and white outfit that looked like a cross between a military uniform and a hunter's garb, topped with a distinctive tricorne hat. Her silver hair whipped around her face as she danced through the horde.
At this moment, her every move was broad and powerful, a dance of death. She spun the spear effortlessly, the blade singing through the air. She crushed the creatures surrounding her without reservation, her movements precise, lethal, and faster than the eye could follow.
Squelch! Crack!
A massive, crab-like Seaborn lunged at her. She didn't even look. She simply pivoted, driving the butt of her spear into its shell, shattering it, before spinning to decapitate two others with the blade.
Ren's gaze flickered with recognition.
"This is quite a coincidence."
He actually knew who that woman was; she had a close relationship with Skadi, his stoic Abyssal Hunter.
Gladiia...
An Abyssal Hunter. The Technology Consul of Aegir. The leader who danced with death.
The Abyssal Hunters are an armed military group under the underwater nation of Aegir, created to be the ultimate weapon against the threat from the deep. They were supersoldiers forged in the crushing depths.
Their purpose is to fight unknown creatures called Seaborn.
Which were the fleshy things she was currently facing.
The Seaborn possess extremely strong evolutionary adaptability. They are the ultimate biological horror.
They can autonomously avoid all evolutionary paths that lead to death and degradation, evolving without limit in the direction most favorable for reproduction and survival. If you burn them, they become fireproof. If you crush them, they become fluid. They learn. They adapt. They overcome.
To prevent Aegir's advanced scientific technology from accelerating this process and leading to their demise—creating a technological singularity they couldn't control—the Abyssal Hunters voluntarily restricted themselves.
The Abyssal Hunters can only use primitive cold weapons to fight the Seaborn. No guns. No lasers. Just steel and muscle.
Like the massive spear in Gladiia's hand.
However, the Abyssal Hunters are not entirely Aegirians. To fight monsters, one must become a monster.
These warriors, used to resist monsters, were implanted with Seaborn bloodlines through Aegir's modification technology.
In a sense, they became kin to the enemies they fought, similar to blood relatives.
Abyssal Hunters with Seaborn bloodlines gained superhuman physical abilities.
They possessed immense strength capable of cleaving mountains and were almost invulnerable to conventional damage. Their skin was harder than steel armor.
They could survive the most fatal injuries and heal rapidly, regenerating limbs and organs in the heat of battle.
What was unknown to most, however, was that the Seaborn bloodline was also constantly transforming these hunters. It was a curse as much as a gift. It was a ticking time bomb.
When their minds were traumatized by endless battles with the Seaborn, or when their bodies reached a critical limit, psychological instability manifested physically through the Seaborn blood.
Features not belonging to Aegirians began to appear on their bodies—scales, tentacles, extra eyes. The call of the deep became louder.
As time passed, some Abyssal Hunters began to succumb to their instincts. The call of the Hive Mind.
They would devour the corpses of their comrades until they completely transformed into Seaborn, returning to the primordial soup from which their power came.
If Ren remembered correctly, the Abyssal Hunters had planned an assassination targeting the "God" of the Seaborn—Ishar-mla.
During the operation, Skadi alone killed the "God" and heard its last words.
However, in the time that followed, the Abyssal Hunters were attacked by an unknown force, resulting in the death and disappearance of Abyssal Hunters, including the entire Second Squad.
The First Squad and Fourth Squad were completely wiped out, with only a few survivors, including Skadi.
Communication between the survivors and Aegir was also cut off. They were stranded on the hostile surface, hunted by the very creatures they were created to destroy.
The Gladiia before him was the captain of the Second Squad. The leader who carried the burden of survival, seeking a way back, or perhaps a way forward.
"Tsk tsk, crossing worlds brought me here," Ren couldn't help but sigh, watching the elegant slaughter below. "Fate really likes to throw strong women in my path. Or perhaps, I am just drawn to them."
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