The moment he finished speaking, Lao Gao immediately activated his ability. A ball of energy gathered in his palm, swelling bigger and bigger. Captain Zhang's expression changed. He shouted, "No, fall back, quick!"
The squad had all been trained. They reacted almost on instinct, retreating far back before the energy ball finally struck the mass of tentacles and exploded. Only then did they understand why they'd been told to move. With a blast like that, if they hadn't backed off, the shockwave alone could've taken them out.
"Seriously, Lao Gao, can you be a little more careful? We're all just regular people, we can't always take the heat from your attacks," Captain Wang said. His tone was polite, but his meaning was sharp enough: Lao Gao had nearly hurt his own teammates.
Lao Gao had the type of personality that burned hot after surviving close calls. Normally, he didn't care about details like that. But when he saw the others scattered across the area, he realized he'd gone too far this time. He scratched his head and apologized, "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Just had a brush with death, guess I lost it for a moment. I promise, if there's a next time, I'll warn you all first."
Revenge had to be taken, sure, but he could at least shout a warning before blowing things up.
Captain Zhang could only sigh helplessly at the four of them. He didn't lecture further, just said, "Fine. Go check on those tentacles. Let's see if blowing them up really killed it."
"Aaahhh!"
Screams rang out around them. When they followed the sound, they saw several squad members being grabbed by tentacles on the ground.
The blast had shredded the mass into scattered pieces. By all logic, nothing should've been able to survive in that state. But these tentacles didn't care what they'd been originally. While the others weren't paying attention, they started merging, fusing, swelling bigger and bigger until all those separate pieces had become one monstrous form.
Lan Jin tried to unleash her ability to save the ones caught, but she was a second too late. As soon as the tentacles grabbed them, slashes opened across their bodies. New tentacles burst out of those wounds, then slowly connected back into the main body.
The unlucky squad members were pulled in, their flesh breaking down, feeding the growing monster until their very bodies were consumed as nourishment.
The fused mass towered high. Captain Zhang panicked. "That thing's at least three stories tall now! Lan Jin, fry it with lightning, see if it'll die. Everyone else, stay alert, don't let those tentacles touch you!"
Before Lan Jin could act, Ling Jiang stepped forward first. With a wave of her hand, ice spread out, freezing the writhing mass in place, only its topmost head-like growth left free.
"Now, Lan Jin," she said. "Strike it. This way nobody else gets hurt."
She nodded and called lightning straight down on the creature's crown.
The monster thrashed violently, electricity coursing through its body. After a long, jerking struggle, it finally collapsed with a thunderous crash. Ling Jiang followed up, sealing the mass completely in ice.
For the moment, the tentacle beast was dealt with. Where it would be taken, how to move it, or what came next wasn't their concern anymore.
Captain Zhou reported in, and soon a cleanup team arrived to haul the monster out of the base. For now, that was enough. As long as the base was secure, the civilians inside could breathe easy.
But the entire fight had been caught on surveillance, and the leadership had watched every moment of Lan Jin's team's performance. After a heavy silence, one of them asked, "What's with those four? Their abilities are way too strong, don't you think?"
"Which base were they assigned to before this? Call in their old commander. We'll have a talk."
While the leaders focused on digging for answers, Captain Zhang was summoned away. The others got their orders from Captain Zhou: return to their shop and keep watch.
Back at the shop, Lan Jin slumped against a chair with a heavy sigh. "It's only been a few days of peace. Just when I thought life felt a little like the early apocalypse again, now this crap shows up."
What she meant by "early apocalypse" was those first days, when life was brutal but monsters weren't constantly lurking around every corner.
The struggle back then had been harsh, sure, but compared to now, those days almost felt precious.
Ling Jiang frowned. "I've got no idea where that thing came from. I've never seen anything like it before, not even in Maolin. It can't really be some brand new species, can it?"
Huang Jinghe had been deep in thought. When he finally spoke, his tone was serious. "Didn't it look… familiar to you?"
"Familiar?" The others blinked at him, confused. They thought about it, but nothing came to mind. "Just spit it out, what do you think it looks like?"
"Maolin's plants," Huang Jinghe said. "Doesn't it remind you of those? Sure, it wasn't tree-shaped, but think about it. At first it was green. After Lao Gao blew it apart, it fused into that muddy brown. Then when it reformed, the tentacles grew thinner, longer, more like vines. The more I think about it, the more it looks like one of Maolin's plants evolving."
Once the idea was out there, none of them could unsee it.
Lao Gao asked slowly, "So what, you're saying that thing's really a tree from Maolin? Tentacles were just its starting form? Every time it's destroyed, it evolves? And if something else happens along the way, then…"
"I think they're dangerous. Very dangerous," Huang Jinghe said firmly.
But it was only his suspicion. He had no evidence.
Ling Jiang crossed his arms. "So what're you planning? Report your suspicions? Without proof, it's pointless."
"I know. That's why I'm not reporting. I just can't shake the feeling. That's all. No evidence, no case."
Lan Jin sighed. "Either way, this world just feels more and more unreal every day."
Lao Gao shook his head. "Unreal or not, I say it's man-made."
"Man-made's terrifying too. These kinds of abilities don't look like something humans could create." Huang Jinghe cut himself off halfway. "Forget it. The more we talk, the crazier it sounds."
"Exactly. Why bother overthinking? Maybe the tentacle monster's gone for good now. We're just worrying ourselves over nothing."
But… was it really over?