The Post-Apocalyptic Rival Who Crashed My Wedding with a Baby - Chapter 30

“It’s a giant deep-sea octopus!” Chen Huawei yelled, swallowing hard as he stared up with lingering terror.

A colossal octopus, ten stories tall, had breached the surface. Its massive frame completely blotted out the sun on half the island like a gathering storm cloud. A pair of crimson vertical pupils scanned the area, making everyone’s skin crawl. Its eight tentacles were thick as tree trunks, their deep purple surfaces gnarled and uneven, encrusted with the rotting remains of various marine creatures—a truly gruesome sight.

Jiang Weiqing’s heart skipped a beat. This mutated beast’s power was likely at least Level 5. In the water, its natural domain, its actual combat strength was unpredictable and likely far higher. She had privately mocked the towering statue in the village for being an exaggeration, but the reality was that the statue only captured about two-thirds of this monster’s actual size.

“Look over there!” Lin Yunxia cried out, her face grim as she pointed toward the distance.

The group followed her finger to a small island about ten kilometers away. Dozens of people were gathered there, dressed in blue and white ceremonial robes embroidered with a fierce-looking blue octopus. They stood on a high platform at the edge of the coast, each holding a torch, arranged in a cryptic, ritualistic formation. Their expressions were solemn, their eyes fixed on the sea.

At the center of the altar stood Xiao Mi. She held a sharp blade and was rolling up her sleeve, revealing an arm that was half-flesh and half-straw.

Village Chief Li raised a large conch shell, blowing a long, deep note that sounded like a call to war. Beside him, Granny Huang looked at Xiao Mi and barked, “The Sea God has emerged! Priestess, offer your tribute immediately!”

Xiao Mi blinked. With practiced ease, she held the blade in her right hand and carved a perfect square of flesh from her arm, placing it reverently on the altar. The surrounding villagers began to chant in unison, their eyes filled with terrifying devotion.

The giant octopus, catching the scent of blood, surged toward the small island. Xiao Mi tossed the piece of flesh high into the air, and it fell right into the creature’s beak. In less than half a second, it was swallowed. The octopus let out a long, resonant cry, sending massive waves crashing against the shore and flinging dozens of dead mutated sea creatures onto the sand.

“The Sea God has arrived! Welcome the Great One!” Granny Huang shouted, dropping to her knees in worship. The crowd behind her followed suit, falling to the ground like a wave.

Xiao Mi hurriedly stuffed a handful of straw back into the hollow of her arm. Under Granny Huang’s pressuring gaze, she began walking slowly toward the giant octopus. Granny Huang’s lips moved as if to give her usual instructions, but Xiao Mi’s voice suddenly rang out through the air.

“Granny Huang, I will do as well as I did last time.”

Her lips didn’t move; the voice seemed to be projected by another power entirely. Granny Huang nodded in relief. “I promise, this is the last time.”

Xiao Mi nodded coldly, then turned toward Sea God Island, her eyes flashing with a sudden, lethal intent.

*****

Jiang Weiqing’s team witnessed the entire scene, their faces heavy with realization.

“Xiao Mi is actually a ‘Priestess’,” Chen Huawei muttered, unable to resist a sarcastic comment even now.

An Songyu rolled his eyes, gesturing toward the partially buried corpses at their feet. “And this is the end result of being a Priestess,” he said bitingly.

Jiang Weiqing’s expression turned cold as she pieced it together. Though the islands were far apart, her Esper senses allowed her to see the scars on Xiao Mi’s arm and the straw used to fill them. Xiao Mi’s flesh was the ultimate lure for the Sea God and by extension, for all mutated seafood.

The smell of blood she had caught when Xiao Mi was fishing alone, the desperate look on Auntie Qiu’s face in the kitchen. It all made sense now. Lingshui Village didn’t have an endless supply of seafood because of “blessings”; they bought it with the flesh and blood of these orphans. Granny Huang’s Happy Orphanage was nothing more than a farm for raising “Priestesses” and “Holy Sons” to feed the deep-sea beast.

Jiang Weiqing felt a suffocating anger. Those “warm and hospitable” villagers were nothing more than executioners hiding behind a mask of kindness. If they hadn’t been powerful Espers, any children they brought into the village would have been turned into “stock” for the Happy Orphanage.

“Doesn’t she realize they’re just using her?” Miao Jialing asked, crossing her arms in disgust.

“She’s just a little girl. What could she possibly do?” Hutong shook his head, speaking up for once.

Before they could continue, the giant deep-sea octopus arrived at their shore with Xiao Mi. It brandished its tentacles like a demigod, radiating a natural aura of terror that made it hard to even look at. Suddenly, its thick tentacles began to lash down like a violent rainstorm.

“Get out of the way!” Shen Qingyu shouted. Her wrist flicked, and metal molecules in the air condensed around her. A pair of small mechanical flight wings unfolded from her back, and a metal harness quickly formed across her chest, securing the baby. As she dodged, she fired several rounds from her handgun.

The bullets sparked against the octopus’s skin; its hide was too thick to penetrate. The attack only served to enrage the beast. It began to thrash and spit thick, black ink that rained down like oil. The bitter, foul stench filled the air.

“The ink is poisonous!” Miao Jialing warned, watching as the island plants withered and turned black wherever the ink touched them.

“Find its weakness first! Don’t act blindly!” Duan Muyu shouted, her fingers flying across her tablet.

Jiang Weiqing leaped onto Little Black’s back, her Spirit Eyes glowing. A water whip ringed with sharp thorns manifested in her hand. “Let me try for the eyes!” For most creatures, the eyes were the most vulnerable point. The rest of the team didn’t stay idle; water spheres, fireballs, and ice blades flew from all directions, striking the monster’s various limbs.

******

“Wait, why is it getting dark?” Lin Qitong asked, confused.

At the front of the line, Lin Wenguang noticed the change too. He stopped and looked toward Xu Banmeng. “Are we on the right path?”

By now, Lin Wenguang was deeply regretting his decision to take the mission out of spite. He had vastly underestimated the difficulty. The fog was just the beginning; in this dense forest, he was completely lost and had to rely on Xu Banmeng’s survival skills. Every ten steps, he had to ask her for directions based on tree rings, the sun, or vegetation density.

They had been under constant attack—mutated snakes, rabbits, and wild boars had swarmed them as if they were wearing homing beacons. Half his team was already injured.

“We’re on the right path,” Xu Banmeng said, her eyes fixed on the sky. “It’s not nightfall. We’re just being blocked.” She pointed upward.

A massive silhouette had appeared in the boundless blue sky, blocking out half the sun. Lin Qitong squinted, trying to make out the shape, when a frantic system alarm blared in her mind.

[WARNING: Level 5 Deep-Sea Giant Octopus detected.]

[WARNING: Level 5 Deep-Sea Giant Octopus detected

Lin Qitong turned deathly pale, her body trembling. A Level 5 Deep-Sea beast was something she couldn’t hope to face. Was she going to die here today? A flash of resentment toward her brother crossed her mind; if he hadn’t taken the job recklessly, she wouldn’t be in this danger.

“Captain! It’s a giant octopus!”

“I hear chanting! We’re being used as sacrifices!” Lin Xixi cried out.

Panic erupted within the Longhai Squad.

“Why did we take this job?”

“We’re all going to die!”

“That thing is at least Level 4, maybe higher!”

As despair settled over them, Xu Banmeng let out a sharp cough. “Maybe things aren’t that bad yet,” she said calmly.

“What do you mean, Captain?” Lin Xixi asked.

Gao Hang spoke up indifferently. “When the sky falls, let the tall ones hold it up. We aren’t the primary targets yet.”

Lin Qitong caught onto the hope and grabbed Xu Banmeng’s sleeve. “Banmeng, do we really have a chance to get out alive?”

Xu Banmeng patted her head gently. “Yes. We need to hurry and regroup with the others.” She didn’t want to admit it, but Jiang Weiqing’s squad was their only hope especially with experts like Shen Qingyu and Duan Muyu there.

“Regroup? With who?” Lin Wenguang asked, looking lost.

Xu Banmeng didn’t answer. She took the lead and began running. They had no time to waste.

*****

High above, Jiang Weiqing caught her breath on Little Black’s back. They had tried everything—eyes, tentacles, the back—but nothing worked. Each hit only made the deep-sea beast angrier.

Just as she was beginning to worry, Shen Qingyu’s voice reached her ear through the wind.

“Maybe… its weakness is Xiao Mi.”

“Xiao Mi?”

Jiang Weiqing looked over. Shen Qingyu stood with a calm, focused expression, her hair whipping in the sea breeze. Her dark eyes were filled with absolute certainty.

That look… Jiang Weiqing had seen it so many times before. A sudden, inexplicable sense of familiarity flooded her mind, making her catch her breath. But her memories insisted that such a scene had never happened.

Support