Coveted After Becoming a Monster [Quick Transmigration] 31

Chapter 31:

Early this morning, Qi Peilan contacted Ji Yulin, and then a car came to pick them up and take them to the South Tower.

In a place like the Thirteenth District where every inch of land was precious, even the parks had to be carefully planned. Yet this place occupied a large piece of land in the south. There were no houses within twenty meters, only a tall, straight tower.

The moment they stepped inside, it felt unusually cold. A hint of the salty smell of the sea lingered in the air. Guards with weapons were lined up, patrolling back and forth. Amidst the neat footsteps, the cries of humans and the low roars of mutated beasts were faintly audible.

Qi Peilan walked side by side with Ji Yulin and explained in a low voice, “The South Tower is the only prison in the Thirteenth Safe Zone. The upper levels hold the most heinous criminals, and below are the fierce, untamable mutated beasts.”

“The Research Institute requires each safe zone to capture powerful mutated beasts and transport them to the Research Institute every six months for experiments.”

“In two months, Qi Fu will lead a team to transport this batch of mutated beasts.”

“If Professor Ji is interested in any of them, you can let me know in advance. I’ll have my men mark them, and they’ll be sent to you along with the others.”

So she’s letting Ji Yulin choose in advance?

The little octopus on her shoulder flicked her tentacles.

The price of not sleeping well for two days was heavy. Her dark circles were even more obvious than before, and the entire octopus was listless. She was even too lazy to wear her hat. The faint bite mark was still on her forehead, making her look particularly pitiful.

When they had left this morning, Ji Yulin had been afraid she hadn’t slept enough and had asked if she wanted to stay in the room and catch up on sleep. Of course, the little octopus was unwilling and insisted on going out with Ji Yulin.

However, it was understandable that she was listless. But why was Qi Fu also so listless? The usually talkative person hadn’t said more than a few words the whole time. The moment they got outside, she had stopped and offered to guard the door.

The little octopus thought for a moment, then couldn’t be bothered.

Her own affairs were a mess. How could she care about her rival’s problems?

The sound of talking and footsteps mingled as the group descended further.

A silver net of special material was draped over the iron bars. The mutated beast in the cell was curled up in a corner, its eyes filled with vigilance and fear.

Li An took a look and recognized it as the “Sky Net” from the clearing operation. No wonder these creatures were so afraid.

She had seen its power with her own eyes that day.

Qi Peilan looked at the little octopus and smiled, “This little one is quite bold. I even prepared some jerky in advance, thinking that if she got scared, I could use it to coax her.”

Jerky?

The little octopus’s attention was pulled back. She remembered that she had been busy being upset last night and had completely forgotten about the sesame jerky she was supposed to enjoy.

Actually, she had been very full from dinner. To host them, the Thirteenth District had specially used tier-four mutated beast meat for cooking.

The taste, the little octopus thought, still made her drool.

Super fragrant!

She, a little octopus, had eaten a whole plate!

But she didn’t know why. Since leaving Anding Town, Ji Yulin had found ways to buy all kinds of mutated beast meat, and there were even tier-one shrimp as snacks.

But the little octopus’s severed tentacle still hadn’t recovered. At most, under the effect of the solution, it had healed and scabbed over but showed no signs of growth. And even after eating the tier-four meat, the little octopus only felt a little less hungry.

Li An secretly guessed that after turning into a big octopus, her body’s abilities had been over-consumed, and it was only yesterday that she had barely replenished them. If she replenished a little more, maybe the severed tentacle would grow back.

So the moment she heard “jerky,” her eyes lit up.

Seeing the little octopus like this, Qi Peilan couldn’t help but laugh and coaxed, “This is the leftover tier-four mutated beast meat from yesterday.”

“I heard from Qi Fu that you like it. I specially had them save a piece of the thigh. It was just roasted this morning, with a thick layer of sesame seeds.”

The little octopus blinked, her azure eyes filled with desire.

This time, it wasn’t because she was greedy. It was because she had judged from the previous situation that if her body’s energy accumulated to a certain point, she could turn into a big octopus.

And then…

Beat up Qi Fu.

The little octopus had no awareness of taking things from others. It was even less likely that she would punch Qi Fu a few times less.

And Qi Peilan, completely unaware of the little octopus’s bad intentions, cheerfully had someone bring the jerky.

Ji Yulin didn’t say anything. She was the one who was deliberately being cold to the little octopus, and she was also the one who felt sorry for her. At breakfast, she had discreetly given the little octopus a few more shrimp.

Now, she was also indulging the little octopus, hoping that she would eat a few more bites and not be so listless.

In a little while, a piece of jerky was between her chubby tentacles.

Li An remembered Ji Yulin’s neat freak tendencies and was careful not to let any crumbs fall. But the sesame seeds were uncontrollable and would occasionally fall off.

She glanced at the other guiltily, then pretended to casually brush them away with a tentacle.

Ji Yulin saw this out of the corner of her eye but didn’t say anything. She was still holding a certain little octopus’s jerky.

Since last night, the human and the octopus had been in an awkward cold war, which manifested as not talking to each other much but insisting on sticking together. Ji Yulin even doted on the little creature more, but Li An was so listless that she didn’t even notice, just secretly peeking at Ji Yulin.

The little octopus continued to gnaw on the mutated beast meat. Ji Yulin looked at a mutated crab in a cell.

It wasn’t as formidable as the one Li An had encountered. It was about a meter long, and half of its leg was broken, and half of its shell was also missing.

But even so, its eyes were still fierce. Its remaining crab legs moved in the shallow water of the prison, as if it wanted to break out, looking very agitated.

The little octopus took a bite of jerky, then looked at the crab, then took another bite of jerky, and then looked at the crab.

She still remembered being chased by the giant crab. Since she couldn’t get revenge, she could only use this crab to accompany her meal.

Qi Peilan’s gaze also followed Ji Yulin’s and explained, “This mutated crab is a tier-three beast. It secretly came ashore two months ago and broke into a village, causing great casualties.”

“After the Thirteenth District received the news, they had Qi Fu lead the First Squad to capture it alive.”

Although it was captured alive, it was clear that Qi Fu had not spared it.

The little octopus blinked and silently praised Qi Fu in her heart.

She didn’t mean to take it out on it. She just simply disliked crabs.

Seeing her staring inside, Qi Peilan thought she was afraid and even explained to the little octopus, “Little Ji An An, don’t be afraid. The South Tower only holds vicious mutated beasts that have maliciously injured people.”

“And the Thirteenth District has always maintained a principle of trying not to interfere with harmless mutated species, and will take protective measures for registered and owned mutated beasts,” she said, her gaze subconsciously falling on Ji Yulin, as if she were testing her attitude.

But Li An inexplicably felt a hint of flattery, which made her a little confused.

Why would a dignified district chief of the Thirteenth District flatter a researcher? Even if Ji Yulin’s status was high, it shouldn’t be like this, right?

And then she thought of Qi Peilan’s attitude today, preparing jerky and patiently explaining.

Li An chewed on the jerky, unable to figure it out.

But Ji Yulin seemed to have known all along. She raised her hand and patted the little octopus’s head, agreeing, “No wonder the Thirteenth District is on the coast, but it always transports the fewest mutated beasts to the Research Institute.”

She paused, looked at the little octopus, and for some reason, her tone grew heavy, “District Chief Qi is broad-minded and has a longer-term vision than most people.”

Ji Yulin rarely praised people, but every time, it was a sincere acknowledgment.

But Qi Peilan did not show any joy. She just shook her head and sighed, “I’m just an ordinary person. It’s just because of Qi,”

At this point, she paused again and awkwardly changed the subject, “I don’t know why, but the mutated beasts today are much more agitated than usual.”

The little octopus didn’t understand why they were always talking in riddles, only saying half of what they meant. It was so annoying that she scratched her head.

They continued to walk. The further down they went, the fewer mutated beasts there were, and the stronger the cages became. Even from a distance, they could feel a terrifyingly powerful aura.

But the little octopus was busy eating and paid them no mind. In just half an hour, she had finished half a bag of jerky.

Qi Peilan cast a surprised glance at her, then quickly turned to the other side and explained, “Because low-tier mutated beasts have a natural fear of high-tier ones, they are separated into different levels according to their rank.”

The stairs finally came to an end. It was bone-chillingly cold here. The cell was even under their feet. They could only look down through the glass floor.

She didn’t know what method was used to bring in the seawater, which was lapping against the iron walls. Chains of a special material locked every colorful tentacle. Each one was struggling and twisting like a snake, both beautiful and dangerous. This was the first impression it gave.

“A tier-five mutated Dofleinia armata. It has snake scales and is highly venomous. After mutation, it can also emit a hallucinatory mist that can kill people without them even knowing.”

“So we can only use bulletproof glass as the first layer of the cage to block its mist, and then use the Sky Net to restrain it and constantly consume its stamina.”

“This is also the special species we are transporting to the Research Institute in two months.”

“I hope it can be of some help to the Research Institute’s experiments.”

This was the first time Li An had seen a mutated beast with tentacles like her own. She couldn’t help but feel a little curious and lowered her head to observe it carefully.

But the sea anemone seemed to have suddenly sensed something. Its tentacles twisted, and it began to struggle violently.

With just one slap, the splash was twenty meters high, crashing directly against the glass under their feet. What was even more terrifying was that this was under the restraint of the Sky Net.

The little octopus felt a gaze fixed on her, full of a devouring desire.

“Eat…”

“…Mine.”

The voice, like the darkness, suddenly echoed in the little octopus’s mind. Before she could think, an explosion was heard from outside.

—Boom!

A sharp alarm sounded throughout the South Tower, and a red light, representing danger, flashed.

—Boom!

One explosion after another. The South Tower, which was as sturdy as a fortress, was actually shaking, and debris was falling. Then, the roars of mutated beasts were heard.

Before they could figure out the situation, Qi Fu’s anxious voice came from the broadcast, “Someone deliberately blew up the South Tower! Everyone, get out, run!”

Before she could finish, the sound of fists and feet colliding was heard, and then the microphone was knocked to the ground with a heavy thud.

Qi Peilan and Ji Yulin were both calm people and would not be at a loss in such a situation, running around in a panic. On the contrary, the moment the first explosion sounded, the two of them immediately ran for the stairs.

The little octopus was startled by the sound just now and could only cling to Ji Yulin’s shoulder.

Bricks and debris were constantly falling, and even an iron plate fell. The previously sturdy prison now had cracks.

Seeing this opportunity, the agitated mutated beasts began to crash against the walls, desperately trying to escape even if they were burned.

Another explosion. Another huge iron plate fell from the top, its sharp corner crashing heavily into the bottom floor. A crack finally appeared in the palm-thick glass. Then more iron plates fell, seemingly completely covering the glass, but a colorful mist began to seep out from the cracks…

The little octopus’s head swayed, and the jerky between her tentacles fell.