The floor and doorframe exploded into shattered fragments that sprayed outward. The monster’s heavy, hardened body crushed everything in its path as it barreled straight toward the Horn Cage trapping Amber!
Amber struggled desperately but couldn’t break free. She could only watch wide-eyed as the monster reared up its upper body. Its chest and abdomen split open, revealing mushy bloodied tissues and tumorous organs covered in pale skin. A spine as thick as a ship’s keel connected to curved, sharp ribs that resembled the skeletal fingers of a ghost reaching for her!
In the instant the ribs closed in, Amber spotted a shattered face pieced together with bloody flesh…
Seeing the hideous, loathsome monster that had undergone proliferation and reconstruction, Ashley burned with extreme fury!
“You beast! How dare you use Amber as a shield!”
This cunning thing had clamped the ribs around the Horn Cage, turning Amber inside into its chest armor!
Ashley didn’t let anger cloud her judgment. Her pupils scanned rapidly, analyzing the monster’s muscle structure and how it generated force.
Suddenly, one of the monster’s arms vanished into a blur!
In the surge of airflow, Ashley—who had been constantly shifting her center of gravity like a soccer goalkeeper anticipating a penalty—reacted swiftly and dodged to the side!
Boom!
The ground at her feet erupted like a landmine. The soil cratered and sprayed outward, blasting a shallow pit over a meter in diameter!
A chill ran down Ashley’s spine. If that whip had landed on her, she would have lost mobility instantly, then been pummeled into bloody pulp by a barrage of those whip-like limbs.
She immediately observed that the monster’s whip arms had a fixed range. They needed a big backward swing followed by a forward lash to build speed, and without joints, they couldn’t adjust direction mid-swing. So, as long as she kept her distance and circled around it, she would be fine.
Ashley moved like a fish, constantly shifting positions around the monster.
This real-life monster was far clumsier than in the game—at least its base didn’t spin like a top.
Analyzing the whip arm’s muscle structure, Ashley judged that it couldn’t generate a second burst after landing and bouncing. She also glanced at the Touch of Will on her waist and got an idea.
Nerve conduction speed was about 60 m/s. The whip arm was 5-6 meters long, plus the distance through part of the body to the brain— at least 8 meters total.
That made for a round trip of about 260 ms of super high latency.
From her past-life experience playing LOL, who the hell plays with 200 ping?
So, she could use the Touch of Will to lash the whip arm and seize control by imposing her will.
Even if the brain in the capital dispatched messengers at top speed, the distant limb would still be like a general far from the emperor—orders might not be obeyed.
Ashley timed it perfectly for the whip arm’s post-landing rebound weakness and lashed out!
The long arm twitched like it had been bitten by a mosquito. The tip curled back and flailed out of control!
Seeing it match her hypothesis, Ashley whipped continuously, wresting control of the arm!
The Touch of Will was the nemesis of all giant creatures. The consciousness pulses it emitted could instantly strip control from distant limbs and continuously transmit distorted will signals inward!
“Keekee, you useless piece-of-shit tentacle, why aren’t you listening? Hit puberty or something?” The first thing Chloe did upon arriving was squint and mock it.
Promush, who had forcibly fused with Primordial Blood and atavized, was so furious his lungs nearly exploded. He had all this power but couldn’t use it, and now this bratty girl was rubbing it in.
“Stop laughing and tell me how to use this thing!” Ashley brandished the Shepherd’s Crook.
After hearing the explanation, she suddenly understood. No wonder Promush had gone for it—it was meant to break the Bio Armor.
“His head is in this position!”
Amber, embedded in the monster’s chest, suddenly shouted. She had been tracking the position of the shattered face hidden in its chest cavity. After calculation, it was roughly at her lower right abdomen now. She seized the moment to point it out to Ashley.
No time to waste!
If the monster reacted, it might wriggle its muscles and shift the brain’s position.
Ashley made a snap decision. She lunged forward in a bow step, thrusting the Shepherd’s Crook’s tip straight into Amber’s lower abdomen!
Whoosh!
It sliced in like a hot knife through butter, effortlessly opening a hole, then twisted and stirred!
A muffled grunt faintly echoed from inside the monster’s cavity. Its entire body shuddered like an electrocuted frog.
Ashley withdrew the crook, and the monster’s massive frame crashed to the ground with a boom, kicking up clouds of dust. All its arms and fingers twitched wildly.
The cage trapping Amber loosened. Ashley helped lift it, and Amber crawled out from underneath.
Looking at the motionless monster, Ashley let out a long breath. It was finally over.
“This guy should be dead for good. The Boothslot Family remnants and Seventh Group members are nowhere to be seen, but that’s not our problem. We can just report straight to the Tribunal.”
With that, Ashley snapped her fingers. The Shriek Devil Crow, which had been patrolling high in the sky, dove down, whipping up swirling gusts.
Though the Demon Crow lacked formed supernatural abilities, it was highly intelligent. It could recognize its master and understand gestures, unlike regular Cadavers that had no intelligence at all.
Creating Cadavers required removing the brain and organs; otherwise, they rotted. Ashley speculated that the Blood Bud Red Worm inside had formed a Super Intelligent Body, reaching a symbiotic contract with it.
“You okay, Amber? I was so worried. Let me check you over.”
Ashley looked the black-haired loli up and down for injuries. Aside from the hole in her abdomen, the Metal Lifeform had protected her well, so she relaxed.
However…
The black-haired loli’s gaze at her seemed a bit off. Her beautiful eyes widened slightly, the once pure and clear look gone, tainted by worldly desires. They had lost their innocence, plunging into a vortex of desire that deepened, with a little heart at the center.
Ashley glanced at Chloe and asked, “You said making a hole doesn’t matter, right? You weren’t lying?”
Chloe shook her head vigorously and confirmed:
“Nina said the hole is a ‘desire amplifier.’ Aside from intensifying her own desires, there’s no downside. She made one for herself and seems fine.”
“Uh… silly loli’s desires…”
Ashley clutched her cheek like her tooth ached and guessed:
“To become the Trial Judge, right? Like Teacher—cool and beautiful big-sis Trial Judge. Go for it! You can do it. I’ll always support you…”
Amber stayed silent, her little finger tugging Ashley’s sleeve. Her cheeks flushed peach-pink, lips lightly bitten, legs pressed together and rubbing slightly.
“Ahem, now that you’ve got a life goal, go study! Study hard! Hey! Stop rubbing your legs against me!”
Ashley didn’t realize her own face was redder than Amber’s—like a steamed shrimp, hot and flushed. She wanted to flee but was held tight by Amber. In her panic, she shoved hard and finally broke free, blurting incoherently:
“Do you see me as some cheap girl you can just hop on?!”
Amber stumbled from the push, lost her footing, and splatted to the ground. She slowly got up, shuffled to the wall, squatted hugging her knees, and whimpered with teary eyes.
“Hey! Don’t act like a dog that got kicked!”
Ashley rushed over in a panic to check on her, thinking that anything related to the King Insect was too dangerous. It could easily subvert the will and twist cognition. She wondered how Little Cousin was faring in the Lost City. If the Long Conch had brought up a live King Insect, it wouldn’t just endanger Little Cousin and Rift City residents—it would be a catastrophe for all humanity.
Amber hugged her legs, head buried in her knees, on the verge of tears. Ashley stroked her little head for a while before she calmed down.
“What are we gonna do now?” Ashley frowned, troubled.
