Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 234: Infection Reproduction, A Mountain Descends from the Sky!

Looking down from the roof of the Cavern, the entire structure could be roughly divided into three sections.The largest area was the dense forest near the Light Gate exit, shaped like an irregular trapezoid.

Directly in front of the dense forest was the large lake area where the Myriad Command Earth Dharma Conch resided.

To the right of the large lake area, an additional section extended outward. There was no lush vegetation or expansive lake here, only small lakes of varying sizes.

Although its area was only a tenth of the dense forest, no less than twenty Infection Sources were entrenched within.

The pattern was very obvious: the larger the lake, the stronger the Infection Source inside; the smaller the lake, the relatively weaker the Infection Source.

But even so, the Infection Sources in the smallest lakes had reached the terrifying Plague-level!

Those Swarm-level and Tide-level Infection Sources that were considered troublesome in the outside world did not even have the qualifications to take root here.

At this very moment.

In front of a small lake near the back of the area, Luo Kuke was clapping his hands lightly. The rhythm of his clapping fluctuated between fast and slow, carrying a peculiar cadence.

Following his movements, ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the small pond, and a large, crimson-red shrimp slowly emerged.

Its form was somewhat similar to the red shrimp in the outside world, but its size was dozens of times larger than an ordinary red shrimp.

Even after being scaled down by the Cavern, it was still as long as a forearm. The shrimp shell was covered with dense, eerie patterns that gleamed with a dark luster under the dim light. Staring at it for too long induced a feeling of deep unease.

"Heh, I finally caught you!"

Luo Kuke felt a surge of joy, but he did not dare to slacken his hand movements in the slightest, continuing to clap lightly at a steady frequency.

He really was not good at dealing with those Crab-men; his clearing speed could not even catch up to those blood-red figures that only knew brute force.

However, dealing with this kind of specific Infection Source that had clear habits was right up his alley.

After rushing over and carefully identifying them, he realized he had impressions of more than half the Infection Sources in this area. By querying his Kindling Terminal, he even obtained their exact containment methods.

Although he had never actually contained them before, as long as he figured out their behavioral rules and weaknesses, the difficulty of dealing with them would plummet.

Finally, the red shrimp slowly approached the shore. Its bean-sized eyes flickered with a somewhat bewildered, human-like light, clearly not yet fully awake from the auditory bewitchment.

Luo Kuke immediately stopped clapping and carefully drew the short knife at his waist, lowering his voice even further:

"Don't rush, take it easy, it will be over soon!"

He stepped forward slowly, gently pressing the short knife against the gap in the red shrimp's head carapace, carefully probing along the patterns.

Soon, the tip of the knife plucked out a small red shrimp that was only the size of a palm and completely flushed with red.

This was the core of the Infection Source.

Luo Kuke quickly took two steps back, opened the Containment Box he carried with him, and steadily tossed the core inside.

As the connection between the core and the outer shell was severed, the giant red shrimp in the pond instantly began to tremble madly, its carapace buzzing as if equipped with a high-frequency vibrator.

When the vibration reached a certain critical point, the massive body suddenly disintegrated, turning into dry fragments that silently blended into the lake water without leaving a single ripple behind.

"That makes three!"

Luo Kuke turned his head to look at the two already empty lakes next to the red shrimp. He let out a long sigh of relief, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curving upward.

'So exhilarating!'

It had been a long time since he had such an unrestrained and satisfying containment experience.

In the outside world, as long as Infection Sources showed up in the human world and caused an impact, they had usually reached the Outbreak Stage. It was incredibly rare to encounter individuals in their dormant or awakening stages.

But right now, the Infection Sources in these ponds were all in a state between dormant and awakening—half-asleep and half-awake. As long as he strictly followed the manual's procedures, the risk was extremely low.

He had consecutively contained three Plague-level Infection Sources without a single accident occurring the entire time.

'Once the Immortal Item is contained, I can get an Extinction-level quota. That quota will help me advance to Phase Four.'

'As for these Plague-level quotas, they are a bit of a waste for me. Why not give two to Wang Kang? Helping him quickly pass his novice stage would also be doing Cheng Ye a favor.'

'I will see if I can exchange the remaining quotas for resources. If we can make it out alive this time, Cheng Ye will definitely become a core trainee of the Inspection Station just like Cheng Long, and his future potential will be immeasurable. If I can invest more in Dabo Town in advance, maybe...'

'No, I need to properly maintain my relationship with Cheng Ye first. I absolutely cannot neglect this connection.'

Thoughts flashed rapidly through Luo Kuke's mind.

If an ordinary person were placed in this kind of environment where they could encounter a life-or-death crisis at any moment, they would probably struggle just to stand firm, let alone dare to imagine the future.

But Inspectors were completely different. Facing life and death head-on while walking in the Wilderness was no longer anything new to them.

The core of rank advancement in the Inspection Station was inherently a process of screening.

Inspectors who could survive to Phase Three had basically escaped from near-death, hopeless situations more than three times.

Whether relying on luck or quick wit, to say they were completely devoid of fear would be a lie.

But to say they were so terrified that they lost their minds and could not even plan for the future was absolutely impossible.

Otherwise, what Inspector would dare step into the Wilderness? They might as well all hide in the buffer zone and wait for death.

Thinking of this, Luo Kuke reigned in his thoughts and pulled his attention back to the present.

Of the four Containment Boxes he brought in, he had already used three, leaving only the last one.

Once this one was used up, he would have to step out temporarily to swap for new boxes.

He peered toward the dense forest area for a moment, faintly seeing more and more vegetation turning withered and yellow. Evidently, Cheng Ye's progress over there was not slow either.

He pulled out his Defense Terminal to check the time. It was barely nine o'clock; there was still plenty of time before their agreed gathering time.

'What should I choose for the last target?'

Luo Kuke's gaze swept over the surrounding lakes, but it did not linger on those known Plague-level Infection Sources. Instead, he looked straight into the depths of the area, toward the lake ranked at position number three.

An Abyssal Water Cave Crab with a body size of four meters—still over sixty centimeters even after being scaled down—was entrenched by the lake, still in a dormant state.

As for what was hiding in the number one and number two lakes, he hadn't figured it out yet. However, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab in the number three lake was a known Infection Source, so he could attempt to contain it.

'It is just a Disaster-level Infection Source. It is not like I haven't contained one before. What is there to be afraid of!'

Luo Kuke encouraged himself in his heart. Then, he first placed the box containing the three Plague-level Infection Source cores safely in a hidden spot at the area's boundary before opening the final empty Containment Box.

Inside were bottles and jars he had prepared in advance, all containing potions for dealing with high-level Infection Sources.

Against low-level Infection Sources, relying on special rules for bewitchment might be useful. But once they reached the Disaster-level, those petty tricks became completely ineffective.

To contain an Infection Source of this level, one had to deal with it the same way they dealt with an Immortal Item:

First, find a way to deplete its energy. Wait for its energy levels to drop, then stimulate its abilities until they broke out of control.

After the outbreak ended, the Infection Source would enter a brief period of weakness. Only then could one begin the containment process.

'Since you like purifying water so much, I will dump some more pollution in for you!'

Luo Kuke stared at the bottles and jars in his hands. Even though there were no labels on them, he familiarly picked out several potions and quickly mixed a tube of brown powder.

Then, hunching his back, he tiptoed along the narrow gaps between the lakes, approaching the number three lake. With a light flick of his wrist, he evenly scattered the powder into the water.

Having done all this, he did not dare to linger. He immediately retreated quickly, hiding in the shadows of the dense forest nearby, keeping a close eye on the movements on the lake's surface.

As soon as the brown powder entered the water, it began bouncing across the surface like popping candy before detonating with soft popping sounds.

A pungent, foul stench instantly spread out. The originally clear blue lake water turned grayish-yellow at a visible rate, as if a layer of mud had been splashed over it.

The still-dormant Abyssal Water Cave Crab finally opened its eyes slowly, but it merely cast a lazy glance at the changes on the water's surface without moving its body.

Immediately after, it opened its mouth and spat out several large chunks of blackish-blue Poisonous Water Crystals. Those crystals seemed to possess an innate absorption function. As soon as they floated to the surface, they completely enveloped the surrounding grayish-yellow sewage.

A moment later, the crystals cracked into strands of fragments, and the lake water regained its clarity.

The Abyssal Water Cave Crab then closed its eyes again, as if the recent pollution was just a trivial interlude.

'These big guys really are troublesome...'

Watching this scene, Luo Kuke frowned.

Clearly, the concentration of the powder just now was not enough; it failed to thoroughly alarm this Disaster-level Infection Source.

He hesitated for a few seconds before taking out several more potion bottles from the Containment Box and remixing a tube of even darker red powder. This time, his movements were even more careful. He practically crawled on the ground toward the lake and gently tossed the powder in.

But before he could retreat back to the dense forest, the red powder in the lake had already exploded.

Large swaths of flame-like powder tumbled back and forth in the water, exploding and instantly diffusing a pungent, spicy smell. Even the air became scorching hot, and the lake water was dyed a bizarre dark red.

'This should wake you up now, right?' Luo Kuke held his breath, staring intently at the lake.

Sure enough, it did not disappoint him. Having been provoked consecutively, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab violently opened its eyes. Its murky crab eyes revealed explosive fury. Opening its mouth wide, it spat out three chunks of dark green Poisonous Water Crystals in one breath, rushing toward the red area.

But this time, the red powder was not easily absorbed. The remaining portions acted as if they possessed a life of their own, continuously dividing and spreading in the water, making the spicy scent increasingly intense.

'This powder is spiked with Fission Worms. If you do not clear it all at once, how could I let you succeed!' Luo Kuke sneered internally.

Sensing that the pollution could not be eliminated for a long time, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab was finally completely enraged.

Dark green light erupted from its entire body. The two giant crab pincers that were originally tucked in front of its chest slowly extended outward, and the spikes on the pincers glowed with blinding energy.

Thud.

Thud.

The crab pincers clashed against each other, emitting a dull sound like beating drums.

The moment the drumming sound echoed, a deep blue light burst from the pincers and spread across the entire lake surface.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The lake water seemed to be stratified by an invisible force. The clean blue water sank to the lower layer, while the red-dyed sewage floated to the upper layer, distinctly separating the two.

Subsequently, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab spat out over ten more chunks of Poisonous Water Crystals. This time, the crystals were smaller but far more numerous, densely covering the upper layer of red water. It took a full half-minute before all the red powder was thoroughly purified and the lake water returned to a calm state.

But at the same time, its body size also drastically shrank, dropping from over sixty centimeters down to fifty centimeters. Its head drooped slightly, evidently sinking into an even deeper slumber.

'It is that strong?' Hiding in the dense forest, Luo Kuke was secretly alarmed by what he saw.

Just what kind of monsters was the Demonic Eye Sponge raising?

The energy reserves of this Abyssal Water Cave Crab were absolutely absurd!

It had spat out dozens of Poisonous Water Crystals from beginning to end and even used its purification talent once, yet its energy consumption was less than a fifth.

At this rate, he would have to mix the powder five more times to exhaust its energy.

He had plenty of powder, but what if the Abyssal Water Cave Crab was pushed too far and fully transitioned from its dormant state to an awakened state, refusing to sleep anymore? Where would he get the courage to sneak over and poison it again?

'In that case, I will throw in five times the amount at once and have them detonate in timed stages!'

Luo Kuke gritted his teeth, hardened his resolve, and directly prepared five doses of highly concentrated stimulant powder.

He wrapped the powders separately using special water-soluble paper. The dissolution time for each layer of paper was precisely controlled to one minute, set to trigger at overall two-minute intervals.

This way, even if the Abyssal Water Cave Crab cleared the first wave, the subsequent powders would explode in succession, giving it no chance to catch its breath.

Filled with immense apprehension, he pressed against the ground and crawled slowly toward the lake like a lizard. Taking advantage of the fact that the Abyssal Water Cave Crab was not fully awake, he quickly threw all five paper packets into the water.

After doing all this, he did not dare to pause for a fraction of a second. He turned around and sprinted into the dense forest, his footsteps so fast he nearly stumbled.

Rumble!

A sudden tremor came from behind, and a half-meter-high splash erupted from the lake surface.

Subjected to continuous harassment, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab had indeed fully entered its awakened state.

Once or twice could be tolerated, but not three or four times.

Being poisoned over and over again, it simply gave up on sleeping. Its two murky crab eyes locked fiercely onto the shore, as if trying to find out who was pulling the strings.

As for the first wave of red powder that had just dissolved, it still used its old method: first relying on its pincers to oscillate and stratify the water, then spitting out Poisonous Water Crystals to purify it.

But right after it finished clearing the first wave, the second wave of powder dissolved exactly on time, dyeing the lake surface dark red once again. After struggling to clear the second wave, the third wave detonated closely behind...

Screech—

The Abyssal Water Cave Crab let out an unprecedented roar of fury. Its pincers waved madly in the water, stirring up massive splashes.

Time and again, it released deep blue light to gather the red powder, but before the Poisonous Water Crystals could thoroughly purify it, new powder exploded all over again, like an endless, un-clearable nuisance.

"Hahaha, let's see you clean to your heart's content!"

Hiding behind a distant tree, Luo Kuke could not help but chuckle softly.

If it were any other Inspector who was not skilled in mixing potions, they truly would not be able to do anything against this Abyssal Water Cave Crab. But who asked him to be a master of these chemical tactics?

By the time all five portions of powder finished erupting in turn, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab finally showed signs of fatigue. Its movements significantly slowed down, and its body size shrank from the initial sixty centimeters all the way down to just over ten centimeters.

This had already reached the standard for containment.

However, Luo Kuke did not rush forward. He waited until the Abyssal Water Cave Crab finished clearing the final trace of red powder, its size shrinking to five centimeters and thoroughly drained of all strength, before lifting his Containment Box and cautiously approaching.

As long as an Infection Source did not enter an outbreak state, its aggressiveness would drastically weaken. It would basically never actively attack humans, and its abilities would become simplistic.

For instance, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab's Immobilizing Control Wave and Regional Purification—which it only possessed in its outbreak state—could not be used at all right now.

"Come, get in quickly!"

Holding the short knife in one hand just in case, and carrying the opened Containment Box in the other, Luo Kuke slowly squatted in front of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab.

The Containment Box was actually a specially made Source-guided product. It naturally attracted Infection Sources and could temporarily suppress their abilities.

Although this stage was the safest time for containment, he still didn't dare lower his guard. His steps were extremely light, and his body remained tense, ready to flee at a moment's notice.

Catching the attractive scent wafting from the Containment Box, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab slowly opened its eyes, glanced at Luo Kuke, but didn't move.

It wasn't until Luo Kuke gently placed the box beside it that it reluctantly shuffled its crab legs and slowly crawled inside.

'It is done!'

An indescribable sense of accomplishment surged into his heart. Luo Kuke was even imagining the look of pleasant surprise Cheng Ye would show when he saw that he had contained the Abyssal Water Cave Crab!

'I, too, am a Third-stage Inspector.'

'Fighting a monster like the Demonic Eye Sponge might not play to my advantage, but taking care of a single Abyssal Water Cave Crab? It is a piece of cake!'

Waiting until the Abyssal Water Cave Crab fully crawled into the box, Luo Kuke immediately slammed the lid shut, fastened the lock, lifted the box, and turned to leave.

However.

Just as he lifted the box, before he even had the time to turn around, an inexplicable fluctuation suddenly rippled from beside him.

Then, his fingers opened uncontrollably, and with a smack, the box smashed heavily against his instep.

'What is going on?'

Luo Kuke was alarmed, but he realized he had completely lost control of his body.

He tried to turn his head to look at the source of the fluctuation, but his neck was completely immobile as if welded shut, leaving him to panic helplessly in his mind.

Immediately following, the splashing sound of something emerging from the water reached his ears, accompanied by a damp, fishy stench that drew closer little by little.

Relying on his Obsidian Battle Armor to mask his human aura, he originally hadn't worried about being discovered. But when that massive entity slowly moved in front of him, Luo Kuke was utterly stunned.

'An Abyssal Water Cave Crab?'

'How is that possible?'

'Why is there another one... No, why are there two more Abyssal Water Cave Crabs?'

Out of the corner of his eye, he stared dead ahead at his left and right. From lake number one crawled up a giant crab with a heavy blue-gray carapace, while from lake number two crawled out a grayish-yellow one. Both of them were over two meters in size—four times larger than the small crab he had just contained.

'Could they be... a male and a female?'

'Was the one I just contained their child?'

Buzz.

Luo Kuke's brain instantly went completely blank, his thoughts grinding to a complete halt.

In the eight years since he became an Inspector, he had never seen Infection Sources capable of reproducing with each other!

The Inspection Station had contained so many Infection Sources, yet there had never been any similar record.

If Infection Sources could reproduce independently, didn't that mean humanity would never be able to kill them all, never wipe them out? This war with the Infection Sources would have no end at all!

Compared to the terror of being torn to shreds by giant crabs, the shock brought by the realization that Infection Sources could reproduce thoroughly scrambled his mind even more, stripping away his basic ability to think.

'Is it the influence of the Demonic Eye Sponge?'

'Or is the Immortal Item, the Myriad Command Earth Dharma Conch, behind this?'

Countless thoughts collided wildly in his mind, but his body remained frozen like a statue, watching helplessly as the two giant crabs crept closer bit by bit.

The blue-gray male crab seemed very curious about the Containment Box on the ground. A streak of blue energy lit up from its pincer, lifting the box slowly into midair.

The next second, under Luo Kuke's astonished gaze, the box exploded with a loud boom. Fragments scattered all over the ground, and that five-centimeter small Abyssal Water Cave Crab tumbled out.

Before the small crab could even hit the ground, the female crab's yellow energy caught it.

Subsequently, an eerie scene occurred: the three Abyssal Water Cave Crabs actually gathered around the fragments of the Containment Box, lowered their heads, and began devouring them.

The male crab ate the most, swallowing two-thirds of the fragments, leaving the rest for the female and small crabs.

After finishing the fragments, the three crabs paused for a moment, seemingly preparing to head back to their respective lakes to rest.

Luo Kuke prayed madly in his heart, hoping they would just leave like this. However, the very next second, the grayish-yellow female crab suddenly stopped. As if dissatisfied that her share of the fragments was too small, she slowly turned around and approached him.

The massive crab mouth slowly gaped open, the fine fangs inside gleaming with a cold light in the dimness.

Luo Kuke's height was currently only around thirty centimeters. Standing before the over two-meter giant crab, he was as insignificant as an ant, without even a shred of room to fight back.

'My life is over!'

Luo Kuke's heart went cold, surrendering to absolute despair.

The female crab's maw was practically inches away. The fishy, foul stench seeped through the crevices of his Obsidian Battle Armor, stinging his nasal passages.

At this moment, all trains of thought in his mind ground to a halt. The only things left were the most primal fear and a blurry voice echoing by his ear:

"Inspector Luo, have you prepared yourself for death?"

'No.'

'I have not.'

'No.'

'I am ready!'

He sighed mournfully in his heart, suddenly filled with a bit of tranquility.

Dying here didn't seem too terrible. The containment of the Myriad Command Earth Dharma Conch had already progressed. In the future, the Inspection Station's records would at least include the line, "Inspector Luo Kuke fought to the bitter end in battle against the Immortal Item."

This way, his child, who was barely ten years old, would presumably face fewer hardships from the Inspection Station when inheriting his position in the future.

However, just as he had entirely given up, that voice did not vanish. Instead, it rang out again with a somewhat bizarre tone:

"It seems you are still not ready!"

'What?'

Luo Kuke's train of thought jammed up. Just who exactly was speaking???

The next instant, a thick, muscular, blood-red arm suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.

That arm merely struck out fiercely with a punch, forcefully knocking the two-meter-tall female crab back two steps. A shallow fist imprint was even left upon its carapace.

Immediately following, his body was yanked backwards by an invisible force, sliding stiffly away from the attack range of the two giant crabs.

In his peripheral vision, more blood-red figures began to flash into view.

One, three, nine, eighteen, thirty-six...

His vision was practically swamped by blood red. The dense throng of figures surged up as if sprouting directly from the ground beneath, quickly enveloping him completely.

These figures were of varying heights, some fat and some thin. All of them blocked the path in front of him, forming a crimson barrier.

'Did Tan Ming's Petrification Curse save me?'

Luo Kuke couldn't believe it, but what shocked him even more was yet to come. Once he was pulled over ten meters away, those blood-red figures actually took the initiative to launch an attack against the two colossal Abyssal Water Cave Crabs!

A four-meter-tall fat figure abruptly leaped up, smashing heavily onto the male crab's back. Fists the size of palm-leaf fans lashed out madly, pounding the male crab into continuous retreat.

A monkey-thin figure spun rapidly on the spot, its slender arms slicing through the air like blades, constantly cutting all around the female crab.

Then there were those shorter blood-red figures, along with the muscular man who had saved him. They all swarmed forward in a frenzy, punching and kicking the giant crabs' leg joints and the gaps in their pincers.

The male crab was infuriated to the extreme. A deep blue immobilizing light burst forth from its entire body, yet when the light fell onto the blood-red figures, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean, yielding absolutely no reaction.

The figures continued to bash and slash as they pleased, as if the crab was doing useless work against thin air.

But an Abyssal Water Cave Crab in an outbreak state clearly had more than just these tricks up its sleeve.

The male crab slammed its pincers together violently, and an invisible shockwave instantly spread outward, directly blasting four or five blood-red figures into pieces. Even the spinning thin figure had its lower half severed by the wave-blade, transforming into bloody water that seeped into the ground.

Following that, the female crab opened her mouth and spewed a massive pool of yellow liquid. The blood-red fat figure, who had just fallen off the male crab's back, dissolved into white smoke with a loud sizzle the instant he touched the liquid, disappearing completely.

Worse still, the originally dormant Infection Sources in the surrounding lakes were startled by the fierce sounds of battle. One after another, they awakened, dragging their dripping wet bodies out of the water.

There was a giant blackfish completely coated in transparent slime, its body measuring up to two meters long. Its scales shimmered with a greasy dark sheen, and its wide-open mouth revealed dense rows of sharp fangs.

There was a massive leech bearing a hard shell the size of a bowl, capable of extending a half-meter-long blood-sucking proboscis as its body stretched. When it hit the ground, it left behind a trail of sticky slime.

Most conspicuous was a turtle with a body even larger than the Abyssal Water Cave Crabs, estimated to be around four meters. Its dark green carapace was riddled with cracks, and right in the center of the shell, an intricate palm-sized deep blue fragment was embedded. The fragment flickered with an eerie luster in the dim light, appearing like some sort of energy core.

Besides that, there were four strange creatures that Luo Kuke had never seen in any bestiary.

A water spider with eight pairs of slender legs, entirely covered in fuzz.

A water maggot with no limbs, only a cylindrical torso.

A freak of nature resembling a starfish but brandishing dozens of tentacles.

And a completely transparent water phantom whose inner organs could only be faintly outlined.

As soon as these Infection Sources crawled out of the lakes, they relentlessly besieged the blood-red figures without hesitation. Even though the blood-red figures had the numerical advantage, facing so many high-level Infection Sources of varying types—each wielding bizarre abilities—the situation instantly grew precarious.

'Run, drag me away and run!'

Luo Kuke roared madly in his heart, but his body remained anchored to the spot, unable to budge even a finger.

This was the sheer powerlessness humans experienced when facing high-level Infection Sources.

In front of these eccentric powers, once they took effect on you, there was no alternative but to wallow in the despair of awaiting death.

But soon, before the Infection Sources and blood-red figures could declare a victor, a rumbling thunder from behind his ears grew closer and closer.

It sounded like a behemoth sprinting wildly, causing the ground beneath to tremor faintly.

'What on earth is coming?'

Luo Kuke admitted that there was never a moment in his life where he had been as curious as he was right now.

He desperately wanted to turn his head, longing to see what exactly was coming apart from the blood-red figures.

Boom, boom, BOOM!

The vibrations intensified tremendously, practically threatening to overturn the very earth. But the exact moment the tremors reached their absolute zenith...

'Huh? Why did it vanish?!'

Luo Kuke's heart skipped a beat.

The very next second, a terrifying, massive blood-red shadow suddenly swept over his head. Its form was as colossal as a moving mountain; the instant it rushed past, it stirred up a hurricane that nearly blew him off his feet.

This sweeping motion traversed a full ten meters, hurtling straight down toward the crown of the blue-gray male crab!

Seeing this, the male crab actually remained composed. It smashed its pincers together once more, clearly aiming to repeat its old trick and repel the attack with a shockwave.

But this time, when the shockwave hit the massive blood-red shadow, it felt like striking cotton. Only the faintest ripples lit up, utterly failing to inflict a single ounce of lethal damage.

CRASH!!!

The gigantic blood-red shadow crashed violently onto the male crab's back. The male crab's enormous frame instantly caved in halfway, and densely packed cracks shattered across its carapace.

Immediately following, the gigantic shadow thrust out two arms from its mountainous body—arms that were far thicker than the stout tree trunks in the dense forest.

The left hand clamped tightly onto the male crab's left mandibles, while the right hand seized the very pincer it had used to unleash the shockwave.

"CRACK—"

A piercing, shattering crunch echoed into the air. That nearly invincible Disaster-level Infection Source was brutally torn in half right down the middle, like a flimsy ragdoll in the grip of the giant shadow!

Dark green bodily fluids squirted wildly across the sky, while blackish-red organs pooled along the scattered shell fragments upon the ground.

In a single face-to-face clash, the male crab was fundamentally, completely... instantly killed without even a ghost of a chance to fight back!

'Instantly killed!?'

'It was actually a one-shot kill?!!'

Luo Kuke's pupils contracted sharply, his mind flashing completely blank. He had never seen anyone eliminate a Disaster-level Infection Source with such terrifying ease. Even those Transcendents he had witnessed in the outside world had to expend a hefty amount of effort to fend off an Abyssal Water Cave Crab's special abilities!

But then, the crimson mountain slowly pivoted around, its hands still gripping the severed halves of the male crab's corpse.

From a head that was previously completely blurred, a distinct face suddenly began to assemble and materialize.

It bore familiar contours and blood-tinted eyes.

The corners of that face's mouth hooked up slightly into a sliver of a smirk. A muffled, resonant voice rumbled forth from it like muffled thunder:

"Inspector Luo, it seems... you were not ready!"