120: Clothes-ripping melee! Since mechs are useless, I'll just beat you to death with my fists!

"Warning: Environmental radiation intensity has exceeded the sensor's maximum range."

"Warning: The lead-tungsten alloy radiation shielding layer of the external armor is undergoing structural peeling. Estimated remaining duration: seven minutes."

"Warning: The central control chip is being bombarded by a high-energy particle stream; system operational efficiency has dropped to 60%..."

As soon as he stepped into this massive Engine Room, the electronic alarms in Jiang Ran's ears merged into a single, continuous, piercing line.

The sound was sharp and ear-splitting, like the flatline of a dying person's heart monitor.

The HUD interface before his eyes began to flicker wildly, with countless static dots and garbled code flashing across the screen.

It was as if an invisible ghostly hand was frantically interfering with the nervous system of this precision war machine.

"This place is practically the center of hell."

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

Through the faceplate, which had automatically activated its high-intensity light filtration mode, he surveyed this space filled with the stench of death.

The Cherenkov blue light here was so concentrated it had reached a nearly liquid state.

The entire Engine Room no longer seemed filled with seawater, but rather with some kind of glowing blue jelly.

This radiance carried no heat, yet it bore a chill that could penetrate to the bone marrow.

It shrouded everything in an eerie sense of holiness.

And in the center of that sea of light stood a magnificent 'altar'.

It was the No. 2 nuclear reactor pressure vessel, codenamed A1B.

Across its special steel shell, which was several meters thick—

A massive crack stretched from the top all the way to the base, like the split lips of a demon.

An endless stream of high-energy particles gushed from this wound, forming a blue pillar of light that connected heaven and earth,

Shooting straight toward the ceiling of the cabin.

The surrounding seawater, unable to withstand such a massive energy impact,

Even produced boiling cavitation bubbles locally, emitting a constant 'gurgle gurgle' sound of boiling.

This was a throne composed of nuclear energy.

And at this moment, atop this throne, sat its king.

That massive beast lay right above the crack,

Allowing the particle storms, which were enough to melt steel in an instant, to wash over its body.

It was like a believer bathing in divine grace,

Or like an evil dragon guarding its treasure, greedily occupying the only energy source in this dead sea region.

"Creak..."

Jiang Ran glanced down at his arm.

The outermost layer of the powered armor—the lead coating specifically designed to resist radiation—

Was actually beginning to blister, curl, and fall off in large chunks, like paint scorched by high heat.

The fight hadn't even started yet.

This set of armor, representing the pinnacle of human individual soldier technology, was already beginning to tremble before the violent energy of nature.

"Seven minutes..."

Jiang Ran looked at the countdown reading and tightened his grip on the Vibration Blade, which was also vibrating slightly:

"It seems there's no time to wear it down slowly."

"Target biological signature analysis... Complete."

zero's usually perfectly calm electronic synthesized voice,

Now pierced through the noisy static interference, reaching Jiang Ran's eardrums with a rare sense of lag:

"Database designation: Fission Sea Lizard. However, this individual's various metrics... have completely exceeded the scope of conventional mutated creatures."

Accompanied by zero's explanation, the red outline representing the monster on the HUD interface was rapidly decomposed and labeled.

Against that dazzling blue light background, Jiang Ran finally saw the true structure of this monster.

Its massive body, twenty meters long,

Was not covered in scales or mucus like ordinary marine life, but instead presented a lifeless, dull silver-gray.

It was a color full of metallic texture.

"Its epidermal cuticle is enriched with extremely high concentrations of lead and depleted uranium."

Su Qingyu added, her tone filled with disbelief:

"Through long-term consumption of nuclear waste, it has precipitated those heavy metal elements, forming a layer of natural heavy metal armor on its body surface. This 'lead skin' not only helps it lock in internal heat,"

"But its physical hardness... is likely thicker than the frontal armor of an old era main battle tank."

This explained why it could tear through that half-meter-thick titanium alloy explosion-proof door like paper.

Before this heavy metal armor, any light weaponry was just an itch.

But what made Jiang Ran feel most alarmed were the two rows of formidable spines on the monster's back.

Those translucent crystalline spines were deeply rooted in its spine, looking very much like control rods in a nuclear reactor.

"Hum— Hum—"

With every slow breath the monster took, those dorsal spines would flash with a dazzling azure light in synchronization.

That was its metabolism in progress.

It directly inhaled the high concentration of radioactive particles around it, performing some kind of biological-level 'nuclear fission' reaction through its dorsal spines,

Converting them into the energy that drove this massive body's movements.

"This isn't a biological creature at all."

Jiang Ran looked at the behemoth whose back flickered with its breathing rhythm, feeling as if he were facing not a lizard,

But a walking nuclear reactor possessed of flesh and blood:

"This is the manifestation of the old era's destructive power."

"This is basically a Godzilla of the deep sea."

As if to confirm Jiang Ran's suspicion,

The monster slightly adjusted its posture, revealing a corner of the reactor crack it had been pressing down on.

There, amidst the blue Cherenkov light, was a streak of extremely pure, eerie crimson.

That was no.06 spark.

This Fission Sea Lizard had clearly discovered the wonderful use of the Fireseed—

That red crystal.

Like a natural energy amplifier, it was continuously drawing energy from the damaged core, feeding this greedy tyrant.

It was its food, and its treasure.

"To get the Fireseed, I have to dig it out from under this 'living shredder'."

Jiang Ran took a deep breath, calming his gradually accelerating heartbeat:

"Difficulty level: Hell."

"Active sonar off. External light sources cut."

"Power output limited to 5%, initiating silent navigation mode."

Following a series of commands, the powered armor that had been low-humming instantly went quiet.

The indicator lights on its body went out one by one, and his entire being seemed to melt into the surrounding dark blue background.

Since he couldn't face it head-on, he could only win by wit.

Jiang Ran's current tactic was simple:

Use the opportunity while the monster was focused on 'feeding', and with the cover of the complex pipelines around the reactor,

Quietly circle beneath it, take the Fireseed, and then flee at full speed.

He carefully controlled the vector nozzles on his back,

Ejecting only a faint, almost imperceptible stream of air, pushing himself to drift slowly through the water like a piece of lifeless space junk.

Fifty meters... thirty meters... The Fission Sea Lizard still lay in the pillar of light, its dorsal spines flashing rhythmically with its breath.

It didn't seem to notice the 'little bug' approaching.

"Even if it's blind, its hearing and sense of touch would be exceptionally keen. But right now, I'm making no sound and not touching the ground."

Jiang Ran held his breath, even his heartbeat seemed to have been deliberately slowed down.

However, just as he was less than twenty meters away from that crack emitting red light—

"Hum—"

The behemoth that had been comfortably devouring radiation suddenly stopped its movements.

The flashing spines on its back stiffened abruptly, and then the light flared brilliantly.

Then, its massive, eyeless head, covered in thick bone armor, snapped around.

Without any hesitation or any search process,

It locked onto Jiang Ran, who was floating in mid-air, with pinpoint accuracy.

The feeling was like having the infrared crosshairs of a sniper rifle set right between his eyebrows.

"Damn it! How did it find me? I clearly cut off all sound sources!"

Jiang Ran's pupils constricted, and his body instinctively tensed.

"It's the heat! Boss!"

Su Qingyu's anxious roar exploded in the channel:

"This is the deep sea, the ambient water temperature is only 4 degrees Celsius!"

"Although you've turned off the power, the micro-nuclear battery in the armor core is still operating, and your body is also emitting heat!"

"In its thermal sensing vision, you're currently as bright as a hundred-watt light bulb hanging in the night!"

Jiang Ran instantly realized—he had made a common-sense error.

In an absolutely freezing dark forest, a hunter doesn't need eyes. As long as you're still burning, you're a target.

"Roar—"

The Fission Sea Lizard gave Jiang Ran no time for regret.

It suddenly opened its bloody maw.

There were no vocal cords deep in its throat; instead, there was a blue vortex that was frantically gathering energy.

The surrounding high-energy particles were swallowed by it, instantly heated and compressed within the special biological reactor in its body.

The next second.

A blue torrent over two meters in diameter, mixed with thousands of degrees of high temperature and radiation dust capable of killing cells instantly.

Like a beam from a battleship's main gun, it tore through the seawater and blasted toward Jiang Ran!

It was a biological version of "Atomic Breath."

"Emergency evasion! Power output 120%!"

Jiang Ran didn't even have time to wait for the system's confirmation feedback.

His hands slammed the control sticks to the limit; the vector nozzles on his back instantly spewed two blinding incandescent exhaust plumes.

"Boom—!!!"

That terrifying blue torrent almost grazed the powered armor's left shoulder as it flew past.

Although it wasn't a direct hit.

The high-temperature turbulence from the near miss instantly scorched and curled the armor's outer coating on the left side.

The surrounding seawater boiled instantly, and countless scalding bubbles slammed into Jiang Ran's balance system like bombs.

Sending him spinning wildly like a top.

"Damn thing! Since you want to fight, take this!"

A flash of ferocity crossed Jiang Ran's eyes as he tumbled through the water.

He forcibly locked onto the giant beast's head mid-spin and pressed the launch button for the micro-missile pod on his shoulder.

"Hellfire micro-missiles, fire all tubes!"

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Four micro-missiles, the thickness of a finger but loaded with high-energy explosives, trailed smoke as they left the pod.

Heading straight for the Fission Sea Lizard's face.

However, what happened the next second made Jiang Ran's heart sink to the bottom.

The four missiles had barely flown ten meters.

Just as they entered the dense blue halo surrounding the monster, they acted as if they had suddenly become drunk.

Some missiles' tail fins lost control and began spinning wildly; others' fuses failed directly, turning them into duds.

And the remaining two.

Because the electronic guidance system was completely fried by the high-intensity radiation storm.

They actually detonated prematurely five meters away from the target.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two fireballs exploded in the water; the resulting shockwaves couldn't even shake the monster's eyelids, merely giving it a bath.

"It's useless, Boss!"

zero's voice was filled with heavy static.

"The density of free electrons around it is too high!"

"It's equivalent to a continuously active full-spectrum electromagnetic interference field!"

"All smart weapons will go blind at this distance!"

Technology had failed.

But that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that Jiang Ran's counterattack had completely enraged this tyrant.

"Roar..."

The Fission Sea Lizard let out a low growl, its massive body displaying an incredible flexibility in the water that was completely inconsistent with its size.

Its giant tail fin flicked violently, stirring up a massive undercurrent, and it appeared at Jiang Ran's side as if teleporting.

Following that.

That thick tail, like a pier of a cross-sea bridge, carried the force of tens of thousands of tons of seawater.

It swept across like a heavy hammer.

In the high-resistance environment of the deep sea, powered armor relying solely on thrusters for maneuverability seemed clumsy and slow.

Jiang Ran could only watch helplessly as the black shadow rapidly enlarged in his field of vision.

He had no time to make any evasive maneuvers and could only instinctively raise his arms to block.

"Bang—!!!"

A tooth-aching sound of metal bursting echoed in the deep sea.

Jiang Ran felt as if he had been hit head-on by a high-speed train traveling at full speed.

The peerless force instantly shattered the energy-absorbing shield of the armor's outer layer.

Directly bending the sturdy Mechanical Arm skeleton.

The entire half-ton powered armor was like a baseball hit by a bat.

Inside this giant iron box, it drew a straight white line and slammed hard against the reinforced bulkhead on the other side of the power compartment.

"Thud!"

The entire compartment seemed to vibrate.

Jiang Ran was embedded in the dented and deformed steel wall, a mouthful of fresh blood spraying directly onto the inside of his faceplate.

"Warning: Chest armor damage 75%... Hydraulic system pressure loss..."

"Warning: Left arm servo motor jammed... Power core output power dropped to red critical point..."

Before his eyes was a shocking red light.

This war machine, representing the pinnacle of human industrial crystallization.

After just one encounter, it was beaten into paralysis by this deep-sea monster... The Fission Sea Lizard was in no hurry to deliver the final blow.

Its massive body swam slowly with the current, gradually approaching Jiang Ran, who was embedded in the wall.

Those thermal sensing organs, which could perceive everything even if they couldn't see, were staring intently at this sparking metal lump.

In its perception.

Although this hard metal shell was difficult to chew.

Wrapped inside was a mass of high-calorie protein emitting an alluring sweet scent.

Like a sealed tin can.

As long as it pried open the lid, it could eat the fresh and tender meat inside.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Inside the faceplate, Jiang Ran coughed violently, every breath accompanied by a burning sting in his lungs.

He looked at the HUD interface where the power reading was only "28%" and still falling.

He looked again at the almost completely locked left Mechanical Arm and suddenly let out a raspy, cold laugh.

"I see..."

He raised his still-movable right hand.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth; the blood smeared on the inside of the faceplate, making his vision even more crimson and blurry.

"In front of a monster that defies common sense, these mechanical toys humans take pride in are indeed no different from scrap metal."

If he were on land, this powered armor might allow him to take on a hundred.

But here, in the high pressure and strong radiation field of the deep sea.

Once the power assistance was lost, this half-ton alloy armor became a coffin trapping him.

It restricted his speed, bound his muscles, and even forced him to distract himself by taking care of those fragile electronic components.

"Since the machine won't work..."

Jiang Ran's gaze gradually grew cold.

Deep within those pupils that were originally as black as ink, it seemed as if something was breaking.

An extremely violent, ancient, and wild aura began to awaken in his seemingly un-sturdy body.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart began to beat frantically at a speed that exceeded physiological limits.

The blood pumped out was like rushing lava, instantly washing through every blood vessel in his body.

His body temperature rose sharply, so high that the sweat all over his body evaporated instantly, forming a layer of white mist inside his sealed jumpsuit.

Genetic Lock, Stage Two—Pre-unlocking.

That sense of absolute control, being able to freely control every muscle, every nerve, and even force the secretion of adrenaline.

It returned to his consciousness.

"Then I'll use my body."

Jiang Ran's voice was terrifyingly low, like a beast grinding its teeth.

Without any hesitation, his fingers slammed down on the red-painted emergency handle inside the chest armor.

"Manually release armor lock."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Accompanied by a series of dull explosions from the explosive bolts.

The severely deformed "Abyssal Walker" armor popped open in all directions like blooming lotus petals.

The thick chest armor fell off, the heavy hydraulic leg components separated, and the dented helmet was discarded.

In that instant.

Wearing only a thin black nano-jumpsuit, Jiang Ran was exposed bare-handed to this high-radiation blue light of several hundred Roentgens.

Without the protection of the armor, the bone-chilling cold and terrifying water pressure of the deep sea instantly squeezed from all directions.

But this time, he didn't tremble.

The radiation particles that were enough to kill an ordinary person instantly passed through his body, yet they seemed to turn into a stimulant that made his cells cheer.

His muscles tightened under his skin like steel cables, and a strange dark red glow appeared on the surface of his skin.

The Fission Sea Lizard seemed to be stunned for a moment.

It couldn't understand why that fragile prey would actively throw away its hard protective shell.

But the next second, its keen sensing organs suddenly detected something wrong.

The heat source that was originally tiny and only existed as "food" suddenly changed its aura.

It became violent, dangerous, and even filled with the bloody scent of a predator.

Jiang Ran slowly raised his head.

Under the reflection of that eerie blue light.

His eyes, which were originally human, now had pupils contracted into a vertical slit, gleaming with a heart-palpitating cold light.

He looked at the twenty-meter-long giant beast, his mouth curling into a frantic smile, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Now, we're even."