122: Dismantle a mech with your bare hands? No, I dismantle monsters with my bare hands! Even the Deep Sea Tyrant would kneel before me!

The excruciating pain of having its main spinal spike forcibly ripped out.

Did not completely paralyze the Fission Sea Lizard; instead, it became the final straw that broke its sanity.

"Sizzle—Buzz!!!"

A trembling hum, like an overloaded high-voltage current, suddenly emanated from deep within the giant beast's chest cavity.

Beneath its once dull, gray, leaden skin, countless dazzling cracks suddenly lit up.

It was like an active volcano on the verge of eruption, with scorching magma frantically searching for weak points in the Earth's crust.

Attempting to break free and destroy everything.

It knew it wouldn't live.

Without the regulation of the control rod-like dorsal spines, the biological nuclear reactor within its body had completely and irreversibly spiraled out of control.

Since death was inevitable, this Deep Sea Overlord chose the most insane and resolute method—

To drag this damned demon on its back down with it.

"Warning: High-energy reaction detected! Energy levels are rising exponentially!"

"Warning: Neutron flux density within target has exceeded critical value! It's going to self-destruct!!"

zero's urgent alarm blared in Jiang Ran's mind.

The next second, the world lost its color.

The originally deep blue ocean was instantly swallowed by an extreme, stark white glare.

The light did not come from outside.

Instead, it erupted like a flood breaking a dam from the tens of thousands of scale crevices across the Fission Sea Lizard's entire body.

"Hiss—!!!"

Terrifying high temperatures erupted in an instant.

With this as the center, the deep-sea high-pressure water body within tens of meters.

Was vaporized directly by this ultra-high-energy thermal radiation before it even had time to boil.

A massive, incandescent, high-temperature steam cavity suddenly formed 800 meters beneath the sea.

Forcibly creating a "vacuum zone" devoid of any liquid.

Jiang Ran, at the center of the storm, only felt his vision go white.

The feeling was as if someone had directly stuffed a miniature sun into his arms.

This was no longer an ordinary nuclear leak; this was a true biological core meltdown.

The violent stream of radiation particles formed a visible storm.

Tearing apart all surrounding organic matter, ionizing the vaporized seawater into a dazzling and deadly plasma cloud.

This deep-sea monster was transforming itself into a deep-sea nuclear bomb about to detonate.

"Warning: Target's internal energy level is rising exponentially! Critical value breached!"

"Warning: Signs of uncontrolled biological nuclear fusion detected!

Estimated self-destruction time: 3 seconds! Recommend immediate evasion!"

On the edge of his vision, zero's crimson countdown wildly pulsed like a death omen.

Facing this deep-sea nuclear bomb about to detonate, the normal biological instinct should be to flee.

To use all one's strength to escape this center of destruction, which was about to become a miniature sun.

Jiang Ran's body did stiffen.

But what stopped him was not fear.

It was because... an unprecedented hunger surged from the depths of his bone marrow, instantly sweeping through his entire body, almost incinerating his reason.

Gulp.

He heard the sound of himself swallowing, absurdly clear at this moment of impending destruction.

In the microscopic perception world opened by the second-order gene lock, Jiang Ran saw a sight incomprehensible to ordinary people.

The deadly radiation streams spewing from the monster's body were no longer death rays that brought demise.

In the eyes of his cells, they were a "high-energy nutrient solution" of the highest purity, exuding a fatally alluring fragrance.

Every cell, every mitochondrion, was now like a desert parched for ten thousand years suddenly welcoming a sweet rain.

They frantically opened their mouths, devouring these deadly radiation energies in large gulps.

"Eat it..."

"Eat it!!!"

His body's instincts screamed, urging him to plunder.

Abyssal Walker was not a species born to avoid disaster. It was a monster evolved to devour disaster and wield destruction.

"Want to explode?"

Jiang Ran looked at the increasingly bright white light beneath his feet, which was about to boil the seawater.

The savage smile on his face not only didn't recede but became even more fervent.

Far from retreating half a step, he instead took a forceful step forward.

"So much energy, wouldn't it be too wasteful to let it explode?"

"Did you ask me first?"

The next second, at the instant the countdown was about to hit zero.

Jiang Ran made a crazy move.

He didn't run; instead, like a moth drawn to a flame, he leaped.

He jumped directly into the massive wound on the Fission Sea Lizard's back, where the spine had been pulled out and violent streams of light were gushing forth!

That was the entrance to hell.

And also his evolutionary dining table.

"Pfft!"

Without hesitation or any probing.

Jiang Ran's hands were like two sharp carving knives.

He plunged them fiercely, up to his elbows, into the boiling, glowing, rotten flesh and mud on the Fission Sea Lizard's back.

In that instant, the stream of radiation particles, which had been gushing outwards, suddenly showed a strange pause.

Immediately after, the laws of physics seemed to fail here.

"Rumble—"

There was no horrific scene of his flesh being burst by energy as expected.

Jiang Ran's body was now like an insatiable abyssal black hole, or a one-way valve leading to another dimension.

The incredibly violent nuclear radiation, capable of instantly melting metal and stone.

The moment it touched his hands, it was forcibly captured by an irresistible, terrifying suction.

They no longer diffused outwards, no longer vaporized seawater.

Instead, they were forced to change direction, transforming into visible, materialized, dazzling streams of light.

Pouring frantically and desperately into his body along Jiang Ran's arms.

"Hiss—!!!"

Jiang Ran took a deep breath, his chest rising high.

So good.

It felt so good.

The feeling was like a traveler, parched for three days and nights in the desert, suddenly plunging headfirst into a clear, sweet spring.

The scorching, destructive radiation energy rushed into his blood vessels.

And was instantly torn apart, devoured, and assimilated by the long-hungry mutated cells within his body.

"Awoooo—!!!"

The Fission Sea Lizard beneath his feet let out a shriek more piercing and despairing than when its bones were broken.

It discovered with horror that its energy core, which was about to detonate.

Was now uncontrollably pouring towards the tiny "parasite" on its back.

That was its life source, its nuclear energy, but now it had become fodder for feeding the demon.

It struggled frantically, trying to sever this connection, but Jiang Ran's hands were as if welded into its flesh, impossible to shake off.

As the devouring continued, the dazzling white light around them began to dim at a visible speed.

In its place, a strange light glowed on Jiang Ran's body.

His skin began to become as translucent as crystal, and his originally dark red muscle lines gradually became transparent.

Through his skin, his thick blood vessels could be clearly seen.

Now, what flowed within them was no longer crimson blood.

But a cerulean fluid, emitting a faint glow, like liquid energy.

This was not a battle.

This was a naked, cruel, and tyrannical feast of plunder.

"Not enough... still not enough..."

Jiang Ran's eyes were wide open, the golden halo deep within his pupils spinning frantically.

He could feel his power multiplying geometrically, every cell trembling and evolving in this ultimate sense of fullness.

"Give me everything..."

"Give it all up!"

...As the vast, ocean-like nuclear radiation was forcibly poured into his body, Jiang Ran's body underwent an astonishing qualitative change.

His skin, which had been dark red due to extreme congestion, was now rapidly fading.

The swelling sensation, as if it could burst at any moment, disappeared.

In its place was an ultimate refinement, forged through countless trials.

"Buzz..."

A strange tremor emanated from Jiang Ran's heart.

Immediately after, intricate, ancient, and metallic dark-gold patterns.

Starting from his heart, spread rapidly throughout his entire body along the path of his blood vessels, like living vines.

Neck, chest, back, limbs... In the blink of an eye, these dark-gold patterns covered every inch of his skin.

They emitted a majestic and domineering glow in the dim deep sea.

Like divine runes inscribed on the bodies of gods in myths, or perhaps energy circuits of some high-dimensional technology.

Gene Lock Second Order: Energy Overload Mode.

Under the catalysis of this immense radiation energy.

Jiang Ran's Abyssal Walker gene finally completed its first true awakening and assimilation.

"This is... power."

Jiang Ran slowly exhaled.

There was no scorching white mist; the breath dissipated the moment it left his mouth.

He felt that his body was no longer flesh and blood, but a miniature reactor operating at full capacity.

The sensation of power, capable of easily crushing steel and leveling mountains, filled his every thought.

And the Fission Sea Lizard beneath his feet had completely changed its appearance.

As the last trace of nuclear energy was squeezed out of its body.

Its once massive and plump body now resembled a deflated balloon, visibly shriveling and withering.

Its tough leaden scales lost their luster, becoming ashen and dull; its strong muscles atrophied into dry, woody fibers.

The red glow in its eyes completely extinguished.

Only two hollow black eye sockets remained, lifelessly staring at the demon above that had taken everything from it.

"Sizzle—"

Jiang Ran slowly withdrew his hands from the now dry, no longer scorching, mass of flesh.

As he moved, a string of long-inactive, grayish-black necrotic tissue came out with them.

No fresh blood flowed.

Because every drop of blood, every joule of energy within this giant beast, had already become nourishment for Jiang Ran's evolution.

"Tastes good."

Jiang Ran looked at his hands, covered in dark-gold patterns.

He gently clenched his fingers, even crushing a visible air shockwave in his palm.

He lowered his head, gazing down at the massive skeletal remains beneath his feet, his voice calm to the point of coldness:

"In return, I'll give you a quick end."

"Your energy is mine.

Your life is also mine."

Jiang Ran tapped his toes.

His form floated lightly away from the shriveled back, hovering above the Fission Sea Lizard's massive and ugly head.

At this point, this Deep Sea Overlord no longer even had the strength to lift its eyelids.

It lay sprawled on the seabed like a pile of mud from which the skeleton had been removed.

Only the slight twitching of its mouth still spoke of the last remnants of life.

Jiang Ran slowly raised his right arm.

As he moved, the dark-gold patterns covering his entire body seemed to respond to a summons.

Converging frantically towards his right fist.

The seawater around his originally transparent fist twisted visibly due to the compression of the high-energy field.

Forming a constantly vibrating, translucent light shield enveloping his fist.

"Goodbye."

Jiang Ran murmured, then casually—

Smashed down the fist that seemed to grasp a thousand pounds of thunder.

"Bang—!!!"

A muffled yet incredibly crisp explosion rang out in the deep sea.

Without any suspense or hindrance.

The Fission Sea Lizard's head, covered with thick leaden bone armor and as hard as a tank.

Under this punch, was like a ripe watermelon struck head-on by a sledgehammer.

The hard skull instantly shattered, caved in, and then completely exploded.

Red and white brain matter mixed with grayish-black bone fragments.

Sprayed outwards, carried by the shockwave, instantly dyeing the surrounding seawater into a turbid gray mist.

This Deep Sea Tyrant, which had resided at the center of radiation and fed on nuclear waste, didn't even have time to let out a final shriek.

It was completely physically annihilated.

"Rumble—"

The massive corpse, deprived of life support, was like a skyscraper losing its foundation.

It slowly toppled to one side, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

It crashed heavily onto the already dilapidated and precarious reactor ruins below.

The immense weight instantly crushed the already fragile foundation structure.

"Crack... crack..."

A chilling sound of breaking came from deep within the seabed.

Jiang Ran hovered in the turbid water, watching the drastic changes occurring beneath him, and frowned slightly.

The massive metal platform, which supported the reactor and the monster's corpse.

Unable to withstand this final blow, it completely broke and collapsed in the middle.

Countless steel fragments, concrete blocks.

Along with the massive corpse, plunged into the newly exposed, deeper and darker underlying cavern.

And amidst the crumbling ruins and dust, a purer, more dangerous red light was faintly discernible.

The true crisis had just begun...