21: countermeasures

"Roar...!"

The intense pain made the Bone-Eroding Giant Lizard roll around frantically, muscles bulging on its thick limbs.

Snap... snap...

The chains in the hands of the Titan II Mech were snapped apart by sheer Transcendent force.

It scanned the people who had trapped it with its one remaining eye, filled with hatred, then glanced at An Yu, who was aiming a sniper rifle not far away.

After letting out two low, threatening growls, it turned and fled deep into the Black Tide without looking back.

With a swing of its massive tail, it quickly disappeared without a trace.

"Not dead?"

A flash of surprise crossed An Yu's eyes.

She had already sensed that this monster was no ordinary creature, so she had brought out one of her trump cards—an enchanted bullet exclusively used by the Empire's active special forces, worth 120 million on the black market.

Logically, a normal B-level Galaxy Beast would definitely die if hit in a vital spot.

Yet, the opponent was still able to unleash such terrifying power.

"Commander, should we pursue?"

"Let's return to the starship first." An Yu shook her head as she glanced at the monster, which was now beyond the range of the detectors.

A moment later, on the flagship Dark Destruction Legion.

"Hey... Commander, this damn monster—we were just friendly enough to play a game of bondage with it, and this guy actually roared, yelled, and went crazy at us."

A burly man gasped for air. Clearly, piloting the Titan II Mech placed a huge burden on its members, which was one of the reasons it had been phased out by the Empire.

"Don't talk nonsense, Reis. This monster is not normal; it's different from the B-level Galaxy Beasts we've dealt with before." Randy interrupted with a grave expression.

"Hmm... The key is that this monster also has a powerful long-range attack method. If the starships disperse to surround it, it will easily find an opportunity to exploit."

An Yu's delicate brows furrowed slightly. After pondering for a long while, she said, "The best way is to wait for the other two brigades to finish off their opponents and regroup, then deal with it together. I've already asked—they only encountered regular B-level monsters, so they should be able to finish soon."

The bullet she just used was already one of her strongest attack methods. If that couldn't kill it in one shot, then they would need enough time to find its weakness. This required waiting for the other two brigades to arrive and having more Titan II Mech available.

"Commander, I have a different opinion." At this moment, Zhang Huaiyuan, who was standing to the side, saw that the time was right and spoke up in time.

"Oh? Go ahead." A hint of surprise flashed in An Yu's eyes; she hadn't expected Zhang Huaiyuan to take the initiative to speak and express an opinion on such a matter. However, thinking of his previous remarkable performances, she gestured for him to continue.

The rest of the group also turned their gazes toward him.

"Hmm... Actually, I've been self-studying Genetics during this period and have done some research on these monsters. If my deduction is correct, this monster will take the initiative to come find us within ten days at most." Zhang Huaiyuan said with certainty.

Before the monster fled, he had specifically activated his ability to take another look. Despite being severely injured, the evolutionary process had not been interrupted or delayed. It would only take seven days for it to advance to an A-level Galaxy Beast.

By then, this vicious monster would absolutely not let go of the enemies who had besieged it.

"Brother, you're not joking, are you... It's not that I don't believe you. This monster was shot by the Commander; it's probably scared out of its wits, running for its life. Would it really dare to come and throw itself into the net?"

"Hehe, it better dare to come. I'll shove a pulse gun right into its mouth and let it taste the flavor of Hell Popping Candy."

An Yu's expression remained unchanged, and she simply asked, "What is your basis?"

"I don't know if you've observed carefully, but the scale armor on this monster is half gray and half silver. When the silver part withstood the railgun attack, unlike the gray side, it didn't have a single bit of scorching or damage. Clearly, its strength is far superior to the gray side."

"Such an obvious leap in strength clearly cannot be explained by molting or anything of that sort. There is only one possibility: it is in a state of life transition." Zhang Huaiyuan spoke eloquently, his face full of confidence.

Although the process might not be accurate, all of the above was deduced from the results, so it couldn't possibly be wrong.

"It seems that's really the case..."

"A B-level Galaxy Beast, life transition... A-level... This is just a small Disaster Zone, no way..."

For a moment, everyone looked at each other and fell into silence. Even Reis, who was always the most boisterous, had no interest in joking around anymore.

There is a fundamental difference between A-level and B-level, which usually only appear in medium-sized or larger Disaster Zones.

The five major mercenary corps of the Blackstone Star System have their current status precisely because only they possess Transcendents of A-level or higher.

If an A-level Galaxy Beast really appeared, with their current preparations, not one of them would be able to leave this place alive.

"It's not impossible." After a long time, An Yu nodded slowly.

This B-level Galaxy Beast's strength was far greater than ordinary monsters of the same rank; that explained everything.

"Then what should we do, Commander?"

Everyone's expression looked grim, as they recalled some bad memories. Previously, two Star Mechanics from their First Brigade had perished because of a severely injured A-level Galaxy Beast.

"Fortunately, Researcher Zhang warned us early, so there is still time to prepare." An Yu's expression returned to calm.

It was just a newly advanced A-level Galaxy Beast; it would still be easy to deal with for the entire Dark Annihilation. She was even already considering how to maximize the benefits.

"Pass the order down: retreat to the edge of the Disaster Zone first, and wait for the organization's reinforcements to arrive before coming back in to find it."

"Yes, Commander." Everyone acknowledged the order.

Seeing this, Zhang Huaiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He was really afraid of encountering those who considered themselves geniuses and insisted on challenging beyond their rank to test their strength. If an accident occurred, those geniuses might have life-saving items given by their elders, but those of them following behind would be in big trouble.

"Since safety is no longer an issue, I can now safely consider Genetics." With one worry off his mind, Zhang Huaiyuan began preparing his next plan.

He had finished learning all the knowledge of a Senior Star Mechanic contained in the Dark Annihilation database. His progress in Creatology was also stuck at 2.1%.

It was time to open up a new direction.

The advancement of his ability allowed him to see the gene chain maps that made up various Transcendent abilities. If he could thoroughly master and decipher them, he might be able to directly create Transcendence Level or even Gods Chosen level Transcendents.

By then, he would probably be able to walk sideways across the entire Empire.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huaiyuan referred to his experience in creating Creatology and activated his ability again.

"Based on the knowledge I currently possess, I will construct a theory for analyzing the changes in the gene chains of Transcendent abilities. The essential goal is to be able to complete the replication of these ability maps. I name it Transcendent Deconstruction Theory."

Soon, the familiar feedback came from his mind.

Transcendent Deconstruction Theory: Current research progress 0.208% (Recommended knowledge to master: 668 items including "Conjectures on the Essence of Transcendent Power", "Theory of Life Evolution", etc.)

"Now I have a direction." Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes shone with a burning light of thirst for knowledge. After bidding farewell to everyone, he returned directly to the combat readiness laboratory.

"First, finish learning everything that can be found in the database. Let's begin..."