Chapter 46: The Boss, Gaia—Defeated

After a negotiation that seemed doomed to fail, a confrontation between Mingchuan and the woman became inevitable.

"Before you die, let me tell you my code name! Gaia—that's my code name!" she declared. As she spoke, the seat beneath her began to shift. She entered a transparent glass capsule, and suddenly, the entire central area began to transform, forming the exceedingly rare Y-Alloy—the solid-state fluid metal. The Y-Alloy enveloped her, carrying her out of the pit and up onto the rooftop. Witnessing this, Mingchuan gave chase at once. By then, Gaia had already shaped the Y-Alloy into something new.

"A giant mecha? Surprised? Curious why a biologist has something like this? It's a gift from the Reaper, or perhaps... a power!" With that, Gaia assembled a Gatling gun from the plane parts and debris she had just absorbed, unleashing a deadly barrage upon Mingchuan. Yet Mingchuan remained unflustered. Even with the mecha not fully armed, he toyed with Gaia, taking the chance to give Wenxin and the others some pointers as well.

Seeing Mingchuan so nonchalant, Gaia seized the opportunity to swing a punch at him. But Mingchuan, all the while talking as he ran, slid low and with a swift strike severed one of the mecha's legs.

"Ha! Did you think it would be that easy to get rid of me? This Y-Alloy is a memory metal. Your little tricks can't destroy it. Besides, with my signal jammer, no one outside can help you, can they?"

"I don't need outsiders. Frankly, I could take you down alone! Still, I'll wait for my teammates—otherwise, if I'm too impressive, they might get suspicious!" To Gaia, Mingchuan's words sounded like empty boasting. But before long, she realized he was a terrifying foe.

Meanwhile, Andrew from another squad noticed Mingchuan battling Gaia—or rather, a giant mecha—in the surveillance room. They rushed over immediately. To their astonishment, Mingchuan handled Gaia with ease, even landing a few blows as he dodged, though these seemed to have little effect.

"Mingchuan, we're here to help!" Wenxin's shout was enough to draw Mingchuan's attention.

"Don't get in the way! Andrew, is your cannon fully cooled down from the last shot?"

"Ready to go. What do you need?"

"Full firepower, aim at her chest, and let her have it—hard!"

"Understood! All squads, prepare to unleash firepower!"

Suddenly, a dazzling beam of light pierced the entire combat space, striking the giant mecha squarely in the chest with pinpoint accuracy.

"It won't work," Gaia sneered. "The Reaper said this thing is invincible."

"Oh? Is that so?" Just as the beam faded, a strange grenade appeared before Gaia. Rather than unleashing searing heat, it detonated with the opposite effect—absolute zero. Everything nearby was plunged into a chasm over two hundred degrees below freezing, instantly encasing Gaia's chest in ice.

"What are you doing? Some clown's trick? Hahaha!" Gaia had no idea what Mingchuan was planning, but the next moment defied all expectation. Mingchuan drove his sword into the mecha's chest, and suddenly, that section fell away with Mingchuan, crashing to the ground.

"This isn't a clown's trick—it's a magician's marvel!" Mingchuan appeared again before Gaia, face to face. She was now fully exposed.

"What? How?" Gaia was still reeling from shock when Mingchuan reached out, trying to pull her out. But a pane of transparent glass blocked his way.

"Ha! Yes, yes! There's still this! Even if you break through the Y-Alloy, this smart glass is a barrier you can't overcome!" Gaia, emboldened, prepared to attack again. But then she realized—Mingchuan had touched her. The barrier had no effect on him! She saw, to her horror, that the shield facing Mingchuan simply dissolved.

"Useless. Both of these are my creations," Mingchuan whispered so only she could hear.

"Your creations? Hah—your creations! Monster! You're a monster!" Gaia lost all reason, drowning in a sea of panic.

"We are both monsters, different from the norm. But I’m sorry—this monster still has work to do. As for you..." Mingchuan produced a syringe from who knows where and plunged the contents into Gaia.

"This monster will take care of you. It's time for you to become human again!" With one swift injection, Gaia lost consciousness—a most convenient outcome.

"All right, everyone, mission accomplished! Let’s go!"

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Author’s Note:

After the first week of the new term, I returned for the Lantern Festival. The school has shown some conscience at last. Wishing everyone a joyful Lantern Festival—enjoy plenty of sweet rice dumplings!