The newly purchased mech was a civilian-use model. Its combat capabilities were far inferior to those of a combat mech, equipped with only a few quantum cannon shells and a longsword.
The moment Song Yulan carried Cheng Li out of the flyer, Li Jing aimed the quantum cannon at the giant insect clinging to it.
“That’s my brand-new flyer!” Wen Zhao wailed, his voice swallowed by the deafening explosions.
When the smoke cleared, the giant insect was still alive. A scorched wound had appeared on its body.
“This thing’s defense is freakishly insane!” Li Jing wiped the sweat from his face and aimed the cannon again, firing off the rest of the quantum shells.
The explosions made Cheng Li’s ears ring violently. Covering one ear with her hand, she slowly woke from unconsciousness. The instant she opened her eyes, she saw a sticky tentacle whipping toward her.
She raised a hand and smacked it aside.
“Is it dead?” Wen Zhao asked.
“Probably…” Li Jing wasn’t entirely sure. Piloting the mech, he cautiously stepped forward. Seeing the giant insect blown beyond recognition, he finally let out a breath of relief.
Then the situation suddenly changed.
The giant insect shed an outer layer of skin and burst free from it, instantly wrapping itself around the mech.
The nearly ten-meter-tall mech was tightly bound by the insect’s body and tentacles, sealed so completely that not even a gap remained. It lost all ability to move.
“Li Jing, are you okay?” Wen Zhao shouted anxiously.
“Not okay. I can’t breathe. My whole body feels like it’s being crushed apart…” Li Jing’s voice grew weaker and weaker.
“Disconnect the mental link, now! We’ll get you out!” Song Yulan shouted.
One of the drawbacks of a mental link was that when the mech was damaged, the person inside would experience the pain as well.
Mechs were incredibly expensive. Wen Zhao, Li Jing, and Song Yulan had emptied all their savings just to buy this one together. Even now, none of the three had a mech of their own. Seeing their newly purchased mech being ravaged by the giant insect, all of them had bloodshot eyes with fury.
Wen Zhao and Song Yulan grabbed pieces of wreckage from the flyer, then leapt onto the giant insect’s body.
The two hacked at it with all their strength, but the insect’s flesh was unbelievably elastic. Even when smashed flat, it recovered within seconds.
“It’s too dull, not sharp enough! We can’t cut through it!” Wen Zhao was drenched in sweat from panic.
Hearing that, Cheng Li activated her ability. Her power swept around the metal debris in Wen Zhao and Song Yulan’s hands, altering the thickness along one edge and sharpening it into a deadly blade.
Slash!
This time, the metal sliced through the giant insect’s hide, spraying dark green fluid everywhere. But in the next instant, dozens, then hundreds of tentacles lashed toward Wen Zhao and Song Yulan.
Lying on the ground, Cheng Li still felt the world spinning around her. Her head swam with dizziness, and there wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t ache.
Using her left hand to brace herself against the ground, Cheng Li struggled to get up, only to collapse again. After catching her breath for a moment, she tried once more, biting down so hard it felt like her teeth would shatter.
At last, she managed to sit upright.
What she saw, however, was Wen Zhao and Song Yulan wrapped in the giant insect’s tentacles, their fates unknown.
“Heh…” Cheng Li let out a bitter laugh. She had only regained a new life a few days ago, yet she was already facing something like this again.
Her eyes locked onto the giant insect. Energy from the crystal core inside her erupted out wildly, passing through the insect’s body and pouring into the mech.
The next instant, the giant insect wrapped around the mech released an earth-shaking shriek. Its tentacles flung Wen Zhao and Song Yulan away as its enormous body desperately tried to pull itself free from the mech.
By now, the newly purchased mech had been completely mangled. Its arms, legs, and parts of its body had transformed into cicada-wing-thin sheets of metal that pierced through the giant insect’s body. They continuously tore through it from the inside, slicing and carving the creature apart until it was shredded into countless pieces that could no longer regenerate or reconnect.
Only after confirming the giant insect was completely dead did Cheng Li lose consciousness.
Inside the hospital ward, the police were taking statements.
“You really don’t know what happened with those metal sheets?” The officer frowned. The scene had been littered with metal fragments so thin they were almost transparent, yet the three people involved all claimed they couldn’t explain it and hadn’t seen anything. It was incredibly strange.
“I’m certain those metal sheets weren’t there before I passed out,” Wen Zhao said firmly.
“I’m sure of it too,” Song Yulan echoed.
“I swear it,” Li Jing said, raising his hand.
The police officer stared sharply at them, trying to find any trace of deception on their faces.
There was none.
“Those metal sheets came from the mech itself. Some of them were even still connected to it,” the officer said.
“Then you should ask the mech’s manufacturer,” Wen Zhao replied. He wanted to know the reason too.
“Fine. We’ll leave it here for now.” The officer stood up. “I’ll come back once your other friend wakes up.”
The four of them had been admitted to the hospital together and arranged in the same ward. Wen Zhao, Li Jing, and Song Yulan had all regained consciousness that same day. Only Cheng Li remained unconscious.
“A normal person’s physique really is pathetic.” Li Jing glanced toward Cheng Li’s hospital bed, clicking his tongue. His expression carried the pride and superiority typical of a sentinel.
Wen Zhao frowned and looked at him disapprovingly. “She’s Ah Mu’s fiancée. I hope you’ll show her some respect.”
Li Jing looked unconcerned. “Ah Mu would never truly like her. Marrying her is just a forced compromise, a temporary solution.”
“Did Ah Mu say that himself?” Wen Zhao’s frown deepened.
“Isn’t it obvious? Someone as proud as Ah Mu would never sincerely accept an ordinary person as his partner.” Li Jing believed he understood Yuan Mu well.
Wen Zhao’s brows slowly relaxed. “That’s only your own opinion. You don’t speak for Ah Mu. Ah Mu and Cheng Li went through similar experiences. Maybe they’ll sympathize with each other, support one another, and spend their lives together. Besides, Ah Mu has difficulty taking care of himself now. He needs someone to look after him, and the most suitable person is his wife. If you treat Cheng Li a little better, then Cheng Li may also treat Ah Mu a little better. At the very least, she won’t vent the anger she suffers from you onto Ah Mu.”
Li Jing fell silent. After a long while, he finally muttered, “Got it.”
The sound of wheels rolling approached as Uncle Zhao pushed Yuan Mu to the doorway of the ward.
“Ah Mu, what are you doing here?” Li Jing’s face lit up with surprise.
“I came for a checkup. I heard you ran into the insectoid race?” Yuan Mu entered the room. After confirming that Wen Zhao and the others were unharmed, his gaze settled on Cheng Li’s face, briefly sweeping over her pale complexion.
“Yeah. It was a gigantic monster. We almost lost our lives.” Even now, Li Jing still looked shaken.
“It also destroyed the mech we bought for you.” Wen Zhao clutched his chest in anguish. “And my flyer’s gone too.”
Yuan Mu’s expression remained calm. “As long as everyone’s fine. I couldn’t use the mech anyway. It’s just a pity about your flyer. Why hasn’t she woken up yet?”
“The doctor said her injuries were more severe. Her body’s extremely weak,” Wen Zhao answered.
Yuan Mu frowned slightly and said nothing more.
Cheng Li remained unconscious for two full days and nights. When she finally woke up, she was the only person left in the ward.
After undergoing a series of examinations, she was questioned repeatedly by the police for another half hour. She had no idea what Wen Zhao and the others had told them. As for herself, every answer she gave was the same.
“I don’t know. I passed out.”
Only after confirming they couldn’t get anything useful from her did the police finally let her go.
“Miss Cheng, you can go complete your discharge procedures now,” the nurse informed her.
Cheng Li acknowledged her with a sound, but noticed the nurse still standing there, looking hesitant to speak.
“Is there something else?” she asked.
“Your arm has mostly healed already. You can get a prosthetic prosthetic arm fitted now. Have you considered installing one?” The cost of a prosthetic arm was far from cheap, and Cheng Li clearly wasn’t valued by the Cheng family, which was why the nurse had hesitated before bringing it up.
“No.” Cheng Li rejected the idea without the slightest hesitation.
The nurse revealed an ‘As expected’ expression and comforted her, “You can always get one later if you change your mind.”
After the nurse left, Cheng Li checked the balance of her savings. Anxiety immediately crept into her heart. She had no idea whether it would be enough to cover the medical fees.
If she couldn’t pay the hospital bill, would they detain her here?
Letting her thoughts run wild, Cheng Li opened her medical expense statement. To her shock, she discovered an additional transfer in the account. The transfer had been made two days ago, and after paying all of this hospitalization’s expenses, there would still be money left over.
In fact, she wouldn’t even have to worry about the cost of her next hospital visit.
Cheng Li checked the sender’s name.
A name she never expected appeared on the screen.
Yuan Mu.