Chapter 42: End

"You filthy experimental subjects... you should just stay right where you are and serve our purpose!"

Hermann, slumped in the distance and witnessing this scene, finally squeezed out a tearful curse driven by extreme terror.

Xia Tong had no time to mind her breakdown; resolving the immediate crisis was far more crucial now.

...

Having missed its first strike, the slime mold seemed thoroughly provoked. The bioelectric pulses on its surface visibly intensified, and the aggressive momentum of the two parasitized monsters grew even more frenzied. Completely disregarding their own injuries, they relentlessly entangled Xia Tong like two tireless killing machines.

She wouldn't be able to escape for the moment.

Had she not possessed the ability to liquefy, she would likely have died right here.

The scales of the mutated berserk lizard flickered with a gloomy light as it whipped its body around. Its thick, heavy tail swept horizontally with the force of a landslide, sealing off Xia Tong's space to dodge left.

Simultaneously, the bone-mutated zombie advanced with heavy, steady strides, its dual arm-blades crossing in a downward slash that locked down her right side.

"How interesting." Xia Tong's lips curved slightly, revealing a cunning smile of triumph.

This was exactly what she had been waiting for.

The very next instant, her innate ability suddenly bloomed. Countless wisps of vapor converged in mid-air, the pale blue light waves deepening until they gradually formed a massive, deep-blue sphere of water. It violently enveloped the two charging mutated creatures, trapping them firmly within.

"Glug! Glug!"

Inside the deep-blue water sphere, the mutated berserk lizard and the bone-mutated zombie struggled frantically. Their sharp claws and bone blades continuously struck the inner walls of the sphere, yet they could only stir up ripples, utterly unable to shake it.

The restraining force of the water sphere was unimaginably strong. Every impact had the greater part of its force neutralized by the flexible yet resilient currents, which instead drained away the creatures' already meager stamina.

"This... such formidable control!"

In the distance, the slumped Hermann watched the two terrifying monsters get trapped so easily and muttered in a daze. The look she cast toward Xia Tong now held not just terror, but a trace of indescribable awe.

Just how strong was this cat... no, this monster?

Elsewhere...

The slime mold clearly had not anticipated that Xia Tong possessed such formidable crowd-control capabilities. Across its translucent gelatinous body, the flashing frequency of the bioelectric pulses suddenly accelerated, radiating a restless and anxious fluctuation.

"Hiss, hiss..."

Xia Tong could sense its anxiety. She had reversed the previously somewhat bleak situation with a single Water Prison, but this move was also heavily draining the energy within her.

If this dragged on, it would not end well.

Just then, the slime mold emitted a strange, electric current-like sound. Choosing not to stay put any longer, it decided to take the field itself.

Its massive form shrank back abruptly, and then it catapulted toward Xia Tong like a cannonball!

Its target was clear: capture the ringleader first! Once this bizarre black cat was dealt with, the two trapped parasites would naturally pose no threat.

The corrosive slime mold dragged an arc through the air, hissing loudly as white smoke filled the space. Any metal racks and laboratory equipment touched by the mucus were rapidly corroded and carbonized.

A cold glint flashed in Xia Tong's glass-like feline pupils.

This fellow had finally lost its patience.

She knew in her heart that this Tier 1, Five-Star slime mold was the true core and the greatest obstacle of this trip; the other two were merely parasites.

Killing it would not only release the parasitic control over the other two mutants, but would also allow her to leap past the boundary of Tier 1, Three-Star.

At this thought, her thirst for power and her yearning for 'freedom' burned fiercely in her heart.

"Well come!"

Xia Tong let out a sharp cry. Instead of retreating, she advanced, her petite figure dodging the slime mold's pounce and corrosive mucus with agile precision within the complex laboratory.

Her speed reached its absolute limit, every jump and turn executed with pinpoint accuracy, as if the entire layout of the laboratory had been engraved in her mind.

"You... hurry up and kill it! Don't let it come over!"

Seeing that the disgusting patch of slime had moved a short distance toward her, Hermann nearly fainted from fright and screamed in a piercing voice.

Xia Tong turned a deaf ear; all her focus was concentrated on this slippery opponent.

This slime mold possessed not only astonishing corrosiveness, but also exceptional flexibility and stretchability, making it extremely difficult for conventional physical attacks to deal fatal damage.

"I must find its core!" Thoughts raced through Xia Tong's mind.

Creatures with this sort of 'hive-mind' evolutionary nature usually possessed a weak point resembling a core.

After narrowly dodging a fierce lunge from the slime mold, Xia Tong noticed that as the creature high-speed writhed, a faint point of light flashed and vanished deep within its translucent gelatinous body.

"The core is right there!"

Xia Tong hesitated no longer; opportunities were fleeting!

Her internal water-attribute ability erupted without reservation.

This time, she did not condense water spheres or water arrows; instead, she highly compressed the massive water energy, forming a slender, razor-sharp claw at her fingertips that was nearly materialized and flickered with a dark blue, chilling light!

The moment the deep blue, profound claws took shape, a sharp and freezing chill diffused outward, bringing a sense of frost even to the surrounding air.

"Whoosh!"

Xia Tong's figure transformed into a blurred afterimage. The high-speed currents swirling around her ignored the corrosive mucus spat out by the slime mold, charging straight toward the writhing, massive soft-bodied entity.

The slime mold seemed to sense the fatal threat as well. Its huge body contracted sharply, attempting to hide the suspected core deeper within.

Simultaneously, the bioelectric pulses on its surface suddenly surged to their absolute peak, releasing a powerful biological current directly toward Xia Tong!

The fellow was actually attempting to control her—sheer wishful thinking.

At the same time, the two mutants inside the water sphere began struggling even more violently...

"Hmph, useless!"

Xia Tong snorted coldly. The "Source Core" in her mind flared once more, effortlessly blocking the bioelectrical current that attempted to infiltrate her consciousness and control her.

In a split second, Xia Tong's claws, carrying that peerlessly sharp water blade, plunged fiercely into the body of the slime mold, targeting directly the faint point of light she had just glimpsed!

"Splat!"

The blue claw pierced straight through the soft body and struck the faint point of light, causing the slime mold to instantly freeze. The two frantically struggling mutants in the water sphere gradually stiffened as well. Seeing this, Xia Tong immediately cut off the energy supply, and the massive, deep-blue water sphere crashed heavily onto the ground with a loud bang, sending water splashing everywhere.

...

"It's... it's over?" Hermann stared blankly at the water-logged, filthy laboratory, murmuring to herself.

She could never have imagined that this petite black cat could so simply and effortlessly finish off the three massive behemoths before her.

"How could this be?"

She didn't know whether to feel fortunate or regretful...

"Huu..." In the arena, Xia Tong exhaled a breath of turbid air, slowly moving her slightly stiff body.

Not only had she exceeded her quota of physical exertion this time, but the energy within her had also nearly pushed past her load-bearing limit. Still, the final outcome was good—she had successfully resolved the three big guys before her.

Then, her next step... Xia Tong turned around.