285: Chapter 285 It's a shame you guys don't use your imaginations to write novels.

Returning to the team.

The girls immediately surrounded him.

"Lin Yuan, what did that old man say to you? He was being so mysterious."

Chen Hanyue asked with a face full of gossip.

"Did he want to betroth his daughter to you? I saw him gesturing wildly in the car window just now, like he was trying to sell something." Ye Qingxue added from the side.

Lin Yuan glanced at them and said helplessly,

"It's a waste for people with your imagination not to write novels."

He pulled a folded map from his pocket, which had several red circles marked on it.

"The seaside is about to get lively."

That simple sentence caused the girls' expressions to turn serious instantly.

Having followed Lin Yuan for so long, they understood his way of speaking all too well.

Anything he described as "lively" usually meant a massive scene where corpses would be strewn across the field.

"Is it sea beasts?"

Tang Shiyun pushed up her glasses, her brow furrowing slightly. "No wonder the weather has felt strange lately."

"It's not just sea beasts."

Lin Yuan looked at the eastern sky, where dark clouds loomed as if a giant beast was swallowing the light.

"It's the overlords of the deep sea, beings that even you must deal with carefully now."

Hearing the words "deal with carefully," the girls weren't afraid; instead, their eyes flickered with fighting spirit one by one.

Especially Xia Bingli!

The greatsword in her hand had already begun to hum.

"Deep sea overlords? Doesn't that mean there will be many high-level crystal nuclei?"

She licked her lips, her eyes fanatical. "When are we going to 'restock'?"

"Restock?" Lin Yuan was amused by the term.

"No rush."

He led the team back in the direction they had come from.

...

On the way back, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than when they arrived.

After all, they had completed a major trade and obtained key intelligence.

But this relaxation did not last long.

As the armored convoy passed through an abandoned urban area...

Xiao Qi, who was responsible for scouting, suddenly jumped up from Luo Qinghan's arms, its fur standing on end as it let out a sharp hiss toward the window.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Luo Qinghan's face changed. "Xiao Qi says... something is there! Fast!"

Before her voice could fade.

Boom!

A loud explosion.

The lead armored car was suddenly struck as if by an invisible giant hand.

The entire vehicle was sent flying, rolling several times in the snow before coming to a stop.

"Enemy attack!"

"All personnel on alert!"

Without needing Lin Yuan's command, the well-trained Female Warriors reacted instantly.

The vehicles stopped quickly, forming a defensive formation.

Countless muzzles pointed in the direction the attack had come from.

In the shadows of the ruins, a massive Mutated Beast slowly emerged.

It was a... crab?

No, to be precise, it was a mutated King Crab.

But its size was as large as a tank, and its entire body was a strange bluish-black.

Two massive claws shimmered with a metallic luster; that previous strike was clearly the handiwork of these claws.

Even more disgusting was that a twisted human face was actually growing on its carapace!

The face seemed to be wriggling, letting out a chilling, eerie laugh.

"Hee hee... meat... tender meat..."

"Holy crap! This crab has become a spirit? It can talk?"

Ye Qingyue's eyes widened, her face filled with disgust.

"It's way too ugly! If we steamed and ate this, I'd be afraid of having nightmares!"

Lin Yuan had also stepped out of the car by now, his brow twitching slightly as he looked at the giant human-faced crab.

"Has the vanguard arrived already? It seems they are faster than I imagined."

This was a Deep Sea Demonic Crab, an S-rank Mutated Beast.

While it might only be considered a small fry in the deep sea, at this stage, appearing on land made it an absolute overlord-level existence.

Moreover, this thing had a specific trait—it lived in colonies.

Sure enough.

Following the appearance of the first giant crab, dense rustling sounds echoed from the surrounding ruins.

One, two, ten...

At least a hundred mutated crabs the size of millstones crawled out of the snow, surrounding the convoy.

They waved their claws, spitting white foam from their mouths. When the foam hit the ground, it instantly corroded a large pit into the concrete.

"Brother Lin Yuan, how should we handle this? Steamed or braised?"

Although Ye Qingyue was still being cheeky, a blazing fire had already ignited in her eyes.

She could feel that the aura emanating from these crabs was no weaker than a third-order mutated zombie.

Especially that tank-sized leader, which possessed a quasi-S-rank pressure.

Lin Yuan glanced at the crabs and said flatly,

"The meat of this mutated crab is sour; it doesn't taste good."

"However, their shells are good material for making shields."

Having said that, he snapped his fingers.

"Perfect, use them for target practice. The big one is mine, and you guys can split the small ones."

"Remember, don't smash the shells. Those are worth money."

"Yes!"

The girls responded in unison, their voices crisp and pleasant yet filled with a murderous intent.

The next second.

The battle erupted.

Xia Bingli took the lead, charging directly into the crab swarm.

Boom!

With one swing of her sword.

Several mutated crabs were slaughtered before they could even react!

The Female Warriors were not slow either; an ice spike accurately pierced the eye of one crab.

On the other side, Luo Qinghan's figure was like a ghost, weaving through the crab swarm.

The dagger in her hand shimmered with the light of spatial blades.

With every swing, a crab's claw was cleanly sliced off.

It was as if she were performing a precise dissection.

Su Yuyan stood on the roof of a vehicle, commanding the overall situation.

"Group three, watch the left! Group five, fill the gap! Lightning Ability Users, concentrate your attacks on the joints! Don't waste your Superpowers!"

Under her command, the Female Warriors' cooperation was like a precision machine—efficient and lethal.

As for the S-rank Human-Faced Giant Crab leader, seeing its lackeys being slaughtered, it became completely enraged.

"Roar!"

It let out a roar unlike any crab, its massive claw whistling through the air as it smashed down toward Lin Yuan.

It could sense that this man was the core of this group.

As long as it killed him...

However.

When its claw was less than half a meter from Lin Yuan.

It stopped.

It was as if it had slammed into an invisible wall.

No matter how much force it applied, even to the point where the face on its back twisted to the extreme, the claw remained motionless.

Lin Yuan had his hands in his pockets and didn't even lift an eyelid.

Then he extended a finger and lightly tapped the massive claw.

"Break."

Crack!

A crisp sound of shattering rang out.

That giant crab claw, with a hardness comparable to alloy, actually began to crack inch by inch from where Lin Yuan's fingertip touched it!

The cracks rapidly spread across its entire body.

The human face on the crab's back let out a terrified shriek.

Bang!

The entire giant crab instantly exploded, turning into countless fragments.

Only the two hardest large claws fell to the ground intact.

The entire field went silent.

The small crabs that were still putting up a desperate resistance seemed to have had their pause buttons pressed; they all froze in place, shivering.

Lin Yuan waved his hand as if brushing away dust.

"Finish the rest within two minutes."

"Exceed the time limit, and your dinner chicken legs will be docked."

This sentence was more effective than any stimulant.

The girls' eyes turned green instantly.

"Kill! For the chicken legs!"

"Get lost! Those are my points!"

The battlefield, which had been somewhat orderly, instantly turned into a mob-stealing competition.

Pity those mutated crabs; they had originally come for a buffet, but ended up becoming the buffet themselves.

Five minutes later.

The battle ended.

Crab shells were neatly stacked by the roadside, and the spoils of war were collected.

Lin Yuan looked at the scene and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, efficiency has improved."

"Back to the base, extra rations tonight."

"Long live the Master!"

Cheers echoed through the sky.

However, in a corner where no one noticed.

Lin Yuan looked back at the eastern sea.

Just before that giant crab died, it seemed to have sent a signal deep into the ocean through some kind of spiritual fluctuation.

It was a set of coordinates.

And also a declaration of war.