196: Chapter 196 Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole, First Battle a Success

Ling Ye returned to the safe zone silently, taking out the hand-cranked flashlight from which he had removed the gear train and springs.

He carefully removed the relatively intact micro-spring gear train, using a piece of fine wire he found to secure it to a rusty inner bearing race about the size of a fist.

Then, he tied one end of a short piece of paracord to the output shaft of the gear train, and tied a small bolt wrapped in a strip of canvas to the other end, acting as a pendulum.

A crude reciprocating vibration device powered by the residual energy of the spring was complete.

He wound up the spring (the remaining power could last for about 5-8 minutes) and started it.

The bolt pendulum wrapped in canvas would gently tap the ground at a certain frequency, conducting through the bearing's inner race to create a continuous, faint, but regular "tap... tap... tap..." vibration that could be perceived within a certain range.

Ling Ye carried this device and snuck into the buffer zone like a ghost, arriving at the perimeter of the pre-set ambush area—about fifteen meters from the edge of the Canvas Area, a location with cracks in the ground that facilitated vibration conduction, and surrounded by overturned shelves and an old punch press acting as cover.

He leaned over, carefully placing the vibration device next to the crack, and used a few small stones to slightly raise the inner bearing race to make it contact the ground more fully for better conduction.

Then, he gently turned the spring switch.

"Click... tap... tap... tap..."

A faint but clear tapping sound rang out, appearing exceptionally abrupt in the deathly silent Warehouse.

The vibration spread in all directions through the ground cracks and the conduction of the stones.

Ling Ye immediately retreated, moving with the fastest yet lightest footsteps to his pre-selected first ambush point—in the shadow behind the overturned punch press.

This was about seven or eight meters from the vibration source, offering a good view and cover, and situated between the vibration source and the Canvas Area, making it the most likely path for the Mutant once attracted.

He held his breath, pressing his body tightly against the cold, rough iron shell of the punch press, exposing only one eye, staring fixedly at the direction of the Canvas Area.

His right hand gripped the crowbar tightly, while his left hand rested lightly on the high-intensity flashlight at his waist.

The pipe wrench was placed within reach at his feet.

His spirit was highly focused, raising "Energy Perception" to the limit, capturing any fluctuation of energy and "presence".

"Tap... tap... tap..."

The vibration device worked regularly, like an enticing bait signal in the silence.

Time passed second by second.

Each second felt like a stretched rubber band.

At first, the Canvas Area was completely still, that cold "presence" still permeated, but it seemed... ripples had started.

"Click-clack... click-clack..."

That familiar, teeth-grinding sound of chitin rubbing against each other rang out again, and it was clearer and closer to the edge of the canvas than before!

It's here!

Ling Ye's heartbeat accelerated slightly, but his breathing remained steady.

The patience of a hunter was displayed at this moment.

"Rustle..."

The canvas was gently pushed up at one corner.

A bit of dark blue eerie light, like a ghost fire, flickered at the edge of the darkness, then vanished.

Immediately after, a low, slender black shadow slowly slid out from under the canvas.

Borrowing the extremely faint, dim light filtering in from the cracks above, Ling Ye barely managed to see its outline:

It was about the size of a large dog, but its body structure was extremely strange.

The main body was like a giant millipede magnified several times, covered in a black chitinous shell, divided into more than a dozen segments, with several pairs of short, sharp walking legs on each side.

But its head... had no obvious mouthparts or compound eyes; instead, there were three pairs of short, constantly twitching tentacles with dark blue eerie light flickering at the tips, like some kind of sensory array.

And from both sides of its front end extended two tentacles that were relatively long compared to its body, covered in dense black scales, with enlarged ends featuring suckers and bone spurs, currently slightly raised, like a viper lifting its head, slowly swaying in the air, seemingly probing for something.

It really was a type of Fusion Mutant!

Possessing both the shell and multi-legs of an arthropod, and the tentacles of a mollusk!

Those dark blue eerie tentacles were likely its sensory organs, replacing vision.

This thing did not move fast, its walking legs making a slight "click" sound, but it was exceptionally steady.

It seemed to have had all its attention attracted by the vibration device, those three pairs of eerie blue tentacles pointing straight at the direction of the vibration source, and the two main tentacles also reaching over there.

It left the edge of the Canvas Area and began to crawl slowly but firmly towards the direction of the vibration source.

Its path was almost completely within Ling Ye's expectations!

Ling Ye silently calculated the distance.

Ten meters... eight meters... six meters...

The Mutant was getting closer and closer; he could even smell a faint, fishy stench like damp mold mixed with rust.

Its shell gleamed with an oily black luster in the dim light, and the movements of those short legs and tentacles carried an unnatural stiffness and eeriness.

Now!

When the Mutant crawled to about three meters from the vibration source, its body fully entering the center of the ambush zone, and with its back turned to the punch press where Ling Ye was hiding—

Ling Ye moved!

He did not make any sound, leaping from behind the punch press like a hunting cheetah!

He crossed the distance of several meters in two steps, using the momentum of the forward rush, and with maximum force, smashed the crowbar in his hand hard towards the middle section of the Mutant's body, the part where the shell segments connected most densely, and likely the relatively weakest part!

"Bang!!"

A dull impact sound!

The tip of the crowbar hit the target precisely!

However, the feedback he received made Ling Ye's heart sink!

The hardness of that shell was beyond imagination!

Although this strike caused the Mutant's body to jerk sideways and fine cracks appeared on the shell, it did not cause fatal damage, and didn't even fully penetrate the shell!

"Hiss—ga!!"

The Mutant let out a sharp, ear-piercing hiss like metal scraping against glass!

It was injured, its body twisted violently, and those two main tentacles whipped and lashed towards Ling Ye with astonishing speed!

The suckers at the tips of the tentacles opened, revealing dense, cold-glinting bone spurs inside!

Ling Ye was prepared.

Failing the first strike, he immediately rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the strangulation of the two tentacles.

The tentacles grazed his body and lashed onto the nearby shelf, making a crisp "snap" sound, actually leaving a few shallow white marks on the metal shelf!

Great power!

Great speed!

Ling Ye rolled to his feet, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye that the Mutant had turned around, its three pairs of eerie blue tentacles twitching wildly, locking onto him!

It seemed to be enraged, its legs scuttling, and its speed was actually much faster than before, rushing at him again, while the two tentacles, like a viper sticking out its tongue, sealed off his evasion space from left and right!

Cannot fight head-on!

This thing's shell is too hard, frontal assault efficiency is too low, and it's easy to get entangled by the tentacles!

Ling Ye's thoughts raced, and he instantly changed his strategy.

He retreated sharply, while his left hand pulled out the high-intensity flashlight, aimed it at the Mutant's three pairs of twitching, suspected sensory-organ eerie blue tentacles, and pressed the strobe switch!

"Swoosh—!!"

A blinding, snow-white beam of light exploded in the darkness like lightning!

The high-intensity flashlight in strobe mode instantly illuminated the surroundings in a deathly pale white!

"Hiss-ga—!!!"

The Mutant let out an even more shrill hiss, filled with pain and confusion!

Its forward momentum stopped abruptly, and its body twisted and rolled violently!

Those three pairs of eerie blue tentacles twitched and curled as if being scorched, the dark blue light flashing and flickering rapidly!

Even the two attacking tentacles seemed to lose their aim, flailing and whipping randomly!

The strong light is effective!

And the effect is significant!

This thing's senses are extremely sensitive to strong light, perhaps even causing direct damage or strong interference!

Now is the chance!

Enduring the discomfort of his eyes being stung by the stray light, Ling Ye rushed forward again!

This time, he did not attack the hard shell, but aimed at the area below the Mutant's body that was exposed due to pain and confusion, the relatively soft area at the base of the walking legs, and the roots of those wildly twitching eerie blue tentacles!

"Squish!"

The sharp end of the crowbar stabbed fiercely into the joint gap where a walking leg connected to the body!

Black, viscous liquid with a strong, foul stench sprayed out!

"Ga!!!"

The Mutant hissed in pain again, its body jerked up, and one tentacle instinctively swept towards Ling Ye!

Ling Ye had anticipated this, releasing his grip on the crowbar immediately after stabbing, rolled low, and grabbed the pipe wrench at his feet!

The moment he rolled to his feet, the heavy pipe wrench used centrifugal force to smash hard into the middle section of the other sweeping tentacle!

"Crack!"

A teeth-grinding, shattering sound!

That tentacle covered in dense black scales was actually deformed by the pipe wrench, the scales shattered, and more black viscous liquid flowed out!

The Mutant suffered heavy damage and fell into complete madness!

It no longer tried to attack, but used its remaining walking legs and one intact tentacle to desperately claw at the ground, wanting to turn and flee back to the Canvas Area!

Want to run?

Cold light flashed in Ling Ye's eyes; how could he let the tiger return to the mountain!

He raised the pipe wrench again, lunged forward, aimed at the neck position where the Mutant's head connected to its body, the most fragile part of the shell, and with all his might, smashed down hard!

"Bang! Crack!"

This time, the shell finally could not bear the weight and shattered!

The jaws of the pipe wrench embedded deeply into the Mutant's body tissue!

The Mutant's movements froze abruptly, the light of the eerie blue tentacles quickly dimmed and extinguished.

Its body twitched a few times, then stopped moving, leaving only black viscous liquid gushing out from the wound, smelling foul.

Confirmed dead.

Ling Ye panted, stepped back two steps, vigilantly watching the direction of the Canvas Area, while quickly retrieving the crowbar.

The high-intensity flashlight had been turned off, the Warehouse plunged back into darkness, with only the "tap... tap" sound still faintly coming from the vibration device in the distance, but the spring power seemed to be about to run out.

The Canvas Area was deathly silent.

The sound of the battle just now was not small, but it didn't seem to trigger an immediate reaction from other Mutants.

Was it because this one was just a "scout"?

Or because the communication between them was not instantaneous?

Or perhaps the strobe light also caused some kind of interference or deterrence to the individuals deep in the Canvas Area?

Ling Ye dared not be careless.

He quickly checked himself; apart from some dust and black viscous liquid stuck on him while dodging, he was uninjured.

His physical strength was consumed a bit, but he could still sustain.

He took a look at the Mutant's corpse on the ground, then looked at the Canvas Area.

The first battle was a success, verifying the effectiveness of the strong light, and also testing some of this thing's abilities.

But the sound of battle and the light might have already alerted the nest.