24: Forced to fight

Lu Jianchuan held his breath, concealed in the shadows, his mind violently torn between two completely opposing forces.

His gaze remained fixed on that massive silhouette. It lay half-submerged in the murky puddle, its posture facing the exit to the sea like a frozen sculpture filled with endless longing and sorrow.

His mind uncontrollably replayed the brief yet brutally cruel video on his phone—flashes of electricity, a massive white shadow convulsing in agony within the pool... It just wanted to go home. This thought struck his reason with immense force.

Was the power he wielded meant to be used against a life forced to the brink by humanity, one that merely wished to return to its homeland? Was this armor meant for protection, or to become another cold barrier?

"If Uncle Li were here..."

This thought was like grabbing a floating log in dark, turbulent waters, offering momentary solace before plunging him into deeper pain and confusion. Uncle Li would have given him the clearest guidance with those worldly-wise eyes, patted his shoulder, and told him, "Kid, this is what you should do."

But now, the hand on his shoulder was gone. That heavy trust and unspoken teachings had turned into a bitterness he had to swallow alone and a choice he had to make on his own. No one could give him the answer anymore.

Just as reason and emotion clashed fiercely, creating a fleeting gap in his focus—

Crack.

Underfoot, he accidentally crushed a tiny piece of broken glass hidden beneath the dust.

This faint sound echoed like thunder in the dead silence of the warehouse!

The massive back facing him instantly tensed! The muscles along its spine, covered in grayish-white thick hide, rippled like a wave. It didn't even turn around—the tail, grotesquely thickened and ending in a bony club, tore through the air with a terrifying shriek. Like a premeditated giant serpent, it swept violently toward the source of the sound, where Lu Jianchuan was hiding! The attack's range and speed far exceeded Lu Jianchuan's expectations!

Not good!

Every hair on Lu Jianchuan's body stood on end! His mind went nearly blank, relying solely on instincts honed through countless training sessions and previous battles, as well as the neural reflexes subtly enhanced by the armor in recent days, to drive his body into a desperate backward lunge!

Boom—!!!

The massive tail club grazed his back, smashing solidly into the load-bearing concrete pillar he had just leaned against! Instantly, shattered stone and dust flew like shrapnel from an explosion. The heavy impact echoed repeatedly in the vast warehouse, numbing eardrums.

Lu Jianchuan tumbled awkwardly across the ground several times before barely stabilizing behind another pile of debris. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, almost leaping out. Where he had been standing, the concrete pillar now bore a shocking dent, with web-like cracks rapidly spreading.

Having missed its strike, the Mutated White Whale finally turned fully around. Its eyes, no longer gentle black but filled with cold ferocity and the rage of a violated territory, locked onto Lu Jianchuan's figure in the dust with precision.

Its throat swelled, emitting a low roar that seemed to mix subsonic waves with electrical interference noise, brimming with direct warning and killing intent. It saw this human appearing on the final stretch of its path to freedom as an obstacle that must be completely eliminated.

No more hesitation!

Using the cover of the not-yet-settled dust, Lu Jianchuan scrambled on all fours, moving as fast as possible behind a sturdier pile of rusted iron barrels. After a moment of terror, his eyes became as sharp and cold as ice-quenched steel.

No matter how pitiable it was, no matter how pure its intentions, a creature with such terrifying destructive power and in such an emotionally unstable state would cause catastrophic consequences if it charged into a city filled with countless citizens! Protection sometimes meant standing on the opposite side, making cruel choices. This was his duty, the weight Uncle Li had bought with his life, a burden he must shoulder!

Without hesitation, his fingers deftly and swiftly unbuttoned his police uniform, stripping off the jacket and pants with trained efficiency. He carefully folded them and tucked them into a gap between the iron barrels. He couldn't afford to lose this uniform, a symbol of his past and convictions.

Almost the moment he hid the clothes, the dust settled.

The Mutated White Whale, having lost sight of its target, swung its head irritably. Its thick limbs scraped the ground, emitting a grating sound that set teeth on edge.

Now!

Lu Jianchuan sprang up from behind the iron barrels, no longer hiding. He raised his left arm, his right index finger pressing decisively and firmly onto the crimson orb on his wrist.

Hum—!

A low, life-filled resonance, unlike any mechanical sound, rang out. Silver biomatter fluid surged instantly from the armband, like living liquid metal. It spread swiftly, smoothly, and with incredible precision up his arm, covering his torso, enveloping his legs, and finally converging at his head to form a fully enclosed, streamlined helmet—arm guards, chest plate, abdominal armor, leg guards took shape in sequence. A brilliant blue light ignited at the visor, like two clusters of ghostly blue flames burning in the gloom.

As the last dust settled, the Mutated White Whale saw no longer the fragile human it had cornered with a single strike. A warrior clad entirely in silver-white bio-armor, with sharp lines and eyes burning with cold determination, stood steadfastly before it like an unyielding rock, completely blocking its path to the exit and the free sea.

A new standoff formed. The air was thick with the scent of ozone, sea brine, and the tension of imminent battle.

The moment the armor enveloped him, a surge of power flooded his limbs and senses, magnifying his perception. The world seemed to slow down and become clearer in his eyes.

Lu Jianchuan forced himself to calm down. His mind analyzed the situation like a high-speed computer: strength, size, attack range—the opponent held absolute advantages. His chance lay in speed and the not-yet-fully-mastered energy deep within the armor.

He had to close in, using electricity to create an opening!

The thought flashed like lightning. Across from him, White Star's massive body had already sprung into action. It seemed to feel a trace of instinctive wariness toward this suddenly appearing silver armor, but its desire to return to the sea instantly overwhelmed that caution.

It didn't waste time roaring. The tail, grotesquely altered with a vicious bony blade, tore through the air—no longer a crude sweep but like a guillotine's blade, descending with suffocating wind pressure from an angle, aimed precisely at where Lu Jianchuan stood!

Blue light flashed urgently in Lu Jianchuan's visor. Not daring to hesitate, he pushed off the ground with both feet, his body darting backward and sideways with the explosive force provided by the armor.

Boom—!!!

The tail club struck like a small bomb exploding. The concrete floor erupted into a terrifying crater, web-like cracks spreading wildly. Shattered stone and dust shot out like shotgun pellets, pinging against distant metal walls. The entire warehouse trembled slightly from the impact.

Now!

Lu Jianchuan seized the tiny gap as the massive tail lifted, old force spent and new force not yet gathered. His body pressed low to the ground, like a leopard skimming the earth, he charged along an unpredictable zigzag path, boldly cutting into the blind spot at the side of White Star's mountain-like body! His right fist clenched during the sprint, his consciousness highly focused, frantically channeling the energy circuits within the armor's core.

Crackle—! Hum—!

Fierce blue-white electric serpents burst from the armor on his right arm, coiling, leaping, and converging at his fist. They emitted a high-frequency hum that made scalps tingle, casting the dim warehouse in a stark white light!

This punch concentrated most of the bio-electric energy he could currently control, carrying the momentum to pierce through anything, and slammed hard into White Star's relatively vulnerable flank!

The fist connected solidly! The expected scene of muscle spasms and the enemy freezing did not appear.

However, in the split second before the electricity erupted and was absorbed by White Star's thick hide, Lu Jianchuan keenly caught—deep within those cold, ferocious pupils, a fleeting yet unmistakable flash of fear and pain, rooted in the Soul!

It was an instinctive fear etched into its genes, born from countless electric shock tortures! Even though it had now evolved the ability to absorb electrical energy, even though reason knew this current couldn't harm it, the memory of the extreme pain from being electrocuted was brutally triggered upon contact!

This fear lasted only an insignificant moment before being completely Submerged by the sense of power from evolution and the rage of violated territory.

Blue, wave-like light shimmered across the grayish-white thick hide on its body, greedily—even with a hint of retaliation—devouring and absorbing the electric arcs from Lu Jianchuan's fist!

Not only did it cause no harm, but after the fear faded, White Star's cold pupils ignited with even fiercer savagery! Within the mutated melon on its forehead, energy streams boiled and flashed as if thoroughly enraged! Dazzling blue-white light instantly condensed to its peak!

A deadly sense of crisis washed over Lu Jianchuan like ice water, making every hair on his body stand on end!