272: Why is Patrick Star here too?

Facing the slimy tentacles whipping toward her with a whistle, Cynthia didn't retreat but advanced instead. With a sharp gaze, her hands, clad in Mechanical Gauntlets, shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing the middle section of a tentacle!

"Got you!" she shouted low. Her waist and legs exerted power in coordination, attempting to use her astonishing strength to swing the massive starfish up entirely for a vicious over-the-shoulder throw!

However, the starfish's reaction was even more unexpected.

It had no intention of resisting or struggling at all. The moment Cynthia exerted her strength, the part where the grabbed tentacle connected to the main body made a slight "poof" sound and actually broke off and detached voluntarily!

Cynthia was pulling back with all her might, and caught off guard, she staggered back a step due to inertia while holding the still-wriggling severed arm.

She instinctively threw the uncomfortable severed limb away with great force!

The thrown tentacle underwent a bizarre transformation in mid-air—like exploding fireworks, it suddenly split into dozens or even hundreds of palm-sized, wriggling dark red little starfish, scattering all over the ground with a clatter.

These little guys didn't hesitate after landing, crawling away in all directions with astonishing speed. Some ducked into the gaps of roadside rubble, while others moved quickly along the ground, bypassing Cynthia and Shen Mingyuan in the blink of an eye.

Like streams of red water, they rapidly surged back onto the large starfish's body, undergoing Fusion and adsorption once more to become a new tentacle that looked perfectly intact, only slightly lighter in color.

"No way? That works too?!" Cynthia watched this regenerative trick, which was comparable to magic, and couldn't help but blurt out, both astonished and somewhat amused.

Just then, the nearby Hermit Crab, which had been accumulating power for a long time, suddenly bulged its mouthparts, making a muffled "gurgle" sound. Immediately, a large number of fist-sized bubbles shimmering with a murky grey-green luster were rapidly spat out!

These bubbles didn't float slowly; instead, they were like they'd been blown out by a blower, covering the large area where Shen Mingyuan and Cynthia were located head-on!

"Hmph! Last time was for tracking, and my condition was poor due to long-term dehydration! This time, I've had plenty of water to drink!"

The Hermit Crab's voice, mixed with the noise of the bubble spray, was full of the pleasure of revenge.

Shen Mingyuan and Cynthia immediately dodged rapidly. Shen Mingyuan's red visor scanned quickly, finding that the bubbles covered a wide range and had erratic trajectories.

He conveniently picked up a piece of detached plastic car part from the roadside and threw it into the bubble swarm. He saw the plastic part being corroded, smoking, softening, and dissolving at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving only a small puddle of viscous residue in just two or three seconds.

"It's highly corrosive! Careful not to touch it!" Shen Mingyuan warned urgently.

Cynthia wove through the gaps between the bubbles relying on her enhanced agility, looking slightly disheveled.

The starfish, however, stayed in a relatively safe area at its leisure, slowly scratching the center of its body with its newly grown tentacle, and spoke lazily to the Hermit Crab that was vigorously spitting bubbles:

"Keep it up, Mr. Krabs. Spit more, and corrode away the soles of those Land Monkeys' shoes."

Upon hearing this, the Hermit Crab, which was spraying with all its might, suddenly had its breath hitched, and the bubble spray stopped abruptly. It angrily waved its giant claws and turned toward the starfish:

"Go away! Get lost! Stop giving me nicknames! Who's Mr. Krabs?! You're the spongebob!"

Taking advantage of the gap while it was distracted by talking, Shen Mingyuan's gaze sharpened, and he pressed his hands together. The "twin stars" pistols instantly transformed, combined, and extended, turning into a Sniper Rifle form against his shoulder. Energy began to converge at the muzzle, emitting a low hum. He simultaneously said to Cynthia quickly:

"Leave that unbreakable 'Mr. Krabs' to me. Can you handle this skin-shedding starfish?"

Cynthia shook her wrists, the energy patterns on her gauntlets lighting up again as she showed a smile full of Battle Intent: "Don't worry, no problem! Watch me smash this Clone-using seafood into a meat patty!"

Before her voice had even faded, she had already taken a heavy step, her right fist encased in the Mechanical Gauntlets smashing fiercely into the road surface!

"Boom!"

The reinforced concrete road surface cracked at the impact, and she forcibly smashed up a heavy stone slab the size of a washbasin.

Cynthia let out a low growl, grabbed the stone slab, and spun twice rapidly with herself as the axis, pouring all her strength into her arm. Like throwing a discus, she hurled that heavy stone slab toward the central single eye of the large starfish! The stone slab cut through the air, letting out a dull whistle!

At the same time, the crosshairs in Shen Mingyuan's sniper scope had already firmly locked onto the Hermit Crab that was still indignant about the nickname "Mr. Krabs"! Dark red light compressed to the limit at the muzzle!

The stone slab Cynthia threw whistled as it smashed toward the starfish, but that lazy fellow just unhurriedly curled its body, using several thick tentacles to ball itself up into a tight sphere.

"Bang!"

The stone slab hit its tough body surface and shattered into several pieces that slid off. The starfish sphere wobbled and then unfolded, its central single eye blinking as if to say, "Is that it?"

Cynthia didn't stop for a moment. Taking advantage of the opponent just having recovered its posture, she exerted power from her feet and lunged forward, attempting to close the distance for a series of heavy strikes.

On the other side, the sense of threat from being locked onto by the sniper scope made the Hermit Crab's hair stand on end instantly.

It gave up continuing to bicker with the starfish. Facing Shen Mingyuan's muzzle, which had finished charging and was emitting a dangerous glow, the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything else.

"Roar!" It let out a low roar. Its thick crab legs weren't just for charging blindly. It was seen suddenly raising a giant claw and smashing it fiercely onto the road surface!

"Rumble!"

Concrete fragments flew. The Hermit Crab's other crab claw shot out with amazing dexterity and speed, precisely grabbing several fist-sized hard pieces of rubble and stuffing them into a special, muscle-folded groove at the front of that giant claw.

Immediately afterward, the giant claw slammed shut and pressurized, and a tooth-aching "creak" of friction came from inside.

The next second, the giant claw snapped open like a cannon barrel!

"Whew—!"

The crushed stone pieces, compressed to the extreme, shot toward Shen Mingyuan, who was charging and aiming, like cannonballs with speed and kinetic energy far exceeding an ordinary throw!

The light in Shen Mingyuan's red visor flashed, and he forcibly turned his body at the last moment before pulling the trigger. The stone projectile almost grazed his armor as it flew past, smashing fiercely into an abandoned road sign post not far behind him. The hard metal post was actually smashed with a deep dent, and the stone itself turned into powder.

"Considerable power..." Shen Mingyuan's heart tightened. He canceled this sniper shot and retreated rapidly while simultaneously beginning to charge for the next shot. This crab not only had thick defense and could spit corrosive bubbles, but it actually had this kind of "Stone Catapult" long-range suppression method.

Seeing that one hit forced the opponent back, the Hermit Crab didn't hesitate further. Its eight legs moved rapidly, and its massive body, with an agility inconsistent with its size, continuously used its giant claws to grab, compress, and fire roadside rubble, forming wave after wave of barrage suppression while quickly closing the distance with Shen Mingyuan. It knew very well that it couldn't give that black fellow a chance to steadily charge up and fire!

Shen Mingyuan wove through the stone barrage to dodge, occasionally using his dual pistols to fire shots to interfere with the opponent's reloading rhythm, but his main energy was focused on maintaining the energy convergence of the sniper form.

The distance was rapidly closed. A fierce light flashed in the Hermit Crab's eyes. After another stone launch, its mouthparts suddenly bulged, preparing to spray the most lethal corrosive bubble coverage area at close range!

Just at the moment its gills bulged and the bubbles were about to be spat out, the distance Shen Mingyuan had been calmly calculating finally entered the ideal range.

"Now!"

However, the Hermit Crab's combat instinct was equally astonishing. An instant before Shen Mingyuan pulled the trigger, its massive body's core muscle groups suddenly contracted and leaped with an explosive force that defied common sense!

Its entire upper body, carrying its two giant claws, made a swift short-distance jump upward!

At the same time, at the connection point between its back and the sedan serving as its "shell," several thick biomass connection bundles instantly loosened and retracted like living things!

"Clang!"

The heavy sedan shell was used by it as a giant shield, precisely propped upward!

"Whew—Boom!!!"

The dark red energy beam arrived almost simultaneously, fiercely striking the chassis part of the sedan shell!

In the violent explosion, steel fragments mixed with charred shell debris flew in all directions. A huge hole was blown into the sedan shell, its edges melting and emitting thick smoke. But the Hermit Crab's main body, at the critical moment, avoided a fatal direct hit by virtue of this "Cicada Shedding Its Skin" leap and the shell's buffer. It was merely sent tumbling by the explosion's shockwave, with some scorch marks added to its chitinous carapace, looking slightly disheveled.

More importantly, without the shell's protection, the Hermit Crab's true posterior abdomen—uncovered by a hard carapace, relatively soft, and covered in folds and mucus—was briefly exposed to the air. It truly looked... somewhat unsightly.

"Ugh..." Shen Mingyuan stabilized himself, his Sniper Rifle disassembling back into dual pistols. His red eyepiece glanced at the sight, and he spoke in a deliberately drawn-out tone filled with undisguised disgust, "'Mr. Krabs'... that look behind you is even more disgusting than your bubbles. No wonder you need a shell to hide it."

"Screee-gaaa—!!!" The Hermit Crab, who had just rolled to its feet and was still a bit dazed from the explosion, heard the nickname it loathed. Coupled with the mockery of its private parts, the thread of its sanity snapped instantly!

Rage completely submerged it. "Good! Good! Good! I'm making it my mission to kill you today! You stay right there!!!"

It didn't even bother to immediately retrieve its damaged shell. Waving its dual claws with an even more frantic Aura than before, it lunged straight at Shen Mingyuan, corrosive mucus already dripping uncontrollably from its mouthparts.

Shen Mingyuan retreated nimbly, opening up some distance. His dual pistols began to reassemble and charge again as his electronically synthesized voice remained steady: "Heh, only a fool would stand still and wait for you. But your 'new shell'... doesn't seem very durable?"

The rhythm of the battle was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Shen Mingyuan. Although Sniper Mode could break through defenses, charging it took time, and the pre-firing signs were obvious.

Having suffered once, the Hermit Crab had become exceptionally wary. Whenever the energy at Shen Mingyuan's muzzle reached a dangerous threshold, it would either use its "Stone Catapult" to interfere frantically or simply retract behind its relatively sturdy giant claws or shift sideways quickly, using its massive body and the wreckage of the broken car as cover.

Several sniper shots were either forced to fire early, only grazing the carapace and leaving scorch marks, or the charging process was interrupted entirely.

High-intensity dodging, counter-attacking, and re-charging were a constant drain on Shen Mingyuan's spirit and armor energy. Shadow Form was not originally designed for this kind of frontal, sustained assault.

Constant defense leads to eventual loss.

Due to a single miscalculation in prediction, Shen Mingyuan's retreat path was slightly restricted as he tried to avoid a dense barrage of stone fragments. The opportunity the Hermit Crab had been waiting for finally appeared!

Its massive body erupted with startling instantaneous acceleration. No longer attacking from a distance, it charged like an out-of-control heavy truck. One giant claw took advantage of Shen Mingyuan's unstable center of gravity and, carrying the weight of its entire body and a thousand pounds of force, smashed down ruthlessly!

"Thoom—!!!"

This blow landed squarely on Shen Mingyuan's arms and shoulders, which he had hurriedly crossed in a block. The terrifying force penetrated the armor, "nailing" him fiercely into the road surface below, which was already riddled with cracks from the battle!

A shallow pit formed instantly, sending gravel flying and dust billowing. The matte black armor emitted a faint, overburdened "crackling" sound. Obvious fracture lines appeared on the shoulder and arm guards, and a violent jolting pain radiated from the biological tissues within.

Although no blood flowed out, this hit undoubtedly caused him significant trauma.

"Hiss... I finally caught you!" The Hermit Crab let out a triumphant hiss. Refusing to let up while it had the upper hand, its two giant claws—one on the left and one on the right—snapped down like massive guillotine blades toward the head and waist of the figure in the pit, accompanied by sharp wind pressure and cold killing intent! It was determined to snip him into three pieces!

At the critical moment, Shen Mingyuan gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain and dizziness to frantically pour his remaining energy into his leg armor! In the final instant before the claws closed, his body rolled sideways with all his might!

"Crack!"

The giant claws snapped together fiercely right where his head had been. Stones were reduced to powder, and the resulting fragments clattered against his backplates as he rolled. It was a perilously close call!

But Shen Mingyuan was not yet out of danger; he was still within the attack range of the giant claws.

More importantly, throughout the entire process of being hit and rolling to dodge, his right hand had never let go of the reassembled Sniper Rifle, which he had been struggling to maintain the energy accumulation for!

Although the black-red light at the muzzle fluctuated violently because of his injuries, it never went out. Instead, in this desperate situation, he used his willpower to forcibly stabilize it and push it to a new peak!

Difficult to hit from a distance? Then fire from point-blank range!

The moment he rolled to his feet, Shen Mingyuan didn't even look at the giant claw being raised again, nor did he have time to worry about the attack whistling in from the other side.

In his eyes, there was only the center of the Hermit Crab's exposed, unprotected body—the carapace there was thick, but it was also the core support area of its massive frame!

He knelt on one knee and, in an almost awkward posture, pressed the muzzle of the nearly two-meter-long Sniper Rifle directly against the seam of the Hermit Crab's chest and abdominal carapace! The distance between them was so close that every scratch on the shell was visible!

The concentrated light of death was reflected in the Hermit Crab's compound eyes at point-blank range. It finally realized what Shen Mingyuan wanted to do and let out a roar mixed with alarm and fear: "What are you trying to—?!"

"Bang—!!!"

Shen Mingyuan pulled the trigger.

The black-red energy beam erupted with a roar at "zero distance" where the muzzle met the carapace!

"Pshhh—Boom!!!"

In that instant, the Hermit Crab's indestructible, heavy carapace was like a steel plate being melted through by a high-temperature welding torch held close; it was instantly torn open and pierced!

A terrifying penetrating wound over half a meter in diameter exploded in the center of its body. The edges of the shell melted and curled, while internal tissues, fluids, and even fragments of what seemed to be core organs sprayed backward violently, mixed with scorched blue smoke under the heat and impact!

The Hermit Crab's massive body was blown backward by the thrust of the zero-distance explosion, and it let out an indescribable, extremely shrill wail of agony!

However, almost at the same instant, the Hermit Crab's two already-swung giant claws also landed squarely on Shen Mingyuan, who couldn't completely dodge in time. This was due to the final inertia of the fatal blow combined with the frantic obsession of its remaining consciousness!

"Thud! Thud!!"

The left claw hit his blocking left arm, causing a piece of the already cracked arm guard to break off completely, exposing the biomass within as electrical sparks flickered erratically.

The right claw grazed the right side of his chest and abdomen. The armor dented inward with a tooth-aching sound of twisting metal. The immense impact sent him flying off the ground again, crashing heavily several meters away. The Sniper Rifle flew from his hand and dissipated into points of light.

Shen Mingyuan lay on the ground, his armor cracked in multiple places, energy patterns flickering, and the light from his red eyepiece dimmed significantly.

He tried to prop himself up but couldn't help letting out a muffled groan of pain.

On the other side, the Hermit Crab's massive body stood frozen in place. Dark "blood" mixed with tissue fluid gushed from the shocking penetrating wound in its center.

It looked down at the large hole in its body in disbelief, then looked at the fallen Shen Mingyuan.

The Hermit Crab's massive body trembled violently from the intense pain, and the terrifying penetrating wound in its center was still gurgling with mixed fluids, yet it surprisingly did not fall immediately.

Its pair of compound eyes stared fixedly at Shen Mingyuan as he struggled to rise. Its voice had become hoarse and breathy due to the damaged carapace and intense pain, but it no longer carried the pure contempt and rage from before.

"Good... good... human..." it said slowly, actually changing its form of address. "I acknowledge you... risking being heavily injured by me just to force such a blow on me... you're ruthless enough."

It adjusted its posture with difficulty, its chitinous carapace emitting a piercing sound as it rubbed together, seemingly applying some kind of pressure to the wound.

"However, it's a pity..." The Hermit Crab's voice took on a weary tone that was almost mocking. "Even though you pierced through me... this isn't a fatal wound for me. My vital spot... is elsewhere. You'll need... at least a few more shots."

Shen Mingyuan knelt on one knee, supporting his body with one arm while the other hand pressed against his side, which was radiating sharp pain from the impact.

His armor was cracked in many places, and the energy patterns flickered while emitting an unstable, faint hum. Hearing the Hermit Crab's words, he slowly raised his head. Although the light from his red eyepiece was dim, it still "watched" the opponent steadily.

He didn't speak immediately, only adjusting his breathing. His body beneath the armor trembled slightly from the pain and energy depletion, but his knee on the ground and his back straightened bit by bit as he attempted to gather his strength once more.