99: I'm going to pop the tumors on his neck one by one.

Vortex Trench.

As its name suggests, this is the most terrifying forbidden zone in the Initial Sea Area.

It is perpetually shrouded in violent thunderclouds and pitch-black hurricanes.

On the sea surface, a colossal vortex, over ten kilometers in diameter, slowly rotated like an entrance to the abyss of hell, swallowing everything.

At this moment, this hellish scene became even more terrifying than hell itself.

Countless shattered ship wrecks, mixed with unidentifiable flesh and blood, floated helplessly in the vortex, eventually being dragged into the bottomless darkness.

The color of the seawater was no longer deep blue.

Instead, it was a sickening, viscous, dark green, as if corroded by strong acid.

As the massive silhouette of the Natural Selection descended like a deity, the giant beast named Throat Ripper slowly extended its hideous head from the center of the vortex.

It was too big.

The part visible above the water alone was comparable to a floating black mountain.

Its appearance resembled some ancient sea dragon, completely twisted and corrupted by abyssal power, its entire body covered in dark purple carapaces as hard as volcanic rock.

Between the gaps of its carapace, viscous, emerald-green mucus flowed, emitting a highly toxic stench.

Most striking were the row of massive, terrifying fleshy sacs, like wrinkled leather, that extended from its neck down to its chest.

At this moment, those fleshy sacs were rhythmically rising and falling slightly.

With each pulsation, an ominous green light flashed within, as if brewing some world-destroying power.

[Name: Abyssal Throat Ripper (World BOSS)]

[Level: LV35 (Mythical)]

[Attack: 1000]

[HP: 2000000/2000000]

[Special Abilities: Corrosive Breath, Abyssal Dive, Acidic Domain, ???]

[Status: Enraged (It senses a powerful aura that threatens it and is searching for a target)]

"Roar—!!!"

As if sensing the gaze from the sky, the Abyssal Throat Ripper suddenly raised its ugly head.

Its two giant, murky yellow eyes, the size of lanterns, locked onto the Natural Selection, hovering ten thousand meters above the clouds.

The next second, the fleshy sacs on its neck suddenly swelled to their limit!

Without any warning.

A viscous, dark green torrent of acid, over ten meters in diameter, as if capable of burning and melting space itself, tore through the storm like a world-ending cannonball, ruthlessly blasting towards the Natural Selection with an unreasonably terrifying trajectory!

Facing that world-destroying Corrosive Breath, Lin Mo's eyes showed no fluctuation.

"Energy Shield, maximum power."

Buzz—!

An Energy Shield, several times thicker and more solid than before, instantly unfurled around the Natural Selection's hull.

A faint, emerald-green glow of Life flowed across the shield's surface, the boundless vitality from the heart of the world tree.

Boom—!!!

The viscous acid torrent slammed violently into the shield!

Erupting with deafening, teeth-grinding sizzling sounds!

The terrifying corrosive power caused the entire shield to twist and deform violently, as if it would be completely melted through by this deadly poison from the abyss in the next second.

Inside the Bridge, piercing alarms blared madly.

[Warning! Energy Shield under high-intensity corrosive attack! Shield integrity: 100%...92%...87%...]

Just one attack shaved off over 10% of the shield's energy!

"Well, well."

Gu Zhixia stood by the Bridge's viewport, looking at the mighty beast below. Her pretty face showed no fear; instead, she lightly licked her lips with the tip of her tongue.

Her beautiful phoenix eyes radiated a bloodthirsty battle intent that almost materialized.

"This thing is indeed much more exciting than that broken tree that just stands there and takes a beating."

"Its outer carapace is made of special keratin, with extremely high energy resistance," Lin Mo said, calmly analyzing the instantly scanned data as if solving a math problem. "Conventional attacks will be difficult to be effective. The weakness should be in the energy-storing fleshy sacs on its neck. But that is also its most dangerous weapon."

High risk, high reward.

"Then what's there to say?"

Gu Zhixia turned, her long, straight legs striding towards the direction of the Carrier Factory.

Leaving behind only a dashing figure and a remark full of absolute confidence and pride.

"I'll go and pop the tumors on its neck, one by one!"

The dome of the Carrier Factory silently slid open again.

This time, there was no earth-shattering roar from Fafnir.

Only two streaks of light, one red and one blue, like two peerless divine swords falling from the realm of gods to execute judgment.

Silently, they cut through the storm, charging boldly towards the colossal beast below.

"Roar?"

The Abyssal Throat Ripper's not-so-high intelligence clearly didn't expect two tiny specks, not much bigger than flies, to fly out of that "iron can."

A trace of pure contempt, befitting a superior being, flashed in its murky giant eyes.

It didn't even bother to use Corrosive Breath again; instead, it violently flicked its head!

A colossal wave, a hundred meters high, was easily stirred up by it, like a whip of punishment wielded by a god, fiercely lashing out at the two "ants" who dared to provoke it!

"Petty tricks!"

Gu Zhixia let out a cold shout.

The thunder dragon mecha made an incredibly sharp turn in the air, its dorsal dragon wing modules ejecting powerful propulsion currents. The entire mecha, like a supercavitating torpedo launched skimming the waves, advanced instead of retreating!

It narrowly passed through just a second before the giant wave collapsed!

Her speed was too fast!

So fast that the Abyssal Throat Ripper's neural reflexes couldn't quite keep up!

In the blink of an eye, the thunder dragon mecha had transformed into a blue lightning bolt, closing in within a hundred meters of it!

"Thunder Dragon Dance!"

The High-Frequency Vibrating Particle Spear in Gu Zhixia's hand once again transformed into an impenetrable blue electric net, carrying endless killing intent, and fiercely stabbed at the dark purple carapace of the Abyssal Throat Ripper, which resembled reef rock!

Clang—!!!

A series of extremely harsh metallic grinding sounds erupted, sparks flying like fireworks!

Gu Zhixia only felt an incredibly terrifying recoil force madly coming from the spear tip, numbing her mecha's arm slightly.

Looking closely, the spear tip, which could easily tear open the defenses of elite monsters, had only left a shallow, almost negligible white scratch on the Abyssal Throat Ripper's carapace!

"Damn it, this hide is thicker than vibranium!" Gu Zhixia's slightly annoyed voice came through the comms channel.

Just as she failed to land a hit and was preparing to retreat, the Abyssal Throat Ripper's retaliation arrived!

Dozens of dark purple tentacles, like giant pythons, burst out of the seawater beside it without warning!

Those tentacles, carrying viscous venom, sealed off all of Gu Zhixia's escape routes from all directions, forming a net of death and poison that savagely squeezed towards her!

Just as she was about to be entangled by the tentacles!

A dark red streak of light, like a precisely guided missile, arrived first!

It was Lin Mo's flame dragon mecha.

"Dragon Claw Ripper!"

He didn't attack the numerous tentacles, but instead precisely targeted the single root from which all the tentacles extended!

The alloy dragon claws, burning with fierce flames, savagely tore open the thick carapace in that area, sinking deep into the flesh beneath!

Rip—!

The intense pain caused the Abyssal Throat Ripper's movements to suddenly stiffen.

The net of tentacles, about to close, also showed a fatal flaw.

Gu Zhixia seized this fleeting opportunity. The thunder dragon mecha's engine overloaded, transforming into a blue lightning bolt that flashed through the opening, successfully breaking out of the encirclement.

"Thanks." Her voice was still concise, but with a hint of solemnity.

"Its defense is too high; a head-on confrontation won't work." Lin Mo's voice was as steady as a mountain, as if everything was under control.

"I'll attract its frontal attention, forcing it to use 'Corrosive Breath.'"

"The moment it attacks, the fleshy sacs on its neck will enter a brief vulnerable period—that's your chance."

"Understood."

Gu Zhixia didn't hesitate, maneuvering the thunder dragon mecha into the storm on the flank, awaiting the moment for a fatal blow.

The flame dragon mecha's engine let out a low roar.

Lin Mo no longer evaded but confronted the giant beast, now completely enraged by its injury!

"Fafnir!"

Lin Mo issued a new command through the mental link.

The golden eyes of the steel behemoth, which had been quietly lying in the Carrier Factory's dock, opened again!

It didn't attack.

Instead, it continuously channeled the immense energy within its chest to Lin Mo's flame dragon mecha through the newly unlocked [Life Link] module!

Instantly, the flame dragon mecha was enveloped in a faint, almost transparent golden light membrane.

[You have gained a Life Link from 'Fafnir', restoring 1% mecha durability per second, and reducing all damage taken by 20%.]

This was Lin Mo's true confidence in facing a Mythical-grade BOSS head-on!

"Come on, big guy!"

The dragon heart in the flame dragon mecha's chest pulsed wildly, and the dragon claws on the outside of its arms ignited with an unprecedented, terrifying flame like dark red molten lava!

What he wanted to do was not defend.

But to counterattack!