Chapter 85: Taken by the Cocoon
Mo Xiao felt helpless. The Mark on his chest grew slightly warm; he couldn’t bring himself to say anything that went against her wishes.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay by her side. Unless I’m dead, I won’t let that thing hurt her,” Zhan Ye said, walking to Su Tang’s side. “The Cocoon won’t come alone; there will likely be other pollutants. At that time, I’m leaving my team members in your hands.”
Zhan Ye looked back at the remaining Sentinels of the Third Squad, his eyes dark. Mo Xiao looked at Zhan Ye and his team, his fingers unconsciously rubbing together. After a moment of silence, he nodded to Zhan Ye.
“Don’t worry. You protect her; the flanks and rear are on us.”
He turned to the Sentinels, his voice returning to its usual stability. “First and Third Squads, set up defenses in different directions according to our previous groupings. The heavily wounded stay in the rear. Use every resource you have. Take a gamble—life or death is in the hands of fate!”
“Received!”
The Sentinels responded in unison and quickly deployed. Once everything was ready, Su Tang released her spirit power. Pale gold spirit threads slowly covered the barrier. A slimy sensation followed the threads into her mind. Su Tang frowned, increased the release of her power, and proactively increased the contact area with the barrier. Feeling the barrier start to fluctuate, she slowly curled her lips.
Can you feel it? Do you want my spirit power? Then come and get it…
Continuing to increase the output, Su Tang’s eyes shone with a bright light. The pale gold spirit threads became sharp; unlike their initial softness, they now struck the barrier fiercely. When she felt the slimy, disgusting energy, she didn’t retreat. Instead, her smile grew wider.
“You want it? Then come!”
With a flick of her fingers, her spirit power flooded out without reservation. The golden light threads exploded across the barrier like a rain of light. Sweat poured down her jawline, soaking her collar.
“It’s coming… its core energy field is starting to contract.”
Su Tang’s voice carried an imperceptible tremor—not from fear, but because the channel between her spirit power and the barrier had begun to connect. The other side was like a bottomless pit, drawing her strength. As the link deepened, she could clearly see the deep reaches of the channel—that writhing, disgusting mass was greedily following the spirit power trail, slowly crawling toward them.
Zhan Ye’s hand gripped his dagger so hard his knuckles turned white. He watched the sweat-soaked hair clinging to the side of her neck, his heart hammering in his chest. Finally. I won’t let it go.
Immediately, a large number of pollutants swarmed from all directions. Mo Xiao commanded the Silver Wolf to guard the front. “Hold the line! Don’t let the pollutants near the channel!”
Laser beams wove a net in the open space, and the roars of the spiritual entities mixed with the bellows of the pollutants, heightening the tension.
“Now, Zhan Ye!”
Su Tang’s eyes snapped open, a sharp light flashing within. That thing was here. Zhan Ye manifested the Golden Eagle; almost the instant the creature showed its head, the eagle charged. Its talons pierced the Cocoon’s shell, and a disgusting, dark green slime sprayed out. Zhan Ye shielded Su Tang, bending over to protect her beneath him.
“Captain, Guide Su, move out of the way! I’m going to blow it up!”
A Sentinel nearby held the last bomb, ready to shove it onto the Cocoon’s head. Su Tang was about to withdraw her spirit power when the energy vortex inside the barrier suddenly contracted violently. A terrifying suction force erupted from the channel, clinging to her spirit threads and refusing to let go.
“It’s dragging me in!” Su Tang cried out. Her body was pulled forward by an invisible force. Her fingertips were only millimeters from the barrier. As her pale gold spirit power was swallowed by the darkness, Su Tang leaned back with all her might, but it was useless.
“Su Tang!”
Without thinking, Zhan Ye lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. However, the suction was too terrifying; not only did he fail to pull her back, but he was also dragged forward by the massive force. Their bodies were pressed tightly together as they were pulled toward the barrier.
The moment they touched the barrier, it erupted in a blinding white light. Then, the light opened up like a bottomless black hole and sucked them both inside.
“Su Tang!”
Mo Xiao saw this from the corner of his eye, but it was too late to stop it. After swallowing the two of them, the white light on the barrier fluctuated violently. The barrier covering the canyon shrunk at a visible speed, finally turning into a piercing beam of light that shot into the sky and vanished into the depths of the canyon.
With the disappearance of the white light, the pollutants that had been attacking suddenly stopped and scattered.
“Captain Mo…” Klei’s voice trembled as he looked at the empty space where the barrier had been. “Guide Su and Captain Zhan…”
Mo Xiao stared fixedly at where the light had vanished. The wound on his left shoulder had reopened from overexertion, and blood soaked his clothes. He slowly released his clenched fist.
“They are still safe,” he said hoarsely. Feeling the slight heat from the Mark on his chest, Mo Xiao forced himself to stay calm. “The Cocoon needs Su Tang’s spirit power to evolve. It took them to continue absorbing energy; it won’t kill them in the short term.”
At least, not until it has sucked her dry…
The Vice-Captain of the Third Squad was frantic. “Then what do we do? Captain Mo, you can’t just ignore our Captain—we have to go save them!”
The Third Squad had already lost too much today; they absolutely could not lose their Captain.
“No one is abandoning them. But we shouldn’t take too many people.” Otherwise, they would be handled by pollutants on the road before they even reached the Cocoon’s lair. “Vice-Captain, you stay and guard the heavily wounded. Klei, find two capable members of the First Squad who aren’t injured. Follow me. We’re going to bring them back.”
Meanwhile, deep in the Abyss.
Su Tang woke up amidst a wave of severe dizziness. She found herself lying on a layer of viscous energy gel. The air was filled with pervasive mist—a blend of black and red that felt ominous just looking at it. Zhan Ye was lying beside her, his back a bloody mess; he must have hit something while passing through.
“Zhan Ye!” Su Tang struggled to crawl over. The moment her fingertips touched his skin, she was pulled by a strong suction. It was the gel surrounding them…
Su Tang was helplessly trapped. The slimy, disgusting sensation covered her entire body. Watching her spirit power being absorbed bit by bit by those things, Su Tang couldn’t help but struggle.
“Mmph…”
Zhan Ye groaned and woke up. Seeing Su Tang stuck to those disgusting things, he pushed himself up and moved to her side, helping her tear away the sticky substance.
“Don’t touch them! They’re absorbing our spirit power… ugh…”
Translator’s Note:
Some terms/context for this part:
- Hei Ta (黑塔): Su Tang’s pun. “Bai Ta” means White Tower, so calling it “Black Tower” implies it’s evil or corrupt.
- The Sacrifice: Su Tang using herself as bait is a huge character moment. It really shows how much she cares about the Sentinels’ lives, even though the Tower views them as expendable.
- Zhan Ye’s Heartbeat: That moment of realization for Zhan Ye… he’s officially fallen hard for our Little Guide. 💘
- The Mark: Mo Xiao mentioned his “Mark” glowing. This is the bond/imprint Su Tang left on him during purification. It acts like a compass or a status indicator for her well-being.
It’s getting exciting~ Enjoy reading!
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