Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Not only did the Mother Face Demon have a weakness, but that very weakness was also in her possession.

What was initially an unwinnable situation had now completely turned in her favor. The Ark stopped running and dodging, standing smilingly in front of the Mother Face Demon without making a move.

Seeing the Ark stop, the Mother Face Demon furiously bent its body, swinging its palm, intending to squash her.

Just as the Mother Face Demon's attack was about to land, the Ark instantly separated the Subsurface Demon, using it as a shield in front of her. The severely injured Subsurface Demon reappeared with its wounds healed.

The sudden appearance of the Subsurface Demon halted the Mother Face Demon's attack, as if the stirring wind had been paused.

It stared with its eye, dumbfounded at the Subsurface Demon.

"Mommy?" called the Subsurface Demon.

Seeing its child unharmed, the Mother Face Demon, after a moment of stunned silence, did not lessen its rage. Realizing the situation, it immediately emitted a tone akin to "Get away!" to the Subsurface Demon, whipping up the wind around the Ark, trying to kill her behind it.

The Subsurface Demon, seeing this, crouched down, circling its hands around the Ark protectively, tilting its head as it accusedly addressed its mother.

"Mommy?!"

In this stance, if the Mother Face Demon wanted to kill the Ark, it would have to cut through the Subsurface Demon's body first, causing the restless wind to cease.

Now under the Ark's control, the Subsurface Demon felt only affection, admiration, and obedience towards her, puzzled why its mother wanted to confront its master.

For the first time, the Ark saw a speechless expression on the fierce, ugly face of an alien creature. It seemed the Mother Face Demon wanted to give the Subsurface Demon a thrashing, and indeed, it attempted to do so, not sparing its own child in its attempt to strike them both.

The Subsurface Demon quickly placed the Ark on its shoulder, dodging its mother's attack.

"Roar!!!" The Mother Face Demon opened its fang-filled mouth and let out an angry roar.

The Ark felt it was on the verge of a breakdown.

The Night Watchers following behind were also confused by the current situation.

Jiang Qi saw the previously vanished smaller alien creature reappear, protecting the "Devourer," while she sat calmly on the monster's shoulder, leisurely dealing with the Mother Face Demon's attacks.

All of this was beyond the comprehension of Jiang Qi and the Night Watchers. How did the Subsurface Demon reappear, and why was it protecting the Ark?

For a moment, they all stopped their actions, forgetting to attack the Mother Face Demon, watching this absurd scene.

The Mother Face Demon could use wind to kill the Ark, but its wind blades were indiscriminate and could kill the Subsurface Demon. Thus, it resorted to direct attacks to discipline it. However, with the Subsurface Demon's speed enhancement ability, it easily dodged the heavy blows, continuously sending "pacifying" messages to the Mother Face Demon, suggesting it submit to the Ark.

The Mother Face Demon, enraged to the brink of losing its sanity, now resented its own mischievous child.

Based on the Ark's previous attacks on the Subsurface Demon and the Night Watchers' attacks on the Mother Face Demon, the Ark speculated that its weak points were the eyes and mouth.

However, approaching the Mother Face Demon's mouth and eyes was not simple, as any bullets nearing these spots were preemptively sliced by the wind.

As the maternal demon approached repeatedly, Ark sensed the right moment had come.

Dodging another close encounter with the subfacial demon, she immediately fused with it, commanding the wire python to collect all the bombs from the night guards. She then wrapped the wire python around the maternal demon's neck, bringing it onto her and swiftly initiating the vine bug's mental control.

As she engaged the mental control, her mimicry faded. It was just for a second, and Ark believed no one would notice.

The more significant the gap in levels, the shorter the duration of the vine bug's mental control. From A-grade to S-grade, she could at most disorient the maternal demon for a few seconds.

Seizing the moment while the maternal demon was disoriented, Ark stepped onto its shoulder, holding two bombs in one hand. She bit the pins with her teeth, yanking them out and tossing them into the gaping mouth of the maternal demon, repeating the process with the bombs in her other hand.

Quickly moving to a safe distance before the bombs exploded, Ark raised her gun and fired the last three special bullets into the maternal demon's eyes.

As her bullets penetrated its eyes, the maternal demon broke free from the vine bug's mental control.

"Boom!" The bombs exploded, igniting a burst of fire in its eyes.

A reassuring prompt appeared.

[You have severely injured the alien creature “Maternal Demon”.]

[Eligible to absorb the alien creature “Maternal Demon”. Do you choose to absorb?]

Ark chose to absorb.

[Absorption successful]

[New entry added to the compendium: “Maternal Demon”]

[Entry No. 4: Maternal Demon]

"Rank: S-level (danger and intelligence combined)."

"Ability: Can control wind within a 1km radius."

Dust settled.

The Night Watchers of B-021 stared blankly as the building-sized alien creature collapsed to the ground. The woman responsible for this feat swiftly moved in front of it, expressionless, her hands outstretched against its body.

The massive alien creature was absorbed into the Ark's body as if being drawn into a black hole.

"Who exactly are you..." Jiang Qi murmured.

The Subsurface Demon's return to B-021 shelter was inevitable. Had the Night Watchers resisted and defeated it, it would still have called its mother.

Had it not been for this mysterious traveler, Shelter B-021 would have surely been annihilated.

Before the Night Watchers could react, the Ark had already counted the number of people present.

Eleven in total, with two killed by the Mother Face Demon, leaving only nine Night Watchers, precisely the limit of the Vine Insect's mental control.

Utilizing her speed enhancement, the Ark made contact with everyone present and initiated mental control.

Their eyes lost their luster, and they collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.

Too many had witnessed this event; the news would surely reach central command. She couldn’t do much, only blur their memories of this incident to prevent detailed recollections and avoid exposing herself.

However, she had camouflaged her appearance before entering, so the face in their memories was not hers, but that of a woman with black short hair and an androgynous face.

After completing these actions, the Ark felt dizzy and covered in cold sweat, her muscles aching as if torn from overuse, her palms numb from the recoil of the gun, with blood dripping steadily to the ground. She belatedly touched her nose, finding it covered in blood.

She had already used the Vine Insect's mental control twice before; controlling nine targets this time pushed her body to its limit.

Subduing an S-level creature was indeed no simple task.

The Ark couldn’t help but think this as she uncontrollably fell backward.

At that moment, a hand supported her back, preventing her from collapsing to the ground. The Ark looked up.

It was Lu Feilan.

Seeing her face covered in blood, he frowned in disgust: "That’s gross..."

"Is this really the time for that?" the Ark couldn’t help but roll her eyes with the last of her strength, breathing weakly, "…Stop talking nonsense, use your ability quickly, I'm about to die."

As Lu Feilan’s ability unfolded, the Ark felt revived, while Lu Feilan himself appeared severely injured and listless.

Lu Feilan was incredibly useful.

The Ark reflected inwardly.

After a brief recovery, with all the Night Watchers asleep and no one to declare the crisis at B-021 over, everyone else underground, the Ark and Lu Feilan returned to the reception area. They tidied up their disheveled appearances and left with the items previously exchanged for points. Before leaving, the Ark also helped herself to some extra food from the reception area.

After all, she reasoned, she had saved these people’s lives; taking some food wasn’t too much to ask.

Lu Feilan looked down on her for this behavior.

The Ark: "It’s surprising, I didn’t realize you had such high moral standards."

"What exactly is your misconception about me?"

Leaving B-021 with Lu Feilan, the Ark began pondering her next move. Returning to Shelter 001 wasn’t an option. She was tempted to enter Paradise, knowing it held many secrets about the world. Although she could disguise herself, the risk was too great for her current situation.

Having acquired her first S-level alien creature, the Ark was not complacent about her current power. She was acutely aware that in this world, an S-level alien was not a significant threat. Transcendents like Fang Xunjiang could easily dispatch S-level aliens, and there were many such powerful beings in places she didn't know.

The plan to enter Paradise had to be postponed, relegated to the back of the Ark’s priorities.

But now, with this power at her side, the Ark certainly felt more confident.

"Let's rest for two days, then return to the vicinity of Shelter 001 to search. I want to find Xunjiang."

Lu Feilan was overwhelmed: "Are you serious? Right now, that place is probably swarming with Central's informants. The 'birds' in the sky can even count the frequency of your breaths."

"You make a good point. We'll wait another two days."

“……”

Having said that, the Ark closed her eyes to rest for a while.

At this moment, she noticed a notification in her information panel.

She opened the hidden message.

"Congratulations on acquiring your first 'S' level alien creature."

"Your primary identity level has increased!"

"Summoner (Lv2): Level advancement allows transformation."

"New ability: Alien creatures below C-level do not require forced taming and will automatically obey."

This was the best news the Ark had received in a long time.

In this world, the most numerous were still D and C level alien creatures. Although these levels don’t possess high attack power, creatures like the python of lines, in large numbers, can be very useful in many situations.

The Ark couldn't help but laugh out loud.

……

……

Meanwhile, ten minutes after the Ark and Lu Feilan left, inside Shelter B-021.

The Night Watchers who had fallen asleep due to the Ark's mental control began to wake up one by one as they moved beyond the control range.

Jiang Qi was the first to regain consciousness. She sprang up, looking around at the ruins and the bodies of two fellow Night Watchers. The scene was far more devastating than the aftermath of the previous day's raid.

The danger still lingered in her heart, and she remembered the invasion of an S-level alien creature into the shelter. Unfortunately, she now found herself struggling to recall how the situation was resolved.

It wasn't just her; the other awakened Night Watchers were also mostly clueless.

One said, "I only remember it had something to do with that traveler..."

Others chimed in, "A black cloak? Short hair... Was it a transcendent?"

"I thought it was a Devourer."

"I have no recollection at all, who are you guys talking about?"

Their statements varied, but the only consistency was their vague impression of the traveler.

Black short hair, androgynous face.

Jiang Qi was somewhat puzzled.

Why did she remember the traveler as having striking features and long black hair?

However, as everyone's memories were blurry, this question remained unresolved.

S-level alien creatures were rare, unlike the abundance of A-level and below. This time, with such a high-level alien invasion, Shelter B-021 miraculously did not fall. Upon receiving the news, the Central immediately exchanged resources for all the information they knew.

Unbeknownst to the Ark, the randomly chosen face she used for her disguise briefly entered Central's field of view.