Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The Wrath of the Sea God
Steeve goes down the ladder first as I glance around the room. Nothing particularly useful to me, but a large coat and woolen socks catch my eye for Lisa.
"Lisa, put on this coat. It might be cold down there, and put on these socks too," I tell the little girl. She obeys without hesitation, pulling on the clothes that are too big for her. Although they are oversized, they cover her adequately, protecting her from the cold.
"Daddy, they don't look good," she says as she looks at herself in the bedroom mirror, a pout forming on her face.
I crouch down to her level, looking at her fondly. "I know, sweetie. Daddy will buy you some nice clothes when we get to town. But for now, these will at least keep you warm," I say, smiling, touched by her cute face.
Seeing her like this, dressed in oversized clothes but safe, my heart tightens with protective warmth. She is my priority, and I will do anything to keep her safe and happy. The thought of seeing her smile in clothes she will actually like motivates me even more to finish this mission quickly.
Lisa nods, her face lighting up slightly at the promise. "Okay, Daddy," she says, accepting the clothes for now.
"Boss, it's safe, down there," Steve shouts from the bottom of the ladder. I head for it before jumping straight down, landing with a thud 50 feet below.
"Lisa, you can choose to go down normally, but if you want to jump, Daddy will catch you," I tell the little girl, looking up with an encouraging smile.
Lisa surprises me by jumping without a second thought, her eyes closed. "Daddy!" she cries as she falls, but I catch her easily, adjusting my position to cushion the inertia of her fall without causing her any injury.
I hold her close, reassured that I have caught her safely. "You are really brave, my dear," I say, gently stroking her hair. Lisa opens her eyes and looks at me with a radiant smile, proud of her act of bravery.
"Thank you, Daddy," she says, hugging me tightly, her gaze filled with confidence and affection.
We wait three minutes for the Jordan triplets to join us before quickly advancing into this corridor resembling that of a military base that I know.
We quickly arrive in front of a passage filled with water with a metal door letting the water pass through.
I decide to summon another clone of Jordan, this time without equipping it, and I send it towards the door to open it.
"Be careful, and back away in case of danger," I order while standing far from the door with Lisa and my escort, ready to react to any threat.
Jordan advances cautiously and opens the door, but barely has he done so when a huge shark emerges from the water, its jaws gaping seeking to bite. Jordan dodges hastily, backing away just in time to avoid the vicious bite. The shark, despite the lack of depth, continues to propel itself with its powerful fins, stranding itself on the floor of the corridor while desperately trying to bite Jordan.
Lisa lets out a small cry of surprise, squeezing my hand tighter. "Don't worry, Lisa," I say in a soothing voice. "I'll take care of it."
I quickly circle the shark, my movements fluid and precise. The shark, disoriented and out of its element, thrashes frantically, its teeth chattering in the air. With a confident gesture, I grab the shark by its tail and pull it out of the water. It struggles, but I hold it firmly, my muscles tense with the effort.
With a powerful movement, I pin the shark against a wall, holding it in place despite its efforts to free itself. "Stay still," I whisper, focused, as I use my power to capture it.
DING
A water mutation of T-virus detected or shark, absorption will take 30 seconds.
The time will be reduced by 10 seconds due to the bonus on mutations to the T-virus.
30, 20, 19, 18
"Stay still," I whispered as I continued to pin the beast against the wall. A glance at the expanse of water made my blood run cold. Neptune, the giant shark, stared at me with his cold, piercing eyes. An icy intelligence gleamed in his gaze.
"Steve, shoot him!" I ordered as Zombie G pulled out the machine gun and sprayed the creature with bullets. Neptune quickly left the firing zone, not without leaving a trail of blood in the water.
The commotion echoed through the room as I continued to subdue the stranded shark. "Jordan, go see what's going on," I say, handing him the end of the grappling hook I still have with me.
Jordan steps forward cautiously, holding the grappling hook, and peers into the room. "The little sharks attacked the big one because of the blood, and it killed them in return," he says, but before he knows it Neptune bursts out of the water, rushing toward Jordan.
Neptune bursts through the passage with a deafening crash, his gigantic jaws ready to bite. Instinctively, I pull the grappling hook, dragging Jordan out of range of the monster's jaws. The jaws snap shut in the air with a terrifying thud.
Steve reacts immediately, spraying Neptune with another round of bullets. The giant shark struggles, its frantic movements creating waves of water that splash everywhere. I focus on Neptune, my heart pounding.
"Fire at will!" I shout as I fire my magnum with one hand, trying to think of a plan to neutralize Neptune. The bullets continue to hit the shark, creating splatters of blood and water. Neptune finally retreats, injured, but still a threat.
3, 2, 1, 0
T-virus mutation or shark successfully absorbed available in the factory
1 shark will be produced every 12 hours. You have 5 sharks directly in the factory.
You will be able to instantly subdue any shark that is not under your control with a simple touch.
The shark suddenly disappears, added to my arsenal of creatures under control.
"Lisa, stay here," I say, determined to solve this problem decisively. I summon a shark to the submerged laboratory to distract Neptune. When I see Neptune start chasing the shark, I take the opportunity to run towards the passage, summoning the five other available sharks as well as the eight Aquamoths currently at my disposal.
I dive with my school of predators towards Neptune, who has turned around when he senses the movement in the water. The fleeing shark bites one of his fins, creating an opening. Together, we launch a coordinated attack, inflicting constant damage and gradually reducing the monster's mobility.
Neptune struggles violently, his powerful jaws tearing apart two Aquamoths in a matter of moments. I distance myself, staying on the surface with an Aquamoth to prepare for the next phase of the assault. Despite his enormous body and strength, Neptune is unable to free himself from the tangle of our attacks.
The losses are colossal: three dead sharks, four seriously injured Aquamoths. Neptune's rampage prevents me from recovering them to heal them. Seeing the critical situation, I summon ten plant zombies, which lodge themselves on solid areas on the surface. They extend their vines towards the rampaging monster, managing to immobilize it little by little.
I watch with intense concentration as the vines of the plant zombies wrap themselves around Neptune, squeezing tighter and tighter. The sea giant struggles, his frantic movements creating powerful waves, but the vines hold firm, reinforced by the collective strength of the plant zombies.
I approach slowly, cautiously, assessing Neptune's every move. The vines continue to wrap around, forming a complex network around his body, fins, and tail. The monster's strength begins to weaken, his movements becoming more erratic.
Finally, I approach without risk. Neptune, now almost completely immobilized, attempts one last desperate move, but the vines hold firm. With a final glance to ensure the vines' stability, I place my hand on the monster, using my power to capture it.
DING
T-virus mutation detected or Neptune absorption will take 60 seconds.
The time will be reduced by 10 seconds due to the bonus on T-virus mutations.
The time will be reduced by 50 seconds due to the injuries and heavy bleeding sustained.
60, 0
Mutation Virus T or Neptune successfully absorbed available in the factory
1 Neptune will be produced every 15 days. You have 2 Neptune directly in the factory.
You will be able to instantly master any Neptune that is not under your control by a simple touch.
You gain a 10 second capture bonus for any marine species from a strain of virus T.
Neptune suddenly disappears, added to my arsenal of creatures under control. I stand up, out of breath but victorious, looking at the now calm expanse of water. The plant zombies retract their vines, returning to their normal state.
I recover all the sharks and Aquamoth so that they can return to their optimal condition. I explore the room quickly managing to find the mechanism to empty the water from this place, after emptying this room, I return to Lisa and my men..
As we cross a door around the bridge, the two zombie G in the vanguard are caught by vines. Because of their strength and resistance, they are just imprisoned which confirms my approach.
"Lisa, stay on the bridge with Jordan and Steve" I say before also advancing by summoning a safe plant zombie.
The vine tries to grab me but I catch it easily feeling no difficulty in holding it.
Ding
you can not capture the individual, please grab the main body.
Too bad but not surprising I thought as I slide the Plant Zombie to the center of the root network. it merges together releasing my two vanguards.
"Thank you" said the clones.
"You're welcome, come on, there's nothing here" I said as I left the room having lost one of my invocations without benefit.
The rest of the structure having been flooded, there is nothing really useful except a room filled with broken aquariums with a collection of various fish. Unfortunately, most of them died by breaking their own aquarium by mutating.
There is one left with electric eels inside.
I quickly grab an eel and take it out of the water, but no message from the system comes. So they are just ordinary eels. Suddenly, I feel a powerful shock in my arm. The electricity runs through my body, making me crush the eel between my fingers and ending its electric discharge.
"Are you okay, Dad?" Lisa asks as she approaches me, her eyes filled with worry.
"I'm fine," I say as I feel the damage caused by the electricity heal thanks to my regeneration. My blackened palm quickly returns to normal, leaving no trace of the electrocution. "Just surprised by the power of the current from this little beast."
I pick up another eel from the three remaining. Another shock runs through my body, but this time, I feel almost no pain. "Lisa, you can go with Steve and Jordan out of the room. Dad has to do a little experiment."
"Okay, Dad," she says as she takes the hands of the two G zombies, dragging them out of the room. I smile at the fact that she has retained phenomenal strength despite her transformation.
As Lisa leads them out, I prepare myself for the experiment. The eels are still a powerful source of electricity, but I want to understand their potential. The room is dark and humid, the air heavy with the metallic smell of stagnant water and the electric quivering of the eels.
I pick up another eel and carefully observe my body's reaction. The electric shock, although powerful, no longer causes intense pain. My body seems to adapt, the accelerated regeneration neutralizing the effects of the electricity almost instantly.
"There are three of them so we will test three different paths" I thought with a smile.
(Ed: good fight, right? ^^)