Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"Once it's cooked... even though it's a monster, treating it as food doesn't seem to make any difference."

At this moment, Tomat's resting time with his eyes closed had been interrupted by the first gunshot.

He looked down at his feet, in the direction he had been focusing on ever since he arrived.

"The thing underground... has come up?"

[Main Text] Rhodes Island Walkthrough: Chapter Thirty: Times Have Changed, Monsters

"It has incredible regenerative abilities, but under continuous attacks, it will lose its activity and stop regenerating. Judging from its aggressiveness and the penetrability brought about by its flexible body, it is a rather dangerous unknown creature."

Even a volley of fire from the revolvers in the hands of the Papal musketeers couldn't have caused such a horrific scene—because it was impossible to discern how much of the thing in front of them had been fused with its surroundings by the impact of the bullets.

It came on fiercely, hiding in the ventilation duct, ready to pounce on the mourner's head.

But it died a horrible death; countless attempts at regeneration only resulted in excruciating pain that prevented it from even uttering a sharp scream.

So much so that even Hongyun, standing to the side, was unsure whether the creature had been killed by the undertaker or had unilaterally abandoned the act of "regeneration" and chosen death instead.

However, compared to the psychological impact of these things on her, Hongyun was more "ravaged" physically by other things.

"It stinks! It really stinks! It stinks even more than the Syracuse cheese the chieftain made!! Is this some kind of divine punishment or curse?!"

"I still don't smell anything unusual... Perhaps your Originium Arts are causing a special reaction to this creature, resulting in an abnormal olfactory response."

No more monsters continued to jump out of the vents.

But instead of turning back, the undertaker arrived at the door, which was mostly destroyed by his shotgun, and kicked it out.

The rickety metal door, unable to withstand the brutal blow, snapped open and flew across the corridor, opening up a wider new path for them.

"Hey, you wouldn't...?" Hongyun pinched her nose, but even that couldn't stop the "stink" she was talking about from affecting her.

"Having confirmed the existence of the unusually high-risk organism, as the executor of the Lateran Notary Office, it is necessary to ensure the safety of my environment, especially since the beneficiary of the citizen's will is also located here."

"Clang!"

The crisp sound of spent cartridge cases hitting the ground signaled the start of the impending carnage.

“The devout Laterans have compassion, but the notaries do not.”

The undertaker briefly checked his remaining ammunition, then, with his expressionless face, steadily stepped into the darkness, gun in hand.

"Let's finish this quickly before I stink to death here."

Despite her reluctance, Hongyun followed closely behind, heading deeper into the mobile vehicle with the funeral procession.

Croissant and Ja's side were no longer attacked after the first monster died.

They didn't know what those monsters were plotting in the shadows, but since there were too many roads nearby, continuing to explore would only lead to uncertainty, so they decided to return to the area where Tomat was.

"Look, the cross-section of this meat... isn't it quite beautiful? The fat is evenly distributed throughout the muscle. I can't believe it really came from those ugly monsters."

He held a thin slice in his hand, a small piece of monster flesh that he had deliberately preserved out of curiosity.

Despite their disgusting appearance, they still possess high-quality pink meat, and their beautiful patterns are not only due to the skillful knife work, but also to their inherent characteristics.

"Ah Jie, don't eat this randomly. Although it doesn't look like any Originium-infected creature, it might be poisonous."

"So, Croissant, you should have brought these with you, right? They're for testing."

What Jie was referring to was the food quality detector that Croissant had prepared before this hunt—a basic safety measure widely used in Terra, capable of testing most products on the market to determine whether they contain Originium or other harmful substances.

"You really intend to eat it?"

"Turning unknown ingredients into dishes is also part of a chef's training... Although I am now an operator, I am still the head chef of Dong's Fish Ball Shop."

He looked at Croissant with eyes that seemed never to be fully open, and there was no doubt that he was serious.

"Even if we can eat them... the supply is a problem, right? We have no idea where this monster came from. We can't just go and catch a few more, can we?"

This turned the planned forest hunt into an indoor hunt.

“I think Tomat would be interested too. Let’s go back and talk about it.”

Jie suggested that they continue their journey back with Croissant, preparing to join Tomat.

The next point of view does not belong to any of the guests.

Those belong to the evil souls awakened by the immense tremor.

They have forgotten how long they have been asleep, only remembering that countless of their different kin were not once imprisoned beneath the dark earth.

Instead, on a land where no one brings down punishment, they turn the fear of the creatures on earth into a feast, indulging in the venting of some evil thought.

Therefore, when they saw the ecstatic faces of the creatures that had dug them out of the ground—creatures that were originally lowly on the ground—the evil in their hearts was overtaken by anger.

Why are those lowly creatures laughing so wildly?

You should be afraid.

And they did indeed do it.

Even a body that has been inactive for countless years remains a deadly weapon, as if an inexhaustible life force heals all the wounds that tear the flesh apart.

In an instant, everything outside of them disappeared from this small iron box.

—That's how it should be.

Why are some of them able to use incredibly powerful weapons to inflict extremely painful deaths on themselves?

Why are some of them able to create non-regenerative cuts with sharp blades?

Why do such "rebels" exist?

This is not reasonable.

They should be slaughtered by them without any chance to fight back, just like the original group.

Rather than being able to cause harm to any being.

Fortunately, one of the intruders was alone.

He had no weapons.

He was all alone.

He closed his eyes to rest.

He was incredibly weak.

The humiliation suffered at the hands of the other two groups can be taken from this guy.

Just wait and see the agony of seeing your companion die.

Just wait for the despair that comes when your escape route is blocked.

Evil thoughts led to this judgment.

Countless monsters did not travel through the two dangerous paths, but instead relentlessly swarmed towards the "lone wolf".

Like a tidal wave, it surged towards him.

"...What the heck?"

At that moment, Tomat opened his eyes.

He casually moved his finger, causing the light-emitting gas canisters that had been hovering in the air and had not been deactivated to fall to the ground.

"What's that fragrance... wait, what's this?"

Croissant and Jelly, on their return journey, finally arrived back at the parking platform where they started.

However, before they could even step inside, the aroma of roasted meat wafted from the end of the road.

Those were mountains of monster corpses—cooked.

"Barbecue 'what' leg? Want one? It's pretty good."

Tomart, whose feet were already surrounded by several monsters that had been gnawed into empty shells, broke off the leg of one of the monsters and handed it to Croissant and Je Dao.

[Main Text] Rhodes Island Stroll Guide: Chapter Thirty-One: Sit Down, Terra's Normal Operation

Thomas had said on the way there, "I should have brought the detector," and when Hongyun asked him, he also said that he did not use it to find prey.

His goal was to gauge the approximate combat strength of the aura beneath the platform.

The funeral procession sends messages to confirm if anyone is home, while Hongyun relies on her sense of smell, but all they can get is the message that "no one is home."

But Tomat, who could use his aura perception, was different. He not only sensed that there was no living aura inside, but also determined that the aura that had gathered below for some reason could not possibly be human.

The purpose of using a detector is simply to gain a more precise understanding of the specific situation.

When he and the others entered the interior, Tomat repeatedly confirmed with the Undertaker, who was more familiar with the platform's structure, whether there was another space below—the answer he received further convinced him that the land beneath the platform was probably the nest of some kind of creature.

Judging by their strength, they are quite strong. From their appearance, one can sense that they are probably slightly stronger than the ordinary Terrans we have seen so far.

But this was not a reason for him to specifically warn those who were willing to patrol.

Because, apart from Red Cloud, whose aura was slightly weakened due to Oripathy, the aura of each of them was superior to that of those creatures.

To his surprise, there were only two things. One was that they actually swarmed out and attacked him, making it unclear whether their survival instincts had become too overpowered. However, Thomas didn't think that these monsters, whose brains appeared to be no more than one milliliter in size, could produce much intelligence.

Another surprise was that they smelled amazing.

Using a Ki Blast to start a fire to roast meat or fry the opponent until they are half-cooked is an essential skill for Saiyans. Although it is called a cooking method, it is more like a simple attack method. However, these monsters that have been brutally "cooked" by Tomat do release an enticing aroma.

He doesn't care about appearance, because he has to eat any kind of creature, whether human or alien, due to various special circumstances. He has almost no concern about appearance.

"Strange, the Originium content in their bodies is even lower than the market standard for meat. Natural organisms wouldn't have such a low level of Originium."

Croissant's instrument emitted a safe green light from the slice of monster meat that was right next to it, and displayed various data on a small screen.

"...Delicious! Although the meat we ate at Grandpa Lin's house was also natural, it had been frozen for a long time, which greatly reduced its flavor. But this fresh meat is so delicious no matter how it's prepared..."

Just after Croissant said that this was safe and edible meat, Jie immediately cut off the tentacle-like appendages from the charred exterior of the monster's corpse, and then cut off a small piece from the barely cooked interior, savoring it and remarking on it.

Of course, if Croissant hadn't stopped Zi from eating after seeing Tomat eating, he would have started eating long ago. After all, Croissant felt that even according to physiological standards, one cannot conclude that it is harmless to them just because Tomat was eating without any problems.

"So what's going on? How did these things appear?" The monster's hind legs were like giant soft-shelled crab claws. Beneath the resilient shell were plump, juicy strips of meat. Thomas took a big bite and devoured it as his dinner, saying, "Give me more, I'd love to."

Croissant glanced at the monster corpses piled up behind Tomat in a tower-like shape, with the larger ones at the bottom and the smaller ones at the top. She roughly estimated that there were probably over a hundred of them—it would indeed be a troublesome fight.

For those who slaughtered them, it was merely a simple matter of lifting a finger.