Chapter 5: New Bride

The hull around the airlock in the boarding hall had already been severely cracked and was precarious from earlier impacts by the bear-like creature. This time, with just one impact, the bear-like creature completely breached the airlock and the surrounding hull, creating a two-meter-high gaping hole. Fortunately, the opening was tightly blocked by various cabinets, tables, and chairs, which managed to hold it back for a few more moments.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Weiyi threw all the explosives made by Cai Yutong towards it. At this point, who cared about the consequences?

“Boom!” “Rumble!”

The powerful explosions temporarily forced the bear-like creature back. The cabinets, tables, and chairs blocking the airlock caught fire in the explosions. The windows in the boarding hall shattered, and cold wind and snowflakes surged in, further fueling the flames.

The shockwaves from the explosions threw all the security team members, Cai Yutong, and the short student, who had retreated to the restaurant behind the boarding hall, flying. Some immediately fell unconscious. Li Weiyi, also retreating, was thrown back, his body slamming against a wall. The pain was excruciating, and he felt as if his entire body had fallen apart.

Waves of fire swept over him, hot and scalding. Before Li Weiyi could even get back on his feet, the massive bear-like creature crashed through all obstacles, burst out of the inferno, and tore off one arm of the security team member who had thrown concentrated acid, splattering blood everywhere.

The security team member screamed in agony and used the taser in his hand to attack the creature's abdomen. It was useless. Instead, it further enraged the creature, which opened its maw and bit off the security member's head in one gulp. Like eating a snack, it took a second bite, tearing off the entire chest cavity, chewing it up, and swallowing it. Then, it let out a long, earth-shattering roar.

The roar made Li Weiyi's ears, still in the boarding hall, bleed, and his head spun. At the same time, he saw that the bear-like creature had tossed aside the security member's half-eaten body. Its eyes had turned blood-red, and the long fur on its body was burning, like a demon, as it glared at him with furious eyes.

Its mountain-like physique, blood-red eyes, and sharp teeth covered in blood and flesh remnants... anyone caught in such a desperate situation would feel their legs turn to jelly and their courage fail, unable to rise from the ground in terror. Human strength seemed utterly insignificant before such a ferocious beast.

Just a brief eye contact. A shiver ran through him. Li Weiyi gritted his teeth, agilely sprang to his feet, and rushed towards the stairs.

Normally, to escape, people would retreat to the restaurant and use the security team, Cai Yutong, and the short student as a shield. They wouldn't need to outrun the bear-like creature, just outrun the others. Li Weiyi, of course, disdained such a selfish and despicable act. Moreover, he had another plan.

He believed the bear-like creature was not without weaknesses, nor was he without the ability to fight back. Its massive size was its weakness. On the research vessel, the corridors were narrow, making it difficult for the creature to move freely. The stairs and lower decks were even narrower and more confined, which might provide an opportunity to counterattack.

In the restaurant, hearing the creature's movements gradually receding, the despair in everyone's hearts finally eased a little. The short student, hiding in a corner, trembled with relief and worry, saying, "Young Master Li has lured the bear-like creature away!"

Cai Yutong climbed out of the debris, still experiencing some ringing in her ears, her long hair disheveled. She looked at the security team members and asked, "Why are you all hiding here with weapons? Why aren't you going to help him?" The security team members exchanged glances, unsure what to say. They were all elites, but they had never faced life-or-death situations. When the shadow of death loomed, how could anyone not be afraid? The bear-like creature could smash through the alloy hull of the ship; what good would it do for them to confront it? With just one charge, everyone would likely be turned into a bloody mess.

Xie Jin, naturally unwilling to back down, said in a deep voice, "We were originally planning an ambush in the restaurant, but unexpectedly, Li Weiyi lured it elsewhere, disrupting our plan."

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

The bear-like creature's strength exceeded Li Weiyi's estimation. Although there were many obstacles and narrow corridors on the research vessel, they were like paper to it. With one crash, even doors and walls were shattered.

Li Weiyi, holding his sword in one hand and grasping the staircase railing with the other, agilely leaped to the next deck like an ape. The next moment, "Boom!" The bear-like creature tore through the entire staircase, landing on the next deck, causing the floor to dent. It growled lowly, searching around.

Li Weiyi, hiding above a pile of machinery, sword in hand, held his breath and observed keenly that the bear-like creature was bleeding. Clearly, it had sustained significant injuries from being repeatedly hit by rifle fire earlier. This was undoubtedly good news! Although the Yellow Dragon Sword was sharp, it was still a cold weapon and might not be able to pierce the creature's hide and bone defense. However, its massive eyes could definitely be pierced. The difference in strength and speed was immense; he had only one chance.

Just as Li Weiyi was about to strike, he saw the bear-like creature below suddenly raise its head, having discovered him, and swipe its claw first. It was the scent. A bear's sense of smell is two thousand times stronger than a human's. This bear-like creature's sense of smell was probably even more acute. It had long since pinpointed Li Weiyi's location through its sense of smell. The bear-like creature's paw was as large as a cattail fan and weighed a thousand jun. Even if it just grazed Li Weiyi, let alone struck him directly, he would lose a large chunk of flesh.

Li Weiyi's analysis identified a third major weakness, besides its massive size hindering movement and its eyes: its intelligence had certainly not evolved to human levels. Otherwise, it wouldn't have just attacked the airlock in the boarding hall earlier; it would have sought other entrances. Therefore, to exploit this third weakness, Li Weiyi was currently crouching precisely where the research vessel's pumping equipment was located. Only by leveraging the power of machinery and human intelligence, which surpasses all other living creatures, did he have a chance to contend with the bear-like creature.

The moment the bear-like creature swung its claw, Li Weiyi pushed off with his legs and leaped sideways. "Bang!" The massive bear paw smashed the pump machine pipes. Instantly, high-pressure seawater erupted as a jet, striking the creature's head.

Li Weiyi, landing on the ground, used both feet and one hand to move swiftly along the floor. In the moment the creature retreated to avoid the water jet, before its vision and sense of smell had recovered, he thrust his sword with precise accuracy. The sword, like a yellow dragon, was as fast as lightning.

“Thwack!” The bear-like creature's right eye was pierced, and blood gushed out like an arrow. A roar, filled with pain, anger, and rage, echoed throughout the research vessel, shaking the bulkheads.

Li Weiyi, having succeeded with one strike, immediately moved away. But his speed was still far from that of the bear-like creature. In its rage, the creature wildly swung its claws. One claw grazed Li Weiyi's left arm. With a ripping sound, Li Weiyi's left sleeve tore instantly, revealing a gash on his upper arm so deep that the bone was visible, and blood poured out.

Li Weiyi's rapidly moving body lost its balance, and he was thrown to the ground by the force, sliding back towards the stairs. The left side of his body was in such pain that it was almost numb. Compared to the creature's terrifying strength, humans were like straw, breaking with just a light bend.

Li Weiyi squatted against the wall, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain. He used torn strips of cloth from his left shoulder to quickly bandage and tie off the wound on his left arm to prevent excessive blood loss. He picked up the Yellow Dragon Sword, which had fallen to the ground.

After a moment of agonizing roars and shrieks, clutching its eye, the bear-like creature ferociously charged at Li Weiyi, intending to tear him to pieces. Li Weiyi knew he couldn't escape; he couldn't possibly be faster than it. So, holding his sword in one hand, he propped himself up, his gaze steady and cold, a defiant glare in his eyes. Be it a fierce beast or a demon, nothing could shake his courage to fight to the death.

With a roar, the moment he unleashed a full-powered sword strike, "Whoosh—" The blood that had earlier spilled from his left arm wound onto the ground began to evaporate, transforming the dimly lit cabin corridor into a world of pale red blood mist. The floor, bulkheads, pipes... inch by inch, everything began to decay and mold.

Behind him, in the vast and ethereal blood mist, a slender figure in an ancient, grand red bridal gown appeared out of thin air. She was tall and graceful, with a long, slender neck and a jade belt around her waist. The bridal gown was solemn and luxurious, woven with auspicious dragon and phoenix patterns in gold and silver thread. Lotus patterns adorned the cuffs and hem, and the skirt fanned out like phoenix wings. However, she wore a red silk veil, with copper coins dangling from its four corners, obscuring the bride's beautiful face. The entire figure was blurry, seemingly illusory, beautiful yet eerily chilling.

How did she appear? Why had the surrounding environment become so gloomy, like a ghost realm? This ghostly bridal figure seemed to be both condensed from Li Weiyi's blood and like a newlywed wife eternally following him, though unseen by others. As Li Weiyi swung his sword, her delicate hand also elegantly rose and moved in a downward sweeping motion.

“Thwack!” Li Weiyi had already mentally prepared to die under the bear-like creature's claws, but with this sword strike, he actually sent it flying several meters backward. In mid-air, blood spurted like a fountain. A terrifying sword mark, over a meter long, appeared on the creature's neck and abdomen.

Li Weiyi, as if completely drained of energy, stumbled backward, leaning against the wall to barely remain standing. He stared in astonishment at the bear-like creature that had crashed to the ground... All of this was too unreal!

"With the strength of my mortal body, how could I possibly have sent it flying with one sword strike? What just happened?" Li Weiyi gasped for breath, blood began to profusely seep from his left arm wound again, and his vision grew dim.

The blood mist, decay, ghost realm, and the newlywed bride with the red veil had all vanished as if they had never appeared.

“Roar... arrrooo...” The bear-like creature struggled to its feet, its roar no longer as piercing as before, but a trembling growl. As it approached Li Weiyi again, its steps were much slower and filled with caution.

"Junior Brother!"

Li Weiyi, on the verge of fainting from excessive blood loss and excruciating pain, heard his Senior Brother's furious voice. Immediately after, came the roar of bullets leaving gun barrels.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

Zhao Meng was truly enraged, his eyes bloodshot. Holding a shotgun in both hands, he continuously pulled the trigger, causing the bear-like creature to shriek in agony and retreat into the darkness.

"Let's go, to the upper deck first." As Zhao Meng reloaded and retreated, he pulled Li Weiyi along. The two, one after another, fled towards the fourth deck, where the main deck was located.

The shotgun had immense power, but the bear-like creature was clearly no ordinary species; its defense and vitality were beyond scientific understanding. It continued to growl lowly from behind them. The two fled all the way to the boarding hall, where the airlock had previously been smashed into a huge hole by the creature.

A fierce cold wind poured in, cutting at their faces like knives. It was too cold! It was like two different worlds compared to earlier, when the sun was out. The blood on Li Weiyi's left shoulder wound and his soaked clothes were almost instantly freezing into ice crystals.

Zhao Meng had a military-green satchel slung across his chest; it was quite bulging, as if containing something heavy. His bright, tiger-like eyes were filled with farewell as he looked at Li Weiyi: "I'm afraid your Senior Brother won't be able to look after you anymore. Take good care of yourself."

Without looking back, Zhao Meng rushed out of the boarding hall. He ran across the deck, climbed over the ship's railing, and leaped down from the research vessel. Aside from his farewell to Li Weiyi, he showed not the slightest hesitation from beginning to end.

"Senior Brother..." Li Weiyi chased him to the deck. Outside, the wind roared like a banshee, threatening to blow people away. He didn't know why Zhao Meng was doing this, but he knew that if he didn't follow, this might be the last time he saw his Senior Brother. Watching the figure gradually disappear across the ice field, Li Weiyi's heart sank. He, too, leaped down from the several-meter-high ship's rail, landing on the hard ice surface.

Hearing the heavy thud behind him, Zhao Meng, dozens of meters away, suddenly stopped, turned, and ran back. Zhao Meng angrily reprimanded, "Why did you follow me?"

"After Master died, I have no other family but you, Senior Brother! If we die, we die together; if we live, we live together," Li Weiyi said.

Tears welled up in Zhao Meng's eyes, and he sighed helplessly, looking up at the sky.

“Rawr!” The bear-like creature's roar came from the deck of the research vessel above. It leaped off the research vessel, landing with a thud not far from Li Weiyi and Zhao Meng, and slowly advanced toward them. In the dim light, the creature's teeth were pristine white and sharp. One eye was scarlet, the other bled incessantly. The meter-long sword wound connecting its neck and abdomen continuously gushed blood, staining the ice surface red. It was not immortal; it was severely wounded, but its single eye was fixed intently on the satchel on Zhao Meng's chest.

"Alright! If we die, we die together today, brothers. If we live, we live together." Zhao Meng raised his shotgun, his expression even more fierce than the bear-like creature's. Li Weiyi gripped the Yellow Dragon Sword tightly, his gaze as sharp as the blade, like a drawn bow, ready to strike.

Suddenly, from the seabed, an infant's cry echoed, a low sound that nevertheless spread throughout the entire Arctic, causing glaciers and snow ridges to tremble slightly. It was like both crying and laughing. More precisely, there was more than one infant sound; they came from different directions, eerily chilling to the bone.

The bear-like creature across from them immediately showed signs of terror, trembling as it looked behind Li Weiyi and Zhao Meng. It then prostrated itself, losing all its previous ferocity.

Li Weiyi and Zhao Meng slowly turned their heads. They saw a house-sized infant's head, with long black hair, floated in mid-air. When it laughed, the corners of its mouth split open, extending all the way to its ears. Its dark red tongue, inside its mouth, was several meters long. The neck connecting the infant's head extended like a pillar into the icy seawater.

“Thud!” The next moment, a second infant's head appeared, actually smashing through the research vessel's deck and rising all the way above the highest tenth deck, as if trying to reach the sky.

“Splash!” A third infant's head burst through the ice sheet ten meters away, appearing behind Li Weiyi and Zhao Meng, letting out a low wail. A fourth, a fifth... All nine of the Nine Infants' house-sized colossal heads emerged from the sea, suspended horribly in the air, radiating terrifying power. Their long necks, like scaled tentacles, wrapped around the research vessel, slowly crushing it, causing it to deform and break apart. Its massive body, hidden beneath the waves, then capsized the progressively breaking research vessel. On board, screams, cries of agony, wails, and the sound of heavy objects tumbling echoed continuously.

Before this, Li Weiyi had no knowledge of the Nine Infants' existence. Witnessing this scene, he felt as if he had fallen into a ghostly, desolate world filled with dancing demons, experiencing an unprecedented shock.

Seeing all nine pairs of the Nine Infants' bone-green eyes fixed on him, fear filled his heart, and Zhao Meng chuckled bitterly to himself, "To think I could carry the Buddha's sarira and lead the disaster away... it was a delusion from the start. I shouldn't have been so naive." All of the Nine Infants' heads laughed eerily and fiercely, then, like nine pythons, swiftly surged towards Zhao Meng.

"Whoosh!" Whether it was Li Weiyi's blood that had soaked into the Daoist Patriarch Tai Chi Fish, or for some other reason, the Yichan Sect leader's token worn around his neck suddenly erupted with a dazzling blue light. The blue light, like a magnificent and beautiful Arctic aurora, shot straight into the heavens, instantly filling the entire world. The Nine Infants, attacking Zhao Meng, simultaneously let out shrill, strange cries from all nine mouths, and were actually startled back by the blue light emanating from the Daoist Patriarch Tai Chi Fish.

At the same time, the satchel on Zhao Meng's chest violently vibrated and caught fire. Inside the bag, the golden and silver coffins containing the Buddha's sarira shattered, and a red light shot out, striking the Daoist Patriarch Tai Chi Fish around Li Weiyi's neck.

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