Monster Dismantling Company

Chapter 11 The Dragon's Transformation

However, he will only know after he confirms it.

He reached into the pocket at his waist and took out a pair of chopsticks. As a hunter, it was perfectly reasonable for him to carry chopsticks with him.

He was wearing gloves. The gloves didn't hinder his practiced movements; he effortlessly picked up a piece of grilled meat with his chopsticks—

【A mature catfish dragon (lightly matured)】

The slight saltiness of the ocean, the aroma of roasted nuts. It's not as heavy as butter, nor as overpowering as fish oil, but rather a warm and rich flavor somewhere in between, with a simple and direct mellowness and sweetness.

In addition to this, like the white deer, he could also taste the hidden flavors within—for Taba, or for the catfish king dragon, this feeling was hunger.

Hunger elevates the flavor of the entire roast meat to another level, because hunger is the best seasoning.

It took Li Lin a while to banish the hunger from his mind and focus on the problem:

The problem is that the meat doesn't taste like salted meat, but rather like aged meat that has undergone controlled fermentation. Although the aging process isn't very deep, it's clear that Taba's time of death was definitely not this morning.

In other words, it's not a matter of accelerated corruption, but rather that the thing has been dead for a long time.

The colonel exclaimed in surprise, "This isn't right... I personally participated in the operation to hunt down Taba early this morning. I dragged Taba all the way here, and then I immediately began organizing the dismemberment of Taba. If there was a mole, then that person... could it be me? Was it me who wanted to blow up Ningzhou?"

"Hmm..." Li Lin fell into thought because of those words. "If you're sure you're not the mole, then the problem is probably more troublesome than if you were."

If that's the case, then the problem isn't whether the body will explode, but whether the thing is actually dead.

"Because if you're the mole, you're just dragging back a corpse that's been dead for dozens of days. If you're not the mole, then you're dragging back the corpse of a strange creature that's been dead for a long time but can still move. This 100,000 tons of flesh on the beach could very well be a living corpse that could roll around and get up at any moment—like entering the second phase of fighting a boss."

Their battle has only just begun.

Ten minutes later, an emergency assembly was held at headquarters.

"To make a long story short," the colonel said, looking at the crowd. "The monster [Taba] may undergo some mutations, including an explosion. We have no more than 12 hours left—many of you young people may not have seen it before. But if anyone in your family lives in Sinanju, then someone should remember when Sinanju was bombed."

Twelve hours is simply not enough time. Miasma hinders the transmission of information, rendering long-distance electromagnetic communication completely ineffective.

Only a few neighboring cities, such as Xin'an Prefecture, have direct physical communication with Ningzhou. The colonel has already requested assistance from Xin'an Prefecture on behalf of the Ningzhou Defense Force, but they won't arrive until the afternoon at the earliest. After all, there are no highways these days, and although the physical distance between the two cities isn't far, the Xin'an Prefecture troops can only slowly drive over along winding roads.

"What about the fleet?" someone asked from below. "Where is our fleet? Where is the United Government's navy?"

The colonel shook his head: "We've already deployed reconnaissance planes to search. But as you know, we can only communicate within visual range. And considering the distance, they won't arrive until the afternoon at the earliest—and the problem is, if they can solve the problem by the afternoon, that's fine. But if the situation worsens by noon, or even this morning, then even if they come, they'll only be able to collect our bodies. The key is that we have to rely on ourselves."

This explains why there are more than 10 monster dismantling companies in Ningzhou. If used to deal with everyday crises, it's already more than enough. But if used to deal with emergencies, it's probably far from sufficient.

In this era where miasma disrupts communication, every city-state must prepare for the worst and be fully prepared.

Even with ample preparation, it could still be breached. Because if it really is some new type of monster trapped inside [Taba] causing trouble, then it's definitely not something that Ningzhou, a single city, can handle.

But soldiers have no reason to run ahead of civilians. They should try their best whenever possible.

So this morning's mission was to force open a passage and use physical means to cut Taba apart as quickly as possible. Putting aside other issues, their first priority was to depressurize the monster to prevent it from actually exploding on the beach in Ningzhou.

As long as it doesn't explode, the pollutants won't spread to a large area. Even if they rot on the beach, at least the problem can be temporarily isolated.

The coalition government's mobilization capacity is actually quite strong, it's just too slow. It's like a slow-moving hammer. Although it needs time to accumulate power, the moment it strikes is almost unstoppable.

So if we just keep putting things off until the coalition government has time to come to the rescue, then things can be resolved—but if the changes in Taba cannot be contained within a few hours, then everything will be over.

"So, gentlemen, it's up to you now. My order is that not a single one of you is to be withdrawn." As he said this, he looked at the people from the Monster Disintegration Company.

He put his hands behind his back and turned to face them: "I've already ordered the defense forces to prepare. Today's meeting is mainly for you all. Because, in principle, you are mercenaries, not my subordinates. So I have no right to ask you to stay with me until the end. Therefore, anyone who wants to leave can do so now. But before you leave, leave your licenses behind. Your jobs are earned with blood. Anyone who is afraid of bloodshed will no longer be able to do this job."

His eyes swept over the crowd, piercing through those who wavered. It was indeed a difficult choice.

A moment later, two of the 14 monster dismantling companies relinquished their licenses and left.

That's reality. After all, not everyone wants to stay here and risk their life.

Having 12 companies remaining here is a remarkably high percentage. After all, almost all monster decomposition companies have military origins. In the early years, to cope with the surging monster tides, the fledgling United Government conducted a massive global conscription. However, with the successive disappearance of the five Great King Beasts, the intensity of the monster tides decreased dramatically.

Many of the meritorious units, including the Fire Ravens, underwent a collective honorary retirement at that time, but at the same time, they also accepted the license of the Monster Decomposition Company.

However, now that it's been 39 years since the Union Calendar was established, the Monster Decomposition Corporation, including Fire Raven, has basically had a whole new generation of people.

The entire population has been replaced, yet 83% of the ordinary citizens are still willing to stay and risk everything for the city. This sense of conviction is quite strong.

"By the way, Li Lin, stay here for a moment." In front of others, the colonel still used a commanding tone to tell Li Lin not to leave yet.

Afterwards, in the now-empty headquarters, he poured Li Lin a cup of tea. Although it was just a military teapot, he had gotten Li Lin a new one.

"Is there something you need? I still need to take care of the monster dismantling."

"Let Old Wang handle this. I have something to ask you—Li Lin, do you know about the Dragon's Transformation?"