Her armor still had movement-assist functions. Even with her waist strained, it could provide considerable support, and that was what had allowed her to escape death.
But a strain was still a strain. Her mobility was naturally impaired.
Moreover, because Ling Xingjian had dodged too nimbly and counterattacked too fiercely earlier, the monsters above were undergoing adaptive mutations.
Their torsos and legs became more withered and shriveled, making them lighter and more agile in flight and evasive maneuvers. Their eyes swelled, large and protruding like those of mantises. The forelimbs they used for throwing grew longer and more flexible. They no longer threw grenades so much as fired them from slingshots, greatly improving both speed and accuracy.
Seeing Ling Xingjian make a mistake, the monsters immediately struck while she was down, eager to take her life. Their hands flashed as they hurled grenade after grenade.
When Ling Xingjian looked up, countless grenades had already enveloped the sky above her like hailstones, screaming toward her at high speed.
A shadow rose in Ling Xingjian's heart. After struggling for so long, was she still destined to die?
Just then.
With a thunderous boom, Ling Xingjian felt the wall behind her suddenly explode apart as an enormous object charged out.
Before Ling Xingjian could turn around and see clearly, a chain of deafening explosions rang out beside her ears. Yet they sounded somewhat muffled, as if something had blocked them.
Shaking her head and looking again, she discovered that an absurdly huge creature had passed over her.
It was something like a seven-spotted ladybug, except unimaginably huge. Behind its tiny human-like head grew a massive abdomen, and its back was covered in thick shell armor. The shell was dotted with fist-sized holes, though she had no idea what they were for.
This thing