Sakurajima North Sea battlefield.
The monster salvage team assembled by the Far East and Sakurajima had arrived at the battlefield where Beast King and Serpent King had fought.
According to satellite positioning, after Serpent King had been torn in two, its body had been left here.
Iron Hammer's body had been tossed near the coast. With a bit of effort, it could be dragged ashore and loaded by crane. Very simple.
But Serpent King was different. Its place of death was out at sea, and salvaging it required a salvage team.
In this era, sailing out to sea truly meant putting one's life on the line.
In the past, ships attracted fish. Now, though, monsters from hundreds or even thousands of miles away came rushing over at the news!
Serpent King had already occupied these waters. According to normal predation rules, it should have claimed the surrounding sea, leaving no other monsters nearby.
Thus, this joint salvage fleet had been dispatched.
As for that mysterious Beast King...
They could only pray that he had gone far away.
"Get the diving equipment to locate the monster corpse immediately, secure it at once, then have the cargo ship tow it away!"
The captain issued a strict order.
He was an old soldier too. He knew that going to sea was still dangerous at a time like this.
Serpent King was dead, but an even stronger Beast King had appeared in these waters.
If they were targeted... even a one-in-ten chance of survival would be considered optimistic.
Yet the captain had still volunteered to come.
Because he knew that the combined value of all the ships going out to sea did not compare to Serpent King's corpse!
As long as they could drag Serpent King back, it would be a huge profit. If they unfortunately encountered Beast King...
"Well, early investments always come with losses."
The old captain muttered to himself.
"Like back in the peaceful days decades ago, throwing all your money into the stock market and getting fleeced. Wasn't that a loss too?"
"But I, Old Cao, have been lucky. At least my family lived safely and peacefully for all those years. No money was no big deal, but why couldn't things have stayed that way?"
Captain Cao was currently alone. Three years ago, he had still had a happy family. Then, after a monster attack, he was the only name left in the household register.
From that point on, Old Cao's heart had died. Only flames named persistence and hatred remained, supporting him as he kept moving forward.
Soon, a crewman reported in.
It was bad news.
The Beast King attack they had feared most had not happened.
But Serpent King's corpse was gone as well!
Old Cao's aged face immediately turned solemn.
"Monsters devouring each other has happened before. These creatures aren't united as one."
"But Serpent King's corpse was torn into two by that mysterious monster!"
"I've seen footage of that mysterious monster. With those tiny little arms of his, even carrying away half the corpse would be pushing it. How could he possibly take the entire thing?"
"Report this to Mecha Base immediately! They're the experts in this field!"
Sherlock Godzilla, the Great Detective
Serpent King's corpse had vanished without a trace!
Old Luo learned this news during dinner.
His expression changed on the spot. After saying goodbye to several young pilots, he left.
A complete monster corpse had disappeared. If this had happened in the depths of the ocean, it would not have been much of a problem.
But at a distance of 120 li, it really was not that far from shore.
"Maybe that Beast King dragged it away. It's nothing serious. Keep eating. I'll go take a look first."
Old Luo kept a smile on his face, not wanting to put psychological pressure on everyone.
The others had eaten and drunk their fill. Though they knew this was no small matter, they truly had no other leads.
Letting them fight was fine.
But asking them to become detectives and search for a corpse in the vast ocean...
They might as well wash up and go to bed.
Only Luo Bing drained the orange juice in his glass in one gulp, a subtle shift appearing in his eyes.
As someone directly involved, Luo Bing knew very well that after killing Serpent King, he had left immediately and had not done anything to the corpse.
Now that Serpent King's corpse had mysteriously disappeared, things had become troublesome.
At present, Luo Bing could think of two possibilities.
The first was that Serpent King had not died.
Serpent King should not have had any chance of surviving that attack, but perhaps it had some hidden life-saving method. It was impossible to say for certain.
The second possibility was that another monster existed!
In waters so close to Sakurajima, there had actually been a third monster besides Scythe Head and Serpent King!
If this was true, then things were really serious.
Only Luo Bing, as someone directly involved, knew so many hidden details. Before the truth came out, naturally no one else could guess it.
Lin Wange was also holding a glass of orange juice. She swirled it as if it were red wine, then asked Koizumi Junko with a light smile, "Junko, you'll be moving into our base to live and train with us from now on. I haven't asked where you'll be staying yet?"
Koizumi Junko let out an "Ah," then said quietly, "General Luo has already decided. To cultivate understanding between Luo Jun and me, I'll be staying next door to Luo Jun from now on."
Lin Wange could not help raising an eyebrow.
"That's certainly close for cultivating understanding."
She turned and glanced at her younger sister. Seeing that she still looked calm and indifferent, she sighed inwardly.
If not for this monster attack...
Or if Sakura Saber had performed a little better today, Luo Bing would not have become Sakura Saber's pilot. He would have become Wulei's pilot instead.
At that point, after deeply connecting with the mecha, even if they were too embarrassed to say it aloud, they would have known everything.
Now... it was too late.
Koizumi Junko's little face reddened at Lin Wange's rather strange words, and she stammered without speaking.
After all, this was their first time meeting, and the sense of unfamiliarity was still strong. Perhaps things would get better after they trained and worked together for a while.
This "celebration dinner" finally ended after everyone finished the juice in their glasses.
As pilots with extremely strict mental and physical requirements, they absolutely could not drink alcohol, even if they were adults.
Even Old Luo had not drunk any. Though he had honorably retired, if things ever reached the point of no return, he would still have to suit up and return to duty.
The night passed without incident.
Luo Yun, on the other hand, was very energetic, happily talking about how her older brother had finally become a pilot.
So Luo Bing used the authority of an older brother and made her obediently return to her room for a proper rest.
Daring to stay up late?
With insufficient sleep and poor concentration, did she want to fail the Telepathy Exam again next time?
With that hanging over her head, Luo Yun immediately went obediently to sleep.
At midnight, Luo Bing's eyes opened, and he woke up.
His mind sank into his consciousness.
Just as Luo Bing had expected!
The nearly depleted countdown had returned to sixty minutes!
Clearly, the amount of time he could remain transformed into Godzilla was now one hour every twenty-four hours!
If he could invest twenty-three Little Stars into activity time in the future, he could stay in Godzilla form all day long and fool around wherever he wanted.
Of course, if he really had that many Little Stars, would it not be better to invest them all into Body Size?
One Little Star meant five meters of growth. If he really had twenty-three Little Stars, that would be 115 meters!
Luo Bing could instantly transform into a King of Monsters over 200 meters tall, truly a monster among monsters. He could even lift Shangang with one hand and hammer her while dangling her in the air!
"Serpent King's corpse vanished without a trace. I definitely didn't touch it, so where could it have gone?"
"One hour should be enough for me to investigate and find something."
"Even if monsters attack during this time, there are two intact mechas at the base now. There's nothing to fear!"
Having made up his mind, Luo Bing put on a set of work clothes, pulled a large unmarked hood over his head, and left his room.
But just as he tiptoed two steps down the corridor, the door opposite his opened.
"Luo Jun... what are you doing dressed like that?"
Koizumi Junko, who had stepped out of her room, asked with wide eyes. Then she seemed to think of something, and her expression became somewhat forlorn.
"Are you... are you going to see someone?"
Luo Bing froze, looking equally surprised.
"Junko? Why are you still awake in the middle of the night? It's past midnight!"
As he said this, Luo Bing had completely forgotten how strange his own behavior was.
Junko was simply too gentle and too compliant by nature, so Luo Bing easily led her away from the subject.
If it had been either of the Lin Sisters, neither would have been so easy to fool.
"Ah, I... I changed environments, so I can't really sleep..."
Junko spoke softly.
There was a faint hint of complaint in her words.
But Luo Bing knew Junko was not someone who liked to complain. She was simply somewhat attached to her former surroundings. This environment was too unfamiliar to her.
"The Junko I know isn't someone who faces reality so timidly."
Luo Bing smiled and patted Junko on the shoulder, putting on a bold and heroic air.
"Go to sleep without worry. Tomorrow, we'll officially begin training together!"
"I have something to take care of, so I'm heading out first. Junko, this is our secret. Don't tell anyone, okay?"
Junko nodded with all her strength, indicating that she understood.
As she watched Luo Bing's retreating figure, she suddenly realized that she had come out to ask what he was doing outside in the middle of the night. How had it turned into her keeping a secret for him?
"But... being able to help Luo Jun isn't bad either."
She murmured softly.
Meanwhile, after leaving the dormitory corridor, Luo Bing's movements became even more cautious and furtive.
Because once he left the dormitory, there were surveillance devices everywhere.
Before you continue