Chapter 197
Before everyone could even breathe a sigh of relief, they saw the Thousand-Throated Beast leave the scene.
The ground beneath the feet of the team member wielding the Plasma Incinerator, who was also Psychic Power, collapsed without warning!
A charred, withered hand shot out from the hole with astonishing speed, reaching straight for the team member's ankle!
Damn it!
The team member reacted extremely quickly, attempting to leap backward the instant the ground beneath her feet collapsed. However, the hand moved along with her movement, and without some skill, it would have been caught red-handed.
She immediately attempted to unleash Psychic Power shock to break free from the deadly grip.
However, her expression changed drastically in an instant. She felt that the surging Psychic Power within her, which came from the Emperor's blessing and also from her own talent, had suddenly gone silent.
The Large Stabilization Anchor within the facility forcefully suppressed all anomalies here, including the Psychic Power within her.
The Hume Index in the Warhammer World is far lower than that in the Foundation World.
Those who can use 'magic' over there, without sufficient skills, would only be Muggles in the Foundation World.
Just as she was about to be arrested, at this critical moment—
Get out of the way!
A loud shout rang out! It was Jin Li!
Without the slightest hesitation, the moment he saw the hand appear, he used all his strength to sidestep and shove the frozen Psychic Power member aside!
The team member was knocked off balance by the impact and fell backward, narrowly avoiding the charred hand.
However, Jin Li himself lost his balance due to the inertia of the impact and the sudden change in the ground beneath his feet, and one foot had already stepped into the edge of the ever-expanding corroded hole!
The hand that had been grasping at empty air instantly changed direction and, with a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive, grabbed Jin Li's power armor ankle!
An irresistible, bone-chilling force surged forth!
"Governor!" the team members roared in alarm and anger, charging madly towards Jin Li.
Jin Li only had time to turn around and take a deep look through the helmet visor at her 'daughter'— Ku Tang —who was operating the machine in the distance.
The next moment, a powerful dragging force suddenly erupted!
Whoosh!
Jin Li was forcibly dragged into that rapidly shrinking, corroded hole!
The opening closed up quickly after he disappeared, and the ground returned to its original state, leaving only a faint, nauseating trace of corrosion.
Seeing their captain being forcibly dragged into a duo queue by the Terrifying Old Man...
The team members didn't look too good.
Meanwhile, in the distance, SCP-049 slowly walked towards Facility Supervisor Ku Tang, seemingly unconcerned about the fierce battle and 106's interference, its gaze fixed on Ku Tang.
"You, madam," 049 said slowly in its gentle voice, raising its gloved hand to Ku Tang, "You exude a strong stench of plague. This restlessness, this fear, this... unclean life form, are all symptoms of disease. You must receive treatment."
049's gaze remained fixed on the inactive black slug hiding behind the facility manager Ku Tang.
As it spoke, several unsteady "people" slowly emerged from the shadows behind 049.
They moved stiffly, making meaningless hoarse noises from their throats, and their bodies still bore fragments of Foundation uniforms or task force armor.
These are the products of being cured by 049, having lost all reason and self-awareness, turning into mindless zombies.
Their very existence is an interpretation of the outcome of the 049 treatment.
Facilities manager Ku Tang watched as the "little zombies," once his colleagues, slowly approached, then looked at the terrifying figure before him who called himself a doctor.
She suppressed her fear and shook her head. "Let's talk about it another day. I can receive treatment after today."
After being rejected, SCP-049 did not get angry; instead, he simply sighed.
"Pandemics always make people think that treatment is unnecessary." It walked towards them, extending its hand. "Patients sometimes don't understand what's best for them, and as a doctor, I must...persist."
It's getting ready to take a hard line.
"Protect her!" The remaining four team members reacted immediately. Although the loss of the governor had left them momentarily disoriented, their rigorous training there enabled them to react instantly.
They quickly tightened their formation, trying to shield their supervisor Ku Tang, behind them again, and raised their weapons to target the advancing 049 and the "little zombies" behind him.
However, their predicament is far from over.
"Hehehe..."
That chilling, eerie laughter rang out again.
Just as the Psychic Power team member was trying to aim the Plasma Gun at 049, the wall next to her suddenly peeled away like a melting wax figure, and a charred hand shot out like lightning.
She had anticipated this, and quickly dodged, but she didn't have time to aim properly.
Bang!
The Plasma Incinerator was harassed and deflected, the scorching ball of light grazing past 049's side and exploding into a crater on the distant wall.
As soon as another team member raised his Boltgun, the ground beneath his feet instantly turned into quicksand, causing him to stumble and miss his shot completely.
The Terrifying Old Man 106 did not leave; he continued to lurk in the shadows, constantly harassing the already outnumbered squad, making it difficult for them to maintain their formation.
At that moment, the "little zombies" behind 049 seemed to receive a silent command. They let out low whimpers and began to accelerate towards the team!
They may not pose a significant threat individually, but their unknown numbers and fearlessness in the face of death could create a massive disruption.
With the Plague Doctor and his zombie minions advancing head-on, determined that Ku Tang must be cured, and the Terrifying Old Man harassing them from the side, the remaining four-person team was instantly under immense pressure!
And so, despite all the precautions, a small zombie rushed in and was about to touch the facility manager Ku Tang.
With a tense expression, she gritted her teeth and frantically verified the data at the control panel in front of her.
Nuclear explosion! Activate the nuclear explosion!
At this moment, she desperately wished for just one more second.
And just then, that moment truly came to her.
"Arkana - Lightbreaker Slash?!"
A laser beam, about the thickness of a finger, shot out without warning, piercing the chest of a small zombie and successfully saving the facility manager Ku Tang.
The white-haired magical girl, Ku Tang, stuck out her tongue, stood on tiptoe, and struck a pose while holding her magic wand.
"Even though you're Ku Tang from a different world, you still don't look as cute as me, do you?"
The Very Cute Magical Girl, Ku Tang, makes her grand entrance!
Then, a hand reached out from under her feet.
They caught the foot she was using when she was posing on one leg.
kiss
She was pulled into another dimension.
Magical Girl Ku Tang, a regrettable departure!!
Verification successful! Nuclear explosion countdown: 20 minutes!
Chapter 20: Father and Daughter [1st Update]
Meanwhile, in the other-dimensional pocket space of 106, filled with corruption, rust, and endless darkness.
Jin Li felt a sudden dizziness as the surrounding scenery instantly shifted from the chaos of the control room to a suffocatingly Distortion.
The air was thick with a strong smell of rust and some indescribable odor.
The lighting system on his power armor stubbornly penetrated some of the darkness, but here the light seemed to be mostly swallowed up as well.
Meanwhile, the prayers attached to him were burning, resisting the unusual and evil power here.
The Hume Index here is quite low, far lower than that of the main universe. These prayers, which were originally still, now burn fiercely, bringing him a brief moment of light.
Thump!
"Ah!"
With a sharp cry of pain, Jin Li whirled around, the power armor joints emitting a dull grinding sound.
Bathed in the light of the inscriptions on his body, the magical girl Ku Tang, who had just been dragged in, sat on the ground looking completely bewildered. The glittering magic wand in her hand had rolled to the side, and her tutu was stained with some dark substance.
Magical Girl Ku Tang looked up at the man in front of her, who was dressed in heavy power armor and looked like a steel giant.
She touched her leg in confusion. Her leg was broken when she entered, but it seemed to have healed afterward.
Thanks to the protection of his Mastercrafted Power Armor, Jin Li's outer armor was miraculously not directly torn off by the Terrifying Old Man; he only suffered some minor injuries.
Even though her legs were broken, the medicine prescribed by the Ku Tang Quack Doctor still came in handy. The tactical equipment built into her EGO Gear automatically injected the medicine into her body, restoring her to full health.
"Um... thank you for the light earlier, uncle!" she said energetically, then her face filled with confusion. "But who exactly are you? You've been captured too, which isn't a good thing, you know."
Jin Li paused for a moment.
She seemed not to recognize herself at all.
That makes sense, the helmet is still on his head.
He took a deep breath of the air supplied by the recirculation system, which carried a metallic and filtered scent. Instead of immediately answering her question, he countered, "You... don't recognize me?"
His voice sounded somewhat muffled and distorted after being processed by the helmet's speakers.
"Hmm?" Ku Tang tilted her head, her fluffy white hair swaying. "Should we know each other? This is so strange."
He didn't say anything more, but simply extended his finger, which was covered by heavy armor, and pressed the unlocking device on the side of his helmet.
A soft "click" sounded.
Then came the faint hissing sound of air pressure being released.
He held the helmet with both hands and slowly removed it from his head.
In an instant, that weathered, gaunt face...
His gaze was sharp and deep, carrying the authority of someone who had long held a high position, but he could not hide the complex emotions he felt when looking at the girl before him.
When Ku Tang saw his face, her eyes, framed by white eyelashes, slowly widened.
Jin Li, meanwhile, was holding his helmet, smiling quietly.
"What are you doing here, Supervisor... Oh no, not anymore," Ku Tang murmured, then cautiously asked, "Are you doing well over there, Dad?"
Looking at the Ku Tang in front of her, Jin Li naturally knew that she had been resurrected from Xiao Huasheng's hands.
He also avoided meeting Ku Tang for a while, because having seen countless real people, he believed it was just a trick by Xiao Huasheng to deceive him.
He witnessed firsthand how Ku Tang was killed by 939, saw the situation at the time, and hated his own weakness.
After arriving in the Warhammer Universe, he never stopped honing his skills. Even with heavy paperwork to do, he would still rely on his physical body to finish a whole week's worth of work in half a day before heading off to train.
He only returned to the Foundation World after he felt confident in his abilities.
Before leaving, he asked the Emperor in his dream whether Xiao Huasheng truly possessed the ability to bring people back to life.
After receiving confirmation that it was true, he, who had been suspicious, finally believed in the Angel.
At this point... he had made peace with himself.
Looking at her daughter before her, she looked exactly the same as she remembered.
The two stared at each other, Ku Tang's cheeks flushed, while Jin Li smiled.
After a long silence, Jin Li was the first to break it.
"Girl, so this is the kind of thing you like..."
After all, Magical Girl EGO Gear is all pink, making it hard not to notice her.
It's worth noting that Ku Tang used to always wear a serious work outfit as a secretary at the Foundation, so seeing her like this now makes Jin Li sigh that her daughter has grown back.
As soon as Jin Li finished speaking in a teasing tone, the magical girl Ku Tang's cheeks instantly turned bright red, the color spreading all the way to her ears, and steam almost rose from the top of her head.
Her initial complex emotions and sadness about the reunion were instantly replaced by an overwhelming sense of shame.
"N-no, it's not because I like it!" She waved her little hands frantically, trying to explain, but her words were incoherent. "This is the equipment with the highest EGO synchronization rate. Even for the sake of combat power, I have to wear this..."
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until it almost turned into a frustrated muttering, as if she wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.
It wouldn't matter if anyone saw this outfit, but it just so happened that it was seen by his own father, who was theoretically his closest relative. It was practically a social death!
Looking at her adorable, helpless, and utterly ashamed appearance...
This is completely different from the image of the sharp-tongued, meticulous secretary I remembered.