The kaiju crawled into Lone Star Harbor, its humanoid silhouette nearly visible to the naked eye. A massive, gnarled hand reached out from the water, attempting to rise and grab something, sending a chill down the spine of every witness.
Its bloated, rotting, grayish-white skin was abnormally large—a human-like hand.
The sea giant threw its head back, emitting a long, piercing wail. Its tangled hair, mixed with green blood, hung over its shoulders. It seemed that the heavy torpedo had caused some damage, but it didn't stop the sea giant from continuing its advance.
The ship swayed like a toy model, with containers that hadn’t been unloaded sinking directly into the harbor. Some crew members risked jumping into the water to swim away but were caught between the tilted cargo ship and the scattered containers, their fates uncertain. Dock workers frantically fled from the water’s edge.
The scene resembled a reenactment of Gulliver’s Travels, with the giant appearing and tiny people running in all directions. Fortunately, the sea giant didn’t reach into the water to grab people and stuff them into its mouth; for the moment, it seemed to be trying to move toward the shore.
Nemo suddenly realized that the torpedo hadn't penetrated the monster's skull; the explosion alone wasn't enough.
If the Air Force used an MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), it might work, but the problem was the radius of the explosion. Within 650 meters, there were too many civilians trapped in the crowd, unable to move. Even Nemo himself would be caught in it. Moreover, with GPS guidance, there was a risk of misfiring, and a few hundred meters of deviation could mean thousands more deaths.
The U.S. military couldn’t deploy the MOP now. Nemo immediately reached this conclusion.
It seemed that the monster was always drawn to crowds. In addition to the one pursued in Bohai Bay, both of the U.S.'s recent kaiju landings had been in densely populated areas. The military hesitated to act, and this time, they had directly designated the southern part of Lone Star City as the battlefield, which was a risky decision.
There had been the painful lessons from the East Coast and the Greens. This time, there were no civilians livestreaming from the harbor. Everyone, with the determination to escape the tsunami, rushed uphill... only to be blocked on the narrow roads by the panicked masses trying to leave the harbor, causing chaos with the refugee crowd spilling out of the southern district.
Nemo rubbed his aching temples.
The city government responded remarkably quickly this time, immediately sending out emergency disaster messages urging all citizens to abandon their vehicles and flee on foot. Private vehicles were prohibited from passing the checkpoints, and any vehicles blocking ambulances were violently removed. This message was broadcast repeatedly across local radio stations.
The trapped crowd began to move slowly. The National Guard worked to keep emergency lanes open and prioritized evacuating pregnant women, the sick, and the elderly. They also allowed infants and a single adult in a single-parent family to evacuate first. Children under 14 were to have their names, contact numbers, and addresses written on their clothing before being taken by vehicle to evacuation sites.
The Lone Star City government, in cooperation with Grimm Group, had printed and distributed emergency evacuation manuals that mentioned, in extreme cases, the military might use a triage principle to separate children and adults and transport them to safe places. The initial rescue efforts would prioritize the vulnerable and disabled. As a result, some citizens were mentally prepared, even having prepared evacuation backpacks and identification for their children or elderly parents in advance. Many also cooperated with the instructions and helped their qualifying family members board the evacuation vehicles first.
Of course, there were still some hysterical parents or children unwilling to part ways. Once the empty seats in the evacuation convoy filled up, the calm citizens quickly increased in number.
Perhaps not everyone would be fortunate enough to escape the harbor in time, especially those who had stayed on the ship from the beginning. At least, it was much better than the scene during the East Coast Kaiju attack, when thousands gathered to watch. As the crowd withdrew, it was clear that the harbor had become a killing zone.
The sea giant briefly rose and found that the harbor water only reached its waist. At this moment, a squadron of suicide drones carrying explosives flew towards it, repeatedly crashing into its head. The sea giant's head was blasted apart, with its skull exposed. It lost its balance and knelt back into the water.
But it continued to move forward, using its hands and feet to push away sunken containers and ships as it advanced toward the dock. Some containers were crushed beneath its feet like plastic toys, producing bone-chilling metal noises, while cargo ships were pushed into a heap.
As the sea giant, now as large as a warship, moved sluggishly in the harbor, three laser-guided AGM anti-ship missiles flew in, targeting its torso. After two waves of strikes, Nemo quickly dropped to the ground to avoid the explosive shockwaves and the flying debris, as well as the monster's flesh and blood splattering in all directions.
The sea giant sank into the harbor waters, and those standing at the rear of the crowd, still on higher ground, cheered. The water in Lone Star Harbor had turned fluorescent green, later earning it the nickname "Death Pool."
However, the celebration didn’t last long. The water's surface, filled with floating debris, began to churn again, and the sea giant finally managed to grab the dock with both hands, dragging itself ashore.
It shakily rose to its feet, resembling a baby learning to walk. The people witnessing this couldn’t stop screaming.
Super-regeneration! This possibility crossed Nemo’s mind along with several others.
The air force halted their attack for now, as the commander wasn’t sure whether to waste precious missile stockpiles, and another concern was that the sea giant had gotten even closer to the crowd.
It wasn’t just the residual shockwave from the explosion—flying blood and flesh from the creature could cause a clustered bomb-like infection among the crowd.
Nemo recalled the lesson from the East Coast Kaiju. Could it be that the creatures born from the meteor storm were only vulnerable to superhumans with powers related to the Fragments? Was the Bohai Bay Kaiju killed because it bled out and lacked energy?
The three deep-sea kaiju currently making landfall each had their own strengths. The first had the toughest skin, almost like an ancient amphibian before the evolution of dinosaurs, impervious to missiles, and was finally torn apart by the superheroes. The second was more fragile, sensitive to pain, resembling a mass of intertwined snakes with long-necked heads, very agile, and had a strong will to survive. The third, currently rampaging through Lone Star Harbor, was a massive version of the Greens, decayed, and furious creatures, slow-moving but with an unmatched regenerative ability.
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As long as the sea giant's regeneration could stop bleeding and seal wounds quickly, U.S. military weapons couldn’t kill it. The only way to defeat the creature was to have superhumans suppress its energy and outlast its strength.
Had the Chinese military truly killed the Bohai Bay Kaiju, or had a superhuman dealt the final blow? Nemo doubted.
The fully revealed sea giant stood as tall as a fifteen-story building. Its upper body had two large, human-like, voluptuous breasts, while its lower body was covered in grotesque, fleshy growths, seemingly lacking any penile structure. Based on instinct alone, Nemo could only assume that this sea giant was likely female.
The presence of sexual traits in the monster wasn’t a good sign, as it implied that there was at least one male and one female of this type of humanoid kaiju, and they could potentially reproduce. The yet-to-appear male would likely be stronger and more aggressive.
At that moment, a civilian helicopter buzzed over Nemo’s head. In those brief two or three seconds, he saw a photographer and a blonde female reporter standing in the open helicopter door, aiming their cameras directly at the sea giant, snapping pictures furiously.
Southern district had already been declared a battlefield, with both ground and air traffic under full control. The audacity of this civilian helicopter daring to intrude was reckless!
Nemo immediately tuned into the nation’s most popular live broadcast, and sure enough, the blonde reporter was there. She not only reported on the U.S. military’s complete failure and the sea giant’s regenerative ability, but also showcased the fearful expressions of the crowds who couldn’t escape in time. Confidently, she promised viewers that she would capture the upcoming heroic battle as superheroes rushed to save the day.
The live stream even captured radio communications from the U.S. military warning the crew to exit the combat zone immediately. The reporter completely ignored the warnings and made a provocative gesture to the camera.
In the next instant, the sea giant flicked its wet hair, spraying green blood on the civilian helicopter. It also splashed the photographer and reporter’s faces, including the reporter’s mouth as she had her mouth open.
The reporter’s scream echoed across the live broadcast channel. The photographer, seemingly frozen in fear, instinctively kept the camera trained on her, forgetting that he, too, was covered in the monster’s blood. As the unexpected turn of events exploded in the live chat, the reporter suddenly went silent. Her expression blank and puppet-like, her eyes rolled back. After about ten seconds, her pupils lowered, and they turned bright orange, just like the sea giant’s.
"Errrrrrrr…" The reporter's features twisted in anger, producing a vomit-like sound as she lunged at the terrified helicopter pilot. The camera shook as the photographer seemed to begin mutating as well, unable to control his shaking hands.
The camera barely captured the reporter biting into the pilot’s cheek, chewing it, her face splattered with blood. The pilot, trapped in his seat, had no way to escape. Eventually, he unbuckled his seatbelt, and a violent struggle ensued between him and the reporter, causing the helicopter to lose control. The live connection was cut off.
Nemo watched in horror as the helicopter narrowly missed crashing into the dock, exploding into a fireball. The pilot never made it to the sea, as the deranged reporter clung to him until the very end.
The live broadcast continued with the donations stacking up, a hundred-dollar donation accompanied by the comment "Rest in rich," quickly followed by a flood of identical comments. Viewers began digging into the reporter's past and discovered that she, along with the helicopter pilot (her boyfriend) and the photographer (a former colleague), had been struggling with long-term unemployment and debt. They had hoped to emulate the viral success of the East Coast Kaiju incident and get rich through the viral video of the event.
The reporter's life and obituary were sealed in that brief minute, and the internet flooded with an outpouring of condolences.
Nemo quickly lost interest in this tragic distraction after seeing the cryptic comment. His attention was still fixed on the sea giant. The reporter’s transformation after exposure to the monster’s blood was happening too fast—possibly even a mental assimilation that was shockingly instantaneous. It was a classic case, but unfortunately, the sample had already turned to ash.
A familiar feeling surged within Nemo as a massive lizard, seamlessly blending into the background, silently appeared on the roof of a building across the street. It didn’t even glance at Nemo, as if it were just an unfamiliar civilian seeking refuge, part of the scenery.
Since Angie couldn't speak after transforming, Nemo had worked with her to develop a secret communication system using her large, vertical scales on her back as a way to signal with simple tactical gestures in emergency situations. This was a secret only the two of them knew.
Angie signaled: "You, retreat immediately. I, use, venom."
Damn it. Even if Nemo could get Matthew to send the KS mam gear via drone right now, what could he possibly do against the over 15-story-tall sea giant? Matthew had set clear rules from the start: if other superheroes were on the battlefield, Nemo had to cooperate and at least be strong enough not to hinder the other heroes. Otherwise, he was to leave to avoid obstructing the fight.
Nemo had no uniform or weapons at hand, just a regular civilian—he wasn’t even qualified to join the fight. Angie wanted him to retreat, and as her teammate, Nemo had to respect her judgment on the situation.
Salamander's ultimate move, one Angie had never used before, not even knowing how it might affect her transformation into a giant lizard. She could possibly run out of energy or lose control of her powers. While they had discussed testing the venomous sacs’ effect, the appearance of the sea giant had caught them completely off guard, leaving no time for verification of Angie’s new ability and its cost.
Nemo clenched his teeth, recalling how Angie had confided in him about her superpower's new development. She trusted him so much!
"There's a secret I don't know if I should tell Matt... help me evaluate it." Angie had whispered this to Nemo after returning from her intensive training in the wilderness.
"The energy from those first-generation bloodsucking mosquito creatures... it hasn't completely disappeared. It's still hidden in my body. When I transform, I can decide whether to generate venom sacs. The energy turns into something like venom... I think it’s similar to the mosquito venom. I haven’t tested it on animals; that would be too cruel." Angie had described her new condition nervously.
"Of course, you can't tell anyone. This is your trump card. If the Grimm Group betrays you, or if the U.S. government sends superhumans to capture you, you can use this to deal with them!" Nemo had responded back then.
Angie had decided to use her newly acquired power against the sea giant—what a foolish girl! But now, only the superhero Salamander had completed its transformation and was on the scene.
Salamander's size was still a struggle, barely enough to bite into a wound the size of a fingertip on the sea giant. Compared to David, the boy in the Bible who fought Goliath, Salamander was practically a mouse in size next to the giant sea monster.
Compared to the massive size of the sea giant, Salamander’s venom sacs seemed almost hopeless. Biting the muscle tissue was practically futile—only high-risk, high-reward opportunities remained.
Nemo nodded and pointed to his retreat direction, then indicated the position of his carotid artery, sliding two fingers between the fingers of his other hand—meaning "Bite through the vein and inject."
The transformed giant lizard nodded, its vertical scales vibrating in acknowledgment. With determination, it began to climb the tallest building near the sea giant, preparing to leap onto its back and latch onto its long hair in order to climb to its neck and strike at its vital spot.
Nemo remained in place, watching. The civilians hadn’t evacuated yet! Matthew had said that, if absolutely necessary, he could step in dressed as a civilian—like rescuing an unconscious or slow-moving civilian. Nemo believed he could still manage that.
Regardless of when other superheroes arrived, their main task would be to stop the kaiju from reaching the city center and defeating the sea giant. Who had the time to cover for Angie while she struggled to revert to her human form after exhausting her venom? It was left to Nemo, the only one with nothing to do.
Salamander's ambush succeeded, but the sea giant’s blood vessels lay too deep for the venomous teeth to reach. The giant lizard had to use its hooked teeth to tear off a large chunk of flesh before it could get close to the blood vessels.
However, the small wound Salamander had torn open did not heal.
Despite its decayed and waxy appearance, the sea giant clearly felt pain. Even though its expressionless face showed no emotion, the moment before the reporter’s helicopter crash had perfectly mirrored the sea giant’s anger from the U.S. military bombing and bleeding it.
The sea giant grabbed Salamander, tore it off from its shoulder, and threw it forcefully toward the nearest high-rise. After all, the East Coast Kaiju had been able to toss a Coast Guard ship onto a high building, so a giant lizard wouldn’t be a problem.
Salamander transformed back into its fiery red form in mid-air, ready to brace for impact. But as it noticed the terrified civilians still trapped in the building’s glass windows, its eyes narrowed in despair.