CHAPTER 123: DEADLY TACTIC

Dr. Marshal’s scream echoed clearly in Shaan’s ears, but Shaan couldn’t respond at all. The giant cockroach stood right on top of him and slammed its body against the rocky ground with full force. The impact disrupted his communication signals, cutting off all contact.

"Damn creature. I need to get rid of it before it’s too late."

With all his strength, Shaan tried to push away the giant cockroach in front of him, but the creature was so heavy that he had difficulty moving it at all.

"Argh, I can’t. I have to use my dual short swords to be able to—" He moved his fingers, searching for his weapons. "Oh, crap! I completely forgot that I didn’t bring my two dual short swords."

To make matters worse, the giant cockroach pressed down even harder on Shaan’s homunculus body, making it even more difficult for Shaan to move until a warning notification appeared again.

[ALERT!]

[External pressure is damaging the Homunculus’ body.]

[Estimated damage: 15%. Energy storage is leaking.]

[I’d like to ask you to take immediate action to prevent further damage.]

[Remaining energy: 60%.]

[Status: in danger.]

’This is bad... What should I do?’

As Shaan struggled to find a way to break free from the giant cockroach’s grip, he suddenly spotted a shard of stone not far from where he lay.

"That’s it. I can use that to get this damn creature off me."

He stretched his arm to the side with all his strength and finally managed to reach the jagged piece of stone. Without hesitation, he grabbed it tightly and drove it straight into the giant cockroach’s neck.

"Take this, you filthy creature!" A purple-black fluid flowed from the giant cockroach’s neck, causing the terrifying creature to groan in pain. Seeing his chance to escape, Shaan instantly pushed the giant cockroach off his body and ran as fast as he could toward the old water tunnel.

***

"Dr. Mar-Marshall," Shaan gasped. "C-can you hear me?"

’Bzzt...bzzt....’

"Argh, damn it. It seems that the giant cockroach’s powerful blow has completely disrupted my communication system," Shaan grumbled. "This homunculus’s body is completely unarmed, and the only thing I can do now is escape and meet Dr. Marshall as soon as possible."

Shaan accelerated his pace as he ran down the old water tunnel as fast as he could. However, because he was pushing himself too hard, the leak in his homunculus’s energy storage worsened, causing a drastic decrease in energy.

[Homunculus energy remaining: 55%.]

[Homunculus energy remaining: 50%.]

[Homunculus energy remaining: 45%.]

[Status: CRITICAL]

"No, this can’t be." Shaan immediately stopped in his tracks. "I can’t run at all. That will make the damage even worse, and I won’t be able to get out of here. I have to think of another way to—"

Sadly, Shaan could hear the terrifying creature’s voice again. Damn, it seemed that the beast wasn’t going to let Shaan escape so easily and would definitely start chasing him.

"Argh, damn creature." Shaan glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the giant cockroach’s silhouette flying toward him, drawing closer with every second.

"I must find a hiding place. Now!

He scanned his surroundings frantically, and his eyes quickly locked onto a cluster of large, rusted water pipes not far from where he stood. Perfect. That spot looked dark enough to mask his presence—an ideal place to hide, especially since the poor lighting could make it harder for the cockroach to spot him.

"There. I’m sure that can be a good hiding place."

Without waiting long, Shaan quickly walked towards the cluster of old pipes and hid behind them. Only a few seconds later, the giant cockroach appeared in front of Shaan.

"God... that’s it. That terrifying thing. I-I need to stay calm. Don’t move. Don’t let it notice me here."

Through the gaps in the old water pipes, Shaan continued to observe the movements of the giant cockroach, which seemed to be circling. It appeared that the giant cockroach was trying to find Shaan while making the strange sound he had heard before.

[Remaining homunculus energy: 44 percent.]

[Remaining homunculus energy: 40 percent.]

"Argh, damn it. Damn it," Shaan shook his head. "I have to do something. My homunculus energy keeps decreasing, and if I don’t move now, I could die here."

Shaan looked around and saw an old piece of pipe that was sharp enough lying on the floor near him. An idea immediately flashed through Shaan’s mind to immobilize the creature, and he decided to take the object.

"Come on... just a little more. Just a little more and I’ll definitely succeed... Ah, finally."

Shaan grasped the object tightly, then slowly walked out of his hiding place. With very calm steps, he continued walking, getting closer and closer to the giant cockroach, which was completely unaware of his presence.

"Now, feel this, you bastard!"

With all his strength, Shaan slammed the pipe right into the giant cockroach’s head, killing it instantly. In a matter of seconds, the creature was dead, lying on the ground.

"Good, now is my chance," said Shaan, wiping the giant cockroach’s blood from his face. "I have to get out of here before anyone finds me."

Shaan continued walking down the old tunnel until he finally made it out. He headed straight for the cluster of trees where Dr. Marshal would pick him up, so he could go back to Twilight Sanctum again.

"Thank god... at least I managed to secure the evidence. Now I just need to find Dr. Marshall. He must already be at the—"

Shaan froze mid-step and immediately ducked behind a nearby tree when he spotted an officer emerging from the woods. The officer scanned the area carefully, eyes sweeping left and right, clearly checking for anything suspicious.

"What the hell? Why is there an officer here?" Shaan turned his head slowly, trying to stay hidden. "One thing’s for sure—he can’t see me. If he does, everything could fall apart."

Moving with extreme caution, Shaan slowly backed away from the officer. However, just as he was about to take a few steps, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind and clamped over his mouth.

’Sh*t—who the hell is that?!’