Chapter 558: Harpoon
I had just wanted to talk to Mr. Zhang, telling him not to be deliberately anti-intellectual because of possible risks. After all, humans had progressed from ancient times to the modern era, with much growth in wisdom and knowledge. Risks could be avoided but not escaped. Being overly cautious and giving up on useful things was meaningless, and so on, with many such grand principles.
However, at that very moment, a breaking wind sound came from behind. Mr. Zhang reacted faster than I did, turning his head and shouting angrily, “Who is it!?”
”Clang!” Mr. Zhang slashed back with his saber, cutting off an iron hook that was flying towards us. But I was too late to dodge. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as a harpoon pierced into my back and emerged from the front of my shoulder.
”Ahhh! It hurts so much!” I had been careless, too engrossed in talking with Mr. Zhang, and had forgotten that I was in a Dragon’s Pool Tiger’s Den. Or perhaps Mr. Zhang’s formidable martial prowess had made me let down my guard.
If my External Brain hadn’t reacted in time, allowing me to dodge slightly, my heart would have been pierced. But even so, my physical quality was still not good enough. I couldn’t fully dodge the harpoon and still had my shoulder impaled.
Just as I was feeling fortunate that I hadn’t been shot through the heart, the harpoon was suddenly pulled backward. The barb firmly dug into the flesh of my shoulder, causing me to cry out in pain again. Simultaneously, an immense force dragged me backward uncontrollably.
”Your mother’s been killed!” Mr. Zhang let out a Chinese expletive, swinging his scimitar to hack at the iron chain behind my harpoon. He was still counting on me to give him the Simplified Chinese characters, so he couldn’t just watch as I was dragged away.
However, just as Mr. Zhang lunged to catch up with me, preparing to sever the harpoon’s chain, a figure suddenly rushed in front of Mr. Zhang at extreme speed, wielding a bone-cutting knife and hacking at him.
”Clang!” Mr. Zhang had no choice but to raise his saber to block. Fierce sparks flew between the bone-cutting knife and the scimitar. Mr. Zhang then took the opportunity to swing his leg, intending to kick the enemy’s chest and abdomen, but saw that the person pulled an iron hook from their side, blocking Mr. Zhang’s kick.
I was too familiar with this iron hook; it was the same style as the one that had hooked Soldier A. The ones used to hang corpses in the cold room were also the same type. This iron hook was attached to an iron chain and used as a weapon.
Moreover, judging by this person’s silhouette, it seemed to resemble the figure that Delana and the First Mate had chased after at that time. Could he be the mutated crew member who first attacked us? But where were Delana and his First Mate?
Now, I finally understood how Soldier A felt. My body was being dragged by an irresistible, immense force. While that crew member was blocking Mr. Zhang for this short moment, I had already been dragged much further away.
Mr. Zhang was in extreme anxiety, wanting to come and save me, but he couldn’t break through the blockade by the mutated crew member in front of him for the time being. The opponent, wielding a bone-cutting knife in one hand and an iron hook in the other, was cosplaying as a butcher while skillfully wielding two unpopular weapons. Mr. Zhang couldn’t possibly defeat him to save me in a short time.
I desperately looked back and saw another person dressed as a ragged fisherman standing in the dark corridor in the distance. I could vaguely see his five eyeballs flickering in the darkness, and the tip of the harpoon in his hand gleamed with a cold light.
Two enemies! My heart sank instantly. I hadn’t expected them to act together. Each previous attack had only involved one person, which had led me to develop a habitual way of thinking, assuming they were all lone wolves.
Perhaps they thought it was too difficult to deal with me and Mr. Zhang when we were together, so they found someone to deal with us jointly. It was precisely for this reason that Mr. Zhang and I had talked for so long without being attacked. They were probably still making preparations for this attack, intending to break us down one by one.
However, if they thought they could easily take me down, they were too naive. After witnessing Soldier A’s encounter, I had naturally considered what to do if I were also ambushed like that.
”Invisible Hand!” Immediately, over a dozen insect legs emerged from thin air. Each insect leg inserted itself into one of the links of the iron chain and then simultaneously pulled forcefully towards me.
The shadowy figure on the other side was caught off guard and stumbled. He definitely hadn’t expected a person who looked like a little girl to possess such strength. Unfortunately, he didn’t know I also knew magic.
The strength of a single Invisible Hand wasn’t that great, roughly equivalent to that of a strong adult. But over a dozen was different. Now, he was in a tug-of-war with seven or eight strong men.
These mutated crew members, without exception, possessed exaggerated, monstrous strength. It seemed the mutation had greatly enhanced their power, but even so, it was still within the human range. Expecting him to be stronger than seven or eight hefty men was impossible.
I stood up, gripped the iron chain, and watched with a smile as he was pulled closer to me, link by link. As I got closer to the light source, I saw his true appearance clearly.
Disregarding the five eyes, he was just a very ordinary fisherman, with dark skin and a short stature. His skin had become rough from years of exposure to wind and sun, and his limbs were thin due to malnutrition.
If it weren’t for the mutation enhancing his strength, he probably wouldn’t have had the strength of even one insect leg. Now, he was also retreating under my pull.
Just then, I suddenly saw him raise his hand, which held a glinting object. In front was a harpoon, and behind it was a weapon resembling a hand crossbow. A harpoon launcher?!
”Click!” A pleasant but deadly string sound. The harpoon flew towards me like an arrow released from a bow. I immediately raised my pistol and pulled the trigger.
”Ding!” The steel nail and the harpoon met in mid-air. After a spark, both were sent flying. Under the precise calculations of the External Brain, I successfully intercepted the harpoon head-on with my pistol.
The harpoon launcher needed to be reloaded and the string pulled back, but the steam pistol didn’t. I directly fired three shots at the mutated crew member who was being pulled closer.
”Swish! Swish! Swish!” This thin fisherman instantly displayed agility comparable to the captain moments ago. He twisted his body, forcefully dodging all three steel nails.
Then he looked at me, revealing a bizarre smile. He released the chain still wrapped around his hand twice, and I suddenly lost the opposing force. Instead, I fell to the ground due to my own excessive force.
At the same moment he released the chain, he lunged at me, holding a sharp harpoon, attempting to kill me in close combat.
I slammed the ground forcefully. Simultaneously, the Invisible Hand pulled me from behind, dragging me back a considerable distance. I narrowly dodged the fisherman’s lunge. The harpoon plunged into my thigh, and even the hem of my robe was pierced.
”Heh heh!” The fisherman raised his head. His five eyes darted around before fixing their gaze on me. He pulled out a new harpoon from behind him. In his eyes, I was already a fish on a cutting board.
Just then, his body suddenly sank, and he fell into a large pit. No, it wasn’t a pit, but a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth!
