Chapter 81-Weakness

Chapter 81: 81-Weakness

The moment Aymara stepped into the control room, she snapped, "System, display the creature’s information!"

The enormous screen flickered, and a three-dimensional image of the mutant octopus rose above the console, rotating slowly while streams of data crawled across its glistening body.

[Scanning hostile organism...]

[Analysis in progress.]

[Mutation detected.]

[Estimated body mass: 480 tons.]

[Estimated tentacle length: 80–120 meters.]

[Defensive capabilities: Unknown.]

[Regeneration: Extremely high.]

Aymara’s expression tightened. Fear slid beneath her ribs, cold and precise, but she locked it behind her teeth. Fear was information and panic was a waste and she’d learnt the hard way not to be wasteful.

"Regeneration?" She frowned. It wasn’t bad enough an octopus can mutate to that size but it can regenerate when hurt?

That wasn’t there in her past life and even if it was, she never encountered it.

Before she could ask anything else, the entire control room lurched violently.

BOOOOOOM!

Nathaniel grabbed the edge of the console to keep himself upright.

"What was that?"

Aymara was already turning toward the external cameras. Her eyes widened. One of the creature’s tentacles had coiled around the ship, then another, then a third.

The thick limbs cinched around the cruise ship like colossal serpents, their pale suckers flattening against the hull with wet, crushing force. Metal groaned beneath the pressure.

KRRRRRNNNG!

Aymara’s face hardened. The ship wasn’t being attacked blindly. The creature was testing it, searching for the point that would fail first.

"System, status!"

[Hull integrity: 94%.]

[Defensive barrier: 87%.]

[External pressure increasing.]

"Can it break through the barrier?"

There was a momentary pause before the system reported back.

[If current pressure continues for twelve minutes: YES.]

"Then we don’t have twelve minutes. We have to get rid of that beast. NOW!"

Her fear narrowed into a single, useful point. Twelve minutes was a luxury she couldn’t afford which meant that she needed an answer in seconds.

Aymara’s eyes narrowed. "Activate all external defenses. Prioritize the tentacles gripping the hull."

[Command confirmed.]

The ship came alive. Panels along the outer hull snapped open, automated defense cannons thrust from concealed compartments, and missile launchers rotated into position with mechanical precision.

Drones shot from the upper deck in swarms, their cold lights slicing through the darkness as they surrounded the massive creature.

Nathaniel stared at the screens in awe. Once again, he was amazed by Aymara’s ability. "There are so many, girl. You came prepared."

Aymara spared him a glance. "I upgraded the ship for a reason."

She pointed toward the main display. "Fire on the limbs holding us. Don’t waste ammunition on the body. Force it to release the hull."

The night exploded when the system complied with the command.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Missiles streaked across the darkness before slamming into the creature’s enormous body. Fireballs blossomed across its slick flesh, illuminating the ocean for hundreds of meters.

For one glorious second, Aymara thought they had actually hurt it. Then she killed the thought before it could become hope. One second of optimism could cost them the next ten.

The smoke cleared and to her surprise, the mutant octopus was still there. Its skin was charred and split, several suckers leaking dark blood, but it hadn’t moved.

Nathaniel’s expression became grim. "That didn’t do much," he said. Internally, he was taking notes of everything about the new ocean and the mutants it produces.

If possible, he can built a robot with functions to counter their abilities to aid in their survival.

"No," Aymara responded. "It’s more resilient than I thought."

Aymara studied the damage instead of the monster’s size. The blast had failed to stop it, but it had exposed a reaction and got it to release the hull.

"But now we know it can bleed... and that damage to the gripping limbs makes it loosen its hold."

The monster suddenly opened its massive beak. A horrifying screech erupted from its throat, a shrill wave that seemed to tear through the air itself.

SKREEEEEEEEEE!

The sound was so powerful that the control room windows shuddered in their frames. Nathaniel instinctively covered his ears.

Aymara’s head snapped up. "System, report. What is that noise?!"

[Warning.]

[High-frequency sonic attack detected.]

The next second, several surveillance drones began falling from the sky. One after another, their lights winked out beneath the black waves.

Nathaniel stared at the screen in disbelief. It amazed him how powerful the mutated octopus was. His scientific brain wanted to strap it down in a laboratory and study it’s insides to learn more but the human part of his brain dismissed that idea as soon as it surfaced.

"It destroyed the drones," he claimed.

Aymara clenched her jaw. The creature had blinded her before making its next move. Clever. Annoyingly clever. She could respect that later, if there was a later.

"Then we’ll stop using drones. Pull them back and rely on the ship’s cameras and radar."

She rapidly tapped the control panel. "Switch all external weapons to manual targeting. Keep the cannons trained on the tentacles, not the body."

[Manual targeting enabled.]

Aymara’s fingers flew across the controls. The ship’s cannons rotated, and the creature noticed.

Its enormous glowing eyes shifted toward the cruise ship and for the first time, Aymara felt something that wasn’t irritation.

The thing was intelligent. It was watching her, studying her like a predator and countering accordingly. That didn’t sit well with her.

She met its gaze through the screen and refused to look away. If it was learning, so was she. The first one to reveal fear would surrender the advantage. Just as that thought cropped into her mind, it attacked.

One massive tentacle ripped through the waves and came straight toward the ship.

"Brace yourself!"

Nathaniel barely had time to grab the console.

CRAAAAASH!

The tentacle struck the defensive barrier. A translucent blue dome erupted around the ship, and the impact sent a shockwave racing across the ocean.

The barrier warped violently, rippling like glass beneath a hammer blow.

Nathaniel’s eyes widened. "It’s pushing through!"

Aymara stared at the rapidly dropping barrier percentage. The numbers were falling too quickly. She had one chance to make the impact hurt more than it hurt them.

[Defensive barrier: 72%.]

The tentacle was fully exposed against the barrier, and the earlier strikes had shown that its underside was vulnerable.

"System, target the tentacle’s underside."

[Target locked.]

"Fire everything at the sucker line. Cut its grip before the barrier fails."

The cannons roared. Bullets, energy rounds, and missiles tore into the massive limb.

Chunks of mutated flesh burst outward. Black blood splashed across the barrier in steaming arcs.

The creature recoiled with a furious screech. Its tentacle loosened.

Aymara smiled coldly. "There. We are not going down without a fight."

She pointed at the screen. "That’s its first notable weakness."

Nathaniel looked at her. "You found one?" He asked, voice filled with excitement as he too recorded it in his brain and made a mental note to record in a journal later.

"I found a pattern," she zoomed in on the footage. "The skin around the suckers is softer. Every time the cannons hit that area, it pulls back. If we keep striking the underside, we can force the limbs away from the hull completely."