Ren Yi didn't rush to leave. Instead, he struggled to lift his form several meters higher, looking down from above at the crimson giant wave that was rolling in like a collapsing mountain.
However, this look made him realize something was wrong.
This Red Tide was completely different from any he had learned about in previous intelligence reports.
To be precise, the scale of this Red Tide was significantly larger.
The rushing crimson water could no longer be described simply as a "tide."
It didn't just fill the entire sunken riverbed that had been baptized by the nuclear missile.
Even outside the high embankments on both sides of the riverbed, the land had already turned into a boundless red ocean at some unknown point!
As far as the eye could see, the horizon had been completely swallowed by the thick, blood-colored liquid.
The ruins of the land ships and the Tide-Follower camps that had still remained were now like a few grains of dust in the red ocean, instantly submerged and torn to shreds.
It was likely that this "human interference" had caused the outbreak of the Red Tide to become an unprecedented geological disaster.
Ren Yi sucked in a breath of cold air in his mind.
"...That is truly ruthless."
First, they used a megaton-yield nuclear missile to perform a physical salvation, crushing and vaporizing all matter within a radius of several kilometers with temperatures of tens of millions of degrees.
Immediately following that, they utilized the violent geological movements triggered by the nuclear explosion—powerful enough to change the landscape—to completely tear apart the fragile crustal structure of the Wilderness.
This released the Red Tide that had long been suppressed beneath the surface, executing a secondary total inundation.
If anyone was far enough away or lucky enough to hide in a bunker and barely cling to life after the nuke...
Then now, facing this overwhelming, all-pervading crimson Red Tide, their chances of survival had dropped to absolute zero.
This was a comprehensive, saturated cleansing.
Rumble—
Amidst the deafening roar, the red waves, dozens of meters high, slammed violently into the embankment where Ren Yi was perched.
The hard rock emitted a tooth-aching cracking sound under the corrosion and scouring of the tide.
Immediately after, countless cracks that had already been opened by the shockwave of the nuclear explosion were forced apart by the violent tide.
The Red Tide had "broken the dam."
The boundless red liquid poured frantically through the numerous fissures in the embankment.
While filling the crater, it also swallowed the high embankments on both sides section by section.
In just a few seconds, the slightly elevated long embankment where Ren Yi stayed was completely cut off by the spreading crimson tide.
Ultimately, the place where he stood became a desolate, isolated island drifting alone in a sea of blood.
The surrounding sky was still filled with high-temperature turbulence and violent ionizing radiation from the nuclear explosion.
The gale was like a blade. In this environment, Ren Yi's current state made it impossible for him to force himself into the air and fly.
"Well, looks like I'm stuck for now."
Ren Yi sighed and landed on the jagged rocks with some frustration.
It seemed he would be trapped on this island surrounded by the Red Tide for a while.
He couldn't consider his next move until this frantic tide subsided and the atmospheric turbulence dispersed.
So, was it over for now?
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, Ren Yi's consciousness suddenly tightened.
No.
Within this silent Red Tide that had swallowed all life.
A faint signal had not only failed to extinguish but was starting to become clear amidst the churning blood waves.
It was his "fated enemy" and "brother in misfortune," the one with whom he shared a long history of "grudges and debts"...
No. S-099, the Stomach of Glat.
The reason Ren Yi could instantly lock onto its identity was because of the "Seed" he had struck into Evans's body back in the land ship's cabin, which had subsequently transferred into S-099.
Not only had it not dissipated, but it was now moving deep within the blood sea not far away.
And... it was approaching the isolated island where he was located at high speed!
Ren Yi gave a bitter smile.
Of course. That madman, the Lord of the Sky Lake, had already said something similar.
Even he admitted that it was impossible to completely destroy a powerful Anomaly like S-099 with such means.
The purpose of the nuclear missile was merely to "greatly weaken" it, ensuring it wouldn't be able to go to the City of the Sky Lake to cause trouble for the Lord for the time being.
The problem now was that this monster was dazed from the blast.
Since it couldn't find the distant Lord to settle the score, it naturally sought out its nearby "cellmate" with whom it had a significant grudge.
"When it rains, it pours. When an Anomaly is down on its luck, even energy crystals get stuck in its teeth."
Ren Yi's body contracted with tension.
His current situation was terrible. The energy in his body had been completely depleted after consecutively using the "Pain Bead" to drop into time slices.
That bead was currently lying dormant deep within his consciousness and could not be reactivated for a short period.
To escape the core of the nuclear explosion, there had been no other choice.
However, without the "invincibility frames" to protect him, he could only rely on himself to face S-099 head-on.
But, Ren Yi calculated rapidly in his mind, S-099's current state couldn't possibly be much better.
No matter how terrifying an Anomaly it was, it had to be classified as "critically injured and near death" right now.
After all, S-099 clearly possessed material properties and had "swallowed a nuke" at the very core of the explosion.
Furthermore... he still had a trump card.
Ren Yi grit his teeth, planning to use the "raindrop" Ren Man had given him.
To be honest, Ren Yi felt a great deal of heartache.
His brother had only been willing to give him one "raindrop," and it was a consumable item that could only be used once.
He had originally thought that the "raindrop" was for his brother to save his life and that he wouldn't necessarily have to consume it this time.
In a mere assessment world, he might have been able to save it for next time...
Who knew the "Assessment" world was actually a "Nuke" world!
If he went back and said he had been hit by a nuke, could he get another one from his brother?
Ren Yi suddenly thought of that smiley face on this world's serial number again.
He felt more and more that the bastard Principal was mocking him.
Stop!
In a life-or-death moment, he couldn't afford to worry about wasting a precious treasure.
As for the trigger condition for the "raindrop," the target had to be within his perception range, and he had to clearly and explicitly "know the target's pain."
But, ha, at this stage, what kind of restriction was that?
Back when Ren Yi had first used his body fragments to give S-099 a heavy blow, he had already confirmed it.
This fellow could feel pain.
Then there was no problem at all.
And now, this fellow had just taken a two-megaton strategic nuclear missile at point-blank range and had been baptized by temperatures of forty million degrees.
Its black tide had been torn apart, and vast amounts of its flesh and tissue had been vaporized...
If this level of pain didn't count as "clear and explicit," then nothing else in the world could be called pain.
Moreover, in a way, Ren Yi could be said to "empathize" with it.
Ren Yi forced his remaining perception to coalesce, staring intently at the constantly churning surface of the Red Tide nearby.
He was extremely confident. He didn't care about its alleged indestructibility or any "Anomaly energy cannot be destroyed" principle.
In front of the "raindrop," none of that mattered.
S-099 has zero risk of survival!
Rate on N.U.
