Chapter 215 - 213: Giant Octopus
The Icebreaker moved at a crawl as it cut through the ice. Jiang Si, however, walked across the frozen surface as if it were solid ground. She moved quickly, but not at a full sprint.
Riding Little Chun, Jiang Linhai quickly spotted her. He shouted excitedly from the air, "Sisi! Sisi! It’s Dad! Sisi!"
As Little Chun flew closer, it suddenly slammed into something with a loud THUD. The impact destabilized Little Chun, and Jiang Linhai was thrown backward.
Thankfully, the specialized flight saddle Jiang Si had designed kept him secure, preventing him from crashing hard onto the ice.
In that moment, he felt like just an ordinary person. ’Without a superpower, I’m completely useless,’ he thought. ’I can’t even protect my own daughter.’
After a brief moment of despair, Jiang Linhai refused to give up. Little Chun found a safe distance, and from outside the Barrier, he continued to shout, "Sisi, it’s Dad! Sisi! It’s me, your dad! Look at me! I’m here to take you home!"
Shen Baoying quickly joined in, yelling, "Sisi, we’re taking you home! Qin Shen is waiting for you! Can you hear me?"
No matter how they yelled, Jiang Si, inside the Barrier, showed no reaction. She was like a soulless marionette, manipulated by some unknown force, her eyes fixed only on the world to the north.
Jiang Linhai screamed again, "Sisi! Sisi! SISI—!!!"
The barrage of shouts seemed to have some effect. Jiang Si suddenly stopped walking, her emotionless black eyes eerily locking onto them.
Jiao Chunzi had a bad feeling.
The next second, Jiang Si extended a hand. A huge mattress shot toward them at an incredible speed.
"Watch out!" Jiao Chunzi screamed.
Little Chun, Xiaoqiu, and Xiao Xia scattered. The mattress itself should have missed them, but it was as if Jiang Si had unleashed a shockwave; all three creatures were violently flung in different directions.
Jiang Linhai tumbled through the air, losing track of how many times he spun before finally scraping to a harsh landing on the ice.
Fortunately, it had snowed the previous night. He and Little Chun landed in a deep snowdrift, which saved his neck from being snapped.
But Little Chun’s wing was broken, and it couldn’t fly.
Jiang Linhai stroked its head. "Does it hurt?"
Little Chun nuzzled against him, as if to say it didn’t.
Jiang Linhai knew how to set broken bones, but there were no sticks nearby to use as a splint. He noticed the feathers on Little Chun’s tail were thick and stiff. ’It won’t be flying for a while anyway,’ he thought. He said to Little Chun, "This is going to hurt a little!"
As soon as he spoke, he had plucked a handful of feathers from its rump.
He used a rubber band to bundle the feathers together. His fingers found the break in Little Chun’s wing, and he carefully set the bone back into place. Little Chun almost squealed like a pig in pain.
Jiang Linhai quickly apologized. "Sorry, sorry! I was in a bit of a hurry. We need to get you patched up so we can find the others."
’Jiang Si is so powerful, no one can get near her right now,’ he thought. ’I’m more worried about Shen Baoying, who got blasted away.’
’If anything happens to Bao Ying, I don’t know how I’ll ever face Sisi again.’
’I never should have let her come.’
But regrets were useless now. After securing Little Chun’s wing, Jiang Linhai patted its head. "Come on," he said. "Let’s go find Bao Ying."
His locator watch showed Shen Baoying’s position to the southeast.
He walked for over half an hour, praying the whole time. ’Shen Baoying has to be okay,’ he thought desperately. ’And hopefully, Jiang Chengwu notices something’s wrong with our positions and comes looking for us soon.’
As he walked, a dark shape suddenly appeared beneath the ice, moving quickly.
Jiang Linhai didn’t notice it, but Jiao Chunzi, who was circling above on Xiaoqiu looking for him, suddenly shrieked, "Watch out!"
Jiang Linhai looked up to see Jiao Chunzi circling above him. At the same time, his reflexes kicked in, and he instantly drew his gun.
’The danger isn’t from the sky,’ he realized, ’so it must be coming from beneath the ice.’
The memory of the Man-eating Sharks sent a chill down his spine.
Suddenly, he saw a massive shadow materialize ahead. With a tremendous CRACK, the ice shattered, and a giant octopus shot out its terrifyingly nimble tentacles, striking at both him and Little Chun.
Jiang Linhai pulled the trigger without hesitation. RAT-TAT-TAT! The bullets flew. The giant octopus recoiled in pain, retracting its tentacles. From the sky, Jiao Chunzi quickly provided support, strafing the creature with her machine gun.
But this octopus was exceptionally cunning. With a WHOOSH, it slipped back into the sea and vanished from sight.
That, somehow, was even more terrifying.