VESSEL - Extinction Countdown 956: Slaughter’s Blaze

The snake-like tendril twitched, its spiral-barbed maw splitting to speak human words: “Ye Shisan, you know me?”

“Old Pi mentioned you. Stuck in my head.”

“Didn’t expect a kid like you to hide such power—a Spirit Seed! I underestimated you!”

Ye Shisan blinked. Spirit Seed? Alien name for Pseudo-Spirit? No time to dwell—freeing You Long’er was key. “Cut the crap. She’s my friend. Let her go, and I’m gone.”

“Heh… Ye Shisan, Spirit Seed or not, you’re naive as ever. Know why they call me Elder Eon?”

“Too much talk. You know me, so let her go.”

“I’ve roamed the cosmos for eons, feeding on life essence. One human’s essence buys me a year. Hence, Elder Eon.”

“Hmph. Just a parasite. Long life, big deal.”

“Naive! I’ve seen star oceans, survived the void’s loneliness. My worth dwarfs your society! Compared to this girl, I’m the one who should exist!”

Ye Shisan bristled with quiet fury: “Who’re you to judge a life’s value? You Long’er, He Jun, Wang Haiping, even dead Old Pi—they mean more to me than you!”

The tendril’s round head split wider, its spiral maw cackling oddly: “Old Pi? Sure, I’d be dead without him. But I survived. My body burned in a stellar explosion, yet I’m reborn!”

Outside, Yi Qing had enough. She raised her gun, shouting: “Ye Shisan, why waste words? Let her go, or I’ll make you regret it!”

Ye Shisan waved her off. You Long’er was hostage—killing Elder Eon risked her life.

“Elder Eon, I swear: release You Long’er now, and we’re out. She stood by me when I was out cold, faced danger for me. She’s special.”

Elder Eon let out a quivering hum: “Ha—special? You show up late, after Old Pi’s dead! With your Spirit Seed, you could’ve transcended humanity, yet you couldn’t save him. And you talk meaning?”

“Then tell me how Old Pi died. I’ll get him justice.”

“Justice? Heh… haha! HA—HA—HA! Justice? Not in this world, nor the cosmos! It’s eat or be eaten, winners rule! Old Pi died—a loser, not worth pity!”

Ye Shisan’s brow furrowed: “Oh? By your ‘eat or be eaten,’ if I take you out, you’re the loser?”

Elder Eon cackled: “Exactly! I know your temper, Ye Shisan. If you could kill me, you would’ve. You can’t control your Spirit Seed. If I hadn’t promised Old Pi to spare you, you’d be part of me—like my spawn!”

Ye Shisan laughed louder: “Elder Eon, it’s not just your promise. You fear my Pseudo-Spirit! You see I can’t control it, but I’ve got ways to make it wreck you!”

He spread his arms and charged the nearest bone mound. Its tendrils lashed out, lightning-fast, but an unseen force sliced them in half.

Ye Shisan’s Pseudo-Spirit reacted to threats instinctively. He’d baited it with a suicide charge.

Elder Eon hadn’t expected such a reckless trick. It bellowed: “Ye Shisan! You dare force my hand?!”

Ye Shisan smirked at the writhing, severed tendrils: “Knew it. Your spawn don’t fully obey you. They protect this hive first. You’re no Elder Eon—just its mouthpiece. The real Elder Eon has no body!”

The creature flinched, stung by Ye Shisan’s words, then swelled monstrously. Countless tendrils coiled, layering into a towering, dark brown flesh pillar. “Ye Shisan, I gave you a chance. Now you die!”

Before anyone could blink, the air instantly compressed, hard as steel. BOOM! Ye Shisan was blasted back, crashing through the restroom wall, cratering the next concrete wall.

“Ye Shisan!”

Yi Qing screamed, firing. Click… click… click—no shot?!

Elder Eon’s mad laughter echoed: “Such crude weapons can’t touch me!”

Yi Qing glanced up. Tiny tendrils, like ants, had crept from the ceiling, boring through her gun unnoticed.

She tossed the gun, retreating, but couldn’t abandon Ye Shisan. “0193, spec ops, red alert! Red alert!”

The dark brown monster, a tide of tendrils, surged into the corridor, rising to engulf Ye Shisan. A hazy air shield formed before him, buzzing, shredding tendrils, but it couldn’t stop the onslaught.

At the critical moment, a small figure darted in—Vanilla. She raised a bottle, yelling: “Uncle Shisan! Sister Yi Qing! Run!”

She hurled it. A blazing inferno erupted on the monster, searing heat and white light swallowing the area. Hissing shrieks and sizzling burns filled the hollow corridor.

Elder Eon shrank into a writhing mass, screaming in agony.

Ye Shisan rolled, shoving Yi Qing: “What’re you waiting for? Run!”

Yi Qing sprinted but stopped, looking back. Ye Shisan had charged into the restroom.

She shouted: “Ye Shisan, you insane?!”