Great, we're doomed now!

"A monster!" Horii's voice trembled. "It's a deep-sea monster! Without a doubt, it's also after the pyramids!"

"Aww~~~"

The monster was clearly startled by the sudden burst of light. It let out an even louder roar, and its massive body writhed in the water, creating violent eddies.

"It's charging!" Xincheng shouted. "Hold on tight!"

The Deepsea was violently rocked in the eddy, and the warning lights on the instrument panel lit up one after another. The images captured by the external cameras were so swirling that it was impossible to determine the specific situation. Only occasionally could one catch a glimpse of the monster's terrifying figure flashing by.

The flare's light gradually faded, and the deep sea returned to darkness, but the red shadow remained on the radar screen—it didn't rush to destroy the submarine, but instead lingered around it like a feline toying with its prey.

"Damn it, it seems to be quite intelligent." Horii was covered in sweat. "It's deliberately scaring us! Once we're exhausted and it gets bored, it'll bite us..."

"We can't go on like this," Xincheng said through gritted teeth. "We have to get out of here right now!"

"But the mission isn't finished yet—" Horii's words were interrupted by a violent shaking.

"We can't worry about that now!" Shinjo took off his helmet, making it easier to breathe. "We're no match for the monsters here. Let's grab the statue now and see if we can float up in one breath!"

"In case the stone statue is damaged—"

"If we get eaten by the monster, the stone statues won't be spared either!"

Horii opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't refute it. He quickly typed on the keyboard and switched the program to emergency escape mode.

The Deepsea submersible's robotic arm began to move, its massive alloy claws slowly opening and reaching towards the giant statue. Because the robotic arm's movements were clumsy than usual, each adjustment required manual fine-tuning by Shinjo.

However, he was indeed very courageous. He did not panic under such high pressure with zero tolerance for errors. Every operation was reasonable and precise, and he completed all the steps in only half the time.

"Capture complete, begin securing!"

Faster...faster...

Sweat beaded on Xincheng's forehead as his eyes darted back and forth between the radar screen and the control console.

The monster's shadow had entered a range of 500 meters, 300 meters... 200 meters...

"Fixed successfully!" Horii shouted.

The next moment, power was transmitted, and the mechanical claws closed steadily, gripping the statue's shoulders and waist. The workboat's propellers started at full power, attempting to lift the statue from the seabed.

Just then, the radar emitted a sharp alarm: the monster had entered the attack range!

In the dark and icy seawater, the enormous figure emerged like a ghost. Instead of directly ramming the workboat, it slowly swam around them, its two eyes fixed on the stone statue in the mechanical claw.

"It's observing..." Horii's voice was hoarse, "...it wants to destroy the statue!"

As if to prove this statement, the monster suddenly charged forward. Its speed was so great that it left a white trail in the deep sea.

"Evade!" Shinjo pulled the control lever sharply.

The monster narrowly escaped by grazing the hull, but even that was just a glancing blow. The impact was enough to throw the workboat off balance, and the alarms immediately went off.

"Port thruster damaged!" Horii exclaimed, looking at the damage report on the screen. "Power reduced by forty percent!"

The monster has already changed direction, preparing for a second attack.

"Horii," Shinjo suddenly spoke, "get into the escape pod."

"what?"

"I'm letting you into the escape pod!" Xincheng said without turning his head. "We have no choice but to abandon the mission."

"Hmm...and what about you?"

"I'm right behind you, don't worry."

As Shinjo spoke, he fired decoy flares into the deep sea to disrupt the monster's vision.

"it is good!"

Horii sprang up from his seat. His professional training meant he had no problem with physical fitness, and he nimbly rushed toward the escape pod at the stern of the boat.

"Okay, I've set up auto-navigation. It will take us to... the new city on the sea?"

Horii looked up at the monitor: "Why aren't you coming over yet?"

"..."

"Shinjo?" Horii realized something and couldn't help but shout, "What do you want to do!"

"Switch to manual mode..."

Shin-joon gripped the control stick tightly with both hands: "Take care."

"You, you're saying—"

laugh!

The launch procedure was initiated, and compressed gas ejected the capsule from the workboat, causing it to rapidly rise towards the sea surface.

Almost at the same moment, the monster turned its gaze to the escape pod—

"Don't think about it!"

Two wave-breaking torpedoes were launched in spirals and luckily hit the monster. Two explosions echoed in the water, and the submarine, impacted, shook even more violently.

"Ooh~!!"

"Serves you right!"

Xincheng gritted his teeth and quickly drove the submarine to bring the stone statue to the surface of the sea.

However, since he chose to cover his companions' escape, the monster's attention naturally focused on him alone.

boom!

The monster's head slammed into the Deepsea's belly, and a piercing metallic tearing sound rang in his ears. Shinjo was thrown from his seat by the impact and slammed heavily against the bulkhead. He felt a sharp pain in his ribs and a metallic taste filled his mouth.

The lights inside the boat went out instantly, with only the emergency lights stubbornly remaining on...

"Ugh~~~"

The behemoth, resembling a mutated dolphin, did not leave but instead began to observe the Deepsea once more—it was now attempting to tear the entire hull apart.

"Don't even think about it..." Shinjo climbed back into his seat, his fingers moving rapidly across the control panel.

"Let you try this—"

He pressed a red button, simultaneously activating twelve launch ports on the outer casing. Not torpedoes, but high-voltage electric shock nets; blinding blue arcs of electricity exploded in the seawater, directly striking the monster that was right next to him, causing it to let out a painful scream!

The massive body convulsed violently, temporarily releasing the workboat and retreating.

"Did it... succeed?"

He glanced at the radar; Horii's escape pod had already risen to a safe altitude.

With a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal, Xincheng activated the backup thrusters, the roar echoing through the cramped cabin.

Xincheng tried to surface with the statue as quickly as possible, but before the Deepsea Diver could climb more than 100 meters, a red shadow reappeared on the radar screen and rapidly approached. After shaking off the numbing sensation of the electric shock, the deep-sea monster was clearly enraged and its speed was much faster than before.

"They're here!" Xincheng's pupils contracted.

The massive body, like a sharp arrow piercing through the deep sea, slammed into the side of the Deep Diver. A crisp cracking sound rang out, followed by the sickening sound of metal breaking outside the cabin. Shinjo struggled to steady himself and quickly glanced at the external camera. His heart sank to the bottom—the mechanical arm holding the statue in place had been broken!

The unbound giant statue, like a heavy reef, sank straight into the deeper waters, carrying with it the murky seawater.

"The mission failed... Why didn't they just attack me directly?"

Xincheng slumped in the driver's seat, watching the silhouette of the stone statue gradually disappear on the screen, then looked at the monster closing in, and suddenly understood something.

The monster wasn't in a hurry to destroy the statue; it was just toying with its prey!

Just like Horii said, first destroy your own hope, then slowly toy with it until you die.

A surge of anger mixed with despair welled up in his heart. Xincheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a resolute light ignited in his eyes.

The monster seemed to sense something, a hint of mockery flashing in its huge amber eyes. It slowly swayed to the front of the Deepsea, blocking its path to surface.

Then its dorsal fin began to flash, and the Geiger counter inside the submarine emitted a loud bang, indicating that a violent nuclear reaction was taking place inside its body, while its mouth was facing...

Horii's escape boat!

"Damn it..."

Shin-chan grinned and shoved the joystick all the way up: "You think I'm scared? If you want to play, I'll play with you to the very end!"

If the monster thinks it can enjoy the despair of humanity, it is sorely mistaken, because even in [GUTS], which is named after "courage", Shinjo is the most reckless one!

Like a runaway torpedo, the Deepsea abandoned all evasive maneuvers and rammed straight into the monster's massive body.

The monster was clearly not expected that this tiny human would do such a thing. It was stunned for a moment, then opened its huge mouth full of sharp teeth and swallowed the entire Deepsea.

boom!

The next second, a blinding burst of fire exploded inside the monster's abdomen!

The violent shockwave even caused the monster's massive body to stagger backward, and the deep Arctic Ocean fell into a brief silence, with only the bubbles rising slowly after the firelight had dissipated...

After a moment, the monster shook its head, seemingly only slightly injured. It had lost interest in humans and slowly turned around, swimming towards the sunken giant statue.

Its only goal from beginning to end was that stone statue.

If you look closely, you'll see long, thin "tentacles" trailing from its tail, and its scales are riddled with holes corroded by the dark aura—proof that it is under Gatanothor's control.

This deep-sea monster is not a remnant of the ancient times, but has been tainted by evil from elsewhere!

"Ang~"

The monster slowly sank to the seabed, stopping where the stone statue had fallen. Suddenly, its dorsal fin, covered with bony plates, lit up with an eerie yellow light, and energy patterns spread from the dorsal fin to its head.

The next moment, a thick beam of light shot out from the fleshy lump on its head and blasted straight at the motionless giant statue!

This beam of light carried a destructive force, evaporating the seawater and creating a vacuum in its path. But just as it was about to strike the statue, a dazzling white light suddenly shone from the previously lifeless stone—

call!

Just as the light wave was about to hit the monster, the statue suddenly raised its leg, and its thick, powerful red thigh, carrying a gust of wind, kicked the monster hard in the side!

boom!

A deep, yet incredibly powerful roar echoed through the deep sea. Before the monster could even let out a scream, its massive body flew hundreds of meters horizontally, like a kicked ball, stirring up clouds of seabed silt.

The stone statue, using the recoil from the kick, flipped itself over and stood up, its stone outer shell shattering and falling away to reveal its true form:

A powerful, muscular body, predominantly bright red, stands tall. Deep lines outline clean lines on its shoulders, neck, and chest. Smaller than an average giant, its eyes, proportionally closer to those of a normal human, open in the dark abyss, shining like two stars.

"Hey!"