Watching Quinn devastate the zombie hordes, Ishtar's fears intensified, knowing she would face a rigorous training session later that she dreaded. While Quinn has a forgiving personality and is less likely to be mad over small things, she is easily provoked when it comes to questioning her strength, which she takes great pride in. When angry, she always makes others suffer through harsh training.
"Hehehe, that's the cost of angering Quinn in her soldier mode," Isabella remarked smugly, crossing her arms with a confident smirk.
"Isabella, save me—your big sister is in trouble!" Ishtar shouted, her voice trembling with desperation.
Isabella's smile softened into a more genuine expression, igniting a flicker of hope in Ishtar. However, that hope was quickly dashed by a cruel, dismissive word.
"No way."
Without warning, Isabella gracefully leapt down from her perch, landing silently with practiced ease, her movements precise and fluid.
"Come out, little one. It's our feast," she declared, opening her arms wide in an inviting gesture.
Her blood began to seep out from her body, manipulated meticulously through her mind towards the surrounding corpses and pools of blood. Her blood devoured those remains at an atomic level, dissolving flesh and bone into a dense crimson mist. This blood was then absorbed into her suit, transforming it into a blood-red formal dress that offered aesthetic beauty with a deadly layer of protection.
"Hehe, I wonder how many nano cells I can produce," she murmured seductively, walking softly toward the advancing zombie horde, her steps silent but purposeful.
Each approaching zombie was struck by her blood, splashing onto them and disintegrating their flesh and bones, dissolving the undead into a pool of blood. This blood was then absorbed into her dress, causing it to glow brighter and more crimson with every devouring.
Returning back to where Ishtar was standing still, her depression was still massive despite being concealed beneath her head armor, her demeanor showed underlying despair and frustration.
"It's over... I guess I won't get to play my collection of video games later..." she mumbled, her voice barely audible.
Ignoring her feelings, a Morphomyst worm suddenly emerged from the ground, its massive mouth wide open, ready to strike.
Grrr! Crunch!
But Ishtar instinctively reacted swiftly, slamming her grinding warhammer into the worm's massive head. The impact caused a screech of agony as much of its face and teeth caved in. She wasn't finished yet; a surge of radiation erupted from her body, creating a swirling, volatile aura around her.
She leapt off the ground, destroying part of the floor beneath her in the process, and struck the worm's head again, severing it roughly. The remains burned and melted under her radiation, smoke billowing as the creature was annihilated.
As she landed, the intensity of her radiation aura reached a dangerously high level, crackling with raw energy.
"The while I'm outside, I'll unleash destruction… for now!" Ishtar exclaimed, her voice filled with renewed determination.
She thought that if she were about to undertake an unreasonable training, she might as well enjoy every last moment by killing zombies and wreaking havoc, then forget about it to avoid being depressed.
Ishtar possesses nuclear technology that enables her to continuously incinerate and dissolve everything in her vicinity. Although androids can produce creatium energy to sustain themselves during daily activities indefinitely, their recovery cannot keep up the pace during intense use, except for the Energy Frame unit.
The Energy Frame unit recovers creatium energy at an exceptionally rapid rate, supporting itself and capable of powering an entire city. Ishtar was developed based on this system but poses a far greater threat to anything nearby.
At her initial awakening, her energy output was so intense that it almost caused their base to melt, releasing a dangerous radiation everywhere. Fortunately, she was immediately contained in a specially designed room before any catastrophic damage occurred.
"Ishtar! Why did you jump and damage my baby?! Have you seen the mess you made on the floor on March 7? It's ruined and melting!" Ciel's voice echoed through the comms, frustration evident from the destruction caused in that fight.
Upon hearing her, Ishtar turned her gaze toward a nearby drone and bowed her head in apology. The radiative aura around her diminished noticeably, losing much of its hazardous heat as a sign of her emotion going remorseful.
"I'm sorry, Ciel! Truly, I am very sorry!"
Ciel watched her on the drone feed, sincerely apologizing while nervously bowing before the drone, she let out a weary sigh.
"Seriously, what exactly are you doing, kid..."
On the rear elevated section of March 07, Isis assumed a sniping stance, expertly neutralizing zombies and worms with piercing shots. She held a large, highly customized sniper rifle with a long, reinforced barrel, shooting with the precision of an elite marksman, her movements calculated and machine-like.
"Isis, do you realize what hell we're about to face?" Noah asked confusedly over the comms, referring to a hologram video they had just watched.
He was positioned on the right side of March 07 during the march. Less involved in direct combat, he pushed forward to shoot at zombies attacking him, which was less frequent than on the opposite side.
Seeing a worm emerge from the debris, Isis swiftly shot it in the head. Its skull exploded violently, and its body collapsed onto a cluster of zombies, causing mass destruction.
"Arrogant child," she retorted while continuing to shoot.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing, just focus on what we're shooting at. Don't think about others for now."
"Okay?"
Though they were aware that Aaron planned to proceed alone, wanting to investigate something. Meanwhile, the girls prepared to defend the massive vehicle and reduce the number of Morphomyst and Morphogynous creatures in the vicinity.
Then suddenly, they heard Ishtar talking to herself through the comms, boasting about her strength and comparing herself to Quinn. Quinn, who was finishing her gear setup, hurried over to confront Ishtar before returning to her post at the front of the vehicle. Ciel recorded the exchange, sharing it with Isis and Noah for amusement, as they were less occupied than others.
"Attention everyone, this large horde appears abnormal. Exercise extreme caution, especially since everything may have changed. Also, watch out for Joe," Aaron warned through the comms.
"Joe? Isis, who the hell is Joe?"
"Morphogynous Joe-type. Extremely strong with specific deformed body parts. It has four mutation pathways: strength, speed, defense, and intelligence," Isis explained.
"If its limbs are muscular and heavily armored, beware of their strength—they can smash a vehicle."
"If its limbs are long with sharp, metallic claws, watch out for its speed and climbing ability—you might be dead before you realize it."
"If it's inflated all over like a fat person, be cautious of its defenses—it can deflect bullets easily."
"If its head is inflated, stay alert for its cunning—it's capable of commanding zombies."
Reloading her magazine, Isis shot another cluster of zombies. The projectile detonated on impact, killing them instantly.
"What the hell is that name? It's too funny for such an abominable terror." Noah muttered with a mix of fear and amusement.
"I don't know who named it, but according to the final internet leak before the global shutdown during the second wave outbreak, they revealed its existence," Isis stated flatly while firing at worms.
"Isis, is your scan cooldown finished?" Quinn asked, a hint of worry in her voice, concerned about possible changes.
"Yes, activating scan now..." Isis responded, increasing her frequency of output to sense movements around her.
Despite the passive effects of Morphomyst and Morphogynous on her signal, she could still read the frequencies. She detected a large horde heading toward Noah's side and a much stronger disruptive frequency approaching Quinn, Ishtar, and Isabella.
"Quinn, the horde's distribution has shifted—most zombies are moving toward Noah, and a significant frequency disturbance is heading your way, Ishtar, and Isabella."
"What? Noah, evacuate now. Isis, stay on your post. Ciel, redirect the drones to cover the right flank and get visual confirmation of the horde's movement," Quinn ordered urgently.
"Wha..what? Okay!" Noah stammered, rushing to enter the vehicle.
"Understood"
Got it— Quinn, a giant fat creature is charging toward you!"
BOOM!
Following the shout, an explosive collision happens.
A massive, overweight creature taller than the rest collided with two defending Zegg Constructs, trembling under its weight. Quinn aimed her rifle and shot at its head, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off, like rubber.
"Huh? It's bouncing off?" she exclaimed.
All of the crew's guns and weapons are extensively modified with advanced alloy materials and precise engineering to specifically pierce a diamond without causing it to shatter, even a small crack. This level of modification demonstrates the exceptional sharpness and formidable power of their weapons, this explain why Quinn was so shocked.
Roar!
The overweight creature pushes even harder, causing one of the Zegg Constructs unable to withstand the pressure, stumble and be flattened by the creature's immense weight, exploding in the process.
Boom!
"Quinn!" Ciel urgently shouts through the comms, her voice tinged with worry as she struggles to get a visual feed of Quinn from the drone, obscured by the explosion's thick smoke and swirling dust clouds.
"Don't worry, focus on the right side first," Quinn quickly reassures her, wiping a layer of dust from her eye with a swift hand motion.
Before the Zegg Construct was pulverized under the crushing weight, she shouted for the others to disperse and swiftly retreated herself, her movements hurried but controlled.
"...Roger."
"Zegg Construct, block the zombies from us and don't let any others get through," Quinn commanded, her voice steady and commanding.
The three Zegg Constructs obeyed instantly, opening fire with their mounted guns and unleashing a relentless barrage to clear the area, creating space. Meanwhile, the overweight creature slowly emerged from the crater, which it had caused with its explosion. Dust and debris rained off its unscathed, muscular frame as it stood upright, towering over the battlefield.
Quinn casually dropped her rifle, retrieving a combat knife and a handgun with practiced ease. She assumed her combat stance, a confident smile playing on her lips.
"...Now then, let's see what else you can bounce off, shall we?"