𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
An hour passed, but the fern-legged scorpion didn’t give up on the All-Rounder.
Blocked by trees and unable to reach with its claws, it buried itself in the snow, only exposing its black eyes above the surface to observe the All-Rounder.
ㅤ
While eating a rice ball and searching for the fern-legged scorpion in the field guide app, Chihaya made a troubled face.
The fern-legged scorpion mainly lives in the deep snow of the mountains. It lies in ambush in the snow, weakening its prey with the poisonous sting of its tail before eating it. Its shell can’t be detected by thermography because it cools in the snow, and it is also difficult to discover by acoustic search as it’s absorbed by the snow.
Because of these characteristics, it’s prone to close encounters. If discovery is delayed due to lag, something like an Actanoid’s leg might be chopped off by its claws, it seems.
Troublingly, it’s impossible to inflict damage from the front without a heavy machine gun, and it has a habit of persistently chasing prey.
ㅤ
“The weakness is the heart on the flipped-over belly side. . . . . .”
ㅤ
Finding a dissection diagram she didn’t want to see during a meal, Chihaya put away the rice ball with a disgusted face.
There was no way to get down the mountain without defeating the fern-legged scorpion. There was no way the All-Rounder could escape if the fern-legged scorpion slid down the slope after them.
ㅤ
So, how to defeat it?
The weak point was the abdomen. The giant fern-legged scorpion couldn’t be attacked without flipping it over.
Chihaya pondered the All-Rounder’s weaponry.
ㅤ
“Assault rifles are meaningless, and the rest is—hand grenades?”
ㅤ
No matter how hard it was, if it was caught in an explosion, it would surely fall.
But Chihaya looked up at the mountain peak and shook her head.
If an explosion caused an avalanche, the All-Rounder wouldn’t escape unscathed either. It wasn’t a situation for a suicidal attack, and the compensation costs were not insignificant.
Keeping it as a last resort, she planned her strategy.
ㅤ
The only way to attack was with bare hands. Considering the lag, hand-to-hand combat with a New World animal was not only reckless, but Chihaya also had no knowledge of martial arts as a social withdrawal. It was immediately rejected.
ㅤ
“Isn’t there something?”
ㅤ
The best thing would be if the fern-legged scorpion gave up and went somewhere else, but its inorganic eyes, buried in the snow, gazing at the All-Rounder, didn’t seem to be moving.
When she looked at the fern-legged scorpion’s eyes, Chihaya suddenly had an idea.
ㅤ
“That’s it. I’ll try to fish it out.”
ㅤ
Chihaya pulled out a wire from the All-Rounder’s waist.
While winding it around her arm and pulling out about three meters, she tied the tip into a loop. This intricate work was one of the advantages of a humanoid machine called Actanoid.
ㅤ
She threw the loop, cowboy-style, at the eye of the fern-legged scorpion protruding above the snow.
The plan was to get that periscope-like eye into the loop and hang it on a tree branch, then the abdomen would be visible.
ㅤ
The moment the fern-legged scorpion’s eye successfully entered the loop, the eyeball retracted into the snow.
ㅤ
“Eh. . . . . .Is that retractable? Like a slug. . . . . .”
ㅤ
Waiting to see if it would pop out again, like playing an irregular whack-a-mole, the eyeball emerged from the loop, apparently digging through the snow.
The fern-legged scorpion was better at this game.
ㅤ
“Hmmm. . . . . .”
ㅤ
She retracted the wire, undid the loop, and lashed out at the fern-legged scorpion’s eye like a whip in frustration.
A pitiful sound, “Petin,” rang out, and the wire was repelled by the fern-legged scorpion’s eye. It seemed to be quite strong.
ㅤ
Opening the cap of the plastic bottle and sipping tea, she pondered the next move.
After thinking for a while, Chihaya hooked a wire on a tree branch. Creating a fulcrum at a height of about three meters, she fixed the winch to the trunk.
After looping the opposite end of the wire, she threw the loop in a direction different from where the fern-legged scorpion was.
ㅤ
When the preparations were complete, Chihaya stepped on the mattress and ran the All-Rounder toward the loop.
The fern-legged scorpion, splashing snow, chased after the All-Rounder, starting to run on the snow.
With a fierce determination not to let it escape this time, the moment the fern-legged scorpion sliding on the snow stepped on the wire loop, Chihaya remotely activated the winch.
ㅤ
“Fu-hi, click, yeah.”
ㅤ
In an instant, the loop tightened, restraining the legs of the fern-legged scorpion, and without losing momentum, the wire reeled in, and the body of the fern-legged scorpion lifted from the snow.
The winching power of the wire is strong enough to lift an Actanoid. The fern-legged scorpion was wound up almost instantly, leaving it hanging in the air on the tree.
ㅤ
“O, Oh. . . . . .it feels bad.”
ㅤ
Looking at the fern-legged scorpion exposing its vulnerable belly, Chihaya inadvertently muttered.
The fern-legged scorpion tried to correct its posture by slapping the snow with its tail, and the wriggling multitude of legs were disgusting.
ㅤ
Chihaya quickly aimed her assault rifle, determined to end it.
She targeted the heart and pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the fern-legged scorpion’s abdomen burst open, scattering subcutaneous fat that had been hidden in the snow for a long time, and the bullet reached the heart.
The blue blood of the fern-legged scorpion dyed the snow.
ㅤ
“Done. . . . . .fuhehe, the trap, the best.”
ㅤ
Unlike last time, the All-Rounder was not damaged. With a satisfied face for the complete victory, Chihaya removed the wire from the dead body of the fern-legged scorpion.
All that’s left is to descend the mountain.
Muttering, “The journey home is part of the excursion,” Chihaya started running the All-Rounder toward the foot of the mountain.
Translator’s Blog
Blog
- Will My Cat Eat Me When I Die? (The Truth Might Hurt… Your Feelings)
- My Classmate’s Waifu Obsession: Is it Cringe or Just…Weird?
- My Brain on UFC: Why I’m Convinced I Could Totally Take on Adesanya (I’m Lying, Don’t Tell Dana)
- My Early 20s Emo Profile: A Journey Back to Myspace (And Why It Still Haunts Me)
- If I Got Isekai’ed 101: Your Guide to Surviving Another World (And Maybe Even Becoming a Harem Protagonist)
Leave a Reply