Chương 89: CHAPTER 87: THE MOTHER SLIME SUBJUGATION

The descent into the lower subterranean vaults was dark, damp, and reeked of acrid chemical fumes. High above, the capital city rested on massive granite arches, but down here in Sector 9—two hundred yards beneath the surface—the air was thick with a heavy, green-tinged mist that hissed whenever it touched cold iron. Shin stood at the edge of the broken iron elevator platform, his dark eyes looking down into the massive, hollowed-out cavern below.

Beside him stood the Imperial Envoy's elite bodyguard unit—four high-tier knights clad in full acid-resistant alchemical plate armor, their broadswords drawn and ready. [DIAGNOSTIC VISUAL: SUBTERRANEAN SECTOR 9] [Biological Entity Identified: Mother Slime Core (Level 52)] [Mass: 14. 8 Metric Tons] [Composition: Concentrated Acidic Mucus / Highly Reactive Organic Acid] [Sub-Cores Detected: 48 Active Units] [Growth Velocity: 12. 4 Meters per Hour] [Hazard Assessment: Immediate Structural Collapse Imminent] Down in the center of the cavern lay the hive. It was a terrifying, pulsing mass of translucent, dark-green jelly, sprawling over fifty yards across the stone floor like a living lake of acid. Embedded deep within its thick body were the glowing blue skeletons of ancient beasts, rusted iron mining carts, and half-melted weapons.

At the very center hummed a massive, crimson-red nucleus—the size of a carriage wheel—pulsing with a deep, sickening rhythm. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. With every pulse, small blobs of green slime detached from the main body, sprouting tiny pseudopods as they began crawling up the granite support pillars, eating through solid stone like hot iron through butter.

"Doctor Shin," the lead knight said through his iron helm, his voice tight with anxiety.

"The arch-mages tried to blast it with dragon-fire from the upper ledge. It only absorbed the thermal energy and expanded. Our blades melt within five seconds of touching its outer membrane. How do we kill something that has no bones, no heart, and digests iron?" Shin stepped to the edge of the iron platform. He pulled off his dark leather gloves, adjusting the straps of his dark-iron prosthetic hand. He did not draw a sword. He did not channel a spell rune.

He simply unbuckled his leather surgical belt, pulling out three long, hollow silver needles connected to thin rubber tubing, alongside a large glass flask filled with a dense, white crystalline powder.

"An organism with no rigid skeletal frame relies entirely on internal osmotic pressure to maintain its physical shape," Shin stated, his voice flat, calm, and perfectly clear over the hissing of the acid lake below.

"If you burn it, you merely create a thermal reaction that accelerates its cellular metabolism. If you cut it, you increase its surface area, allowing it to absorb more oxygen." He looked down at the massive crimson nucleus pulsing in the dark green abyss.

"You do not fight an acidic organism with fire or steel," Shin added cleanly.

"You alter its pH balance until its cellular walls experience catastrophic chemical collapse." Abe saale... Rudra thought to himself, his internal voice mild and focused as he checked the rubber tubing. Itni badi slime mass hai. If I extract its core fluid cleanly, I can process at least twenty liters of high-grade antiseptic solvent for the apothecary. These imperial mages have zero understanding of basic chemistry. Stolen novel; please report. (Damn it... It's such a massive slime mass. If I extract its core fluid cleanly, I can process at least twenty liters of high-grade antiseptic solvent for the apothecary. These imperial mages have zero understanding of basic chemistry.) Shin looked back at the four armored knights.

"Hold the elevator ropes," Shin instructed flatly.

"And do not drop my glass flasks. They are expensive." Before the knights could answer, Shin stepped cleanly off the edge of the iron platform, dropping straight down into the dark, acidic abyss of Sector 9.

The free fall through the dark shaft lasted precisely two point three seconds. As Shin dropped toward the sprawling green expanse of acidic jelly at the bottom of Sector 9, he did not flinch or attempt to channel defensive magic. Instead, he adjusted his center of gravity mid-air, aligning his boots with the top surface of a broken stone pillar projecting three feet above the bubbling slime lake. His leather boots struck the flat granite surface with a clean, sharp thud.

The impact shock traveled up his legs, but Shin absorbed the kinetic energy cleanly, flexing his knees four centimeters to maintain his balance. His dark-iron prosthetic hand rested at his side, its polished metallic fingers adjusting automatically to the humid, chemical-laden air of the cavern. Below him, the Mutated Mother Slime reacted to the presence of fresh biological matter.

A six-foot-wide pseudopod of dark green slime erupted from the main mass, whipping upward through the air like an acidic battering ram aimed directly at Shin's chest. The green fluid hissed violently as it cut through the damp air, radiating intense chemical heat. Shin observed the incoming trajectory with complete detachment. [ATTACK VECTOR DETECTED] [Type: Kinetic Fluid Strike] [Velocity: 8. 4 Meters per Second] [Evasion Protocol: Minimal Displacement] Shin did not jump backward or draw a weapon.

He simply tilted his upper torso six degrees to the left. WHOOSH—HISS! The massive green pseudopod missed his chest by less than two inches, slamming hard into the stone pillar behind him. The concentrated acid instantly ate through three inches of solid granite, sending up a plume of acrid white smoke. Before the slime tentacle could retract, Shin acted. His dark-iron prosthetic hand clamped down over the thick green pseudopod with absolute stability.

His dark-iron joints delivered a precise, ultra-high-frequency kinetic vibration directly into the slime's fluid matrix. BRRRRRRR-CLICK! The high-frequency pulse disrupted the localized surface tension of the green pseudopod, instantly solidifying the liquid acid into a firm, semi-gelatinous state.

Using his organic left hand, Shin stabbed one of his long, hollow silver needles deep into the center of the solidified tentacle, driving the tip straight toward the main fluid channel leading back to the Mother Slime's central core. He unclasped the stopper from his glass flask of sodium bicarbonate compound, connecting the rubber hose directly to the pressurized container.

With a swift press of his dark-iron thumb, Shin injected sixty grams of the white crystalline powder directly into the Mother Slime's primary fluid artery. The chemical reaction was instantaneous and violent. BOOM-FIZZZZZZZZ! The moment the high-purity sodium bicarbonate touched the concentrated organic acid inside the slime mass, a massive exothermic reaction erupted beneath the green surface.

Millions of microscopic carbon dioxide bubbles expanded at terrifying speed within the jelly matrix, turning the dark green fluid into a frothy, pale-white foam. The Mother Slime's massive body shuddered violently as its internal osmotic pressure collapsed. [CHEMICAL REACTION ACTIVE: BASE-ACID NEUTRALIZATION] [pH Level Shift: 1. 2 (Extreme Acid) -> 6. 8 (Near Neutral)] [Osmotic Membrane Integrity: Dropping Rapidly] [Active Sub-Cores: 48 -> 0] The forty-eight pulsing crimson sub-cores dissolved as their acidic environment was neutralized into harmless mineral water and gas. Down on the stone pillar, Shin remained entirely unbothered.

As the giant slime mass collapsed into a thick, neutral foam, the central core—a bowling-ball-sized sphere of pure, high-purity alchemical base gel—separated cleanly from the outer cellular debris, rolling to a stop right at the base of Shin's pillar. Shin stepped down into the shallow, foaming residue. He pulled a thick, airtight glass jar from his satchel, scoop-harvesting the glowing core gel with surgical precision.

"Alchemical base material secured," Shin reported flatly, sealing the glass jar with green wax and placing it safely into his padded travel pack.

Meanwhile, ten miles away from Sector 9, at the northern border forest outpost overseeing the edge of the valley, the world was completely silent. Standing on the wooden observation deck of the watchtower was an advanced guard—a veteran scout named Kenneth, who had served on the valley perimeter for over fifteen years. He held a heavy bronze spyglass to his right eye as he scanned the quiet forest floor. Suddenly, Kenneth felt a strange, cold vibration in his boots. THUMMMMMMMMMM.

The vibration grew heavier, turning from a subtle pulse into a rhythmic, terrifying rumble that shook pine needles off the surrounding trees. Whole rows of fifty-foot ancient pine trees snapped and fell like brittle matchsticks. Through the dark forest fog, thousands of glowing red eyes flared to life—iron-clawed cave crawlers, dire wolves, mutated forest bears, and subterranean rock-golems, all pouring out of the cavern mouths in a desperate, panic-driven stampede. Kenneth's face turned ghost-white.

"Class-A... Class-A Monster Stampede!" Kenneth screamed into the empty night. He sprinted frantically across the wooden deck toward the central bell tower, grabbing the heavy leather rope connected to the massive iron emergency bell. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The deafening roar of the emergency bell shattered the quiet evening air, echoing across the entire valley." DISPATCH THE EMERGENCY BEACONS!" Kenneth roared down to the runners below." SEND AN IMMEDIATE CALL FOR BACKUP TO ALL NEARBY ADVENTURERS!

THE FOREST CAVERNS HAVE COLLAPSED! THE STAMPEDE IS COMING STRAIGHT FOR THE TOWN!"