Ch69 – Edible Water Monsters
He Yun Chen looked at his strange expression and thought that he was scared by the monster's appearance. So, he simply broke off its legs, so that it could not attack people anymore, and then threw them away.
Ruan Tang's mouth suddenly hung wide open. He then silently closed it.
– Those crab legs are delicious, don't waste it!
However, although this monster had a similar appearance to a king crab, it was still different. For example, the king crab was not a real crab. It only had six feet, but this water monster had eight. In this interstellar era, he didn't know whether this was a variant of the king crab. He also didn't know whether it had some poison or not.
The two of them returned to the third floor and everyone was relieved to see him return safely.
"Excuse me, what's the situation below?" Someone couldn't help but ask.
"The water level is rising very quickly. These monsters are lurking in the water and are highly aggressive. Not only do they have high defense, but their attack power also isn't low. On top of that, there are a lot of them. Without the proper weapons, it is difficult to deal with them." He Yun Chen looked around at this group of people gathered in the corridor. So many were injured. Almost everyone were ordinary people who hadn't undergone combat training. It was impossible for them to deal with these monsters. "The garrison has begun their search and rescue. We're safe for now. As long as you don't enter the water, there is no danger.
After listening to He Yun Chen's words, everyone felt a bit relieved. The second floor was too close to the first floor. If the water level rises, there was certain danger. Therefore, everyone wanted to stay on the third floor.
However, the third floor was for the critically ill. The patients in these wards needed to rest and recuperate. It was impossible to share the ward with them. Therefore, under the arrangement of the medical staff, they all sat down against the wall in the corridors. There were cleaning robots in the hospital, which cleaned the corridors every three hours, so the floor was very clean. Besides, they were soaked and injured, they weren't at all concerned about this trifling matter.
Although the situation has changed, the treatment of patients cannot be neglected. Dr. Tang looked at the time on the light brain and said to the nurse beside him, "It's time for Ruan Yu's second treatment. Get the medical cabin and the therapeutic fluid."
"Yes!"
Two male nurses immediately hurried towards the storage room and quickly took the medical cabin into Ruan Yu's ward. Ruan Yu was placed into the medical cabin for today's second treatment. Dr. Tang went forward to set up the operation procedure for the cabin.
"Inject the third dose, and bring a bag of nutrient solution."
A nurse added a therapeutic fluid to the medical cabin in accordance with Dr. Tang's orders, but another nurse who was supposed to bring the nutrient solution showed a distressed expression. "Dr. Tang, the storeroom that stores the nutrient solutions is on the first floor..."
The first floor had been flooded and became the water monsters' territory.
Dr. Tang's brows suddenly wrinkled tightly. So many people were trapped in the hospital. Without nutrient solutions, it meant there was no food, which meant that everyone would go hungry. It didn't matter if healthy people went hungry for a couple of meals, but what about those who are suffering from serious illnesses? Many of them, like Ruan Yu before, relied on nutrient solution to maintain their lives. Without nutrient solutions it was likely to endanger their lives!
They had no idea when the rescuers would come. If they went hungry for a day or two, he was afraid they might die!
He Yun Chen and Ruan Tang had followed them in, and naturally, they heard this conversation.
"That's too dangerous!" Two voices cried out at the same time.
One of them was Dr. Tang's. He didn't dare let He Yun Chen casually take such a risk. The attack power of those monsters was very powerful. If something goes wrong, he can't afford to take the responsibility.
The other voice was Ruan Tang's. These alien creatures he suspected of being king crabs were highly aggressive and numerous. Even if He Yun Chen was extremely strong, he might fall into a dire situation where he's outnumbered by these monsters.
"We don't know when the rain will stop and the water level has been steadily rising. After the first floor is completely submerged, we will no longer be able to go down there even if we want to." He Yun Chen has always been decisive. He opened his light brain and brought out his personal information. He displayed his personal information in front of Dr. Tang and the others. "I am the empire's Marshal He Yun Chen. My physique level is SS grade. Aside from myself, no one else here will be able to successfully obtain those nutrient solutions."
"Please wait a moment, I need to ask the hospital president for advice." Now, Dr. Tang knew that he was no ordinary individual, but this was still a big decision that an ordinary doctor couldn't make.
"Alright."
Dr. Tang immediately used his communicator to contact the hospital president, informing him of the situation here. He asked how he should deal with this matter.
"Yes, I understand."
Hanging up the call, Dr. Tang looked at He Yun Chen, "Marshal He, we shall entrust this matter to you."
The hospital president had gone to the city center to attend a conference, and he was not currently in the hospital. The city center was an important area for local troops to perform their search and rescue, so the hospital president was now safe. However, the scope of the rescue was too large. The location of the hospital where they were, was relatively far-flung. In addition, the number of garrison troops was insufficient. It may take some time for rescue to reach them. Therefore, when the hospital president learned that He Yun Chen was in the hospital, he immediately agreed. After all, Marshal He's position was obtained through his many concrete military achievements. There was no way these water monsters would be a match for him.
"I will show you the way!" said one of the male nurses.
He Yun Chen nodded and followed him to head downstairs.
"Chen Ge…"
He Yun Chen turned back.
"Be careful."
"Ok."
At this time, the water had risen to the third step. There were countless black shadows in the water, which made people feel immeasurable pressure just looking at them.
"Marshal He… Take a right turn into the corridor here. It's the second door. There's a sealed blue box on the shelf that contains the nutrient solutions." The male nurse restrained the fear in his heart, standing on the fifth step, he pointed the way to He Yun Chen.
He Yun Chen nodded again, he ran forward quickly and disappeared from in front of the nurse. The male nurse could only hear the faint splash of water, He Yun Chen was very fast.
The black shadows under the water seemed to have been attracted by the movement and they all rushed towards where He Yun Chen went. It made the nurse extremely apprehensive.
Minutes and seconds passed, his ears were filled with the sounds of fierce fighting. The male nurse had his heart in his throat as he looked in the direction of the flooded corridor. He didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.
Ruan Tang also stood on top of the stairs, extremely agitated.
Finally, the sound of gurgling water came, and He Yun Chen came rushing out of the passageway, quickly heading towards the stairs. He carried a big blue box on his shoulder, a huge black shadow following closely behind him.
"Run!" He Yun Chen shouted before he ran to the nurse.
The male nurse was a bit startled. And then he saw the huge black shadow behind He Yun Chen. He suddenly became scared and ran up the stairs.
Those monsters chased them up the stairs but they were unwilling to go too far from the water and they reluctant went back into the water.
"Fortunately, the retrieval was successful." He Yun Chen wiped his face. He took out the energy blade that had almost been exhausted, and then handed the box to Dr. Tang.
The box was filled with six hundred packs of nutrient solutions, more than enough.
"Thank you!" Dr. Tang placed one into the medical cabin, and then gave the rest to the nurse to distribute to the others.
"Chen Ge, are you okay?" Ruan Tang looked nervous as he stepped forward. He looked He Yun Chen up and down, afraid that he had suffered some injury.
"I'm fine."
He Yun Chen went to take a shower once again. He put on his dried clothes, and shared a nutrient solution with Ruan Tang. Although he had been spoiled by various delicacies and had not the slightest good impression of this tasteless nutrient solution, under these circumstances, he had no right to pick and choose.
When night fell, the rain gradually let up, and the search and rescue team sent by the garrison finally arrived. Driving a suspended car, they transferred the trapped people from the hospital that very night. However, Ruan Yu's situation was special. If he leaves this gravity-free ward, his body will be oppressed by the strong gravity. Maybe his old wounds wouldn't heal and new ones might even appear. How could Ruan Tang agree to have him transferred?
Fortunately, the search and rescue troops had already prepared for the transfer of patients. A large medical vehicle was opened. The medical vehicle was loaded with ten medical cabins. Although its gravity reducing effects weren't as good as that of a gravity-free ward, it was able to handle Ruan Yu's transfer. In addition, they had also contacted a hospital situated on high ground, in a relatively low risk area to receive the patients. Once they arrive at that hospital, Ruan Yu can once again enter into a gravity-free ward.
The transfer process went very smoothly, and all the procedures were completed in advance. When they arrived at the hospital there, Ruan Yu was directly sent to the gravity-free ward, where he could rest well.
Coincidentally, Wang Kun and Zhang Peng were also in this hospital. After meeting up with He Yun Chen, they began to discuss how to solve the problem of these water monster on the 19th planet. This time, the heavy rains caused a large-scale flood, and there were countless people injured by water monster attacks. These monsters were huge and aggressive, and if they continue to breed, the next time this happens, the casualties and injuries will become even more serious.
Ruan Tang listened to them silently, and waited until He Yun Chen said that he was going to mobilize his troops to come over and completely eradicate these monsters, before he hesitantly spoke up.
"That… Have you ever thought that these 'water monsters' might be edible?"
"Ah?" They were dumbfounded. Zhang Peng said, "This really is a chef's way of thinking. Can everything be eaten?"
Although this piqued Wang Kun's interest, thinking of how these ugly creatures would be used as ingredient, he was still quite resistant to the idea, "I don't think they can…"
He tried to give reasons to make Ruan Tang abandon the idea. "You haven't seen these things up close. They're especially ugly, with a huge shells covered entirely with thorns on their backs. They have hooks on the feet, and their face is all crowded together and their mouths are frightening!"
Ruan Tang didn't expect these future people would "judge a book by its cover". The more Wang Kun tried to dissuade him, the more his mouth watered.
When that thick shell is opened, it will be full of plump luxurious, yellow-red crab fat. The meat in the crab legs would be soft and tender. It was best to catch them live. If steamed fresh, its taste would be incomparably delicious. You could also use different ingredients with it to produce different flavors. That plump and tender crab meat, smeared with chili and sesame oil, topped with some aromatic vinegar — that crab meat would be glistening and once it enters your mouth, your mouth would be filled with that rich but also fresh and pure taste!
He took a deep breath.
After He Yun Chen caught that water monster, he couldn't help but think of three hundred ways to eat crabs. God knows how long since he last ate seafood. Although the Academy has been working hard to restore the Earth's ingredients, he didn't know how long he'd have to wait before they came out with crabs and lobsters.
However, the shell of this monster crab was much harder than that of the common king crab on Earth. If you wanted to cook it, you'd have to customize special kitchen tools. And when all is said and done, these were alien creatures. It was difficult to say whether they evolved some variation that filled their body with toxins. It would be necessary to test whether these are edible first.
Ruan Tang said, "I'm not trying to deceive you. Their taste will be top-notch. It will be much more delicious than fish. Their meat will be fat and tender. You can see how they run rampant here. Since they love moving about, I'm sure their meat with be tight and compact…" He gulped and turned his gaze to He Yun Chen, he said expectantly, "In the end, whether these could be eaten or not, can be verified after testing."
"Then let's catch a few and have them tested." He Yun Chen became very interested when he heard that they could be eaten. If these monsters could be eaten, they would turn from being dangerous predators into edible ingredients. Matters will be much simpler.
"Yeah!" Ruan Tang was very happy and he immediately sent a message to He Yun Yi, who was in the far-away capital star. He told him that he might have discovered a new ingredient that could be super delicious.
He Yun Yi was immediately very interested and said, "Alright! I'll bring over the necessary people and equipment!"