Chapter 445: Monster Footprints, Researching Weapons

Chapter 445: Chapter 445: Monster Footprints, Researching Weapons

They assessed the situation up ahead.

The group got out of the car and walked to the edge of the shocking, massive crater to inspect it.

"What... What made this? Was it a bomb?"

Sharon Lynn’s eyes widened as she stared at the menacing crater, both terrified and curious.

Dr. Ford bent down, pushing up the heavy glasses on his nose. He squinted, carefully examining the marks on the crater’s edge and the condition of the soil, then slowly shook his head. "No, this wasn’t caused by shelling or explosives.

"The pattern of destruction... the tearing at the edges and the direction the soil was compacted... it looks more like..."

He paused, his tone growing grave. "A footprint."

"A footprint?!"

Sharon Lynn cried out in astonishment, unable to imagine what kind of creature could leave such a horrifying footprint.

Hearing this, an idea sparked in Seraphina Sullivan’s mind.

She activated a Skill.

Her spiritual power extended outward as she cast the [Bird Manipulation Technique].

Soon, a small, seemingly healthy bird circling nearby came under her Control and soared high into the sky, flapping its wings.

She used Pelican’s Eye to share the bird’s vision.

From high above, she looked down on the long, dilapidated highway below.

As her vision expanded, a shocking scene entered her "view."

About two kilometers ahead, then five, and even farther still, a series of similar, immense craters were scattered intermittently along the highway’s path!

They weren’t in a perfectly straight line, but they were roughly aligned, as if... as if some behemoth had once leisurely strolled down this highway, one step at a time.

Every step had left behind a devastating mark!

Seraphina Sullivan withdrew her spiritual power, her expression darkening slightly. "Dr. Ford is right. They’re footprints.

"And it’s not just this one. There are several more ahead, stretching all the way down the highway.

"It looks like they were left by some giant monster of unimaginable size.

"It could be a Catastrophe Level, or just a monster of exceptional size."

Hearing this, Sharon Lynn’s face instantly turned deathly pale, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Just imagining the monster that could leave such footprints was enough to make her feel a suffocating fear.

Flora Sullivan quickly put an arm around her shoulder and comforted her softly, "Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, your sisters are here! That big guy must be long gone by now. It won’t just pop out of nowhere.

"And even if we do run into it, I and Chet will figure out a way to protect us!"

Sharon Lynn nodded doubtfully but still held on tightly to Flora Sullivan’s hand.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the conclusion of "footprints" and "monster," Dr. Ford showed no fear. Instead, his eyes lit up as if he had just discovered a treasure.

He immediately pulled several small glass vials, tweezers, and test tubes from his worn-out but exceptionally sturdy satchel. Eagerly, he crouched by the crater’s edge and began to carefully collect soil samples from the bottom and sides, along with some unknown fragments that might have fallen off or been carried by the monster’s foot.

As he collected the samples, he muttered to himself, "A pity, such a pity... If only I could get a complete monster tissue sample, or even the fresh corpse of a small monster... Then I could analyze its cellular structure, Energy composition, and genetic sequence... It would be crucial for studying their Weaknesses and finding ways to fight them..."

Hearing this, Seraphina Sullivan instinctively glanced at Chet Lucius, her eyes asking a question: ’You’ve never killed a small monster in front of him? Didn’t you collect any samples?’

Chet Lucius seemed to understand her look. He gave a helpless shrug and replied with his own gaze: ’I don’t have any suitable "normal" weapons either.’

’My Ability could handle them, sure, but am I supposed to conjure a Flame or an energy blade out of thin air in front of Dr. Ford?’

’It’s too surreal. I’d be exposed easily.’

’That’s why I’ve been trying to avoid combat as much as possible. When I couldn’t, I used scavenged firearms to deal with it, but we had to leave the scene immediately afterward. There was never any time to collect samples.’

Listening to Dr. Ford, Sharon Lynn leaned in curiously and asked, "Grandpa Ford, what do you need a monster’s corpse for? They’re so scary..."

Dr. Ford looked up at the innocent and terrified child before him, his tone becoming gentle and patient. "To study them, of course, child.

"You can only find a way to defeat an enemy by understanding them.

"It’s like how doctors have to study viruses to create vaccines and medicine.

"Grandpa and many other scientists like me want to study these monsters, find their Weaknesses, and invent effective weapons and methods to deal with them.

"That’s the only way to protect more people and let everyone live safely again."

Sharon Lynn nodded, only half-understanding.

Recalling their earlier topic, she asked another question. "Then why... why don’t the really powerful guns and cannons on TV work on the super, super big monsters?

"I saw that Sullivan’s gun is really good against the small monsters."

If Seraphina Sullivan or Chet Lucius had asked this question, Dr. Ford might have been more reserved or suspicious of their motives.

But coming from the innocent Sharon Lynn, Dr. Ford was less guarded. He sighed and explained, "Child, you’re very observant.

"Those especially enormous monsters.

"They aren’t just immense in size and terrifying in Power. More importantly, they often spontaneously generate a powerful biological Force Field, or what you might call an Energy Shield, around their bodies.

"Our existing conventional weapons—bullets, shells, even missiles—have their Energy drastically weakened, deflected, or even detonated prematurely when they try to penetrate that Force Field. The actual damage that reaches their bodies is minuscule.

"Unless... we use a destructive weapon on the level of a nuclear bomb."

He paused, his voice growing heavier. "But the consequences of using nuclear weapons are too severe. Radiation, permanent environmental destruction, collateral damage to survivor settlements... It’s a last resort, and it doesn’t solve the root problem.

"So, we urgently need to find more precise, more effective methods of fighting them, with fewer side effects.

"That’s what Grandpa and my colleagues are working towards."

Sharon Lynn’s eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, I see! So, Grandpa Ford, you’re researching monsters to invent a weapon that can break through that Force Field and hit them accurately, right?"

"Exactly! Very smart!"

Dr. Ford smiled, gratified, and patted Sharon Lynn’s head.

Seraphina Sullivan and Chet Lucius, who had been listening from the side, exchanged a knowing look.

The importance of this Dr. Ford was self-evident.

He wasn’t just an expert in biology; he was directly involved in strategic research and weapon development for humanity’s fight against Cataclysm-Class Monsters.

Protecting him and ensuring his safe arrival at the Shelter wasn’t just about saving one person. It was about preserving a vital spark of technology for the remnants of human civilization.

’It seems the targets the System assigns us to protect are never randomly chosen civilians. They all might play a key role in this apocalyptic world.’