My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 101: In The Front Lines

"Kieeeek,"

Dennis ripped through the body of a bug crawler that let out a high-pitched shriek, then he tossed it aside. His body was already filthy and covered in crawler blood. He turned to see Daisy pulling her katana out of the body of a tusk crawler, which instantly slumped down and stopped moving. Dennis looked around, searching for enemies; he was in the city center along with his team and the entire 11th-grade class that was participating.

Then Dennis and Daisy ran to regroup with Gary, Olivia, and Kimberly, who also looked like a mess with their clothes soaked in fluids.

"Okay, looks like we’re done here," Gary said while looking around.

"We should take a break now and stay here for the time being," Olivia replied.

"Perfect. My bag is already stuffed with crawler parts... money... money," Kimberly said cheerfully, showing off her bag.

"Oh... where’s Jason?" Dennis asked, looking around.

"He’s calling a repairman for my apartement heater," Kimberly said.

"Ah... right," Dennis replied, understanding.

"Gary, you should probably tell them that we’re taking a breather," Daisy said, pointing toward the groups of 11th-graders who were split into small teams, following them and panting for breath in the back.

"Yeah, you’re right," Gary replied.

Gary immediately looked toward the 11th-grade students gathered behind them and shouted that everyone would take a break while remaining alert and monitoring the perimeter they were assigned to guard. The faces of the 11th-grade troops looked relieved; some of them immediately sat down, exhausted, on the highway that was now silent and had become a battlefield against the crawlers.

Gary, Olivia, Dennis, Daisy, and Kimberly sat in a circle, crossing their legs in the middle of the leftover crawler body parts they had cleared away earlier. As they sat, Daisy suddenly whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes while adjusting her glasses. Dennis turned to look at Daisy.

"What is it?" Dennis asked using telepathy.

"It feels like someone is watching us," Number One replied in Dennis’s head.

"True, I feel the same way," Number Four added.

"Yeah... between those buildings," Number Three added, pointing toward a narrow alley between two tall skyscrapers.

"Hmm... a crawler?" Dennis asked, turning to look back.

"Doesn’t seem like it... human," Number Five answered.

"Let me send my subordinates to investigate what’s over there," Number Two replied.

A bat carrying a camera appeared, causing a slight distortion in the air before it vanished and darted toward the alley where they felt someone watching them. Suddenly, someone tapped Dennis on the shoulder. Jason, whose clothes were still a bit neater than the others and who had seemingly just arrived, sat down next to him.

"Everything settled, bro?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah, my heater is fixed, and I already dropped the repairman back at the shopping area in front of our apartment—Ivan’s team’s territory. It’s safe," Jason answered casually.

"How were you so fast, babe?" Kimberly asked.

"It was quick. Yesterday I just installed it wrong and all the components were still usable, but the repairman suggested we buy a new one next month because ours is obsolete. It’ll be hard to find parts if it breaks again," Jason answered.

"Ugh... more money out the window. Fine, we’ll run the numbers when we get home," Kimberly said.

"Yeah, later," Jason replied.

"Aren’t you all hungry? I brought some food," Olivia asked.

"Huh... are you crazy? Who can be hungry in conditions like this? There are so many weird smells around us," Kimberly said.

"She’s right, babe. Let’s just have dinner later when we get home. I don’t have an appetite either," Gary said.

"Oh, you’re right, I guess. It’s just snacks anyway," Olivia replied, looking into her bag.

They went back to chatting casually while remaining on high alert. Daisy seemed unusually quiet, and of course, Dennis noticed his wife’s silence as he held her hand beside him.

"What is it, honey? What do you see?" Dennis asked in his head.

"There’s nothing there... it’s empty... but there are dhampir tracks," Number Two answered.

"Hmm... dhampirs, huh? Maybe it’s just other hunters looking for crawlers in the city who happened to spot us," Dennis said.

"Could be. But for some reason, I have a bad feeling about this, honey," Number One replied.

Suddenly, "Blaaar," the asphalt behind them exploded into fragments. Naturally, Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly stood up instantly, deflecting the flying debris with their energy.

"Skrieeeeeeeeek,"

Behind the smoke, a massive monster emerged from a hole in the ground. The creature was truly enormous, nearly as tall as the buildings, with a long body and countless legs, looking like a snake or a giant caterpillar. As the smoke cleared, Dennis and the others were shocked because right in front of them stood a monster like a giant centipede with many sharp-looking legs, red eyes, and a mouth full of thorns.

Behind its head, there was a pair of massive crab shells on its left and right, and the shells looked shiny and black as if they were made of metal. Without wasting a second, Dennis, seeing the terrifying and savage giant creature before him, immediately used his analyze skill.

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Crawler Name : Claw Centipede.

Rank : S.

Abilities :

1. Burrowing underground.

2. Electric spray.

3. High speed.

4. Immune to conventional weapons.

5. High jumping and gliding.

Weakness : Eyes are easily blinded and deaf.

Description :

If encountered, do not move until it leaves on its own because it is not aggressive and will not attack first; however, if you move or run, you will be chased and killed immediately, because this crawler moves based on motion.

*****************************************************

Dennis was stunned as he read its status, then he looked back and saw that Gary, Olivia, Jason, Kimberly, and the 11th-grade troops were all bracing themselves—but their faces showed they were ready to die. They knew that facing the monster in front of them meant they definitely wouldn’t see tomorrow and would be having dinner in the next life.

"Gary... don’t move! This isn’t a normal enemy," Dennis shouted.

"I know... but according to the books, we can’t escape from this monster until it leaves on its own," Gary yelled back.

"Right. If we run, it’ll target us first. We’re trapped here because it looks like it doesn’t want to leave," Olivia added, bracing herself while keeping an eye on the monster, whose head seemed to be pointed right at them.

"Man... I don’t want to die yet. I haven’t even had kids," Jason said, staring at the monster in front of him.

"If we survive, we’re making a baby immediately, babe... but the chances look pretty slim," Kimberly replied, resigned, while clutching her two carbines.

"Relax, we can definitely handle this," Daisy said calmly.

Dennis immediately turned to look at his wife, who seemed calm and relaxed while facing the giant creature before them. Then the monster turned its head left and right as if searching for something, but suddenly its head whipped back toward Gary’s team and his troops.

They stood perfectly still, clutching their weapons, as the creature narrowed its eyes and stared them down with incredible speed. Naturally, Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly—along with all the 11th-grade students behind them—held their breath and stared back at the monster.

But then, "clang," they suddenly heard the sound of armor moving, shattering the silence. They knew instantly why the monster had turned back toward them.

"Hey... babe, stop shaking," Clara’s voice whispered from behind Gary and the others.

"So... sorry, babe," Andrew replied, trembling.

"Hey... calm down, Andrew. Don’t move and don’t be afraid," Gary said, annoyed.

"I... I know," Andrew replied.

But Andrew didn’t stay still; instead, his shaking grew worse. Naturally, the monster began to move slowly until its massive head was looming directly over them, looking down, and the saliva from its open mouth dripped down to soak them. Its eyes locked onto Andrew, its head positioned right above him.

"Okay, we’re dead... thanks, Andrew," Jason said, irritated.

"Hiks... and we were just going to make a baby at home later," Kimberly replied, resigned and certain that her life was ending today.

"Stay calm... nobody move. Andrew, pull yourself together, please. We’re all going to die if you keep shaking," Gary shouted without turning his head.

"Gary’s right, babe. Please don’t move. If you were this scared, you should have just stayed home... don’t push yourself," Clara, who was Andrew’s wife, added.

"Bu... but I couldn’t let you come out here alone, babe," said Andrew, who was now drenched in sweat as the monster’s head loomed over him, dripping saliva onto his body.

"Ugh... just don’t shake, please! The monster is right in front of you, so don’t make any unnecessary moves. Do you get it or not?" Olivia shouted, clearly annoyed.

"Y... yeah, I get it," Andrew replied, swallowing hard as he stared at the massive face of the monster looming over him.

Dennis glanced at Daisy standing beside him; she was glancing back at him with a look that said "can I do something?"

"Patience... if we’re forced to... and if Andrew can’t control himself, then we move," Dennis said in his head using telepathy.

"Understood," replied Daisy numbers one through seven simultaneously, their voices overlapping in Dennis’s mind.