Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Alien Arm Graft
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And even in that state, it tried to hide itself somehow among the aliens. But it failed to dodge the full-force slash that Saihim unleashed right after, and its left arm and left wing were severed clean off.
In the end, Red managed to conceal its mangled body.
"Lemon! You okay?"
"......Ah."
Barton was right in front of me.
He kept tapping my shoulder, asking over and over.
Only then did I feel the searing pain flooding in from my arm and leg.
-Severe blood loss detected. Immediate transfusion required. Emergency protocol activated due to master's peril. Initiating autonomous treatment.
"...Ugh, when did you get here?"
It was R3D3.
The savior who pulled me from the jaws of death in that desperate moment.
None other than R3D3.
While I was talking, R3D3 had already assessed my injuries per its pre-programmed processes. It dismantled the armor suit around the wounds, then morphed into clothing form and clung tightly to me.
"Hoo, ha... That's better."
The pain was still there.
But just covering up the unsightly wounds made me feel a bit more at ease.
Then came a sharp sting.
-Pain-induced high stress response confirmed. Administering analgesic.
Thanks to R3D3's treatment, the pain subsided rapidly.
It was bearable now.
As the pain faded, worry about my left arm surfaced.
'What the hell do I do about this...?'
I searched for my severed arm.
But it was already shredded to rags in the chaos of the melee.
No way I could reattach that, even if I weren't half out of my mind.
'Can it be healed?'
My arm had been sliced clean off.
Of my fingers, only the thumb remained.
It was cut neatly from the palm all the way to the bone, exposing a gruesome cross-section.
'Do I need a prosthetic?'
Regenerating bone was possible with treatment fluid.
But with this much tissue loss, regenerating blood vessels, nerves, and fingers was questionable.
This was a serious problem.
A body honed for martial arts was different from a prosthetic.
I'd have to start from scratch.
Sure, someone might say just leave the left arm as is and train the rest.
But for a martial artist, that kind of imbalance was a nightmare to overcome.
"I'll support you."
Barton approached and lifted my right arm over his shoulder.
Only then did I realize this wasn't a safe spot. I scanned our surroundings.
"Wait."
That's when I spotted it.
Red's severed left arm.
"That. We need to grab that."
"I'll get it. Go, hurry!"
Roze, fending off approaching aliens, responded to my words.
Barton started moving.
Saihim shielded our group as he led us to the defensive position, and Roze caught up soon after, carrying Red's severed limb as I'd asked.
As Barton supported me on the move, he spoke in a low tone.
"That was stupid."
"Heh, yeah, I know."
Maybe it was the potent painkiller R3D3 had injected without asking, but a silly grin kept creeping onto my face.
Barton tightened his grip on my arm for a moment at my playful reply.
It hurt.
"Ng...!"
"Don't do it again."
"Wonder if I'll even get the chance."
"You idiot."
Barton clamped his mouth shut again and quickened his pace.
We soon arrived safely inside the defensive position.
*
The moment we reached the defensive line, I was unceremoniously carted off to the underground bunker.
Wounded soldiers were gathered there.
Medical personnel—god knows when they'd arrived—were bustling about, treating patients.
Barton glanced around, then laid me down on one of the prepped cots.
"Stay here. No more bright ideas."
"What about this?"
Roze followed, waving Red's arm and wing around.
The dried bodily fluids kept blood from splattering, but it was still a grotesque sight.
"Hand it over."
"...You're not thinking of doing 'that' right now, are you?"
Roze bent down until her face was inches from mine, peering into my eyes.
"Haha. Isn't it still hectic out there? Looks like Red hasn't given up."
......Lemon, you're terrible at changing the subject. Just stop worrying us."
Her tone felt oddly choked.
She stared at me for a moment with trembling eyes, then flicked my nose and spun away.
"Ow, that hurts...."
"I agree. Lemon, stay put and lie still."
"Yeah. Okay."
Barton added his piece, then followed Roze back up to the surface.
'Damn, that really hurts....'
The painkiller must've worn off already.
At times like this, I hated my liver's freakish detox power.
"Urgh......"
I'd thought I was used to pain from all the sparring, but I couldn't stifle the groans leaking out.
This wasn't something you just toughed out.
With Roze and Barton around, I'd held it in for their sake. Now, I wanted to scream outright.
But this wasn't the time to lie here moaning.
'They gone...?'
Once their figures vanished from sight, I sat up from the cot.
Moving made it hurt worse.
"Grrgh...!"
I gritted my teeth and barely held it together.
A medic approached my area, so I snatched up the alien arm and wing and shuffled to another spot.
I felt their weird stare, but they were too busy to linger and moved on to other patients.
-Beep! Master, your current condition is critical. Rest and treatment strongly recommended.
"Turn down the volume."
Right, this guy's still here.
I'd forgotten for a sec.
R3D3 was plastered to my wounds in clothing form, staunching the bleeding and keeping the gashes from opening wider. That was probably the only reason I could still move.
I headed to a corner, grabbing as much emergency dry rations and water as I could from a pile.
And I kept shoving food into my mouth nonstop while moving.
'Need to eat first.'
Blood was low, and nutrients for generating treatment fluid were even scarcer.
Once my trait-enhanced stomach kicked in, the food was pulverized like in a blender and absorbed in seconds.
"Ease up the binding on my leg a bit."
-Full release in current state risks massive blood loss.
"Oh, right. Should just inject liquid, huh."
I spat treatment fluid into my palm and showed R3D3.
-Saliva is suboptimal for wound injection. Please reconsider.
"It's fine, this'll work. I get you're worried, but just do it?"
-Beep! Bzzzt!
R3D3 kept trying to stop me.
But I couldn't hold it against him.
'My literal savior.'
It was all out of concern for me, anyway.
Still, unable to defy its master's command, R3D3 relented and started assisting.
I kept generating treatment fluid and injecting it into the inlet R3D3 created.
The fluid soaked deep into the leg wound in large quantities.
Pain started fading fast.
With my belly full, rapid cell regeneration kicked in, healing the wound at an accelerated rate.
In under three minutes, it had closed dramatically.
-Beep!
R3D3, monitoring changes in real time, flashed wildly in confusion.
"Heh, didn't see that coming, huh?"
-Incredible, Master!
I tore open more preserved rations and stuffed them in my mouth.
All that remained was my left arm.
The damage there dwarfed the leg injury.
'Normally, they'd just amputate this.'
The arm was still attached, technically.
Sliced vertically, with over 60% of its tissues gone—that was the issue.
'Is this really the right call?'
I pondered for a moment.
What I planned was grafting Red's left arm onto mine.
Not a safe merge via analysis application—just slapping on an entire limb.
Like with the Blue Demon's horn.
But the risks were on another level this time.
Red's left arm wasn't some ancient, ruined relic like the Blue Demon's horn. It was fresh, still attached to its owner moments ago.
'Sure, not the whole thing—maybe half, no, just 30%...'
Even that was dangerous.
The left arm of a top-tier threat rated hazard level 8.
Could I handle it?
Zhang's face flashed in my mind.
Him in transform state, rationality gone, rampaging on pure instinct.
I could end up like that.
If this failed, I might turn into a maniac slaughtering every patient and medic in this bunker.
'But......'
I recalled the situation outside.
With the alien homeworld approaching and high-threat strains joining the fray, things weren't looking good.
Even with both fleets overloading their ships—facing the burden of scrapping them later—they couldn't hold back all the aliens.
And Red was still kicking, adding to the pressure.
I checked the outer situation via panel.
As expected, Red was rampaging.
'Tough bastard, so damn tough......'
It charged like it held some death grudge.
Unusual for a seasoned specimen that knew when to retreat.
'We're worn out too.'
The Miracle Generation's four were exhausted.
Weakened like Red, they couldn't provide proper deterrence anymore.
At least with one wing gone, it couldn't pull off those insane flights, so our casualties weren't climbing as fast.
And then.
"......No, forget it. No!"
I shook my head vigorously.
Excuses, all of it.
The real reason I was doing this wasn't some grand cause—it was greed for Red's power.
Me, powerless compared to the others.
I'd crumpled against Red, who didn't even use artillery, without lasting a moment.
My own weakness hit me hard.
Because of it, I'd nearly endangered not just myself, but everyone.
If I'd been stronger, we could've returned without incident.
Hell, I might've finished Red right there in the pit.
I couldn't tolerate this weak self anymore.
That last experience drove it home.
I'm a reserve superhuman.
Salmon Lab or whatever—first and foremost, personal power matters.
I need strength to survive any situation on my own.
Or at least an ability with real battlefield impact.
'This could be it......!'
It felt like falling for the devil's temptation.
Right before me lay a treasure that might grant exactly what I craved.
I bit my lip, wrestled with it, then made my choice.
"Can you cut this to fit my stump?"
-Beep! Affirmative.
For once, it followed without argument.
"Do it now."
-Proceeding.
I kept watch outside the partition while waiting for the work to finish.
Red's arm was a bit big.
About twice the volume.
Attaching it as-is would look unnatural, so cutting was the way.
I couldn't handle the whole thing anyway.
Sure, it'd weaken the functions, but that couldn't be helped.
'Even this much is plenty.'
Using laser cutting, R3D3 finished in about ten minutes.
It looked perfect, minus a few bits.
"Fingers are crazy long."
-Should I amputate them?
"Nah, matching them to my finger length would make 'em too stiff to bend. We'll keep it like this."
-Supporting attachment.
The skeletal surface of R3D3, wrapped around my arm, split open.
It used the leg binder to position Red's arm against my stump and aligned it.
"Suppress alien contamination response. Make sure no one outside knows what's happening here."
-Beep!
Red's bodily fluids, touching human flesh, immediately boiled in violent rejection.
I initiated connection fast.
The link formed unusually quick through the joined surfaces, fusing as 'one.'
Then I began the full transplant.