Chapter 15: In Progress
Steam billowed around Su Xiao and Hanji Zoe as they stood on Eren’s back.
“Without a large hook-and-cable device, we can’t control this thing. Given the current situation, it’ll recover soon.”
Hanji Zoe’s expression turned troubled.
“Expel. Expel them all.”
A faint, murmured voice came through, startling Hanji Zoe.
“Did you hear that? Sounded like someone talking.”
“Yeah, I heard it clearly. The position is the nape of the neck.”
Su Xiao walked up to Eren’s nape and thrust his blade into the ‘Eren Titan’s’ neck.
Roar!!
The ‘Eren Titan’ let out a massive roar, its body swaying left and right. Hanji Zoe stumbled a few steps, nearly thrown off Eren’s back.
“Don’t kill him!”
Seeing Su Xiao’s action, Hanji Zoe shouted in panic.
Su Xiao wasn’t trying to kill Eren. The ‘Eren Titan’ posed no immediate danger before it lifted that massive boulder.
Feeling a slight tremor from the Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao knew he had stabbed too deep—likely hitting Eren’s actual body.
He wasn’t sure exactly where on Eren he’d struck, but judging by the ‘Eren Titan’s’ furious roar, it was painful.
Su Xiao pulled the Dragon-Slaying Flash out slightly, gripped the blade with both hands, and dragged it downward with force.
Rip.
A wound over a meter long appeared, revealing Eren’s actual body.
Eren was wrapped in vivid red muscle tissue, his eyes tightly shut as if asleep.
Su Xiao leaned his upper body into the giant’s interior, reaching out with one hand to grab Eren’s shoulder.
Once inside, a wave of scorching heat surrounded him—the temperature inside the giant was at least 70 degrees Celsius or more.
Grabbing Eren’s shoulder, Su Xiao pulled outward, but his hand slipped. The muscles encasing Eren were slick.
The heat continued to sear Su Xiao. His gaze locked onto Eren’s hair, which wasn’t covered by muscle.
Seizing Eren’s hair, Su Xiao yanked him out.
Slap, slap.
One by one, strands of muscle snapped. Su Xiao let out a shout and forcibly dragged Eren’s entire body out.
A breeze brushed against his face, the heat receding. Su Xiao was drenched in sweat.
“This is…”
Hanji Zoe hurried forward, her eyes scanning Eren’s entire body like an X-ray.
If there were an autopsy table here, Su Xiao suspected this woman would dissect Eren on the spot.
Su Xiao remained silent. If he revealed too many secrets of the Titan world, he’d arouse suspicion. He could know things himself, but there was no need to act all-knowing.
Plot characters weren’t fools. If Su Xiao spouted a bunch of secrets, whether they’d believe him was uncertain, and the royal family would surely hunt him down relentlessly.
For now, he just needed to nudge events along appropriately. Even if Su Xiao did nothing now, Hanji Zoe would inadvertently continue his plan.
“Eren!”
Mikasa used her ‘Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear’ to descend from the rooftop, rushing to Su Xiao in a few steps.
Today had been a torment for Mikasa—a rollercoaster of joy and sorrow too rapid for this teenage girl to handle.
As she neared Eren, the scene before her wiped the joy from Mikasa’s face. Her eyelids drooped.
“Take your hand off him.”
Mikasa’s voice was cold. Su Xiao was currently holding Eren by the hair, with Eren unconscious, his body half-dragging on the ground.
“Do you know what you’re saying?”
A gaze colder and more ferocious than Mikasa’s met hers. Mikasa’s demeanor was merely aloof, having only killed a few people in her childhood. Su Xiao, on the other hand, had lost count of how many ghouls he’d killed in the Ghoul world. His stare was dozens of times more terrifying.
Seeing Su Xiao’s gaze, Mikasa immediately drew two blades, like a startled young leopard.
“You’re Mikasa Ackerman, right? Bai Ye’s approach is correct. We’re taking this person now.
Who can guarantee that the giant just now wasn’t controlled by him? No, that giant was definitely controlled by him.”
Looking at the vaporizing giant corpse nearby, Hanji Zoe stated firmly.
“Mikasa, calm down. The situation is too strange. Eren… he might…”
Armin quickly grabbed Mikasa, but her eyes remained fixed on Su Xiao.
“Let go of Eren’s hair. Even if you have to control him, you don’t need to hold him by the hair.”
Su Xiao nodded, then grabbed Eren by the back of the neck instead.
“I’ll definitely kill this bastard.”
Mikasa muttered, feeling helpless. Events were spiraling in a bad direction, and based on her estimation, if it came to a fight, she likely wouldn’t be a match for that man.
The breach of Wall Rose, the suspicious drink, Eren being eaten by a Titan, then transforming into one, the Survey Corps’ intervention—layer upon layer of incidents tangled together, draining Mikasa’s brain cells.
“Um, I have something to say.”
Armin stepped forward, his mind still relatively clear. He planned to pull a fast one.
“Go ahead.”
Hanji Zoe gestured for Armin to continue.
“How are you going to handle Eren? Even if Eren was inside the giant, it doesn’t necessarily mean Eren became the giant. Earlier, this Mr. Bai Ye said Eren was swallowed by a giant—that’s what he witnessed firsthand.
Based on my guess, after being swallowed, Eren used his weapons to climb out of the giant’s stomach, then got lost inside the giant’s body, eventually reaching the nape. But after cutting through a lot of muscle, he became exhausted and got trapped there. Giants have strong regenerative abilities, so Eren was stuck.”
After Armin’s explanation, the new recruits around him showed looks of sudden realization. After all, the idea of a human turning into a giant was too bizarre.
“A barely plausible explanation, but two things don’t add up. First, Eren wasn’t swallowed by this giant—that was a five-meter-class Titan.
Second, being trapped in muscle would cause suffocation. Eren was stuck for about half an hour. Look at him now—does he seem suffocated?”
With two sentences, Su Xiao dismantled Armin’s speech. Clearly, Armin was trying to save Eren. If things continued as they were, Eren ending up on an autopsy table was only natural.
Mikasa’s expression soured. Everyone had almost bought Armin’s story earlier. That guy…
“Bai Ye makes a good point. Anyway, this guy’s fate will be decided by the Commander. Anyone who obstructs us will be dealt with as ‘interfering with military operations.’ And by the way, Bai Ye was sent to prison for killing people.”
Hanji Zoe signaled Su Xiao to follow, and the two headed toward the inner Wall Sina.
“Armin, we’re going too. If things go wrong, we’ll snatch Eren by force.”
Mikasa and Armin followed closely behind. But once they reached Wall Sina, would things really take a turn for the better?
The answer was obvious: no, because Su Xiao was there.
Soon, Su Xiao and Hanji Zoe arrived before Wall Sina. From a distance, they could see rows of cannons lining the wall.
“Halt! Wall Sina is a restricted zone.”
The Military Police on the wall raised their single-shot rifles.
“I’m Hanji Zoe of the Survey Corps. This man is also a former member of the Survey Corps.”
The Military Police member signaled them to wait. After reporting to the Military Police Commander, he ordered those on the wall to lower their weapons.
Su Xiao carried Eren up the wall and immediately saw two people approaching.
Survey Corps Commander: Erwin.
Military Police Commander: Nile Dawk.