Custom field output without Ul and li wrapping

Hello, I am trying to use custom fields like this:
I put an url to image in a custom field named newspic, then I would like to use it in my theme in two places, the problem is that I need just the url output like https://adress.com/picture.jpg, atm I am getting this – <ul> <li>https://adress.com/picture.jpg</li></ul>

This is how I am adding it to my code src="<?php the_meta(); ?>"

I couldn’t find any info on how to remove the ul and li wrap, can someone please explain ?

Thanks