by Chen Ran
However, the wolves didn't know that Zero wasn't going to let them leave. If they could make one of these wild beasts be missing, then the people wandering in the wilderness would be less dangerous. This was a competitive era. In addition to competing against their kind, humans also competed against beasts and monsters for the space to survive.
Either you die, or I die!
Chapter 17 - A Bad Omen
The mechanical sight gear's field of vision was limited to six hundred meters, but with the cooperation of the zero golden right eye, the distance was infinitely close. Therefore, Zero could easily see a corpse wolf from a thousand meters away. The sight gear's cross sight appeared on the forehead of this wild beast.
Zero calculates and corrects the error of the trajectory. Then, he gently pulled the trigger. In an instant, the corpse wolf inside the sight gear s body shook violently, half of its head was blown off by the impact of the sniper rifle bullets, and its entire body powerlessly laid on the ground.
The canyon was silent, and the sound of the sniper device had long since disappeared into nothingness.
Zero left the boulder that acted as a cover, raised his sniper rifle, and moved towards the wolf's corpse like a ghost. His movements were quick and gentle, the canyon was like a sleeping beast, he did not know of the arrival of this uninvited guest.
Zero did not try to conceal himself. This was the third sentry he had killed. There would be no new sentries until the wolves found out. Zero raised his speed to its limit. The first order's Agility buff allowed him to travel at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. In the blink of an eye, he was already a kilometer away from the monster.
A minute later, he was standing over the carcass of the wolf. Zero crouched down and used a steel dagger to pick one of the fangs from the wolf's upper jaw and stored it in a backpack. In the backpack lay two other wolf teeth, each wolf tooth represented the life of a wolf, this was the proof of zero reward for the mission. And today, there would be more of these.
Moving soundlessly, he slid down the gully, climbed over the boulder, jumped over the crack in the ground, and finally arrived behind a rock. The side of the rock that was exposed to the sun was emitting a high temperature. Even though it was hidden in the dark, Zero could still feel the heat emitted by the rock. He was wearing a grayish-brown protective suit that acted as a cover from a distance, just like the rocks that littered the mountain area.
The ultraviolet light in the sun was strong enough to roast an egg, but Zero only felt slightly hotter. There wasn't a drop of sweat on his face. This kind of physique that could automatically adjust the temperature could be categorized as an accessory of another ability.
The wind blew from behind the stone, bringing with it the scent of a corpse wolf. Zero was not in a hurry to act. He was waiting, waiting for the energetic male wolves below to rest. Zero will create a small landslide in order to kill the beasts to the greatest extent. As for those who had been left alone, Zero was confident that they wouldn't be able to escape from the sniper rifle's range.
To this end, zero begins the movement.
With a silent gesture, he buried the detonators into the rocks. After a thorough calculation of the detonator's weight and the angle of the explosion, he had simulated what would happen after the explosion in his mind. A large number of falling rocks would land on the wolves' heads before they could react. This sudden attack would at least cause the wolves to lose 80% of their numbers, so the remaining wolves would naturally have zero sniper rifles.
When he buried the last detonator, he smelled a peculiar scent.
It was the smell of blood, and it was fresh, and it smelled of something else. The smell was neither stinky nor fragrant, so it was hard to tell what it felt like. Apparently, Zero did not have any memory of this smell in his head. On the contrary, the smell of blood formed the image of a corpse wolf in Zero's mind.
However, it was a corpse wolf with its stomach ripped open.
This place was located at the upper wind vents, so the smell was not detected by the wolves below the canyon. Furthermore, if it wasn't for the fact that Su Yun was so close to him, he wouldn't be able to detect him.
At close range, a sniper rifle was far less useful than a dagger. He was like a cheetah, his slender and flexible body full of explosive power, enough to deal with any sudden danger.
Under the guidance of the smell, Zero went around a rock. There was a cave in front of them.
The smell of blood came from the cave.
On the sand outside the cave, Zero found traces of dragging. There were also some sharp and disorderly marks on some rocks nearby. Zero was lying on the ground, and the smell of the corpse wolf immediately entered his nose. He frowned and walked carefully toward the cave. Not long after, a tuft of greyish white fur appeared in Zero's eyes.
He could already imagine what it was like.
A corpse wolf was dragged into the cave by an unknown creature. Judging from the depth of the tracks in the sand and the claw marks left on the rocks, it was probably a male wolf. Only an adult male wolf would have the weight to match the marks on the ground, as well as the strength to leave clear claw marks on the rock.
Zero could not imagine what could capture an adult corpse wolf alive. Based on his knowledge of the new era, in the memories, only the butchers he met in the Silver Tree City were qualified to do so.
However, there were no other marks on the sand other than the tracks of the corpse wolves. This meant that the thing that had captured the corpse wolf was not very big and was also light in weight. Otherwise, there was bound to be something left behind.
The dagger in his hand tightened.
When Zero walked into the cave, the skin under the protective suit gave off a prickly feeling. That was a signal of danger. Amongst the zero golden right eye, the silver stripes immediately gathered, clearly projecting the scene in the cave into Zero's eyes.
The cave was not large, but the walls were filled with blood. The stomach of an adult male wolf was ripped open. Its intestines and internal organs were scattered all over the ground. Some of them had even been stomped into meat paste, mixing together with the sand. Beneath the wolf corpse, blood pooled into pools of blood. Judging by the thickness of the blood, the time the male wolf had died was definitely no more than 10 minutes.
During this period of time, Zero had been laying the detonator in the vicinity and had not realized that the killing was happening right beside him.
He had goosebumps.
Zero's sensitivity towards danger had always been very high. Killing people by his side this time, yet this was the first time he had ever experienced such a thing.
He used his dagger to pry open the wound, and his frown deepened. The muscles of the wound were fractured randomly. It was obvious that the wound wasn't caused by a sharp weapon, but was instead torn apart by a tremendous force. Seeing this, Zero carefully stood up, turned around, and was about to leave. He decided to give up on this hunt. When there was an unknown danger nearby, Zero didn't think he had the heart to kill a pack of zombie wolves.
When he turned around and was about to leave, he stepped on something. The sensation of the foreign object stopped him. He looked down and saw a metal plate lying in the mud and blood at his feet.
Zero picked it up. There was a metal piece the size of a thumb with English engraved on it. It was just that the English language had been severely worn out and only the letters "HA" could be seen. He didn't know what that meant, but there was no doubt that it would carry an English brand. It definitely wouldn't be a corpse wolf or some other wild beast. It could be a man, someone who could tear an adult male wolf apart with his bare hands!
He threw the plate into his backpack and left the cave. The moment he stepped on the sand outside the cave, Zero heard the miserable screams coming from below. Su Ming's heart tightened as he dashed forward like a bolt of lightning. He hid behind the rock and looked down.
Blood formed rivers!
Corp
se Wolves lay scattered on the ground, their corpses were extremely strange. Some had their stomachs ripped open, some had their heads twisted to the side, some had their intestines strangled, and some had their limbs strangely twisted. This was simply an unequal massacre. Judging from the bloody technique, the murderer should have belonged to the same person who killed the corpse wolf in the cave.
From the distance came the howls of the corpse wolves. From the other side of the canyon, Zero could see a dozen adult males wolves surrounding and attacking a figure. Zero changed his line of sight. By the time he caught sight of the figure, the battle was already over.
There was no doubt that it was a person. However, he was holding a wolf corpse in his hand, and his face was covered, making it impossible to see his appearance. He grabbed the wolf's head and neck with both hands, then used his strength to split the corpse apart.
He casually threw the wolf corpse towards the direction of zero, which occupied all vision. When the wolf corpse landed on the ground, the person had already disappeared without a trace.
Ten minutes later, zero appeared on the scene.
He didn't dare to rush over. Even with his enhanced level 1 defense, his body couldn't withstand the opponent's strength that could easily tear apart the corpse wolf. Thus, after determining that there was no danger, he approached it cautiously. He quickly checked the scene, but other than the ground littered with minced meat, he could not find anything else of value.
He left the canyon and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the base. He had to report what he saw to Old Jack that the presence of such dangerous humanoids near the base was not an ordinary occurrence.
When they were about a kilometer away from the base, Zero suddenly stopped.
At the edge of the road, a dead wolf lay in a pool of blood. Its limbs were still twitching, indicating that it had just died and that its nerves had not completely stopped working.
The sense of danger in Su Bai's heart grew stronger.
That thing was approaching the base!
Chapter 18 - Alien
Ten days later, Z7 was unscathed.
After the first time when he brought back the information, old Jack really did pay a lot of attention to it. Due to this, Old Jack ordered that no one was allowed to enter the base. He also stopped mining to prevent the sound of mining from attracting the attention of that tyrannical creature. At the same time, Old Jack asked Zog to lead the team and stand guard 24 hours a day to strengthen the surveillance and martial law on the entrance and exit of the base.
However, after ten days passed, nothing happened. Nothing strange happened around the base, so Old Jack lifted the martial law.
Although Zero was still a little worried, the direction in which the creature was moving was very obvious. It was almost heading towards the base, but how could it disappear into thin air? However, he was even more clear that it was impossible for Old Jack to make the base stop operating for a long period of time. Ten days was the limit of Z7. Therefore, he did not stop the martial law from being lifted.
As for the scouting around the base, he personally participated in the operation and confirmed that there were no signs of any suspicious creatures approaching. Since that was the case, it was natural for the martial law to be lifted.
The Z7 base resumed operations.
However, the original hunting mission had been cancelled. With the migration of the largest pack of wolves near the base, there would not be any new wolves that would threaten the safety of the base in the near future. Su Yun returned back to her previous three days of being a guard on Lea's side, as well as being in the practice field and as a person in bed. He had been in the base for two years and was already familiar with the life of the new era.
If he followed Zero's wishes, he would have to leave the base as soon as he gained the strength of a rank 1 Magus and a stronger defense. After completing the mission for the Silver Tree City, Old Jack had confirmed his zero ability. The hibernation chamber that Old Jack had previously hidden away as a collection was something Old Jack had magnanimously let Zero inspect carefully. Unfortunately, he did not find much value in this item that had come back to life.
The only clue he had was the set of English words carved on the back of the hibernation chamber.
Halson!
No matter how you looked at it, it looked like a name. However, while there were zero people searching through the base's computers, there were hundreds of people around the world named Halson. To a zero, there was no difference between having a clue and not having a clue.
If he wanted to find his past, he could only try his luck elsewhere.
After the Cataclysm Day, the global land mass had changed. Only one highly polluted sea area, known as the Raging Sea, is left in the former state, while only three are left in the six plates after they have been changed, connected, and collapsed.
The new plates were renamed naturally, and the continent on which zero was now found was called Middle-earth.
The Meso-continental plate is formed by the collision of the original Eurasian plate and the American plate, and is the largest plate in the world. Of course, there is no longer any state system in the two major parts of the old era. Right now, the people ruling this continent were the big corporations and corporate powers like the Parkland.
The Z7 base is located on the edge of the plate in Middle-earth and provides very little information to zero. Zero has to go deep into the heart of the continent to get more information from other companies or chaeurs.
However, he did not leave.
Everything was for Lea.
This girl was extremely similar to the beautiful figure in his dreams, making him unwilling to move away. It was as if by staying by Lea's side, he could occasionally live in his dreams, and forget about the cruel world outside.
As usual, Tian Zero came to Lea's laboratory. Old Jack was also there. The grandfather and grandson were so engrossed in observing a potion that they did not even notice the arrival of zero. Leaning against the door, he knew that Lea had recently been researching an anti-virus serum that could reduce the damage and invasion of Level 3 viruses. If the research is successful, Z7 will not only have the ability to treat Level 3 viruses initially, but will also be able to sell drugs to obtain other financial sources.
However, along with a light sound from the test tube, choking smoke rose into the air. Even an amateur like Zero knew that the experiment had failed.
Old Jack patted Lea's shoulder, seeing the latter's sullen face. After comforting his granddaughter for a while, Old Jack's gaze fell on Zero. "Come with me to the study room. There's a task for you today."
Zero nodded and followed Old Jack out of the lab.
Half an hour later, he appeared in front of the Operating area's gate.
The door was opening, and when only one person could pass through it, he entered the dark mining area.
He had received a reconnaissance mission.
Recently, some miners had discovered the traces of Gold Devourer deep within the Operating area.
The Gold Devourer looked like a maggot, its body was about twenty meters long. Due to the lack of some kind of elemental Su, these bugs liked to eat metal minerals and use their strong stomach acid to disappear. In the end, they would extract the elemental Su that they needed and supply it to their bodies.
However, because of their special habits, these bugs had become the enemy of any mining area. Gold Devourer would occupy the mine as their lair. They were asexual breeding organisms, and a Gold Devourer could often produce a nest of bugs in the next year, causing an area of mineral deposits to become empty.
The Gold Devourer's vision had already deteriorated, but it still lived underground and devoured metal. This allowed the skin of these worms to be comparable to strong fat armor, and had a good resistance to impact and explosion, so it was very difficult to kill them. Therefore, all kinds of mining bases hated and had headaches towards these kinds of worms.
Zero's mission was to scout the bottom of the mine. Once the existence of the Gold Devourer was discovered, all he had to do was gather information on the number of bugs, their paths, and so on. That way, Old Jack could decide whether he should request support from the headquarters or give up on the mine.
The risk of reconnaissance missions was relatively low, and the same zero reward was also lower. After this task was completed, Zero only received 20 yuan. However, Zero did not turn him down. If he did not leave the mission, his monthly salary would only be this small.
He rode Old Jack's minecart to the bottom of Workspace. Under the lead of a miner named Nick, Zero arrived at a mineshaft. The wall of the mine also revealed pieces of natural copper ore. However, a circular passageway appeared on the other side of the wall. There was something similar to bodily fluids remaining in the passage. The grayish white liquid was left behind by the Gold Devourer and served as a lubricant for the Gold-Eating Corpse to move quickly underground.
This passage was naturally drilled out by Gold Devourer, and these insects' mouthparts were filled with sharp teeth. Other than easily biting through the metal, it could also dig out large amounts of mudstones. However, these substances that the Gold Devourer did not need, would quickly melt into a stream of mud and be discharged from its anus, and would not occupy the capacity of the stomach.
Zero wiped his hand that was covered with entomophile on the clean wall. He let Nick go back to work, but crawled into the passage where the Gold Devourer came from.
He had to confirm where the worm had gone to. Did he pass by the mining site, or did he plan to build a house here?
I will continue to work hard to write even better plots to deserve everyone's support!]
Chapter 19 - Devouring
Walking in the cave, the military boot stepped onto the ground covered in mucus. The Gold Devourer's mucus was slippery, causing it to fall if it wasn't careful. Therefore, Zero walked very carefully, and at the same time, he lowered his footsteps. All subterranean creatures have lost sight because of the environment, but their hearing is unusually developed. Even if it was the sound of a pin drop, they would still notice it. Therefore, he walked slowly, afraid that the bugs would notice if he made a sound.