by Chen Ran
This cave that the Gold Devourer had dug was twisted and curved. Zero silently calculated his footsteps and came to the conclusion that he had walked nearly a kilometer. There seemed to be no end to the cave, but Zero didn't seem to care. In the quiet underground, in the dark abyss, he walked alone. It was as if this was a completely new world that had just awoken. Although there were many people at Z7, Zero still felt lonely.
After all, he was separated from those people by nearly half a century.
Zero could no longer remember the past. Who was he? Where did it come from? What have you done? There was no answer to all of this, but Zero knew that as long as he continued, he would one day approach and know the truth.
Just like this moment.
At the end of the cave.
Although it was the end of the tunnel, it wasn't necessarily the end. It was just that after reaching this point, the passageway took a 90 degree turn, directly extending towards the dark abyss.
Zero took out the Cold Smoke Flame, lit it up and threw it down. Flames swept through the vertical passageway, and some fist-sized iron beetles immediately scattered in all directions, distancing themselves from the cold but bright light.
Luckily, the vertical passage was only about ten meters away. Zero didn't pay attention to the distance yet. The Cold Smoke Flames continued to burn in the underground passage. They used their hands and feet to crawl down the uneven mud surface of the passage. When his feet touched the ground, the Cold Smoke Flames were extinguished. Darkness returned to the ground again, and soon enough, a green light flashed, causing the iron beetles that were heading towards the zero point to disperse.
With a fluorescent rod in his hand, he continued to walk through the passage that the Gold Devourer had opened up. The passage was tilting downward, as if it led straight to hell.
However, this time, the journey to zero ended quickly.
This was because he heard some special sounds coming from the quiet underground.
"Zi, zi, zi ~ ~"
It sounded like alternating current, but it also sounded like something was rubbing against each other. Zero could not be sure, so he just took out the M500 revolver. If this large caliber weapon were to be shot at close range, it would be like the tough shell of a Gold Devourer. The impact of 50 bullets.
The sound was getting closer.
Under the green glow, the passageway came to an end.
At the end of the tunnel, there was an even bigger cave. The light from the cave didn't reach the end of the cave. Nie Yan estimated that the cave was about 300 meters in radius.
Strange sounds came from below, crouching at the edge of the cave. Under the green fluorescent light, several huge insects were intertwined together. Those strange sounds were coming from the surface of these insects' mucus that were rubbing against each other. The Gold Devourer was like a maggot that had been magnified countless times, making it difficult to distinguish its head from its tail. Right now, a few large worms were constantly entangled with them, making it even more impossible to distinguish them apart.
Under the fluorescent light, the reflection of something hurt Zero's eyes slightly. He looked towards the source of the light. At the edge of the cave, there was a thick layer of copper mud.
Those were the Gold Devourer's food. Zero revealed a thoughtful expression. Why did the Gold Devourer bring the food here? Furthermore, judging by the quantity of the copper paste, these food should be enough to feed a few Gold Devourer for a few days. In other words, did they prepare food beforehand? Why? Was it because of the 'movement' beneath it?
Zero's mind was quickly analyzing the situation.
The Gold Devourer intertwined, looking like snakes reproducing. But Gold Devourer reproduce asexual, so they don't need to do this to reproduce. Zero did not know much about this creature. The information he knew was from the time Old Jack accepted the quest, and it was shown on a diagram.
He couldn't tell, but he didn't want to stay. The scouting mission did not include the extermination of the Gold Devourer. Zero wouldn't do anything unnecessary, but as he turned to leave, something new happened to the bugs in the cave below.
The largest Gold Devourer suddenly stuck its head out. On its chubby white head, there were two rows of six red eyes. A crack appeared in the middle of the insect's head, followed by a swirl of fat to reveal a mouth the size of its head.
Under the green light, he could see everything clearly. There were three layers of small upturned teeth inside the mouthpart. It was these unremarkable upside-down teeth that were able to split mountains and dig rocks. And now, the mouthpart's target was its own companion.
With a "puchi", the large bug swallowed its companion into its mouth. The big bug kept sucking on it, and just like that, it swallowed the other bug bit by bit.
The zero pupil contracted.
What is this? Killing each other?
It didn't take long for the worm to swallow its companion. Creases could be seen underneath the worm's body, as if its devoured companion was struggling. However, the gastric juice of Gold Devourer could fuse with golden fossils, so how could he possibly tolerate his own kind? Soon, the large bug's body stabilized. However, it seemed to be very hungry, so it aimed its huge mouth at the other bugs.
The sound of swallowing and sucking could be heard, and Zero just watched as the big bug devoured the remaining two companions. After eating three of their own kind in a single go, the Gold Devourer's body became incomparably large. It cried out in pain, and the six red eyes flickered incessantly. Layers of meat wave s were lifted up from the surface of the insect's body. He seemed to be digesting something, but also seemed to be excreting something.
The giant bug's body continuously twisted and turned, its large head beginning to sink down, its body curled up and became a cocoon of flesh the size of a small mountain. When the cocoon of flesh stabilized itself, it was like a human's heart, trembling slightly from time to time.
Zero quietly left. The scouting mission was over.
This strange phenomenon of Gold Devourer should be considered a type of evolution. By devouring other companions, one could improve one's genes and thus evolve towards a higher level of life form. In this era, in order to survive, he had to use every means at his disposal to become stronger. Humans are like this, and so are other creatures.
As for whether the Gold Devourer that had evolved into a new form would be able to threaten the base, he would need a professional to assess it. That was not Zero's job. It didn't matter how the base dealt with the Gold Devourer, Zero would not care.
When he returned to the mining site, two hours had already passed. Zero jumped out of the cave and heard the commotion outside. He frowned. It was work time, so he shouldn't be making such a ruckus. Things were not as simple as he thought.
Zero walked into the mine. Nick, the miner he had interacted with before, was arguing with someone about something. Seeing Zero, Nick quickly ran over. As he ran, he used his finger to draw the shape of a cross on his forehead.
"Thank God you're back, sir."
Zero nodded and asked simply, "What happened?"
"No contact, sir." Nick gasped and pointed in the direction of the base. "Just half an hour ago, we were going to transport the first batch of copper back to the base. But the gates of the base were locked and we were in radio contact with the interior of the base, so there was no movement at all. Everyone is panicking and don't know what's going on inside. "
"Didn't contact Old Jack?"
"How can I? When there was no response from the radio, we contacted the boss directly through the intercom, but no one answered. " Nick said hesitantly, "This is unbelievable. It's just like the people at the base suddenly disappeared."
Upon hearing those words, Zero fell silent. Leaving Nick behind, he slipped into the crowd and boarded the minivan, heading towards the entrance of the Operating area.
Only, no one knew that his hand was lightly holding onto the revolver's protective wood.
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br /> The entrance to the Operating area was tightly shut. The arrival of Zero caused all the workers around to look at him.
Zero jumped down from the miner's truck and asked, "Who is in charge?"
"Me." A middle-aged man came out from the crowd and raised his hand: "Sir, I am the manager of the mining operations, you can call me Jetto."
"What's the situation at the gateway?" Zero asked as he walked toward the door.
Jetto reported to Zero from the side, "The electronic system has completely failed and there's no response from inside the base. The electricians are already working on it, but the possibility of recovery is very low."
Next to the steel door, a skinny man was squatting on the floor, checking the electronic circuit of the door. Zero came to his side and asked, "Can you open it?"
"No, there's no response at all." The skinny man replied without turning his head. When he saw the soldiers dressed in the same uniform, he immediately jumped up and respectfully said, "Sir, I've tried my best."
Zero asked, "Can't you open it manually?"
"Manual system? This... " The electrician slapped his head and said, "Damn it, how could I have forgotten about the manual system?"
He immediately called over a few miners and hurried to the other side of the gate.
Not long after, with a "ka" sound, the door between the Operating area and base slowly opened.
The people around the gate were relieved. However, the skin underneath their clothes felt like it was being pricked with needles.
Danger!
There was a dangerous smell coming from inside the door.
The door opened a crack, and red, viscous liquid slowly flowed out. They flowed across the brown ground, past the shoes of Zero and the others, and then came to a stop ten meters outside the door.
The miners could not utter another word. At the door, an arm slipped out through the crack in the door due to the flow of the red liquid.
It was only an arm. It had been severed from the root of the shoulder. From the blurry flesh, a ghastly white arm had been pierced out.
"This... "What's going on?" The manager of the mining site was dumbfounded as he looked at Zero.
Su Ming took a deep breath and said quietly, "You guys stay here. Once I'm inside, close the door!"
After saying that, he stepped into the pool of blood and with another kick, he stepped into the entrance of the base.
A moment later the door slowly closed.
Chapter 20 - Half a Cigarette
As the steel doors closed behind them, only one person remained alive on the platform at the entrance of the Workspace. There were also scattered corpses. Judging from their clothes, most of these corpses were the ordinary residents of the base. Their deaths had been extremely tragic and had happened a thousand times in a flash. The body was lying on its stomach on the work platform, on the floor, strangled by cables, or pinned to the wall by sharp objects.
The power supply in the base had been destroyed, the lighting had failed, and only the emergency red warning lights flickered. Under the red light, the blood from the corpses turned into a pool of blood. As he walked across the platform, the military boot was stained with blood, as if it was walking through hell.
As he turned the corner of the corridor that led to the living area, his pupils suddenly contracted.
At the entrance to the corridor lay several bodies, dressed as soldiers. One of them was Zog!
The man who had said to Zero that "daggers should be aimed at the enemy instead of companions", the man who had refused to leave him even when the change occurred to his body. But now, he was quietly hiding in the corner.
One of Zog's arm was missing, his entire lower jaw had been removed. With a hole in his stomach, his rectum was dragged in and placed in Zog's mouth.
An English word was written in red blood beside the corpse.
"FRUK."
Then, he squatted down and wiped the English language away with his hands. Then, he took the rectum from Zog's mouth and stuffed it into his stomach. In the end, Su Yun helped to catch Zog's chin and put the machine gun on Zog's body. Zog looked much more peaceful, as if he had fallen asleep. But he would never wake up.
There were countless of warheads scattered beside Zog's body, and Zero turned to look at the passage. The golden right eye kept adjusting its vision, clearly seeing the situation in the passage.
The alloy walls of the passage were riddled with bullet marks, but they were not evenly distributed. The distance between them and the disparity between them was enormous. The shortest distance was about one meter, while the longest was as far as five meters. The width of the tunnel was three meters. In such a narrow space, a leaps could be made. This meant that the enemy's movement speed was extremely fast.
Zero closed his eyes and simulated the scene in his mind.
The enemy's speed was bound to be extremely fast, which was why Zog and the rest were trying to lure the other party into this narrow tunnel, in an attempt to restrict the enemy's speed through the environment. Unfortunately, this strategy seemed to have failed. The opponent's speed was way faster than Zog and the others could imagine. Zog and the rest could not even catch the opponent's shadow with their firepower, which was why they formed this kind of jump attack.
Zero estimated that if he were to be ambushed in such a narrow space. Although he could dodge the attack, that was only limited to linear movement. For example, this kind of curvature evasion, the enhancement of agility should be able to reach the third step left and right side. Otherwise, their speed would have caught up, but their reflexes were far inferior.
The power that could tear apart the human body with its bare hands was at least at the third stage of strength enhancement. In other words, the invading base had at least the third stage of strength and the enhancement of agility.
This reminded Zero of half a month ago when he saw the figure of a corpse wolf being torn apart by his bare hands in the canyon.
It, or he!
Zero turned the corner and entered the living area. The living quarters were also filled with corpses, as if the entire Whole Base had been massacred. Zero went to the infirmary and opened the window with his gun. The infirmary was surprisingly tidy, and Zero could not find the body, which made him feel slightly relieved.
He changed his direction and headed towards Old Jack's residence. On the side of a staircase, Allen's body was lying on the ground. The young sniper's head was twisted 180 degrees. On Allen's forehead, there were wounds that were like bullet holes.
The bloody hole seemed to have been shot through Allen's head, but in reality, it was not.
A human's skull was the toughest bone in the body, or a conventional machine gun. Unless it was fired at close range, it wouldn't be able to cause such penetrating damage. However, if it was a machine gun, the blunt energy produced by the bullet would tear off Allen's entire skull. For an injury like Allen, it was more like he was inserting his finger directly into it.
A guy with the strength enhancement of the third step was indeed capable of such a feat. But was the finger so long?
Maybe it was because the organs in the body could multiply in an instant?
After checking on Allen's sniper rifle, he found that there were sufficient ammunition in the gun box. This meant that Allen had killed him before he had even shot.
Looking at the wide-open eyes of the corpse, he thought that this young man must have died a very bitter death.
He stood up and continued onward.
Moments later, Zero arrived at Old Jack's residence. The door of the house was split in half, with a depression in the middle. It was obvious that the huge force had destroyed it from the outside. The house was quiet, furniture littered the floor. He took out the M500 revolver with both hands and started moving in the direction of the study.
Half the room in the study was dark, the other half exposed to the red light. Old Jack was still sitting on his leather chair with his feet on the desk, looking a
s usual. However, his chest was like a huge door that had sunk in. This level of injury was not something that an ordinary old man like him could bear. Zero silently calculated. He knew that Old Jack's sternum had been completely shattered. At the same time, the broken bones had also pierced into the various organs in his body. There should be no cure.
Zero put away the gun and walked over to the old man. He saw the pipe under the table, and the cigarette scattered on the floor. They were both old Jack's favorites, and he bent down to pick them up for him.
In his line of sight, Old Jack's fingers suddenly twitched slightly.
With his eyes opened wide, he immediately took out a pocket oxygen inhaler from his backpack and put it on Old Jack.
Breathing in the fresh oxygen, Old Jack's eyes slowly opened. An unnatural flush appeared on the old man's face. It was the afterglow of the setting sun. Old Jack seemed to know this as well. He tried his best to lift his hand and remove the oxygen machine.
"Give me a cigarette, man." Old Jack said weakly.
Zero put away the oxygen machine, lit a cigarette for him, and sent it into Old Jack's mouth.
Old Jack took a deep breath and said, "Hans is here."
Su Yun squinted: "That Hans?"
"Yes, that's him. "He didn't die …" Old Jack laughed bitterly and said, "But he became a monster. That terrifying power and speed allowed him to easily kill that Allen kid. Right now, Zog should also … "
Zero nodded heavily.
Old Jack suddenly grabbed onto Zero's hand tightly. "Help me protect Lea, that bitch Hans said he's going to ruin her. 'Zero, protect her for me! ' This is my last request, but … "I don't have any compensation for you …"
Old Jack's voice became weaker and weaker. He didn't even have time to catch his breath and died just like that.
His mouth loosened and more than half of the remaining cigarette fell to the ground.