Mutants - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Radiation
Fortunately, when this group modified their vehicles, they knew enough to keep the most important safety feature—the airbags. Otherwise, that last impact would have been the end of Sui Xin.
Right now, her head was spinning. At the same time, Jian Siye and the others behind her seemed to have been surrounded by Liu Yong's group.
Thump. Someone jumped onto the roof of the car, looking down at her through the front windshield.
His gaze was like a wolf's.
In the light, the blade in his hand glinted with a deep, brutal coldness.
Zhou Xingxing lay sprawled across the hood, giving her a cruel smile. His teeth were bone-white, just as they were when he had nearly strangled her to death before.
Sui Xin's face turned even paler.
It's over. A dead end.
Bang!
The car door was forced open. Zhou Xingxing, who was over 1.8 meters tall, yanked Sui Xin out, lifting her against the car body with one hand wrapped around her neck. Her feet dangled off the ground, like a little chick.
He held up his hand, which had been corroded by the explosion, and sneered, "You'd better have more of those bugs on you. Otherwise, don't scream in pain when I peel your skin off later—I'm going to put the bugs on you, let you feel what it's like."
A high-spirited youth who had suffered injustice in his early years, then spent many more years in the high-pressure, brutally competitive environment of the corporate front lines, and had been trapped in this isolated place for so long, lacking food and clothing—if not psychologically twisted, he was definitely not normal.
He especially couldn't tolerate being defeated by someone he considered inferior—Zhou Xingxing was extremely competitive.
Thus, his hatred for Sui Xin intensified.
Sui Xin felt the suffocating pain. The effects of the single nutrient stick had worn off, and the continuous climbing, coupled with this series of events, had once again depleted her stamina.
This was too hard. She knew this bullshit mission was a one-way ticket to hell.
"If you kill me… you'll all die too…"
"Is that so? You have another secret you want to sell to save your life?" Zhou Xingxing sneered. The only reason he hadn't killed her outright was because Liu Yong had mentioned she was useful.
What a pity. He so badly wanted to snap her neck.
Sui Xin had held onto that information precisely to sell it to save her life when necessary. This detestable guy wouldn't dare kill him.
However!
Suddenly, through her forward view, Sui Xin saw the distant gate…
She was wearing a helmet, and its visor could zoom in. She saw that the gate to the excavation area was actually open!
Her first reaction was that some of her teammates had survived and gotten in.
But she knew better—she knew the entire personnel list. Those she had slaughtered were definitely dead. The only survivors were the three of them. Ye Chen and his two local thugs were also dead. That left only her. Given the dual security of the excavation area gate, which required a scan and a corresponding password, the only way someone could get in was if they were a zombie, or if she had a doppelgänger.
Or there was one other possibility.
Her scalp tingled, but a fierce resolve rose in her heart. She suddenly contorted her face, as if in great pain.
"Ah, it hurts!"
Her hand didn't try to pry Zhou Xingxing's fingers away. Instead, she clutched her own injured wrist—the arm she had used to pick out the worms—and squeezed it hard.
Zhou Xingxing sneered, "Trying to pretend you have bugs on you to scare me?"
"You took the medicine, there's no way…"
"She's bleeding, look."
Sui Xin deliberately raised her hand. The blood she had squeezed out flowed down her wrist. As she lifted her arm, a drop of blood splattered onto Zhou Xingxing's face. He narrowed his eyes, disgusted and annoyed.
"You're asking to die!"
He twisted her arm and slammed her against the car door.
Bang!
Her cheek was smeared with the dust from the car door, filthy, and a sharp pain shot through her arm.
"Pain, pain, pain… I'll talk, I'll talk. There's one more secret."
Zhou Xingxing pinched her cheek, pulling at her skin. "You little brat, trying to stall for time? If you don't talk, I'll gouge your eyes out."
Sui Xin: "I'll talk, I'll talk! Look, the main gate outside is open! It could only have been opened by the company!"
What?
Zhou Xingxing was on guard, but he also genuinely looked towards the gate, because the idea of it being open was truly unbelievable.
And then, he saw it—the gate was indeed open.
Was there someone else from this team? An accomplice of hers?
His mind stuttered for a moment, all sorts of thoughts racing through it. And it was in that exact moment.
Swish!
A black shadow suddenly shot out from behind a nearby pile of rubble, pouncing at Zhou Xingxing from behind.
Zhou Xingxing, after all, had sharp senses. He had already heard the slight movement of the rubble. His expression hardened instantly, and he dodged with breathtaking speed. But the monster still managed to hit his back. He was quick, however. The moment the monster landed on him, he drew the long knife from his waist and made a clean backward slash.
Sui Xin saw that the monster clinging to Zhou Xingxing's back was even more disgusting than the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants she had seen before. It seemed better developed. When it opened its mouth, its teeth were embedded with countless tiny worms. Saliva and worms swayed together as it aimed to bite his neck. Once the skin was broken, the worms could swarm inside.
But with the blade coming at it, the monster could also assess risk. It had to abandon the bite, shifting to the other side and raising a hand to claw at Zhou Xingxing's neck.
Zhou Xingxing kicked the car door, using the rebound to launch himself into a sharp backflip. He used the momentum from being airborne to fling the monster off his back, then executed a downward stab while stepping in mid-air.
Swish!
He stabbed the monster straight through the heart. It landed with a dull thud and a gurgling cry. Zhou Xingxing landed from his backflip and flicked the slime from his blade, his expression exceptionally grim.
The Fungal-Insectoid Mutants were inside.
This damn woman hadn't been lying.
Wait!
The moment Zhou Xingxing realized, he saw that skinny figure quickly crawling into a car—the very car he had been driving.
Her own car was too damaged. She decided to switch!
And steal it from this detestable guy!
"Bastard!"
Zhou Xingxing was furious. Just as he was about to give chase, he heard the Fungal-Insectoid Mutant behind him… what the hell!
He sidestepped to avoid the lunge of the supposedly dead Fungal-Insectoid Mutant as it got back up.
It wasn't dead?
It wasn't dead even after that!
She never said they couldn't be killed!
She had withheld key information again…
Zhou Xingxing dodged away with his knife, aiming for the Fungal-Insectoid Mutant's neck. He stepped, jumped, and spun around with his blade.
The blade sliced along the monster's neck…
As its head flew off, spraying slime.
Swish, swish. Two more monsters charged out from a corner. Zhou Xingxing dodged wretchedly, rolling on the ground.
But just as he finished his roll.
Bang!
The car she had started came at him in a vicious charge.
It sent Zhou Xingxing, the man who had been choking her just twenty-odd seconds ago, flying two or three meters. He rolled on the ground, spitting blood, only to see the car speed away. A hand stretched out from the window.
A long, slender, and grimy finger was raised in a middle finger.
You think you're so tough? I'll run you over!
Zhou Xingxing: "!"
Wow, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
And the two Fungal-Insectoid Mutants behind him pounced ferociously.
In that moment, Zhou Xingxing suddenly realized why she had deliberately squeezed out blood and flicked it onto his face.
It was to create the scent of blood to make these monsters target him.
But why didn't these monsters attack her first?
There was only one answer—she had also concealed information about the herbs that could repel the second type of worm on these Fungal-Insectoid Mutants.
She claimed to know the herbs that the Ironworms feared but knew nothing about the second type of worm.
Turns out she had secretly eaten a lot of those herbs.
Nine out of ten things she said were lies!
Dammit! That damn woman!
Zhou Xingxing was about to die from rage, but he was trapped. He had almost been run over just now, and now he had to fight for his life.
Here it comes, a fight to the death!
More Fungal-Insectoid Mutants were swarming in from the distance.
Surrounded, Zhou Xingxing's eyes filled with despair.
The commotion here was also noticed by Liu Yong and his group.
Jian Siye was the most decisive.
"The company let something in! What are we still fighting for? Run!"
"Don't believe it! These tech types are always using information to threaten us. Take them down first!" Lao Zhang shouted, aiming at A Li, preparing to kill this combat expert who was on the same level as Zhou Xingxing.
At the very least, they had to drain their ammunition…
But before he could fire more than a few shots, the noise grew louder, amplified by the tunnel's echo.
"Wait, something's not right!"
"Listen to that sound?!"
Sui Xin's car sped into view, with several monsters in hot pursuit, their bodies writhing with an obscene number of worms.
Everyone: "…"
Don't be fooled by the arrogant middle finger Sui Xin flashed. Inwardly, she was also a little desperate—the safe house was definitely out of the question. Seeing these Fungal-Insectoid Mutants and the company controlling the gate, she knew the safe house was also under their control.
The Fungal-Insectoid Mutants had surely gone there already.
Not only did she lack the combat strength to get past the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants, but even if she got lucky and made it into the safe house, who's to say what would happen? You think you've closed the door and you're safe, but then the company remotely opens a hidden panel in the wall, revealing a small compartment with a few more Fungal-Insectoid Mutants inside. How exciting would that be!
No matter how they tried to escape, the company was controlling everything remotely, like a shepherd herding sheep into a pen.
They wouldn't let you escape. You had to follow their script.
Knowing the truth wasn't always a good thing. Sui Xin felt the full weight of being manipulated by a corporation. She was covered in a cold sweat, her teeth grinding, but she could only follow their script.
Deeper in. Tianxi's goal must be to drive everyone deeper inside. They must have their final setup there, to let the livestream reach its ultimate effect. So there must be surveillance there too.
Jian Siye, Liu Yong, and the others could no longer be bothered with fighting each other. They used their firepower to pick off some Fungal-Insectoid Mutants from a distance, only to find that after being shot, the creatures quickly got back up.
Lao Zhang remembered what Sui Xin had said about a second type of worm that could control corpses.
"Try shooting the head!"
"Aim for the head!"
Shooting the head worked. A single shot would blow it apart. But the tunnel was dimly lit, and direct hits were rare. Someone screamed as they were pounced on. Watching those worms transfer to a living comrade, burrowing into their body through various openings and wounds, made everyone's skin crawl.
"Run!"
"There are more behind us… quick!"
"Get in the cars!"
The vehicles shot forward, one after another, chasing after Sui Xin.
Clearly, they weren't stupid. If these monsters could get in, the gate must be open, and it was obvious who was controlling it.
They were being forced into a corner.
In one car, Jian Siye was driving while A Li in the passenger seat was still sniping at the monsters behind them. He shouted, "What the hell, where did these things come from? You told Boss Xu before that something was off this time, that there were some changes. Was this what you meant?"
Earlier, their scouts had observed Zhou Xingxing and his partner capture the three survivors from this batch. Xu Wen and Jian Siye had analyzed this and felt something was wrong.
Too few people had made it in alive, and their arrival time was not as regular as before, as if it had been moved up significantly.
Once a pattern is broken, the balance is broken.
Jian Siye: "I didn't guess this part, but from the looks of it now, us being trapped here was no accident. It's a conspiracy."
A Li was a little panicked. "Are we going to die then? The boss is still…"
Jian Siye frowned slightly. "I don't know. We'll take it one step at a time. But I think that little crybaby up front knows more than we do. She suddenly started driving deeper in. She might have a way to deal with these disgusting monsters."
It wasn't that they couldn't fight them, but the fact that they could infect people was terrifying. They had no medicine to counter these worms. If even one got you, you were basically finished.
And from the perspective of Liu Yong and his group, ever since they discovered the cameras, they had felt a sense of being manipulated. Now, that feeling was at its peak—they were piglets being driven by the company to the slaughterhouse.
"Dammit, it's life or death. We can only bet it all."
Liu Yong said viciously.
Chen Shuanggeng was thoughtful. "I'm guessing Xu Wen's side has already made their move—this Jian Siye and A Li might have been deliberately let out to distract us."
"With Jian Siye's intelligence, seeing someone steal our car and escape, she must have guessed we would give chase. Why did she show no signs of caution and instead engage us in a fierce fight? It was most likely to hold us up."
What!
Everyone was shocked, suddenly understanding.
These intellectuals had such dirty minds.
Liu Yong: "If Xu Wen has already started, and that gate is blown open, the cold air leaking out… it might be able to freeze these worms solid."
"Right. That's why that woman decisively drove her car deeper in."
Chen Shuanggeng sighed. "Decisive enough. Truly smart."
"A pity the final obstacle is the Bruces. Even we would have a hard time with them. It's all up to fate now."
Sui Xin indeed had this plan, and she indeed had no confidence against the Bruces. In any case, she had to deal with these Fungal-Insectoid Mutants first.
Meanwhile, she was also checking the car's air circulation and sealing capabilities, and was disappointed to find them somewhat lacking.
She was trying to predict what the company's final big move would be.
Would they trigger it, or would the company control it remotely?
No one knew. In any case, as Sui Xin drove deeper, she noticed the temperature gauge dropping sharply. She knew she was getting close.
Faintly, she could already see lights.
The headlights illuminated the scene. By a vehicle, a middle-aged man with graying hair already looked old. He was dressed warmly, sitting in the car and watching as the most physically fit men got out to place explosive packs and a case of energy bars.
Ahead was a gate of frost.
There was no gate here originally. A ruptured water pipe during construction had caused water to gush out here. The sudden accident released a blast of cold air, and with the appearance of the Bruces, the area was almost instantly frozen. The construction workers were killed in an instant, but this gate of frost was the final door to a world of ice that had formed over time.
Break it, and the Bruces would come out. And they, of course, could go in.
It was the final gamble to see who would emerge victorious.
"Fall back, fall back."
"Retreat to a safe distance."
"Quick!"
They didn't have much time. After all, there was no telling how long Jian Siye could hold them off. Getting it done sooner was the best strategy.
"Begin!"
After confirming all arrangements were complete and they had retreated to a safe distance calculated based on the blast radius, Xu Wen directly pressed the red button.
The explosion was triggered.
A massive roar erupted as the thick gate of frost was completely shattered, sending ice flying everywhere.
In the firelight, the ice melted, and for a moment the cold intensified. The terrifying cold air that rushed out from within quickly refroze the melted water back into ice.
In the intense cold, the floating Bruces looked like malevolent ghosts from hell, spying and waiting for their prey, their cloaks spread wide.
"It's done! Go! As planned, the vanguard will enter. The rest will cover the rear outside."
All the vehicles had already activated their strongest heat circulation. Xu Wen was decisive. With a single command, he was about to have a portion of his eighty-plus vehicle convoy charge in.
But…
"Boss, who's that behind us? Is it Sister Jian coming back?"
"What?"
Xu Wen looked in his rearview mirror and was startled.
That car was driving as if its ass was on fire, its tires screeching. The noise had been masked by the explosion, but now they could see it coming at them furiously.
"That's not Siye."
"It's someone from Liu Yong's side!"
Just as Xu Wen was about to order an attack, he noticed something else terrifying—what was that trailing behind the car?
It looked like some kind of monster was chasing it… and it was roaring.
Xu Wen increased the magnification on his night-vision scope… and his pupils dilated.
"Get inside! Everyone, get inside now!"
Xu Wen couldn't even be bothered to have his subordinates attack Sui Xin. He frantically ordered all his vehicles to charge into the icy region inside.
Use the cold, use the Bruces to kill these monsters!
Sui Xin was the first to drive through the gate. As expected, she saw four giant Bruces floating behind it. They spread their cloaks, moving to embrace her.
So gentle and welcoming.
However, they weren't embracing the modified tank with its heat circulation on maximum, but the ferocious Fungal-Insectoid Mutants chasing from behind.
As the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants developed, the Salmon-Host Myxosporean King controlled their bodies, so their movements were no longer human. They would crawl or run upright, and because of the powerful reproductive speed and energy burst mode of the worms inside them, their explosive speed was terrifying, enough to keep up with a car.
At the very least, these Fungal-Insectoid Mutants were far more formidable than the one Sui Xin had encountered in the pharmacy. Unless you could get a direct headshot from a distance, close combat was a death sentence.
There was no possibility of her fighting one-on-one with these things.
So she had floored it all the way.
Now, charging into the terrifying world of ice, the front of her car immediately slammed into a sculpture—a corpse that had been frozen solid at some point.
The person had probably been drained dry. It shattered on impact. Behind her, the Bruces had already embraced the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants, freezing the ferocious monsters solid in seconds.
But she also saw some of the cars that had charged in behind her.
Xu Wen's convoy was right behind, and further back were Liu Yong's people, who had also been fleeing and had caught up.
There were fewer cars than before; some must have been caught and destroyed along the way.
In fact, right now, a Fungal-Insectoid Mutant was clinging to the roof of one car, clawing at it… After forcibly tearing it open, it squeezed inside.
Boom!
Chaos erupted inside the car. The steering wheel jerked, and the vehicle slammed directly into the mountain wall. Amidst the explosion, Jian Siye's car burst out of the flames, running over a rolling Fungal-Insectoid Mutant. After crushing it into two pieces, you could still see dense swarms of worms spilling out and crawling from the remains. You could also see its upper and lower halves moving and crawling separately.
It was like they were controlled by a malevolent spirit.
"These worms are terrifying. If they evolve any further, humanity will have no way to survive."
Jian Siye's expression was icy, but A Li said woodenly, "But what if these worms are still controlled by humans?"
"The development of a life system will have repercussions. Everything has its own destiny."
Jian Siye was a technician. Her education and intellectual capacity were higher than that of the average front-line combatant. She knew very well that the world was collapsing, and they were becoming ants.
But she still wasn't sure what the company was trying to achieve with all this.
Was it just for human experimentation? If they had the ability to control and trap them, why not just do it directly? Why feed them in batches like this? Was it to simulate human experimentation in a natural, wild environment?
But she couldn't worry about that anymore, because—they had already entered the world of ice.
A dozen or so cars, with the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants in tow, charged into the Bruces' domain. It was a land of ice and snow, the ground littered with frozen corpses, and the cars' energy levels were dropping rapidly.
With the heat circulation at maximum intensity, energy consumption was over a hundred times the normal rate.
Sui Xin could clearly see the energy level dropping at a visible rate. The Bruce quartet was in hot pursuit behind her.
At this rate of consumption, in fifteen minutes, her car would be dead in the water, and she would be embraced by a Bruce…
But what was that thing up ahead?
The sudden blast of cold air was so thick that she couldn't see the road ahead clearly.
Sui Xin's main goal wasn't some Pure Marine Fossil, though she was curious. Before coming on the mission, she had gathered some information and had only seen pictures of the surface of the excavation area, which was just a bunch of pits, nothing special. But this before her…
When the car charged in and the wipers cleared away the frost, the scene that appeared before her left her stunned.
What was this?
A world of azure ice. A huge body of water seemed to have been completely frozen solid. Behind the surface ice was a gigantic creature.
It was frozen inside.
An octopus.
A massive deep-sea octopus. With its tentacles spread, it was probably twenty meters long.
This was the Pure Marine Fossil they were talking about?
It was so big. No matter how pure it was, they couldn't take it out.
What the hell.
Couldn't they just dig out a piece of octopus meat and split it?
Why all the infighting?
But there was no road ahead for the cars to drive on, only a hole-like opening. One or two people could get through, but a car definitely couldn't.
It was a dead end.
The hole was deep and dark. There was no telling where it led, or what was hidden inside. But Sui Xin had heard Lao Zhang and the others mention that the Ironworm nest was in here. It was probably inside.
Dammit!
Sui Xin had no choice but to slam on the brakes…
The screech of the brakes echoed sharply in the deep cavern.
Sui Xin's heart skipped a beat, but then she felt a flicker of confusion. Wait, did the pursuing Bruces behind her just twist their bodies, as if suddenly dodging to the side?
It was as if they had been hurt by something.
But her car hadn't released any high-temperature damage. Why did it…
Sui Xin vaguely felt she had grasped something crucial.
The Fungal-Insectoid Mutants were dealt with. Maybe she could negotiate with these people, exchange information for a chance at survival, let them fight over the fossil while she made a run for it…
Sui Xin felt a glimmer of hope and was about to call out.
At the same time, the cars behind her all charged in.
Thump, thump, thump. They blocked the road completely.
And blocked her car in.
With the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants frozen, these people got cocky.
"Nobody move!"
"Don't move!"
"Move and we all die here!"
"Liu Yong, it's come to this. Let's talk this out properly."
"Our energy levels are low, aren't they? Only ten minutes left. And the efficiency is dropping. We might not even have ten minutes later. Let's work together to break this fossil open, get the benefits, and leave."
"Liu Yong, give us an answer."
Liu Yong's side also knew the situation was dire. The Bruces were lurking outside the cars, waiting for their heat to fail so they could freeze them all.
"I have no objection. But the biggest problem is that damn woman. She's a troublemaker. With her around, big trouble could erupt at any moment. Kill her, and we'll cooperate!"
"No way. Jian Siye is our comrade. We can't betray her."
"He's not talking about Jian Siye."
Jian Siye:??
From the back, she had to use her car horn to reply, "He's talking about the little crybaby in the front. My suggestion is to keep her alive. She knows secrets. The self-destruct sequence for this place activates in 72 hours, but I suspect she gave a fake time. Just control her. Let's get the fossil first."
"That little crybaby, if you agree, make a sound."
What self-destruct in 72 hours?!
Lao Zhang, Liu Yong, and the others' heads were buzzing.
What was with this woman? She had gotten all the information. And which of her words were even true?
Sui Xin instantly heard the hundred or so people cursing her out.
So annoying. She hadn't done anything. Why were they yelling at her?
She was the victim here!
But she didn't dare speak, because—she saw the faint signal dot on her car's signal detector.
There was a signal here.
There must be camouflaged cameras in the walls.
Damn it!
Sui Xin was about to die from anger, but she didn't dare use her real voice, afraid it would be captured. But if she didn't say anything…
Did that mean she agreed by default?
"Silence means she objects. Kill her," Jian Siye said faintly.
Ah! These detestable people!
Sui Xin was furious. She could only pinch her throat and speak.
"Don't! I agree, I agree! You can't kill me now, okay? I'll be good."
A cutesy voice.
A pure, 24-karat, thoroughbred cutesy voice.
Weak and fragile.
Jian Siye felt her whole body cringe. Her face wrinkled in disgust.
Xu Wen's side, a bunch of rough men who had been trapped here for so long they hadn't seen a gentle girl in ages, were instantly captivated: Ah, little sister, so soft.
Liu Yong's side:!!!
"Fuck, you little pervert!"
"She's faking it again!"
"I'm getting goosebumps all over."
But they were already setting up the explosive packs—with the Bruces outside, they didn't dare send anyone out to install them.
One of the vehicles was special. It had a front-mounted throwing arm, which moved the explosive pack stored in the front of the car to the front of the ice wall.
Both sides had a similar setup.
Meaning each side contributed one explosive pack.
Time was ticking away, and the atmosphere was tense. To prevent the two opposing sides from opening fire on each other due to the high-pressure atmosphere created by the Bruces and their mutual hatred, Xu Wen casually started a conversation: "Liu Yong, why do you want to kill her?"
Liu Yong hadn't spoken yet.
Sui Xin: "I don't know. It must be my fault. I'm an outsider, and a useless person with only technical skills and no combat ability. They said they hate this kind of worthless person the most."
As she spoke, she watched the signal fluctuations and covered herself from head to toe, ready at any moment. Her fingers were also poised over several controls on the modified car.
Xu Wen and the other "worthless people": "…"
Liu Yong was about to curse her out.
After getting ready, Sui Xin added suspiciously, "Your cars are modified, but don't you know the signal equipment is malfunctioning? Why does it keep flashing that there's a signal?"
What?
The leaders of both sides were stunned.
At that moment, Jian Siye and Chen Shuanggeng also realized.
"Something's not right. Are there monitors here?"
"Could it be…"
They suddenly looked towards the walls.
Their faces and gazes appeared on the livestream screen.
As the audience watched them, did they feel the embarrassment and shame of being seen through?
No, it was excitement.
They didn't know these front-line combatants. They only knew that these people would accomplish a great feat for humanity.
As for their individual lives and deaths, perhaps no one cared except for their families.
The pitiful wretches struggling on the poverty line would even be jealous of the corporate combatants with stable jobs, seeing them as lackeys.
And the middle class believed these lackeys were just that, lackeys, cannon fodder that could die at any time. So why couldn't they die for humanity, for them?
They didn't know them, so what if they died? People died every day.
They were only focused on the core of this livestream—the potion!
And on the corporation's side, among the different teams managing the livestream projects for various ruin sites, the team for B05 had already followed the directive from the Analysis Department and released the Fungal-Insectoid Mutants ahead of schedule, driving everyone into the depths of the ruins.
Now, even if these pitiful test subjects had discovered the problem, it was too late.
"Activate it."
A high-level executive in a suit and tie gave the casual order.
The technology department carried out the directive.
In the cavern area within the walls… deep inside, separated by the Ironworm nest, were hidden boxes.
Following the satellite command, the locks on these boxes clicked open one by one. The lids opened, revealing something like a light stone inside, which immediately released an intense light.
Radiation. It had arrived!
Lin Sui had her own private research lab. Not far away were various terrifying biological specimens of grotesque shapes. Leaning against a table, she was eating a pastry at mealtime, slowly forking pieces of fruit, completely unfazed by the disgusting sights around her or the various dangerous experimental furnaces.
As she put a piece of bright red dragon fruit into her mouth, her gaze locked onto the modified car at the very front. Through the dense array of all-angle cameras on the wall, she couldn't actually see what the Helmet Killer inside the car was doing. The windows were closed, and a faint layer of frost covered them. After the radiation spread, the intense light made it impossible for even the audience to see clearly; it was just a white glare.
But she had a feeling—this Helmet Killer, whom she suspected was Sui Xin, had just suddenly mentioned the signal point. If it was an accident, she herself should have sensed something was wrong and had a defensive reaction in advance. But reminding others didn't seem to be her style. It was more like she wanted to use others' reactions to cover her own. Of course, it was also possible that she was being overly suspicious. Accidents always happen.
According to her friend in the Analysis Department, she was more suspicious than an analyst, prone to using her own cunning mind to speculate about others.
In truth, she had to admit her own suspicious nature. Even her teacher had commented on it.
Perhaps she really was biased against that little rookie analyst…
Just as she thought this, she mocked herself for getting so interested in this kind of livestream entertainment, like the duped audience, when her experiment had hit a bottleneck.
A waste of time.
She would just wait for the results.
She put down her plate and was turning to look at a specimen when she suddenly heard a loud boom.
Startled, she whipped around and saw that the screen was not filled with the all-encompassing radiation light they had expected, but with the glow of an explosion.
An explosion?
Their plan was only for radiation, to create the illusion of "mutation" in these pawns, and then use the fact that they had taken the potion as a sales pitch.
There was no way they would trigger an explosion to disrupt the environment and interfere with the goal of "mutation."
So there was no explosion in the company's plan. The explosion was part of the final "self-destruct" sequence; it couldn't be operated at this stage.
If it wasn't the company, then someone among the hundred or so people there had triggered an explosion.
Who was it?
Lin Sui's eyes tried to lock onto a specific car, a specific person.
But the screen was completely filled with the light of the explosion.
The technology department was in an uproar. The team leader for B05 remained relatively calm and immediately had his subordinates analyze the radiation intensity.
"Confirm if the radiation was fully activated? And the explosion was…"
"Team lead! The radiation was not fully activated. The core of the explosion was mainly inside the cavern—in the area where we installed the radiation sources. Someone among those people just now detonated something inside the cavern."
"Based on the intensity of the explosion source, it should be an explosive pack or a device like ten Kinetic-01s or more."
It had been too chaotic just now. The moment Jian Siye and the others realized the cameras were there, although to the audience it looked like the poor fools had finally caught on, who knew if these people who lived on the edge would use the devices on their modified cars to attack the cavern the instant the radiation was released? It wasn't impossible for them to deduce that there was danger inside the cavern, after all. Xu Wen, Jian Siye, and Lao Zhang were no fools.
Most importantly, that Helmet Killer was a real thorn in their side.
Her seemingly innocuous question had acted as a "shit-stirrer," completely galvanizing the emergency response of the hundred or so people.
The radiation source device was damaged by the premature explosion. Logically, it should still be able to release radiation, but man-made biochemical radiation is different from the natural radiation that exists in nature and the universe. It's not an inherent state of matter; it requires a reaction. When the company installed it and set up this livestream, they must have considered all safety aspects. It couldn't be detonated early, and it couldn't radiate randomly. Therefore, the device was more important than the radioactive material itself. It had to have a command to activate the reactor inside the device and trigger the reaction.
That was the flaw.
Sui Xin exploited this flaw, using these people to secretly grab an explosive pack with the device on the front of the modified car specifically designed for placing them, and then tossed it into the cavern…
Although a small wave of radiation still escaped, which was hard to block even with the protective suit, and the helmet issued a scarlet warning, compared to letting it fully react and release its full dose of radiation, this was the best possible outcome.
And the energy wave and expanding mist from the explosion should have also neutralized some of the radiation.
In any case, after tossing the explosive pack, she had already ducked and curled up in the space under the car seat.
Being small and thin had its advantages.
She was completely hidden.
The light wave and the explosion's shockwave erupted from within the cavern.
Fortunately, her car was not the closest one blocking the cavern. That car rumbled, seemingly destroyed instantly. The shockwave then hit her car.
With a loud boom, the car flipped over!
Sui Xin felt the jarring impact as the car overturned, plus the discomfort from the first wave of radiation…
Her head was buzzing, and a biological wave of nausea washed over her.
But the device was destroyed. The radiation would end soon. She could survive this, right?
She didn't want to die.
So, why not just take the potion, pretend to know nothing, and become a prop for the corporation's livestream like an ignorant test subject?
It was because once Sui Xin saw through the fact that the reagent was a promotional product, the "mutation" was a gimmick, and the ruin site was a set, she deduced that Tianxi's plan must involve radiation.
And those reagents did indeed have some resistance to this radiation. After all, the radiation was a company research product, and so were the reagents. The two were designed to be a set.
But radiation, after all, is a product with infinite harm and influence on biological genes. Tianxi couldn't possibly control it 100%. If they could, they would have already conducted targeted experiments and made creatures mutate. Why would they need to pull these stunts to sell potions?
So even if they took the same reagent, the survival rate for those with weaker constitutions would be zero. She knew very well that with the current level of medical research of all corporations, and even the entire world, once the radiation fully erupted, no matter how much reagent you took, the weak would be the first to die, unless they were the chosen one with heaven-defying luck.
Even those with strong constitutions would only barely survive due to the reagent's resistance. Who knew what side effects they would have later?
She wasn't going to take that risk.
So stopping the radiation was her only option.
Hopefully…
The device inside the cavern had indeed had its reactor blown up just as it opened. The radioactive material was engulfed in flames, and the radiation quickly dissipated.
As for the high temperature from the explosion, it was largely offset by the low temperature of the space outside.
The Bruces feared high temperatures, so they had floated away at the time…
After this wave.
The cameras hidden in the walls could finally see the scene in the depths of the B05 excavation area. The surface of the huge block of ice that had frozen the deep-sea octopus had melted slightly and had cracks. Because the Bruces had moved away, this water did not immediately refreeze.
The radiation from the cavern was over.
It had failed. B05 was a complete failure.
Fuck!
At Tianxi, the B05 team in the technology department was collectively furious. They were so angry. Their year-end bonuses were gone. All their efforts had gone down the drain!
"These damn test subjects, I hope they all get blown to bits!"
"Why hasn't the Analysis Department given a result yet? Are they just going to let them get blown up?"
"Ah, my bonus!!"
"These useless pieces of trash, I'm so mad!"
These people had ferocious expressions. The people in the other teams were amused, but at that moment, the Think Tank's Analysis Department wasn't paying much attention to the situation in B05. They had just received information from the environmental department.
"The Lightburst Period for all ruin sites has been moved up."
"Moved up again?"
"Its timing has been irregular for the past six months. Strange."
"We can't even figure out the climate, let alone cosmic radiation. The environmental department's suggestion is to consider the impact of the Lightburst Period. Moreover, their satellite array can't yet determine the intensity of this Lightburst Period. It's estimated to be stronger than usual. To avoid unpredictable consequences from an overly strong Lightburst Period, please have the Think Tank analyze and decide."
"It's very sudden. They also just suddenly detected the reaction of the lightburst. According to their prediction, the lightburst will arrive in fifteen minutes."
"We must make a decision within five minutes."
The environmental department's meaning was that if the lightburst intensity exceeded their estimates, leading to a series of deaths, then what the livestream would show is everyone basically dying when the lightburst arrives. Then the subsequent mutation and the purpose of the livestream would be nullified.
All their investment would turn to dust.
This would be a huge loss for the corporation, and they would also have to deal with the consequences of this livestream being spied on by other corporations and forces.
"Move it up."
"Agreed, move it up!"
"Move up all livestream sites!"
"All 18 ruin site project teams, notify the technology department teams, move everything up!"
"Correction, it's 17. B05 has already failed."
The Think Tank approved it unanimously. In less than a minute, the order reached the technology department. So the other tech teams, after laughing at B05, quickly got to work.
Activate, activate, activate everything!
The radiation was turned on.
17 ruin sites, excavation areas, and various pre-set environmental scenes. The front-line combatants who had been herded, in large and small areas, numbering five to six thousand in total.
These were all low-value ruin mines that could no longer be mined for various reasons or had been secretly surveyed and confirmed to have few resources left.
They all activated their radiation, creating the illusion that the ruins had suddenly erupted with radiation.
In reality, everyone had entered the death process set by the corporation.
When the radiation hit, some people were not as lucky as those in B05. They didn't have modified cars to block it. Most of them were in the middle of fighting, and so they were exposed to the terrifying radiation.
"Ah!!"
A small female technician clutched her eyes in pain. The moment she fell to her knees, the skin on her body melted and twisted, revealing flesh, sinew, and white bone. Her hair also fell out instantly. In a flash, she looked like a demon from hell.
And those with stronger constitutions also underwent great surface changes, wailing in agony.
They had no protective suits.
Those with protective suits… the material on the surface of the suits changed, and the eyes inside the helmets were instantly blinded…
It was too painful. A living hell.
Everyone's genes naturally underwent inevitable changes under this terrifying radiation.
All of this was broadcast live, instantly planting a seed in the minds of all viewers: radiation is so terrifying, how can one resist it? How can one survive? Can only the corporation's potion save them? Can these people still survive?
Sui Xin didn't know about the tragic events in the other ruin sites. In the cold, she saw the icy water on the ground outside through the broken car window and felt the severe cold reaching her through her protective suit.
The Bruces had fled outwards, but the low temperature here remained, just not as deadly.
A broken car window was a fatal flaw.
She had to get out of here quickly.
Sui Xin knew her head was bleeding; it felt sticky inside her helmet. But she couldn't be bothered. The instinct for survival even made her ignore the cramping in her stomach.
Hungry again, dammit!
Sui Xin panted, her fingers wriggling to grab the edge of the window frame. Dragging her aching legs, she struggled to climb out of the broken window. It was cold outside, but it was much better than the pain of the radiation.
She was trying to stand up when she turned to look around and saw that others in another car had also woken up.
Some, like her, were climbing out of their damaged vehicles, preparing to evacuate or rescue their comrades.
That was nothing, but the problem was Liu Yong.
This man was sitting in his car, his hand gripping something, a vicious look on his face.
Sui Xin caught a glimpse of it, and her somewhat pained mind instantly went blank. Her mouth opened, trying to shout.
Jian Siye and Xu Wen reacted the fastest. The former tried to draw her gun but found it had been thrown to another corner of the car during the previous jolt. She couldn't reach it to shoot Liu Yong.
"Don't!"
"Liu Yong!!!"
"Fuck!"
As Sui Xin dropped to the ground, they also hit the deck almost simultaneously.
Liu Yong was indeed vicious. In his hand was the trigger for another explosive pack. Because he hadn't died, and he saw that others, especially Xu Wen's people, were already out of their cars, a malicious thought arose in his heart—mainly because he saw the fossil inside the giant glass.
The Pure Marine Fossil.
Extreme poverty, the dangers of the front lines, the anger of being manipulated by the company, and over a year of difficult struggle had all lit a fire in the heart of this seemingly calm and capable leader, Liu Yong.
Just as he had previously received a lot of information from Sui Xin but still chose to bet it all on one throw.
Deep in his character was a kind of madness.
"Blow it up! The fossil is mine! I'm going to be rich!"
The moment he pressed the button, he had already imagined his old rival Xu Wen and the others being blown to bits, and himself, after blowing open the ice, taking the Pure Marine Fossil and changing his social class, from D to C to B, maybe even to A…
Boom!
The explosive pack detonated.
Some of the people who had stood up in front, having just escaped danger, never expected this explosion to instantly blast their bodies into smithereens.
Sui Xin had painstakingly and carefully resolved the radiation crisis, allowing most of them to survive.
But the result was that human greed was the greatest source of radiation.
Death!
Of the first wave of people who woke up, twenty-odd of them, more than half were instantly killed by the blast.
Sui Xin lay on the cold ground. Her reaction time was fast, but her physical control was poor. She couldn't get back into the car. Even with the cover of the car body and door, because the window was broken, the shockwave, through the heat rolling over her head and along the ground, instantly destroyed most of her protective suit. Her skin also quickly became scorching hot from the burns.
In the instant before she was killed, she had almost resigned herself to her fate. She closed her eyes, with only one thought in her mind.
—One incompetent teammate is worse than a thousand enemy troops!
Crack.
Everyone outside the vehicles, infinitely close to the line of death, heard the massive sound of ice cracking.
Rumble… The ice inside finally shattered. The expensive Pure Marine Fossil, sought after by over a hundred front-line combatants who lived on the edge, was finally about to break free from its world of ice, where it had been sealed for ten thousand years.
Don't underestimate Liu Yong's madness. In fact, he had calculated it. The source of the explosion was some distance from him, and his car was intact, able to block most of the damage. The only ones who would die would be the people in front, which would reduce his competition.
Once the shockwave passed, he could get out of the car and reap the benefits.
How exciting!
What Xu Wen, what Jian Siye, what Helmet Killer? These people thought they were so smart, so what? They still had to die!
But what was that?
Liu Yong was suddenly a little dazed, because he saw something falling from within the shattered giant block of ice.
Sui Xin opened her eyes and saw it too, because the light was simply too dazzling.
On the verge of death, she opened her eyes to see an intense halo of light arrive.
In an instant, she understood: The Lightburst Period! The Lightburst Period is here?!
But why did this Lightburst Period feel different from the ones she had seen before? The color, for one, was different. It was more complex, not close to a pure cold light, but seemed to be mixed with some red.
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