N-A-A Chapter 59 Hunting
Chapter 59 Hunting
Chapter 59 The Hunt (Bonus Chapter)
3 PM.
In the square in front of the administration building, a strange group of about 30 people had assembled.
There were no orderly queues, no rousing slogans.
A group of guys wearing bulky, tattered protective suits, who looked like scavengers crawling out of a garbage dump.
Luo Wei stood at the front of the line, his gaze sweeping over every face.
Standing at the very front were Buck and his elite defense force.
His head was wrapped in bandages, and his ear, which had been implanted with a secondhand cochlear implant, was still bleeding.
However, he stood ramrod straight, his eyes fierce.
Behind him was Father Alpha, carrying a heavy toolbox, followed by several maintenance clerks.
Behind them were three women.
The widows of the three new recruits.
They weren't carrying guns, but rather portable testing equipment and medical kits.
Lowe approved the three widows to join the team not only because of manpower shortage and their own request, but also out of excessive pity.
It's not like we expect these three frail women to charge into battle wielding laser guns.
In this hastily assembled team, Buck and his men were nothing more than a bunch of brutes who only knew how to pull triggers and wield chainsaw swords.
Having them constantly monitor fluctuating radiation readings and fine-tune precise cooling valves to discern subtle changes in complex bio-radar waveforms is akin to having O'Glenn do embroidery.
While Father Alpha can also handle these data tasks, he needs to maintain two Chimera troop carriers to prevent the modified vehicles from breaking down.
They also had to constantly monitor the status of the active metal armor, leaving them with no time to spare.
At this critical juncture, these three became highly cost-effective "precision operators" in Luo Wei's hands.
They possessed a patience and meticulousness that the ordinary soldiers lacked.
To prove their worth and loyalty to Rowe, they would be more focused than any trained scout.
They would stare intently at every ticking number on the dial, and even if fear made their teeth chatter, they dared not miss a single alarm.
Bringing them along ensures that the mission won't fall apart due to some insignificant reading error.
Finally, there were more than a dozen men chained up.
Three of the youths were thugs from the Ironclad Gang, while the other seven or eight were death row inmates.
They are the "redeemers" of this operation.
In other words, cannon fodder.
Their gazes wandered, and a hint of madness occasionally flashed in their fearful eyes.
Luo Wei went to the freezer and entered the password.
The fingerprint lock popped open.
With a slight hiss of air release from the hydraulic rod, the lid slowly rose, releasing a chilling blast of air.
Inside, ten syringes were neatly arranged, emitting a faint blue luster.
The "antibody enzyme" extracted from Mary's husband's body is extremely precious.
There are only ten of these in the entire universe, and they are almost non-renewable.
Without hesitation, Lowe picked up two of them and handed one to Buck and the other to Old John beside him.
"Inject it."
Lowe's command was brief and forceful.
"This is insurance for key personnel. For the next 72 hours, it will protect you from most plagues and viruses."
Buck silently took it and plunged it into his neck.
Old John, his hands trembling, carefully administered the injection as if holding a sacred relic.
Then, Lowe took out three more and handed them to Buck.
"These three are issued to the three machine gunners in the heavy weapons squad. Whether the defensive line can hold depends entirely on their firing positions and whether they can continuously spew fire."
As for the remaining five, Luo Wei didn't even glance at them.
Close the freezer door again and lock it.
The thugs and death row inmates responsible for moving the goods watched this scene with longing and greed, their desires palpable.
One of the bolder death row inmates couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what about us? Don't we have this blue medicine?"
"You don't need that. Your task is to move supplies and establish a defensive line on the perimeter. As long as you don't wander around, the protective suits will be enough to protect you."
This is a perfectly reasonable excuse, but it's not the truth.
The truth is:
Antibody enzymes are too precious, while cannon fodder is too cheap.
Injecting the universe's only remaining strategic resources into a body that could be blown up by stray bullets at any moment is a serious waste of resources.
"I have something more suitable for you."
Lowe snapped his fingers, signaling old John to open another wooden crate covered in grease.
Inside, there was a pile of red syringes, all jumbled up.
"This is a military-grade stimulant. Once injected, you'll have superhuman strength, be tireless, and feel no pain from severed limbs."
Luo Wei grabbed a handful and threw them at their feet.
The thugs hesitated.
Lowe threw out his real bargaining chip, saying, "After this job, everyone gets two cans of real meat. If you die, the compensation will be doubled and sent directly to your families."
Upon hearing the words "canned meat".
The previously dull and fearful eyes of the death row inmates instantly ignited with a beastly gleam.
Life is cheap, but meat is expensive.
Underground computer room.
The "Case" wet server is being soaked in a murky nutrient solution.
This enormous brain, with countless cables connected to its surface, is pulsating slightly.
"Administrator, route planning is complete."
-
Synthesized electronic voices rang out in the computer room.
A three-dimensional holographic map unfolded before Luo Wei.
Map of the underground pipeline network leading to the Ninth Agricultural War Zone.
"Based on historical logistics data analysis, ground roads have been covered by the heat storm, with zero visibility and high concentrations of acid rain. The risk of vehicles passing through is extremely high."
"Suggested route: Underground material transport pipeline B-7"
A green line brightens on the map.
"The facility has been abandoned for fifty standard Terra years. Its original purpose was to transport untreated corpse starch slurry."
"High concentrations of methane gas accumulated inside the pipe, and signs of activity from a mutated rodent community were detected."
"The pipeline is located 30 meters underground and is protected by a thick layer of concrete, which can effectively isolate it from the high temperature and heat radiation of the ground."
Lowe stared at the green line.
This means having to travel hundreds of kilometers through foul-smelling sewers.
He didn't hesitate for long.
"Let's take this road."
Compared to being roasted or corroded by acid rain, fighting with rats is clearly a more rational choice.
"Case, show me the core area map."
Lowe's order.
The map switches to the Ninth Agricultural War Zone, showing the interior of the core grain depot.
However, the area that should have been the centrifuge workshop was a completely dark blind spot.
"Warning. Data missing."
Case's brain beat faster.
"All bird detection sensors in the area have gone offline. In the last scan before the signal was interrupted, the logic engine detected an unusual high-energy thermal response."
"What's the temperature?" Luo Wei asked.
"The core temperature exceeds 300 degrees Celsius."
The Case server paused for a moment, as if organizing its thoughts.
"Administrator, based on the spectral analysis of the thermal imaging, it doesn't seem to be infrared radiation generated by machine overheating."
"The waveform of that heat source shows a regular fluctuation, just like—breathing."
Lo Wei stared directly into that unknown black barrier.
Something is lurking in the darkness.
A living creature that has breathing characteristics and emits high temperatures.
A subspace entity in the process of incubation?
Or perhaps it's a biomass reactor that has mutated?
Lowe did not let meaningless speculation take over his mind.
He was clear on only one thing: that was the destination he had to reach.
For those few centrifuges.
For high-energy organic residue, corpse starch, and fertilizer, these three scarce resources are needed.
Also in order to feed the greedy new "Gluttony Wall".
Furthermore, it was to ensure that the eastern granaries of the Seventh Agricultural War Zone under his command could complete the crucial task of paying tithes on time.
"Double the rations for everyone."
Luo Wei turned around and gave the final instructions.
"We'll depart in six hours."
Night falls.
Two heavily modified Chimera troop carriers roared out of the underground gate of the grain depot.
The dark red mutated metal plate on the front of the car emitted an eerie luster.
Lowe sat in the passenger seat of the first car.
He took out his brass pocket watch and glanced at the time.
Then, he snapped the pocket watch lid shut.
The scavenging operation, which had been in preparation for a week, began.
Or rather, the hunt has begun.
The entrance to underground material transport pipeline B-7 is hidden at the end of the abandoned D area of the eastern granary.
This place used to be a transit point for the starchy fluid from corpses.
It was completely sealed off after a landslide fifty years ago.
The heavy explosion-proof gate was already rusted, with only a huge skull and crossbones symbol emanating an unsettling warning in the darkness.
"Squeak."
-
Two modified Chimera troop carriers used their shovels to pry open a door that had been dormant for half a century, and a stench of decay hit them.
"Air quality testing."
Lowe sat in the passenger seat of the lead car.
I gazed into the deep tunnel ahead through the scratched bulletproof glass.
In the back seat, Susan, one of the three survivors, was intently staring at the air quality monitor in her hand.
Her fingers trembled, and she answered nervously, "Oxygen content 16%, slightly low. Methane concentration 2.1%, below the explosive threshold."
"Understood." Rowe immediately ordered, "Notify the entire team that the use of live ammunition and open flames is strictly prohibited. Switch all vehicles to electric drive mode. Alpha, close the external radiator grille."
"Yes, sir."
Father Alpha, in the driver's seat, skillfully operated the control panel.
With a slight hissing sound, the Chimera's previously roaring multi-fuel engine shut down.
A low humming sound came from the backup battery pack.
The convoy, like two iron fish diving into the deep sea, silently slid into the darkness.
The inside of the pipe was wider than expected.
This is a concrete tunnel with a diameter of over five meters.
The ground was covered with long-rotted tracks.
There is an inspection port every few tens of meters on the wall.
However, most of them are already covered by a thick layer of fungal carpet.
Those fungal mats had a sickly grayish-white color.
Under the beam of the searchlight, you could vaguely see them wriggling slightly.
"The 'corpse chrysalis' is a type of fungus that specifically decomposes high-molecular-weight organic matter."
Father Alpha's voice came through the communication channel.
With an academic excitement.
"They typically grow in the sewers of morgues. The abundance of bacteria here indicates that a large amount of bodily fluids once flowed through this area."
"It also shows that they haven't gone hungry in these fifty years."
Lovi's gaze swept over the fungal carpet.
Between those grayish-white folds, one can vaguely see some white bones.
These are not human bones.
It is the skull of some kind of rodent.
It was incredibly large, with deep-set eyes and incisors that looked like daggers.
"Mutant giant rat."
Buck sat in the back, gripping a laser rifle tightly in his hand, fitted with a silencer and bayonet.
Despite having a secondhand cochlear implant, he still habitually tilts his head to the side, using his one intact eye to warily scan his surroundings.
"I've seen these beasts in the bottom nest. They come in packs, and their teeth can bite through light armor. But—"
Buck paused, pointed to the bones, and spoke with a chilling tone.
"This one looks much bigger than the bottom nest—"
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