Chapter 57: It said there was food nearby.
“Mermaid?”
Qu Ying slowly leaned back against the anti-shock soft cushion, her expression unchanging.
The remote road had not yet been cleared by manpower. The vehicle under her was bumpy, and the tires rolled up a thick layer of salt frost, which hit the bulletproof glass of the car window with a dull thud.
“That’s right. Of all the base stations on the 65-degree coastline in the east, the signals recorded at these two locations are the strongest and clearest, and can be two orders of magnitude different from other places. We were played. There was a problem with the mermaid we brought back last time.”
“What about the other areas?”
“The same,” the analyst said. “Including foreign countries, it’s the same.”
After the outbreak of ocean nuclear pollution, various countries had attacked each other, and in the end, they had almost broken off diplomatic relations. In any case, sea transportation was no longer possible, and the great world union was dismembered.
But now, the disaster had brought everyone back together, and information was flowing again.
“So, we have to trouble you to go with us,” she said, her voice lowering, as if it had passed through a sticky, thick fog.
And what was now in front of them was a fog that obscured the future of mankind.
As the species at the top of the food chain on land, humans had found many reasons for their “advancement,” such as the use of tools, labor, and language. However, did other creatures really not have a complex and exquisite communication method like humans?
It was just that when the two populations could not communicate, and could not establish an effective contact, this point of view naturally could not be falsified.
However, Qu Ying could bypass the language barrier and achieve a certain degree of direct neural communication, but the damage to the target was also great. And nerve damage could cause all kinds of complications, such as hormonal disorders and ataxia. The ones being held in the Defense Center were all rare specimens, so of course, it was best not to have any damage.
But they couldn’t care about that now.
“You’re too impatient. I originally suggested that she receive psychological counseling first,” the biology doctor with two long braids shook her head and looked up from the data in her hand to look at Qu Ying.
The tablet in her hand was clearly displaying Qu Ying’s various physiological indicators.
“Sorry, I think I have to ask,” Chen Ke said with a smile, her voice gentle. “Do you think your condition is suitable for accepting the current mission?”
This researcher lady had always given people the impression of a rational, intelligent creation from a science fiction work being tolerant of humans.
Of course, this description was very awkward for their respective identities.
So, a more correct statement was the tolerance of a human creator towards their flesh and blood product.
And Qu Ying hated this gaze enough.
The gray light came in from the small square window. She turned her head and, in the dim light, she curled her lips into a strange smile. “What, the ‘safety catch’ is gone, are you afraid the ‘weapon’ will go off?”
…
“Hey, little one, safety catch.”
Cheng Ming had just put on her protective combat suit. When she turned her head, she saw the 2nd squad leader, Lu Qian, slap the back of the newcomer’s head with a smack and point to the gun on her waist.
“How dare you forget such an important thing? Don’t you want to live?”
One slap was not enough to vent her anger. After staring at the other with the sharp eyes of a hawk and watching her reset the weapon, Lu Qian kicked her. “Go back and copy the thirty-one articles a hundred times!”
“I was wrong, I was wrong! Captain, I was wrong… ow!” The soldier who had just come from the military academy was so scared that she hugged her head and ran away.
Because they were too short of manpower, the Security Department had implemented the same system as the research institute. These young people who had not yet graduated were considered to be interns, and they would be sent back to study after this post-disaster reconstruction period.
The thirty-one articles that Lu Qian had mentioned were the articles in the “Regulations on the Actions of the Logistics Army of the Defense Center.” They were not just articles with three or five lines, but each article was a chapter, the kind that would not end without ten or so pages.
She turned her head again and met Han Xuhua’s tearful expression. “Team leader, you’re the best. You only made me copy it ten times when I first came here.”
Cheng Ming was expressionless, and she almost got goosebumps all over her back.
They gathered in the first-floor garage. Everyone was dressed neatly and had checked their equipment, and then they got on the car in order.
The first time was new, the second time was familiar. This was already the third time they had gone on a mission together.
The new order they had received last week was that the two orphans of the 1st squad, plus the 2nd squad, which had also been reduced to only 4 people, plus two newcomers, a total of 8 people, would be integrated into a temporary squad.
Led by Lu Qian, they would carry out the mission of assisting in the repair of the protective wall.
The area from the shoreline’s horizontal coordinates 31.00 to 34.00, that is, 300km, belonged to the headquarters and had no modular units. The location they were going to this time was more remote, with the shoreline coordinates 33.97, 5, which was already at the borderline.
The first reconnaissance station was 25 kilometers ahead.
If something were to happen, it would be a bit beyond their reach.
However, after more than two months of full-line patrols, the surrounding safety had been guaranteed to a certain extent. It was a mission that required the combat personnel of the Security Department, but was not so dangerous, and was suitable for “Yan Li’s” current state.
Moreover, this configuration was very much to her liking.
With newcomers, she could ask them to ask all the knowledge she should know but didn’t know, and Lu Qian, as an old team leader, would be patient enough and would answer perfectly.
For example, now, the reckless newcomer who had just been taught a lesson had approached her again and opened her mouth:
“Captain, I’ve seen drones spraying medicine in the sky these few days. Why can’t we use drones to replace our patrols outside the protective wall?”
“Radiation!” Lu Qian said impatiently. “Without a signal, how are you going to control the drone? The closer to the sea, the more serious the radiation. Do you think it’s easy for the Defense Center to maintain its internal signal?” She gradually showed a pained expression. “Even if we have money, we can’t afford to be so wasteful, not to mention that our department’s budget is so tight. You really don’t know how expensive rice and firewood are if you don’t run a household…”
Hmm… maybe not so patient.
The same cold face and warm heart, Lu Qian and Yan Li were different.
Yan Li’s warmth was more obvious, and she was as warm as spring to her comrades.
And Lu Qian was as cruel as a harsh winter to her enemies, and as ruthless as an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves to her teammates—they all had a look on their faces as if someone owed them money.
Suppressing a laugh, Cheng Ming paid attention to the movement over there with one ear, and listened to Han Xuhua’s rambling with the other, and could even answer a few words from time to time with her mind divided.
She had already mastered the essence of playing the amnesiac Yan Li. She just had to talk less and show less expression.
Passing through the dense building complex, the building was far behind, and the magnificent coastal wall gradually came closer.
The gray and white wall, like the skin of some giant beast, was coated with a special protective coating and shimmered under the lights. Bright flags were fluttering high up. A barrier made of reinforced concrete.
She hadn’t seen it so clearly at night. Cheng Ming stared at the amazing man-made structure and remembered what she had read in the introduction manual.
A fully enclosed protective wall was built 5 kilometers from the coastline, with a height of 80 meters and a thickness of 10 meters. There was a small pass every 10 kilometers and a large pass every 50 kilometers. The distribution of entrances and exits was denser than the quarantine line, which was convenient for the rapid response of combat personnel in a critical state. There was also a material channel inside, and there were no other gaps. There were observation towers and defense platforms on the top of the wall, and flamethrowers were arranged in a dot matrix to keep the air above hot and dry at all times, so that even microorganisms could not get in.
However, the protective wall near the headquarters was the first to be repaired. They were now going to a corner.
A sea cliff with a higher altitude, the terrain was quite special, and the protective wall was not easy to build, but it was also not easy to be disturbed by the waves, and it was not easy for marine creatures to land.
The damage to the wall was not serious, so it was put in the last batch of the repair mission.
The vehicle was moving at full speed. The familiar scenery was completely thrown to the unclear horizon. In front of them was only the rugged road, the desolate soil, and the boundless, towering high wall.
A temporary defensive work was built under the wall.
After submitting their documents, they drove through the gate.
They parked the vehicle at the designated location, and the eight of them put on their helmets and got out of the car in a single file.
Now, they needed to conduct a search along the wall for three kilometers, eliminate the hidden dangers, and then report to the command and control center, approve the engineering team to be in place, and then be on duty and patrol throughout the subsequent repair process to ensure safety.
Some of the facilities in the car could not be exposed to radiation for a long time, so they had to act in groups. Two people stayed behind, responsible for communication support and environmental monitoring. Three people carried detectors, thermal imagers, and sound wave analysis equipment, and the remaining three people carried heavy weapons to ensure fire support.
Due to the rain, the fog along the coast was very heavy.
Cheng Ming took out a high-tech mechanical ball from her carrying gear, pressed the switch and placed it on the ground. The palm-sized metal body cracked open and shot out a red light, starting its working mode, and began to roll forward at high speed, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
The technology of structured light to detect the terrain, a square range of 1km×2km each time, a true carpet search.
She waited on the spot for half a minute until the exploration ball returned again.
Cheng Ming reached out and held it, connected it to the display with a port, and the data was imported. The three-dimensional information was scanned and established layer by layer, and all the ravines and holes were clearly presented on the screen.
Analyzing the information on it, she paused for a moment and said, “There is a cavity in the direction of 30 degrees west of south, with an unknown diameter, at a distance of 1054 meters. It may be hiding a mutated creature.”
Lu Qian let out a “yoho,” “Finally, something serious.”
The first two missions had been calm, and they hadn’t even encountered a sea cockroach, which was a bit boring. Now, all of them were energized.
“Let’s go,” although she knew that the helmet would not leak sound, Cheng Ming couldn’t help but lower her voice.
This land, which had been returned to nature thirty years ago, no longer had the boundless traces of human activity—only the long coastline and the endless roar of the surging waves remained.
The biological or non-biological remains near the wall had been cleared, but as they went deeper into the thick fog, there were more and more messy things.
There were broken stones, silt, and the remains of plants and animals everywhere, which were wet and stuck to the soles of their shoes and were crushed by the high-top, non-slip combat boots. The tsunami was also devastating to marine life. Not to mention the direct damage caused by such an energy wave, the coastal ecology was also severely damaged, and it was unknown how long it would take to recover.
It was as if she could feel the salty, fishy, and foul smell through her helmet.
The flesh of the dead fish of all sizes was almost gone. Their jagged skeletons were coated in a layer of frost. There were also some on the reefs that had been overturned by the waves. When the soft light shone on them, they shone with a white light.
Everyone cautiously stepped on it. The soles of their shoes had cushioning pads, and they basically made no sound, but from the touch, it always felt like it was creaking.
It was only when they got closer that they found that it was not frost, but crystallized salt particles.
The fog was like a curtain that covered the coast in a haze.
Finally, a gray and black silhouette appeared within the white field of vision. They had arrived at their destination.
Along with the more rugged and difficult road, what appeared in front of them was a small hill that abruptly protruded from the flat ground.
Lu Qian looked at this pile of rocks left and right. “How did you determine that there was a cavity?”
“Here, here, and here, it looks like it was left by an animal crawling,” Cheng Ming raised her hand and pointed to a few places without even blinking.
“Team Leader Yan has good eyesight!”
The other teammates also came over, looked at the dark display in her hand, and then at the ruins that looked like they had been left by a demolition team, and were amazed.
Cheng Ming calmly put away the display.
Actually, she hadn’t seen it at all. It was Xiao Ming who had said that there was something in this place.
To be more direct, it said there was food nearby.
Without further ado, Lu Qian waved her hand and had the fire support team come forward and set up the grenade launcher.
After everything was ready, everyone dispersed.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the explosive grenade hit the target, and a brilliant firework exploded in the fog. The rocks and silt scattered, and some fine things hit their protective combat suits and helmets with a crackle.
A large pit was blasted in front of them.
There really was a cavity.
Sparks, smoke, and water vapor, the vision was chaotic, and it was unclear what was shaking inside.
But the full-frequency sound waves were collected by the helmet and transmitted to the human ear. When the biological monitoring equipment issued an abnormal prompt sound at the same time, they all reacted.
Lu Qian raised her arm, “Continue!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One after another, grenades fell into the pit, and a cloud of white steam rose. The vision became even worse. The helmet switched to infrared imaging mode, and smack! a piece of charred meat flew in front of the three people who were standing further away.
And more indistinct, strip-like things were sticking out of the pit with a scorching steam, and they were twisting and scattering, trying to escape. Some had just poked their heads out and had become minced meat, some were still struggling with the charred corpses of their companions on top, and some had been directly blown up between them.
“That… is it a snake?”
Everyone was shocked.
That round body, that unique pattern, that flat tail—
“A sea snake,” Cheng Ming said.
Each one was more than two meters long. As they frantically fled, they twisted together like strands of braided dough.
This type of marine reptile had generally degenerated their ventral scales, and their movement was not agile without a water environment, which was a weakness. There was seawater in the pit, and they seemed to be trapped on land, with no intention of actively attacking people.
Strange…
She frowned slightly.
“Strange.”
Just as this thought flashed through her mind, she heard Lu Qian mutter the same thing on the team channel.
Cheng Ming found it strange because she had heard Xiao Ming’s excited tone before and had thought that it was at least an MR-rank monster, and that they would encounter a fierce battle this time.
Moreover, the detector had also shown that the radiation index of this group of creatures was very high, and had even issued a warning signal, which was why Lu Qian had directly ordered a concentrated fire.
But now, looking at it like this—
She was thinking about what had gone wrong when, suddenly, a huge force came from under her feet.
She looked down and saw a dark green snake head darting out from between the reefs and pouncing on her!
No, it wasn’t the head, but the thick, flat tail. Sea snakes were widely venomous, and their venom was an important weapon for them to prey on. But this one was using its body to wrap around her like a land python, and its other, real head was raised high like a cobra, and appeared in front of her.
Cheng Ming was caught off guard and was face to face with a distorted face.
A human face, there was actually a human face under the snake’s head!
Her pupils dilated. The loud sound of her teammates bombarding the sea snake’s nest was still coming from the co-sound device in her helmet, but the danger was right in front of her.
This, was it a feint?
This thing has intelligence! This is the high-risk monster that caused the equipment to alarm?!
But there are so many people here, why did it find her? Was she just unlucky, or…
Before she could think further, Cheng Ming was instantly wrapped tightly by the snake’s tail and was dragged into the reefs.
After staggering a few steps, she felt that she had stepped on nothing—the sand and mud was soft, and there was another cavity below!
Her teammates noticed the abnormality, and the ones who were close immediately rushed over to pull her, but they were not fast enough. The ones who were far away turned their guns to try to save her, but they were afraid of hurting her, and a few shots hit the rocks, sending out brilliant sparks, and they missed the best rescue time.
For a second, Cheng Ming wanted to let Xiao Ming out to help, but the fog around her had been evaporated by the heat wave. If her teammates behind her saw her turn into a monster, she would either have to find a reasonable explanation in three seconds, or she would have to silence them in five seconds, but it was more likely that she would be blown to pieces by the guns and cannons in their hands in ten seconds.
She didn’t believe that a flesh and blood body could resist heavy weapons, and no matter how strong her self-healing ability was, she couldn’t piece together a shattered body.
Therefore, after a brief hesitation, she could only let herself be dragged away.
