After Being Parasitized by a Monster 72p1

Chapter 72: You’re not just sleep-deprived. p1

Putting aside the impossible-to-trace VOM47, the “real business” that Cheng Ming had been looking forward to finally came.

On the morning of February 13th, she received instructions to lead a team out of the Defense Center to a reconnaissance station seven hundred kilometers away to meet up with the local team.

From above, the convoy was vast and mighty. Not only were there personnel carriers and drone carriers, but also heavy armored vehicles carrying ammunition and cannons, lined up on the empty space by the roadside like the scales of a giant beast.

The large-scale operation that had brought together the three departments of the Investigation Department, the Thermal Weapons Department, and the biology department was under the pretext of receiving a tip-off that a CR-rank monster was hiding in a group of abandoned buildings five kilometers outside the current quarantine line, at the shoreline coordinates 25.00, 25.

CR, which was the abbreviation of critical risk, was the highest level, meaning extremely critical.

This was the first time Cheng Ming had heard of this level in a mission. The rare monsters she had seen in past records were only HR-rank.

Although it was not explicitly stated, she knew that this was an operation by the Security Department against the ENS Foundation behind Shenzhou Pharmaceutical.

Excluding the days she had been in the hospital, since the last disaster, she had been running around every day and had not seen the outside scenery for more than half a year.

During the lockdown of the Defense Center, news was blocked. It was only after the network was fully restored that they knew that the disaster had brought not only a tsunami, but had also harmed far more than just the Binhai Defense Center.

The plate activity all over the world had increased significantly, leading to continuous disasters.

The team members were gathered, and every day was either training or a mission. It was only during the mission that they were relatively free, and they were chatting in twos and threes—

“There was another earthquake in the west and south. There are many mountains, so the rescue is also troublesome. A landslide and a ground fissure, and it’s all over…”

“It’s not very peaceful here either. Last week, I saw a big pit collapse in the city center of either Lixi or Lidong next door. My mom said she felt the tremor even though she was sleeping on the ninth floor.”

“We’re almost used to these. I just hope the super volcano stays stable. If it erupts once, it will affect the whole world. That’s really scary…”

As soon as these words were uttered, they immediately resonated with many people.

The ocean and the land were ultimately one. The movement of one plate would affect the other, the stress on the earth’s crust would change, and the flow of the asthenosphere would change. And so, various geological disasters of different sizes, such as earthquakes, ground subsidence, and volcanic eruptions, would break out one after another, and a single move would affect the whole situation.

The only gratifying thing was that, from the observation results of this period, the frequency of coastal monster activity had decreased.

Although it was not yet very obvious, it was true that the research institute’s algaefungus toxin had taken effect.

The third stage of pollution was slowly receding, and the lack of oxygen in the water was being alleviated. There was no longer such a strong driving force to push the mutated creatures ashore.

Thirty years of ocean pollution, according to the different dominant hazards, were roughly divided into several intervals by humans: the first stage in ’43, water pollution; the second stage in ’50, biological mutation; the third stage in ’65, large-scale monster landings.

It had refreshed human history time and time again.

Cheng Ming had once pessimistically thought, after the third stage of pollution, would there be a fourth and a fifth stage?

Perhaps from then on, the prosperity of the coast would become a myth and legend for future generations. The Defense Center would stand on the coast of the continent, and when their descendants mentioned the former marine tourism and fishing industries, they would find it absurdly incredible—how could the sea be approached at close range? The imagination of the ancients was really rich, it was a fantasy.

In the end, would it really become like that?

But now, she seemed to see some hope.

Taking the elevator to the ground, when she looked into the distance from a high place, she passed the towering protective wall. Cheng Ming looked at the fine waves rolling in the distance and couldn’t help but ask Han Xuhua:

“Don’t you think the color of the sea has become a little lighter?”

“Really?” Squeezing in front of the not-so-wide viewing window, Han Xuhua stared at the dark waves under the gray sky, half-believing and half-doubting, and looked left and right.

“Let’s just say it’s lighter,” Cheng Ming smiled, and her gaze went far to the horizon. She said softly, “One day, it will turn back to blue.”

“The sea is blue?” The young man standing next to her was even more surprised.

“…” Cheng Ming was forced to return to reality from her beautiful fantasy. She turned her head to look at her. “Xiao Hua, I think, since we’re here, it’s fine not to have common sense, but you should still learn some knowledge.”

Besides the professional personnel, they also had a special companion.

The leading vehicle stopped in front of the Security Department apartment building. A young girl in a wheelchair was waiting by the security booth at the main gate. She was wearing an apricot-colored scarf, and her neat, short bangs were messed up by the wind.

Cheng Ming jumped out of the car and ran all the way over. “Why aren’t you waiting inside? It’s too cold outside.”

After acting for a long time, it had become a habit. Some of Yan Li’s characteristics had been engraved in her action guide.

“Your time is more precious,” Yan Rong smiled and explained briefly.

More people followed behind. Cheng Ming called her team members to help, some pushing the wheelchair, some carrying the boxes, and they brought Yan Rong into the tactical command vehicle.

In a crowd of heavily armed people, her only bright color was particularly eye-catching.

Han Xuhua whispered in her ear, “Team leader, why did you bring your family?”

“Don’t ask,” Cheng Ming gave her a look that could only be understood.

“Have you brought everything?” Stepping on the edge of the rear door, she bent down to confirm with Yan Rong.

The latter looked around one last time and nodded.

This car was mainly for clerical staff, but they were all wearing uniforms. The only “commoner” without a position was Yan Rong.

Seeing that she was about to get out of the car, Yan Rong grabbed the corner of her clothes. “Sister, don’t go.”

Her eyes were wide, and her small mouth was slightly pouted. Her timid and moving expression made Cheng Ming stunned for a moment, not sure if she had some unspeakable secret or if her acting skills were exploding.

However, she then remembered that if she was not good at socializing, then this girl had never socialized at all.

Looking at the curious gazes from the others in the car, and then at Yan Rong’s stiff neck and stiff limbs, Cheng Ming was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

With a subtle and contradictory feeling of “my sister is so pitiful” and “you have it coming,” she turned sideways to block the direct and naked gazes of the crowd, took out her communicator and discussed with the front and back cars, and then stayed in this car to accompany her sister.

After everyone had assembled, the energy supply and material supply vehicles followed closely behind. This secret mission execution team formed a long, straight line and quietly drove away from the headquarters at sunrise.

Crossing seven hundred kilometers, a six-hour drive, from a hazy, smoky gray to a pale gold of sunlight breaking through the clouds and sprinkling on the earth.

They stopped at the reconnaissance station at coordinates 25.00, 6, took a short rest, and then reintegrated the team and coordinated their tactics.

The combat system of the biology department often had only one purpose when it was dispatched: recovery.

To bring back living creatures, not just to eliminate monsters.

The latter was the job of the Investigation Department and the Thermal Weapons Department. When there was no need to recover or it was impossible to recover, it needed to be destroyed as soon as possible, and of course, modern thermal weapons were the fastest.

All are equal under the cannonballs.

At 16:00 in the afternoon, while it was not yet dark, the operation began.

The overall arrangement was as follows: the Thermal Weapons Department would surround the outermost perimeter with heavy weapons, and would be responsible for using cannons and bombs to “bring down justice” when the situation changed. The Investigation Department would follow in with light weapons, clear the obstacles to ensure safety, and control the entrances and exits along the way for support. Half of the biology department would carry firearms, and the other half would carry special biological weapons. The latter would be responsible for capturing rare specimens alive.

The reconnaissance drones took off, collected and transmitted intelligence.

In the command vehicle, Yan Rong and the technicians scanned and deciphered the invisible force field on the outer circle of the building, and lifted the possibly existing automated high-tech defense line. Then she informed Cheng Ming on a single-line channel.

This location was first discovered and provided to the Security Department by Yan Rong. After several months of evidence search and confirmation, this large-scale operation was organized.

It was clear that this little girl had been careful in every confrontation with the pharmaceutical company. In the digital world, there would be traces wherever one had been, and it just depended on the technical level of both sides.

It was also when she was discussing the search for the foundation’s movements with her that Cheng Ming knew that even the video recording and tampering program that the pharmaceutical company had given her was developed by her.

Cheng Ming’s impression at that time was six dots, “…”

Sister, you’re too hidden.

The advance team had already gotten out of the car.

A prompt sound came from her ear. Hearing Yan Rong’s feedback, she raised her hand and pressed the receiver, and said with a light laugh, “Received, my commander.”

The vicinity was all wasteland.

This was originally an artificial seawater breeding farm, which was established after ’43. A company had smelled the business opportunity of ocean pollution and had not hesitated to spend a lot of money to breed seafood and sell it at a high price. But a few years later, the Defense Center was established, and the quarantine net was put up, and the surrounding area was cleared to create a transitional zone, and the factory buildings were all abandoned.

It was a fully enclosed building. It could be seen that there should have been a lot of vegetation, and it was growing well. Vines climbed up the walls and covered the fiberglass corrugated tiles on the roof, and the tree branches stood tall. Unfortunately, the disinfectant from the Defense Center had affected this place, and it was winter, so there were only a few scattered and withered weeds. It was a scene of death, and the weathered gravel on the road made a slight sound under their feet.

A huge warning sign could be seen from afar.

Without the cover of plants, as they got closer, some small abnormalities were exposed.

Before they came, they had checked the layout here. From the outside to the inside were the living area, the management area, the feed processing area, the warehouse, and the breeding area.

The breeding area was the key. There was a seawater filtration device, and with a little modification, the monsters could survive for a long time using the water storage system.

If there were many living people, food, clothing, housing, and transportation would all become loopholes. Frequent entry and exit would be very conspicuous. The interior was mostly automated, and at most, people would be sent for maintenance occasionally. Therefore, the signal shielding of the logistics was crucial.

With Yan Rong, who had been dealing with the pharmaceutical company for many years, present, Cheng Ming was more at ease.

The area was vast, and the huge building complex and complex pipeline system of the factory were very conducive to concealment.

The biology department’s small squad did not stop and went straight in. According to the map information displayed on their helmets, they would adjust their direction at any time based on the analysis from the rear.

The Investigation Department, on the other hand, searched separately.

As expected, after breaking through the various access control systems, there were not a few high-tech machines, but most of the areas were empty. Only the 1st group had encountered two staff members in the management area.

These two people had never expected to encounter an intruder in broad daylight, and before they could even react, they were shot with a tranquilizer and taken into custody—if there was a self-destruct program here, every second they were awake would be a disaster.

The factory buildings were all connected, and there was a solid and thick wall in the middle for sealed partitioning.

The further in, the lower the terrain.

Entering a new building, the various facilities were in a mess, and the top cover could no longer be seen. The light dimmed, and one after another, fish ponds were laid out in front of them. The water level had dropped to its lowest, and the dark black was like a large hole after another had been opened in the ground, bottomless.

There was a concrete dam in the center that could be used for passage. They cautiously walked down. Just as the first person had tentatively stepped on it, whoosh! a dense mass of things rose from the water surface, like a dark whirlwind, and rushed towards the crowd.

A creature the size of an adult pounced on the person in front. Just as Cheng Ming was about to grab her weapon, bang! a bullet was fired from the side and knocked down the attacker. The huge impact threw it to her feet.

She looked down and saw the ferocious upper and lower jaws that were characteristic of an insect, a paddle-like back wing, a significantly elongated front leg, and a short and powerful middle and hind leg. It was still trying to get up, and its chest bristles were trembling densely, the frequency gradually weakening.

A rough judgment was that an ordinary steel-core bullet could solve it. She knelt down on one knee and carefully looked at the specialized structure. She pressed the intercom and said quickly and clearly:

“Dr. He, there’s a mutated sea midge.”

The ocean was an extreme habitat for insects. Only a very few had evolved measures to cope with the harsh environment of high osmotic pressure, low oxygen, and strong sea winds. They lived in the intertidal zone of the coast, and their morphology was highly specialized. They were rare insects that could adapt to seawater.

The excited voice of the researcher He Guanwei, who was with the car, immediately came from the earpiece, “Capture it alive! Capture it alive!”

Killing it was not too difficult, it was just that there were too many of them, and they were too big. Even if their flying ability was weakened, it was still terrifying to dive down from mid-air like this.

“Ten should be enough,” Cheng Ming stood up.

Until a few minutes later, when the black clouds that were pressing down on the city had thinned out, she adjusted the channel again to ensure that it was heard by her teammates, “Hit the wings and leg joints!”

…