NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Sea Without Light Part 10
Silverface finished bandaging his wounds and staggered over to the sofa, collapsing into it.
His breath was slightly tremulous from bearing pain.
“Tell me what happened back then.” Kui Xin approached him and looked down.
Silverface smiled, “It seems the rumors were true; you are indeed cold-hearted.”
He adjusted his posture and began recounting, “I arrived at the port last night and followed your instructions to investigate the blast site. There were security officers patrolling, and I had to put in quite an effort to scan the data at the scene.”
Silverface pulled a metallic orb out of his pocket and tossed it to Kui Xin. She caught it deftly, and as she held it, a beam of light flashed, projecting a three-dimensional pattern and detailed data analysis of the blast site before her eyes.
“The explosion’s shockwave ranged within thirty meters. The explosive device was estimated to be a homemade gasoline bomb…”
A homemade gasoline bomb was quite primitive. With the capability of Mechanized Dawn to mobilize warehouses at the dock, the organization’s members would not resort to such meager homemade explosives when executing their tasks. At the very least, they would use standard ammunition.
Thus, it can be inferred that the culprit behind this explosion may not be affiliated with Mechanized Dawn.
Kui Xin tapped on the projection, and another explosion site appeared. This time, the blast radius was smaller, less than ten meters. An alcohol-burning glass bottle served as the explosive device this time.
Switching through the explosion site data repeatedly, Kui Xin confirmed her previous conjecture.
The primary instigator of the earlier wave of explosions might not have been Mechanized Dawn. There must have been an invisible third party involved in the harbor bombing case.
As for the goals of this unknown third party and whether or not they correlate with Kraken, further investigations were required.
Silverface’s operation was remarkably efficient. Within just one night, he managed to gather so much data. One could only imagine how weary he must have felt after all that traveling.
Kui Xin tossed the metallic orb back into Silverface’s chest, “Continue with what happened next.”
“After obtaining the data, my immediate plan was to return it to you. However, I suddenly heard someone screaming. When I rushed to the sound’s origin, I found that a security officer had already been killed by some monster, which intended to lay eggs inside the corpse,” Silverface said with a disgusted expression. “I exterminated the monster, but its teammate arrived quickly… When he saw me, I had to eliminate them both, disposing of the body in the process.”
“This is the first monster,” Kui Xin stated. “You encountered three last night.”
“Yes. The second one came looking for me. It had parasitized a dock worker who had become emaciated. There was no more nutrition left for it to feed on. I surmise it was eager to accumulate energy for its next metamorphosis and planned to switch hosts. When it encountered me, it intended to occupy my body,” Silverface complained, “Ugh, disgusting. That attack is what injured me during the second encounter.”
“The third?” Kui Xin asked.
“The third one doesn’t need much explanation. I discovered it immediately as soon as it climbed ashore on the dock right from the sea.” Silverface shrugged, “It failed to find a host to parasitize, and remained a vulnerable juvenile form.”
These creatures lived in the sea, climbed ashore in search of hosts, and laid eggs in human corpses.
Their combat abilities were considerable, capable of killing security officers whose physical strength far surpassed ordinary humans and even wounding Silverface, who possessed extraordinary abilities.
Kui Xin inwardly laughed bitterly. She should have known better than to be surprised by strange occurrences in this cyberpunk world filled with supernatural elements.
The dangers of the Second World seemed to elevate in her estimation.
“Usually, these monsters appear no more than once a month. Why do we suddenly find so many of them tonight?” Silverface remarked, “We should report this to the organization.”
“Yes, we should…” Kui Xin paused briefly. Her communicator buzzed in her pocket. It was from the Investigation Bureau.
The screen displayed the name of the caller: Xueyao Shu.
She pressed the accept call button, “Captain.”
“Kui Xin, how is your recovery coming along?” Xueyao’s voice was serious.
“What happened?” Kui Xin discerned tension in his tone.
“The members of Team Six, Mo Jingtong and Wang Jianmu, encountered an accident while patrolling the dock last night,” Xueyao continued, “The patrol position at the port is vacant now. We desperately need someone to take over immediately. Kui Xin, casualties have been high lately, and we lack personnel. If your recovery allows, it would be best if you were to return here soon to carry out your duties.”
“…Alright. I will return to the Bureau tomorrow morning,” Kui Xin replied.
Xueyao seemed preoccupied, as he spoke only what was necessary and hung up right after his message.
Kui Xin put down the communicator and looked directly at Silverface, who was watching their conversation and listening to it from the sofa.
Mo Jingtong and Wang Jianmu belonged to the field team under the neighboring Sixth Squad. Kui Xin had read up on their profiles. Silverface had witnessed one of them being killed by a monster, and afterwards eliminated the other who came to check on the scene.
“If I were patrolling the port, it would be much easier for you to operate there. It would also make it more convenient to set up demolition devices at the port, huh? Luck must be on our side, since the person we killed last night happens to belong to our patrol group,” Silverface exclaimed excitedly.
“Indeed, you killed a member of our group, leaving the team short-handed. My three holidays were shortened to one,” Kui Xin replied, “Going to work means spending long periods with teammates, making timely communication and planning difficult.”
Silverface paused, somewhat taken aback, “I hadn’t considered that… Just unfortunate accidents.”
“Hardly avoidable,” Kui Xin sighed, “It isn’t your fault. Plans must adapt as circumstances change. In case of an unforeseen situation where you can’t reach me, you should handle it on your own and inform me later.”
“Alright.” Silverface nodded.
Her time to adjust was shorter. Last night she’d stayed up reviewing some documents and now needed rest to recover.
“I need to get back to work. Don’t move until your injuries heal,” Kui Xin told him.
“Wait!” Silverface called out to her.
“What is it?” Kui Xin turned around.
“I’m hungry, is there anything to eat?” He asked earnestly, “I’ve been running all night, haven’t slept or eaten, and getting a superpower makes me extra hungry.”
Kui Xin pondered for a moment, “There’s no food in the kitchen. You can order takeaway, and I’ll pay for yours too.”
Silverface responded, “…Okay, I’ll order one.”
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Xi Liang stood in the doorway, dressed as a delivery man, “Hello, your take… oh, senior classmate! So you live here!”
Kui Xin was surprised to see Xi Liang’s unexpected part-time gig, “Are you working to support your studies?”
“Yes, earning money for college. But I’m not sure if I’ll save enough… the prospects are