NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
Chapter 12: The Sea Without Light
“Captain, the coordinates have been sent,” Lan Lan reported in the team communication channel.
His eyes were fixed on the images transmitted by the drone, “Criminal Zejian is running towards the signal tower.”
“Received,” said Xueyao Shu.
Heavy breathing from the队员们 as they ran was heard through the team’s communication channel. However, Kui Xin couldn’t hear these sounds. Augus had filtered out the noise to prevent any disturbance from affecting her aim and shooting.
There were ten bullets in K80’s magazine, and Kui Xin carried two spares, enough for the job. If the抓捕 went smoothly, she wouldn’t need to fire at all.
Kui Xin kept her composure and used the scope to track Zejian as he ran in a panic. He had no goal or direction, tripping on the muddy and slippery ground in the slums before getting up and frantically turning back. Ignoring the bloodied knee and dropped bread, he continued his frantic run.
“He runs fast; fortunately towards the signal tower,” Lan Lan noted on his monitor. The green dot representing the team member and the red dot for the target were closing in on each other, suggesting that Xueyao and the others would catch up with Zejian soon.
“Hold on,” Kui Xin suddenly interjected, maintaining her silent aim. “Wasn’t it said that Zejian lacked experience with反追踪? If the captain was so far away, how did he know and run away?”
Lan Lan froze, “Could it be hisExtraordinary Abilities…”
“No, haven’t you noticed? Zejian kept looking back while running, but not toward where the captain is, but behind him,” Kui Xin redirected her scope to search for suspicious objects behind him. “He’s not running because of knowing the captain is near him. He isn’t that sharp… Someone—or something—else must be chasing him, which frightened him enough to run.”
“Seems logical,” Lan Lan murmured.
Kui Xin’s analysis held true. After hesitating for a moment, she separated a drone from the group, reassigning it to scan the surroundings.
The environment, buildings, small terrains, and sewage systems were all scanned, revealing anything living in the drones’ light detection field.
Nothing abnormal was detected. No unknown threat pursued Zejian.
Lan Lan laughed, “You’re overthinking it, Xiao Kui.”
But Kui Xin’s lips remained tightly pressed, a clear warning sign in her mind. Her temple throbbed, her intuition telling her matters weren’t so simple.
Her innate talent, Hazard Avoidance, alerted her to imminent danger. Without realizing it, this power was now activated.
A hazard was near, a significant one. Not from Zejian, but elsewhere—
“An unidentified object moves at 5.9 meters per second beneath the sewage! An unidentified object moves at 5.9 meters per second beneath the sewage!” Adam alarmed, “Scans confirmed! The object is a parasitic hydroid! Level three alert! Repeat, level three alert!”
Adam’s broadcast accelerated and echoed clearly among the team members.
“Oh no! How could a parasitic hydroid come inland from the sea?” Even with a composed demeanor, Lan Lan suddenly let loose an expletive. She manipulated the data panel uneasily, directing drones to follow the sewage lines to locate the hydroid.
“Crisis for Captain and company. We lack weapons and equipment to deal with xenomorphs!”
Xenomorphs? Parasitic hydroids? What are these?
Kui Xin’s heart pounded in her throat. She adjusted the scope to search the sewers along the street.
“The parasite hydroid trails after Zejian!” Lan Lan gasped.
Kui Xin quickly glanced at a data panel showing Zejian’s desperate dash. A red marker for Zejian and a yellow marker for “parasitic hydroid,” tightly on Zejian’s tail.
Though unsure what a parasitic hydroid was, she knew the situation was critical. Its mere presence underlined its high danger.
“Adam! Send more drones and call for backup,” Lan Lan urged frantically. “Captain, retreat! You can’t repel the attacks without armor. Your weapons won’t damage it.”
“It’ll kill civilians here,” answered Xueyao Shu, “Jiangming, drive the police car—the flamethrower will work. I’ll continue pursuit with Liu Kangyun.”
“Yes, captain,” Jiang Ming left the ranks.
Kui Xin remained composed, cleaning raindrops from the scope before refocusing.
From the high signal tower, Kui Xin aimed at Zejian. Unlike others near the sewer, she was safe.
She ignored attempts to spot the parasitic hydroid under the manhole covers, focusing only on ensuring zejian wasn’t caught. As the hydroid chased him, Kui Xin’s aim sharpened.
Zejian—a panicked target, a unplanned bait of sorts.
The “bait” was thrown; could it catch anything monstrous?
Her hands sweaty but focused, she forgot to blink against the driving rain.
A bend, Zejian stumbled and fell, and right then, a swell erupted under his feet.
Monstrous terror rose from the ground!
Kui Xin’s eyes widened in horror, speechless.
The creature was arm-like tendrils, a malformed human-like being whose body hosted the parasite. Tentacles burst through the skin, writhing wildly.
Zejian screamed like a pig, “Save me! Don’t eat me! I just stole your bread!”
Tendrils enveloped his neck; he struggled to breathe.
Xueyao and Liu arrived instantly, firing at the monster. Tendrils struck by bullets snapped and twitched on the ground.
Kui Xin regained composure, aiming at the creature, pulling the trigger.
“Bang!”
The bullet spun from the barrel, striking not the monster but the concrete underfoot, digging a crater.
K80’s performance was top-notch, piercing even thick cement walls.
“Dang,” Kui Xin spat.
“You overlooked wind resistance,” Adam added. “Current light rain, wind force 2.1 meters per second. Target, 722.3 meters away.”
Lan Lan opened his mouth again, but Kui Xin snapped, “Shut up, don’t distract me.”
Quickly closing his mouth, Lan looked away.
Kui Xin took a deep breath, cleaned the scope, and aimed again.
K80 discharged another round, piercing the downpour.
Pew! The bullet hit! Rotating, it pierced the creature’s chest, blowing open a cavity.
Kui Xin kept firing relentlessly, hitting the monster’s head, abdomen, shoulders, spine, and legs. The creature became a broken puppet.
After exhausting ten rounds, Kui Xin stopped. Her focus shifted to changing the magazine, ready to fire again if necessary.
With Zejian falling, the tentacles released him.
Coughing, drenched, Zejian barely escaped suffocation. His limbs trembled as he crawled away desperately.
The parasitic hydroid pursued, but missed; Zejian vanished and reappeared further away near a streetlight.
Staggering up, he cursed fiercely, “Damn! Superpower worked! Lucky it didn’t fail.”
Kui Xin switched targets, focusing on severing tentacles of the monster, which tried to sidestep her shots by attaching to the ground to move.
Xueyao and Liu fired from farther away, their rhythm perfectly synchronized as one would reload when the other ran dry.
Jiang Ming rushed the police car, lowering it toward the hydroid from above.
The car descended, launching fiery sprays from beneath, scorching the creature. Its tentacles visibly drooped, drained of vitality.
“This thing fears fire…” Kui Xin muttered, feeling tension release.
Before relief set in, the hydroid thrashed violently, tentacles cracking like whips.
Struggling, it wrapped around the flamethrower car, tugging hard and forcing the gun into the flame spout, blocking it.
Boom! Fuel tank exploded, flames spreading.
Frustrated, the hydroid severed its own limb to escape, heading for Zejian who fled ten meters ahead.
The horrific scene unfolded; it entwined itself around him, forcefully shoving its tendrils into his mouth.
In terror, eyes rolling and limbs flailing, Zejian couldn’t resist anymore. His body morphed grotesquely.
Xueyao leveled his gun at Zejian, but it clicked empty. Liu shook his head grimly, also out of ammunition.
“Hydoid is vulnerable now, kill Zejian!” Lan Lan spoke urgently. “Kui Xin! Do it now! Cannot let it possess a dead body!”
Moments later, Zejian’s lifeless form lay still. The hydroid had begun to merge.
Kui Xin bit her lip, aligning sights with Zejian.
“BANG!”
The sound echoed louder.
The bullet spun, piercing Zejian’s skull. The body crumpled, blood splattered.
“He killed [Proxy·Zejian].”
“He deprived [Proxy·Zejian] of his superhuman abilities.”
“She obtained superhuman ability [Shadow Transition·E level].”
“[Shadow Transition·E level]: Allows limited spatial teleportation through shadows.”
In that moment, Kui Xin saw nothing but emptiness. The echoes of gunfire lingered in her ears, her finger twitching.
The game’s name resonated: Crimson Soil.
—Why is the soil crimson?
—It’s dyed by blood.
This world finally laid bare its sinister truth.
Author’s Note:
Kui Xin: In just three days, I’ve faced experiences beyond a lifetime =.