novelraw Chapter 63: Sea of Darkness - (63)
Chapter 63: Sea of Darkness - (63)
Their subsequent actions followed a mechanical routine.
Kick open the door and raise the gun. Kick open the door, scan, and search.
If no one is present, withdraw; if someone is there, fire a burst at their legs to incapacitate them.
Each time a door swung open, Kui Xin’s nerves would tense up, and this process repeated itself over a dozen times.
Behind each door, it could be empty, an innocent crew member, a vicious alien creature, or someone with special abilities—a Variant Blood. Unfortunately, throughout their journey, they hadn’t encountered any living beings… except for the shape-shifting monster that initially attacked them at the start.
The most dangerous entities often lurk deep within.
Opening doors felt akin to unwrapping surprise boxes, filled with heart-pounding anticipation. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to bungee jump, and her anxiety escalated as the elastic rope stretched further.
Her excitement reached its peak; her blood boiled with each room search, and her heartbeat steadily accelerated. Under the influence of adrenaline, her body burned, yet her emotions remained icy cold.
This signaled her complete transition into combat mode. In close-quarters combat, being overly calm both mentally and physically hindered her performance compared to a state of heightened arousal. A sharp mind, quick reflexes, and slightly warmed muscles due to increased blood circulation—these were crucial elements ensuring her fighting prowess.
Finally, Kui Xin and her team arrived near the crew quarters, where she had previously encountered the mutated Red Thorn Hunter.Unlike their previous visit, when Kui Xin and Shu Xuyao passed these rooms, they heard the sounds of alien creatures slamming against one of the doors. This time, as they continuously searched all the rooms with considerable commotion, the doors remained eerily quiet.
The entire lower deck was dead silent, akin to a graveyard.
Kui Xin gestured with her chin towards Silver Mask, who promptly understood and approached, swiftly breaking the door lock and kicking it open.
There were no menacing tentacles or unexpected attacks; only faint traces of a foul odor lingered, reminiscent of a pile of decaying, rotten fish inside the room.
Two human bodies were found on the floor of the crew quarters. One body was grotesquely twisted, its exposed skin covered with bizarre growths, while the remaining parts were highly decomposed. The other body showed less decay but still exhibited such severe distortion that it was barely recognizable as a human corpse.
“Eugh…” Silver Mask covered his mouth. “It’s seriously ruining my appetite. I don’t want to throw up what I ate tonight.”
Holding a scanner, Obsidian stepped forward, silently operating the device to sweep over the corpses on the ground. Subsequently, the instrument emitted a red warning light.
Obsidian retrieved a retractable, long blade identical to Kui Xin’s from his belt. He inserted the tip of the knife into the corpse’s abdomen and then peeled back the skin.
A vigorously pulsating dark-red embryo was concealed within the body’s abdominal cavity!
Taking a few steps back, Obsidian drew his gun and turned the embryo into a pool of mush.
“It’s an egg,” Obsidian murmured. “An egg of a Red Thorn Hunter. Judging by the development of the embryo inside, it must have been growing for at least three days. Typically, Red Thorn Hunters return to the sea to find mates, and their eggs are laid in the ocean as well because there are very few of their kind on land. Now that they’re laying eggs on land, it suggests there is at least one female and one male Red Thorn Hunter aboard this ship.”
This room had not been searched by Kui Xin, Shu Xuyao, or others; they only inspected a few rooms and the kitchen before retreating.
Silver Mask said, “The alien creature that laid the egg must be nearby.”
With paranoia, he scrutinized all the doors along the corridor, fearing that ferocious predators were lurking behind them.
“This ship is like an isolated island cut off from the world. The crew never sought help from outside—were communications severed?” Kui Xin retreated into the corridor.
“It could also be that it’s been restrained,” Obsidian said.
The trio proceeded together to the next door. Silver Mask kicked it open, Kui Xin held her gun ready, and Obsidian maintained vigilance from behind.
As this door swung open, they once again detected the putrid stench of decay.
Kui Xin’s pupils contracted as she spotted a dark red, octopus-like creature on the ground. Its robust tentacles were wrapped around a slightly convulsing human, currently transferring its own essence into the human’s body!
Every few days, Red Thorn Hunters would switch their parasitic hosts. This one was in the midst of changing bodies to absorb more nutrients and strengthen themselves. Shu Xuyao had taught Kui Xin that the most vulnerable moment for parasitic alien creatures is when they are transitioning between hosts.
Instinctively raising her gun, Kui Xin was about to pull the trigger and kill the Red Thorn Hunter when she suddenly remembered the need to take prisoners alive. She abruptly halted her action, and nearby, Obsidian reached out to press down on her firearm, looking at her and saying, “The person below is still alive.”
“I know.” With a slight flick of her gun, Kui Xin dislodged Obsidian’s hand resting upon it.
With effortless control, Silver Mask compressed the vulnerable Red Thorn Hunter into a pool of sludge using water currents and then extracted the crew member, who nearly became a parasitic host, with ropes of water. The crew member was covered in the foul-smelling mucus from the Red Thorn Hunter. Disdainfully, Silver Mask rinsed him off to alleviate the nauseating odor.
Stimulated by the cold water, the crew member gradually regained consciousness. He almost burst into tears when he saw three humans dressed in black combat suits before him.
Tears streamed down his face as he trembled and asked, “Are you humans or monsters?”
None of the three individuals present responded to him.
Instantly, the crew member shook violently, akin to having a seizure, looking like he would faint again from fear.
“Don’t be afraid,” Kui Xin reassured him at that moment. “We are from the Federation’s Investigation Department.”
Hope ignited in the crew member’s eyes. “Have you come to rescue us? On this ship—this ship is teeming with monsters!”
His face drenched in tears, he attempted to hug Kui Xin’s legs, but she swiftly dodged aside.
“We were ordered to carry out an escort mission for the Kraken, but there’s something very wrong with this vessel,” Kui Xin said. “You need to clarify the situation and inform us of what happened on the Kraken. Only by knowing the root cause can we address the problem.”
However, the crew member had already lost his rationality. Struggling on the ground to stand up, he persistently muttered, “I want to go home… I want to go home… Monsters are everywhere here, and my friends have turned into monsters too…”
Growing impatient, Kui Xin grabbed the crew member by the collar, lifting him entirely off the ground. She enunciated each word forcefully with icy eyes visible behind the helmet visor: “Tell me, what happened?”
The crew member’s gaze gradually became unfocused. In response, Kui Xin raised her hand and slapped him, bringing him back to his senses. “If you want to go home, answer my questions!”
Upon hearing the words “go home,” the crew member finally responded.
His face was pallid. “At first, everything was normal… But later, people around me started acting strangely.” He shuddered. “They were vomiting and suffering from diarrhea, being sent to the infirmary for treatment. However, those who entered the infirmary emerged as if transformed, as though possessed by demons.” His voice trembled. “With my own eyes, I saw a friend whom I’ve known for five or six years devour one of our colleagues…”
The crew member seemed trapped in a nightmare, involuntarily trembling all over.
“Then, for some reason, a fight broke out on the ship. Before I could react, I was knocked unconscious and locked up with a few others in our own rooms… At regular intervals, screams would come from the room next to mine. I thought my trapped colleagues must have died, one after another… Today it’s my turn to die… Someone opened my room door and let the terrifying red monster inside; it wants to eat me…”
His words were disjointed and fragmented, lacking coherence. Gradually, Kui Xin pieced together the sequence of events from his speech.
A shape-shifting monster boarded the ship, subsequently replacing some of its crew members. This led to internal conflicts among the crew, resulting in a portion of the surviving crew being confined and used as reserves of food for the alien creatures.
Kui Xin asked again, “Who was the person who released the red monster into your room?”
The crew member, disoriented, remained silent. Just as Kui Xin was losing patience and preparing to press him further, he suddenly blurted out, “It was Tang Guan! It was him!”
Tears streamed down the crew member’s face. “Why would he harm us?”
Kui Xin released her grip, and the crew member collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and slipping into unconsciousness.
Her heart sank to its lowest point.
The first time Kui Xin met Tang Guan, he had given her a hint to inspect the frozen crew member bodies in the kitchen. Indeed, she hadn’t sensed any malice from Tang Guan; even if he wasn’t an ally, she thought at least he wouldn’t be an enemy.
However, the words of the crew member before her made Kui Xin doubt her judgment.
If Tang Guan were the mastermind behind the ship’s tragedy, why would he provide hints to Kui Xin and appear non-maliciously in front of her?
The situation became increasingly perplexing.
“Eden, do you have any information about Tang Guan?” Kui Xin asked through her earpiece.
“I’ve completed the search. His employee details are available on Faraway Cargo Ship Company’s official website. Tang Guan, a male, 28 years old, junior seaman, has been employed with the cargo ship company for just over one year,” Eden replied. “Here is his identification photo.”
The crew member’s ID photo displayed on the lens showed Tang Guan, identical to the Tang Guan Kui Xin had encountered.
“We’ll focus on finding him,” Kui Xin said. “Send this information to Red as well, so they can stay vigilant.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Eden responded.
Kui Xin glanced at the unconscious crew member lying on the ground. “Handle him according to protocol.”
“Oh.” Silver Mask raised his gun and fired a single bullet, ending the man’s life.
Obsidian subtly diverted his gaze, avoiding looking at the corpse on the ground. With his helmet on, Kui Xin couldn’t detect his subtle emotional changes.
Searching the rooms proved to be a time-consuming task. In subsequent crew member quarters, they discovered more human bodies, each highly decomposed and emitting a pervasive stench. If not for the ventilation system and gas masks purifying the air, Kui Xin would undoubtedly have vomited on the spot.
She barely wanted to glance at those corpses again, but Obsidian meticulously examined each one. Among them, some contained Red Thorn Hunter eggs, which he carefully destroyed one by one.
As they continued, they reached the end of the blood-streaked trail—the kitchen.
Indeed, the trail of blood led to the kitchen.
Kui Xin stood at the kitchen entrance, feeling a sense of anticipation as if she had expected this outcome.
Silver Mask, acting like a leading enforcer or bodyguard, dutifully opened the door while simultaneously raising a water shield defense.
In the chaotic mess of the kitchen, there stood a person—a living person.
“Tang Guan,” Kui Xin said, uttering the name of the living individual.
Tang Guan lifted his head blankly, revealing the same scruffy, weary face as before. Strangely, Kui Xin’s “Absolute Prediction” still did not issue any warning; Tang Guan showed no intent to kill.
Tang Guan collapsed to his knees, murky tears streaming down his gaunt cheeks. With trembling lips, he pleaded, “Please… kill me; let me be free.”
“Are you responsible for what happened on this ship?” Kui Xin softly asked.
“I think so… It must have been me, right?” Tang Guan muttered, confused and disoriented.
“Why waste time with him?” Silver Mask stepped forward.
Obsidian queried, “Should we capture him?”
“No… it won’t be that simple.” Kui Xin raised her gun, aiming at Tang Guan’s shoulder.
With a gunshot, the bullet struck Tang Guan’s right shoulder, causing a burst of blood like a blooming flower.
However, this bloody bloom was akin to a drop of water splattering into hot oil, triggering a violent reaction.
Tang Guan’s body rapidly swelled, flesh tearing through his clothing as he instantly transformed into a massive half-human, half-monstrous creature.
On his right side emerged an alien creature covered in tentacles, while his left side remained an ordinary human form. The most terrifying aspect was that his neck bifurcated, revealing two heads—one being the monstrous head with a gaping maw, and the other, Tang Guan’s own head!
“A two-headed monster!” Silver Mask exclaimed in shock.
Even Obsidian recoiled, taken aback.
“Fire!” Kui Xin shouted.
The trio simultaneously opened fire on Tang Guan, their bullets forming a dense barrage. However, after penetrating the tentacles and his body, the bullets proved utterly ineffective. The rapidly healing flesh squeezed out all the projectiles, which clattered to the ground with metallic sounds. Even when bullets struck his head, tearing away large chunks of skull, bones and tissue swiftly regenerated. Despite being hit in the heart, the tentacles continued their frenzied dance without pause.
This was… an immortal monster!
The head bearing Tang Guan’s face displayed expressions of agonizing struggle, silently howling in distress, while the monstrous head showed a frantic demeanor, filled with the excitement of a predator.
Tang Guan did not seem like a mere host for the alien creature; instead, it appeared more like a symbiotic relationship! He and the monster shared one body, contending for control over it.
With tears streaming down his face, Tang Guan pleaded soundlessly, “Kill me… Kill me… Please.”
His eyes conveyed unbearable torment and despair, yet the tentacles emerging from his body relentlessly attacked Kui Xin, Silver Mask, and Obsidian.
The robust tentacles seemed impervious to bullets, striking Kui Xin with lightning speed.
At that moment, Kui Xin decisively discarded her gun, drawing a folding knife from her thigh holster. With a swift flick of her right hand, the thirty-centimeter-long blade extended abruptly to over a meter in length.
She swung her blade horizontally, leaving crescent-shaped, silvery afterimages on their retinas. The writhing tentacle hit the ground with a thud, blue blood gushing forth!