novelraw Chapter 64: Sea of Darkness - (64)
Chapter 64: Sea of Darkness - (64)
The severed tentacle continued to thrash and twist vigorously on the floor, but the flow of blue blood quickly stopped. A new tentacle rapidly regenerated from the stump, stretching cunningly and wrapping around Kui Xin’s leg.
The tentacle swiftly tightened, its suction cup scraping against the exoskeleton armor with an unbearable, grating sound. The two-headed monster’s tentacles were stronger than any other alien creature that Kui Xin had encountered before. As it squeezed the exoskeleton armor, surprisingly causing a slight deformation, the metal components began pressing against her legs.
Kui Xin stumbled due to the tentacle’s pull, nearly losing her balance. She thrust her extendable knife into the floor to steady herself, while Silver Mask, swift as lightning, grabbed Kui Xin’s waist to prevent the monster from dragging her away.
Obsidian swiftly drew his blade and sliced through the tentacle entangled around Kui Xin’s leg. Blue blood splattered onto the armor, and he sighed in relief. “It’s non-corrosive blood.”
The two-headed monster, transformed from Tang Guan, appeared almost otherworldly.
One monstrous head bore a twisted smile, with human-like emotions—excitement and cruelty—reflected in its eyes. It extended its deeply purple, pitted tongue to eagerly lick its lips, resembling a gourmand impatient to savor his meal.
The three humans standing before them were their prey.
Unfortunately for the creatures, these humans had no intention of passively becoming food without resistance.
As the tentacles launched another assault, Silver Mask erected a water barrier. The tentacles struck against it, causing intense ripples but effectively obstructing the two-headed monster’s attack. However, under the cover of this water curtain, neither bullets nor blades could exert their full power.
In the following moment, Silver Mask withdrew the properties he had imbued within the water, causing the water curtain to collapse. As droplets hung suspended mid-air, just before dispersing, Kui Xin seamlessly stepped forward and delivered her strike in perfect coordination.With a swift sound, the exquisitely forged, razor-sharp blade pierced through the water curtain. The knife’s tip smoothly split a single droplet of splashing water in half, dividing both the transparent water wall and the undulating tentacle that reached towards them, cleaving it neatly into two halves.
The monster’s blue blood mixed with the splashing water, resembling the expressive strokes of a painter wielding his brush or the fluid movements of a tailor cutting through delicate fabric.
Blood and water spattered onto Kui Xin’s helmet and body. Obsidian stepped forward, holding a modified, enhanced grenade with its safety pin removed.
With precision akin to that of a skilled pitcher, he hurled the grenade directly at the creature’s head. The moment it made contact, the grenade exploded, and Silver Mask perfectly timed the deployment of a second water curtain. Simultaneously, using ropes of water, he pulled them both away from the kitchen entrance, making them crouch down just in time to avoid the intense shockwave.
The water curtain violently fluctuated as flames, and the shockwave burst forth from the kitchen door like an erupting volcano. Even the metal wall adjacent to the kitchen slightly bulged due to the impact. The deafening explosion reverberated repeatedly throughout the long corridor, causing their ears to ring slightly.
Kui Xin shook her head, climbing up from the ground.
During the boarding operation with the Investigation Department, they had used miniature bombs with an explosive radius of only about two meters, significantly less powerful than the one Obsidian employed now.
“If detonated outside, this bomb would create a pit several meters deep in the ground. Do you think that thing’s still alive?” Silver Mask also got back on his feet.
“Not dead yet. The monster’s thoughts are still active, but slightly weaker. They… or rather, it… its thoughts are very disordered; I can’t control them.” A blue glow flickered in Obsidian’s eyes, and with a serious expression, he swiftly said, “The creature has two heads and two minds. Taking out just one head is useless. If one head is removed, the other will rapidly regrow. We may need to eliminate both heads simultaneously.”
Kui Xin remarked, “We can’t even get close, let alone take out both heads at once.”
As a B-rank awakened being, Obsidian could perform superficial thought reading, discerning specific emotions of individuals, but he couldn’t delve into their deepest thoughts nor easily manipulate others’ minds as desired. Controlling ordinary people with weak willpower was barely manageable while controlling awakened beings was practically impossible. However, as his superhuman ability level advanced, these capabilities would also improve, indicating significant potential for growth.
Spiritual-type Extraordinary Ability Users had varying areas of specialization—some excelled in mind reading, while others were adept at thought manipulation. Amber and Obsidian, being identical twins, possessed the same abilities. They did not excel in controlling or reading thoughts; instead, their primary focus lay in “consciousness implantation.”
In essence, it was brainwashing.
This differed from mind control; mind control would turn the manipulated individual into a living puppet, akin to a marionette driven by strings. On the other hand, consciousness implantation primarily involves instilling specific thoughts or keywords into the human brain. Over time, this seed of consciousness would take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree. Unbeknownst to the recipient, their thoughts would gradually change, transforming them into a “free” puppet.
After repeated hypnosis and consciousness implantation, the seeds of consciousness would deeply embed themselves within someone’s mind, becoming highly concealed and difficult to remove.
Currently, Amber and Obsidian’s abilities are relatively weak, but they hold promise for the future. At the same time, because of their powers, they occupied a somewhat awkward position within the organization. Wei Haidong harbored a slight apprehension towards them, yet he also wanted to nurture their talents properly.
Silver Mask glanced back and was startled to see several tentacles lying limp near the kitchen entrance, slowly slithering across the floor, seemingly intent on grabbing hold of the trio.
Obsidian signaled to Silver Mask, once again producing a grenade. Understanding, Silver Mask took the bomb, pulled out the pin, and used his water manipulation to hurl it into the kitchen.
With another loud explosion, the tentacles at the doorway were severed, flying through the air and sticking to the wall.
Silver Mask hopefully asked, “Is it still alive?”
“No…” Heiyao slowly approached the kitchen entrance, his expression grim as he looked at the large hole in the kitchen floor. “It escaped.”
The kitchen’s floor was also made of steel plates, and now there was a massive hole nearly two meters in diameter, through which the creature had jumped.
“Red, maintain vigilance; there’s a highly troublesome monster on board,” Kui Xin said.
Red responded, “Roger that. Eden informed me about your situation over there, and our mission prospects are not optimistic. Retreat to the deck; we’ve already dismantled the ship’s artificial intelligence motherboard. Additionally, the fire originated in the hangar, but the onboard firefighting system had been manually shut down. We just reactivated it, containing the fire.”
Kui Xin acknowledged, “Understood.”
Before leaving, she glanced at the void on the kitchen floor. “Obsidian, scan that hole… Just toss the scanner directly over.”
Unlike micro-drones that could hover, scanners did not have such capability. However, given the dangerous circumstances, none of them were willing to approach the opening, so they had no choice but to abandon a scanner.
Obsidian tossed a spherical scanner, which plummeted straight into the void beneath the kitchen. The brief two- to three-second footage captured by the scan was transmitted back, making their hearts uneasy.
A water reservoir was situated below the kitchen.
In today’s technologically advanced era, ships sailing on the ocean could directly extract seawater, filter it, and purify it for drinking purposes. However, such seawater treatment systems require a dedicated reservoir. On the Kraken, the reservoir was located just below the kitchen.
Within this vast reservoir, apart from the water, there were clusters of eggs adhering to its walls.
Strings of eggs resembled warty bumps found on a toad, grotesque and slimy-looking. Despite the darkness, they emitted a faint glow.
Instantly, Kui Xin recalled the nightmare scene she witnessed during the previous cycle on the Kraken’s deck. Helicopter searchlights had swept across the sea surface, revealing countless alien creature eyes densely packed together. Each pair of eyes reflected fluorescent light, akin to eerie ghost fires burning in a graveyard.
There was also a hole in the reservoir’s steel plate, presumably where the two-headed monster escaped. Now, it must be roaming somewhere within the cargo ship.
Silver Mask furrowed his brows. “How many more alien creatures could be hiding here? The number of alien creatures already exceeds that of living humans.”
“We haven’t found many bodies. Based on intelligence, there should have been at least forty crew members onboard,” Obsidian said.
Kui Xin quietly pointed towards the door of the kitchen’s cold storage, which had become unstable after the explosion. “Observe the floor; blood trails lead to that area. I suspect some parts of the bodies were frozen, similar to how humans preserve leftover food in refrigerators for freshness.”
To Kui Xin, the Kraken felt like a ghost ship sailing towards hell, laden with the souls of the deceased. Demons drooled over this vessel, eagerly holding their cutlery and watching menacingly, ready for a feast.
“Red instructed us to retreat to the deck; let’s go.” Obsidian lowered his gaze.
“What’s going on with Tang Guan?” Silver Mask, bringing up the rear, asked while walking at the back.
“He clearly still retains a certain level of self-awareness. I speculate that unlike the parasitic hydra or Red Thorn Hunters, this unknown creature doesn’t absorb the host’s life force but rather competes for control over the body, devouring their consciousness. Hence, Tang Guan alternates between lucidity and confusion as he battles the monster. If he collapses, he’ll be consumed,” Kui Xin deduced reasonably. “It seems Tang Guan and the creature are in a symbiotic state.”
“I believe so too,” Obsidian said. “The incidents on the ship are likely connected to the secret cult; this assumption should be quite accurate.”
After their brief exchange, they fell silent, remaining vigilant of their surroundings while swiftly retreating at top speed.
Kui Xin took a few seconds to summon the system, and its interface flickered before her eyes.
“[Mission Progress]: 99%.”
Only one percent remained.
If Tang Guan was not the mastermind behind the scenes, if he too was just another puppet being controlled, then where is the true orchestrator hiding? Tang Guan’s anguish didn’t seem feigned, suggesting that the tragedy aboard The Kraken was likely not his intention.
As the trio maintained vigilance while withdrawing, Kui Xin suddenly felt a buzzing sensation in her mind.
“Thump… thump… thump…”
The familiar sound of heartbeats echoed.
At that precise moment, Kui Xin heard the friction noise of something sliding through the pipes. Her temples pulsed, signaling an impending sense of danger.
A tearing sound abruptly came from the exhaust pipe above them as the corridor’s light tube circuitry got severed. Lights flickered erratically, and within mere moments, the distorted body of the two-headed monster squeezed out from the exhaust pipe.
After escaping from underneath the kitchen, it somehow managed to squeeze into the ventilation duct.
The two-headed monster navigated through the ducts with tentacle-like limbs, searching for Kui Xin’s group. Then, descending from above, it swiftly grabbed them. Cunningly, it first choked Silver Mask, who had the strongest combat capability, while utilizing its weight advantage to heavily press its massive body down. This pinned Kui Xin and Obsidian firmly against the ground, covering their mouths and noses with layers of tendrils, suffocating them.
However, Kui Xin clung tenaciously to her telescopic blade. She thrust the blade vertically upwards as soon as the creature bore down on them. The one-meter-long blade, extending forcefully, pierced deeply into its body.
Kui Xin’s neck and rib bones creaked under immense strain, her eyes turning bright red due to oxygen deprivation and engorgement. The exoskeleton armor slightly mitigated the choking pressure while simultaneously amplifying her strength significantly.
Mechanical parts whirred, operating at maximum capacity.
The veins in Kui Xin’s hands bulged as her survival instinct ignited a surge of potential, pushing beyond this body’s limits. With explosive power from both her wrist and arm muscles, they strained like fully drawn bowstrings, even tearing from the exertion.
She broke free from the tentacles and swiftly slashed open the creature’s body with her blade!