The Bugs

The gene monster, weakened by Tu Ran's blade, felt its vitality plummet. Shen Yunhe and Le Qin aimed smartly at its wound, and the creature was soon brought down. It lay on the ground whimpering, thick black blood oozing steadily from its severed neck.

The foul-smelling blood poured out relentlessly, as if it would dissolve the creature's entire body.

In fact, it was dissolving. The limbs that had been human-like but excessive all melted into the pool of blood, leaving only two arms and two legs—its form before the mutation.

But it was already dead.

Tu Ran photographed the scene and sent it to the other two teams. She turned and headed upstairs, reminding them through her earpiece, "There's more than three gene monsters. Keep your guard up."

She reached the first floor and met up with Min Tao and Xiao Di, intending to check the second and third floors. Ding Naiqing still hadn't replied to her.

The injured Zhao Shan had already been carried out and was being lifted toward the helicopter. He was badly hurt and needed to get back to the Medical Department for treatment ASAP.

Just then, gunfire and chaotic footsteps erupted from the deck outside the first floor.

Tu Ran rushed out immediately. A gene monster nearly three meters tall, with a catfish mouth and whiskers, was tearing Zhao Shan away from the two pioneers escorting him.

Zhao Shan's blood had probably drawn it out.

The creature was soaked all over, as if it had just surfaced from the sea.

Zero's words confirmed her suspicion: "It was hiding under the ship the whole time. When you landed from the helicopter, the deck was empty—it likely dragged those people into the sea. And the reason no one has escaped on a lifeboat since the incident started is probably also this."

This marine gene monster was one of the three that had appeared in Zero's surveillance footage. It lurked on the sea surface, and anyone who tried to flee by jumping into the water probably ended up in its belly.

While the creature fought to snatch Zhao Shan's body, the pioneers and guards on the helicopter opened fire on it.

The bullets did little damage—its pliable body absorbed them all. Its catfish whiskers, thick as a human thigh, coiled around Zhao Shan's neck and yanked hard. Zhao Shan, who had already passed out from blood loss, was jerked into a rolled-eyes stupor.

Tu Ran drew the long blade from her back in a reverse grip, her cold gaze fixed on the monster at the edge of the deck. "Tell them to stop shooting."

Zero complied, and the gunfire from the helicopter ceased. At the same moment, Tu Ran shot forward.

Every stroke struck the vital points, each move carrying boundless force. The sharp blade gleamed into brilliant arcs under the sun rising over the sea's horizon.

At first, the creature's body could withstand her blade. Its white, pliable flesh—like a maggot's—dented where cut, the pale meat clamping down on the edge and neutralizing the strike.

But Tu Ran hacked in relentlessly, her attacks ultra-fast, all-directional, nearly invisible to the naked eye. Before one gap in the creature's body could close, another was already torn open.

At last, the gene monster reached its physical limit beneath the dense craters. Its greasy white body swelled to the bursting point, the surface turning translucent, and Tu Ran could see the internal organs and blood vessels hidden beneath.

She sensed danger and turned to retreat.

But it was too late.

The gene monster exploded.

Sticky white meat flew in all directions. Tu Ran, who hadn't managed to dodge, was drenched from head to toe, as if coated in a layer of expired salad dressing.

Besides her, Zhao Shan and the two pioneers escorting him didn't escape the blast either.

"Ugh!"

Tu Ran was the first to break. She dropped to her knees and retched.

The air purification system in her helmet couldn't block the stench of the shredded flesh.

Zhao Shan, who had been on the verge of consciousness, was now knocked clean out by the smell. The other two held their breath with all their might, their faces flushed red.

Worse still, the flesh wasn't just meat—it was crawling with writhing white maggots.

Unable to stand it, Tu Ran spun around and dashed toward the sea. In the midst of Le Qin's startled cry, she plunged into the water with a splash.

Her combat suit was fully sealed and waterproof. The moment she hit the sea, the current washed the bugs away.

Tu Ran didn't surface right away. She swam upstream, letting the seawater rinse her off a while longer.

"Are you okay?" Zero asked, with a hint of sympathy.

He hated those little bugs too. They often crawled into the crevices of his body without his knowledge, gnawing at his circuits and breeding a swarm inside, forcing him to undergo regular maintenance.

And they were hard to clean out. Sometimes corpses would remain in his body—harmless, but the thought of it made his skin crawl: the image of countless alien carcasses packed inside him. Of course, that was an exaggeration; he had no skin to crawl. But he figured the feeling was the same, since he had once been human.

"Not great. I think I need a change of clothes." Tu Ran dunked her head underwater, then lifted it out again, repeating the motion.

"I've notified the Pioneer Team's logistics department. Your clothes will be sent to the hotel later," Zero said.

Tu Ran nodded. A voice came through her earpiece—Ding Naiqing, speaking for the first time since the mission began. "Pangpala's been found. He seems to have mental issues. No other survivors located so far. Two gene monsters attacked us suddenly—both strong. We need backup."

Tu Ran immediately directed the others on the deck to support Ding Naiqing. She herself swam to the boarding ladder, climbing up hand over foot.

On the deck, the two pioneers, in a similar sorry state to hers, suppressed their urge to vomit and strapped the unconscious Zhao Shan onto a rescue frame. Once they confirmed it was secure, the helicopter lifted off with the frame suspended beneath.

From start to finish, the helicopter never hauled Zhao Shan aboard—it remained dangling in midair, carried back to the Medical Department.

With the mission complete, the two pioneers copied Tu Ran's approach, diving into the sea to wash the squirming white bugs off their bodies.

When Tu Ran climbed back onto the deck, all she saw was a mess of sticky, unprocessed flesh scattered on the ground. Looking closer, she could spot fine maggots mixed in among them.

Waves occasionally washed over the sea surface, scattering the bugs and pulling them into the ocean.

"When will the Research Institute people get here? Any later and the deck will be scrubbed clean."

As she spoke, Tu Ran pulled a transparent test tube from her thigh pocket and crouched to collect the bugs.

Pioneers in the Threshold often gathered soil, water, air, and such; everyone carried all kinds of collection gear on their person.

Tu Ran loaded seven or eight bugs and a small chunk of flesh into the tube, then capped it and twisted the seal tight, making sure nothing could leak out.