Chapter 2: Nine Infants
The Research Vessel’s cabins are distributed as three below and seven above, with the Deck located on the Fourth Layer of the cabins.
The restaurant, boarding hall, and work area are all located on this layer.
The crowd who had been leisurely enjoying the view on the Deck just moments ago hurriedly squeezed into the boarding hall.
Although it was Li Weiyi’s first time facing such a sudden situation, he displayed exceptional psychological qualities, remaining calm in the face of danger. He sent all the Scientific Expedition Team Members into the cabin door before being the last to leave the Deck, tightly locking the cabin door.
In just these short two minutes, that purple-black Bear-like Creature had already crossed three or four kilometers of ice field and arrived below the Long Ji Hao.
” Splash—”
With a leap.
Its massive and robust body vaulted onto the several-meters-high Ship’s Rail, landing heavily on the Deck with a thud.
The ground of the boarding hall trembled.
Observed up close, its body hair was very long, like wearing a layer of purple-black iron armor. Its eyes were larger than a person’s Fist, purple-red in color. Its teeth were sharp, like saw teeth.
Its facial features had already approached humanization.
Even through the thick specially-made glass, one could feel its ferocity. Even Li Weiyi felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.
Fortunately, the Cabin Window dimensions were very small, so there was no worry of it breaking in through the window.
“Boom!”
The Bear-like Creature suddenly charged forward, colliding with the just-closed cabin door. The entire boarding hall crackled and rattled, with numerous cracks appearing in the specially-made glass.
Many Scientific Expedition Team Members let out screams.
The boarding hall was in chaos, some taking the stairs, some taking the elevator, fleeing to higher-layer cabins.
The cabin doors of the Long Ji Hao polar Research Vessel were made of alloy material with a multi-layer design for cold protection, warmth preservation, and wind pressure resistance. Even though the purple-black Bear-like Creature was incredibly strong, it failed to smash it open directly.
But Li Weiyi noticed that the ship hull structure around the cabin door had deformed.
It was only a matter of time before it was smashed open.
“Move all usable things over here and block the cabin door,” Li Weiyi shouted.
The boarding hall was noisy and chaotic; everyone just wanted to escape this most dangerous area as quickly as possible, and no one responded to him.
The cabinets and equipment on the Research Vessel were all designed to be anti-wave, fixed connections.
Li Weiyi finally managed to dismantle a Storage Cabinet in the boarding hall and was preparing to push it over to block the cabin door when he heard Xie Jin, who had just arrived, scold: “What are you doing?”
Xie Jin and seven Security Team members had retrieved Taser Guns, Protective Shields, Tear Gas, and other weapons, rushing into the boarding hall.
They were tall and robust, with firm and sharp gazes, elites selected through layers of screening.
“He’s trying to dismantle the ship?” someone joked and laughed.
“It’s just one bear, and you’re scared like this?”
……
“Boom!”
The purple-black Bear-like Creature collided for the fourth time, with severe deformation around the cabin door and signs of tearing.
The deafening sound was like cannon shells bombarding the Ship Hull.
The eight Security Team members, including Xie Jin, after clearly seeing the Colossus outside the window, turned pale with fear despite being elites, feeling suffocated and terrified.
As if suppressed by Bloodline.
What kind of bear was this?
It was simply like a prehistoric Monster, huge and ferocious, completely beyond cognition. If photographed and reported…
“Click!”
The shutter sound rang out inappropriately in the boarding hall.
That short guy who liked reciting poetry and telling Mythological Stories hadn’t fled; he was taking photos by the Window Side.
Faced with the crowd’s gazes, he awkwardly put away the Camera and explained: “I study ecology and environmental biology. This is absolutely a new species never seen on Earth before, a true earth-shattering discovery. With this discovery, our polar Scientific Expedition will surely sensationally shock the entire nation… the whole World…”
“Boom!”
The fifth collision arrived, with breaking and tearing sounds from the ship hull around the cabin door; the largest crack was as wide as a palm.
Cold Air poured in, horrifying everyone in the boarding hall.
“I’ll help you push it.”
The short trainee shuddered in fear and hurriedly ran to Li Weiyi’s side, helping him push the Storage Cabinet to the cabin door to Block.
But this was obviously not enough.
Xie Jin had already reacted, immediately ordering all Security Team members to dismantle and move cabinets and Tables and Chairs.
This Bear-like Creature was simply like one mutated from nuclear Radiation; it was not something their weapons could Resist. Once it broke in, everyone on the Research Vessel would just be its Flesh and Blood rations.
“Rumble!”
The sound of propellers rang out outside.
While the Bear-like Creature was colliding with the cabin door, the helicopter had been pushed out of the hangar.
At this moment, the helicopter hovered in mid-air. Zhao Meng, wearing Sunglasses and holding a Rifle, aimed at the purple-black Bear-like Creature.
“So the ship has an American dip net; this is stable now, false alarm,” the short trainee relaxed and cheered.
The Bear-like Creature on the Deck was very intelligent, sensing Danger. Its body hair stood on end like foot-long steel needles, rearing up on its hind legs and roaring ferociously at the distant helicopter.
The sound was even more powerful than lions or tigers, high-pitched like thunder.
“Bang!”
The gunshot rang out, and the bear-shaped creature’s Head was hit.
Before the people on the ship could cheer, the Bear-like Creature’s even more furious roar echoed across the ice field. It tore off a metal device from the Research Vessel and hurled it into the air, trying to smash the helicopter down.
Fortunately, the helicopter pulled up just in time, narrowly Evading.
The spot on the Bear-like Creature’s head that was hit oozed Blood, but it was not seriously injured, only lightly wounded.
“The Rifle can’t even penetrate its skull; is it still a carbon-based lifeform?” The short trainee’s scalp tingled, his Legs trembling nonstop, his earlier confidence in the American dip net gone.
Li Weiyi showed a worried expression. This Bear-like Creature was highly intelligent and had counterattack capabilities; if the helicopter was hit, the consequences would be unimaginable.
His Senior Disciple Brother was on the helicopter.
Li Weiyi looked around and noticed the weapons on Xie Jin and the others, urgently saying: “Why aren’t you using the Tear Gas?”
Without another word, he snatched one from Xie Jin, opened it, and threw it out through the crack in the cabin door.
Instantly, thick smoke billowed outside.
Although Xie Jin was displeased, he knew the situation was critical and couldn’t flare up; he just sternly ordered everyone to use all the Tear Gas.
On the helicopter, Zhao Meng was also angry, continuously pulling the trigger.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…”
The bear-shaped creature had learned its lesson and knew the power of bullets; it no longer took them head-on with its body but dodged quickly.
It could sprint three or four kilometers at cheetah speed, so its jumping and dodging reaction speed was naturally extremely swift.
Fortunately, Zhao Meng was an excellent marksman, and with the Tear Gas interference, he successfully drove it away from the Research Vessel before emptying two magazines.
Li Weiyi rushed to the helipad first, helping Zhao Meng and the others push the helicopter back into the hangar.
“It hasn’t left; it’s observing from afar and could launch a second attack at any time.”
Zhao Meng’s face was extremely grim.
The Long Ji Hao was a Research Vessel with very limited ammunition carried; only three bullets remained in the magazine.
“Now we can only hope for the heavens! I saw dark clouds and fierce winds in the distance from the air earlier; a Snowstorm is coming.”
Zhao Meng reminded Li Weiyi to stay safe, then hurried to the Bridge to discuss borrowing a gun with the Captain.
The 705 Laboratory still had a Shotgun.
But whether it could harm that Bear-like Creature, Zhao Meng had no confidence at all.
……
The Bridge was located on the tenth layer of the cabins, also the highest layer of the entire Research Vessel.
When Zhao Meng entered the Bridge, Captain Gao Xin, Second Mate Xie Tianshu, and five Research Group leaders including Professor Xu were already gathered inside.
The atmosphere was very heavy.
Everyone’s gazes were fixed on the electronic sea chart and Seabed monitoring system Screen ahead.
The Screen displayed a three-dimensional image of the marine creature below the ship.
There.
A marine creature even larger than the Long Ji Hao was slowly accompanying in the seawater a hundred meters below, moving in the direction the Research Vessel was advancing.
It was over two hundred meters long, with nine thick Tentacles.
It was unimaginable what powerful undercurrents such a Colossus could stir up while active underwater.
“Just after one mutated Bear-like Creature emerged, another comes from the Seabed. How can Earth have such enormous lifeforms?”
Everyone in the Bridge was shocked.
“Could it be a giant squid?”
“This is many times larger than a giant squid!”
“The largest known marine creature, the blue whale, is only thirty-plus meters long and nearly two hundred tons heavy. In front of it, it’s like a newborn infant; this Deep Sea Colossus must weigh at least ten thousand tons.”
……
Professor Xu, the biology expert, adjusted his Glasses and stared closely at the Screen, shaking his head: “Look, its nine tentacles each have a human-head-shaped head. The body trunk is like a giant ox. Too unbelievable; absolutely another new species never seen on Earth.”
“That’s Nine Infants.”
At the Bridge doorway appeared an Old Man wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit.
He was the person in charge of the 705 Laboratory.
No one knew his name; everyone called him Director Yang.
“Nine Infants?”
Professor Xu had never heard of such a creature.
Director Yang walked into the Bridge, stood in front of the Screen, and said in a low tone: “Nine Infants is a ferocious beast from Mythological Legends, recorded in《Huainanzi·Ben Jing Xun》. Legend says it inhabits the North Sea, with cries like an infant’s wail, has nine heads, eats people on sight, and can spray water and spit fire. But I didn’t expect it to be this huge.”
Just as a Research Group leader was about to reprimand him for “not talking science, talking mythology.”
Director Yang deeply bowed to everyone, apologetically saying: “Sorry, everyone! These ferocious beasts were very likely drawn here by that thing in the 705 Laboratory. I apologize for putting everyone in danger.”
Zhao Meng was straightforward and had been holding back a belly full of anger: “What exactly is your 705 Laboratory researching? You must give everyone an explanation today.”
Captain Gao Xin clearly knew some inside information and looked at Director Yang: “The current situation is already extremely dangerous; both sea and land are targeted by abnormal ferocious beasts. No one knows what we’ll face next. I think we must tell them the truth.”
Director Yang nodded: “Everyone, let’s go to the 705 Laboratory together… You’ll know at a glance.”
……
…………
Li Weiyi returned to his living Cabin, retrieving a four-foot-long Ancient Sword from the Wooden Box under the bed.
It felt very heavy in hand, with an ebony Sword Scabbard.
Pulling the sword out half a foot revealed the sword blade inside, made of a brass-like material. Li Weiyi knew very well that this sword was not cast from brass; it was the Treasure of the Chan Sect second only to the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish.
From childhood to now, he had never seen the old Sect Leader polish or clean it, yet it always remained sharp, without any rust.
The Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish was the Sect Leader’s token of faith; in his view, it only had symbolic meaning.
The true number one Divine Weapon of the Chan Sect was still this Yellow Dragon Sword.
He sheathed the sword.
Li Weiyi carried the sword downstairs to the boarding hall.
Although Zhao Meng told him not to consider himself a Security Team member, since he had enjoyed the treatment of a Security Team member, he couldn’t hide away when Danger came.
How long could he hide anyway? When the nest is destroyed, no eggs remain intact.
The boarding hall’s cabin door was already tightly blocked with boxes, cabinets, and Tables and Chairs.
Most Security Team members were guarding here, holding various weapons, waiting in strict formation.
Seeing Li Weiyi coming down the stairs, surprise appeared in all their eyes.
“This university student has some courage and Responsibility!” For the first time in over a month, they gave a positive evaluation in their hearts.
The light darkened, and the sky was overcast.
The Snowstorm was coming.
Outside the broken Cabin Window, the wind went from whispers to roars, then swept across the entire ice field ground.
