45: Chapter 45 Into the Lair

Though the smoke had not yet dissipated, Wang Jie did not show the slightest relaxation after the victory.

He stood in the center of the devastated valley, his gaze locked onto the radar terminal in his hand—deep within the screen, an exceptionally strong signal source was still flashing, like a predator lurking in the darkness, its intensity far exceeding any Mutant Beast that had just died in battle.

Although the surrounding herd had been wiped out, a true, unknown threat was still hidden in the deepest part of the lair.

What exactly was it?

Was it a stronger Mutant Beast leader, or some other terrifying existence?

Wang Jie did not hesitate at all.

If the hidden danger was not eliminated, there would never be peace.

He immediately pulled the most elite combatants from his troops to form an assault squad: Gene Warrior 01 and 02 took the lead, three Radiation Engineers carrying heavy energy weapons brought up the rear, two Snipers occupied high ground to provide precision fire at any time, and with several Heavy Soldiers clad in heavy armor, the group was fully armed and advanced toward the depths of the lair.

The further they went into the valley, the more eerie and terrifying the environment became.

Collapsed rocks and charred corpses piled up like mountains, the rock walls were sticky with dark green body fluids and the shed fur of Mutant Beasts, and the ground was covered with incomplete, gnawed bones—some from beasts, and some from humans who had met their end long ago.

The air was a mixture of stench, fishy odors, and the smell of strange slime, making people's throats tighten; every step felt like walking on the edge of hell.

Under the dim light, only the beams of tactical flashlights swayed in the darkness, illuminating horrifying traces one after another.

The team moved forward in silence, their footsteps echoing in the empty cavern.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, save for the sound of dripping water and some indescribable, subtle wriggling sounds faintly coming from deep in the darkness.

After a grueling trek of over an hour, passing through several narrow rock crevices and low tunnels, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A natural cavern, larger than a standard soccer field, appeared before them.

Dense stalactites hung upside down from the cavern roof, an underground river flowed murmuringly, and in the very center of the cavern, a behemoth that made everyone's pupils shrink stood quietly.

It was not a beast, nor was it a monster.

It was a giant cocoon, huge beyond imagination.

It was three stories tall, dark black all over, with strange dark red vein-like patterns winding across its surface, pulsing slowly as if it were a living thing.

Inside the cocoon, a huge form was constantly wriggling and colliding; even through the thick shell, one could feel the terrifying power contained within, as if it would break out of the cocoon at any moment and tear everything apart.

A cold sense of crisis instantly climbed up Wang Jie's back.

Just then, the cold prompt of the system suddenly sounded in his mind:

【Unknown lifeform detected】

【Type: Mutant Beast Mother】

【Status: Hatching】

【Threat Level: Unassessable】

【Suggestion: Destroy immediately!】

Without needing the system to say more, Wang Jie had already made his decision.

Once this thing was allowed to fully hatch, the consequences would be unimaginable; the entire base, the alliance, and even all the surrounding survivors would become food for these Mutant Beasts.

"Fire!"

At the order, all weapons roared simultaneously.

Rifle bullets smashed onto the surface of the giant cocoon like a rainstorm, splashing sparks; tank cannons and grenade launchers bombarded it in turns, and the thick cocoon shell instantly exploded with several huge cracks; Radiation Engineers fired pale blue energy beams, the high temperature and radiation instantly corroding the cocoon body, emitting bursts of black smoke and a pungent stench.

Under the fierce attack, the giant cocoon began to tremble violently.

The existence inside was thoroughly enraged.

A screech, sharp enough to pierce eardrums, erupted from inside the cocoon, shaking the entire cavern until it was on the verge of collapse, with gravel falling down.

In the next second, the giant cocoon, covered in cracks, exploded with a roar, countless fragments splashed, and a terrifying monster with a size that was suffocating slowly crawled out of the wreckage.

It was a Mutant Mother.

Its appearance resembled a spider, but it was far more hideous and terrifying than any spider.

Eight sturdy limbs, like utility poles, supported a mountain-like body, its outer shell as hard as black iron, glowing with a cold metallic luster.

It had no eyes on its head, only a giant mouthpart filled with fine, dense fangs, dripping with corrosive saliva.

And on its broad back, hundreds of holes were constantly wriggling, and small Mutant Beasts were being continuously hatched and squeezed out, surging toward the cave entrance like a tide.

"Damn it." Wang Jie cursed in a low voice, a chill rising in his heart.

"Focus fire! Hit its head core!"

All firepower instantly concentrated, pouring toward the vital parts of the Mutant Mother.

The Mutant Mother felt the pain and let out a frantic roar, its eight giant legs waving wildly; every sweep could smash the hard rock walls into pieces, sending stones flying.

The hatched small Mutant Beasts, fearless of death, swarmed toward the assault squad, their sharp claws and teeth biting into armor and flesh.

Gene Warrior 01 and 02 immediately rushed forward, relying on their superior physical strength to engage in close-quarters combat with the Mutant Beasts, punches hitting flesh, blood splashing everywhere; the Radiation Engineers endured the pressure and continued to output, their energy beams firmly pinned on the Mutant Mother; the Snipers held their breath, aiming at the most fragile part of the Mutant Mother's head, firing precisely shot after shot.

The battle broke out fiercely in the narrow cavern.

There was no way out, no reinforcements, only a fight to the death.

Gravel flew, flesh and blood splattered, and the roars and gunfire wove into a requiem of the apocalypse.

The half-hour death match felt as long as a century.

When the last energy beam pierced the core of the Mutant Mother, the behemoth finally let out a desperate cry, its eight giant legs twitched violently a few times, and its mountain-heavy body collapsed with a crash, completely silent.

The small Mutant Beasts, having lost the control of the mother, also fell limp and died at the same time, and the cavern instantly returned to deathly silence.

At this moment, this elite squad had suffered heavy casualties.

Of the three Radiation Engineers, only one survived; two comrades had fallen under the Mutant Mother's attacks; Gene Warrior 01 was seriously injured, armor shattered, covered in blood, barely managing to stand; 02 was also injured in multiple places, stamina exhausted; of the several Heavy Soldiers, only two were left standing at the end.

The price was heavy.

But the Mutant Mother was dead after all.

The system's prompt sounded again, bringing a reward notification for killing a strong enemy:

【Killed Mutant Beast Mother × 1, obtained Funds + 20000, Mutation Core + 20, Special Gene Fragment + 5】

Wang Jie did not look at those cold numbers.

He walked step by step to the huge corpse of the Mutant Mother, lowered his head to stare at this terrifying monster, his brow furrowed, his eyes grave to the extreme.

This was by no means a product of natural mutation.

Such an orderly hatching method, such powerful reproductive ability, such stable mutated genes... everything revealed traces of deliberation.

In his mind, he couldn't help but flash back to those sealed secrets—the secret research of the Academy of Sciences, the bizarre project codenamed "new human project", and that mysterious person "K" who had always been hidden in the dark with an unknown identity.

All the clues were faintly connecting at this moment.

This mother, perhaps, was the key to unlocking the whole truth.

Wang Jie tightened his grip on his gun and looked into the endless darkness deep in the cavern.

He knew that he was getting closer and closer to that covered-up truth.

And waiting for him would surely be an even crueler, even darker truth and enemy.