mtl008 Chapter 134 Unexpected Event (3)
Chapter 134 Unexpected Event (3)
However, just as Nie Jiyang felt the smell growing stronger, he noticed that Pei Simin, who was still arguing with Team Leader Liu about killing the zombie, frowned slightly. This subtle change was something the old Nie Jiyang would never have noticed.
"Commander, Team Leader Liu, don't you smell anything strange?" Nie Jiyang interrupted the two people arguing. They just looked at him in confusion. The others also sniffed, but all said they didn't smell anything strange.
“I feel…” Pei Simin rubbed his nose and frowned. He felt there was a smell, but it wasn’t the pungent smell that Nie Jiyang had described.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Nie Jiyang noticed the zombie Xiao Ruan inside the gate. Its hands were pressed tightly against the tempered glass, and the red flames were burning it. Nie Jiyang could clearly see that its hands were stuck to the glass, and the pungent smell was coming from there.
"It's over there!" Nie Jiyang said, pointing to the zombie inside the gate. In that instant, the zombie's hands melted the tempered glass in front of it. One of its hands reached out, followed by the other. The research institute sniper closest to the gate was grabbed by the shoulder by these hands.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Immediately afterward, amidst the sniper's uncontrollable screams, he was instantly burned to ashes by those hands encircled by flames.
Team Leader Liu's prized gate, made of premium tempered glass, was slowly melting away. Half of Xiao Ruan's body was sticking out. Pei Simin shielded everyone behind him. Although he hadn't successfully absorbed the crystal yet, as a soldier and a leader, he chose to step forward in the face of danger.
He snatched the sniper's submachine gun and fired shot after shot at the zombie's head and body. But Xiao Ruan was a researcher with a high IQ, and he wouldn't be foolish enough not to dodge Pei Simin's bullets. Although he didn't manage to headshot the zombie, he at least temporarily delayed its attempt to break through the gate.
After Pei Simin grabbed the gun, the other two regimental commanders also grabbed the guns of the other two snipers. While helping to shoot, they called on the snipers and Nie Jiyang to lead Team Leader Liu to retreat.
Team Leader Liu was still somewhat reluctant to leave, but the current situation had completely exceeded his expectations and was beyond his control, so he could only reluctantly leave the laboratory.
As the five of them passed the changing area, Nie Jiyang suddenly felt his heart beat faster, but the feeling quickly subsided. Just as he was about to leave with the people in front of him, he suddenly felt his vision blocked by a vast expanse of light blue. In just an instant, he could see nothing but blue ripples on the water.
Then, he heard the sound of waves crashing on the beach, and he could clearly feel seawater pounding against his chest, wave after wave…
The sound of the waves grew louder and louder. Nie Jiyang almost lost his sight, hearing, and even his sense of smell. He felt that he was surrounded by the salty smell of the sea, and it was enveloping him...
"Xiao Nie, what's wrong? Hurry up and run!" Suddenly, Nie Jiyang was patted on the back. It was Pei Simin and another regimental commander. They hadn't lasted long inside. As soon as they ran out of bullets, Xiao Ruan broke through the gate. It was only because a regimental commander chose to sacrifice himself that they were able to escape.
The two of them worked together to close the laboratory door. This door was specially made when the research institute was first built. Although it was not as good as the specially made tempered glass gate that Team Leader Liu had, it could still hold them off for a while. Pei Simin had already contacted the headquarters. Even if it was slow, the entire research institute would be surrounded by soldiers by now. The base could not be allowed to be in chaos. This zombie had to be killed.
Nie Jiyang was still in a daze, his mind filled with the sound of waves crashing against him. Even when Pei Simin spoke to him, it felt as if they were talking through deep seawater. He was dragged by the two of them to the outside of the research institute. A row of soldiers with shields were already standing at the gate. As soon as the three of them stepped out of the institute, the gate closed automatically.
Xiao Ruan was only a few steps away from the three of them, trapped inside the research institute's main gate. The institute's emergency doors were made of special steel; when closed, an outer wall of equal mass would rise around the entire institute, simultaneously creating a vacuum inside. At this point, the only way to observe the situation inside the institute was through the personal terminal held by a communications soldier nearby, using internal cameras.
After Pei Simin came out, he immediately told the person in charge who led the team, Commander Zhang, who was in charge of the army at the South China Base, about the situation of the zombies inside. Because the door of the research institute was made of a special material, Xiao Ruan tried to melt it for a long time but failed. Pei Simin and the person in charge took this opportunity to direct the special forces and snipers who came to quickly formulate a kill plan. After all, they were just ordinary people, and it was best not to go in and fight them head-on.
According to previous research, zombies are not afraid of vacuum environments at all. At this stage, all they can do is make thorough preparations and wait for Ji Lang and his team to return...
After a moment of confusion, Nie Jiyang also observed the computer interface from the side. Just as Pei Simin was arranging for someone to urgently contact Ji Lang, he discovered that Xiao Ruan, who was behind the door in the camera footage, was gone.
He leaned closer and pointed to the area behind the door. The communications officer also noticed the problem. He quickly checked all the cameras in the research institute. Despite the 360-degree coverage, there wasn't a single camera showing Xiao Ruan.
"What's going on?" Commander Zhang, who was standing nearby, noticed that the communications soldier was constantly switching cameras and immediately spotted the troops.
"Brother Zhang, the zombies have disappeared." The communications soldier was also anxious, and he switched the camera lens even faster.
"Wait, the previous shot." Nie Jiyang, who was standing behind the communications soldier, suddenly said, and the communications soldier immediately switched back.
This shot is of the laboratory corridor, the same camera position where you can see the gate that trapped the zombies earlier. Directly opposite is the laboratory door, which is already open. Inside, many small wooden boxes are scattered all over the floor. The communications soldier immediately zooms in, and the boxes are all empty.
"This..." After Team Leader Liu came out, Pei Simin forbade him from approaching the laboratory again, but his presbyopia was quite good, and he saw the screen on the computer from afar, so he rushed over again, "It absorbed all the crystals?"
"What?" Captain Zhang, who had a fiery temper, was furious when he heard Team Leader Liu's words. "Didn't you lock up such important things before you ran out?"
"Xiao Zhang, even if I locked it up, the safe wouldn't be strong enough to withstand the fire," Team Leader Liu argued, but he still added with a touch of luck, "Luckily, the level-two crystal wasn't stored in the research institute."
"So, even though he absorbed so many crystals, they were all level one crystals?" Pei Simin asked.
"Yes, but I don't know if these eighty-odd level-one crystals can upgrade it to level-two superpowers," Team Leader Liu pushed up his reading glasses and shook his head helplessly. "After all, there's no experimental data."
"Sometimes I really get annoyed with you guys who do experiments." Commander Zhang was furious, but when he heard Team Leader Liu say that, he suppressed his urge to punch Team Leader Liu and instead slapped the communications soldier who was fiddling with the quantum computer on the back. The communications soldier didn't dare to say a word and could only continue to diligently search for traces of zombies in the various cameras.