Chapter 2: Nine Infants
The cabins of the research vessel were distributed across ten levels—three below and seven above—with the deck located on the fourth level.
The dining hall, boarding hall, and work area were all situated on this level.
Monts ago, those who had been leisurely enjoying the scenery on the deck now hurriedly crowded into the boarding hall.
Though it was my first ti facing such an ergency, I displayed exceptional composure, remaining calm under pressure. I ensured all research team mbers entered the cabin before being the last to leave the deck, locking the cabin door securely.
In just those two minutes, the purplish-black bear-like creature had crossed three or four kiloters of ice, arriving beneath the Dragon Pole.
“Splash—”
It leaped.
Its massive and robust body soared several ters high, landing heavily on the deck with a thud.
The floor of the boarding hall trembled.
Up close, its long fur resembled a suit of purplish-black iron armor. Its eyes, larger than human fists, glowed purplish-red. Its teeth were sharp, like jagged saws.
Its facial features were almost human-like.
Even through the thick reinforced glass, its terrifying presence sent chills down my spine.
Fortunately, the cabin windows were small, so there was no worry of it breaking through.
“Boom!”
The bear-like creature suddenly charged, slamming into the just-closed cabin door. The entire boarding hall rattled with cracking sounds, and nurous cracks appeared in the reinforced glass.
Many research team mbers scread.
Chaos erupted in the boarding hall. So fled up the stairs, others took the elevator, escaping to higher cabin levels.
The cabin doors of the Dragon Pole, designed for insulation and to withstand wind pressure, were made of alloy with a multi-layered structure. Even with the bear-like creature’s imnse strength, it couldn’t break through imdiately.
But I noticed the ship’s structure around the door was starting to deform.
It was only a matter of ti before it gave way.
“Move everything we can use to block the door!” I shouted.
The boarding hall was noisy and chaotic. Everyone was focused on escaping the dangerous area, and no one responded to .
The cabinets and equipnt on the research vessel were designed to be wave-resistant, fixed in place.
I struggled to dismantle a storage cabinet in the boarding hall, intending to push it to block the door, when Xie Jin, who had just arrived, barked, “What are you doing?”
Xie Jin and seven other security team mbers, ard with stun guns, protective shields, and tear gas, rushed into the boarding hall.
They were tall and sturdy, their eyes sharp and resolute, elites selected through rigorous processes.
“He’s trying to dismantle the ship?” soone mocked with a laugh.
“Just a bear, and you’re this scared?”
…
“Boom!”
The purplish-black bear-like creature slamd into the door for the fourth ti, severely deforming the surrounding structure, with signs of tearing.
The deafening sound was like a cannon shell hitting the ship.
The eight security team mbers, including Xie Jin, saw the massive creature outside the window. Even as elites, their faces paled with fear and suffocation.
It was as if they were suppressed by so primal force.
This was no bear.
It was like a prehistoric monster, enormous and ferocious, completely beyond comprehension. If this were fild and reported…
“Click!”
The sound of a cara shutter rang out, jarringly out of place in the boarding hall.
The short student who loved reciting poetry and telling mythical stories hadn’t fled. He was taking photos by the window.
Facing everyone’s gazes, he awkwardly put away his cara, explaining, “I study ecology and environntal biology. This is absolutely a new species never seen on Earth—a true groundbreaking discovery. With this find, our polar expedition will surely make headlines nationwide… worldwide…”
“Boom!”
The fifth impact ca, and the ship’s structure around the door produced sounds of breaking and tearing. The largest crack was as wide as a palm.
Cold air poured in, and everyone in the boarding hall was horrified.
“I’ll help you push.”
The short student, trembling with fear, hurried to my side, helping push the storage cabinet to block the door.
But it clearly wasn’t enough.
Xie Jin snapped out of it and quickly ordered all security team mbers to dismantle and move cabinets and tables.
This bear-like creature seed like a product of nuclear mutation, far beyond what their weapons could handle. If it broke in, everyone on the research vessel would beco its prey.
“Rumble!”
The sound of propellers echoed outside.
As the bear-like creature ramd the door, a helicopter was pushed out of the hangar.
Now, the helicopter hovered in midair, with Zhao ng, wearing sunglasses, aiming a rifle at the purplish-black bear-like creature.
“So the ship has an Arican-style net gun. We’re safe now, just a false alarm,” the short student cheered, his mood lightening.
The bear-like creature on the deck was highly intelligent, sensing danger. Its fur stood up like foot-long steel needles, and it reared up, roaring furiously at the distant helicopter.
Its roar surpassed that of lions or tigers, as piercing as thunder.
“Bang!”
A gunshot rang out, hitting the creature in the head.
Before anyone on the ship could cheer, the bear-like creature roared even more furiously, its sound echoing across the ice. It tore off a tal piece from the research vessel and hurled it at the helicopter, trying to bring it down.
Fortunately, the helicopter pulled up just in ti, narrowly avoiding it.
The spot on the creature’s head where it was hit bled, but it was unhard, suffering only minor injuries.
“A rifle can’t even penetrate its skull. Is this thing still a carbon-based lifeform?” The short student’s scalp tingled, his legs trembling, his earlier confidence in the net gun gone.
I showed a worried expression. This bear-like creature was highly intelligent and capable of counterattacks. If the helicopter was hit, the consequences would be dire.
My senior brother was on that helicopter.
Scanning the surroundings, I noticed the weapons on Xie Jin and the others and urgently asked, “Why aren’t you using the tear gas?”
Without waiting for a response, I grabbed one from Xie Jin, activated it, and tossed it through the crack in the door.
Instantly, thick smoke billowed outside.
Though Xie Jin was displeased, he knew the situation was critical and didn’t argue. With a grim face, he ordered everyone to use all the tear gas.
On the helicopter, Zhao ng, enraged, fired repeatedly.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…”
Having learned its lesson, the bear-like creature knew the bullets’ power and no longer took them head-on, dodging swiftly.
It could sprint three or four kiloters at a cheetah’s top speed, so its leaping and dodging were naturally lightning-fast.
Fortunately, Zhao ng’s marksmanship was exceptional. Combined with the tear gas interference, he managed to drive the creature off the research vessel before emptying two magazines.
I rushed to the landing pad, helping Zhao ng and the others push the helicopter back into the hangar.
“It hasn’t left. It’s watching from a distance, ready to launch a second attack at any mont.”
Zhao ng’s face was grim.
The Dragon Pole was a research vessel with limited ammunition, only three bullets left in the magazine.
“Now we can only hope for heaven’s rcy! When I was up there, I saw dark clouds and strong winds in the distance. A blizzard is coming.”
Zhao ng warned to stay safe before heading to the bridge to discuss borrowing a gun with the captain.
Lab 705 had a shotgun.
But whether it could harm the bear-like creature, Zhao ng had no confidence.
…
The bridge was on the tenth level, the highest on the research vessel.
When Zhao ng entered, Captain Gao Xin, Second Mate Xie Tianshu, and five research team leaders, including Professor Xu, were already gathered inside.
The atmosphere was heavy.
All eyes were fixed on the electronic nautical chart and the underwater monitoring system screens.
The screens displayed a 3D image of a marine creature beneath the ship.
There it was.
A marine creature, larger than the Dragon Pole, was slowly following the ship’s path in the water a hundred ters below.
It was about two hundred ters long, with nine thick tentacles.
It was unimaginable what kind of powerful currents such a colossal creature could stir in the deep.
“Just after a mutant bear-like creature appeared, now there’s this thing in the sea. How can there be such massive lifeforms on Earth?”
Everyone in the bridge was stunned.
“Could it be a giant squid?”
“This is many tis larger than a giant squid!”
“The largest known marine creature, the blue whale, is only about thirty ters long and nearly two hundred tons. Compared to this, a blue whale is like a newborn baby. This deep-sea giant must weigh at least ten thousand tons.”
…
Professor Xu, a biology expert, adjusted his glasses and stared at the screen, shaking his head: “Look, each of its nine tentacles has a human-head-shaped head. Its body is like a giant ox. It’s unbelievable—another new species never seen on Earth.”
“That’s the Nine Infants.”
An old man in a navy-blue Zhongshan suit appeared at the bridge’s doorway.
He was the head of Lab 705.
No one knew his na; they all called him Director Yang.
“Nine Infants?”
Professor Xu had never heard of such a creature.
Director Yang stepped into the bridge, stood before the screen, and said in a low voice: “The Nine Infants is a mythical beast recorded in Huainanzi: Benjingxun. It’s said to dwell in the North Sea, with a cry like a baby’s wail, nine heads, eating humans on sight, capable of spitting water and fire. But I never imagined it would be this enormous.”
Just as a research team leader was about to scold him for “talking mythology instead of science,” Director Yang bowed deeply to everyone, saying apologetically: “I’m sorry, everyone! These ferocious beasts were likely drawn here by sothing in Lab 705. I deeply regret putting you all in danger.”
Zhao ng, hot-tempered, had been holding back his anger: “What exactly is Lab 705 researching? You owe us an explanation today.”
Captain Gao Xin, who seed to know so insider details, looked at Director Yang: “The situation is extrely dangerous now, with both land and sea threatened by abnormal beasts. No one knows what we’ll face next. I think it’s ti to tell them the truth.”
Director Yang nodded: “Everyone, co to Lab 705… You’ll understand once you see it.”
…
…
I returned to my cabin and retrieved a four-foot-long ancient sword from a wooden box under the bed.
It was heavy, with an ebony scabbard.
I drew the blade half a foot, revealing a brass-like sword body. I knew this sword wasn’t made of brass—it was the Chan Sect’s second-most precious treasure, next to the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish.
In all my years, I never saw the old sect master sharpen or clean it, yet it remained razor-sharp, never rusted.
The Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish was the sect leader’s token, symbolic in my view.
The true supre weapon of the Chan Sect was this Yellow Dragon Sword.
I sheathed the sword.
Carrying it, I went downstairs to the boarding hall.
Though Zhao ng told not to consider myself part of the security team, since I enjoyed their privileges, I couldn’t hide when danger struck.
How long could one hide? When the nest falls, no egg remains unbroken.
The boarding hall’s door was now tightly blocked with cabinets and tables.
Most security team mbers stood guard here, holding various weapons, ready for action.
Seeing descend the stairs, their eyes showed surprise.
“This college kid has so guts and responsibility!” For the first ti in over a month, they gave a positive remark.
The light dimd, and the sky grew overcast.
A blizzard was coming.
Outside the shattered cabin window, the wind shifted from a whisper to a roar, soon sweeping across the entire icy plain.
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