"I’m sorry about your friend, it’s unfortunate... I only inherited partial authority, otherwise I could have helped you find her."
From the old radio, the low and hoarse voice was still the sa, but the intermittent gasping sounded like anew injury.
It wasn’t just that.
Amid the noisy static, there seed to be more clinks and clatters of tal than before.
According to Yong’s Clan, many things happened during the transfer of managent authority in Shelter No.79, and due to the years of disrepair, many of the room’s security systems were malfunctioning.
In short, trespassing in unauthorized areas could trigger the alarm system, resulting in the doors locking automatically.
Having been lost for so long without news, they were likely facing more danger than good luck.
If it weren’t for seeing the post Si Si shared on the forum, they might have really believed his nonsense.
"Let’s set aside our friend’s issue for now... Are you really okay?" Si Si whispered, holding the radio in her arms.
"I’m fine... So little mice got into the office, but I’ve dealt with them."
His forced tone sounded sowhat insincere.
After coughing twice, he suddenly realized sothing and continued speaking.
"...Wait, what do you an set aside your friend’s issue? Did you even listen to what I just said? She might have encountered misfortune..."
"We heard you," Tail responded, his face showing deep sorrow as real tears welled up in his eyes, "We will miss Si Si!"
" too!" at at raised his hand, though his face remained stern.
It didn’t seem like mourning, rather it was more like making a vow.
Si Si gave a troubled expression, helplessly nodding with a mix of laughter and tears.
"I too... will miss Miss Si Si."
Not being able to log in for three days was indeed tough, but to say it was sad... not really.
If a good friend went AFK, of course she would feel a bit lonely and sad.
However, with Si Si furiously posting extracts from the experintation logs of Shelter No.79 on the forum each day once offline, she couldn’t feel any sadness but had to restrain herself from laughing out loud.
"..."
There was a quiet flow of static from the radio, she could almost feel the bewildered silence.
Suddenly, she felt sowhat sympathetic towards NPCs.
Just like a Dungeon Master in a murder mystery ga cafe.
Though they tried their best to play their roles, expecting players to do the sa was obviously impossible...
During that silent mont, the three reached the end of the tunnel, where the entrance to the instance was located.
The continuous gunfire had faded far into the distance, and the Death Legion had pushed the progress to the final stage.
The building in front of the research area had completely turned into a lair of the Claw of Death, with its shed skin and excrent everywhere, completely taking its shape.
Before the players intruded, the ecological environnt of Underground City No. 79 had always been in dynamic equilibrium.
As the top of the food chain, no creature had ever intruded into the lair of the Claw of Death.
Now, this balance was utterly shattered.
Strength Type players, wearing steel-plated KV-1 power armor, led the front line, wielding chainsaws to prevent the Claw of Death from flanking.
Following closely were players with assault rifles, their ferocious firepower suffocating the Claw of Death rcilessly.
Orange-yellow trajectories created impenetrable nets in the narrow corridoor, where only roars and screams could escape through.
Players in the back set up 20mm light cavalry guns, seizing opportunities to fire armor-piercing incendiary rounds.
With the players’ perfect coordination, the roles of hunter and prey completely reversed.
"Brothers, let’s push harder!"
"Charge!"
"Ollie!"
"Hey, can we change to a more flavorful slogan?"
"? What slogan could be more flavorful than those?"
"?? Two slogans?"
Blood sprayed across the corridoor, the air mixed with the sll of charred flesh and the pungent sll of gunpowder.
Exhausted individuals carried the wounded from the front lines, soon replaced by another wave of eager new players.
Less than 20 ters from the front line, a group of players who had just co from the front sat on the ground.
Staring at two chest scars almost deep enough to show bone, Construction Youth and Brick busily bandaged themselves while cursing.
"Damn... I was almost done for."
Sitting next to him, the Drum Washing Machine wiped his sweat and comnted,
"How many of these Dead Claws are even here?"
"Who knows..." Construction Youth with Brick muttered, "But it’s good that the space here is narrow, big monsters can’t move freely. If it were like other gas with clipping through models, it’d be absolutely unplayable! And more than the Dead Claws, I find those Wildn even more troubleso!"
It was completely different from encountering them in the wild.
Here, adult Dead Claws were rely at on a cutting board, while juvenile Dead Claws were actually more dangerous.
From his countless hunting experiences, Multilegged Beasts here might pose an even greater challenge.
Those creatures, covered in tentacles, were incredibly resilient; even face-first into a burst from a rifle, they could still lively scramble forward.
For creatures like the Claw of Death, "hexagonal warriors", the most suited terrains were jungles and cities.
Especially cities.
Adult Claw of Death could hunt down Evolutionary Bodies, capable of wiping out teams of Awakeners...
Sitting and catching his breath, Debt Giant Eye suddenly spoke.
"I just realized... this place would make a perfect fish pond."
The construction site boy and Brick were stunned for a mont.
"Pond? What do you an?"
"It ans fishing!"
Seeing his good brother still confused, Debt Giant Eye took a deep breath and continued.
"Aren’t there soul interference devices for sale at the respawn point? Those gadgets can be used to ta Variants. We used to run into Dead Claws outside, either we couldn’t beat them or we let them get away. Here, there won’t be that problem—there are only two ends to a corridor, absolutely no place to run... heh heh."
Hearing these words, the players sitting nearby were all stunned.
"Holy shit! You think this is Pokémon or sothing?"
"Dude... the Intelligence System is on the rise again?"
"Man, it’s unfair," Edge Shoveling sighed, "every system gets a boost but not the Perception System... how is that fair?!"
Roller Washing Machine couldn’t help but add,
"I agree, ever since the Spring Knife got introduced, the Intelligence System has been ridiculous. Everyone else, whether they use guns or knives, has to charge into battle, but that guy never goes to the front line. Creeping around in the back, putting out DPS that’s not even low."
"Should just nerf it."
As everyone clamored to nerf it, Debt Giant Eye couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
"You guys, really have the nerve to complain? Which system in the entire Alpha version was the worst? It’s only been strong for a few versions... What’s wrong with letting enjoy it a bit?"
Can’t you just wish your brother well?
The construction site boy and Brick stared at the ceiling, muttering to himself, "Should just nerf it, please, oh almighty developer."
Debt Giant Eye: "@#%@!"
Although it was just a joke ntioned in passing, upon closer consideration, using this place as a breeding base for Claw of Death seed quite intriguing.
The pet system gaplay has long existed, but never beca mainstream.
The main reason being, raising a pet costs too much, and once dead, pets couldn’t be revived.
Raising a Claw of Death is less practical than raising a Strength-Type beast, which at least is cheaper, and if it dies, it’s not too heartbreaking since it’ll be bouncing around again in three days.
But if there was a stable pond full of SSSR, that would be an entirely different story.
A Claw of Death with its own combat instincts is far stronger than a drone that requires real-ti control.
Just as these veterans were tossing around rotten ideas, the folks from the White Bear Knights approached from the cleared corridor.
Tail, who was riding on the shoulder of at at, waved from afar.
"Hey, brothers, how’s the progress on the quest?"
Edge Shoveling looked up and replied.
"Just a bit left, probably won’t last until evening, should be done by noon."
"Not bad, not bad," Tail nodded in satisfaction, "keep it up, lads! Once we get the serum, let’s feed it to at at first!"
"Eh?! Wait a minute, why should I drink it?"
Tail’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
"Doesn’t at at want to beco human? Don’t worry at at, you’re so pretty as a bear, after you beco human, you’ll definitely be a beautiful woman!"
"It might even have white fur!"
Suddenly a player chid in, causing Roller Washing Machine, who was drinking water, to spit it out.
"Holy crap, now that you ntion it... I suddenly think at at is pretty good-looking."
"Right?" Tail said proudly, "Our at at is so pretty, I have her photos."
At these words, the beasts imdiately got excited.
"Holy moly."
"In real life? For real?"
"Co on, bro, share a bit!"
"Wait, is that the point! Also, we’re not even sure what that serum does! And shouldn’t serum be injected..." at at said, laughing and crying.
Tail pondered for a mont, then suddenly sighed.
"Damn it! Si Si is gone... at at’s coback skills just aren’t on the sa level."
at at: "Are you an M or sothing..."
Holding the radio, Sesa Paste chuckled weakly.
"Ha... haha... I feel like I can’t keep up with the young folk anymore."
Since the players were communicating in Mandarin the whole ti, Yong’s on the other end of the radio didn’t understand what they were saying, feeling that they were perhaps too optimistic.
This place is the Dead Claw nest.
At least be a bit serious!
But...
Their combat power was indeed flawless, the rcenaries and indigenous people he had tricked into coming here hadn’t even made it through the entrance where the mutant spider’s den was, let alone pushed all the way here.
At that mont, a shrill howl suddenly ca from the direction of the staircase.
Everyone stopped their conversations and looked toward the stairs.
Then, a raspy voice suddenly ca through the silent radio.
"Mother of Dead Claw..."
There seed to be a hint of wariness in that voice.
Barely understanding this phrase, Sesa Paste imdiately asked.
"What’s that?"
"...Dead Claw is a matriarchal society, the female Claws of Death are often much larger than the males, and they live longer. Downstairs several rooms have been turned into hatching nests by the Mother of Dead Claw, but no worries... these big ones won’t co out, the widest corridor here can’t even accommodate them."
"And how did they get in there?" Tail curiously asked.
"Of course, they crawled in before they got that big..." a cough ca from the radio, "Forget about those things. You don’t need to go downstairs. Just cross the corridor in front, and you’ll find the door to the research area. The door is open, you can head straight in, and I’ll tell you how to get the serum!"
They all exchanged looks.
Everyone standing there had been spoiled, already aware that this guy was lying.
Not letting them go downstairs...
Was there sothing down there?
"Rather than saying there’s sothing there, could it be because it’s out of his control?" Sesa Paste suddenly spoke up, "I actually think his previous statent wasn’t so much a lie, but a concealnt of part of the truth..."
at at paused and said, "Are you suggesting... his authority isn’t complete?"
With his index finger on his chin, Sesa Paste gently nodded.
"Yes, either the authority isn’t complete, or that area occupied by Variants is indeed damaged due to long-term disrepair. Otherwise, he could simply cut off that section, couldn’t he? Most of the doors we passed along the way... were closed, right?"
Including the corridor from where Si Si had disappeared.
When they went there again, all the doors that had previously been open were now closed.
The biggest difference from other areas there was that it was not occupied by Variants.
A possibility suddenly occurred to Sesa Paste.
Could it be because Yong’s, as a Manager, had lost control of that area, leading to its occupation by Variants?
So to speak, that might be the only place in the Shelter where one can hide from his incomplete control...
"Sss..."
As he uttered these words, Tail glanced at Edge Shoveling and gave a thumbs up.
"It’s all on you downstairs now!"
Edge Shoveling, understanding the hint, slung his rifle over his shoulder and smiled heartily.
"OK."
"What are you talking about?" A hoarse voice from the radio broadcast a vague sense of unease, unable to pinpoint what was wrong.
Those people always communicated in a language he couldn’t understand, confusing him completely.
What dialect was this?
He had lived so many years and this was the first ti he had heard it.
Tail: "We’re discussing the battle plan!"
"Plan... alright, having a plan is good, but the most dangerous area has already been cleared by you, there shouldn’t be any dangers ahead. Go ahead... get the serum and leave this troubleso place as soon as possible."
The voice in the radio carried a slight urgency.
The long-coveted treasure was right before his eyes.
He couldn’t wait any longer...
...
The White Bear Knights moved through the cleared corridor towards the research area.
Players from the Death Legion were spread out near the main entrance of the research area to prevent Variants from streaming in from other areas.
Unintentionally drawing near the staircase, Edge Shovelling opened his Perception tentacles toward that dark passage, rging his consciousness into the darkness, sensing the barely detectable fluctuations through the faint currents.
"The sound of a heartbeat."
Muttering under his breath, he confird the target’s location, chambered his held rifle, and walked downstairs.
Downstairs was a pitch-dark hall, with load-bearing columns standing tall, devoid of any lighting.
The mont he stepped on the last stair, he imdiately sensed the gaze that had been stuck on the back of his head disappear.
However, as Edge Shoveling continued to follow the trace he sensed, the feeling of being watched suddenly returned.
He stopped in his tracks.
Sensing a powerful presence approaching, Edge Shoveling gripped his assault rifle tightly, his eyes ticulously searching every inch of the dark corners.
And just then, his gaze suddenly t a pair of amber pupils.
It was a Claw of Death as imnse as a dragon.
Its body, tens of ters long, sprawled on the ground, its shoulders flush with the ceiling, its most conspicuous feature being the outrageously long horns on its head... In the River Valley Province, ordinary Claws of Death did not possess this trait.
The air froze for a full thirty seconds.
Enveloped by the hot, stinking breath, a low, husky voice drifted out from a mouth big enough to fit a cow’s head.
"Strange, to still see living people here... How did you get here? Did that guy let you in?"
Hearing the Claw of Death speak, the confusion on Edge Shoveling’s face instantly turned to astonishnt.
"Holy shit, Trash King?!"
"’Trash King’?"
Those amber pupils stared intently at him.
It clearly didn’t understand what he was saying, but it read his facial expression.
"... Have you t other talking Claws of Death?"
Edge Shoveling quickly nodded his head.
Although he didn’t know why this creature could speak human language, it seed he had triggered a hidden plotline of the level?
Taking a deep breath, he tried to speak in the awkwardly accented language of the United Humans.
"... We have one in our Shelter too."
This Claw of Death seed to know quite a bit about Shelters and slowly began to speak.
"Which Shelter are you from?"
"Number 404."
"404..."
The amber pupils narrowed slightly, and the Claw of Death pondered for a mont.
Edge Shoveling felt that its gaze seed sowhat vacant, and seeing that it had not spoken for a long ti, he promptly asked,
"Are you that Yong’s?"
"Yong’s... What is that? However, the na does sound sowhat familiar."
Suddenly, as if it had rembered sothing, the Claw of Death exhaled a breath through its nostrils.
"I rember now, that experint... heh, it has been so many years, yet there are still people who rember that thing."
Edge Shoveling: "Experint?"
The Claw of Death slowly began to speak,
"The immortal emperor... His na—or rather, his code na was Yong’s. But that crazy plan already failed, and you have seen what it has turned into outside."
Edge Shoveling had already read about this plan in the experintal logs uploaded to the Forum by Si Si, so it was not foreign to him.
However, what puzzled him was the identity of the person before him.
He was not that Yong’s, and clearly not the Manager either, but he seed to know everything about it all.
"How should I address you?"
After a prolonged silence, it slowly began to speak,
"A na? It’s been so long since I used that, I’ve even forgotten what it was... Anyway, since I’ve ended up like this, call Dead Claw or Mother of Dead Claw, whatever you prefer."
Unable to assert whether he had truly forgotten or simply did not wish to ntion it, Edge Shoveling gave up on probing further and took a deep breath before continuing,
"Then I’ll change the question... Could you tell what happened here?"
"What happened here... That’s a good question. Since you know about that ’Yong’s,’ you must know about the experints being conducted in Shelter No.79, right?"
Seeing the person before him nod, the Mother of Dead Claw slowly began to speak,
"Good, then I don’t need to start from the beginning..."
"After the First Generation Manager died, we adjusted the experintal approach and adopted a more aggressive strategy, transforming the periter area of the shelter into a research zone. We captured mutated creatures from the Wasteland to modify their genes, then released them into the research zone to simulate even harsher Wasteland environnts."
"This place is a natural testing ground, and theoretically, caras could cover every corner inside the shelter. We were able to completely observe the entire process of the experint. After completing these preliminary tasks, we began to clone the unfinished experintal bodies on a large scale and deployed them to the research area, recording their survival rates, lifespan, and other indicators. From these, we selected the most optimal individuals for improvents before repeating the experints..."
"And during this process, not only the clones evolved, the mutated creatures we captured from the outside world also evolved more rapidly under natural selection..."
Standing aside and watching the VM subtitles, Edge Shoveling couldn’t help but swallow hard.
What kind of mass extinction was this?
The Mother of Dead Claw did not stop and continued,
"We obtained many excellent samples... However, it was troubling that, although they approached physical perfection, they remained quite far from the ’eternity’ we envisioned. Moreover, more and more experintal data indicated that, as this planet moves into a new era, the performance of humans under natural selection was not as good as several other alternative plans... Not to ntion birthing a new civilization; perhaps in a few thousand years, there wouldn’t even be a trace of humans on this planet."
"We heard that so shelters were researching subtypes of humans. It is said that the envisaged new humans had a resilience to extre environnts that even exceeded cockroaches. Although we don’t know if they succeeded, their research approach indeed inspired us. If we aren’t fixated on the form of life, our civilization can actually continue in another form... on the bodies of other intelligent species."
"Later, we adjusted our experintal approach for the second ti, no longer focusing solely on clones, but expanding the options to include all species in the entire research zone. Soon, an excellent sample stood out..."
Edge Shoveling swallowed hard.
"...The Claw of Death?"
"Yes," her heavy eyelids blinked, Mother of Dead Claw continued, "It possesses enormous vitality and unmatched physical functions. Even power armor seems slightly inferior in front of a fully developed Claw of Death... And most importantly, it only requires periodic injections of a specially formulated serum, and theoretically, it could live forever."
"Although, from today’s perspective, this might seem a bit hard to accept, who’s to say what the situation will be several decades from now? When our civilization enters a new era, when everyone has embraced evolution, the ’people’ of that ti probably won’t mind what their emperor looks like, and our mission will also be accomplished in another form... The new age will sing of our achievents."
"By the third year of the plan, we had successfully cultivated almost perfect samples that could serve as new vessels for our consciousness. Through neuro-transplant surgeries, we managed to transfer part of the residents’ consciousness into these eternal bodies."
"However, unfortunately, our experint had a slight deviation. Those samples were too smart, smart enough that they beca indistinguishable. Although we had accepted them, they were not very willing to accept us."
"Due to an error, part of the experintal subjects broke through regional constraints, and so even escaped to the outside, including mutant creatures and those marginalized clones... You must have seen those things in the Wasteland."
The source of the Variants was here?!
This was a remarkable discovery.
Edge Shoveling imdiately asked,
"Those Dead Claws outside... did they all run off from here?"
Mother of Dead Claw continued,
"Mostly, yes. Actually, not only the Dead Claws, in the early days, most Variants on the Wasteland had very frail bodily functions. Once the improved experintal subjects escaped from here, it wouldn’t take long for them to replace the naturally mutated Variants... including the byproducts of the experints, including the clones we initially cultivated."
"Clones?" Edge Shoveling was slightly startled, "You an... the wild n in this shelter?"
Mother of Dead Claw said in a calm tone,
"Yes, they took the genes from here, including the tribal culture ford during the experints. It’s been over a century now, you might not see a pureblood ’wild man,’ but you should be able to spot so individuals who are different from ordinary people, especially among the chiefs of so primitive tribes."
"They often possess unusual physiques and even show traits of Variantization to so extent... Do you think those abilities are naturally given to them?"
Then, Mother of Dead Claw grinned, the curve of her mouth seemingly self-mocking.
"However, their ability to beco leaders, to carry strong genes forward in the brutal jungle... That also counts as a result of natural selection."
Edge Shoveling held his breath.
He suddenly thought of several bosses he had encountered in previous versions.
Including the "Bear" of the Blood Hand Clan.
And the "Golden Tooth" of the Chewing Bone Tribe.
Their bloodline and the culture within their blood, everything originated here.
"I thought it was an ’Awakening’..."
Mother of Dead Claw emitted a dull laugh.
"Awakening? Heh, is that what you call that phenonon?"
Edge Shoveling stared at him and suddenly said,
"Are you a researcher here?"
"Researcher... kind of, I indeed participated in the experints."
After a long silence, Mother of Dead Claw shook her long antlers on her head and suddenly said in a half-joking tone,
"No need to pretend anymore, after all this talk, you must have guessed... I am the Manager here."
"Although so also call the Great Antler God."
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