Chapter 69: Insect Man

This is a circular channel.

The soles of the shoe are in the mud soaked in water, which makes it uncomfortable and slippery. Large waterproof coatings peel off from the surface of the shallow concave round tube wall. Many places have already stretched out bare steel bars, and softened cement pieces are loosely accrued in the place where the tube wall is broken. If there is a slight shock, they will roll down like the most shocking guards, from where they barely support their bodies. Occasionally, a lizard will wander out of the cracks in its shelter and lie on the cold cement surface. With eyes that can rotate 180 degrees, they will vigilantly search for all potential opponents and all targets that can serve as food.

Lin Xiang walked carefully in the pipeline, his steps were light and soft, like a vigilant but elegant cat, silent and could not detect his existence simply by relying solely on hearing.

He held a sharp dagger in his hand, and the thin blade reflected a dazzling cold light in the glimmer of light. The slightly curved tip could easily pierce through any creature's body.

Compared with simple cold weapons, large-diameter shotguns can obviously exert greater power in narrow pipes. However, under the limitations of this special terrain, the deep pipe wall can spread the sound very far, which is tantamount to telling all mutant creatures lurking underground - there are fresh and delicious prey here.

The three-meter-long pipe diameter can accommodate the body to remain upright. Stepping on the tilted upward part of the pipe wall to avoid the deepest water at the bottom of the pipe, Lin Xiangpan held the hard cement wall and slowly groped forward.

This is obviously part of the masterpiece of human engineering in the old era. The pipeline should belong to a branch of the underground drainage system of a large city. It cannot be as unobstructed as drawn on the map. There must be a large number of branch pipes and auxiliary connecting parts. Various pipes with different functions are connected, crossed, and overlapped, forming a dense and complex net in the deep underground.

Lin Xiang walked very slowly, and he did not turn on the flashlight. The evolutionary ability of the parasite is not only pure physical strengthening, hearing, smell, touch, etc., all the most basic human perception systems, but also expand toward a more sensitive limit under the action of the virus. Even in an environment without any light source, he can see clearly what is happening in the dark.

Lin Xiang is not in a hurry to speed up the task. There is no time limit. As long as there is enough food and drinking water, it will be fine even if you stay underground for a whole year.

In other words, no matter who it is, from the moment you enter this underground pipeline, you have two choices. One is to follow the map and find the exit of point b to leave. The other is to give up the idea of ​​leaving and become a permanent resident of the dark world.

The damp and dark pipes were very cold, and the cold air from the ground seemed to have stopped time. Lin Xiang subconsciously shivered. He moved his somewhat stiff knuckles, tightened the collar of his clothes, controlled the long and slow breathing rhythm, and walked step by step towards the depths of the passage.

From time to time, the incomplete white fonts can be seen on the walls. The sewage seeped through the top wall spared no effort to clean all the traces left by the old era. The dirty broken plastic bags were looming in the silt water. The foam that had turned into rotten green accumulated on the edge of the well, just under a straight well leading to the ground, and there was even a broken bicycle. In the round wheel frame, several metal spokes full of rust were hanging sparsely. The tripod was broken from the middle, and several hard shell bugs that could not be named were hiding behind the shadow of the car body, slowly gnawing on the semi-liquefied rubber tires.

For them, this is the best food.

Suddenly, a very low rustling sound came from the depths of a cross-pipe in front. The hard-shelled insects who were eating quickly flee. They quickly drilled into the gaps in the wall next to them, revealing only slender tentacles and terrified eyes, staring at the direction where the sound came from.

Lin Xiang turned his body sideways, relying on the barrier formed by the corner of the wall, hiding his entire body in the darkness.

With a clear and rumble sound, a black figure slowly crawled out of the hole that was flush with the tube wall.

Judging from the back with all the limbs, he should be a human being.

He was very thin and tall, and was more than two meters long. A somewhat outrageous coat or cloak or something, almost covering his entire body. His head was always hanging down on his chest, as if he was looking at something intently. His arms were also curled up on the front side of his body, and his legs, which were covered by the hem of his clothes, stood in the center of the pipe to both sides. His head and arms occasionally swayed slightly, as if he was looking for an unknown target.

Lin Xiang frowned and stared at the black figure standing fifty meters away.

Captain Soke said that he was not the only tester who entered the underground. Perhaps, this should be a lost person who entered the passage earlier than him but failed to find a way out.

In the deep underground, the power of individuals is very weak. The unique physiological structure of humans determines that vision and observation abilities can often only be concentrated in a single direction, but they cannot have a comprehensive perception system like insects or other organisms. If a companion can be found, the chance of getting out of this pipeline will undoubtedly be much higher.

Lin Xiang had no idea of ​​going up to talk to him. He held his breath, his body tightly against the cold wall, and his whole body seemed to have been completely integrated into the surrounding environment and become a part of nature.

He had a very strange feeling, always feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't say it.

Suddenly, the black shadow turned around and walked slowly towards him step by step. Like Lin Xiang, his movements were light, his steps were very slow, silent. If it weren't for his body moving, he wouldn't have noticed that he was moving forward.

The two people are gradually getting closer, thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters...

Less than five meters away from Lin Xiang, he stopped. He seemed to feel something. He slowly rotated his head and carefully observed the surroundings. There were only cold and wet cement pipe walls and dirty silt sewage, as well as cold airflows that were blowing from the depths of the pipe, with disgusting and rotten smell.

Suddenly, Lin Xiang jumped out of the hiding place at the corner of the wall and pressed heavily on the flashlight that had already been adjusted to the strongest light point. A strong white light emitted from a diverging trajectory completely covered the entire black shadow in the center.

The shadow burst out with a harsh scream. He covered his temporarily blind eyes with both hands and stumbled back and forth in the passage. His staggering steps drove his body to turn sharply towards the direction facing the darkness, trying to re-adjust your gaze to see the attacker in front of you.

Lin Xiang's hands were trembling.

The moment the flashlight shone, he could see the other party's true face clearly.

That was not a so-called human at all, but a mutant insect with an amazing shape.

The two strong hind limbs stand upright on the ground, and their narrow bodies look like cloaks or coats that humans often wear. A pair of obviously degenerate short foot limbs on the abdomen are tied together like folding chairs. The upper limbs extending from the outer contour of the chest are thick and long. Although sharp zigzags and black body hairs grow on the surface of the arthropods, they are exactly the same as human arms in the shadows formed by light.

Its head is very flat, like an inverted triangle formed after compression. Huge oval eyes protrude from the front of the head. In addition to the beak that still exists in the form of palate, the eyes even have sharp and convex nostrils. The tentacles that grow from the top of the head are very short, and they are degenerating, giving their own exploration function of the environment to new body organs produced by mutation.

From any perspective, it is very human-like.

It is evolving, using the mutant power generated by radiation to guide itself to the same path of evolution as humans. One hundred years, fifty years, or even less time, they may become humans. Wisdom and thinking may not reach the heights that humans have, but from the perspective of appearance and basic body form, they are simply a replica of humans.

The fear and shock in his heart were suppressed. Lin Xiang's tightly held dagger out like lightning. The sharp tip of the dagger cuts along the insect's shortened neck, marking a standard circular track in the air. The triangular head and body are completely separated into two unconnected parts. The fishy blood that cannot be distinguished in color splashed violently from his bare shoulders, applying a layer of sticky condensation to the cold wall.

He squatted down, took out a collection tube from his pocket, pulled out the sealant cover on the surface, and stabbed the sharp needle into the insect corpse lying across the ground, stretching out a tube of blood.

The blazing white flashlight beam enveloped the headless worm corpse, collecting blood samples from the tube, revealing a deep purple that crosses the red. Dozens of small hard-shelled worms crawled out from the gaps and corners of the wall. They used their tentacles to carefully explore the direction, and soon gathered to the edge of the wound of the corpse, spreading their sharp palate mouth, and biting their prey that did not belong to them, completely due to accidents.

Lin Xiang is not a biologist, but he knows that according to the most basic laws of earth's biological system, no evolution can be completed in a short period of time. The changes in body organs and living habits will take at least several thousand or tens of thousands of years before a relatively obvious replacement in the evolved species. After billions, insects may evolve into humans. From the outbreak of nuclear war in the old era until now, less than a century has passed, and this time is too short for them.

What exactly causes them to change so dramatically?

radiation?

Gene mutations produced in order to adapt to the environment?

Or... they are simply artificial products that are deliberately made?

Lin Xiang did not waste time. While installing the collection tube, he also continued to move towards the depths of the tube. The strong smell of blood would attract all the dark creatures nearby. Among the hungry diners, there might be similar people with this human-shaped insect.

The Skeleton Knights must know the existence of this mutant creature. Why did they allow mercenaries to enter the pipeline to contact them? Could it be that humanoid insects are not a secret in their opinion?

The deep cement pipes extend at the end of the darkness.

In this lightless underground world, there is always a hint of blood in the cold air.

In front of a cross connection, Lin Xiang stopped. He took out the map from his pocket, hugged in the corner of the wall, covered the light from the flashlight with his clothes and body, and his eyes quickly scanned the routes and directions marked on the image.

This is the sixth cross pipe he passed through, but there are no forks or branches on the map, with only a few symbolic twists and corners.

"A maze..."

Putting away the map and looking at the four black circular pipes like giant beasts, he shook his head lightly, stood up slowly from the wall, and walked slowly towards the entrance directly in front of him.

He could only move on with intuition.

After walking along the pipeline for about two hundred meters, Lin Xiang stopped again in front of a collapsed pile of rocks.

A faint airflow fluctuated gently across his smooth and sensitive skin surface. At the same time, he heard a strange sound coming from the depths of the passage.

“help ,help me——”

It was very light and small, accompanied by the echo of screams and the collision of narrow and long pipe walls. It was getting closer and louder. After a few seconds, dense gunfire covered everything, and the walls of the pipes in the dark also reflected a rhythmic shimmer of flames.

That is the tail of flames brought about by the launch of bullets.

Lin Xiang's eyes were sharp and he quickly accelerated his pace and ran quickly towards the direction where the gunshots came from.

He needs teammates.

It is difficult to leave this complex underground passage alive by myself.

The roar of guns and bullets like thunder broke through the silence in the darkness. The violent fire lights reflected tall black figures on the walls from time to time. The angry curses and the sounds of bullets tearing their bodies were mixed with each other, as well as the desperate cry for help before death, as well as the prayers and screams full of fear and despair.

The flames and roars were at the corner dozens of meters in front of him. Lin Xiang inserted the dagger back into the scabbard, pulled the shotgun with a thick exit diameter from his backpack with his back hand, and held the ammunition on the chute at the front of the gun, and rushed out of the passage like the most rapid cheetah.

The three men with flat assault rifles were pouring bullets desperately in the direction where he appeared.

In front of them, more than a dozen huge human-shaped insects were swarming, waving their sharp hook claws, spreading their palates, and rushing forward in a dense rain of bullets. Just over twenty meters away from the corner intersection, a middle-aged mercenary with only half of the body was lying in the mud and making heart-wrenching screams. Several human-shaped insects were gathering beside him, tearing off muscles from his body with powerful palate pieces, and the soft intestines were dragged out from the lower part of the mercenary's broken abdominal cavity. They were held tightly in the mouth and chewed slowly. The bright yellow fat wrapped around the intestines seemed extremely dazzling in the light flow of bullets.

"Go away--"

Lin Xiang, who rushed into the road, roared and pulled the trigger hard as the closest humanoid worm was about to reach the closest. The thunderous gunshots shook countless tiny mud and dust from above the pipe wall. The large ball of iron sand blasted the insects' heads to pieces. The huge impact force pushed the headless corpse and leaned back. The frightened and angry insects suddenly burst out with a harsh scream. They raised their hook claws and stretched out the oval hard guest that was tightly closed behind their bodies, revealing four translucent membrane wings.

"Larson, these damn mutant creatures killed Larson--"

A burly bald mercenary roared, threw down the assault rifle that had been shot, and pulled out a sharp fire axe from behind. He was about to rush towards the flying figure on the face, but was grabbed by a huge force and pulled back.

"Return, those with ammunition maintain the advantage of shooting distance, you are responsible for clearing the retreat-"

Lin Xiang pulled the trigger again, accurately smashing the chest of another humanoid worm, and growled without looking back: "If you want to commit suicide, I will never save you a second time."

The muscles on the bald mercenary's face twitched violently. He gritted his teeth with a wide open eyes. Finally, he looked at the passage flooded by the swarm, grabbed the fire axe handle and turned to retreat to the corner behind him. The other two mercenaries retreated and shot towards the swarm that was approaching step by step. The powerful bullets rotated and drilled into the body of the humanoid, rolling in the fragile flesh and blood, exploding, and tearing out terrible holes.

"Ammunition, who has ammunition? My bullets were all exhausted-" A young mercenary was pale in his face, holding the assault rifle that made consecutive empty noises.

"Damn it, they are so many." The female mercenary next to him threw down the magazine's emptied rifle, pulled out the pistol at his waist and counted it down.

"Go away, I still have bullets!" Lin Xiang had a gloomy face and aimed at a humanoid with spreading his wings to pull the trigger. The powerful shotgun brought up a piece of plasma and flesh that scattered all over the sky.

The two mercenaries looked at each other and turned around and ran quickly towards the corner passage.

It's clear enough. If you stay still, you will surely die.

Lin Xiang quickly dodged the humanoid worms attacking in the air, but his ears carefully listened to the footsteps gradually moving away from behind. Just as the sound of the sole of his shoes trampling on the ground disappeared, he inserted the weapon in his hand back into his backpack, bent his body in place and jumped out of the humanoid worms. Two balls of hot flames several meters high suddenly rose from his empty palms. With the inertia of his body, the violent tongues rushed to swallow all the objects that were in contact with them. The humanoid worms who could not avoid it in time screamed and curled up in a ball, falling on the ground and struggling desperately. The surface of the burning body emitted a burning breath of smokey nose, and the membrane wings covering his body were completely burned through. They could only roll in pain on the ground like mud worms, waiting for death to come, or to be questioned for the fate of eating like similar people.

Lin Xiang, who had stopped the flames, stopped his body and ran quickly towards the direction where the mercenaries disappeared.

Even if he saves people, he doesn't want to reveal his secrets.
Chapter completed!