Chapter 99: Danger! Danger! Shoulder-launched Missiles at the Old Monster (Thanks to book friend 20170415 elder brother for the reward)_1
[Special Forces member Pei Zhan, we’ve noticed your heartbeat is somewhat abnormal. Are you experiencing discomfort such as airsickness?]
Xing Tian’s voice suddenly rang in “Pei Zhan’s” ears, causing him to be slightly taken aback, “No.”
[If you experience any discomfort, you may use the emergency medical kit under your seat.] Xing Tian reminded warmly with due diligence.
“Okay, thank you,” Pei Zhan said calmly, shaking his head at Sister Lou, who was looking at him with a questioning gaze, signaling that he was fine.
That night at 9:37 PM.
The searchlights on the BiBo Cruise Ship were like a beacon in the pitch-black sea.
The helicopter found its direction clearly, flying over the sea for a duration of 13 minutes.
As the two helicopters approached the airspace of the BiBo Cruise Ship, “Pei Zhan” noted the decreasing flight altitude and the blurry image of the ship gradually becoming clear… Blood flowed like rivers on the deck, with a dozen limbless torsos chaotically scattered about.
An exclamation from Xu Haixin came through the team channel, “This is too brutal…”
The middle-aged team leader then said in a deep voice, “Stay hidden. The dark creature this time is not of a high level, but has an extremely high propensity for killing.”
“Understood!”
“Understood!”
The helicopter’s cabin door opened, and a sturdy black rope was thrown out. The short-haired woman took the lead, signaling to Pei Jinye before quickly descending down to the deck with a half-man-tall equipment box on her back, then pressing her hand onto the equipment box.
The equipment box folded out, forming a black piece of armor that covered the woman, with an embedded Gatling that spat blue flames held in front of her.
“Old Han, you first,” one of the robust men spoke over the channel.
Interrupting “Pei Zhan’s” reverie.
He nodded, performing a tactical action proficiently, fastening the safety catch, tightening the equipment box on his body, and then nodding back at the robust man, also gesturing a tactical hand signal.
Next, his hands, covered with abrasion-resistant gloves, clasped the rope and also descended securely to the deck.
The short-haired woman held the customized Gatling, remaining on guard.
Beneath the sliding friction sounds, members of the Night Hawk Group successively landed on the deck.
“No suspicious targets found,” the short-haired woman Lou Ziyue whispered.
The middle-aged man was also covered in a layer of black armor, with a small to medium-sized silver cannon mounted on his arm, “The control room has been damaged, which means we cannot ascertain the situation inside. Everyone check your communication devices and keep in touch at all times. Additionally, based on the accurate information obtained three minutes ago, there was a living being on the third layer, but whether it’s a hostage or a dark creature is yet to be determined.”
Xu Haixin frowned and said, “With such a loud helicopter, shouldn’t the people inside have heard it? Why is there no response…could it be…”
He didn’t dare to finish the sentence.
However, a look of concern flashed in the eyes of the middle-aged team leader, as what Xu Haixin was thinking coincided with his own worries.
If everyone on this giant ship was dead… then the Intelligence Agency’s assessment of the danger level of this dark creature could very likely be wrong!
“Move forward.”
Pei Jinye observed everyone’s expressions without showing any emotion.
[It’s so realistic…]
He held a mini-cannon, half the length of an arm, and followed the team quickly across the blood-soaked deck.
After leaving the deck and reaching the stairs, Pei Jinye realized he could control his own body’s movements, which made him tense up.
He guessed that the real test had come.
As he stepped onto the staircase.
“Thump thump… thump thump…”
A sudden resonant frequency emerged.
Pei Jinye paused abruptly as if he were hearing a hallucination in his ears.
“What’s wrong, Old Pei?” the short-haired woman Lou Ziyue asked with concern.
“Did you hear any sounds?” Pei Jinye asked quietly.
“Sounds? What sounds?” Xu Haixin looked at him with suspicion.
Lou Ziyue also shook her head, “Nothing, are you sure?”
Pei Jinye hesitantly looked at his companions. After listening carefully again, the eerie heartbeat vanished, leaving only the sound of the wind from the sea entering the corridor. He said oddly, “Maybe my hypoglycemia is acting up.”
He lowered his head, feeling uneasy inside.
The heartbeat he had just heard was definitely not an illusion.
Yet looking at everyone present, it seemed that he was the only one who could hear it.
Was this setting part of the assessment, or did “Pei Zhan’s” objective experiences indeed include this memory?
“Xing Tian?” Pei Jinye called out softly.
“I’m here. How may I assist you?” Xing Tian’s voice came through on Pei Jinye’s personal channel.
“Did you hear any sounds just now?” Pei Jinye asked softly.
“Sorry, I did not detect any sounds from life forms apart from you all…perhaps you could describe the incident in detail for me, I will do my best to clear up your doubts,” Xing Tian said responsibly.
“No, it’s nothing. Maybe it’s tinnitus from the helicopter ride,” Pei Jinye discreetly withdrew his gaze, noticing that even the smart brain hadn’t picked up on the heartbeat sounds.
This was truly strange.
The team not far away had already begun to kick open doors and search.
Pei Jinye collected his thoughts.
Suddenly, a dark shadow darted out twenty meters away.
“Da da da da da!”
“Dammit! Don’t fire at will, be careful not to hit the containers! There’s flammable ice in there!” the middle-aged team leader shouted loudly.
“Target spotted! Target spotted!”
After the reminder, everyone clearly avoided the area.
The once quiet cruise ship was suddenly ablaze with gunfire.
When Pei Jinye looked over, he saw a teammate at the front hit by a tremendous force, smashing through the railing and sliding across the deck, coughing up large amounts of blood.
“It’s a B-Level Young Shadow Sickle Beast! Everyone, be careful!” the middle-aged team captain shouted a warning.
The dazzling flashes of fire, like demonic claws flailing in the night, created gusts that pushed Pei Jinye backward. The explosions caused a ringing in his ears and he suppressed the urge to use his abilities, reminding himself that he was only a Psychic Class examinee.
Lou Ziyue and Xu Haixin had already charged out with their cannons, only to be blown away by the blast seconds later.
At this moment, Pei Jinye truly confirmed—
In this restricted environment, there seemed to be no sign of anyone having Extraordinary Abilities.
This also meant that he was now just an ordinary person reliant on firearms!
“Damn!”
Pei Jinye tried to activate his spiritual power, but as expected, it was futile.
Here, being Transcendent was like having severed signals, unable to be utilized.
“The first challenge has deeply understood my abilities, so now that my powers are completely sealed… The content under evaluation now… It’s not just as simple as it seems on the surface…”
“What exactly does this special difficulty want to assess?”
“A piece of history that may truly exist… Or is it team combat?”
“Old Han, support! I need support!” a burly man not far ahead yelled while holding a heavy Gatling gun.
Pei Jinye took a deep breath and charged forward with a cannon.
Twenty meters down the corridor, a giant monster resembling a black flame shrouded in darkness, shaped like a human with arms as sharp and sturdy as knives, easily sliced through the war armor of a special forces member, piercing him completely.
In an instant, blood and viscera scattered in chunks.
A body was flung through the air.
The giant monster moved incredibly fast, rushing towards the group with its huge scythe-like arms, stirring fierce winds.
Countless flashes of gunfire sparked.
But they were ineffective.
“Get out of the way!”
Suddenly, Pei Jinye’s voice pierced through.
The burly man in front shuddered with fear.
Pei Jinye could be seen holding an RPG, recklessly unreasonable.
“Boom!”
The recoil sent Pei Jinye flying, a piercing shriek drowned out all other sounds, and brilliant firelight momentarily illuminated the entire corridor. Time seemed to freeze at that instant; everyone ducked and covered their heads as a specially modified cannonball spun at high speed towards the massive beast that was lunging from mid-air.
“Boom!”
“Fuck, Old Pei’s on fire today?” Xu Haixin said in astonishment.
The next second.
“Bang!”
A nearby door and window were shattered by the giant monster.
“Damn!” Xu Haixin cursed, “Can’t even kill this thing! What’s the point of fighting?!”
“Get someone to check on the hostages,” the middle-aged team captain ordered, chasing after the threat and shouting.
Pei Jinye muttered under his breath seeing this, dropped the cannon, and pressed his earpiece: “Xing Tian, give me all the info on this big guy!”
He hurriedly jumped onto the stairs, following in pursuit.
Xing Tian’s voice came through the earpiece: “B-Level Young Shadow Sickle Beast, characteristics: expert at hiding, attack speed three times faster than a normal person. Scale Armor covering its body like tiles, from the top of its head to its back, outer sides of limbs, tail, underside… Its weakness is the abdomen and…”
Before Pei Jinye could listen to the rest, a ground-shaking explosion cut him off.
The hallway on the second floor exploded into debris.
Intense flames rose in waves, engulfing the nearby space.
Pei Jinye was so Shocked that he could no longer hear anything.
The sudden wave of heat knocked over a dozen figures in front of him. His first reaction was to cling tightly to a nearby pillar, feeling that if he let go, he would be hurled into the sea dozens of meters away.
The scorching blast hammered his face, the burning pain shooting straight to the heart.
What made Pei Jinye even more alarmed was a glimpse in his peripheral vision showing that the special forces member closest to the flames didn’t even have time to react before the giant monster’s scythe-like arms impaled him, dragging him into the fire amid piercing screams.
“Xing Tian, what’s happening?” the middle-aged team captain asked, leaning against the corner, quickly tearing strips of cloth from his clothes to bandage himself.
“Sorry, I am unable to ascertain the situation upstairs,” Xing Tian responded, “Based on the current situation, a new risk assessment for this mission has been made. The Night Hawk Group is not combat-capable, and withdrawal is advised.”
According to the Federation’s A.I. protocol, Xing Tian was tasked with monitoring the safety of the combat members during action and was authorized to issue warnings.
The middle-aged man cursed under his breath, “Retreat!”
“The situation has been relayed to headquarters. In approximately 15 seconds, the helicopter will arrive,” Xing Tian reported, “Please plan a retreat route promptly.”
“Lou Ziyue!” the middle-aged man called out loudly, “Don’t come upstairs, go to the deck and shoot flares to guide the helicopter.”
The ship’s lighting system was damaged at some point, and in the vast sea, it was like a Ghost Ship.
Pei Jinye looked up to see he was about ten meters away from the captain, with the path between them blasted apart, blood flowing like a river under the moonlight.
“Understood!”
Lou Ziyue looked at Pei Jinye as he flipped over the railing, pressing his earpiece: “Old Pei, be very careful.”
Pei Jinye, suspicious and unaware of the relationship between the other party and Pei Zhan, could only respond, “You too.”
Under the night sky, the smoke-filled cruise ship drifted aimlessly in the boundless ocean, as if forgotten by the world…
The blood rapidly dyed the nearby sea red…