Chapter 252 – Tanis – Master Mind
After completing all preparations, we stood in front of the large bulkhead heading outside.
[Infectious agent detected beyond the partition. Exact numbers cannot be measured. The bulkhead is too thick.]
Echo reported as he retrieved an acoustic detector similar to a stethoscope.
It’s worth it. If the small bulkhead right in front of the generator is a human body, then the thing in front of you is the size of an elephant.
But we cannot delay any longer.
“I have no choice but to bet on the fact that most of them have carp heads.”
Even after seeing a fellow being dragged away with an earthworm in his mouth, the fish rush at the dancing earthworm again about 10 seconds later. Infected organisms are just as stupid.
Except for a very few variants, it is easy to solve the so-called ‘aggro’.
Instead, they have a developed sense of smell, so it is difficult to get rid of them by hiding properly. Human body odor spreads more widely than you can imagine. This is especially true in today’s era where washing is difficult.
It is not uncommon for novice explorers who overlook this point to ignore walkers so much that they offer up their bodies as a special meal.
However, now that I’ve spent quite a bit of time behind the sealed bulkhead, it’s worth going out.
We held our breath and waited for the right moment to open the door.
Rumbling.
A thunderstorm that feels like something big is coming.
“Open.”
At the right time, the heavy bulkheads opened to the left and right, revealing a scene of slaughter.
Kwak!
For an instant, an intense flash of light strikes, bleaching the pool of blood and pieces of corpse white.
Clap!
The Solaver opened just enough for us to pass and stopped. There is no need to make noise for a long time.
Tango nudged the snake-like snake camera and quickly looked beyond the bulkhead, and the video was shared with us.
[There are five confirmed infectious agents.]
“That’s enough.”
The blood and flesh that had been emitting steam like a bathhouse had completely cooled.
We lowered our posture as much as possible and raised our weapons.
[Camouflage engaged.]
The camouflage device that served its purpose well throughout the Tanis expedition is once again in operation.
Grumbling.
During the rainy season, Tanis could be called Little Jupiter, with frequent thunder and lightning.
‘All the gods in the world will bless you for the rest of your journey.’
It erases the noise we make to the point where I wonder if it’s really the God of Thunder’s blessing.
There was so much fighting that bloody footprints were left even after only a few steps.
Due to mimicry, the appearance of the robots and I also took on a hideous shape with a dark red color and a mixture of internal organs and flesh texture.
The old man lay down in a quiet place and raised his thumb.
The robots and I approached the walkers’ backs using appropriate cover. This is an equipment room and warehouse-like place. There are many places to hide.
“Geuwoo-.”
I crawled over to a walker hanging out next to a pillar. If I got up and approached, I had no choice because I would be caught in the sight of other walkers.
The boxes and corpses lying around provided excellent concealment and cover. As you approach just behind the targeted walker, you see a calf with disgusting black veins bulging.
I wanted to reduce the noise by attacking when there was thunder if possible, but I had a feeling it was looking this way, so I attacked.
I grabbed the guy’s ankle and pulled him hard.
Kudang!
The guy who was suddenly thrown away looked around without knowing why. Then he made eye contact with me sideways.
In this situation, like all walkers, I first opened the muzzle, but no screaming came out.
“… Kak.”
This is because the military bayonet was already piercing his neck at an angle. With both his airway and spinal cord cut off, he can’t do anything other than open his mouth.
Commands such as ‘Hold on’ or ‘Claw’ from the brain did not reach the body.
Kujik.
I turned the knife a few more times and tore off his head, then threw it in an appropriate place, and it rolled around like a ball.
“Wha-?”
There is something I learned from fighting and researching numerous infectious agents.
The point is that they go crazy and run wild towards beings other than their own kind as soon as they spot them, but they show a dry reaction towards their own kind.
Of course, this is excluding cases such as the team kill of the masterful Dissolver.
Two walkers, seeing their fallen brethren, slowly approached this way.
If it had been a human guard, they would have immediately blown a warning whistle, but they only approached slowly.
And workers whose interests are fixed in one place are easy to handle.
They were dragged into cover or dark corners by robots sneaking up from behind.
In one case, the knife went through his eyeball, and in the other case, the knife went into his brain.
“It’s not like grinding perilla powder.”
The sight of the hand holding the knife spinning and pulverizing the brain creates a feeling that is difficult to describe.
“Kii-?”
Another walker moves erratically, led by the compatriot who was just captured. A large shadow quietly followed behind him.
[Clear.]
Alpha, who killed the last one, reported.
I have already confirmed the route to the location where the simple warp device is located.
Unfortunately, it is a place that cannot be accessed through the rooftop like in the generator room.
However, there is a way to avoid the eyes of infectious agents by taking the shortest route. Our eyes all turned to one place on the floor.
Rattling.
Charlie opened the manhole cover and was looking at me.
“What we need to do from now on is not an annihilation battle, but a speed run. Ignore unnecessary things and focus on breakthrough. Everyone moves!”
Everyone jumped into the hole at my command.
* * *
The dark sewer is full of sewage up to your thighs.
With each step, a disgusting spray of water sprayed out. I was so grateful for the suit that blocked everything, including bad smells.
“Keeeeek-!”
The two walkers who were blocking the path ahead fell to the ground with their heads and chests smashed, respectively.
Alpha removed the expired foam silencer.
Bang!
Another walker who was running screaming fell down and emerged like a drowned body.
“Damn, there’s more than I thought?”
In my past shelters, no one evacuated into the sewers. However, there were more infectious agents here than expected.
This seems to be because not only was there a sewer system, but there were also some facilities installed that could not be placed above ground.
The staff involved and the evacuees they brought had turned into monsters, so they were encountering unexpectedly strong resistance.
“This place is underground, and the weather outside is extreme, so the gunfight will not stimulate the infectious agents on the ground.”
“I would have been frustrated if I didn’t have that.”
There were three walkers screaming and splashing behind us, but we all ignored them.
Anyway, their legs can’t catch up with us in terrain like this.
Right now we can only move forward. Ignore those who don’t need to be caught.
“Kryaaaaa-!”
The sediment that was overflowing 10 meters ahead erupted like an explosion.
What appeared there was a mutant larger than a polar bear. It is a bizarre monster that appears to have been created by multiple walkers attaching themselves to a large tumor mass.
It feels similar to the limb colony that almost killed me in Zinoplan. However, there is a difference in that the body and the jaws that are trying to bite are healthy.
The leading alpha did not slow down his running speed and took out a flamethrower.
Puhwaaaaak!
“Kiyaaaaak-!”
The guy who instantly turned into a ball of fire went on a rampage. It shines a brilliant light like a candle in a dark sewer.
Every time I go on a rampage, I get hit by sewer water! There was a sound and the lights went out temporarily, but that wasn’t enough. It seems like an entity that is not intelligent enough to dive and put out the fire.
We passed a guy doing a fire dance close to the opposite wall. It moves with 5 muzzles fixed on the guy.
Bang! Bang!
We fired twice only at the twisted arm that occasionally flew towards us.
The arm exploded by the explosive shell sinks to the bottom of the black water.
“Kkieee-!”
The shoulder cam monitoring the rear captured the walkers chasing us being captured by the tumor variant.
Kwasik!
Walkers are being squeezed around and limbs are being pulled out. Even while running for that great team kill, he gave me a thumbs up.
[Discovering hazards ahead.]
There are three lumps of flesh that look like wasp nests stuck here and there on the walls of the sewer. Is it a contaminated tissue commonly found in nests of infectious agents?
Well, there is no need to think deeply.
“Bake it first.”
[Roger.]
As the flames exploded, the wasp nests responded immediately.
Wouldn’t it be like this if a leech screamed? We quickly passed the unpleasant chorus of fireballs.
Within a few seconds, things like burning tadpoles poured out of the hole in the wasp nest.
It is the same size as a bull tadpole, is pale, and has piranha-like teeth.
“Fuck.”
Those types of individuals are the type of people we need to be most wary of. Even this is their home ground, the waterside.
Bang bang bang!
Wasp nests hit by explosive shells were shattered. Dozens of bull tadpoles inside pour out onto the water.
Most of them were already well-done or torn in the explosion.
Tadpoles were seen swimming in anger among the brothers floating around after opening their bellies.
[Ladder found!]
“We’re all there!”
Fortunately, we have reached the ladder, which is our destination in the sewer area.
Before the chase of the tadpoles cutting through the water reached us, we flew up the ladder.
“Oh! Oh, my…”
There were five fleshy wasp nests on the other side of where we ran.
They were spitting out bull tadpoles all at once. The scene of a hemorrhoid patient having diarrhea would be less terrible than that.
Dozens of water-splitting movements chased after us, but we were moving upward faster.
Kang!
Tadpoles jumped out from the top of the trough, took a bite out of the ladder, and fell back. Every time, a sharp metal sound rings out.
The water surface beneath the hanging ladder is churning like boiling water. I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if I fell down there.
I would like to fire an electric shock grenade, but unfortunately the ladder we are holding is made of metal.
Tango, who was at the top, pushed the snake camera into the hole in the sewer cover and looked around.
Bang! Kang! Kang!
I think I’m going to turn around at the sound of monster tadpoles chewing on the ladder, but he looks upward with the coolness of a machine.
[Clear.]
I immediately removed the lid and went out of the sewer one by one.
Then, the interior of the building, reminiscent of a ship’s engine room, unfolded.
“Kkieek!”
A walker appeared around a corner about 20 meters away and spotted us, but ignored us.
That’s not the direction we’re going, and if we run like this, we won’t be able to catch up.
“Kyaarrrr!”
However, the infectious agent running on all fours from another passageway could not be ignored.
Was it an animal kept as a pet? It is similar to large dogs on Earth, but its fur is very short, and its two canine teeth protrude like those of a walrus.
Slave Dog, which was running at a speed that was incomparable to Walker, was thrown into a hive by a barrage of shrapnel.
Two or three keep running over the corpse.
Bang! Bang!
Bodies are piled on top of each other in a passage less than 2 meters wide. Accordingly, the obstacles to overcome have become increasingly higher.
In the end, when the fifth dog arrived, the slave dog tripped and fell over.
Poop!
It was Echo in the rear who swung Ohama and crushed it.
“Keeeeek-!”
“Run! “Keep going!”
Lured by the noise of battle, new infections appear here and there.
There were mutant infectious agents targeting us from above.
“Krrrr-!”
These mutants, whose entire bodies were black, were similar to the Reapers with extremely developed limbs.
Every time the pot-lid-like hands and feet grab the walls and ceiling, they fall apart.
It quickly got closer to us, climbing the wall as if running on the ground.
“If you get caught anyway, throw it away!”
The robots realized what I meant and responded immediately. Their heads turned back 180 degrees and faced upward, and their mouths opened as if in chorus.
“Young Master, cover your ears!”
“My suit doesn’t have that function!”
Kiiiiing!!!
A high-frequency roar emitted all at once filled this space.
The walkers didn’t even blink, but all the muscular mutants that seemed to fly through the ceiling were shot down.
Like a fly hit by F-killa, the rainwater fell and hit all kinds of structures, making exciting sounds.
“Are your ears okay?”
“Even if it’s not okay, you have to endure it! There is a function that blocks high sounds to a certain extent, but it still stings!”
Solaver was grumbling, but the corners of his mouth turned up as if he was also amused by the sight of the mutants running away.
An iron door appeared in front of us. As soon as I passed there, I closed it and moved everything I saw nearby to use it as support.
Just before closing the door, I could see a hellish scene through the opening.
The burning eyes of countless infected entities running this way! At the head of it was also a black muscular mutant that had crashed earlier.
In addition, two grenades with pins pulled out rolling a little ahead. That was really nice to see.
“Keeeee-!”
Kwaaaaang!!!
We ran without looking back. I don’t know how well the barricade will hold up, but I haven’t heard anything hitting the door yet. It looks like the grenade went in properly.
We ran down the hallway. Rain and wind come in through the broken window, and a sandstorm is visible outside in the distance.
Ta-ta-tang!
The three walkers blocking the road collapsed.
[This is the last magazine.]
Alpha said in an emotionless voice.
The minimap at the bottom right of the visor shows that a simple warp device is nearby.
“Beyond that door!”
Solaver shouted, pointing to the door ahead. Now I can’t even remember how many times I ran and kicked the door.
Bang!
The door was broken open by Alpha’s headbutt.
A large auditorium-like space appeared in front of us.
Shoot!
And fresh raindrops hit my whole body.
According to the map, this was a dome-shaped space exclusively for warp.
However, the ceiling and walls were torn off and blown away, so it was practically outdoors. The dark sky wriggling with dark clouds was visible.
“God, what on earth happened here?”
Solaver sighed.
The floor here is full of remains of numerous races. Even just looking at it, it easily amounts to hundreds of people.
But that’s not what’s important now.
An oval metal structure in the shape of an upside-down horseshoe.
The simple warp device we’ve been longing for is over there.
The light is blinking on the nearby control panel, indicating that the power is still alive.
We have finally reached the boat to go home!
But there is one problem. The warp device was covered in disgusting pink flesh.
“What is that again?”
The warp device also looks at me just as I look at it with regret.
To be exact, three eyeballs attached to the fleshy body of the device. Large eyeballs over 1 m in diameter stared at me.
The raindrops are pounding non-stop, but it doesn’t seem to sting.
The ominous eyeballs were observing us with interest as they suddenly appeared.
