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Chapter 60 Rat Pack
Chapter 60 Rat Pack
dark.
Confined space.
Damp.
This is the B-7 underground material transport pipeline, the first impression it gives, and also the only impression it leaves.
Two heavily modified Chimera troop carriers had their roaring fuel engines shut down.
Powered solely by a backup battery pack, the motor glides silently along tracks covered in decaying fungal carpet.
The wheels rolled over the long-calcified bones, and the slight "crunch" sound was amplified infinitely in the quiet tunnel.
Luo Wei, in the passenger seat, no longer checked the time on his brass pocket watch.
Instead, he focused on his notebook, using the faint, cool light from the instrument panel to record the parameters along the way, based on Susan's report.
Distance traveled: 12 kilometers.
Current depth: 35 meters underground.
"External environment: Oxygen concentration 15.8%, methane concentration 2.4% — slowly rising."
Luo Wei stopped writing, looked up, and observed the outside world through the thickened bulletproof glass.
The two searchlights on the front of the vehicle, after being shielded, could only cut through the darkness for less than fifteen meters ahead.
Within the beam of light, countless dust particles floated.
To be precise, they are spores.
Something's not right.
Luo Wei leaned forward slightly.
He noticed that a strange layer of dew was condensing on the outside of the bulletproof glass.
They don't resemble the product of water vapor condensation; they are somewhat viscous, with a cloudy yellowish-brown color, and slowly slide down under the influence of gravity.
"Alpha, take a sample," Rowe ordered over the communication channel. "Use the external robotic arm to scrape off the condensation on the glass."
Father Alpha in the driver's seat didn't waste any words.
With a slight hydraulic whirring sound, a mechanical tentacle nimbly extended from the outside of the vehicle.
The sampling plate at the front end gently scrapes against the glass and then retracts into the built-in detection slot.
A few seconds later, a string of red analysis data appeared on the screen of the vehicle-mounted bird divination device.
"Component analysis complete."
The priest's synthesized voice sounded somewhat solemn.
"Main components: water, sulfides, polymeric hydrocarbons — and highly active viral proteins."
"These are vaporized oils and viruses," Luo Wei concluded after analyzing the data.
"The high surface temperature of the Ninth Grain Depot evaporated the fat and organic waste accumulated in the corpse disposal plant. The gas flowed back into the ground through the ventilation shafts, and after cooling, it formed this 'corpse oil dew.'"
He turned his head and looked at Susan in the back seat.
The young man, dressed in a bulky, ugly protective suit made from a dead man's apron, was intently staring at the Geiger counter in his hand.
"Susan, write this down and remember to remind us," Rowe said. "This condensate is highly acidic. Prolonged exposure will corrode the vehicle's driveshaft seals. We need to spray a neutralizing agent every two hours."
"Yes—yes, Mr. Advisor."
Luo Wei withdrew his gaze and looked again at the endless darkness ahead.
This place is not just dirty.
This is a dramatic change in the ecological environment.
The nauseating smell in the air grew stronger.
The protein caramelizes at high temperatures, producing a sulfurous smell.
This indicates that they have left the relatively "clean" underground pipe network of the eastern granary and officially entered the radiation range of the Ninth Agricultural War Zone.
The Nurgle plague, known as the "tar fever," is reshaping the underground world here.
The convoy continued for about three kilometers.
The originally straight concrete pipes began to collapse and twist over a large area.
The grayish-white "corpse chrysalis" on the wall gradually disappeared.
Gradually, crystalline dark red mold spots appeared, emitting a faint warmth in the dark.
"parking."
Luo Wei suddenly raised his hand, signaling Alfa to cut off power.
In the halo of the searchlight's edge, strange bulges appeared on the abandoned tracks ahead.
A pile of giant cocoons.
Layer upon layer of debris piled up at the intersection of the pipeline network, blocking half of the passage.
"What is this thing?" Buck asked in a low voice from the back seat, releasing the safety on his laser rifle.
"The biosignal response is weak." Father Alpha observed the data from the ornithometer. "It looks like some kind of nest."
Luo Wei squinted and observed carefully.
The surface of the giant insect's "cocoon" is not made of filaments.
It is a reflective black hard shell, like melted and solidified asphalt.
Dark red crystalline fungi grow in the crevices of these asphalt crusts.
"It's not a nest."
Lowe made the decision and unbuckled his seatbelt.
"It could be a corpse, or it could be some kind of symbiote."
He picked up a portable breathing mask, put it on his face, checked the airtightness, and then grabbed a pair of long-handled sampling forceps.
"Buck, on alert."
"Susan, take the sample cooler and come downstairs with me."
"Advisor, this is too dangerous," Buck tried to stop him.
"We're here to collect trash," Buck said. "How can we estimate the value of trash without knowing its composition? Execute the order."
With a "whoosh," the airtight door opened.
A wave of scalding heat rushed into my nasal cavity.
Even through the filter canister, I could feel a stinging pain in my throat.
Luo Wei jumped out of the car, his leather boots leaving streaks of black oil on the sticky ground.
He cautiously approached the giant cocoon.
Only when you get closer can you see for yourself that this is not a cocoon at all.
These are the corpses of a group of mutated giant rats.
The manner of his death was extremely bizarre.
The rat's fur had long since fallen off, and its skin was charred and keratinized, as if it were wrapped in a thick layer of tar.
On their backs and bellies, where the skin was broken, clusters of red crystalline fungi grew.
The fungal roots burrowed deep into the flesh, seemingly absorbing nutrients and supporting the body.
Lowe tapped the back of one of the giant rats with the pliers.
"Clang, clang."
I heard a crisp sound, like hitting hard plastic.
"Exoskeletonization," Luo Wei muttered to himself.
The light in their eyes was less a sign of fear and more a sign of the fervor of scholars discovering new topics.
"To adapt to high-temperature environments, heat insulation layers have evolved."
He crouched down and took a closer look at the red fungus.
The surface of the fungus is covered with glistening droplets.
Luo Wei dipped the test strip in the solution, and the strip instantly turned dark blue.
"Strongly alkaline coolant".
Lo Wei looked surprised.
The logical chain quickly closed in his mind:
The high temperatures in the Ninth Grain Depot should have killed these rodents.
However, this special parasitic fungus grows by absorbing the host's body heat.
At the same time, it secretes alkaline mucus to cool the host and neutralize acidic toxic gases in the environment.
This is a perfectly designed "symbiotic heat engine" system, which is chilling.
"Nurgle's mercy—" Lowe sneered inwardly, "Is this what they call 'the resilience of life'?"
He reminded the pale-faced Susan.
"Don't just stand there. See that piece of skin on the back?"
Lowe used pliers to point to the most intact tar-covered shell on the giant rat's back.
"Cut it off. This stuff is five times more heat-resistant and has a better insulation coefficient than the rags we're wearing."
"If we can take it back and process it a little, we can use it to repair the inner wall of the fermentation tank, and also make some decent work clothes for the boiler workers."
Susan swallowed hard, suppressing her nausea and fear, and opened her toolbox, taking out a high-frequency vibrating cutting knife.
"Yes—the advisor."
"Zzz."
When the cutting knife touched the hard tar crust, a yellowish-green smoke rose up, surprisingly smelling like roasted meat.
Lo Wei was not idle.
He directed two servants to begin collecting red crystalline fungi.
"This fungus can secrete a highly alkaline coolant, which means that it contains highly efficient biological enzymes."
While giving instructions, Luo Wei was also making plans in his mind.
"If we can extract it, could we use it to improve our cooling system? Or could we create a new type of anti-acid agent?"
In the wasteland, knowledge is the resource.
Mutation sometimes means new productivity.
Just as the cutting was halfway through.
"Click."
A crisp sound came from the darkness deep within the pipe.
Lo Wei's hand froze in mid-air.
This is not the sound of bones breaking.
It was caused by some hard object rubbing against the concrete wall.
Then came a series of gurgling sounds, like countless kettles of water boiling at the same time, which sent chills down one's spine.
Stop.
"Love shouted."
"Everyone, get back to your vehicles immediately. Don't run, back up slowly."
Susan was so startled that her hand trembled, and the cutting knife fell to the ground.
She was about to bend down to pick it up when Rowe grabbed her and pulled her back into the chimera truck.
"Buck, close the door!"
The moment the airtight door closed.
The darkness ahead "came alive".
Countless red dots of light lit up in the darkness.
A group of crimson creatures surged out from all directions of the pipe; where their eyes should have been, only two burning holes remained.
They have no hair, their skin is covered in hot oil, and with each step they take, a wisp of white smoke rises from their feet.
Feverish rodent population.
They were awakened by the vibrations from the dismemberment of the body.
"The number exceeds three hundred—no, five hundred!"
Father Alpha reported over the communications channel, "High-energy heat source detected! The temperature of the oil on their skin exceeds 80 degrees Celsius!"
"squeak!!!"
The rats emitted sharp hisses, like high-pressure steam leaking out.
They charged wildly toward the convoy at an astonishing speed.
Several giant rats with fever, leading the charge, slammed violently into the chimera's tracks.
"Sizzle!"
Upon contact, the high-temperature grease on their bodies instantly corroded the anti-rust paint on the track surface, emitting pungent white smoke.
"Fire, Advisor!" Buck roared, his finger already on the trigger.
"Idiot! The methane concentration here has risen to 4%! Do you want to blow us all to bits?" Luo Wei shouted sternly.
He carefully observed the monster that was frantically gnawing at the vehicle's armor.
They are not just attacking.
They are eating.
They were gnawing on the metal surface of the car, as if it were some kind of delicious food.
"They're starving," Lowe analyzed calmly. "They've eaten all the organic matter in the Ninth Granary, and now they have an extreme craving for metals and minerals."
"alpha."
Lo Wei pressed the communicator.
"Activate Plan One, activate the 'Wall of Gluttony'."
"Yes, sir. Praise be to the god of all agencies."