Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 668: Chapter 552 Delving Underground_1

Amidst countless clamorous noises, a piercing sound suddenly emerged.

It was as if numerous iron sheets were densely scraping against glass, a sinister sound that set one’s teeth on edge, rapidly approaching...

In the rear compartment, the armored Paradise Guard lifted their lanterns. They shone them towards the strange sounds rapidly approaching from behind, only to see dozens of crimson pupils flickering ominously in the darkness.

Innumerable iron sheets formed a massive, bizarre face, indistinguishable as either human or beast. Amid the chaotic organs, a dozen or so gigantic Crystal Stones were inlaid haphazardly. They flickered like eyes, revealing an almost tangible madness within.

Amidst the roaring, countless slender, blade-like legs desperately hammered against the steel dome.

The massive body extending wildly from the darkness seemed endless, intertwined, making one’s scalp tingle.

It was a Steel Centipede as vast as a train.

It was unimaginable why such a creature-like monster would be forged from steel, or why it would evolve into this mechanical form.

With the opening of its numerous serrated mouthparts, an infant-like wailing cry burst forth. It screamed, and that simple scream whipped up layers of air currents, rolling towards the truck.

Raymond’s face turned pale with fright. He floored the accelerator and yanked the steering wheel, narrowly skirting the edge of that straight sonic wave. Then, he saw the back end of the truck silently vanish, leaving only iron dust to rise and fall, rustling in the darkness...

”Damn it!” Raymond’s eyes bulged as he looked at Huai Shi. ”Can we fight this thing?”

”Fight my ass, run!!!”

Huai Shi was utterly dumbfounded. How could they fight a supergiant monster that could fire a cannon with its mouth? He couldn’t even cast a wave. Was he supposed to rush up and tickle it?

As the giant Steel Centipede swung its head, that straight sonic wave traced an arc through the air, closely tailing the truck. A hurricane swept through as the truck awkwardly weaved between the colossal pillars, only to hear a continuous buzzing sound soon after, like overly-tensed wires snapping.

Several nasty scratches appeared silently on the front of the truck.

Only when the truck’s front turned again, illuminated by its lights, could they glimpse the numerous iron wires in this space. These wires entangled the entire area like a net.

”That scared me to death! I thought they were tripwire mines,” Raymond wiped away a cold sweat.

But Huai Shi felt a chill at the back of his neck and swallowed hard. ”Don’t relax yet. It might get worse...”

Then, under the illumination of the high beams, giant gray-iron mechanical spiders quietly emerged from the numerous nets, casting terrifying shadows.

From their bellies, filled with gaping voids, a foul-smelling liquid with the odor of rust dripped continuously.

They were caught between a tiger in front and a wolf behind.

Huai Shi slapped his face, but hit his helmet instead. He began to suspect his bad luck had returned... but then, with a roar, a sonic wave suddenly swept over the truck, smacking straight into the face of the giant spider.

In an instant, armor sections as large as trucks, along with a pile of mechanical parts, fell off the giant spider’s face.

The spider shrieked but did not spew a tremendous wave. Instead, silver-gray mist rose from its complex limbs and body, billowing towards the Steel Centipede.

The gray, mist-like substances SIZZLED upon contact with the pillars and steel. They corroded everything, creating numerous holes and indentations—a sight that made one’s skin crawl.

While the two monsters inexplicably clashed, the truck, like a lucky moth, dashed away without looking back, fleeing as far as possible.

After running for unknown kilometers, Huai Shi still felt a faint Death Perception stirring, unsure of what kind of damned creatures were still lurking around.

But at some point, the space illuminated by the hanging spotlight below had gradually changed.

It was as if... they had plunged into a giant’s factory.

Below, on conveyor belts as wide as roads and covered with dust, sat huge and bizarre machinery. Buildings of unimaginable proportions nestled among the towering columns.

Looking down from above, one could see countless rails suspended in mid-air, as if laid out for trains. However, they were now long unused, with no vehicles coming or going.

No matter how far they drove, the end of this factory was nowhere in sight; the entire dilapidated factory was covered in dust.

There were no traces left from when it was once operational, nor were there any giant monsters lurking in the dark.

Only mysterious and enigmatic devices and production lines remained underground.

”Where is this?” Huai Shi climbed out of the cockpit and looked down, scanning his surroundings, unable to make out anything clearly.

”I see... depth of 2,572 meters. Location is roughly between D7 Area and D8 zone...” Raymond confirmed it several times, then nodded. ”It should be within the range estimated by the Iron Crystal Throne. The signal from the Control Center should be transmitted from nearby.”

”But where is the Control Center?” Huai Shi scratched his helmet and looked around blankly, unable to comprehend.

Such a large Control Center should be visible to the naked eye, but no matter how many drones they sent out, all they saw was this silent factory.

There was nothing that looked like a Control Center in sight.

Huai Shi and Raymond lingered here, wandering for a full six hours, circling from the inside out several times, but found no trace whatsoever.

Even when Huai Shi mustered the courage to drop several bombs, aside from slight damage to the weird giant machinery, there was still no sign of anything.

Despite taking a huge risk by sending out the Paradise Guard to search other corners of the factory, there was still no news.

If only they were on the surface. At Dusk, Huai Shi could have at least released the Crow Flock.

But here, there just wasn’t enough fuel to allocate to each raven, and the Candle-Holding Crows were all operating their mechs, unable to be spared.

After Huai Shi’s detection, the factory’s expanse hadn’t become clearer. Instead, it now seemed to have expanded to the size of a megacity. It even interacted with other giant machines protruding from the dome, walls, and underground, linking them all together.

”I have some bad news for you.” After waking from a nap, Raymond opened his eyes and said, ”We have about twenty hours of fuel reserves left—but taking into account the return journey and outside environmental influences, we must reserve seven hours of fuel. That’s already the bare minimum.”

”So you mean, we only have thirteen hours left to explore?” Huai Shi felt a surge of frustration. Thinking about the situation outside, not knowing whether the operation on the other end was going smoothly, his headache only worsened.

”Still no contact with the Iron Crystal Throne?”

”No good. The power of the on-board transmitter is too weak to penetrate the thickness of the earth’s strata—and with such a vast number of Curses in between, the original Source Substance signal can’t be used either. Our communications have been basically cut off.”

Huai Shi felt an even stronger urge to pull his hair out.

But just as they felt utterly stumped, he saw the seed in the bottle inside the truck tremble silently and sprout a new shoot.

His actions paused for a moment.

”What’s wrong?” asked Raymond.

”It’s sprouting.” Huai Shi pointed to the seed in the bottle, his brow furrowing. ”When I previously sent the Paradise Guard out to explore, I had them carry some seeds. Once these seeds sprouted, they could form a tiny ecological network... You can think of it as me setting up a local network here. As soon as foreign data comes in, I can discover it immediately.”

”Ah, like an alarm then!” Raymond thought for a long time, slapped his forehead, and found the most direct way to understand it.

”Actually... yes.” Limited by his abilities, Huai Shi’s network of vitality couldn’t offer much Transformation. Developing the ability to send signals upon the intervention of foreign species had already taken him considerable time.

Raymond responded by immediately turning off the external lights and activating the camouflage device. This completely masked the vehicle’s engine heat signature and any light escaping from within.

The whole truck clung to the ceiling like dust, motionless as though it had become a stone, without any further sound.

It didn’t take long for them to hear the faint sound of engines from afar.

Huge flying machines roared over. Even faster than the flyers were countless tiny drones, searching all around and almost grazing past them.

After circling a few locations, the giant flying machine quickly landed.

A Sublimator from the Ivy League holding a Wind Lamp emerged, followed by two other Sublimators clad in armor.

”One is Blood Kiss. The other... damn, the other one’s a newbie, I don’t recognize him,” Raymond whispered. ”That guy Blood Kiss is the most deceitful. Don’t be fooled by the big gun he carries; what he’s best at are Curses and poison... Why are you laughing?”

”Nothing, just remembered something funny,” Huai Shi covered his mouth, waving his hand. ”Go on, continue.”

”...That guy’s Stigma doesn’t seem to have made any significant breakthroughs. It’s the Third-Stage Stigmata·Evil Eye of the Celtic Genealogy. Combined with a focused gaze, it can inflict many kinds of Curses and toxins on the enemy. Often, people fighting him mysteriously die without explanation. As for the other one, I don’t know him, so be careful. Blood Kiss is very volatile, so anyone walking ahead of him is most likely a bit more formidable.

”As for equipment, let me see... Ha! An upgraded Exploration Team formation and setup. Six bikes, two flyers, and forty-one official members. They’ve also brought along some other Hell Swarms, but they’re probably still Salamanders. Conservatively estimating, their numbers are somewhere between seventy and eighty. Any more than that, and they couldn’t carry enough fuel to pay them all.”

With Raymond, the second fifth, all the configurations and tactics of the Eye of Nightmare had been utterly sold out by him. He even maliciously advised Huai Shi on over three types of ambush tactics.

Yet, when Huai Shi mentioned asking him to help with the combat, this fellow posed as just a driver, refusing to go into battle at all costs.

”Don’t ask too much of a person,” Raymond said shyly, waving his hands. ”After all, we’re former colleagues. How could I raise a hand against them?”

No, you’ve almost sold out all your colleagues’ secrets just now! Huai Shi thought.

Their quiet exchange quickly stopped.

Through the telescope, Huai Shi saw the Ivy League member protected in the center open a box. From it, he took out a large glass jar filled with an amber liquid. Soaking in the liquid was... a severed human head.

”What the hell is that?” He squinted, preparing to look closer, only to see the Ivy League member loudly commanding the head in the jar. And that head... opened its eyes.

It opened its mouth.

And then she began to sing.