Chapter 50
“Area Eight is already evacuating the civilians.”
Cui You emerged from the cabin, his military boots thudding on the deck as he walked toward Lu Wanqing against the sea breeze.
The second wave of reinforcements for the disaster area had arrived. The elites from their Seventh District had already withdrawn from the disaster zone and established multiple lines of defense at sea.
The research institute had analyzed the locations of the abnormal pressure systems and the appearances of the unknown creatures several times, locking down a general area as much as possible. Unlike last time when the location was on the island, this time the area was entirely at sea. The dark figures could appear from any direction.
“General Rod of Area Eight is currently in a conference call with geologists, meteorologists, and the head of the public health department. We’ll need to coordinate our statements with them for the media later,” Cui You added. “The media outlets that registered with the command center have evacuated with the civilians. We haven’t been able to contact those who didn’t register.”
“Understood. General Rod’s electronic warfare unit will use their own equipment to search for the ones we can’t contact. We’ll leave that for now. Take a look at this first.”
Lu Wanqing looked up at the sky, which was rapidly filling with dark clouds, and handed the file in his hand to Cui You.
“What’s this?”
“The latest research data on the unknown creatures from the institute.”
“Confirmed that the unknown creatures are significantly affected by human pheromones?”
“Simply put, they actively attack Omegas who are emitting pheromones. The higher the Omega’s pheromone level, the stronger the attraction. If we can’t intercept them completely the moment they appear…”
Cui You frowned and continued, “Once they make landfall, the situation could spiral out of control.”
“Exactly.”
The pheromone ranking system had been abolished long ago. Even if they had the locations of everyone in the nearby area, they couldn’t predict where the unknown creatures would head. Therefore, they had to annihilate all of them before the sea defense line was breached.
“Then what does this line mean? ‘Confirmed that traditional weaponry and equipment cannot inflict fatal damage on these creatures’?”
“Regeneration and fission. During their experiments, the research institute found that blunt instruments, sharp weapons, explosives, including torpedoes and missiles from the ships, couldn’t completely kill them. In fact, multiple independent organisms could regenerate from their severed wounds.”
“Hiss, that’s a bit tricky. Wait—”
Cui You’s eyes widened. “Then did we actually kill them at the airport back then?”
Initially, the unknown creatures only appeared sporadically, not in swarms like this. The incident at the airport was the first time the institute had suggested a link between them and the abnormal pressure systems. At that time, he and Lu Wanqing had captured a few alive, but most had become corpses.
“What did we use?” Lu Wanqing’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Pheromones,” Cui You said casually, then sucked in a sharp breath.
He looked at Lu Wanqing in shock. “I remember we used pheromones back then only because it was a public place, and it was the only way to end the fight quickly without causing a commotion. So, in fact, we accidentally stumbled upon one of the very few… methods to kill them completely?”
Lu Wanqing pondered for a moment. “Actually, the institute can’t confirm that pheromones can kill them completely. That’s just our own experience.”
He tapped the file in Cui You’s hand.
“The people capable of pheromone mimicry are either on missions or under the unified management of the command center at the base. The institute currently doesn’t have any trustworthy Alphas to help them complete the experiments. For now, they can only confirm that Alpha pheromones are a tangible threat to the unknown creatures.”
“So you called me here to—”
“If the research direction and our guess are correct, we need to readjust the manpower on the defense lines. Do you know what to do?”
“You giving me this makes it clear.” Cui You waved the file in his hand.
Previously, they had arranged the lines based on a combination of overall combat power and equipment. Since pheromone attacks were now the most effective, they had to reorganize the deployment with pheromone combat strength as the core offensive.
Cui You clicked his heels and turned. “I’ll get to it then.”
Lu Wanqing nodded. Before Cui You had taken two steps, he saw him stop and turn back.
Lu Wanqing: “Is there something else?”
Cui You pointed at his arm. “The inhibitors. Do you have enough?”
Lu Wanqing’s gaze darkened, and he said nothing.
He had been relying on inhibitors and other drugs for days. The medical team’s resources were all focused on disaster relief and saving lives; he didn’t want to waste resources and trouble others.
The reason he had come out to the deck was that he couldn’t control the intense hostility of his susceptibility period in the cabin with so many other Alphas. He could only try to shake off the restlessness by letting the sea breeze cool him down, away from his teammates.
He felt himself getting closer and closer to his limit.
Seeing his somber expression, Cui You sighed.
He pulled out his entire personal stash from his pocket, walked over, and handed it to him. “You’re the backbone of these men. you can’t fall.”
Lu Wanqing took it, opened a vial, and injected it into his muscle with a swift motion.
Cui You winced at the alarming number of needle marks on his arm and put a hand to his forehead. “I’m begging you, let this mess be over quickly so we can send you home to reunite with your husband.”
As he said that, something seemed to click. He slapped his forehead.
“Right, your husband—didn’t you teach him mimicry?”
“What about it?”
Lu Wanqing narrowed his eyes, his pheromones suddenly vibrating and silently coiling around Cui You’s neck. Realizing that this man had also been a witness at sea on Dragon Spine Island, he relaxed slightly.
Cui You moved closer and lowered his voice. “You just said the institute doesn’t have anyone trustworthy to assist with experiments. Why don’t you ask the Marshal if he can go?”
A University, Film History course.
After finishing the historical facts for the chapter, the professor dimmed the classroom lights to show them classic clips from the period.
On the screen, a handsome and tall Alpha was being effortlessly charming, his every move and gesture making the Omegas in the classroom blush and squeal.
Shu Ci, however, felt no interest at all and was dozing off in the back row of the lecture hall.
He dreamed of a stormy sea, of a fleet on high alert. Among the countless figures in uniform, he saw the one and only face that could catch his eye, standing on the lead ship, directing the various wings.
It was as if he were watching a war film from a god’s-eye view.
In the distance, black clouds pressed down.
A window seemed to open in the middle of the thick, ink-like cloud layers, letting a faint beam of light leak through.
That beam of light was like a stage spotlight, moving with the protagonist.
At the end of the light, he saw a black, teeming mass of creatures leaping in the sea. The clumped creatures jostled together, rushing menacingly toward the coastline.
There was no peace among them either; they pushed and shoved, as if there were a delicious meal on the shore that needed to be fought over.
If he listened carefully, he could almost hear the sound of their drooling breaths.
The view zoomed in. The lead creature opened its massive maw, then froze in place the next second.
Its long tongue was stretched straight out, the uvula dangling in its throat.
Shu Ci suddenly felt a vibration in the air, coming from all directions.
And he was becoming more and more adept at capturing the frequency of each vibration—it was the energy fluctuation released by pheromones!
He looked back at the fleet and saw, in the center of thousands, a pair of dark blue eyes within a navy-blue uniform.
More familiar than any other frequency was Lu Wanqing’s pheromone. Like a flood dragon entering the sea, it plunged into the rolling waves, moving at high speed underwater. It formed a giant net in front of the unknown creatures, silently encircling them.
Shu Ci was stunned.
He didn’t pay attention to the intense battle between the Alphas and the unknown creatures; his gaze was locked on Lu Wanqing.
He didn’t know if this was his own dream or something that was actually happening.
The sea in the background looked very similar to Area Three. He had reason to suspect that he had been watching too much news lately, to the point that his dreams were filled with such images.
In today’s dream, Lu Wanqing wasn’t as dejected and self-destructive as in his previous nightmares. He was as resolute as the Alpha Shu Ci remembered, though his eyes seemed darker, and his complexion was a little pale.
Or rather, he looked somewhat sickly.
Shu Ci controlled his point of view, zooming in until the entire frame was filled with just Lu Wanqing.
The pores on his face were clearly visible. The all-night mission had left deep, dark circles under his eyes that were impossible to ignore. The bloodshot veins in his eyes were distinct, and a light blue stubble had appeared around his lips.
The overall effect made him look more mature, with a touch of weariness.
Shu Ci subconsciously raised his hand, his palm cupping Lu Wanqing’s jaw, his thumb slowly stroking the corner of his eye.
A flicker of surprise went through him.
In his previous dreams, he could never touch Lu Wanqing. This was the first time he could feel him so tangibly. In this scene, it was as if he were a transparent spirit who could do as he pleased. Shu Ci sympathetically rubbed Lu Wanqing’s temples, his fingertips then landing on his lips.
Lu Wanqing frowned slightly.
Before Shu Ci could react, he felt a violent tremor in the air.
He let go and looked back to see the net Lu Wanqing had woven from pheromones under the sea suddenly tighten. The unknown creatures scattered in panic, desperately trying to break free from the sudden control.
The scene descended into chaos.
Countless types of pheromones were unleashed, each using their own methods to subdue the creatures within the net.
Shu Ci’s attention was drawn to the tense battle. His consciousness gradually drifted toward the sea’s surface, watching up close as the mass of black creatures thrashed about, actively dismembering themselves in an attempt to split into smaller pieces and escape Lu Wanqing’s net.
However, it was useless.
Lu Wanqing’s net was flawless. He increased his energy output, strengthening his control, even growing sharp spikes along the edges of the net. Any creature that tried to break through the encirclement met only one end.
Death upon impact.
The smell of pheromones and energy waves filled the air over the sea, and the goddess of victory gradually favored the Seventh District’s fleet.
Just as the last group of unknown creatures was about to be strangled by the pheromones and everyone was cheering for victory, a cluster of dark silver creatures, with a death-defying determination, seemed to transform into a beam of light. It broke through the blockade and shot straight toward the person in the very center of the deck.
Shu Ci’s pupils contracted.
He watched as the dark silver creature, unnoticed by anyone, flew toward Lu Wanqing, and he instinctively cried out.
“Lu Wanqing! Watch out!!!”
The man on the deck’s first reaction wasn’t to be on guard, but to follow the voice and look into the empty air in the distance.
The dark silver creature exploded in front of Lu Wanqing.
Shu Ci woke up with a jolt, drenched in sweat!
He subconsciously grabbed his phone, opened the news live stream, and went straight to the tracking section for the Far Territory’s Area Three disaster zone.
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