Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 298 - 24 The Bombing Begins (3)

Chapter 298 -24 The Bombing Begins (3)

Li Yan held a wad of medical cotton over his nose, stepping with difficulty among the remnants and severed limbs of the evolved zombies. At times like these, “A Fleeting Glimpse” proved irreplaceable, allowing Li Yan to have a general understanding of many pieces of equipment, notes, and the contents of glass containers with specimens and chemical reagents, whose value was unknown, so he did not make a fool of himself like feeding pears to a cooked meal.

“They are conducting research…,” he muttered.

From the outskirts to the nucleus of Great Demon Lake, Li Yan felt as though he was witnessing a chapter of human evolutionary history. Although these evolved zombies looked terrifying and retained a bloodthirsty instinct towards ordinary humans and all lightly irradiated animals, they exhibited a purposefulness and degree of application towards the research facility’s remnants that was characteristic of an entirely different class of organized entities. As for their research topics…

“Fifth Order Super Gene Hypothesis: Great Devil Lake Gene Collapse Phenomenon,” “Thunder Yak” Chart Report Round Sixty-four,” “Second Quarter Post-Winter Era Human Activity Overview.”

These were noted in “A Fleeting Glimpse” as precious research materials, worth together probably about a few hundred thousand yuan. Even at a discount, they were worth around one hundred thousand yuan.

Li Yan collected all these items, then used his rifle to knock open an old-fashioned safe. In the foam cutout of a black leather case inside, one slot was empty; the other held a vial of dark red blood.

[Super Gene Sample: Thunder Yak]

Remark: Time rewound to the brink of the winter of 1939. As the native Soviet regime fell into crisis, amidst the complex political situation in Tibet, they established the Great Demon Lake research base and inaugurated the “Big Ben Research Institute.” They appointed Li Senke, an academician from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Lenin All-Soviet Academy of Sciences, and Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, as the chief designer for the “Endless Yak” project—vehemently pledging to create a “super soldier” to end the war.

Regrettably, right up until the eve of the harsh winter, the “Endless Yak” project had made no substantial progress. However, for some indescribable political reasons, Li Senke remained ensconced in his position as the chief responsible officer. Several scientists who had objected to the research were also secretly arrested by the political police. The tens of thousands of super gene samples, which had cost the Soviet people a massive amount of money, disappeared without trace as winter descended.

Finding a target for his mission considerably lifted Li Yan’s spirits. But as he continued to search the room, a green “#” sign appeared on his forehead.

Li Yan spotted a human head immersed in a festering green liquid in a display glass cabinet. A label on the jar read, “Unknown super gene carrier with strong regenerative ability.”

The head belonged to a member of Kuang Zhuoma’s direct guard who had clashed with Li Yan not long ago. His name was Liu Yisi.

Li Yan approached with bloody footprints, his indifferent face inching closer to the jar.

The head looked ghastly with visible green veins.

“No wonder they know about Kuang Zhuoma’s affairs…” he realized.

He thought he had found the answer.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Dark-faced, he stepped back a few paces and kicked up a PPSh submachine gun, wildly sweeping the room. Wood chips, glass shards, chemical liquids, and transistors were torn apart by the torrent of bullets, leaving the room in complete shambles.

Click, click.

Li Yan pressed the trigger in vain before he dropped the submachine gun, picking up two functional weapons from the ground.

“Ring, ring, ring~”

Just then, a black telephone next to Li Yan started ringing. He reached out, hesitated as his fingertips touched the receiver.

“Ring, ring, ring~”

Li Yan picked up the receiver but did not speak.

And on the other end of the line, there was a prolonged silence.

About five seconds passed before the other side hung up the call.

“Tch,” Li Yan frowned, then strode out of the basement.

Clang~

Three round, oily-green objects were thrown in from outside the door.

Soviet F1 grenades.

Boom!!!!

…

“Bondarev Base should be completely wiped out,” said a slender, pale wrist setting down the handset, delicate fingers and crystal-clear nails bringing to mind an exquisite porcelain doll.

“Two stragglers managed to destroy an entire outer base. Let ‘Thunder’ go, but ‘Autumn’ can’t fall into their hands. Didn’t Bondarev retreat from the outer base with ‘Autumn’ ahead of time? Where is he now?”

“Heh… I’m still not quite accustomed to my newly acquired abilities. I’ll give it a try,” said the female voice, then fell into a long silence.

“…”

“Is there a problem?”

“Bondarev is dead, and ‘Autumn’ has been taken. They are not just two individuals; there’s a third person – a Hunter who killed Bondarev. He wears black armor with a white dwarf on his shoulder.”

“…Get the items back.”

“Understood.”

…

Li Yan stepped out of the black frame of the building just as the gunfire above the ruins ceased.

Gazing at the poplar tree where Song Zuo hid, Li Yan couldn’t see him. With a thrust of his foot, he dashed to the tree, finding nothing but some traces of blood.

“Killed?”

Engrossed, Li Yan felt his temples pulsate suddenly. A suffocating sensation surged into his nostrils like a tide. Almost instinctively, a tidal wave erupted behind him, bursting into a translucent mushroom cloud, yet nothing happened until the free-flowing current fell back down.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~

As the water drained away, Li Yan emerged from behind the water curtain, tilted his head, and stared past two red brick houses entwined with vines, fixing his gaze on a watchtower.

Song Zuo, with two rows of teeth clenching peanuts, positioned the dark barrel of the Wild Yak RS107, loaded with the pungent smell of death, directly at Li Yan!

“What’s this, you’re turning on me?”

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, flipping out his modified megaphone, his voice low.

In the dark of night, Song Zuo’s complexion was indistinct, his fingers gripping the sniper rifle as steady as a rock.

Click.

With blood-stained gums clamping down, the peanut shattered, bullet exiting the chamber.

Bang!

The poplar tree beside Li Yan was blasted in half, its fluffy trunk emitting a “creaking” lament before toppling over.

“Where is it?”

Song Zuo bellowed until veins burst out on his neck.

“Can we talk? Do I look like someone who would screw you over for your share?”

Li Yan replied leisurely.

“You’re a Psychic Mover! I can’t trust you! Besides, you’ve already blown up the first floor, so you’re the one who decides what’s down there!”

Song Zuo’s voice was hoarse, his gun barrel shifting slightly.

Li Yan’s eyelid twitched as Song Zuo aimed at him, causing a sharp sense of danger. He hadn’t dodged before because he knew that Song Zuo’s bullet wouldn’t harm him.

But now, with Song Zuo’s aim indeed on him, if he waited for him to pull the trigger, even Hidden Flight’s “Position Switch” might not be quick enough.

“If that’s what you think, why didn’t you bring it up from the start? Why did you agree to let me go in alone?”

Song Zuo had no response, but the tension gradually mounted.

Li Yan couldn’t quite put himself in Song Zuo’s shoes and even thought Song Zuo’s current behavior was not very wise, somewhat akin to the instinct of a wild animal ‘protecting its food,’ yet lacking in cool-headed deliberation. However, this didn’t stop Li Yan from figuring out how to appease this proud old man.

“There were no specimens inside; they had sent someone to move them earlier. A motorcycle fled in advance, you saw it too. But I have people in pursuit, we’ve got the goods, just waiting for my people to return. Then we’ll split fifty-fifty.”

“If so, why did you blow up that place?”

Song Zuo, voice strained and coughing twice, held both hands firm.

“There was a self-destruct mechanism; I almost didn’t make it out,” Li Yan answered impassively.

“…”

The suffocating sensation was gone.

Seizing the moment, Li Yan pressed on, “I’ve already said it before, I can use the specimen and pay you for it in cash. You said exchanging a specimen with Kuang Zhuoma starts at a hundred thousand, right? I’ll pay you one hundred thousand, and the item is mine, fair enough.”

This place was still not at the heart of Great Demon Lake, and Li Yan wanted to continue exploring. To do so, he needed to stabilize Song Zuo, whose sniping skills were worth Li Yan’s effort to retain.

Song Zuo remained silent for a long time, his face sour.

Suddenly, the radio Li Yan had modified into a megaphone emitted a series of static noises. At first, Li Yan thought it was broken, but soon, a clear male voice came through the speakers. Both Li Yan and Song Zuo heard it loud and clear.

“This is… Kuang Zhuoma… My name is Hao, a level one clerk at the Kuang Zhuoma Headquarters. If you hear this message, that means… Kuang Zhuoma’s surprise attack has completely failed. The core armored force of eighty, including ten special third-order troops and myself, have all perished. If the situation is truly this dire, please let the twenty peripheral members evacuate Great Demon Lake immediately! And report this message back to the Kuang Zhuoma Headquarters…”

Li Yan’s eyebrows flicked up.

After about ten seconds, that voice monotonously repeated:

“This is… Kuang Zhuoma…”