Chapter 10 Unexpected Harvest

The monster raised its thick arm and swatted down like swatting a fly. The tremendous force stirred the air pressure, bringing a suffocating sensation, and a stench assaulted his nostrils!

Han Xiao reacted with lightning speed, slipping away like an eel, narrowly avoiding the blow. The fierce wind ruffled his short hair. The monster's palm slammed into the ground, creating a deafening crash. The floor was dented, and a cloud of dust billowed up. Han Xiao quickly held his breath, squinting to keep the dust out of his eyes.

He drew the Mad Eagle with his right hand and opened fire, the bullets hitting the monster's rotten flesh and splattering foul-smelling pus.

[You dealt 57 damage to Test Subject 002!]

[You have entered combat. Based on your level, you have obtained the following information.]

————

Test Subject 002

Level: 42

Class: [Low-Level Biological Aberration] (Stamina to Health Conversion Ratio: 1:100)

Stats: Strength 65, Dexterity 20, Endurance 60 (90), Intelligence 1, Mystery?, Charm?, Luck?

Energy: 0

Energy Level: ?

Health: 1854/7800 (Continually Decaying)

Status: Severe Decay -25 Defense, -30 Endurance, Severe Degeneration of All Senses

Perk: Low-Level Aberrant Body Enhancement (Strength +5, Endurance +10)

Intermediate Resilient Life (Additional Health from Stamina Conversion, Ratio 1:30)

??, ??...

Skills: Silent Movement Lv12, Heavy Blow Lv8, Charge Lv5, ??, ??...

————

Class level limits are not always ten. Some high-end and special classes have higher level limits. [Biological Aberration] is a special type.

Han Xiao fired his dual guns continuously, large-caliber armor-piercing rounds blasting holes in Test Subject 002. The gunshots echoed far and wide.

"Making such a big commotion, I have to finish this quickly." Han Xiao's heart sank. Fortunately, Test Subject 002 was in extremely poor condition. If it were at full health, he would turn around and run immediately.

Test Subject 002 seemed to feel no pain. It lowered its head and charged forward, giving Han Xiao the feeling of being hit by a runaway steam train! His heart involuntarily clenched!

Han Xiao holstered his guns and drew his blade. The folding combat knife slashed hard at the monster's head, striking the skull with a clang. Pus splattered, and he also took the full force of Test Subject 002's charge. He only had time to raise his hands in front of him, feeling like he had collided head-on with a charging rhino. He couldn't maintain his footing and stumbled backward, smashing into two experiment tables. His arm bones throbbed with pain, and a suffocating sensation churned in his chest.

A bruise status appeared on his interface.

The combat knife was embedded in Test Subject 002's skull. Yellowish-white pus continued to seep from the wound. The monster opened its maw wide as if roaring, but its decaying vocal cords could only produce a hoarse cry. Its fists, laced with intense wind and dust, slammed out, but the trajectory was clearly visible to Han Xiao. His forty-eight points of Dexterity were more than twice the monster's. That charge just now was obviously a skill, and it couldn't be used continuously. Han Xiao also took the opportunity to test if the enemy had any weak points. The conclusion was clear: this monster was truly brainless. It could still move even after its head was cleaved.

Han Xiao dodged the fists, quickly circling behind Test Subject 002. He rubbed his palms together, activating the electrothermal cutting gloves, and pressed them hard against the monster's back. The surface of the gloves lit up with a dazzling blue-white incandescent light, incredibly bright in the darkness. The point of contact emitted an extremely high temperature, quickly burning through the monster's rotting flesh. The stench of burning filled the air.

His hands sank into a mass of viscous organs. He stirred violently, causing burning white smoke to rise. Test Subject 002 constantly flailed its arms, but he narrowly avoided every blow.

The electrothermal cutting gloves had extremely strong continuous damage. In just ten seconds, they caused no less than eight hundred points of damage, almost burning straight through Test Subject 002's body. Suddenly, they flickered a few times, and the light dimmed, the energy exhausted. High-energy batteries could only support the electrothermal cutting gloves for a few minutes. Su Li had used these gloves for a long time, leaving only a trace of energy, which he had used up.

Han Xiao quickly retreated, relying on his agility to kite. This big guy was like a low-level beast, completely lacking intelligence. Although its stats were formidable, Han Xiao could easily deal with it by kiting with agility. Only its charge posed a threat.

Han Xiao used the terrain and obstacles to dodge, finally grinding down Test Subject 002 with gunfire.

The monster wobbled around as if drunk for two laps before crashing down, silent. Pus slowly flowed from the bullet holes all over its body.

[You have killed Test Subject 002 (lv42). You have gained 32,000 experience.]

[Due to killing a target 10 levels higher than you, you gain an additional 280% experience bonus. Total experience: 89,600. Your personal damage dealt: 23.7%]

[You gain an additional 21,235 (23.7%) experience points]

The rustling sounds became louder and louder, as if right next to his ear, surrounding him in stereo. From the gaps in the hollow metal floor, countless jointed legs extended, densely packed.

Han Xiao's expression suddenly changed drastically. He turned and ran, heading back the way he came.

From a distance came the loud crash of something hitting metal, accompanied by beast-like roars, vaguely moving in his direction.

All the signs indicated that taking down this monster had triggered some event.

Han Xiao had killed Test Subject 002. The diary said the last test subject was 008. There were several monsters like 002, possibly even stronger, wandering in some corner of the base! He already had what he came for. If he didn't escape now, was he going to stay for the New Year?

Surrounded by all kinds of noises, Han Xiao ran as fast as he could. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. He quickly climbed up the rock wall and returned to the surface.

Sunlight fell on his body, and his tense nerves gradually relaxed. The atmosphere of the abandoned base was too eerie. The constant sense of danger made him as tense as if he were walking a tightrope. Only now did he recover.

In his arms were the unexpected spoils of this trip—three vials of Fironia Serum. Han Xiao couldn't say for sure how much they were worth. Now was not the time to examine his loot. It wouldn't be long before the various forces in Somal discovered the anomaly here.

Thinking of this, Han Xiao immediately drove away.

An hour after he left, convoys of vehicles arrived at the entrance to Fironia one after another, surrounding the cave with suspicion. The leaders of the factions hurriedly notified their backers, while the armed personnel watched each other warily, restraining each other.

The backers all gave the order to explore first.

So the armed groups temporarily ceased hostilities and sent teams into the base. The dark and gloomy atmosphere was somewhat diluted by the presence of people.

"There are desert sandworms on the lower level."

"Tell the people above to send down flamethrowers."

Someone held a cone-shaped flamethrower, scorching the sandworm swarm through the hollow metal floor, emitting a cacophony of ear-piercing screeches. The smell of roasted worm meat mixed with the base's musty odor was nauseating.

The desert sandworms were forty to eighty centimeters long, like centipedes with shells on their backs. Their heads had antennae and densely packed red compound eyes. A pair of pincers could snap a person's bones, which they used to eat.

There were tens of thousands of desert sandworms in the abandoned base. They quickly began to counterattack. The worm tide climbed to the upper level, sweeping in from both ends of the passage. The mercenary teams temporarily formed an alliance, creating a defensive stronghold, and repeatedly repelled the worm tide with flamethrowers and gunfire.

Just as the battle stabilized, the worm tide suddenly dispersed, and several rotting, massive bodies rushed out, walking silently. They charged through the flames and bullets, sending several mercenaries flying, and opened a gap in the mercenaries' formation.

The mercenaries were shocked.

"What the hell is that thing! It's so fucking disgusting!"

"Fill the gap quickly!"

"Damn it, the worm tide is surging in."

"Kill the monster first... Wait, there are three more monsters!"

"Requesting fire support, repeat, requesting fire support!"

The gunfire continued for a long time before fading into silence.

The ground was littered with charred worm corpses and shell casings. Several test subjects had been riddled with bullets. The mercenaries suffered heavy losses, but at least they had ended the battle.

Gordon kicked a test subject's corpse and muttered, "This seems to be a bio-experiment subject."

The group cleaned up the battlefield and began to explore the base from top to bottom, blasting open sealed rooms. Unfortunately, they found nothing of value. Most of them contained only rusty experimental equipment. However, they did scavenge several base logs in paper documents.

The most valuable things were the remnants of dried serum in the experimental container and the corpses of the test subjects. The backers behind these mercenaries needed these things, maybe they could find some specialized biochemical laboratory to restore the effect of the serum, but judging from the test subjects' deformities, this drug was not yet perfect.

When the mercenaries arrived at the large laboratory where Han Xiao had been, they were stunned. A new test subject (002) lay there, with fresh wounds.

"Someone beat us to it!"

Gordon saw the box that originally contained three vials of Fironia Serum. Now it was empty. There were traces of dust on the box that had been touched. His eyes flashed.