Now that the sky had cleared up, some of the animals that had been hiding for the past few days started to show themselves. The forest was much livelier than when Silin first arrived. And because of this activity, they could often hear some roars and whines through the surveillance devices in the forest. The angle of predator and prey was always changing. In the past, the ferocious beasts could be considered as one of the overlords here, but after the arrival of the white rat biochemical beast, they could only become the prey.
Silin and his group had cleared out most of the white mice that had been hiding in the forest during the snowstorm, but a few more white mice and bioweapons came to the forest after the sky cleared up. After all, the forest was a good source of food for them.
Gu Xin, Tu Ba, and Erty had just gone to the forest to kill three white mice, a couple of bioweapons, and two wild beasts as food for the day. Every time someone came back from the forest, they had to go through a disinfection process. Neo's obsession with cleanliness wasn't without reason. There were too many germs out there, and no one knew how many new germs would appear after the snowstorm. After all, many germs mutated too frequently, and everyone had to be on guard.
Silin and Neo worked together to create a couple of compound antibody serums in the lab. Everyone was given a shot to prevent infection, especially people like Ah Shou and Hei Dou. If they were seriously infected, it would be very difficult for them to survive. Their constitution made them vulnerable in this area.
Huimao counted the days with his claws every day to see how many more days he had to stay here.
"How was it today?" Silin asked the trio who had just returned from the outside.
Gu Xin, Tu Ba, and Tu Ba walked into the newly set up disinfection room. The disinfection room recorded the germs they carried before they were disinfected, and if there were any new germs, they would take some samples for Silin and Neo to update their virus database and create a special antibody serum to prevent further infection.
"It's alright, we're used to dealing with white mice now, so it's easy to kill them. But the number of black bugs has been increasing lately," Gu Xin said while wiping his face.
A lot of black bugs had appeared after the sky cleared up. Their heads were flat and had no eyes, only sensory cells that looked like eyes. They didn't have a single clawed foot. Their walking style was similar to that of a snake, and they were very fast.
Although these black insects were only as long as a palm, they had fine, sharp teeth. At first glance, they looked like the spines of a feline's tongue. With these special sharp teeth, they could scrape meat from other animals for food. Most importantly, there were a lot of them.
If he encountered these guys, Silin would choose to use the Cryogenic Cold Beam Gun because they were resistant to heat and cold. Of course, if he saw a bunch of black worms, throwing a Molotov cocktail at them was also a good idea. Even if they could withstand heat, they wouldn't be able to withstand fire.
"These guys usually like to hide underground. I bet the melted snow has flooded some of the low-lying areas, forcing the bugs out," Erty said. He had killed many of these black bugs today.
"In short, just don't get bitten by them. Although these guys are small, one bite from them will leave a bloody hole on your body." Tu Ba had tested the bite force of these black bugs today. They bit through wood like a saw. One bite and the wood would turn into powder. It would be terrible if they bit a human.
Silin's focus wasn't on the bugs. He had a feeling that their appearance meant something. He looked at Ah Shou. The little girl was holding a cup of freshly squeezed fruit juice and didn't react at all. Did that mean there was no natural disaster?
Huimao, who was rolling around on the table in boredom, twitched his ears. He didn't seem too sure. He jumped down and walked around. He looked at Silin and said, "It's going to be an earthquake!"
Ah Shou, who was drinking fruit juice, choked and coughed. She looked confused. "I don't feel anything. Why would there be an earthquake?"
"It's not natural. It's man-made," Huimao said with certainty. He had already sensed the movements of the machines underground.
Silin called Huimao over and showed him the map of the surrounding area.
"Roughly where will it be?" Silin moved the map screen in front of Huimao.
The others also gathered around curiously. Neo was still skeptical. Once Huimao pointed out Huimao's location, he would analyze it to see if he was telling the truth.
Huimao raised his paw and pointed at a few points on the screen. Fortunately, Neo's safe zone wasn't close to the epicenter of these earthquakes. It was at the edge of the zone. Although he could feel the tremors, they wouldn't be as strong.
Neo let out a sigh of relief when he finished his calculations. "If this cat is telling the truth, this place won't be damaged. The materials used to build the safe zone should be able to withstand the tremors."
"But isn't that Mond's place?" Hei Dou pointed at a place close to the epicenter.
"Mond? That psycho? I don't know him. "Neo hurriedly distanced himself from Mond. It was as if knowing Mond would lower his intelligence.
Neo and Mond had always referred to each other as "that psycho".
Silin and the others shot Neo an odd glance at the same time. Up until now, Neo had been publicly recognized as the most psychotic person in the world. However, they were curious about the person who could make even Neo call him a psycho.
"Mond is a person who understands animal language. He can understand animal cries, facial expressions and body language," Hua Li explained.
"No, that's not it!" Neo corrected Hua Li, "That psycho doesn't understand animal language at all. It's just a dirty trick. You know, he used to flunk his language classes a lot. It's an undeniable fact that he's always failed his language classes!"
Hua Li ignored Neo's explanation and briefly explained Mond to Silin and the others. She was just done when the metal chain on Hei Dou's wrist flashed.
Hei Dou pressed it without hesitation, and a young boy with a broom appeared on the screen.
"Hei Dou Dou, my dear … Who's behind you? Why is that psycho Neo with you?! "Mond said with a look of disdain.
Neo pushed Hei Dou's face away and smiled proudly. He shook his finger and said, "Two mistakes. One, I'm not with Hei Dou, Hei Dou is with me. Two, the word 'psycho' has always been with you. It's inseparable."
On the screen, the corner of Mond's eyes twitched. He looked at Hei Dou who was pushed to the side and said, "Hei Dou Dou, my dear, tell this psycho to leave. Big brother wants to talk to you alone. It's urgent!"
Hei Dou looked at the others and apologized. Then, she covered the screen and ran back to her lab.
"Did Mond discover that his place is near the epicenter?" Hua Li asked with a frown.
"Impossible, how could he know?" Neo would never believe that Mond had that kind of intelligence.
But Hei Dou came out soon and told them that Mond knew that there would be an earthquake at his place. He originally wanted to hide at Hei Dou's place, but Hei Dou had moved to Neo's place already. However, Mond only knew Hei Dou, so he wouldn't beg Neo for help even if he was beaten to death.
"How did that broom head know that there would be an earthquake at his place?" Gu Xin asked.
Silin pointed at a black insect specimen on a shelf in Neo's lab and said, "Probably through that. After all, a creature that hides underground all year round is more sensitive to changes underground. "
"Can that broom head really understand the black insect's language?" Erty rubbed his chin. He couldn't figure it out.
"That's just a conjecture based on a statistical analysis and a clandestine method, that's all!" Neo insisted on his point of view.
No one paid attention to Neo's words. Silin had other thoughts in mind.
"If there is an earthquake, this place won't be damaged because it's at the epicenter. But other creatures, at least the ones that live around here, will definitely run here."
"That's true." Tu Ba agreed with Silin's words. "We'll probably be very busy then."
While Silin and the others were discussing the problems they would face, Hei Dou's bracelet lit up again.
"Um … I'm leaving for a moment!" Hei Dou ran back to her lab in embarrassment.
It didn't take long for Hei Dou to come out. The bracelet's communicator wasn't turned off, and Mond was standing there with a constipated look on his face.
Knowing that Mond was too embarrassed to say it, Hei Dou said timidly, "Mond and the others want to come over here …"
"I won't allow it!" Neo refused without hesitation.
The veins on Mond's forehead bulged, but he didn't explode. Instead, he looked at Hei Dou. Hei Dou looked at Silin because she didn't have the heart to do it. She trusted Silin the most out of all of them, and she felt that Silin could solve this problem. He was also the only person who could reason with Neo's uncanny knowledge, so Neo would definitely listen to him.
Mond clearly noticed Hei Dou's gaze, but he couldn't see anyone else because of the angle of the screen. However, it was obvious that Hei Dou wasn't looking at the crazy Neo.
"Us?" Silin caught onto the word and asked.
"Mn, Mond has three people with him. They're about the same as you guys," Hei Dou explained.
"Don't worry, they're good people. They even saved my life before!" Mond hurriedly said because he was afraid that Silin would refuse. No one was willing to accept a stranger in this kind of environment. Although he couldn't see Silin's face, anyone who could speak at a time like this definitely had some decision-making power.
"Oh, no, there's a burden other than that psycho!" Neo yelled.
The faces of the three people standing not far away from Mond twitched in unison when they heard Neo's words. Burden? You're the burden, all of you are! Also, that's not how you use the word, is it?!
"That crazy Neo's place is big enough to accommodate all of us. We can help you solve some of your problems," Mond ignored Neo's objection and continued.
"That won't do. Who knows if you'll become invaders?"
"Are you questioning my character?"
"Character? Do you even have that? "
Silin patted Neo's shoulder and pointed at the lab when he saw that Neo and Mond were arguing again. "Your molecular diagram is complete."
Neo was no longer in the mood to argue with Mond when the molecular diagram was mentioned. He hurriedly ran to the lab.
It was a lot quieter without Neo around.
"Let's continue our conversation. There are four people on your side, including you. I want to see the other three," Silin said.
Hei Dou had already adjusted the angle of the screen so that it was facing Silin. Gu Xin and the others weren't in his field of vision.
Silin raised an eyebrow when the other three people appeared. One of them was the "Orville" that Gu Xin and Erty had mentioned before.
"Wait a moment." Silin left to discuss with Hua Li and the others. He wanted to confirm if Orville was trustworthy or not.
"Orville?" Tu Ba twirled the blade in his hand. "That kid may not be a good person, but I believe he knows when to advance and retreat. He knows what he should and shouldn't do."
Silin looked at Gu Xin and Erty. Both of them nodded in agreement with Tu Ba. It was true that Orville wasn't a good person. In fact, he was notorious in some circles, but he wasn't someone without principles either.
Silin then asked Hua Li for her opinion. After all, Orville was like a ticking time bomb if they didn't get along well with each other.
To his surprise, Hua Li didn't object. Both sides weren't injured at the time, and the past was in the past.
When Cillin saw Mond's expectant face on the light screen again, Cillin allowed both sides to meet each other. Other than Cillin, everyone else seemed to have different levels of understanding towards each other.
After receiving a guarantee from the other side, Cillin went to find Neo and finally managed to convince him to let the four of them join him. In fact, Neo just wanted to see Mond's submissive face. It would be a great way to vent his anger. Neo didn't have the heart to think about anything else at all. Those people were far less attractive to him than the experiment he was currently working on.
As for how Mond and the others were going to come over, Silin and the others didn't need to worry about it. All they needed to do was send someone to meet them after they arrived. Right now, Silin and Hei Dou were busy inspecting the safety zone and reinforcing some of the defenses.
Everyone was busy with their own things, and no one noticed Huimao lying on the table. Huimao's eyes were closed like it was asleep, and its tail wasn't moving at all. If the cat had any nefarious thoughts, it would've wagged its tail a couple of times. Huimao's ears were twitching at a frequency that was hard to discern. Silin glanced at it when he passed by the living room, but didn't disturb it.
The cat had probably discovered it.
Soon, the forest started to grow restless. The animals in the forest seemed to be quarreling, and some of the animals from other areas had come over to cause a ruckus.
"They're here!"
Hei Dou said while looking at the dots on the screen.
Needless to say, Gu Xin, Erty, and Tu Ba grabbed their guns and walked out. The three of them were bored out of their minds, and they couldn't help even when they saw how busy Cillin and Hei Dou were. Neo, on the other hand, wasn't involved at all. They weren't of much use other than hunting wild beasts and rats. The three of them felt extremely uncomfortable. It was as if they had suddenly become superfluous. Was this the feeling of being a burden that Neo was talking about?
Hua Li stayed inside the safety zone with great self-awareness. She had realized the gap between her and the others, and her constitution was as fragile as an eggshell compared to Gu Xin and the others.
However, Hua Li wasn't dispirited by the difference in constitution. Everyone had their own strengths. What surprised Hua Li the most was Cillin. Up until now, Silin and Neo had been updating the virus database, creating antibodies and antidotes for a couple of plant and animal toxins, modifying his own guns and ammunition, working with Hei Dou to reinforce the safety zone's defenses, and creating hidden surveillance devices with limited materials. In terms of individual combat strength, Silin wasn't any weaker than Gu Xin and the others, and his constitution was even better. Up until now, Hua Li hadn't seen Silin affected by germs or poisoned.
What kind of person was Silin?
Even in Black Viper, a person like him was rare, not to mention that he wasn't a member of the organization.
I … really want to dissect a person like him!
It was rare that Hua Li's desire to dissect rose again. Silin, who was setting up defenses outside the safety zone, felt a chill run down his back and made him shiver.
Gu Xin and the others had gone out to welcome Mond's group into the safety zone. One of them had been scratched by a flying beast, and his wound was starting to get infected. It looked like it wasn't just a scratch, but a secondary infection as well. Mond was fine except for his pale complexion. The other two had some minor injuries, but they weren't that serious. The fact that they were able to get here safely proved that they were capable.
"It probably wouldn't have been this easy if we'd left a little later." Mond gulped down a cup of water and said while panting.
It was true that the beasts and other animals weren't this noisy when they left, but now it was like a boiling pot of boiling water. Most of their injuries had come during the second half of their journey, and the one who was scratched had only gotten hurt twenty minutes ago when they approached the area.
Everyone had been disinfected after they came in, and to their surprise, the disinfection room had provided them with six new types of pathogenic bacteria. They were all from Mond and Orville. When they learned this, they couldn't help but sigh. No wonder their wounds had worsened so quickly.
When Mond finally recovered, he saw Huimao lying on the table and his interest was piqued again. It was his habit to interact with animals and read their thoughts.
The gray cat grew impatient after being poked by Monde's fingers. It swiped at the back of Mond's hand, and three bloody claw marks appeared on the back of Mond's hand despite the hard work it took to get this far without drawing any blood.
Looking at Huimao's impatient eyes, Mond swallowed and accepted the restoration spray Ah Shou passed to him. He sprayed the claw marks and obediently stopped provoking Huimao.
It only took a single glance for Mond to understand the emotions and meaning behind Huimao's eyes. If Mond poked him again, he wouldn't just be scratching his hand with his fingers.
Boom — —
The tremor began.
Through the image displayed on the screen, everyone could see the situation outside. The ground near the epicenter had also cracked. Although it was not a naturally occurring earthquake, if they had not known beforehand that it was man-made, no one would have thought that way.
Many animals were already running toward them, especially the black bugs. They didn't see any white rats or beasts, so they probably had to wait a little longer.
Silin took out a box and distributed the guns and ammunition he'd made earlier to the group. Among them were the ultra-low temperature beam guns and a few thousand degree incendiary bombs.
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