The frequent earthquakes had begun to bring panic to the public. In scientific terms, it was: the fault under the Earth's crust began to move frequently, which was a precursor to the collapse of the entire Pacific Plate... In San Francisco, the area most prone to San Andreas fault activity, there had been a total of 16 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5: 0, resulting in a total of 136 deaths.
In the face of such facts, although the officials were still shouting themselves hoarse, it undoubtedly made the ticket sales in the base much better.
So far, the number of tickets sold in the base had reached or even exceeded 50,000. The first test flight of the airship formation in the base had also been fully rehearsed and inspected, in order to give a certain degree of confidence to the people who bought the tickets. Thousands of passengers were even invited to watch the test flight.
The scene at that time was really shocking. An airship was an astonishing 318 m in length, 60 m in diameter, 300 tons in weight, and 300,000 cubic meters in volume. As the core of the formation, the length of the airship reached 500 m!
However, the capacity of the ordinary airship had reached 5,000 people, while the core airship was reduced to 1,000 people. This was mainly because the members who could ride the core airship were all people of high status, who definitely paid attention to comfort. Moreover, the core airship was responsible for transporting most of the food, machinery and so on. Even so, the expected capacity of an airship formation could reach about 35,000 people.
Thinking about it in his mind, a total of 7 such behemoths were docked together, plus the spacing between the airships must be 150 m. This was almost comparable to a medium-sized park!
Because they couldn't be too ostentatious, the takeoff height of the airship formation was limited to 50 m. Even so, the 30 tentacle-like automatic rope ladders hanging down from each airship were so dense that they blotted out the sky and covered the earth. In addition, the thrilling roar of the motor deeply shocked these visitors!
Those who were invited to watch the ceremony today were of course people with high social status. When the huge lifting force of the airship stretched the steel cable of the gondola straight, they started to visit different places under the invitation of the guide. Of course, they started to visit the worst big cabins, followed by the ordinary cabins, followed by the VIP cabins. Finally, they visited the so-called VIP cabins.
If these VIPs were directly taken to their custom-made rooms, there was no doubt that they would be picky in their hearts due to the taste of presidential suites. However, humans were animals that could think and compare. After visiting the large rooms with limited water supply, public toilets and bathrooms, these VIPs felt that these VIPs were very valuable.
These VIPs deeply felt that it was worth their money. More importantly, they also witnessed the core airship being able to disconnect from the subsidiary airships at any time. This undoubtedly increased their sense of security, and even a sense of superiority. It was a powerful feeling of being able to control the life and death of others in their hands.
Needless to say, after this ceremony, a frenzy of purchasing tickets was set off once again. A large number of human resources and material resources began to gather in this abandoned factory on the outskirts of London. Needless to say, just the sudden increase in the rent of nearby rental houses by 1,300% was enough to show the fanaticism of these people.
***
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! The red light flashed. Sheyan picked up the phone. This special phone had been encrypted by Dr. Octopus, so there was no danger of it being hacked. Dr. X's slightly tired but gentle voice came from the other end.
"Two things, Mr. Seaman. We've now found that boarding is a big problem. The number of people holding our tickets has increased to 200,000. Due to the sudden increase in wealth and manpower, our productivity has once again increased. It's estimated that we can form a transportation force of 14 formations, allowing nearly 500,000 people to survive. But the premise is — can you confirm the specific time and place of that moment? Otherwise, if it happens in advance, it's likely that a large number of innocent people will die. "
Sheyan replied.
"I'm sure, Professor X. But won't the expansion of production bring additional trouble? Like your enemies? Their power can easily cause a terrible and devastating blow. Then there's the group of bastards from our world who want to correct history. "
However, Magneto interjected and said solemnly,
"Seaman, those guys are just reclusive. They're not executioners or butchers. The spaceships built by the Hulk and Batman can only carry a few hundred people. After seeing what we've done, they've restrained themselves a lot. I don't think they'll come to cause any damage, because I don't think they want hundreds of people to live alone on Earth. Maybe the war between us will continue, but not now. "
"As for those guys you mentioned who came from the same place as you and wanted to correct history, they should have rushed to China by now. A reliable source has confirmed that China has indeed built thousands of fake arks! Compared to the tough bones we have here, they seem to have chosen the faraway China. The American government has also taken a breather, so they've started to slowly contact us and consider the initial form of cooperation. If the negotiations are successful, we'll even consider assisting the government to quickly set up an airship production line. "
"I understand," said Sheyan. "I'm sure that the arrival of the disaster has been delayed. December 21, 2012 is not the end of the world. It will begin 300 hours later. The disaster will first occur in the Gulf of California, then in the San Andreas Fault."
"New York will have two hours of buffer time …. After the half-hour-long earthquake with a magnitude of more than 10 is over, the survivors will have another three hours or so to catch their last breaths. The last memory of their lives will be of the terrifying tsunami that almost covers the sky …."
"Understood." Although Professor X had heard Sheyan's description more than once, his voice was still choked with grief. "How's it going over there? Do you need help?"
"Everything's going well." Sheyan looked at Kulutego next to him. The fat black kid was munching on an old Beijing chicken roll. Red tomato juice was smeared all over the corner of his mouth. His other hand was pressed against the hard wall.
Under the effect of Kulutego's power, the sand on the wall rustled down. The fortifications, which were said to be able to withstand a nuclear attack, were vulnerable to the power of the two-headed Cyclops. Kulutego took another big bite of the chicken roll, then impatiently dug at the sand that had been broken down with his hands. He then broke the steel bars inside. Following his violent actions, a shrill alarm suddenly went off.
But Sheyan remained calm. In this secret place that seemed to be a holiday villa, there were a total of 87 guards armed to the teeth. The alarm was meant for them, but these guards had now lost their freedom to move and speak. They were all tied up by No. 7 in the way the Ndipaya natives used to tie up their prey.
Finally, the safe, which was wrapped in a six-meter-thick reinforced concrete wall, was dug out. It was said that if the safe was not opened from the front, the items inside would be forcibly damaged. Sheyan, who did not have the password to open the safe, decided to take it at face value. He opened the safe from the back and easily broke its anus.
There were a lot of things in the safe, but Sheyan's eyes finally stopped on a seemingly ordinary gemstone. He turned on the flashlight and shone it directly on the gemstone. He immediately saw that the gemstone had undergone a lot of refraction, and in the end, a strange vertical pupil was eerily revealed. When he shook the flashlight slightly, he found that the light reflected from the pupil was like fire!!
"Looks like we've found the real deal again." Zi could not help but exclaim when she saw this. "Wow, it's so beautiful."
She exclaimed with a kind of admiration that only women had for glittering things like jewels.
"The pupil of the Quetzalcoatl. Even after it was forcibly removed, it still retained its majestic quality. It's a legendary work of art that can't be faked. At least, not with modern craftsmanship. The US government has hidden it in the deepest part of the country and refused to display it. I remember that in the real world, the corporation finally made a sacrifice in exchange for the chance to see the true appearance of this treasure. I didn't expect the government to change their mind at the last minute. "
Old Charlie strode in at this time, followed by Ramtas. He was carrying an ordinary-looking box in his hand.
"I've checked it. The dagger of the Gold Shaman is also inside. As expected, it was shipped in the same batch as the pupil of the Quetzalcoatl. Plus, there's the fanged mask of the Native American chief found in San Antonio. We've already exceeded the requirements of the great collector. Do we still need to look for the Crystal Skull?"
Sheyan asked curiously.
"Why not? The Realm is always very generous to those who can perfectly complete a mission, not to mention that this is a job with no competitors, at least not in America. Where's the address of the Crystal Skull? Oh, it's actually in the hands of a private collector. What a long name. Jakaya? Mrisho? Hassan? Mwini Kikwete. We have to hurry up and get this done before the FBI finds him. It's not a good thing to always go against the government. "
Seeing how Zi and Melody were eyeing the "pupil of the Quetzalcoatl" covetously, Sheyan decisively gave up on keeping it for himself. But at this time, Dr. Octopus called to ask about something.
"Seaman, I remember you once told me that the final geological evolution of the 2012 apocalypse was that the Cape of Good Hope in Africa became the highest mountain in the world, while the overall change in the United States was not that great, right?"
"Yes," Sheyan replied. Sheyan said, "The American plate is like a biscuit. It was snapped in half, but most of it is still intact."
"Very good," said Dr. Octopus excitedly. Dr. Octopus said excitedly, "The resources we have now are really amazing, and there are too many things we want to keep. So, I plan to build a few waterproof underground warehouses in the most stable areas inland and stuff all the necessary things in them. As long as we can preserve even one of them, it'll save us at least a few years, maybe even decades of hard work. "
"Good idea!" said Sheyan. "I think you can ask the government about this directly. Those nuclear shelters could be easily modified to achieve an extremely good waterproof effect. Let's preserve as much of human civilization as we can. Oh, I still have something to do, so I'll take my leave first. "
***
Jakaya? Mrisho? Hassan? Mwini Kikwete, or Jakaya for short, lived on the outskirts of Detroit. It was already a very remote place, but the blue and white painted villa still looked quite exquisite amid the greenery. The lawn at the entrance had been carefully trimmed. Under the scorching sun at four o 'clock in the afternoon, it looked somewhat like the style of a nineteenth-century impressionist oil painter.
That is, if there were not a few corpses on the lawn and a few police cars that had rushed up at random.
"Step on the brakes, put the car in neutral, turn off the engine, and pull the handbrake." Sheyan completed all these actions in one go, then jumped down from the top. His actions didn't seem much different from usual, but the vigilance he exuded was on the verge of bursting out.
Reef was already on standby. He stood in front of Zi, Sanzi and Melody, while Sheyan formed the first echelon with Ramtas and No. 7, the two guys who could be resurrected.
Sheyan walked to the lawn. After a quick observation, he came to a conclusion.
"It seems that the FBI is still a little more efficient than us, but they seem to have encountered a tricky situation this time," said Sheyan as he walked to the car beside the police car.
Sheyan said as he walked to the side of the police car. He immediately confirmed his conclusion, because there was also a corpse in the driver's seat. The corpse's expression was distorted, as if it had been scared to death. The car was in reverse and the steering wheel had been turned several times, but the policeman no longer had the strength to pull the handbrake.
Next, he bent down and inspected the corpse. When his fingers came into contact with the exposed skin of the corpse, something like a root drilled into it.
"The identity of the deceased is … a first-class agent. His gun shows traces of having been fired, which means that the guy we're going to face next is probably immune to bullets. Huh? The cause of death of this guy is actually …" Sheyan was shocked.
Sheyan was shocked. He stood up and kicked the head of the corpse. The head immediately shattered, but the inside of the skull was only pale white bones, mucus, blood, and nothing else. Even the spinal cord inside the spine had disappeared!
The man's brain and spinal cord were strangely sucked dry, as if they had been sucked dry!
"What the hell is this? Vampiric mutant? A Brain-Eater? A Mind Flayer? "Sheyan frowned.
At this moment, No.7 spat out his long, red tongue that resembled a lizard's, and barked several times at Reef. Reef immediately replied.
"He said he just sensed a very special aura leaving," said Reef.
Sheyan thought for a while and said, "Zi, come with me.
Reef, you protect Sanzi. Kulutego, go to the high slope next to us. The view there is wide, so we can monitor the enemy's movements from a high vantage point. Melody, prepare some spells that can control the enemy. We're here to find the Crystal Skull, not to kill. Remember, we have to be within the range of Reef's' Hand of God 'at all times. "
Following Sheyan's arrangement, everyone in the party immediately started moving like gears. Sheyan was still leading the way outside. He walked through the front door of the villa with Zi by his side. For some reason, although the atmosphere here was gloomy and strange, Zi's heart suddenly became happy. There was an indescribable hope in her heart, and that was to be able to walk side by side with the man beside her.
Sheyan pushed open the front door of the villa.
At present, Zi appeared very casual, but her ten slender fingertips were glinting with arcs of light that could stab one's eyes. Although she was mentally prepared, she still frowned slightly at the tragic scene before her.
There were too many dead people in the living room, and all of them had twisted faces. Among the dead, although most of them were police officers and FBI agents in black suits, there were also servants, old people, and even a little girl!!
There was no doubt that the cause of their deaths was exactly the same – their brains and spines were missing. Judging from the scene, the bullet marks on the walls also showed that a fierce gunfight had taken place here. However, it seemed that the bullets were indeed ineffective. They either missed their targets, or they were useless even if they hit their targets.
The two of them walked up to the second floor with a relaxed look on their faces. They found that there was still no one here apart from the corpses. Sheyan's gaze swept across a family photo next to him.
He said with certainty, "The whole family seems to have died in the villa, except for Mr. Jakaya, who we're looking for."
Zi knew that Sheyan had a photographic memory, so she trusted his judgment. She searched the inside and outside of the villa again. After confirming that the murderer had left, she signaled for everyone to come in. No. 7 and Ramtas stood guard outside the villa.
Although the whole team seemed to have returned to normal, they were still as cautious as they were before Mogensha's death. Everyone was as careful as if they were treading on thin ice, lest they suffer the severe pain of having their limbs broken again.
The next step was, of course, a careful search of the villa. Their purpose here was not to solve the case or seek redress, but to get the 'Crystal Skull' and leave as soon as possible. During the search, Sanzi suddenly found a hospital paper bag in a drawer. He took out a few pictures and was stunned. He hurriedly called everyone over to take a look.
It turned out that the paper bag contained the CT scans taken by the doctor using CT technology. The patient's name on them was Jakaya's.
The CT scans looked normal at first, similar to that of a normal person, but as time passed, the patient's skull on the CT scans slowly turned strange, revealing unexpected features. In a CT scan taken two days ago, the shadow of the skull was exactly the same as the 'Crystal Skull' they were looking for!
"What's going on?" Everyone was even more surprised. The 'Crystal Skull' carved by the Mayans had replaced a human skull and grown into Jakaya's head! If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would have found it unimaginable.
The 'Crystal Skull' was a sacred artifact carved by the Mayans. From a mystical point of view, it was equivalent to a magical artifact, so its features were very obvious compared to modern artifacts. In addition, they also had the CT scans of Jakaya as a reference, so it was easy for them to make a judgment.
Sheyan pondered for a moment before answering.
"Legend has it that the 'Crystal Skull' contains a mysterious power. There are also rumours linking the 'Crystal Skull' to the 2012 apocalypse. It is said that there are a total of 13 'Crystal Skulls', and they contain information about the origin and death of mankind. They can help mankind solve the mystery of life in the universe. We have to find all the skulls before 21 December 2012. That day marks the end of the Mayan calendar that has been circulating for 5126 years. Unless the 13 skulls are gathered together and placed in the correct position, the Earth will fly off its axis. Only then can the supernatural power of the skulls save the Earth. The change in Jakaya may be related to this legend. "
Reef could not believe it.
"What about these dead people? Is Jakaya the one who committed the murder? Damn it, his son and granddaughter are lying downstairs! "
Sheyan answered indifferently.
"When I was checking, I noticed that the people living in the villa died at least five hours earlier than the FBI. If I'm not mistaken, Jakaya can no longer be classified as a human being, so of course he won't be bound by human emotions. What I'm curious about is, why did he stay here after eating everyone in the villa? He only left when we arrived. "
Sanzi immediately said.
"I'll call Kulutego to look for him."
Under the effect of the two-headed Cyclops' power, almost no secret room could escape the detection of his power, unless there was nothing earth-related around the secret room. A secret compartment the size of a wardrobe was soon discovered. There was a mirror in the compartment. It was almost covered in blood, and beside it was a scribbled diary.
"The 'Crystal Skull' is different. I can clearly feel it."
"Is the end of the world really coming?"
"It's resonating. Yes, it's resonating! Is the legend of the thirteen skulls true? "
"I can't stare into its eyes anymore. Legend has it that the skulls were used by the Mayans to hypnotize patients during surgery. Something seems to be summoning it."
"My head hurts! I have to look at it. I've had enough of this damn pain. Ahhhhhh! "
"Why do I feel like this damn Crystal Skull looks delicious?"
"Am I seeing things? In the illusion just now, if you heat the Crystal Skull red and throw it into water, it will shatter into powder, and then … that shaman will gain eternal life!"
"Okay, I have to take a gamble … Anyway, I'm also in the advanced stage of lymphoma. I only have three months to live."
"The Black Crystal Skull. I can see it. Is that the power that has been summoning me? Is that the voice that has been echoing in my heart all this time? "
"Great God, I will leave your portrait and worship it day and night. I will open my body and soul to you at the same time!
"Master … Summon … Provide nourishment …"
***
Looking at this series of scribbled notes, Party Ace fully understood that if a person went crazy for the sake of life, they would do anything in the future. Shattering the Crystal Skull into powder and then eating it in order to gain eternal life sounded ridiculous, but Jakaya had done it meticulously.
At the same time, everyone concluded that the skull was definitely not made of crystal, but of some other unknown substance. The substance was crushed into powder and eaten, then slowly turned Jakaya's skull into a "crystal". No matter how they looked at it, it sounded like the work of a special parasite.
"It seems that this guy was also induced by the Black Crystal Skull," said Party Ace.
"It's very likely that everything this guy did was done under psychological suggestion and psychological guidance. Then, he became a puppet under control. There's no other way. We can only catch up with him and chop off his head to complete our mission. Melody, can you track his movements?"
Melody replied in a clear voice, "Probably.
"It should be possible. This guy's body is filled with the stench of rotten, dirty blood, and darkness. I only need a Madoka Treant to find him."
While Melody was chanting, a small tree began to pull out its roots. Its branches quickly grew and bent into the shape of a centaur. The only difference was that the centaur's skin was tender green, and the upper half of its body resembled that of a little girl. It happily walked in the front, playing the role of a hunting dog.
It did not take the Madoka Dryad much effort to find the path that Jakaya had taken to escape. The trampled vegetation and leaves might not be obvious, but the animal and human corpses that were left behind along the way were clearly displayed in front of everyone.
The one thing these corpses had in common was that their heads were like hollow boxes, leaving only empty shells behind.
Under the lead of the Madoka Dryad, the party chose to follow a straight line. Fortunately, none of them were ordinary people. Otherwise, they would have collapsed from exhaustion along the way.
After crossing a mountain ridge that was neither too high nor too steep, what appeared before them was an incomparably vast wilderness.
The Western Wilderness.
A railway stretched across the land like a zipper. Since there was a railway, it naturally had to be maintained. Therefore, there were many settlements in the wastelands that maintained the roads. Because of the high spending power of these settlements and the stability of the work, they slowly formed administrative units similar to towns.
When Party Ace was led into the maintenance section by the Madoka Dryad, they found that the situation here was extremely tragic. To be precise, humans were being slaughtered as if they were food!
More than half of the humans had died tragically on the streets! The previous corpses had been dead for a long time, so they could not see clearly. But now, with fresh corpses as a reference, they could clearly see that they had died after being pierced by sharp objects as thick as electric wires.
The whole air was filled with an indescribable fishy smell! It smelled like boiling brains. It was even more disgusting than the smell of blood.
All of a sudden, the windows of the building in front of them shattered and a black shadow flew out. The shadow was knocked away by Zi's' Force Collision Wall '. Upon closer inspection, it was a dying human. Translator's Thoughts Noodletown Translations Noodletown Translations Noodletown Translations Noodletown Translations Noodletown Translations
Of course, he was hit by Zi's' Force Wall 'and died on the spot.
Then, several more corpses were thrown out of the window. For a moment, it was difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake, so the party could only retreat. Unexpectedly, one of the corpses bounced up as soon as it landed!
A large number of independent blood vessels shot out from the surface of its body. Each blood vessel was green, as thick as an electric wire, and at least two to three meters long. They wriggled in the air like they were flowing in water. It was indescribably disgusting, but also indescribably demonic.
Sheyan was not afraid at all. With a loud shout, he kicked the chest of the monster that was pouncing on him. The speed of his kick was so fast that the blood vessels danced wildly. Before the monster could get close, it had already been kicked away.
After the monster suffered a loss, a large part of its chest caved in. It let out a shrill cry, but it did not repent and continued to pounce on Sheyan. However, a cunning glint flashed in its eyes. Sheyan was already closing in on it step by step, but the two 'corpses' next to it suddenly bounced up and clamped down on Sheyan's legs.
The backs of the two corpses had been pierced by the monster's' blood vessels', turning them into puppets.
Sheyan's face was expressionless. He exerted force with his feet and the bones of the two corpses immediately broke. However, his movements were obviously slower because of this. The monster let out a strange cry as a thick green blood vessel pierced into Sheyan's calf!
The end of the blood vessel looked very hard, but like the mouthpart of a mosquito, it could pierce into the skin and muscles effortlessly! It wriggled and tried to drill into Sheyan's body while greedily absorbing his blood.
The 'Stairway of the Sun', which had sensed that its' territory 'was being invaded, immediately flew into a rage. Its roots violently stretched towards the green blood vessel that had pierced into Sheyan's body! After the two collided, the blood vessel only lasted for two or three seconds before it could no longer withstand the force of the roots and retracted back like a hot knife through butter!
Then, the blood vessel that had sucked Sheyan's blood quickly turned red. The blood vessel was originally dark green, but it changed rapidly like a heated steel bar. It began to split and spread out in a net-like manner. It twitched slightly with the heartbeat, then expanded rapidly! After expanding to the limit, it naturally burned, exploded and self-destructed!
Sheyan's attack had undoubtedly dealt a great blow to the monster's vitality!
It let out a mournful shriek. After falling to the ground, it rolled on the ground with both hands. Like a gorilla or monkey running, it quickly fled. One could clearly see that when this fellow was heavily injured, its head was indeed emitting light. The light illuminated the crystal skull inside.
The monster fled very quickly. It bounced repeatedly and disappeared into the distance in an instant. Sheyan had no intention of chasing after it. Instead, he looked to the side and asked.
"Did you find anything?"
Old Charlie came out from the side of the shelter and said seriously, "Yes, I did.
Freddy is best at illusions and psychic attacks. He could feel that something was constantly affecting the monster's way of thinking and brainwaves, causing it to deviate from the normal course of life. Strange things like drinking the powder of the crystal skull and so on really don't seem like something a normal person would do. "
Sanzi held up a few photos he had just taken and said, "Take a look at them.
What's the difference? "
The photos were of the monster they had just taken. From the way it was dressed, they could basically confirm that it was Jakaya. The cruelty, coldness and viciousness it displayed in the battle were all vividly captured. However, when it was running away in the end, the monster's back could be seen changing. Its hands and feet continued to grow longer to make it easier for it to run, and its stomach bulged out strangely like a starving person. It was deliberately protecting its stomach, as if it contained something extraordinary. “
Looking at the photo, Sheyan said thoughtfully, "That's right.
"Interesting. This is the first time I've seen a puppet controlled by a crystal skull like Jakaya. But judging from his performance, could it be that after Jakaya sucked so much brain and spinal cord, he only kept one-tenth of it for himself, while the rest was kept in his stomach as an offering to the owner of the black crystal skull?"
Speaking till here, Sheyan paused and furrowed his brows.
"I don't know why, but I keep having the misconception that I'll dig deeper and deeper if I investigate further. Once the true identity of the owner of the black crystal skull is exposed, it's very likely to give me an unexpected surprise."
Zi frowned.
"You mean it'll lead to a side mission? But we don't need that right now. "
"No," replied Sheyan seriously. "The 'Stairway of the Sun' made direct contact with that guy's Blood Vessel Thorns. I don't know why, but at that moment, I vaguely felt a sense of deja vu. I feel like I've seen the owner of the Black Crystal Skull before, but our contact should have been very shallow. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't be unable to recall it." If you like this work, you're welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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