Alien Relic Hunter

"Uh... Then it shouldn't be dangerous to us, right?" Soap lowered the muzzle of his gun and tilted his head to look at the huge moth attached to the wall of the waste pipe. "To be honest, I'm a little curious about how it came to be. It’s time to eat… This underground space is very big for us, but very narrow for it. Will it really not hit pipes or something when it flies up?”

"Curiosity will not only kill cats, but also people." The clown said, "I said it is similar to plants. In addition to 'passive predation', there is also the absorption of radiant energy...the photosynthesis of plants. When there is sunlight, it absorbs carbon dioxide, releases oxygen, and synthesizes nutrients; and at night, it transforms into completely reverse respiration, absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide."

"What you mean is that while the moth is asleep, it will absorb the radiation escaping from the waste tube; but if we wake it up, it will change from the role of absorbing radiation to becoming the radiation source itself. ?" Soap immediately understood the meaning of the clown's words.

"Yes, and when it senses danger, the amount of radiation it releases will reach a very high value. Even if you wear protective clothing, you can't withstand it." The clown said, "Eleven years ago, the institute organized A test team composed entirely of D-class personnel, each of them wearing power armor with the highest protection level, used a remote-controlled bomb to wake it up from a distance of one kilometer... In just forty seconds, this The total amount of radiation released by a giant moth is equivalent to the total amount of radiation released by a main reactor in twelve years. Half of the team of D-class personnel died instantly, their bodies dehydrated and turned into skeletons mummies. Those who were lucky enough not to die immediately could not survive the twenty-four hours.

"This test even affected the residential areas on the surface. More than 2,000 people suffered from radiation sickness to varying degrees. The official explanation was a leak of nuclear waste from the main reactor."

"Tsk, what a guy." Soap exclaimed, "How powerful is it? By the way, what are D-class personnel? Are they like those cheap miners who are hired to die?"

"D-class personnel are actually humanoid mice used in the research institute to conduct experiments related to the human body. They are basically composed of death row prisoners who have been deprived of their human rights." The clown explained, "Later, the mass production of 'active ammunition' was also used These D-class personnel are used as 'material' to cultivate flesh-eating worms."

"It's really cruel... If I were to become a death row prisoner, I would rather eat a peanut on the shooting range. At least this way of death is pleasant, and I don't have to suffer so many crimes before I die," said Soap.

"You didn't know this, but the spots for D-class personnel are very popular among death row prisoners." The clown shook his head, "After becoming a candidate for D-class personnel, you can live for at least a few more months. In a few Months later, you may not be assigned a mission that requires death... This is a job that depends entirely on luck. If you can successfully complete the mission and survive, you will not only be released from the status of a death row prisoner and regain your freedom, but you will also receive a large amount of money. As a reward, many people are willing to take advantage of this 'last chance'. Therefore, every time someone from the institute goes to the prison to select D-class personnel, the death row inmates will fight to get a spot. Flow, even causing death."

"I'm a little curious, do these death row prisoners know the death rate and survival rate of D-class personnel?" Noir asked.

"This probability will not be announced, but the people selected by the institute and the prison guards will secretly 'reveal' a 'tattletale' to these prisoners: at least one-third of them have successfully passed the D-class personnel mission and regained freedom."

"There is a one-third chance of not dying, and there is still a reward. It is indeed worth the risk, and it is normal to grab the head." Soap nodded, "But what is the real probability?"

"The mortality rate is 100%, and the survival rate is zero percent." The Joker said, "Even if a D-class personnel successfully completes the task assigned to him, he will be secretly wiped out, or directly forced to be sent for human dissection. The research team. To the people at the institute, D-class personnel are not human beings, but consumables. The remaining consumables should be disposed of in a harmless manner."

"It's more ruthless than I thought. I thought at least a few people would be released as publicity benchmarks," said Soap.

"There is no need to publicize benchmarks, because the death row inmates in prison have no access to information from the outside world." The clown said, "And in the agreement for D-class personnel, there are more than thirty confidentiality regulations alone. The outside world is the fundamental Those who don’t know that D-class personnel exist, in the eyes of the prisoners, even if there are D-class personnel outside, they will definitely keep their past experiences secretive.”

"Doesn't anyone doubt the authenticity of this probability?" Soap asked again.

"Of course there will be doubts, but for a person who will be executed tomorrow, he will not let go of any chance to live, and he will not think about the authenticity of this agreement at all - at least, signing that After signing an agreement and becoming a candidate for D-class personnel, he can indeed live for several more months... This is the only part of the agreement that can be truly fulfilled."

The three people walked down while chatting, and walked around the huge waste pillar several times. During this time, the giant moth still made no movement, as if it was really stuck to the waste pillar. The specimens are average.

At this moment, a black shadow suddenly passed over their heads and rushed straight towards the giant moth. Soap immediately let out a low cry: "What is that?!"

"It seems like it's a mouse?" As a pilot, Noir has good eyesight and saw the true identity of the black figure at a glance. "A flying... no, it should be a mouse that can glide?"

While he was talking, the "gliding mouse" had landed on the wings of the giant moth and buried its nose in the fine fluff on the surface of the wings.

This mouse is about half a meter long, with shiny black hair. The two ears on the top of its head are pointed and long. Although its limbs are short but extremely advantageous, it hangs its body on the wings of the giant moth with its two pairs of sharp claws. .

There are fleshy wing membranes connected between the mouse's forelimbs and hind limbs. The reason why it can glide in the air at high speed is because of this pair of thin wing membranes, which can clearly see the blood vessels in them.

"Mouse?" Soap suddenly chuckled, "It seems that you, the plane pilot, don't know as much as me, the big guy. This is obviously a bat. Have you heard of the vampire story? The prototypes of the monsters in the story are blood-sucking. bat."

"No, compared to bats, the blood relationship of this creature is indeed closer to mice." Soap just finished speaking, and the next second he was slapped in the face by the clown, "This is a flying squirrel, also called a flying squirrel... ...Of course, when Noah's Ark left the earth, there was no such rodent among the living creatures it carried. It was a 'replica' created through genetic engineering. To be precise, it was not a real rodent. Researchers who adjusted the gene sequence also added some gene fragments from other organisms, including part of bat genes, to make its flying ability far exceed that of its 'ancestors' on Earth."

(P. S. Flying squirrels and mice both belong to the order Rodentia, and bats belong to the order Chiroptera. Logically speaking, the genetic relationship between flying squirrels and mice should be closer... However, I have not researched this point. If there are any mistakes, please point them out in time. )

"Is this guy attracted by the 'smell' emitted by the giant moth?" Soap's tone suddenly became nervous, "It... it seems to be eating the wings of the giant moth. Could it be eating the giant moth's wings?" Can you wake up the moth?"

"No, predatory behavior like this happens many times a day. If the giant moth wakes up every time, it won't be able to store so much radiation energy in its body." The clown said, "You are not interested in the way giant moths eat. Are you interested? Then take a closer look."

As soon as the clown finished speaking, dozens of tiny tentacles protruded from under the feathers of the giant moth's wings and entangled the flying squirrel... At first, the flying squirrel struggled fiercely, but as time passed, the struggle The intensity became smaller and smaller, until there was no movement at all.

"This flying squirrel...was it strangled to death?" Soap asked.

"No, it's a paralyzing toxin... that makes the prey incapacitated, then injects digestive fluid into the prey's body, and then absorbs the flesh and blood of the prey dissolved by the digestive fluid through the glands on the surface of the wings. This is how the giant moth eats."

Just as the clown was speaking, the flying squirrel's body had begun to show signs of dissolution... When the three of them went around another circle, the flying squirrel's body had been completely absorbed by the giant moth, including its fur and bones. There is nothing left.

"Even such a big flying squirrel failed to wake it up. No wonder those D-class personnel wanted to use remote-controlled bombs." Soap said, "Since it's so difficult for this guy to wake up, I feel a lot more at ease and not as worried as I was just now. ”

"There is a very obvious gap at the lower end of the right wing of this giant moth. This should be the trace left by the remote-controlled bomb, right?" Noir asked the clown.

"No, the location where those D-class personnel placed the remote-controlled bomb was the giant moth's torso, and the wounds there have long since healed." The clown shook his head.

"Then this wound..." Noir said in a general way, and suddenly held his breath, "could it be left by other creatures? Is there anything that can hurt this giant moth in this underground maze? "

"Yes, and there are quite a few." The clown said, "The actual combat effectiveness of this giant moth is not very strong, especially when facing opponents who are not afraid of radiation, it cannot gain the upper hand."

"Then we shouldn't encounter those things, right?" Soap asked cautiously.

"Theoretically, no." The clown replied, "Because it is also difficult for me to deal with those mutated creatures, so I chose the safest route."

Noir raised his head and looked at the specimen-like giant moth, and nodded in agreement: "From a certain point of view, it is indeed... the safest."

At least the giant moth will not actively attack approaching creatures unless the opponent is attracted by the pheromones it releases and pounces on it... From the perspective of Soap and the others, this giant moth is indeed a "harmless" creature. .

After walking another hundred meters, Soap suddenly patted the mask of his protective suit, stopped, and said: "Clown, wait, I suddenly have an idea!"

The clown stopped, turned around, stared at the soap, and asked, "What do you think?"

"The interior of the Ark must have been occupied by Zeus's group now. There probably won't be many survivors, right?"

"In my opinion, there should be no survivors inside the Ark." The clown nodded, "Everyone has been corroded, and those who have been corroded must be dealt with, including myself."

The Joker's attitude is very clear. Those who have been eroded are not survivors. Even if they are still alive, even if they still retain their consciousness and reason as human beings, in the Joker's view, these people are also objects that must be dealt with.

Just like a high-risk infectious disease spreading among livestock, all infected livestock will be killed and burned as soon as possible to block the spread of pathogens... As for treatment, in the face of large-scale infectious diseases, there is no such thing. Rescue this statement.

"Then can we think that all the moving objects in the Ark, except ourselves, are enemies?" Soap's eyes lit up and he asked.

"Theoretically, yes," the clown said. "There is no news about the other team. It should have been wiped out before they even entered the Ark."

"Then why don't we find a way to release all these monsters in the underground labyrinth? Let these monsters create chaos, disrupt the enemy's sight, and disrupt their original arrangements... No matter how strong the people under Zeus are , it will still take a lot of time and energy to get rid of these monsters, right? Then we can fish in troubled waters... Whether you want to take back control of the Ark or assassinate Zeus, it will be better than going directly The core area is much easier. These monsters can completely become our 'allies', and they are very powerful 'allies'!"

"What you said makes sense. This plan does have certain feasibility." Noir nodded thoughtfully, "But in actual implementation, there are several difficulties that we cannot solve."

"First," Noir continued, "how do we find these powerful monsters living in the underground labyrinth? It is extremely difficult for us to just follow the original route, let alone actively search for them.

"Second, how can we release these monsters onto the ground while ensuring our own safety? If these two problems cannot be solved, then everything is empty talk."

[P.S. Thanks to book friend 20220606055856750 for the 1,000 starting coins. 】