Colonial Suit

Chapter 1: A Man in the Ruins (Free Chapter)

I have never feared death, because I firmly believe that I will live on.

I have never tasted the flavor of being alive, because from the moment I opened my eyes… I was already dead…

Seventh World, Planet X35, Post-Apocalyptic Calendar Year 5…

It has been 5 years since the blinding flash of nuclear annihilation. This once glorious planet has long since become a wasteland. No matter how brilliant, every civilization has its end. Most of humanity, once the masters of all things, have been killed by the weapons they created themselves. The remaining people can only struggle in despair and death…

No one can escape this land of death. Humanity will always pay the price for its arrogance.

Dark clouds roil in the sky, and a gale sweeps sand and gravel across the earth, like blades of sharp knives, massacring any creature that dares to appear before them. This is a desolate land. As far as the eye can see, there are sharp rocks and large chunks of gravel everywhere. Occasionally, blackened steel bars jut out from the ground like the fangs of a demon.

This is a world of death… so said the people who once lived. At that time, they could still snatch a little bit of supplies to survive under the threat of the deadly gale. They could still see a little bit of sunlight every morning, and they could still collect a little dew from the steel bars of abandoned buildings. Although this dew was far from enough to sustain everyone, it was enough to give people hope. At that time, there were far fewer mutated creatures on the ground than there are now. People could occasionally emerge from their hiding places and search for hope of survival in the land full of radiation and death.

But now…

The deadly gale has raged across this barren land for decades. Faced with their terrifying speed of nearly forty meters per second, not many creatures dare to hope for survival. The mutated creatures that were once regarded as tigers and wolves by humans are just as fragile as infants in front of it. The earth has been completely torn apart, with rocks shattered by the wind everywhere. The entire planet is rapidly turning into gravel, and it is difficult for people to see any green.

Now, on planet X35, only the huge ruined cities left by the previous civilization still stand stubbornly, blackened like wounded and dying giants, accusing the sky of their anger and powerlessness.

The sky is covered with dark clouds, and the deadly gale is still wantonly venting its violence. But on the distant horizon, a huge ruined city is gradually emerging. As the view zooms in, the outline of the ruins rapidly enlarges. This is a standard level-three ruined city from the previous civilization. The towering steel and concrete buildings are like a concrete forest. As far as the eye can see, the city is full of collapsed buildings. Despite the raging wind outside, the wind force entering the ruins is no longer so deadly due to the obstruction of these buildings. Near the entrance of the ruins, a tall building of more than thirty stories stands strong. The upper half of it has been broken off, but the remaining building still vaguely bears two numbers.

“72”

Shelter 72 Ruins.

Under a slab of concrete in the ruins, a pair of eyes is quietly staring at the open space not far away. The owner of the eyes is very quiet. Even when the gale sweeps the sand and gravel, hitting the front with a crackling sound, he doesn't even blink. In the shadows, he is like a lifeless stone, without any sign of life.

Quiet, I don't need to breathe. That will expose my location.

Heartbeat, slow down little by little. I will become one with the environment.

I am a stone, a lifeless stone.

It won't see me, it won't feel me.

I am a stone, a lifeless stone…

Under the concrete slab, Bloodshot's eyes stared fixedly at a huge black shadow thirty meters away. It was a sandworm, the prey he had been waiting for for five hours. Although in this damned apocalypse, most animal tissues are inedible, sandworms are an exception. In their bloated bodies, one can always find some uninfected flesh that is succulent and juicy.

Strictly speaking, sandworms are not very dangerous prey. Although it has a body more than five meters long and thick, it usually lurks in the sand sea and does not actively attack travelers. But this one in front of him is an exception. Just an hour ago, Bloodshot had personally witnessed three hunters trying to approach it being eaten. The sandworm has a good appetite and any food can satisfy it, so not even a single hair remained of the three hunters now.

Gently covering his mouth and nose, Bloodshot tried to hide himself deeper in order to gain the upper hand in the upcoming hunt.

He is also a hunter. In the apocalypse, this is a profession that most men have. But Bloodshot is different from ordinary hunters. He is better at hiding, better at observing, and better at using his natural weapons.

So he easily knew that today's sandworm was different. This is a sandworm about to lay eggs, because only during this period will they crawl out of the sand sea outside the city and enter this ruin, for the scrap steel bars that are everywhere in the ruins. These steel bars will provide the sandworm with the metal elements it needs in order to make its egg-laying smoother and the small sandworms stronger.

But sandworms are also the most dangerous during this period. The few hunters were eaten because they didn't pay attention to this. Sandworms in the egg-laying period have extremely high aggressiveness and will violently attack all creatures that try to approach. And its unique mouthparts can expand to three meters in diameter, and the sharp teeth inside are enough to chew metal plates in an instant. Bloodshot watched the three hunters being eaten by the sandworm. From his distance, he could even hear the creaking sound of the sandworm chewing bones and the screams of the hunters. But he watched without moving, his eyes cold and ruthless.

This is the apocalypse. Morality and emotions no longer exist. All lives are working hard to survive.

“Soso soso…” A strange sound came from the front. The sandworm had finally eaten a scrap steel bar and burped contentedly. Its appearance is like a fat white maggot, with only a crack in the head. Under normal circumstances, it would lurk in the sand. Only today did it have to expose its body on the surface in order to enter the city ruins.

The ground of the ruins is made of cement and steel. Even sandworms can't easily drill through it.

Bloodshot in the shadows still hid his breath, quietly watching the prey. The satiated sandworm will return to the sand sea along the same route. This is his chance. For this moment, he had buried more than thirty sharpened steel bars on the road the sandworm had come from. As long as the sandworm passed by, the sharp steel bars would cut open its belly and pull out its internal organs.

“Soso soso…” The sandworm was still making that strange sound. Having finished eating, it finally began to return. It wriggled slowly like a giant maggot, leaving disgusting mucus on the road it crawled over. Gradually, it approached Bloodshot's trap little by little.

Bloodshot's breathing began to quicken. The hand covering his mouth and nose gradually exerted force. In the other hand, a sharpened steel bar was tightly held by him. Veins popped out on the back of his hand.

Five meters…

Three meters…

Bloodshot was not far from the location of the trap, so he clearly saw the sandworm approaching little by little, and then crawling over the place where he had set the trap. The sandworm has no eyes, so it doesn't know that the originally safe road it came from is now full of sharp steel bars like intertwined fangs.

“Aww!”

The constantly crawling sandworm suddenly let out a roar and curled up violently. In that instant, Bloodshot clearly saw a long wound on its abdomen, from which green mucus was constantly flowing out.

It's time! Bloodshot suddenly darted out. The power accumulated for five hours was completely unleashed at this moment, making him like a cannonball flying close to the ground. His sprinting posture was very strange. Instead of running on two legs like ordinary people, he ran on all fours like a cheetah. This posture not only made his movements more explosive, but also more flexible. He could rely on the strength of his hands on the ground to make changes in direction at any time.

These are all changes made in order to survive. Bloodshot is easier to adapt than most people, so he is still alive now.

The distance of only a few dozen meters flashed by under Bloodshot's sprint. He had already arrived near the back of the sandworm. Because he was so well hidden, the sandworm didn't notice his existence at all. But out of instinct, the sandworm still felt the impending danger and let out a piercing roar.

At this moment, Bloodshot jumped up suddenly.

He knew that the sandworm was about to start its instinctive counterattack, spitting out highly corrosive acid from its mouth. This spray covers all directions. If you get acid on you, you will probably be dissolved in an instant.

But this is what he was waiting for. In an instant, the muscles in his legs stretched powerfully, giving him explosive power. With this jump, he actually jumped more than three meters high and stepped onto the sandworm's spine. Then he leaped three times in a row, climbing onto the sandworm's neck with both hands and feet. With a wave of his right hand, the sharp steel bar had been fiercely stabbed into the sandworm's mouth.

There was a fleshy tumor-like bulge there.

With a “poof!” sound, the tumor was pierced by the steel bar, bursting out a large mass of white pulp. Bloodshot didn't care and pounced on it, devouring it in big gulps. This is the sandworm's brain. The tumor is the sandworm's brain, which is usually hidden and only appears when it is about to spit acid. In order to get this information, Bloodshot spent two high-quality copper ore stones in the black market.

“Aww!” The sandworm let out a painful roar, rolling and wriggling desperately. But Bloodshot's fingers were deeply embedded in its body like steel claws, and he wouldn't let go no matter what. While swallowing mouthfuls, he tried his best to hang on the sandworm, like an octopus. In this case, no matter how hard the sandworm tried, it couldn't hurt him. At most, he would add some scratches to his body due to the struggle and rolling.

The sandworm struggled and roared desperately, its huge body rolling on the ground, stirring up large clouds of dust. At the same time, it spat out a lot of green liquid from its mouth. When these liquids splashed on the ground, they emitted a lot of white mist, corroding the ground into large pits.

Bloodshot avoided most of the acid because he was clinging tightly to the sandworm, but he still accidentally got a little on him when the sandworm rolled over. Immediately, the clothes on his body were corroded, and a burning sensation came from his skin, causing his body to twitch involuntarily. But he was already hanging tightly on the sandworm, and he wouldn't let go no matter what.

People who can survive in the apocalypse must learn to be ruthless, not only to the prey, but also to themselves.

Bloodshot knew that although the sandworm's acid was terrible, a little bit of contact would not dissolve him. At most, it would just be painful. But if he couldn't hold on and fell down, he would be swallowed by the sandworm in an instant.

The sandworm was still struggling violently. As a creature of the apocalypse, its vitality was very strong. But the result of this hunt was doomed from the beginning. After struggling continuously for more than ten minutes, the sandworm's movements finally slowed down, and eventually it stopped moving. When the last trace of life disappeared from it, Bloodshot fell from its body and sat down on the ground.

At this moment, he was already covered in wounds. There were large areas of corrosion marks on his back. But he was still expressionless. He casually dragged out a large bag of tools from his hiding place and began to dissect the sandworm.

His fight with the sandworm had lasted for more than ten minutes. Bloodshot didn't know if anyone would find out and come over at this moment. But he still didn't want to take risks.

Every bit of food in the apocalypse is worth fighting for. Bloodshot didn't want to turn from hunter to prey.