Life Mission

A forked tongue covered in yellow bumps licked the blood on its nails.

Kihik!

It looks around the area. There are objects born from the matrix and pieces of meat with sweet scents everywhere. It is a favorable scene.

-[Sniper.....]

-[Craymore.....]

The Lifers could sense movement beyond the door. Even though they could not see it, they could hear it and their emotions showed in their sweat.

After taking a few steps, it is at the door. As large as it is, its strides are long.

It can see a Crawlion leaning lifeless on the door. It is a hindrance to its focus. It grabbed the Crawlion by the head and flung it to the side. A 200kg weight hit the ground.

Kikik!

Kyak!

Another of the same type appeared. Brothers born at the same time, their appearance and ability to fight were the same. The two mutants recognized each other.

They both thought. Should they break the door? They could crush it with one or two hits. Should they crush it and go in to fill their stomachs with the blood and guts of weak beings?

Kung!

Kyak!

The nest stopped them and gave them a different order.

They made a fuss and gathered the corpses in one place. They even made sure to pick up the small pieces. They did not separate the mutants and humans.

A large lump detached itself from the nest’s main body, crawled down, and swallowed the corpses. It is getting supplements by consuming nutrients.

It spit out the gear that it cannot digest and even sucked the bones of what it could digest. With this amount, it would not need to worry about food for a while.

The lump that absorbed the corpses went back to the main body and supplied it with rich nutrients. It went back to a healthier state than before it had given birth.

Woowoo!

Kyahak!

The nest gave its 2nd order. Because the creatures are large, it is dangerous to go through the passage. They need to find a path where they will not be attacked.

Papat!

Kwajik!

They searched through the rest area, broke a door on the east side, and entered the warehouse.

Kihaek!

They disappeared into the warehouse and the rest area fell into silence. The nest trusted the creatures and produced 26 eggs. They are all level 2 mutants.

The creatures surprise attack the force from the back and the level 2 mutants can join to spread confusion. That is the nest’s plan.

Oh!

Level 2 mutants are born. They varied by specialty in those with sturdy skin, petite and fast bodies, and large with strength.

The nest had distributed roles just as the force did. It did not know if the force members knew this or not, and was just waiting for the door to open.

***

The snipers climbed to the top of a container box.

No matter how much they look around, this is the best place as there are no obstructions and it is high up. It is refreshing because they have a view of everything.

If they need to shoot from the bottom, they could. They could stay in a corner.

There is a worst case scenario. If the mutants get through the passage and go to the warehouse, a higher place is best.

“I can see well.”

Park Jin Hyuk put his eye to the scope to check the passage. It seems they could see everything from the bottom, but the view is clearly different from the top.

He changed the scope. The long-range expands too much, so it disturbs the short-range. A proper sniper has 3 or 4 scopes to fit distance.

“If they come in, I’ll have to hit all of them.”

Hihit!

Park Jin Hyuk got in position 25m away from the passage. Of the 7 snipers on top of the container box, he was closest.

He could not know the other Lifers’ sniper skills, but being closer is better if the speed of their bullets is similar. That is of course if the passage is open.

Crunch.

“Huh?”

Is someone grinding his teeth? Park Jin Hyuk tilted his head and looked behind him.

He sees snipers. They all have their faces on the container box. Their necks are stiff from keeping their eyes on the scope.

If they rest, there is less of a burden if battle starts.

“I’ll have to rest too.”

Tung!

Park Jin Hyuk laid on his stomach comfortably as well. If it becomes noisy outside, there will be a signal from under them. He will last longer if he starts abusing his neck from then.

Shashak!

“Who’s been playing around since before?”

Someone is grinding his teeth and blowing into the air. It is bothering him.

“Uh.....?”

He turned his head again and his thoughts became paralyzed.

He could not tell if what he is seeing is a dream of if it is real. A monster one and a half times the size of a Crawlion was sticking its tongue out.

Spat!

Ugh!

It was just a short moment of 1 second. Park Jin Hyuk fell off of the container box as he tried to avoid the tongue from reaching his neck.

Shoong!

He did not fall without doing anything. He threw any of the grenades that he could get his hands on. He was not able to check the type. He did not have the time to do that.

Bang!

As the impact grenade went off, the container box was crushed. The force members’ attention went to the source of the explosion. Then they saw the mutant’s body leaping to the side.

“It’s a Spectre!”

It is 3 to 4 times the size of a human, has long malformed arms and legs, 12 rake-like nails, and it is as fast as a Slayer.

[Groups 1 and 2, check the passage. Group 3, fall back and face the Spectre!]

Chun Myung Ik determined the situation as the master of a large guild should. He did not know what had happened, but it had come in already. They need to end it before the situation worsens.

Pew pew pew pew!

Dozens of Lifers brandished SMGs. The Spectre climbed the ceiling and walls to avoid the shower of bullets. It moves like a ghost.

Then it disappeared among hundreds of container boxes. They failed.

-[Put on your vision goggles!]

All of the force members wore their vision goggles. They would not perform to the fullest because of the thickness and number of container boxes, but they had to put them on.

Zing!

The sensor could not get past 2 of them and got stuck on the way.

-[Sniper, sniper respond.]

-[Everyone will have died. I think I was the last.]

Park Jin Hyuk spoke. The Spectre had been going for his neck to break it.

It seems like what he thought had been the sound of teeth grinding was the sound of a neck breaking.

If he had not been able to detect the Spectre’s movement with his senses enhanced through body modification, he would have fallen to the same fate as the other snipers.

‘Where did it come from?’

The Spectre made a round in the next passage. It had tracked the body odor of the force to come through the ceiling of the cargo lift.

It had not made any sounds because it cut through it carefully with its nails.

Everyone had been moving busily. Even if there had been a sound, the force would not have been able to hear it unless it was loud because it was so far away.

The Spectre handled the easy targets first. That was the snipers.

The reason why it left its nails and used its tongue to break their necks? It wanted to avoid having the other Lifers detect the smell of blood.

-[It might go through the passage after creating confusion, so..... Huk!]

Sukukuk!

Chun Myung Ik and Oh Min Ho got flat on the ground. Another Spectre appeared out of nowhere and waved its nails.

Kuhuk!

Kyah!

Its long arms and nails swung around a 7 meter radius. Excluding the 2 who had reflexively gotten on the floor, 3 Lifers got caught on the nails and were ripped into pieces.

‘Hocheon is going to attempt a level D, too? Give some advice, not interference. Stay focused if you don’t want to be wiped out. It is completely different from level E.’

Chun Myung Ik suddenly remembered what he said a few days before launching the mission.

‘Do you think it’s pathetic that 50 people die at a time? Try going. You’ll know if you go.’

29 people died already. But the danger had not passed. Rather, it is getting worse as they go. Annihilation? This is not a dream.