Chapitre 105: Chapter 105: Experiments, "Reused Tricks," and the Steel City
The sticky walls here were lined with semi-transparent "egg sacs," and various areas were connected by bone-like staircases and bridges, giving the space the appearance of an ovary.
At this moment, Brea and her team silently moved into advantageous positions, quickly forming a crossfire network and patiently waiting for the right moment.
"Guwah... guwah..."
An alien (extraterrestrial) stood on the central platform of this area. It might have been communicating with its kin using some unknown technology, or it might have been muttering complaints to itself.
Through her helmet's auxiliary functions, Brea carefully observed the alien before her.
It walked upright on two legs, stood about 3.6 meters tall, had an overly slender build, smooth and sticky skin, and four arms with wing-like structures on the inner sides, though these likely didn't enable flight.
"Guwah!"
The alien suddenly grew more agitated, muttering in an unknown language as it moved to the nearest platform and began inspecting several egg sacs.
Upon discovering that the outer wall of one of the egg sacs was cracked, the alien became even more agitated, its mood seeming to plummet. However, it still completed the repair work before quickly leaving the area, disappearing into a tunnel leading to an upper level.
The team patiently waited for two more minutes.
After confirming that the alien had completely left, the Hunters resumed their reconnaissance, gathering biological samples and taking detailed images of the biotechnological structures.
Brea approached the egg sac that the alien had just repaired. She drew a knife from her side and carefully cut through the outer membrane again.
Sss.
Pale blue, transparent liquid began to seep out of the crack.
Brea continued to widen the opening with her knife until it was large enough to see inside. She then flicked the knife clean and returned it to its sheath, which had a built-in ultraviolet disinfection function.
Inside the egg sac, Brea saw a network of blood vessel-like structures, and at the core floated a yet-to-be-fully-developed alien.
Its general appearance resembled the agitated alien from earlier, with two legs and four arms. However, its highly muscular build, particularly its human-like features such as hair on its head and a prominent nose, sent a chill down Brea's spine.
!
They were clearly conducting some kind of biological experiments using human DNA.
To avoid triggering any alarms, Brea decided against extracting tissue samples from this special alien. She only collected some of the pale blue liquid and then gave the order over the comms:
"We've gathered sufficient intel. All units, prepare for extraction. Teams 4 and 5, be ready to cover us."
The team silently acknowledged her order.
They quickly exited the tower-like structure and regrouped with the others who had remained outside. Then they retraced their steps to the original landing site, where the Silver Gull, having received advance notice, was already on the ground waiting for them.
As soon as Brea and her team entered the cabin, the pilot released a disinfectant mist inside. However, a more thorough disinfection process would need to wait until they returned to the frontline base.
Meanwhile.
Over ten thousand kilometers away in Antarctica.
February in Antarctica was a time of constant daylight, with the sun's rays continuously shining on the land until mid-to-late March.
However, the once-white expanses of snow and ice had long since disappeared, replaced by murky skies and oceans, with the land covered in muddy swamps.
But as they continued moving southward, the ground began to dry out, and the sky gradually cleared. Eventually, they reached the only remaining snowy landscape on this planet.
Near the South Pole, on the western side of the Transantarctic Mountains, stood a colossal steel city surrounded by towering walls.
As they got closer.
They could see that the walls were a towering 200 meters high and about 60 meters thick, with massive plasma pulse cannons positioned every two kilometers along the top.
In addition, numerous defensive bunkers and mobile sentry posts worked in concert with the walls to form a formidable defensive line, providing tight protection for the city and the humans living within.
At the base of the walls.
Every two kilometers, there was a tunnel gate that allowed entry and exit from the city, facilitating the movement of heavily loaded trucks, whether returning fully loaded or heading to the mines.
It was the abundant resources of Antarctica that had allowed humanity to survive until now. The coal reserves alone totaled 500 billion tons, making it the largest iron ore deposit on Earth. Moreover, Antarctica provided one of the most crucial resources for human survival—
Freshwater.
Without these resources, humanity would have been wiped out long before the steel city was even built.
At this moment, a convoy of seven heavy trucks was returning from the west, slowing down as they entered the gate and passed through a checkpoint equipped with somewhat outdated scanning devices.
The convoy encountered no delays and smoothly entered the city.
But no one noticed that a group of people had "reused an old trick," taking advantage of the trucks' convenience to also enter the city smoothly.
Under the truck chassis.
Magnus was securely attached to the truck's underside, using both his hands and the magnetic attachment function of his stealth gear. Not only him, but nineteen other Hunters were also scattered beneath the convoy.
In fact, they had arrived above the steel city four hours earlier. However, with every area in use, forcing the Silver Gull to land inside the city would have been extremely risky. So they chose to use the same infiltration method they had previously used to enter Minerva, essentially "hitching a ride."
Once they had passed through the checkpoint with the convoy, they waited for the right moment to detach themselves and gathered near a warehouse on the edge of a factory.
Magnus, who arrived first, held an AMWS rifle that looked like a toy in his hands due to his size. He kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings as he observed the area.
When he looked at the towering city wall 400 meters to the west, he felt a sense of safety and reassurance. Magnus believed the wall served to stabilize society, boost morale, and ensure the productivity and quality of the city's residents.
Looking further north and south, he saw light and heavy industrial factories spewing large amounts of exhaust.
Then, Magnus leaned slightly forward and gazed eastward, where the city's core was located—a dense cluster of skyscrapers with aerial railways weaving between the buildings.
Before long, Lieutenant Payne's voice came over the comms: "Roll call... ten... twenty, everyone's accounted for. Alright, folks, our mission is to blend in with the humans of this city. Our first order of business is to establish a temporary base. Any suggestions?"
"Abandoned sites."
"Underground drainage system."
"Residential area."
As soon as Payne finished speaking, the Hunters offered their suggestions.
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