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83.07% Steel Waste / Chapter 589: Spelunking

Bab 589: Spelunking

It doesn't take long to transport all of their troops down to the bottom of the pit, with the exception of the Deathclaws of course, which were left at the top with a couple Cyberdogs to prevent any more Tunnelers attacking their backs with an ambush.

The air at the bottom of the pit felt stale, and there was a prominent smell of decay, this didn't come from the numerous Tunneler corpses strewn around the place though, it smelt more akin to something rotting, instead.

Clearly, the Cyberdogs had noticed it, and Afton also found himself sniffing towards one direction... One of the three entrances seem to be producing it, though, Afton wasn't sure what would be at the end of it. Regardless, they'd check this one first just to see what was up.

The Ultimo-Bots led the group with flame throwers at the ready, Afton and his companions walking slightly behind them with the Cyberdogs trailing behind afterwards.

It doesn't take long before they start encountering small groups of worker Tunnelers in the tunnel, yet, they hadn't yet found anything of interest... That is, until they stumbled across yet another pit... This one was absolutely huge, maybe four of five times larger than the pit they'd originally entered through.

This clearly wasn't just for transport though, Afton was fortunate his helmet provided ventilation when he wished, as at the bottom of the pit were huge piles of flesh, which were almost fully submerged in either blood or bloody water.

Bones and flesh of a litany of creatures floated atop it, Afton didn't even recognise some of them, which was farfetched considering his maxed out Survival Skill. Mole Rats, Humans, Dogs, Snakes, Lakelurks, Supermutants, Deathclaws, Ghouls... There were bits and pieces of them everywhere.

Afton could even spot some mechanical components as well, the Tunnelers having brought them here accidentally or for some purpose other than eating... To be honest, this all looked like a Supermutant flesh pit, a place where they'd collect all their victims and let them 'stew' in lukewarm water... The subsequent 'soup' was apparently a delicacy to them, for some reason.

Were the Tunnelers perhaps trying to concentrate as many nutrients and calories from their victims as possible? If so, why? Is simply hunting and devouring their prey not enough for their needs?

"Sir, temperature readings from the liquid below seem to be around 50 degrees celsius..." she states and Afton idly nods his head in thought.

"Is it the decomposing biomass that's causing it, or some geothermic activity?" he quietly inquires.

"The latter. This appears to be a sort of naturally occurring hot springs, sir."

Afton grimaces at the thought that the pile of flesh at the bottom of the flesh could be considered a sort of casserole or stew... He didn't know what was potentially scarier, the fact that the Tunnelers were smart enough to cook food, or that they'd been down here long enough to accidentally stumble across it.

...

"We're not going down there... Are we?" Veronica incredulous voice forces him from his thoughts. Juan nods in agreement, but Christine and Tamia seem to disagree completely.

"If we don't kill all of these things, they'll just keep coming... What's getting your legs a bit wet with completing the mission?" Tamia grouses, while she didn't want to go in, she knew it was vital for them to destroy all of the Tunnelers.

Afton shakes his head, "I don't know what you're anxious about either, Juan, can't you just climb on the walls and ignore the soup at the bottom?" he asks.

"Y-yeah, but what if I fall? I'm not in an air-tight suit like the rest of you... That stuff'll get in my hair, mouth. ears..." he shivers.

"Look, we're going in whether you guys like it or not," he points at the other entrances on the walls of the pit, "We need to find where they go, and afterwards destroy them... We'll need to get some C4 delivered to bring this entire place down." Afton states.

And with that, the group begins moving again. Lowering the Cyberdogs into the pit as the Ultimo-Bots navigate around the walls. It wouldn't be good if the soup start clogging up their joints, so they'd not enter it unless forced to.

The same couldn't be said for Afton, his companions, or the Cyberdogs... Though, the latter of which seemed very excited to get down there. The pit of flesh probably smelt pretty appetising to the dogs, it was literally just a pile of cooked, soupy flesh after all.

*Splash!*

Afton drops into the pit and finds himself knee-deep in the soup... Fortunately, he didn't have to experience feeling it, as his armour was as stated earlier, airtight.

The others follow him as he slogs through the slop, strangely enough, the group didn't encounter any Tunnelers as they made their way to the other side. Afton just gives a mental shrug and uses an Ultimo-Bot to climb up to the other entrance.

This tunnel however just seems to go on for miles, and miles, and miles... The group had walked for around one and a half hours before they finally decide to just turn around and head back. No one had any idea where this led, but if Afton had to make a guess, it probably linked up with other Tunneler nests, or perhaps hunting grounds? This would explain how Tunnelers were so widespread yet unseen by the common populace...

The group backtrack all the way back to the original pit that was below the railway, afterwards entering another of the three entrances... Truth be told, everyone was getting fairly tired by now, the amount of walking they were forced to do, add the fact they were almost constantly aware that another ambush could be coming had them not only physically strained, but mentally as well.


PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

Michael Jarrett

Nazlican Erdem

Tarlock

Justin David

Bab 590: Egging them on...

After many hours of underground exploration, the group finally seems to make progress... The numbers of Tunnelers they encounter had started to increase, as well as the variety of them. They'd already encountered the scout and warrior types, but they'd also fought against other, more specialised mutations.

The first one had been a smaller, more agile and sneakier variant, which had a limited ability to camouflage itself in a similar manner to a chameleon. Its scales were able to change colour at a slow rate to match the environment around it, allowing it to ambush from any longer it wished... At least, that's what would have happened had Bulwark's advanced targeting software not easily spotted them.

Despite their stealth capabilities, the Chameleon variants were far more fragile than even the scouts, which made them easy picking for the Ultimo-Bot's flame throwers.

The next variant was one of the more dangerous ones... It had the ability to emit a poisonous gas from its skin. This wouldn't be too difficult to deal with outside, but in the underground tunnels, it was far more dangerous.

One wasn't a problem to deal with as the gas it produced wasn't enough to threaten anything, but a group of them? If not dealt with swiftly, they could make an entire tunnel uninhabitable... Fortunately or not, the only ones who were at risk of this were the Cyberdogs, as Afton, his companions, and the Ultimo-Bots were almost completely immune to it. Afton was resistant to all poisons even without his air filtration systems, and his companions had a big enough air supply to last for a day or so... Not to mention the Ultimo-Bots status as robots.

These creatures had toxic-green scales and looked moist to most eyes. Their mouths dripped with venom, and their claws looked more like needles than anything you'd see on a predator.

Last but not least of the mutations they encountered, were the 'Gargoyles' as Afton had not so warmly named them. They were slightly bigger than the warrior variant Tunnelers, but had much, much tougher scales that almost resembled rock in their appearance... Grainy and grey, Afton thought they wouldn't be out of place in a Dracula movie.

They had vestigial-looking wings on their back, as if they hadn't had enough time to make them functional, larger than average hands with matching claws, and a neck that matched the width of their heads.

They also seemed far stronger than the other variants, judging by their ability to easily tear apart any Ultimo-Bots they managed to reach. The only positive was their lack of numbers, maybe having only one for every hundred warrior variant, which, considering that Scouts outnumbered Warriors by the thousands, was very lucky.

By the time Afton's group reached a large cavern the seems to be some sort of nesting ground, they'd lost 20% of the Ultimo-Bots, and 35% of the Cyberdogs. None of his companions had been injured yet, but their armour had been nicked, scratched, and scorched slightly due to some unfortunate friendly fire caused by an Ultimo-Bot malfunctioning as it was torn apart.

Still, they had a large arsenal of missiles that could be used, and Afton wasn't above tearing the robots flame thrower fuel tanks off to use as improvised explosives... If used in such a manner, they'd be akin to napalm bombs, coating the surroundings in sticky flaming liquid.

The fight just to get into the cavern was hard enough, with around two thousand scouts attempting to block their passage. After that was thousands of workers who seemed to be part of their last-ditch attempt to halt them.

The reason for this was clear was Afton got a good look at the place... Large mounds of egg sacks were stuck everywhere. From the floor, to the walls, to the ceiling. Some looked to be fresh, not being bigger than an average person's head, but others looked almost ready to hatch at the size of an exercise ball.

At the far end of the cavern, he could already see the gathering Tunnelers attempting to try one last stand, presumably to protect their queen. There were no scouts or workers left, only warriors and gargoyles... That, and a couple hulking Tunnelers thrice the size of even the gargoyle varients.

They were half the height of an adult Deathcalw when on all fours, had incredibly tough-looking scales and seemed ready to tear them apart...

"Well, this is it... Fire your missiles!" Afton shouts, gesturing at the group of tunnelers.

The Ultimo-Bots do as they're told, streaming forwards and firing their weapons once in position. Smoke immediately fills up the cavern as the missiles fill the air, the cavern shaking once they impact the group.

*BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!*

After a couple seconds of firing, they stop, waiting for any indication that their enemy had survived... Afton feared that sustained missile fire may bring down the cavern on their heads, which, while it would kill the Tunnelers, would also spell their doom.

"Flamethrowers, fire!" he shouts, wanting to see if fire would reveal anything...

Long jets of fire are released down the cavern, and judging by the screeching that occurs immediately afterwards, the Tunnelers weren't all dead. He activates his Infrared vision to see if he could see anything... He'd always thought that Tunnelers would be cold-blooded due to their reptilian appearance, but through their exploration, he'd found that the species could be both!

Some Tunnelers were cold-blooded, and others were warm-blooded... He had no idea how this was possible, but regardless, he'd try use it to his advantage... Unfortunately, he seemed to have underestimated their intelligence.

Above the entrance of the cavern that they'd entered from, Tunnelers were starting energy from the stone... With the smoke obscuring almost everything, this caught the Cyberdogs by surprise as they were suddenly assaulted.

"Guys, assist the Cyberdogs with the backline, I'll keep the side of things stable." Afton commands, having his companions go deal with the enemies emerging behind them.


PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

Michael Jarrett

Nazlican Erdem

Tarlock

Justin David

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