Chapter 26: Sea Without Light 26
Xi Liang caught the attention of Rick Technology Company, likely because her report to the organization, sent via Silverface, was having an effect.
Rick Technology Company has intricate ties to Mechanized Dawn; it operates as a front company controlled by Mechanized Dawn, and the Headquarters of the Mechanical Dawn is located within the Rick Technology building.
Kui Xin pondered while carrying food bought from the convenience store on her way home.
Mechanized Dawn lingered in her heart as a shadow, like the sword of Damocles hanging over her. After days of observation and analysis, she had gained some understanding of Mechanized Dawn, yet her knowledge remained superficial. She had no clear idea of the organization’s scale or its true purposes.
She could only speculate about the organization’s influence through certain details.
Each member of the team executing the port demolition task was at least a C-level Awakened. Among them, Silverface, Thorn Rose, Bartender, and Ambereye Black Obsidian were all B-level. Some of them had Extraordinary Abilities that weren’t suited for combat; for instance, Bartender was reconnaissance-oriented. Python Sphere was the lowest-ranked member of the execution team, possessing combat power comparable to a B-level despite being merely a C-level.
As for Red, Kui Xin suspected he was an A-level, commanding the respect of many Awakened subordinates, so his Awakened level should be no lower than B.
Unfortunately, the information provided by Red didn’t mention his own Extraordinary Abilities; perhaps the original self knew and chose not to include it.
Besides Red, Mechanized Dawn likely had more A-level Awakened individuals.
The government in this world concealed the existence of xenomorphs from ordinary citizens but did not hide the existence of Awakened individuals. High-level Awakened citizen levels could be elevated, with D-level Awakened citizens able to directly raise their citizenship to level three, on par with some government personnel, indicating that the government grants certain privileges to Awakened individuals.
Yet despite this, a considerable number of high-level Awakened individuals have been recruited by Mechanized Dawn.
What entices these Awakened individuals to join? What methods do they use to maintain loyalty among these Awakened members?
The longer she stayed in this world, the more questions accumulated in Kui Xin’s heart.
Setting aside other questions, she had one regarding herself.
How could someone who had not even awakened an Extraordinary Ability become a core figure in Mechanized Dawn? Why was she involved in significant tasks like the port demolition? What qualified her to be teammates with so many high-level Awakened individuals and even serve as deputy commander of the team?
Was it merely her intellect and undercover identity? Or was there a more crucial reason?
Red treated her with utmost equality, showing no airs, whereas he did exhibit some authoritative demeanor toward other team members, occasionally issuing orders in a commanding tone.
He had never used that commanding tone with Kui Xin; he always spoke to her in a negotiable manner, sometimes considering her circumstances and opinions.
Kui Xin’s identity within Mechanized Dawn was somewhat peculiar.
“Deputy Commander, the data scan for the last area of the port has been completed and transmitted to headquarters,” Thorn Rose messaged.
“Received,” Kui Xin replied.
After entering her home, Kui Xin messaged Red again: “Our data scanning work is complete.”
Red responded: “We need one more night. Tsk, having Silverface is convenient.”
Silverface’s Extraordinary Ability could be maximized at the port, as controlling liquids is a highly versatile skill.
To be honest, Kui Xin was truly envious of Silverface’s abilities; however, she could not afford to act on it just yet.
Oblivious to Kui Xin’s dark thoughts, Silverface cheerfully opened a bag of potato chips that she had brought home and ate with delight.
After finishing a bread roll and drinking a bottle of yogurt, Kui Xin went to her bedroom to study.
Tonight, she planned to study all night, sleep during the day tomorrow, and patrol during the night.
Each day was packed tightly with activities; she had never worked this hard even when she was in her third year of high school.
…
August 3, 8:00 PM.
Kui Xin arrived on time for her night shift.
“The benefit of night shifts is that you don’t need to apply sunscreen,” Lan Lan grumbled, “Captain, I suggest sunscreen be included as standard equipment for the Coastal Security Team, and have the higher-ups procure it in bulk.”
On Lan Lan’s first day at work, he had been caught without sunscreen and had to borrow some from Kui Xin; otherwise, he would have been sunburnt.
“I completely agree,” the others chimed in.
“I’ll write a suggestion letter another day,” Xueyao Shu said casually, “Let’s change out our equipment; don’t forget your night vision goggles. Our Seventh Squad only handles Port Number Five; other ports are the responsibility of other squads.”
The team changed into their gear and assembled outside.
“Let’s hope today is also a peaceful and wonderful day,” Kui Xin adjusted the strap of her night vision goggles.
“Also?” Lan Lan laughed, “There are all sorts of things happening in the harbor zone every day; peacefulness has nothing to do with it.”
Kui Xin smiled slightly: “I have low expectations; as long as no crisis threatens us, that counts as a peaceful and wonderful day.”
“That is true,” Lan Lan echoed with approval, “Hope today is also a peaceful and wonderful day.”
Jiang Ming scoffed: “Don’t jinx it. The more you say it, the more likely something will happen. I didn’t think anything would happen today until you said something.”
“Subjective awareness cannot influence the occurrence of events,” Liu Kangyun said sternly, “And if something does happen, we just need to grip our guns tightly.”
Night patrol requires the use of a patrol car, which is bulletproof and can operate in both hovering and ground modes, equipped with automated driving and navigation features.
Xueyao Shu took the driver’s seat, with Liu Kangyun in the passenger seat and the rest in the back.
The patrol car hovered and headed towards Port Number Five.
Originally bustling with containers, the dock was now desolate due to the previous demolition incident, having been inactive for some time, with all kinds of goods cleared away. The damaged section of the port was nearly repaired and expected to resume use the day after tomorrow.
The port still had plenty of construction equipment and debris scattered about, making it look somewhat chaotic.
Port Number Five was large, designed to accommodate giant cargo ships, and during its busiest times, several vessels could dock and unload at once.
The patrol car landed on a relatively flat platform, and Kui Xin, Lan Lan, and Jiang Ming exited to conduct a detailed patrol while Xueyao Shu and Liu Kangyun remained in the vehicle to monitor communications and be ready to assist at any moment.
“Even though this port is temporarily out of use, the number of smugglers, illegal immigrants, and those engaged in black-market dealings hasn’t decreased,” Jiang Ming cautiously scanned the surroundings with night vision goggles. “Let’s be careful.”
When operational, the port saw constant activity day and night, with people coming and going; criminals exploited the crowd to conduct transactions. Smuggled goods would be brought ashore alongside legitimate cargo, then quietly taken away. Now, black-market dealings were even more rampant, as with fewer people around and less attention directed to the area, they acted brazenly.
They used to cover their tracks; now they barely bothered to hide, and upon encountering patrols, they scattered, with some daring enough to pull weapons and shoot at the security officers.
The gangs in the harbor zone could be described in two words—rampant.
Security officers patrolling there were essentially risking their lives, and as compensation, extra pay was allocated for various field teams that joined the Coastal Security Team for patrols. If not compensated with salary, who would be willing to engage in such a dangerous job?
Port Number Five was a floating harbor, but standing on the floating blocks felt no different from standing on solid ground; there were no sensations of waves, and the platform wasn’t swaying at all, remaining exceptionally stable.
Kui Xin remained vigilant, her hand resting on her gun at her waist without letting up for a moment; even Lan Lan, who usually talked a lot, was silent.
All that could be heard at the port were the sounds of the sea breeze and her teammates’ breathing.
Patrols weren’t merely about checking if there were people at the port; they also needed to inspect equipment and areas prone to hiding dirt or clutter.
Patrolling had to be done in shifts; checking a port this large would take over an hour, and they would return for another patrol after a half-hour interval.
Remaining alert was very exhausting, especially on such a night, where everyone’s mental state was highly tense, making fatigue set in easily.
After roaming the port back and forth twice, with a brief rest in between, they continued patrolling. By midnight, they would be able to swap with another team.
“Three minutes until midnight; gather at the meeting point for the handover,” Xueyao Shu said over the communication channel. “Great job everyone; we’ll just return to the office for duty next.”
It seemed that tonight was indeed the peaceful and wonderful evening Kui Xin had hoped for.
Lan Lan couldn’t help but mumble: “No way… Why is there not a single person around? Usually, we can at least catch a couple of drug users…”
This night was unnaturally quiet, eerily so.
As Kui Xin passed by a rusty container, she suddenly felt a drop of icy liquid trickle down her neck.
She wiped her finger across her neck, and in night vision mode, the drop appeared dark.
Moments later, she caught a whiff of blood, and another drop landed on her night vision goggles.
Kui Xin’s face changed drastically as she drew her gun above her, shouting, “We have an emergency!”
Lan Lan and Jiang Ming instantly raised their guns, scanning their surroundings cautiously.
Kui Xin spotted something above; a leg was protruding from a three-meter-high container. A gust of wind blew, and the leg rolled over and fell right in front of her, splattering blood across her shoes.
It was a severed lower leg! The end of the leg was smooth and even, as if it had been precisely sawed off with a chainsaw.
Kui Xin’s mouth twitched, and the hair on her arms stood on end.
“Xenomorph!” Jiang Ming said with a grim expression. “That cut looks like a Scythe Demon. Captain! We—”
Before Jiang Ming could finish, Kui Xin’s Hazard Avoidance was triggered.
Suddenly, a fierce wind roared beside her as a long, thin object whipped toward her at lightning speed, as fast as a striking black mamba.
Instinctively, Kui Xin dodged, only to feel a chilling sensation in her abdomen; the investigation bureau’s high-fiber bulletproof vest was instantly sliced open by that object, creating a massive wound in her abdomen, blood gushing out.
If it had been just a fraction of a second later, Kui Xin would have been cut in half!
“Kui Xin!” Lan Lan fired at the direction of the attacking tentacle.
Sparks flashed as something evaded his bullets.
The twisted and terrifying xenomorph revealed its true form, smaller than Kui Xin had imagined—about half a human’s height, resembling a mantis, with a triangular face and bulbous eyes. Its upper body had two tentacles, which were connected to bone blades shaped like lime-colored hooks.
There was blood on those bone blades, and some of it was Kui Xin’s.
The xenomorph licked the bone blade greedily, then, like a mantis, pushed off with its hind legs to close the distance, its retractable tentacles shot out once more, aimed directly at Kui Xin.
Out of sheer panic, Kui Xin fired her gun, the sound of successive shots echoing, but only three bullets hit, all of which were blocked by its lime-colored shell. The monster’s speed and defense were unfathomably high.
In a critical moment, Jiang Ming’s bullet struck the Scythe Demon’s soft tentacle, causing it to retract instantly, allowing Kui Xin to evade the attack.
“Support is on its way!” Xueyao Shu announced over the communication channel. “Hold on!”
Injured, the Scythe Demon entered a frenzied state, wildly swinging its tentacles and leaving deep marks on the metal containers.
Just then, the port’s lighthouse suddenly flickered irregularly a few times, signifying that it was now midnight; the flashing lights were the signal for the arrival of a new day.
A new day had begun.
Simultaneously, Kui Xin’s vision was abruptly shrouded in darkness.
The frantically thrashing tentacled xenomorph vanished, as did Lan Lan and Jiang Ming, the pain from her lacerated abdomen dissolved into nothingness, and even the gun she held disappeared.
Kui Xin found herself alone in the darkness, an unmistakable feeling surfacing in her heart—a familiar sensation—this was… the scene she had experienced when she traversed into the Second World!
She blinked once, and when she opened her eyes again, she was lying on a soft bed, with peeling walls before her, and a small desk beside the bed holding a stack of “Five Years of College Entrance Exams and Three Years of Simulation.”
Next to the pillow lay a mobile phone with its screen lit up.
On the seventh day of her journey to the Second World, at the exact end of that seventh day, Kui Xin returned to the First World.
Her heart raced violently; her emotions were so stirred that she felt slightly dizzy.
Kui Xin pressed her hand against her abdomen. The pain from being lacerated by the xenomorph’s bone blade felt as if it still lingered, yet the skin beneath her fingers was smooth and intact, with no wounds.
“I… I’m back?” Kui Xin murmured in disbelief.
She left that cold and cruel world, returning to an ordinary and real existence.
