Chapter 10: Sea Without Light 10
Silverface wrapped up his wounds and staggered to the sofa, flopping down.
He breathed with a slight tremor, enduring the pain.
“Tell me what happened at the time,” Kui Xin said as she bent down to look at him.
Silverface smiled, “Looks like the rumors are true; you really are cold.”
He adjusted his posture and began recounting, “I arrived at the port last night and followed your instructions to investigate the explosion site. There were security officers patrolling, and it took me a lot of effort to scan the site data.”
Silverface pulled out a metal sphere from his pocket and tossed it to Kui Xin, who caught it accurately. The metal sphere opened in her hand, projecting a beam of light that displayed a 3D model and data analysis of the explosion site in front of her.
“The blast radius is thirty meters. The explosive device is estimated to be a homemade Molotov cocktail…”
A homemade Molotov cocktail, such simple equipment. Given the capabilities of Mechanized Dawn to mobilize resources in the port warehouse, the organization’s members wouldn’t just use crude homemade Molotov cocktails; at least, they would use standard military-grade ammunition.
From this, it could be inferred that the mastermind behind this bombing may not be Mechanized Dawn.
Kui Xin tapped on the projected image, revealing another explosion site. This time, the blast radius was smaller, less than ten meters, and the explosive device was estimated to be a glass incendiary bottle filled with ethanol.
By continuously switching between the explosion sites’ data, Kui Xin was able to confirm her earlier suspicions.
The culprit of the previous round of bombings was not Mechanized Dawn, and there was an invisible third party involved in the port explosion.
As for the purpose of this unknown third party and whether their goals were related to the Kraken, further investigation was necessary.
Silverface was efficient; he managed to gather so much data in just one night, and after a night of running around, he must be exhausted.
Kui Xin tossed the metal sphere back into Silverface’s lap. “Continue telling me what you encountered.”
“Originally, I planned to return immediately to hand over the site data to you, but then I suddenly heard someone screaming in terror. When I rushed to the source of the sound, I found a security officer, who was patrolling the site, had already been killed by a monster. It was trying to crawl into the corpse to lay eggs,” Silverface said with a disgusted expression. “I eliminated the monster, but then that officer’s partner showed up… He saw me, so I had to kill him along with the monster, and I disposed of the bodies.”
“That’s the first monster,” Kui Xin said. “You encountered three last night.”
“Yeah. The second monster came looking for me; it had parasitized a dock worker. That worker had become skeletal without any nutrients left to feed on. I guess it was eager to accumulate energy for its next transformation and wanted to switch hosts. When it encountered me, it intended to parasitize me,” Silverface said irritably. “Ugh, disgusting. It’s the second one that hurt me.”
“The third one,” Kui Xin prompted.
“The third one is nothing special; it crawled up from the sea right along the dock, and I found it,” Silverface shrugged. “It didn’t have time to find a human host; it was just a weak larval form.”
Monsters, creatures living in the sea, would crawl onto land to seek hosts and lay eggs inside human corpses.
These monsters weren’t weak at all; they could kill security officers who were significantly stronger than ordinary people, and they even injured Silverface, who possessed extraordinary abilities.
Kui Xin inwardly smiled wryly. She should have known that in a world where cyberpunk meets the supernatural, one should not be surprised by all sorts of strange things.
The danger level of the Second World had just escalated in her mind.
“Usually, we wouldn’t encounter such monsters even once a month; why are there so many suddenly tonight?” Silverface said. “We should report this to the organization.”
“Yes, we should report…” Kui Xin’s words paused as her communicator in her pocket vibrated; it was a message from the Investigation Bureau.
The screen on the communicator displayed the caller—Xueyao Shu.
She pressed the answer button. “Captain.”
“Kui Xin, how is your recovery going?” Xueyao Shu’s voice sounded somewhat serious.
“What’s wrong?” Kui Xin sensed something was off in his tone.
“Mo Jingtong and Wang Jianmu from Team Six encountered an accident while patrolling the port last night,” Xueyao Shu said. “Currently, the port patrol position is vacant, and we urgently need to assign someone. Kui Xin, we’ve had too many casualties lately, and we can’t spare anyone. If you’ve recovered, it would be best for you to come back and execute the task as soon as possible.”
“…Alright. I’ll return to the Investigation Bureau tomorrow morning,” Kui Xin said.
Xueyao Shu seemed very busy; he didn’t say a word more and hung up once he finished conveying the necessary information.
Kui Xin put down her communicator and glanced at Silverface, who was sitting on the sofa, listening to the communication with keen interest.
Mo Jingtong and Wang Jianmu were field team members belonging to Team Six next door. Kui Xin had seen their profiles. Silverface witnessed one being killed by a monster last night and then killed the other who came to check.
“Wouldn’t it be much more convenient for me if you went to patrol the port?” Silverface said excitedly. “Setting up explosives at the port would also be very convenient. Ha, what luck! The person you killed last night happened to be from your field team.”
“Yeah, you killed someone from our team, leaving the field team short-handed, shortening my three-day break to one day,” Kui Xin replied. “Working means I have to spend a long time with my teammates and can’t communicate with you in time to formulate plans.”
Silverface was taken aback. “I didn’t think of that… It’s all an accident.”
“I don’t expect you to think about it.” Kui Xin sighed. “Forget it; accidents are always unavoidable. This isn’t your fault; plans need to be modified according to the situation. If there are emergencies and you can’t contact me, you can handle it on your own without waiting for my orders, but remember to report back to me afterward.”
“Okay,” Silverface nodded.
Her time to adjust was reduced; last night she had stayed up all night going through the data, and now she needed to get some sleep to regain her strength.
“I need to get busy. Don’t move around too much until your injuries heal,” Kui Xin said.
“Wait!” Silverface called out to Kui Xin.
“What is it?” Kui Xin turned back.
“I’m hungry. Do we have anything to eat?” he asked seriously. “I ran around all night without sleeping or eating, and using my abilities makes me especially hungry.”
Kui Xin pondered, “There’s no food left in the kitchen; you can order takeout, and please order one for me too.”
Silverface said, “…Alright, I’ll order.”
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Xi Liang, dressed in a delivery uniform, appeared at the door. “Hello, your delivery… Ah, Senior! So this is where you live!”
Kui Xin was surprised to see Xi Liang working part-time as a delivery driver. “Are you working to support your studies?”
“Yes, earning money for college, but I don’t know if I can earn enough… Probably not much hope,” Xi Liang said as he handed over the delivery bag. “I have another order to run, so bye, Senior!”
Kui Xin waved at him, closing the door.
“Who is he?” Silverface asked.
“A boy who got into the mechanical engineering department at Black Sea Academy. The character I’m portraying is also a graduate of Black Sea Academy,” Kui Xin said as she took out the takeout box.
“The mechanical engineering department? That’s a talent the organization needs.” Silverface paused in his task of unpacking the utensils. “What’s his family background like?”
“Not very good; his parents own a convenience store,” Kui Xin replied.
Silverface suddenly realized, “So you know him that well? You are already considering recruiting him, right?”
So Mechanized Dawn would recruit newcomers?
“We shouldn’t act hastily,” Kui Xin said casually.
“You’re right; we need to observe him for a while longer.” Silverface opened the takeout box.
“However, people from less fortunate backgrounds are usually easier to recruit; they’re more easily swayed by money,” Kui Xin suddenly remarked. “With just a small benefit, we can tie him to our interests.”
“Let’s report the information about the frequent appearances of the port monsters along with the name of that boy who got into Black Sea Academy. If he qualifies, the organization will send someone to contact him,” Silverface suggested.
“Okay, you write the report,” Kui Xin instructed him without hesitation. “That boy’s name is Xi Liang.”
Silverface endured it for a moment before finally swallowing his pride. “I’ll write it… Since I’m resting, I have nothing to do anyway.”
After eating the takeout, Silverface meticulously wrote out the report to be submitted to the organization and handed it over for Kui Xin to review. Only after she nodded did he feel assured enough to click send.
Silverface’s report earned Kui Xin’s approval, and he felt quite satisfied. From Silverface’s report, Kui Xin recognized the common format used to report to Mechanized Dawn, and she felt satisfied as well.
She noticed that Silverface did not use the term “monster” in his report but referred to them as “xenomorphs.” She believed that “xenomorphs” was the formal written term for “monsters.”
Kui Xin returned to her room while Silverface curled up on the sofa with a thin blanket, resting.
He closed his eyes; a tuft of white hair poked out from the blanket, resembling a cat that thought it was cleverly hidden beneath the covers.
Kui Xin reviewed Silverface’s words and actions, mentally assessing him: “Aside from being obedient and having extraordinary powers, he really is just like a foolish cat in every other way.”
There was a part of the Investigation Bureau’s documents that she had not finished reading. With the remaining time insufficient to support a thorough review, she skimmed through it, focusing on paragraphs related to “monsters” and “xenomorphs.”
At the end of the documents, there was a passage: the emergency unit of the Investigation Bureau, group leader unknown, members uncertain, with an office located on the third basement level of the Investigation Building. The primary responsibility of this hidden group is to secretly eliminate xenomorphs appearing in various locations.
The Investigation Bureau held many secrets, such as the mysterious emergency unit. The Second World was also home to many strange things, like the “monsters” Silverface mentioned, xenomorphs.
There was little time left to rest. Kui Xin set aside her wristband, forcing herself to sleep.
—
Kui Xin slept for eight hours.
When her alarm went off, she got out of bed, washed up, and changed clothes.
She splashed a cup of cold water on her face, stared at her reflection in the mirror for a while, and said to herself, “Fear will only hold you back.”
She couldn’t afford to stand still, whether in the First World or the Second World; she couldn’t afford to stand still.
Kui Xin pushed open the bathroom door and walked to the living room, glancing just in time to see Silverface climbing in from the balcony through the window.
“I went to buy ingredients this morning; ordering takeout is too expensive,” Silverface said, carrying various bags and looking hopefully at Kui Xin.
“Yeah, it seems we should have breakfast,” Kui Xin replied. “Put the excess food in the fridge.”
Considering he spent money on groceries, Kui Xin’s tolerance for him could be a little higher.
She prepared a simple breakfast for both of them, and after they finished eating, Silverface dutifully cleaned the dishes.
As he washed, he asked, “My injuries are almost healed. What instructions do we have for today?”
So soon? Kui Xin thought incredulously.
Does everyone with extraordinary abilities have such recovery powers? Silverface didn’t use a tech recovery pod but was still healing incredibly fast, faster than an ordinary person.
“Not for now,” Kui Xin said as she changed her shoes at the door. “If I’m assigned to patrol the port area, I will inform you of the directives. If not, it will be pending. During this period, you can act freely.”
She grabbed an umbrella and pushed the door open.
The rain in Hei Hai City had been ongoing for a long time, making it feel like a rain city. Kui Xin waited at the electric tram stop, and after a minute, the tram arrived on time.
The daytime Hei Hai City lost the embellishments of neon lights and holographic advertisements, becoming much plainer. Looking out, all the buildings appeared deep gray in the hazy rain, giving a sense of oppression.
After several dozen minutes, Kui Xin arrived at the Investigation Bureau building.
“Welcome back, intern security officer Kui Xin. Please place your umbrella on the public rack,” Augus’s voice reached her ears.
Following his instructions, Kui Xin put away her umbrella and took the elevator to Xueyao Shu’s office.
She knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Xueyao Shu said.
As the door opened, Kui Xin felt a sudden pang of anxiety. There were four or five people in the office, all members of the Seventh Squad, who turned in unison to look at her upon her entrance.
“Alright, enough small talk,” Xueyao Shu said, tapping the table to regain the team’s attention. “Sit down, Kui Xin; we need to discuss this mission’s objective.”
Kui Xin walked to an empty space and pulled out a wheeled chair to sit.
Xueyao Shu activated the holographic projector, creating a realistic three-dimensional image suspended in the air.
“This is our target: Zhejian, a Level 6 citizen, convicted of first-degree murder. However, due to his mental illness, he has not served time in prison and is receiving treatment at the city’s psychiatric hospital,” Xueyao Shu explained. “Just last night, he escaped after attacking his psychiatrist.”
“How did he manage that?” a man sitting to Kui Xin’s left asked. “Is his psychiatrist alive?”
“His psychiatrist sustained minor injuries but is not in serious condition,” Xueyao Shu said. “As for how he escaped… analysis suggests he likely awakened.”
“Awakened? He became an awakened being with extraordinary abilities?” Everyone from the Seventh Squad showed surprised expressions.
“Augus has determined that he awakened an ability that does not possess lethality. The psychiatric hospital’s security equipment was not violently damaged, so it is highly likely he escaped using his extraordinary abilities,” Xueyao Shu said. “Our task is to bring him back if he resists violently or threatens the safety of ordinary civilians, we can eliminate him on the spot.”
“I have a question,” Kui Xin said. “Is this patient stable mentally? Did he show any signs or abnormal reactions before escaping and attacking the psychiatrist?”
“There indeed were,” Xueyao Shu frowned. “The hospital provided us with footage of Zhejian’s treatment, in which he insisted he was not sick, and he repeatedly emphasized to the doctors that he was not from Hei Hai City; he believes he is from a place called ‘Jin Ling’…”
“Then he must be quite ill,” a teammate laughed.
His comment earned agreement from the others.
But Kui Xin did not have the mood to share their enthusiasm and fit in with the group.
Jin Ling—The escaped mental patient, Zhejian, claimed he was from Jin Ling.
Zhejian was also a player from the First World!
Author’s Note:
Silverface: In this cold and harsh world, only warm meals can offer a little comfort to my fragile heart (and stomach).
Silverface, the hidden food-loving handsome guy.
