Chapter 43: Sea Without Light 43
The exoskeleton armor of the Scythe Demon was extremely tough, sparking as bullets struck it. The softest part of its body was the tentacles connected to its curved bone blades.
It had two bone blades in total; incapacitating one would significantly reduce its danger. One of its bone blades had already been severed by Kui Xin.
Kneeling on the ground, Kui Xin held her gun and clearly saw the frenzied look of the Scythe Demon through her night-vision scope. The opportunity was now.
However, at the moment Kui Xin adjusted her shooting angle, the Scythe Demon swung its bone blade toward her.
At this time, she had two choices—either abandon her shot and roll to evade or continue to aim at the Scythe Demon’s remaining tentacle in an attempt to sever it with bullets.
“Bang—”
Gunfire rang out, and sparks erupted from the muzzle.
Kui Xin chose not to evade!
She completely cleared her mind, ignoring the external things. Fear and panic drained from her body, and adrenaline surged. The blood vessels in her temples throbbed.
A layer of crimson mist enveloped Kui Xin’s vision as she pulled the trigger, showing her unyielding determination.
Just like during the static target shooting training in the underground training ground of the Investigation Building, she maintained absolute focus and faith in hitting the target as she fired the bullet. Everything around her seemed to slow down when she concentrated to the extreme.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Gunshots echoed in succession! After firing one bullet, Kui Xin did not stop but continued to pull the trigger, releasing four bullets in a row. They formed a nearly flawless and straight trajectory under her control. The speed and density of her shooting caused the four gunshots to merge into one in the ears of those listening!
The best and most experienced marksman in the Investigation Bureau could achieve a rate of six bullets per second in static shooting; Kui Xin managed four shots per second under critical conditions with minimal adjustment time! The trajectory of the four bullets was so precise it felt as if they had been meticulously measured!
This barrage of bullets accurately struck the Scythe Demon’s tentacle.
One bullet hit, causing the bone blade crashing toward Kui Xin to slightly deflect.
Then, the remaining three bullets pierced through the bullet hole left by the first one, causing them to shatter into fragments upon impact. The continuous force scattered and sliced through the Scythe Demon’s tentacle.
“Swish!” The Scythe Demon’s bone blade narrowly grazed Kui Xin’s shoulder before falling to the ground.
The xenomorph that had lost its predatory tools let out a shrill scream, bluish-green blood gushing out like a fountain from the severed tentacle. The ground covered in blood erupted in thick steam, and the intense stench was nauseating.
The Scythe Demon rolled on the ground several times before awkwardly getting back up, its mantis-like hind legs futilely trying to escape.
Lan Lan raised her gun to shoot, hindering the Scythe Demon’s movements, while Jiang Ming kicked some steel pipes stacked in a triangular shape nearby. The heavy pipes clattered down, pinning the Scythe Demon beneath them as it continued to scream, attempting to escape.
Just as it was about to crawl out, a dagger plunged into the gap between its exoskeleton and body at the back of its head, stabbing into its vulnerable spot beneath the shell.
The Scythe Demon’s body abruptly stiffened, then flopped down.
It was dead.
Kui Xin did not withdraw the dagger to avoid the bluish-green blood splattering onto her.
She staggered back a few steps, collapsing on the ground, one side of her body numb. An ant-biting agony occupied that part of her body, as the Scythe Demon’s blood corroded her skin. Her flesh was healing while simultaneously being corroded; as one wound healed, another opened up.
“Water! Where’s the water bucket? Damn it! Water bucket!” Lan Lan frantically searched for a water bucket around the dock, sweating profusely.
Jiang Ming finally spotted a water bucket and called out joyfully, “Found it! I’m going to get water!”
He sprinted with the water bucket across the dark dock and returned to douse Kui Xin with seawater, washing away the Scythe Demon’s blood.
However, the blood adhered strongly, and the bucket of water removed only a slight bit.
As soon as it touched Kui Xin’s skin, a layer of bloodied tissue fell off.
The hovering police vehicle came to a stop in the open area, and Xueyao Shu stepped out decisively.
“Using water isn’t enough; return to the headquarters. We must use a special solution to wash off the xenomorph’s blood.” He put on gloves, lifted Kui Xin, and placed her in the back seat of the police car.
“You’ll be fine, Kui Xin.” Lan Lan also climbed into the back seat.
Jiang Ming’s lips were tightly pressed together as he said, “Is there any solution at the coastal security office?”
“I just asked; there are five bottles in reserve.” Liu Kangyun said, hanging up the communicator, “Let’s head to the coastal security office first to grab those five bottles of solution, then clean Kui Xin in the car. We can soak her in the solution tank when we get back to headquarters.”
“Five bottles are definitely not enough!” Lan Lan said with a grim expression, “The area covered in blood is too big—half of her body!”
Xueyao Shu silently started the hovering police vehicle, speeding towards the coastal security office.
“……” Kui Xin lay weakly in the back seat, saying, “You all act like I’m about to die. It’s not a big deal. If it gets too serious, I’ll just replace half my body with mechanical limbs. It’s not like I can’t survive. If there are scars on my face and body, I can just get skin grafting for cosmetic surgery. There are plenty of ways…”
There’s even no need to go mechanical; with flesh regeneration, it would take just a few minutes to wash off all the xenomorph’s blood, and her body would heal back to normal.
“You’re quite optimistic.” Lan Lan said with a twisted expression, rummaging through the medical kit in the back seat.
The blood from the Scythe Demon would corrode her down to the bone in just a few minutes.
Replacing body parts with mechanical ones was indeed a good method, but the crucial point was that she was covered too extensively! Everyone in the Seventh Squad was worried Kui Xin wouldn’t make it back to headquarters alive.
Lan Lan first took out a suturing clamp, its shape resembling a stapler, designed to forcibly stitch together lacerations and temporarily stem bleeding. He cut open Kui Xin’s combat uniform and used the suturing clamp to bind the laceration on her abdomen.
“Great… It looks like a lot of blood is flowing, but it’s just a skin injury; it only cut through the epidermis and fat layer.” He let out a long sigh of relief.
Kui Xin thought: Ah, if you had come a bit later to clamp the wound, it would have healed right up.
The truth was that her abdominal wound was deep enough to see her intestines, and she could grasp her viscera with her hand.
“Talk to her, keep her conscious.” Jiang Ming in the front seat leaned over to look back seriously, “Lan Lan, give her an injection of painkiller. Do we have a healing potion? Also inject that in; it might help her hold on a bit longer.”
Lan Lan took out a syringe and opened a vial of painkiller. After filling the syringe, he expertly injected it into Kui Xin, then opened another vial of healing potion to inject that as well.
The stench of blood became stronger in the car; Kui Xin’s wounds were still bleeding profusely.
Lan Lan asked with concern: “Does it still hurt?”
“Hurts… Is this painkiller expired? Does the captain not regularly check the medical supplies?” Kui Xin joked in a deadpan manner, staring at the ceiling.
“I checked just yesterday.” Xueyao Shu replied.
The police car stopped, and several colleagues on duty at the coastal security office were already waiting in the parking lot. As soon as the car landed, they handed in the prepared solution bottles and several vials of medication through the window.
After receiving the solution, Xueyao Shu immediately increased the flying altitude and sped towards the Investigation Building.
Lan Lan was so anxious that he trembled. He poured the solution onto a gauze pad to wipe down Kui Xin’s body. The bluish-green blood neutralized in the solution, and it was easy to wipe off.
He didn’t dare to scrub too hard, as doing so would cause large chunks of tissue to fall off along with the skin from Kui Xin’s wounds.
Ten minutes later, the back seat of the car was left with a small pile of used gauze.
“You… want to take a break? I suddenly feel much better, it doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” Kui Xin noted Lan Lan’s forehead beaded with sweat.
Lan Lan thought Kui Xin was just putting on a brave face and laughed in exasperation: “Come on, what are you talking about? You feel… better?!”
He stared blankly at Kui Xin’s wounds.
The carefully wiped wounds had changed color from crimson to pale pink, and new flesh had started to grow!
“Holy crap!” Lan Lan was dumbfounded, “Captain, did the research institute develop a new type of healing potion? The effects are so incredible!”
Xueyao Shu: “What? It’s always been the old model; the new model is still in testing and hasn’t been used yet.”
“What’s… going on?” Lan Lan stared in astonishment.
He wiped away the blood from Kui Xin’s abdomen, and to his shock, he found her wound was nearly healed, leaving only a thin line of blood.
Lan Lan’s gaze bounced back and forth over her wound, unable to resist reaching out to touch the spot on her shoulder corroded by the Scythe Demon’s blood; there, the pale pink new flesh had completely healed, showing no signs of severe injury.
Kui Xin: “You seem like a pervert, Lan Lan.”
“Sorry.” Lan Lan looked at Kui Xin with a strange expression, “Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”
He helped Kui Xin prop herself up, and she cast a glance at her abdomen, her acting skills bursting forth as she showed an expression of shock identical to Lan Lan’s: “Holy crap!”
She reached out to touch her abdomen, her eyes wide.
Jiang Ming leaned over from the front seat: “What happened? You guys… Holy crap?!”
The earnest Liu Kangyun turned around in confusion, wondering what could cause his teammates to exclaim in such shock, and when he peeked in, he couldn’t help but say: “Oh… my God!”
He elegantly replaced the vulgar words about to slip from his lips with a surprised four-character phrase.
Meanwhile, Xueyao Shu, focused on driving: “??? ”
“Is this Extraordinary Ability?” Lan Lan exclaimed, “A body enhancement type of Extraordinary Ability? An Extraordinary Ability that enhances self-healing?”
“Very likely.” Jiang Ming replied, “This ability tends to appear more in Heterogeneous Blooded individuals, but as far as I know, there have been similar precedents among the Awakened too.”
Liu Kangyun said gravely: “Body enhancement types are relatively common, but self-healing types are quite rare.”
“Has Kui Xin awakened? Has she awakened a self-healing type of Extraordinary Ability?” Xueyao Shu picked up on the meaning in his teammates’ words.
“It seems she has awakened; the speed at which her wounds heal is astonishing.” Lan Lan finally relaxed, wiping the virtual sweat from his forehead, “She’s saved… truly fortunate.”
The mood in the police car lightened instantly, and Jiang Ming smiled: “Congratulations, Kui Xin.”
“The blood from the Scythe Demon on Kui Xin’s leg hasn’t been cleaned off yet, Lan Lan, don’t stop working,” Liu Kangyun reminded.
“The gauze and bandages have run out.” Lan Lan stated, “There’s no choice; I’ll have to pour it straight from the bottle.”
He uncapped the last bottle of solution and poured it over Kui Xin’s wounds.
“Ah…” Kui Xin winced in pain.
Lan Lan had been tending to her wounds while she had been showing signs of distress; it was not an act; it genuinely hurt. The painkiller’s effect was minimal and seemed to last only a short time. Her face was pale, hands clenched into fists, and she felt as if she wanted to hit someone.
This was the worst injury Kui Xin had ever sustained; the last time she was shot in the head only left a small hole in her forehead.
After emptying the final bottle of solution, Lan Lan said with a complicated expression: “You really are calm, little Kui.”
“Actually, I was just thinking about my last words…” Kui Xin said weakly.
“You can say it; Augus will record it down. You should definitely make sure to address things like asset distribution,” Lan Lan noted. “Most colleagues make a will upon entering the job; it’s quite dangerous for security officers, and who knows when one might die… I also have a will.”
“I don’t have any assets to distribute. I owe over a hundred thousand in student loans, and the only asset in my name is my house, which, according to current law, would mean inheriting my debt along with the house…” Kui Xin lay back, “So I couldn’t figure out what last words I would need to address after thinking for a long time.”
A silence fell over the car.
“Life will slowly get better.” Xueyao Shu thought for a moment and said some realistic words to comfort her, “Let me give you some good news; the salary of an Awakened is the same as that of a team leader. Once your Awakened status passes review, you’ll be my equal colleague.”
Kui Xin perked up: “There’s such good news? Thank you for telling me right away, Captain!”
The police car slowly descended, and as the back door swung open, Doctor Huang was already waiting by the gurney, shouting urgently: “Quick, quick! The patient needs treatment! Hurry and lift her onto the stretcher!”
A nurse, hesitating for a moment, was instantly rushed by Doctor Huang, who personally placed Kui Xin onto the gurney, and along with a group of nurses, they dashed toward the elevator, hitting the down button as if in a sprint.
“Wait, Kui Xin has awakened; it’s not a big deal!” Lan Lan’s reminder came too late; the elevator doors had already closed.
Liu Kangyun sighed: “Doctor Huang is as diligent and responsible as always.”
Jiang Ming nodded in agreement, “Doctor Huang has been voted an outstanding employee year after year; it’s what he deserves.”
……
Doctor Huang placed an oxygen mask on Kui Xin: “Breathe, breathe deeply! Hold on; after soaking in the solution tank to wash away the xenomorph’s blood, we’ll operate on you. Liu Kangyun said on the communicator that half your body is covered in xenomorph blood; replacing you with mechanical prosthetics is unavoidable, so prepare yourself… Oh my, did Liu Kangyun deceive me? You’re not badly hurt!”
He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, “You almost scared me into having a heart attack.”
“My teammates said I might have awakened an Extraordinary Ability,” Kui Xin explained amidst the crowd of nurses surrounding her.
Doctor Huang froze for a moment, his expression shifting rapidly, before he finally exclaimed in joy: “That’s great news! Congratulations, Kui Xin!”
“Lan Lan gave me a simple treatment, but I still need to soak in the solution,” Kui Xin replied.
“Much easier now, much easier.” Doctor Huang pushed Kui Xin into a brightly lit room.
The nurses lifted Kui Xin into a horizontally placed glass tank; she closed her eyes, breathing through the oxygen mask, feeling as if she had been placed inside a fish tank.
The bluish-green blood clinging to her body silently dissolved, losing its corrosive power as the flesh regeneration activated, repairing her battered body.
Doctor Huang exclaimed in astonishment: “Incredible! Young lady, you’re really lucky; I’m glad you survived.”
He pulled a handkerchief out of his lab coat pocket to wipe the corners of his eyes, “The loss of a young life always makes me feel heartbroken. After so many years as a doctor, I still can’t face the passing of life calmly… Kui Xin, you really are fortunate. I hope you continue to be this lucky in the future.”
……
After soaking in the solution, Kui Xin didn’t even undergo surgery.
Doctor Huang checked her body and confirmed there were no issues before sending her to a patient room, “Stay for observation for a while; you can take a nap.”
Dressed in a hospital gown, Kui Xin lay in the hospital bed, and her cheeks and body were as smooth as ever, without a single scar.
She was a patient, and tonight, she could have a good rest.
Fatigue flooded over her like a tide, and Kui Xin fell asleep in an instant.
The next day, Kui Xin woke up naturally.
The artificial light sources in the patient room gradually turned on, transitioning from dark to bright, so it wouldn’t be blinding.
Augus said: “Would you like to have a meal? As a patient, I can help bring food to your room.”
“Sure.” Kui Xin climbed out of bed.
“I recommend grain nutrition porridge, with an appropriate increase in protein intake. I can provide you with a menu,” Augus suggested.
“I don’t know what to eat. You can decide, Augus,” Kui Xin yawned, “An unknown breakfast might bring surprises.”
Augus paused for a moment, speaking in a more humanized manner: “No problem! I’ll prepare a random meal for you, and I hope you’ll enjoy the surprise.”
After washing up in the bathroom, Kui Xin found the automatic meal cart arriving at her patient room ten minutes later. The temperature of the breakfast porridge was just right, not too hot, the fried egg was perfectly runny, the bacon was crispy, and the toast was toasted to perfection.
After finishing her meal, she glanced at the time; it was only 7:30. Kui Xin prepared to change into her usual attire to welcome the new day’s work.
“Security officer Kui Xin, Chief Investigator Jiang Meimei wants to schedule a time with you later for your Awakened review,” Augus informed.
She’s here… Kui Xin felt a sinking feeling in her heart.
She said, “No problem.”
“Then please go to Office 4069 on the fourth floor at 8:10; Chief Investigator Jiang will be waiting for you there.” Augus said, “I wish you a wonderful day.”
