Chapter 340: The Strange Object

Chapter 340: The Strange Object

Zhang Yi and his companions found a large stockpile of weapons, a massive gain for him.

"Fear comes from a lack of firepower. With so many weapons, I’ll have more confidence even when facing stronger enemies in the future," he thought.

"Take it all!"

Zhang Yi opened his Dimensional Gate and swept the entire weapons cache inside.

“Let’s keep looking to see if there’s anything else worth taking!” Zhang Yi said with a grin to his two companions.

The harvest was so abundant that, despite the eerie atmosphere of the underground tunnels lined with corpses, they didn’t feel down.

Aside from the armory, there was nothing else of value in the Third Life Pod.

Following the map, the three of them made their way to the Second Life Pod. But as soon as they reached the entrance, they were met with a scene of ruins.

The Second Life Pod had been the epicenter of an explosion.

Although the buildings were built with reinforced concrete and were incredibly sturdy, they still couldn’t withstand an explosion of this scale. Cracks ran through the walls, and many pillars had collapsed, though the pod itself hadn’t caved in.

According to the map, a protective dome layer reinforced the entire underground shelter from above. At over ten meters high, the dome had only absorbed limited impact and remained intact.

Right away, Uncle You transformed into a burly figure and went over to lift a massive pillar, nearly two meters thick, with one hand!

He slowly cleared the path as Zhang Yi walked cautiously, keeping his Dimensional Gate ready above his head to deflect any falling debris.

Once they entered the Second Life Pod, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but sigh at the sight.

The explosion had destroyed most of the rooms, including all the lab equipment.

Without those precise instruments, there wasn’t much left intact.

Not that Zhang Yi planned to run human experiments or create an army of Modified Humans, so he didn’t particularly need the equipment. However, bringing it back could be useful for Lu Keran and Zhou Ke’er’s research. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of such technology might help if they ever encountered more Modified Humans in the future.

The West Hill Base had only produced a handful of Modified Humans, but what if a stronger force existed elsewhere, capable of creating a more formidable army?

“What should we do, Boss? These machines are all busted,” Fatty Xu said to Zhang Yi, looking regretful.

“It doesn’t matter,” Zhang Yi shrugged. “Let’s take the leftover pieces back. We might find some valuable information, especially in the computers—there could be critical intel that Xinxin hasn’t discovered.”

Zhang Yi didn’t care if the parts were useful or not. He’d take everything anyway since he had plenty of space.

They went through each lab, storing anything they didn’t recognize in Spatial Storage.

Even if it was junk, at least they’d have something to throw at people later!

Suddenly, Fatty Xu shrieked and stumbled backward, landing hard on the ground.

Zhang Yi and Uncle You instantly tensed up, prepared for combat as they turned to look.

“What happened?”

Face pale, Fatty Xu pointed ahead. “T-There’s something nasty over there!”

Zhang Yi aimed his helmet’s flashlight in that direction, revealing only a pile of broken stones and rubble—nothing strange in sight.

“What exactly did you see?” Zhang Yi asked, frowning. His right hand gripped his gun, ready to unleash his Divine Power.

Fatty Xu swallowed, then picked up a rock and hurled it into the rubble.

“Thud!”

The stone hit the pile, and a moment later, a swarm of dark, wriggling creatures emerged from the cracks, scurrying into the darkness.

Zhang Yi grimaced.

He wasn’t exactly afraid but found the sight rather revolting—oversized cockroaches!

“This must be that protein lab Liang Yue mentioned earlier,” Zhang Yi muttered, stifling his nausea.

“Experiments to make food out of cockroaches and earthworms were conducted years ago. Disgusting as it sounds, these creatures are high in protein. If Bear Grylls saw them, he’d be thrilled!” he joked to Fatty Xu.

Uncle You laughed at Fatty Xu’s reaction. “Come on, Little Xu! How can you be so scared? You’re acting like a girl!”

Fatty Xu huffed, getting back on his feet. “I’m not afraid of cockroaches! They just startled me, that’s all.”

Zhang Yi figured the equipment nearby was likely a protein processing machine, though it seemed badly damaged.

Rubbing his chin, he wondered if Lu Keran might be able to repair it.

Then again, even if fixed, what would he use it for?

Soon, Zhang Yi decided he might as well take it—could come in handy someday.

“Let’s do this!”

Zhang Yi and Uncle You began clearing the rubble until a huge, broken protein processor lay before them. It was smashed into three sections, with some areas completely crushed.

Zhang Yi didn’t mind and stored it anyway.

Since Fatty Xu had no special abilities without an icy environment, he could only make small talk on the side to ease the awkwardness.

“These cockroaches are freaks! They can survive in such harsh conditions,” he muttered. “Imagine how tough they’d be if they mutated!”

Hearing that, Zhang Yi felt a chill.

If cats could mutate, why not cockroaches?

So far, Flower was the only known case of a mutated animal. But since most animals in Tianhai City were domesticated pets, their limited adaptation to natural disasters meant they’d freeze to death easily, even if they did mutate.

But cockroaches? Their resilience was practically unstoppable.

If they developed Superhuman Energy, they’d be a nightmare.

“Ugh, the more I think about it, the more it creeps me out. Thank goodness there are no cockroaches at home!”

After clearing up the equipment, Zhang Yi and his group left the area.

“Meow—”

Suddenly, Flower turned, hissing into the darkness with an intense, amber-eyed glare.

Frowning, Zhang Yi stared in the same direction.

In the dark, it felt like something huge was watching them.

But when he looked closer, the feeling vanished.

A subtle tension crept into Zhang Yi’s mind.

It seemed like something strange and powerful might indeed be lurking here, hidden among the endless dead.

“This place doesn’t feel right. Let’s strip it clean and get out of here as soon as possible,” Zhang Yi said to Fatty Xu and Uncle You.

Author's Note