55: Chapter 55: The Captured Corpse Demon 55: Chapter 55: The Captured Corpse Demon Zhang Xiaoman looked around in a panic, he hadnât expected the car to suddenly take off without warning, and his hands quickly withdrew, fearing that an accidental touch could lead to disastrous consequences.
âOh my, I only have a C-level driverâs license!
I donât know how to operate this thing!â
Feeling the suction from the seat, Zhang Xiaoman looked again at the retractable steering wheel and the multitude of mysterious buttons on the dashboard, his palms sweating profusely.
Fortunately, the situation didnât worsen; this ultra-modern car, though advanced, was still just a cold machine, and without someone controlling it, it did not ascend on its own.
Cautiously, Zhang Xiaoman reached out again and pressed the red button.
Then, he saw the lights inside the car gradually dimming, the surroundings returned to normal, and the car landed back on the ground.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xiaoman stepped out of the car.
The tension he had felt before now receded like a tide, replaced by an uncontrollable excitement.
âHeheheâŠâ
After a series of silly laughs, Zhang Xiaoman circled around it for quite a while, until the late night was about to end, before he went to sleep on the couch in the living room.
âŠ
Meanwhile, in Qionghua City, Jiangnan Province, Third Research Institute.
On the sixth floor, inside the newly established Abnormal Creature Research Department, a group of researchers clad in white lab coats stood beside a transparent glass box, discussing something.
On the box, the words âNo.
2â were emblazoned on the tough specialty glass.
Inside it, an oval-shaped, blood-red sphere was visible.
The sphere was covered in dozens of bizarre veins, dark red and leading directly to the interior of the sphere, and if one looked closely, they were pulsating with every beat.
âXiao Tan, you go sort out the data records from No.
2 and bring them to my office later.
Old Li, you and I will do another physical test later to see if animals other than felines are attracted to No.
2.
Duan, you go check on Specimen No.
1âŠâ
Among the crowd, a man in his seventies was instructing the researchers about their next tasks.
Elsewhere, a square-faced middle-aged man put down the phone, walked toward the crowd with an anxious expression, and spoke to the elderly man:
âMr.
Wen, we have just captured No.
3, alive!
The transport vehicle is arriving soon!
They asked us to prepare for reception!â
The researchers turned their heads at this news, and Mr.
Wen looked at him somewhat unexpectedly before joyfully saying:
âCaptain Hu, you really caught No.
3?
Letâs go, letâs head downstairs to wait!â
After speaking, he looked around again and said to two researchers nearby: âXiao Tan, Duan, put the other tasks aside for now, open the containment room next door and get ready to receive No.
3.â
With that, he led the way to the elevator entrance, and the others quickly followed.
The previously bustling lab quickly fell silent.
However, not long after they left, in a spot hidden from the outside world and the cameras, a root-like tendril slowly emerged from beneath the oval red sphere, easily piercing the tough specialty glass, then spreading downwards behind the lab bench, burrowing into the steel-reinforced concrete floorâŠ
Downstairs, the research personnel had already arrived in the lobby on the first floor.
As they walked to the door, a series of special vehicles flashing red and blue lights also entered the plaza of the Third Research Institute.
As the vehicles came to a stop, a group of armed police officers quickly ran out from the police cars.
In the center of the convoy was a modified troop transport armored vehicle, and everyone got out and subtly surrounded it.
Captain Hu hurriedly walked up to one of the command vehicles, just as a few policemen were stepping out of it, and greeted them as they met.
âDirector Wang, youâve arrived!â
Captain Hu spoke to one of the middle-aged men who appeared to be in his fifties.
âOld Hu, this is Lei Ying, the newly appointed captain of the special police brigade, and he is responsible for this operation,â he said.
Director Wang said to the two people next to him, âXiao Lei, this is the captain of the detective squadron, who is currently serving as the temporary commander of the Abnormal Event Emergency Investigation Department, Hu Hu.â
The man named Lei Ying, captain of the special police brigade, was a muscular man in his thirties.
When he saw Captain Hu, he hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands and said,
âMr.
Hu, hello, you have lectured at our school before; Iâm finally meeting you again!â
Captain Hu exchanged pleasantries with him before turning his attention back to Director Wang, âDirector Wang, howâs the situation?
What about No.
3?â
Director Wang pointed to the armored vehicle in the middle and said,
âItâs inside.
I didnât expect this thing to be so vicious.
Luckily, with Comrade Xiao Leiâs command, although some personnel were injured, there were no casualties.â
After he finished speaking, he instructed a nearby police officer, who then jogged toward the direction of the armored vehicle before pulling open the rear door with a few other colleagues.
âGurgle gurgleâŠâ
The moment the door was opened, everyone outside heard a strange sound, like a monster making noises from deep within its throat, sending shivers down their spines.
A few police officers used a cart to push out a double-layered iron cage from inside, and a hairless gray-skinned monster suddenly appeared before everyone.
The creature was thin and long-limbed, squatting in the cage with knees bent.
Just by eye measurement, one could tell its height reached over two and a half meters.
It had no eyes; instead of ears, there were two large holes, and rows of dense teeth looked exceedingly creepy.
Sensing the changes in its environment, it immediately lay on the cage, emitting a hoarse cry.
This was unmistakably a Corpse Demon!
âThis creature, it appeared barely alive before, I didnât expect it to recover so quickly.
Such a terrifying abilityâŠâ Captain Lei remarked as he looked at the monster.
Captain Huâs eyes narrowed at this time, for he clearly saw dozens of bullet holes of various sizes on the monsterâs body, yet not a single drop of blood was visible, as if its body contained no blood at all.
Mr.
Wen, among other researchers, also came over, all staring in astonishment at the creature, unable to resist moving closer.
âMr.
Wen, be careful!
Donât go over there just yet, let me first have my brothers move this thing into the containment room before you take a look,â Captain Hu quickly stepped forward to stop him.
Mr.
Wen nodded subconsciously at these words and then hastily urged the special police warriors to push it inside.
Once everyone took the large elevator upstairs and secured the monster in the containment room along with its cage, Mr.
Wen approached the observation roomâs glass to closely examine it.
âThe skin is gray with a hint of white, likely due to minimal exposure to light sourcesâŠ
No eyes, meaning it does not rely on vision, but that doesnât rule out other sensory capabilities⊠The earholes are large and lack external pinnae; either its hearing is very poor or very good, most likely the latter⊠It has constantly been making a peculiar gurgling sound since it entered, initially assessed as a form of communication with its peers, possibly indicating that itâs a social speciesâŠâ
Mr.
Wen observed from different angles, making preliminary analyses, while a young researcher beside him was rapidly taking notes.
âBody riddled with injuries but no trace of blood; a very peculiar internal structureâŠâ
Muttering to himself, Mr.
Wenâs eyes suddenly lit up as he said,
âSince entering, it has continuously stayed on the right side of the cage, its body curled up defensively and showing signs of agitation; it seems to be fearing somethingâŠâ
After saying this, he glanced at the wall on the left side of the containment room, his eyebrows furrowing deeply.
âOn the other side of the wall is the laboratory where Specimen No.
2 is detained.
Could it beâŠ
it is afraid ofâŠ
No.
2?â