"Billy, we found it! The key is right here!"
Although the wastewater treatment pit reeked, Rebecca wasn't a delicate maiden. Moreover, she dealt with various chemicals all day, and the smells from mixing those chemicals were also extremely unpleasant, so she had some resistance to this moss and mold-covered wastewater pit. Waving her hand, she excitedly called out to Billy Coen behind her.
Billy Coen, who followed closely behind,
also immediately spotted the Institute key in the wastewater pit. At this moment, it was left on the pit floor, covered by a thick iron cage.
It wasn't that Billy Coen, the Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, was stupid; it was that the placement of this key was too suspicious. Wasn't it obviously a trap? What genius would throw the Institute's key into a pit? Even if they threw it away, at least there would be an idea of destroying the key.
But why put an iron cage over it?
To prevent people from taking the key? That's too ridiculous.
If they truly didn't want anyone to take it, they would just destroy it. Clearly leaving it here must be to use the key as bait to lure others who invade the Institute into a trap. Such a foolish method... probably only the bookworms at the Institute could come up with it.
"Rebecca!"
"Wait, don't go down so fast, there might be a trap!"
Seeing how eager Rebecca was, Billy Coen quickly reached out and pulled her tactical vest, speaking with a very serious tone.
Then, his eyes scanned the walls of the wastewater pit. On the yellowed, bacteria-covered walls, there was a chain device similar to the elevator, except this one didn't require a crank; it was self-contained. If he guessed correctly, this device should be for raising and lowering the iron cage in the pit.
It seemed like,
it was still a scenario where the two had to split up.
"There might be a trap below,"
"Don't rush down to get the key, Rebecca. You take this m1887 and keep watch. I'll go operate the chain lift device."
After a moment of thought,
Although he knew it was a trap, Billy Coen had no other choice but to take it one step at a time. He quickly threw his m1887 to Rebecca, telling her to stay put while he saw if raising the iron cage would cause any changes.
"Click!"
Upon receiving the m1887,
Rebecca also nodded in understanding. She immediately loaded it and aimed the large, dark muzzle at the pit below, just in case of any unforeseen circumstances, such as spikes suddenly flying out. Umbrella Corporation stopped at nothing to research viruses, and who knew what self-defense measures they would take to prevent outsiders from investigating the Institute.
"Clank... Clank..."
Just like that,
Billy Coen quickly pulled the chain lift device on the wall. With the grinding of rusty gears, the iron cage in the wastewater pit actually began to slowly rise. Looking at the golden-red Institute key on the ground, Rebecca couldn't hide her excitement and wanted to quickly go down and pick it up.
But after recalling Billy Coen's earlier warning, Rebecca swallowed and held back.
Seeing the iron cage rise and nothing happening in the pit, Billy Coen subtly let out a breath, easing his vigilance slightly, but not completely. His eyes quickly hardened, and he pulled out the pistol from his waist, firing a few shots into a corner of the pit.
"Bang bang bang—!!!"
Three gunshots rang out,
The intense gunshots echoed in the wastewater pit. Billy Coen fired one shot at a corner of the pit, one shot at the iron cage, and one shot at the key on the ground. Nothing happened after all three shots, which made Billy Coen doubt his own guess. Could it be that he was truly too vigilant? Was there no trap here at all?
After all, with these three shots,
any trap could have been triggered! It was the key, the iron cage, and the wall. Could it be that this trap was triggered by a sensing system? That it could only be triggered by a living person going down? That would be too advanced. One must remember that it was 1998; even if technology was advanced, it wasn't so luxurious and troublesome as to use a sensing system as a trap. Didn't they know that such a thing was very troublesome to set up? And there was also a chance of accidental triggering.
However,
just as Billy Coen was pondering,
Rebecca, who was beside him, couldn't sit still.
After waiting for a long time and not finding any trap, there should be no problem. Rebecca then jumped into the pit with the m1887. The surroundings were all slimy moss and mold, extremely foul-smelling. Rebecca didn't want to stay there any longer. She quickly ran over and picked up the Institute key from the ground.
"Hey! Billy, there shouldn't be a trap here. We were overthinking it. Look, I already have the key. Now we can go meet up with that guy Javier."
Picking up the key from the ground and shaking it,
Rebecca said proudly. Of course, it wasn't that Rebecca wasn't vigilant enough, but rather that she was eager to solve the puzzle. Javier was still left by the two of them in the main hall on the first floor. Therefore, to quickly meet up with that scoundrel Javier, Rebecca was a bit hasty and jumped into the pit to get the key without much vigilance.
But now,
after seeing that Rebecca was unharmed in the pit, Billy Coen couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He had just wanted to scold her, but now... it seemed he truly had been overthinking. Regardless of whether there was a trap here, as long as she was fine, that was all that mattered.
It was just a pity—
What Billy and Rebecca didn't know at all was,
In the wastewater pit, within that dark gate, a pair of crimson eyes were staring intently at Rebecca's small figure, and foul-smelling viscous fluid involuntarily secreted from its mouth, looking very greedy. This was the so-called old gentleman in the wastewater pit.
It had been waiting for Rebecca and Billy to jump into the pit for a long time. The viral infection had not caused its brain to degenerate. No... on the contrary, to be precise, this was a hunting instinct. It would not rashly attack until its prey had completely entered its attack range. This was true even when Billy Coen had just fired his pistol several times; it was completely undisturbed by the intense gunshots.
After all...
Have you ever seen a spider spin a web and then give up hunting because of rain? After the rain clears... the spider's web remains firmly there, waiting for prey to fall into its trap!
And now...
"Bang—!"
"Clang—!!!"
A loud noise,
as if some fierce beast was about to break out of its cage, the iron gate that was originally stuck in the wastewater pit was suddenly violently slammed open, hitting the corner of the wall hard and turning into twisted scrap metal. And that dark gate suddenly flashed with crimson light, just like the greedy, drooling eyes of a beast in the dark night.
"Hiss...!!!"
A clear hissing sound came,
like the piercing chirping of several summer cicadas, incredibly ear-splitting. A huge black shadow burst out, dozens of meters long, with two pairs of large scythe-like mandibles at the front, its sky-high antennae shaking wildly and chaotically. Its abdomen was dark, its back was red, and each steel shell was tightly attached to its back like a crimson shield. Its lower body had hundreds of legs, and its steel legs, like iron pillars, stomped heavily on the ground, piled up like connected train carriages.
Red back, black body, sky-high antennae front and back, fangs and serrated mouthparts, hundreds of legs moving in unison, undoubtedly... this was an enormous, gigantic centipede monster!
Catch—!
Monster,
Even if you run, wait for me to invite the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, from Mount Huaguo in Aolai Kingdom to deal with you, great monster. Do not be arrogant. This Venerable One is also protected by the Buddha of the Western Heaven, Tathagata. Do not think that you, beast, can harm the local people, occupy the mountain as king, and dominate alone just because of your large size. Be careful not to be crushed under the Five Finger Mountain for five hundred years without being able to turn over!
Ahem... Ptooey, wrong theater, wrong script.
But there was no helping it, who made this giant centipede appear and instantly break character? Unknowing people might think it had truly become a spirit or monster. Did it eat Sanlu milk powder or pesticide? To grow so large, did the Institute staff feed this centipede super-strength pills every day? It could completely be compared to a prehistoric creature!
"Rebecca, run!"
Seeing such a terrifying scene in the wastewater pit, Billy Coen's face suddenly changed, and he quickly shouted loudly. If she were caught, she would be instantly devoured and torn to shreds, like a meat grinder. This centipede was simply terrifying.
However,
what Billy Coen didn't know at all was,
This giant centipede was an old gentleman, who most enjoyed seeing little lolis in red, going up for a 'hug-and-kill' to satisfy his desires. How could he want to kill Rebecca all at once?
"Hiss...!!!"
As expected,
Rebecca looked at the mutated giant centipede behind her, its terrifying appearance, and couldn't react in time to escape. In an instant, she was fiercely pounced upon. The mutated centipede's eyes glowed crimson, and its hard front legs immediately clamped onto Rebecca's arms, suddenly lifting her high. A masterful 'hug-and-kill' instantly held Rebecca firmly, as if playing with a toy, holding Rebecca tightly and lifting her high—!
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Late Hero
"..."
"Pervert, let me go!"
The sudden change,
startled Rebecca, and she couldn't help but blurt out a curse, calling it a pervert. She struggled violently on the mutated giant centipede's body, kicking her legs and flailing her arms, her face filled with anger, anxiety, and fear, wishing she could immediately kill this mutated giant centipede.
But the mutated giant centipede below,
seemed to greatly enjoy Rebecca's struggles. Its eyes flickered, and it continuously emitted bursts of frenzied hissing sounds. After all, as an old gentleman, it most enjoyed the struggles of these little lolis. No one could remain calm under its masterful 'hug-and-kill'; they would all go mad!
Yes...
This was the old gentleman's confidence.
"Damn it!"
"Monster, let her go quickly!"
Meanwhile,
Billy Coen's face suddenly changed as he looked at Rebecca, who was deeply in trouble, and he cursed angrily. He couldn't have imagined that the true trap in this wastewater pit was actually this enormous giant mutated centipede. Its massive body and ferocious face all indicated its terror. At the same time, Rebecca's situation was extremely dangerous.
Held tightly by the giant mutated centipede, Rebecca was only one or two meters away from the monster's sharp mouthparts, and she could be devoured by this giant centipede at any moment.
"Click..."
"Bang—Bang—Bang—!!!"
Without hesitation,
He raised his pistol and expended all his remaining bullets. Billy Coen, holding the 9mm pistol he had taken, aimed at the wildly thrashing giant mutated centipede in the wastewater pit and instantly pulled the trigger. Several bullets shot out!
But...
"Clang clang clang—!"
The giant mutated centipede's defense was too astonishing. The Plague Crawler's exoskeleton was already hard enough; 9mm pistol bullets could only penetrate shallowly into the flesh, completely lacking the power to pierce through. And now, the centipede's exoskeleton, like a crimson shield, was even more outrageous. Several bullets sparked off the shield with clangs, completely unable to break through its defense.
"Hiss...!"
And seemingly sensing that it had been provoked, the giant mutated centipede's mouth once again let out a sharp, ear-piercing cry, its eyes emitting a dangerous glow. Its hundreds of legs, like iron pillars, moved in unison, rushing towards Billy Coen's direction like a full-speed train.
"Hmph!"
Seeing the menacing giant mutated centipede,
Billy Coen didn't hesitate, letting out a low growl. Then, he leaped, directly flying and jumping to dodge the impact of the giant mutated centipede. Having missed its attack... the giant mutated centipede, still clutching Rebecca, began to dart around wildly in the wastewater pit, crashing into the walls of the wastewater pit everywhere, shattering them and sending countless debris flying.
And looking at the rampaging, lawless giant mutated centipede before him, Billy Coen felt his will was stronger than his ability. The 9mm pistol he held had run out of bullets, and it couldn't even penetrate the centipede's defense, leaving him completely helpless. The m1887 had been dropped by Rebecca in the wastewater pit, making it impossible to retrieve.
Now, Billy Coen truly didn't know how to save Rebecca. Could he only watch as she was eaten?
"Hiss—!!!"
Another sharp, ear-piercing cry,
The giant mutated centipede, tightly gripping Rebecca's body, seemed to have truly played enough. It no longer scurried around in the wastewater pit but stopped, slowly moving its iron-pillar-like leg tips upwards, seemingly intending to eat Rebecca directly, no longer wanting to toy with her.
"Click... Click..."
Not only that,
Rebecca also heard the whisper of death in her ears.
It was the chewing sound of the giant mutated centipede's mouthparts, its saw-like jaws wildly moving like a butcher's meat slicer, echoing in Rebecca's ears. The foul odor from its mouthparts permeated her nostrils. Rebecca could even imagine herself being instantly torn into countless pieces of flesh and swallowed whole by this utterly disgusting giant mutated centipede.
It sent shivers down one's spine.
Rebecca, held tightly by the iron legs, couldn't help but start trembling all over...
"..."
"I don't want to die! Let me go...!"
Thinking of this,
Rebecca screamed and struggled, flailing her arms and legs, trying to break free from the iron-vice-like leg tips. But unfortunately, as long as the giant mutated centipede didn't want to let go, Rebecca's strength alone was completely insufficient to break free from this giant mutated centipede's restraint.
However,
The next second!
"Boom..."
"Boom—!!!!"
A deafening roar came,
as if a bomb had exploded, the sound wave piercing through the entire wastewater pit. A thick, large-caliber bullet shot out, as thick as a thumb. The golden-orange bullet spun at high speed in a streamlined motion, creating gusts of airflow around it, and the white contrail was almost visible to the naked eye.
That was a Magnum bullet,
a 0.50-inch caliber pistol bullet,
the size of an anti-materiel Barrett, called a hand cannon, meaning a pistol cannon. Its power, naturally, could not be underestimated. At an incredible speed, the thick bullet whistled out, instantly hitting the giant mutated centipede's head!