"Sizzle—sizzle—"
"Splish—splash—"
In the silent, dim living quarters, the sounds of electrical short circuits and 'water drops' splashing onto the floor echoed.
Three marines were heading towards their dormitory to change into sealed suits before entering the mine.
But the disappearance of the corpses on the floor forced the three of them to slow down and prepare for any sudden developments.
As a corporal, Hicks had access to information about T-virus by-products, and the 'disappearance' of corpses often meant the emergence of zombies.
Gina, leading the way, had already activated the M56's smart targeting system; if anything seemed amiss, she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger and fire a few shots.
Hudson, usually a chatterbox, had also become much quieter, as he had discovered his newest 'superpower'...
A jinx.
He absolutely couldn't say anything useless anymore.
.
Beep—!
Suddenly, the dynamic detection function of the individual system, displayed on the glasses' screen, issued an alert; there seemed to be movement around the corner ahead.
With mental preparation, the three exchanged glances and nodded in unison, then quickly sprinted around the corner.
They stood firm, their muzzles aimed forward.
What appeared before them was a large, bat-like creature.
It had no distinct head structure, but at the very front of its body were numerous soft tendrils and a multi-jointed, scythe-shaped, hard tentacle.
It flew onto a dead body and then used its wings to lift the corpse.
"Splurch!" The tip of the tentacle pierced into the corpse's skull.
The corpse began to convulse violently, twitching, and its body started to mutate.
Scythe-like bone structures extended from its palms, its jaw dropped, and its abdomen burst open from the inside, growing two small, blood-stained arms.
"Fire!"
"Yes!"
"Da! Da da!"
Upon seeing this disgusting scene, the three marines immediately pulled their triggers, firing explosive rounds at these two anomalies.
"Puff—boom!"
The rounds exploded the moment they made contact with the two monsters, instantly splattering flesh and blood.
"Splash—!" The spraying blood even splattered onto Gina's helmet, who was standing at the very front.
But this female marine of the battle-hardened nation didn't care; instead, she continued to pull the trigger, because there were at least dozens more bat-monsters and mutated corpses in the corridor.
"Hahaha! Come on! The more the merrier! These are all military merits!" Gina's face twisted into a mad grin.
Upon seeing tangible anomalies, Gina's fighting spirit was finally completely ignited.
Relying on the insane output of her M56 smart machine gun, she cleared the corridor leading to the dormitory in just a few seconds.
"Sizzle—!"
The flickering lights, as if startled by the ferocity of the battle-hardened nation, suddenly became much brighter.
The eerie atmosphere instantly vanished.
"…" (x2)
Hicks and Hudson exchanged glances; their magazines still had at least two-thirds of their ammunition, yet the battle had ended just like that...
What a terrifying woman.
Coming back to his senses, Hudson looked at the mutated bodies and said flatly, "It seems the corpses have 'come alive.' Looks like they ran off on their own, huh? Heh, we really did run into monsters."
Hicks also nodded, seemingly agreeing with Hudson's words.
Then he held up his M41A with his right hand, pointed to the corridor with his left, and commanded:
"Hudson, according to the boss's orders, give every guy that looks dead another shot. I don't want them suddenly jumping up and attacking us!"
"Yes."
Hudson immediately carried out the order, switching his M41A to single-shot mode and firing additional shots from a distance at the mutated bodies that still retained complete forms.
Gina, meanwhile, provided cover for Hudson.
As for Hicks, he reported to his helmet cam, muttering to himself: "It has now been confirmed that the anomaly codenamed 'Beacon' can not only affect human minds.
The wavelengths it emits seem capable of altering corpses and creating some kind of... bat creature, thereby increasing the number of mutated entities."
Hicks was doing this as an extra layer of insurance.
Although as marines they were confident in dealing with any anomaly, if one were to count the entire population of the asteroid, that would be at least two thousand mutated entities...
Their survival rate was imaginable.
If, just if they were all annihilated, then at least the video information could be preserved to provide data for subsequent personnel.
After Hicks finished recording the video, Hudson also finished his supplementary shots, and the path to the dormitory had been cleared.
The three continued to advance quickly.
They returned to the dormitory.
They sealed the door.
With mutual assistance, they removed their power armor, preparing to change into sealed combat suits to penetrate deeper into the mine and retrieve the identity swipe card.
.
Inside the dormitory;
Hicks and Gina finished changing first, then Gina helped Hudson.
"Gulp…" Seeing Gina so close, Hudson swallowed, his lips trembling slightly as he asked:
"Um… Gina, if… if we don't… Ugh!"
Before Hudson could finish speaking, Gina Domineeringly kissed him forcefully, then released him and slapped him, saying:
"Did you forget your jinx?! Fight properly!"
Hudson, now fully 'charged,' exclaimed excitedly: "Yes, ma'am!"
"Sigh…"
Hicks, still single, watched his two subordinates flirting and sighed, shaking his head.
The atmosphere in the dormitory temporarily eased, further intensifying their will to survive.
Even if there were thousands of mutated entities in the mine, they would have to carve a bloody path, complete their mission, and save themselves!
Once everything was ready.
The three left the dormitory, with Gina leading the formation, and delved deep into the mine, relying on the power provided by their power armor for a rapid assault.
With guns already blazing, what was there to talk about stealth?
They soon encountered a group of mutated corpses.
They used their scythe-like bone tips to pierce the heels of unmutated corpses, dragging them towards the location of the beacon.
"Haa—!"
Upon hearing the heavy footsteps, the mutants all let out chilling sounds, preparing to turn and attack the three marines.
"Da da!"
Unfortunately, the distinct crisp gunfire of the M41A and M56 instantly silenced this group of jawless mutants.
The explosive rounds of the pulse rifle series were simply an unstoppable weapon.
Human bodies hit by them directly exploded.
Brutal is the best word to describe the pulse rifle.
Mutants?
Aren't they just organisms mutated from humans? They'll die all the same.
Aside from the M56 with its 'aimbot,' the M41A also had a 30mm grenade launcher; this firepower was more than enough for the mutants to handle.
Even after leaving the gravity-generated zone of the colony, thanks to the strong grip of their power armor, the three marines still did not slow down.
They continued to advance rapidly towards the beacon's location in the mine.
"Da! Da da!"
"Haa—!"
"Splurch!"
"Boom!"
Gunshots, screams, shattering, and explosions echoed through the mine, instantly drawing the attention of the mutants near the beacon.
The unfair battle of two thousand versus three had just begun.
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