Biological Experiment

Jay followed Helena through a pitch-black underground water pipe for over twenty minutes. A roaring, violent rumble echoed from the pipe's end ahead. The two reached the pipe's exit and looked down. The underground water had transformed into a surging river, its white spray being drawn into the rapidly spinning blades of a water turbine, the sound reverberating throughout the cavernous pipe.

"This means we're close to the end," Helena said, pointing to the opposite bank about thirty meters away, separated by the rushing torrent. "That's the World Federal Government's lower level, the entrance to the 'Absolute Forbidden Zone'."

Jay glanced at the turbulent underground water below and asked, "Need me to carry you across?"

"No."

Helena replied without room for argument, simultaneously drawing her grappling hook gun and firing a rope to secure it to the upper pipe. She nimbly swung to the opposite bank. Jay shrugged and floated across after her.

"You know I could make this a lot easier," he said.

Helena ignored him, and they continued onward. Ahead lay territory belonging to the World Federal Government, an entirely unknown area for them. Both were on high alert, ready to deal with any possible situation.

But the enemy never appeared, not even basic electronic security systems were visible. They entered a low, narrow passage, the fan blades of an exhaust fan emitting a dull hiss as they drew out the murky air from the sewers. The two walked along this single path for a long time, taking countless turns. Jay still tried to use X-Sight for thermal vision, but the walls on either side, like the main government building, were mixed with lead elements that interfered with X-rays. He couldn't help but feel they might have entered an endless maze, going in circles only to keep treading the same ground.

Fortunately, they finally reached the end. The journey hadn't involved any traps or mechanisms, just a long and difficult path. At the exit, a room with a completely different style from before awaited them. The moment Jay stepped inside, he felt as if he had walked from a 1990s movie set into a modern sci-fi film. The room wasn't large. The floor was paved with silver-white alloy, giving it a laboratory feel. The walls had no windows, and in the center of the room sat a giant biological water tank. Countless wires connected to the outside of the tank from all directions. The liquid inside was a deep, dark blue, appearing quite profound.

The blue light from beneath the liquid surface was the only light source in the room, casting the entire space in a deep blue hue. Helena approached the tank and shone her flashlight onto the water's surface, which flickered in the dim light. Jay glanced into the depths below the water, his expression suddenly changing. He quickly warned, "Huntress, get away from there!"

The moment Helena heard his voice, she quickly retreated, but it was too late. A massive black silhouette rapidly ascended from the depths of the water, its dark outline quickly expanding on the liquid surface. The dark water suddenly exploded, and the giant beast, covered in violent splashes, burst out, opening its horrifying, gaping maw to bite at Helena's head. It was at least seven meters long, with several shocking bone spurs protruding from its back, emitting a dazzling blue light like a glow stick—the source of the room's illumination.

Sharp fangs descended towards Helena's head. It moved incredibly fast, leaving Helena no room to dodge. The shadow of death instantly enveloped her.

In that split second, Jay surged forward like a blue whirlwind. He grabbed Helena's arm, pulling her far behind him, and fearlessly flew towards the gaping maw himself, like a bullet fired from a gun, shooting straight into that repulsive mouth.

The colossal monster's mouth snapped shut, appearing to have swallowed Jay whole. It let out a roar of anger and pain from its throat, its body writhing violently, creating white waves on the water's surface, before it abruptly sank back down.

The ripples on the water's surface gradually calmed, and the deep blue light source receded, sinking back into the depths. Helena, who had just brushed past death, stared at the water's surface, still shaken and anxiously worried about Jay's safety.

After more than ten seconds, the black silhouette reappeared on the water's surface with astonishing speed. Helena instinctively backed away, her right hand resting on the multi-tool belt hidden at her waist. The dark shape shot out of the water like a rocket, white waves accompanying it, soaring several meters high. The giant beast lifted entirely out of the water and crashed heavily onto the metal floor, its long body struggling in agony, like a fish out of water.

Its upper jaw was pried open with brute force, its fangs snapped in half, seemingly swallowed into its own belly. Jay flew out of its mouth, propping it open with one hand. He knelt on one knee, his face pale, muttering, "I can't... I think I'm dying."

Helena felt a pang of guilt and quickly stepped forward to support him, asking, "Are you okay? Did it hurt you?"

"Hurt me? It almost killed me with that disgusting smell," Jay said, his face contorted. "Can you imagine how bad it stinks in its mouth? God, before this, I thought the garbage dump on Warworld was bad enough, but I guess I was too young."

Helena blinked, then couldn't help but roll her eyes at him—so it was just the smell that bothered him, making her worry for nothing.

Jay pinched his nose. "I think the smell in the sewer is like perfume now."

"Then you can bottle some up and dab a little on every morning when you wake up," Helena said dryly.

Jay chuckled. "Really? If I did that, would you still be willing to partner with me?"

"Partner? Dream on," Helena laughed. "I'd stay as far away as possible."

She glanced with disgust at the twitching behemoth on the ground. "What is this thing? Do all alien animals look like this?"

"I can see its DNA," Jay said. "It looks like... it was originally just a fish, from Earth."

What could have happened to turn a fish into such a massive predator? They almost didn't want to think about it.

"The door is over there," Jay pointed forward. The two then temporarily set aside their questions about the fish and entered the next room. At that moment, they couldn't help but gasp. Compared to what they were seeing now, that mutated fish was practically a cute chihuahua.

This room was countless times more spacious than the previous one. Eerie, dim green light filled the entire space, emanating from the rows of biological culture tanks lining the room. Their numbers were countless, arranged in neat, seemingly endless formations. Each tank contained a monstrous creature floating within, some of which still showed signs of having human origins.

Jay felt his breath catch. He could hear Helena's breathing becoming heavy as well. He couldn't help but whisper, "God, this place is... it's..."

"Hell," Helena finished his thought for him, then fell silent.