Nine-Infant

The Research Vessel's cabin layout consisted of three levels below and seven above; the Deck was on the fourth cabin level.

The dining hall, boarding hall, and work area were all located on this level.

The people who had just been leisurely enjoying the view on the Deck hurriedly squeezed into the boarding hall.

Though it was Li Weiyi's first time facing such an emergency, he displayed extraordinary composure. Calm in the face of danger, he ushered every Research Team Member through the hatch before becoming the last to leave the Deck and locking the hatch tight.

In those brief two minutes, the purple-black Bear-like creature had already crossed three or four kilometers of ice field and arrived beneath the Dragon Extreme.

"Splash—"

It leaped into the air.

Its huge, muscular body vaulted over the several-meter-high rail and crashed heavily onto the Deck with a bang.

The floor of the boarding hall trembled.

At close range, its fur was long all over, as though it wore a coat of purple-black iron. Its eyes, larger than human fists, were violet-red. Its teeth were sharp, like saw blades.

Its facial features had already begun to approach a humanoid shape.

Even through the thick specially made glass, they could feel its savage terror. Even Li Weiyi felt chills rising from the depths of his heart.

Fortunately, the cabin windows were small, so there was no need to worry about it smashing through them.

Boom!

The Bear-like creature charged forward and slammed into the hatch that had just been shut. The entire boarding hall crackled, and countless fractures appeared in the special glass.

Many Research Team Members screamed.

The boarding hall descended into chaos. Some took the stairs, others the elevator, fleeing toward the higher cabin levels.

The hatches of the Dragon Extreme polar Research Vessel were made of alloy and layered construction to keep out cold, retain heat, and withstand wind pressure. Even with the purple-black Bear-like creature's immense strength, it could not force its way through directly.

But Li Weiyi noticed that the ship's structure around the hatch had begun to deform.

It was only a matter of time before it broke through.

"Move everything you can use over here! Block the hatch!" Li Weiyi shouted.

The boarding hall was noisy and chaotic. Everyone only wanted to escape this most dangerous area as quickly as possible. No one responded to him.

The cabinets and equipment aboard the Research Vessel had all been designed to withstand waves and were fixed in place.

Li Weiyi struggled to dismantle a storage cabinet in the boarding hall. Just as he prepared to push it over to block the hatch, he heard Xie Jinxun, who had just arrived, shout, "What are you doing?"

Xie Jin and seven Security Team Members had grabbed Stun Guns, protective shields, tear gas, and other weapons before rushing into the boarding hall.

They were tall and powerfully built, with firm, sharp eyes—elites selected through layer after layer of screening.

"Is he trying to dismantle the ship?" someone joked.

"It's only a bear. Is he really that scared?"

Boom!

The purple-black Bear-like creature struck for the fourth time. The area around the hatch was badly deformed and showed signs of tearing apart.

The deafening sound was like a shell blasting into the hull.

After seeing the gigantic creature outside the window, the eight Security Team Members, Xie Jin included, turned pale despite being elites. They felt suffocated by fear.

As if their bloodlines were being suppressed.

What kind of bear was this?

It was practically a prehistoric monster—enormous and hideous, completely beyond comprehension. If it were filmed and reported...

Click!

The sound of a camera shutter rang out jarringly in the boarding hall.

The short man who liked reciting poetry and telling mythological tales had actually not fled. He was taking photos by the window.

Facing everyone's stares, he awkwardly put away his camera and explained, "I study ecology and environmental biology. This is absolutely a new species never before seen on Earth—a truly earth-shaking discovery. With this discovery, our polar expedition will certainly shock the nation... the whole world..."

Boom!

The fifth impact came. The hull around the hatch made cracking and tearing sounds, and the largest fissure was as wide as a palm.

Freezing air poured in, and everyone in the boarding hall was horrified.

"I'll help you push."

The Short Student shuddered in fright, then hurried to Li Weiyi's side and helped him push the storage cabinet against the hatch.

But it was clearly not enough.

Xie Jin had come to his senses. He immediately ordered every Security Team Member to dismantle and move cabinets, tables, and chairs.

This Bear-like creature was practically a nuclear-radiation mutation. The weapons they had could not possibly fight it. Once it burst inside, everyone aboard the Research Vessel would be nothing more than flesh and blood for it to feed on.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The sound of rotors rose outside.

While the Bear-like creature was ramming the hatch, the helicopter had been pushed out of the hangar.

Now it hovered in midair. Zhao Meng wore sunglasses and held a rifle, aiming at the purple-black Bear-like creature.

"So there's an American-style fishing net on the ship. We're safe now—false alarm!" The Short Student relaxed and cheered.

The Bear-like creature on the Deck was highly alert. Sensing danger, its fur bristled like foot-long steel needles. It rose onto its hind legs and let out a rasping roar at the distant helicopter.

Its roar surpassed that of lions and tigers, piercing the air like startled thunder.

Bang!

The rifle fired, and the bear-shaped creature was hit in the head.

Before anyone aboard could cheer, the Bear-like creature's even angrier roar echoed across the ice field. It tore a metal fixture from the Research Vessel and hurled it into the sky, trying to knock down the helicopter.

Fortunately, the helicopter climbed first, narrowly dodging it.

Blood seeped from where the Bear-like creature had been struck in the head, but it was not seriously hurt—only lightly injured.

"A rifle can't even pierce its skull. Is it still carbon-based life?" The Short Student's scalp went numb, and his legs shook without stopping. All his earlier confidence in the American-style fishing net had vanished.

Li Weiyi showed a worried expression. This Bear-like creature was highly intelligent and capable of fighting back. If the helicopter was hit, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Senior Brother was on that helicopter.

Li Weiyi looked around and spotted the weapons on Xie Jin and the others. Anxiously, he asked, "Why aren't you using the tear gas yet?"

Without waiting for an answer, he snatched one from Xie Jin, activated it, and threw it out through a crack in the hatch.

In an instant, thick smoke billowed outside.

Though Xie Jin was displeased, he knew the situation was critical and could not flare up. He merely ordered with a grim face for everyone to use all the tear gas.

On the helicopter, Zhao Meng grew furious too and pulled the trigger again and again.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Having already suffered once, the bear-shaped creature knew how dangerous bullets were. It no longer used its body to take them head-on and dodged swiftly.

It could sprint three or four kilometers at a cheetah's top speed. Naturally, its jumping and evasive reactions were exceptionally quick as well.

Fortunately, Zhao Meng was an excellent marksman. With the tear gas interfering, he successfully drove it away from the Research Vessel before emptying two magazines.

Li Weiyi immediately rushed to the helipad and helped Zhao Meng and the others push the helicopter back into the hangar.

"It hasn't left. It's watching from afar and could launch a second attack at any time."

Zhao Meng's expression was extremely grim.

The Dragon Extreme was a Research Vessel, and its ammunition supply was very limited. Only three bullets remained in the magazine.

"Now we can only pray to heaven! From the air, I saw dark clouds and fierce winds in the distance. A blizzard is coming."

After reminding Li Weiyi to stay safe, Zhao Meng hurried toward the bridge to discuss borrowing a gun with the captain.

Laboratory 705 still had a Shotgun.

But Zhao Meng had no confidence at all that it could harm that Bear-like creature.

The bridge was on the tenth cabin level, the highest level of the entire Research Vessel.

When Zhao Meng entered the bridge, Captain Gao Xin, Second Mate Xie Tianshu, and five research group leaders including Professor Xu had already gathered there.

The atmosphere was grave.

Everyone stared at the electronic sea chart and the seafloor monitoring system display ahead.

The screen showed a three-dimensional image of the marine life beneath the ship.

There it was.

A marine creature even larger than the Dragon Extreme was slowly traveling alongside the Research Vessel, one hundred meters below the surface, following its direction.

It had to be two hundred meters long, with nine thick tentacles.

It was impossible to imagine what powerful undercurrents such a colossal thing could stir up moving beneath the water.

"First a mutated Bear-like creature appeared, and now there's another one beneath the sea. How can there be such enormous life forms on Earth?"

Everyone on the bridge was stunned.

"Could it be a Giant Squid?"

"It's many times larger than a Giant Squid!"

"The largest known marine creature, the Blue Whale, is only a little over thirty meters long and weighs close to two hundred tons. Before it, though, it would be like a newborn infant. I'd say this deep-sea giant weighs no less than ten thousand tons."

Professor Xu was a biology expert. Adjusting his glasses, he stared at the screen and shook his head. "Look closely. Each of its nine tentacles has a head shaped like a human head. Its torso, meanwhile, resembles a giant ox. This is unbelievable. It is definitely another new species never before seen on Earth."

"That is Nine-Infant."

An Old Man in a navy-blue Zhongshan suit appeared at the bridge entrance.

He was the person in charge of Laboratory 705.

No one knew his name. They all called him Director Yang.

"Nine-Infant?"

Professor Xu had never heard of such a creature.

Director Yang entered the bridge and stood before the screen, his voice low. "Nine-Infant is a ferocious beast from myth and legend. It is recorded in the Huainanzi: Classic of the Original Scripture. Legend says it dwells in the North Sea, cries like a wailing infant, has nine heads, devours people on sight, and can spray water and breathe fire. But I never expected it to be so enormous."

Just as one of the research group leaders was about to rebuke him for "talking theology instead of science."

Director Yang bowed deeply to everyone and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, everyone! These ferocious beasts may very well have been drawn here by that thing in Laboratory 705. This old man is deeply sorry for bringing you all into danger."

Zhao Meng was blunt by nature and had been holding back a bellyful of anger. "What exactly is Laboratory 705 researching? You have to give everyone an explanation today."

Captain Gao Xin clearly knew some of the inside story. Looking at Director Yang, he said, "The situation is already extremely dangerous. Abnormal ferocious beasts have their eyes on us both at sea and on land, and no one knows what we will face next. I think we must tell them the truth."

Director Yang nodded. "Everyone, come with me to Laboratory 705... You'll understand once you see it."

Li Weiyi returned to his living quarters and took a four-foot ancient sword from a wooden case beneath his bed.

It felt very heavy in his hand, its scabbard made of ebony.

He drew the sword halfway, revealing a blade of a material resembling brass. Li Weiyi knew very well that this sword was by no means forged from brass. It was the Chan Sect's treasure, second only to the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

From childhood to adulthood, he had never seen the old sect master polish or clean it, yet it had always remained sharp and without the slightest trace of rust.

The Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish was the token of the sect leader. In his view, it held only symbolic significance.

The true foremost among the Chan Sect's Divine Weapons and Sharp Tools was this Yellow Dragon Sword.

Heathed the sword.

Li Weiyi carried the sword downstairs to the boarding hall.

Though Zhao Meng had told him he did not need to think of himself as a Security Team Member, since he had enjoyed a Security Team Member's benefits, he could not hide away when danger arrived.

And how long could he hide? When the nest overturned, no egg remained unbroken.

The boarding hall hatch had been packed solid with boxes, cabinets, tables, and chairs.

Most of the Security Team Members stood guard there, holding various weapons and waiting in tight formation.

When they saw Li Weiyi come down the stairs, surprise showed in all their eyes.

"This college student has some courage and a sense of responsibility!" For the first time in more than a month, they gave him a positive assessment.

The light dimmed, and the sky became overcast.

A blizzard was coming.

Outside the shattered cabin window, the wind changed from a murmur into a roar, then swept across the entire frozen wilderness.