While aboard the aircraft, Xilin had already seen the scene below on the display. Mutated Black Rats crawled all over the base's surface, and more continued to emerge from inside. They came in all sizes: the smallest were only about twenty centimeters long, while the largest were over a meter long, not counting their tails.
As they approached the base's central area, the aircraft slowly descended. The Black Rats below showed no fear at its arrival. On the contrary, they grew even more excited, as if they had spotted food.
The base's sensors could not detect many areas, so they had no way of estimating how many Black Rats were below. But when they looked down from the aircraft, they saw nothing but densely packed black specks.
In just half a year, the population had grown from a single rat to this enormous number. That showed how quickly they bred—far faster than ordinary mice.
"Base isolation layer is active. You may begin the operation. Over."
"Copy. Over." Seventh Team's captain, Shute, switched communications channels. "All units, prepare! Ten-second countdown to firing the Infrasonic Weapon. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—fire!"
Sound waves inaudible to human ears poured from the aircraft. The Mutated Black Rats, who had been so lively and excited moments before, suddenly grew agitated. The faster ones began fleeing, while the slower ones moved more and more sluggishly.
The Infrasonic Weapon had been specially designed using the natural frequency of an organ inside the rat provided by the Research Base. It had some effect, though not as much as they had expected. Still, it worked.
After the infrasound attack stopped, far fewer Black Rats remained around the base's central area. Those still there moved sluggishly, their minds dazed.
Taking advantage of the opening, ropes dropped one by one from the aircraft hovering at low altitude. The operatives, clad in Combat Suits and carrying guns, rappelled down to the ground. The ten members of each unit quickly formed up and began engaging the targets, pushing forward.
Bullets spun through the air at high speed and pierced the Mutated Black Rats, exploding inside their bodies and shredding their organs. A half-meter-long rat was blown open, a gaping hole left in its body. It dropped to the ground and died without even a twitch. Under the effect of the chemicals carried by the Warheads, its black fur and red blood began to dehydrate. In less than a minute, the entire Mutated Black Rat had crumbled into powder.
Xilin had been assigned to Seventh Team captain Shute's unit, presumably to look after him as a trainee. But soldiers weren't babysitters. Shute didn't expect Xilin to achieve anything remarkable, but he did expect him to at least be able to protect himself.
In the ten-person formation, Xilin was positioned at a relatively safe spot, providing backup and support. But it didn't take long for the others to realize that this teenage trainee was a force to be reckoned with.
Xilin drew his gun quickly. By the time everyone else had fired twice, he had already fired three times in rapid succession, hitting his target with every shot. More importantly, the Black Rats he took down were all large, fast-moving Mutated Black Rats. It was enough to make anyone take notice.
While one of the squad members was changing magazines, Xilin almost single-handedly covered his position and provided supporting fire for the others. The rest of the unit hadn't even noticed when he changed magazines. They only heard the unbroken roar of his gunfire. At that rate of fire, what about the strain on his body? Did he even have time to aim?
A trainee who could perform as well as a soldier was quickly accepted by the unit. The others relaxed and focused on their own attacks. They had their comrades at their backs, along with this highly capable kid. There was nothing to worry about.
On the Space Station outside the asteroid, a man wearing a uniform with lieutenant general's insignia stood in the command room, watching the base being "swept" on the display.
He had been sent by Marshal Fegler. Before departing, he had also received a call from a Star Alliance politician. He was, as they put it, "entrusted with a heavy responsibility." Both Knight's and Pride's units included one of the two specially assigned personnel, to ensure the safety of the two young masters. That was a privilege, though even if he had an opinion, he wouldn't say it aloud. Still, he had gained something from this trip: the other three trainees Huoding had mentioned had all performed well, especially the kid named Xilin. He was just as good as those famous figures from the C Star Zone Military Academy. So far, the lieutenant general hadn't noticed much change in Xilin's demeanor. He was cooperative, calm, decisive—and accurate!
Watching the display, the lieutenant general wondered if he could recruit the kid into his own unit after the operation. Leaving him in Seven Luminaries would be a waste of his talent...
As they continued advancing and entered the base, their progress was hindered. Cables had been chewed through, they couldn't find the generators, the power system had failed, and the energy cells were unusable. Everywhere without windows was pitch-black. Many areas of the labs inside the base were also shielded against infrared and X-ray detection. To make sure every lab was thoroughly "cleared," the operatives tossed Stun Grenades and Rat Repellent Bombs inside to flush out the rats. Any that came out were shot on sight.
As the sweep continued, the rats seemed to realize the base was dangerous and fled. That was exactly what the group wanted.
If they could drive the Mutated Black Rats out of the base and onto the open ground outside, the armed aircraft in the sky could use high-energy weapons to clear them out on a large scale. The base had taken a great deal of effort to build; they wouldn't destroy it with high-energy weapons unless absolutely necessary.
They occasionally found holes inside the base. The Mutated Black Rats had burrowed underground and broken into the base from below. Many robots had already been sent to investigate, while chemicals were sprayed underground to force the rats to the surface. After this operation, the Bio-chemical Base's underground facilities would surely be expanded further.
After a while, there were far fewer Black Rats inside the base. The areas the unit had passed through were covered in gray powder—the remains of Mutated Black Rats that had been killed by bullets and reduced to powder by the chemicals.
Xilin's senses were exceptionally sharp. Even without looking, he could tell there were three Mutated Black Rats behind the lab table. The moment they poked their heads out, bullets flew in and blew them apart.
The dark surroundings might have made it hard for the other operatives to see, but Xilin had no such trouble. Several times, he fired before his squadmates could react, and the bullets' impact on the rats rang out alongside the gunshots.
After checking the area for signs of abnormal life, Shute smiled. "Done."
"Captain, this is already the edge of the base?" one of the squad members asked. Although Shute was their unit leader, the squad members were used to calling him captain.
"Yeah, more or less. The high-energy weapons outside the base have already started clearing the area, so the rest should be easier." Shute sounded relaxed. He glanced at Xilin, who was repairing a circuit board in an instrument. "Xilin's really good."
"Yeah, we're starting to feel inadequate," one of the squad members said with a laugh.
Xilin said nothing, focusing on his work.
Something still felt off. From what he had expected, there shouldn't have been so few rats.
Thanks to reader Wu Wanyan for the tip! ^^
I got word today that this novel will be featured in the sci-fi category next week. I can't miss my two daily updates; there'll be another one tonight. Thanks for your support!
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