Strange Meteorite

A little after six in the morning, the sun slowly rose.

Lu Chengchuan sat in a chair, the meteorite directly in front of him. A group of people and instruments surrounded the stone, while armed soldiers protected them nearby.

The testing had continued since after two in the morning. Even after the sun appeared, the researchers showed no sign of stopping.

Studying the meteorite required no help from Lu Chengchuan and the others. With nothing to do, he could only find a place to sit. The Investigation Bureau team beside him was equally idle.

They were the only ones at the scene with any leisure. The remaining soldiers and researchers were busy to the point of dizziness.

The government had deployed more than two thousand troops from the 2nd Division, 355th Regiment to garrison the area. The outskirts of the impact site were under strict military surveillance. People could not get in, animals could not get in—perhaps only monsters could.

The military had cut down the trees and weeds around the meteorite, clearing out a broad open space.

The researchers placed all kinds of equipment around the meteorite and erected several temporary barracks nearby.

Besides them, Espers from the Esper Management Bureau had also come to help. A large group remained stationed here, constantly on guard against monsters.

"Captain Zhou, how much longer are they going to keep at this?"

Once it was fully light, Lu Chengchuan asked Zhou Yaning, who sat beside him.

"I don't know. We'll wait."

"Why not haul the meteorite back for research? It wouldn't be difficult. Can't they take it back and study it slowly?" Lu Chengchuan could not understand it. Did they really have to study it here?

With so many people around, could they not move a stone?

Zhou Yaning shook her head. "I don't know either. Maybe they have their reasons."

"Captain Zhou, breakfast is ready. You should eat first."

Everyone had stayed up all night. Aside from Lu Chengchuan, the rest were hungry. With the food ready, Zhou Yaning and the others decided to eat first. Though Lu Chengchuan was not hungry, he had nothing else to do, so he got up and went with them.

They went to the temporary mess hall, collected bowls of food, then returned to their previous spot and sat down.

Even after eight, the regiment's people gradually finished eating. Only the researchers seemed possessed, neither eating nor drinking, still excitedly studying the meteorite.

"Didn't meteors fall in other places too? Haven't there been any reports from elsewhere?"

He had seen hundreds of meteors streaking toward different places. It could not be that only the meteorite near Anyang City had remained intact, while all the others exploded upon impact.

"How would I know about other places? That's the director's job."

He could not concern herself with other places. She only needed to ensure this place was safe.

"All we need to do is wait. They're leading scholars in Anyang City's scientific fields, experts in materials and biology. How they conduct their research is their business. Outsiders like us shouldn't interfere."

Zhou Yaning was acting under orders from above. There were some matters she could not meddle in.

Lu Chengchuan understood that too. Though illness had kept him from finishing university, every profession had its specialty. Some fields truly were worlds apart.

By noon, only some of the research scholars went to eat, while the other half continued studying the meteorite. They ate and rested in shifts, never pausing the research for a moment.

They stayed until evening, with Lu Chengchuan and the others guarding the place all day. Judging by the researchers' attitude, he would be spending the night here.

"Brother Lu, can everyone learn martial arts?"

That evening, with nothing to do, he chatted with the Investigation Bureau team. Qian Xiaoling was very curious about him, especially his martial arts.

Before becoming Espers, they had fought Lu Chengchuan once. The result had been utterly miserable.

After awakening their powers and becoming Espers, she had thought she could at least fight Lu Chengchuan properly. Yet the gap between them did not seem to have narrowed. Instead, it felt as though it was growing wider and wider.

"Probably anyone can practice, but whether you can master it depends on talent."

Lu Chengchuan did not know how to explain it. He had not learned through any formal path, so there were some things he could not easily discuss.

"Aren't there martial artists in the Investigation Bureau? You can ask them. Maybe they know more than I do."

"But they aren't as strong as you. They still need weapons to deal with monsters."

The Investigation Bureau's martial artists were nothing like Lu Chengchuan. Even if all the martial artists in the Guangnan Province Investigation Bureau were tied together and sent at him, they still would not be his match.

"Xiao Ling, stop changing the subje—"

Zhou Yaning had just been about to tell Xiao Ling to be quiet when a sudden sound interrupted her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire. The soldiers guarding the perimeter had opened fire. Once it began, it did not stop. Within seconds, gunshots became the only sound in the area.

"Captain Zhou! A large number of monsters have appeared around us! My men have engaged them!"

Very soon, the commander of the 355th Regiment came over and told them what had happened.

Learning that monsters were attacking from all sides, Zhou Yaning immediately stood up. "Commander Li, send your men to protect the scholars. Send some people to the meteorite as well. We must hold the monsters back!"

"Don't worry about us. If you need me, come find me."

The silent night instantly became lively. Lu Chengchuan stood and walked toward the meteorite.

"Commander Li, what's going on?"

The researchers had been frightened by the sudden gunfire, but they did not want to give up their research. For a moment, everyone crowded around the meteorite, neither leaving nor moving.

"Dean Yang, there's no time to explain. Please come with me first, along with the other scholars. We'll protect the meteorite and equipment. Once this is resolved, you can come back out and continue your research."

Li Shiwen had no time to explain much. He simply told them to follow him.

The researchers knew something was wrong. Unable to worry about anything else, they left with their assistants and the commander.

They were sent into armed vehicles. Soldiers set up heavy machine guns around them, while the drivers remained on standby, ready to drive away at once if anything went wrong.

Lu Chengchuan moved close to the meteorite again, wondering whether the monsters had come for it.

"You think the monsters came for this thing?"

He was still thinking about it when Zhou Yaning asked it outright.

Only the monsters knew the answer, but there could not be so many coincidences in the world. The timing and location of the monsters' appearance were too suspicious. They believed the meteorite had drawn the monsters here.

The soldiers on the perimeter were intercepting the monsters, but some still broke through the defensive line.

Amid the gunfire filling the sky, Lu Chengchuan heard hurried footsteps.

"The monsters are here. Get ready."

Zhou Yaning and the others had not heard the footsteps, but Lu Chengchuan warned them and told them to prepare.

Before they could react, monsters charged out of the forest one after another—zombies, ghouls, White-Armored Beasts, monsters they had seen before and monsters they had never seen.

"Stop them!"

As soon as the monsters appeared, Li Shiwen ordered his men to open fire. There were over a hundred soldiers at the meteorite, and more than a hundred guns fired at once. The monsters at the front were riddled with bullets and instantly fell to the ground.

But those that fell were only low-level monsters. Higher-level monsters charged forward through the bullets.

Monsters seemed to be coming from every direction. The firepower of just over a hundred people was not enough to stop them all.