Silence is the Overture to Death

Chapter 27: Silence is the Overture to Death

"It kills people by sound?!"

Fang Ye suddenly spoke up from the crowd.

Feng Ling looked at him in surprise—this little follower of Super Strong Super had barely made his presence known. Even when he had fallen earlier and bloodied his entire face, no one had noticed him.

After speaking, Fang Ye became embarrassed.

Like an outsider who had interrupted someone else's family meeting, he timidly drew back his neck, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

A small pack of wet wipes suddenly landed in his arms.

Fang Ye froze for a moment and looked up. Feng Ling had thrown them to him.

"Wipe yourself off," Feng Ling said.

Warmth welled up in Fang Ye's heart. He nodded like a pecking chick. "Thanks, thanks..."

He opened the packet of wet wipes. When he looked up at Feng Ling again, her gaze had already turned toward Zhou Diao and Xiao Li as she continued discussing countermeasures with them.

"Not a single sentence in the mission prompt is meaningless. 'Silence is the Overture to Death' fits this Contaminant's attack pattern. Before every attack, the swarm either dies or retreats, and the cave becomes very quiet. That makes our voices stand out all the more."

"You mean it locates us by sound? So as long as we don't make any noise, the Contaminant can't attack us? Is that what you mean?"

"That's possible. So far, the Contaminant hasn't launched a single consecutive attack. After every sneak attack, it immediately retreats into the cave. That shows it knows very well that with light present, it's no match for us."

"...Looks like we need to make sure the lighting equipment doesn't fail. As long as we have light, we have a chance of winning!"

"But what about those bugs? There are too many of them. They could easily destroy the lighting equipment in the chaos."

"No matter how many bugs there are, they can't be endless. If there really were a giant bug nest underground, Jiangkou City would have long since seen a massive number of missing-person cases."

Fang Ye silently watched them talk.

Qin Liang beside him quietly struck up a conversation. "You're pretty sharp. I hadn't realized the Contaminant attacked through sound just now. By the way, what's your name?"

Fang Ye had actually introduced himself when they first met. It was just that no one had cared.

"My name is Fang Ye..." He paused, his eyes unconsciously darting toward Feng Ling. "Fang as in 'all directions,' Ye as in 'vast fertile fields.'"

Feng Ling remained focused on the battle meeting and did not notice them.

Qin Liang smiled. "That's a pretty good name. Mine isn't so great. My grandpa named me. Back then, my grandpa..."

"Qin Liang, come here." Zhou Diao cut off their small talk. "Pull up the terrain map drawn by the Detector."

"Coming."

Qin Liang opened the black box and brought up a three-dimensional terrain image.

From the three-dimensional image, the structure of this underground nest was much simpler than they had imagined.

One side was a neat rectangular shape, and the other side was another neat rectangle.

A shape like this could only be an artificially constructed underground Parking Lot.

Between the two underground Parking Lots was a massive deep pit. A winding passage extended from each side of the pit, connecting it to the two Parking Lots.

As for the cave entrances they had seen, they were actually connected inside. No matter which entrance they entered, they would eventually reach that one winding passage and arrive at the central pit.

The reason they had kept thinking the terrain was complicated was simply because the lighting was insufficient, visibility was too low, and their brains could not make an accurate judgment of the layout.

After studying the map, Zhou Diao grew more confident. "As long as we send the map data out, Lao Su can support us from outside."

Qin Liang pointed at the Parking Lot on the left side of the map. "We came down from here. Captain Su has always been thorough, so he'll definitely send people to guard the entrance to the Parking Lot."

Then he pointed to the Parking Lot on the right. "But if any Bug Monsters escape through the other Parking Lot, the local residents will suffer severe losses of life and property."

Zhou Diao took a breath and said gravely, "Both sides are important. We can't let a single bug leave the nest. But who will deliver the message?"

Everyone fell silent.

A few seconds later, everyone's eyes turned toward Feng Ling at the same time.

Feng Ling stared at the three-dimensional image without speaking.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for?" Zhou Diao gave her a push.

Feng Ling came back to herself. "Oh... This map looks a lot like a Womb, so I stared at it for a while."

Everyone looked at the display again.

The shape of the map really did resemble a woman's Womb.

Such a peculiar shape could not be meaningless.

Zhou Diao pondered. "There must be something at the deepest part of the 'Womb.' I suspect Egg Sacs or larvae are hidden there. Every bug we encountered may have come out of the 'Womb.'"

"That's true." Qin Liang nodded forcefully and pointed at a stream of data near the bottom of the screen. "At the very bottom of the pit, the life-sign data is extremely active. Even if there are no Egg Sacs there, there must be some kind of special creature."

After thinking for a moment and weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Diao said to everyone, "Rest in place for ten minutes. In ten minutes, Qin Liang and I will head to the 'Womb.' We'll make as much noise as possible to lure the Contaminant back to its nest. Feng Ling will use the opportunity to send out the Detector's data. Everyone else will remain here on standby."

"I disagree!" Xiao Li straightened up. "I still have ammunition. I can go with Qin Liang and support you!"

Cao Hongyi also spoke up. "Vice Captain, let Xiao Li go. My leg is broken, but I still have two hands. Even if the bugs come, I can protect myself."

Cao Hongyi could tell that Zhou Diao was leaving Xiao Li behind to watch over him.

Zhou Diao gritted his teeth, pacing back and forth a few times before making his decision. "Fine! In ten minutes, Qin Liang and Xiao Li will go to the Womb with me. Does anyone else have any objections?"

Zhou Diao looked at Feng Ling again. "Can you do it? Send the Detector's data out."

Feng Ling wanted to go take a look at the 'Womb' too.

But sending out the data and informing Su Yuqing to set up blockades at both entrances was indeed more important. Otherwise, she and Zhou Diao could slaughter away underground while the bugs fled upward in all directions. If even one escaped, the consequences would be impossible to estimate.

She wondered how Su Yuqing's evacuation efforts were going.

It was currently the time when elderly people went out to buy breakfast and exercise. Even if the bugs did not bite anyone, merely frightening people could trigger a string of heart attacks and cases of high blood pressure.

After considering it, Feng Ling said, "I have a question."

Zhou Diao snapped, "What is it? Spit it out!"

Feng Ling asked, "Why do we need to rest for ten minutes?"

Zhou Diao: "???"

Feng Ling swept her puzzled gaze over everyone. "Are you all that tired? Do you need to rest for that long?"

If she remembered correctly, they had been in the cave for less than half an hour. Why did they need a break already? Was everyone's stamina really that bad?

Zhou Diao roared at her, "Can't I be tired?! Don't you know using Card Abilities consumes a huge amount of stamina?! What are you trying to prove?! Why are you putting on airs?! Why are you acting so cool?! Aaaaah?!!"

Feng Ling had not meant to offend him.

She smiled, clenched both hands into fists, and loosened up her muscles. "I think I'm fine. If you're not in great shape, how about I go to the Womb while you deliver the message?"

Zhou Diao looked as though he had suffered the greatest insult imaginable. His eyes bulged as he roared, "I'M THE CAPTAIN!!!"

The vice captain was still a captain! You had to respect him!

A quick sketch...