A Tough Problem

Yet "Zhou Ze" at the center of the chamber seemed oblivious to the shrill alarms and the containment chamber on the verge of collapse. The tentacles around him held the giant snail firmly in place, ignoring the falling ceiling fragments, concrete, and rebar as they continued to pierce its body.

Suddenly, the snail stopped struggling and let out a piercing, agonized screech like a death cry. At the same time, several grotesque, translucent tentacles exerted their strength together and plunged into its shell.

They ravaged the snail's insides, scooping all its flesh out of the shell in one piece. Huge quantities of viscous bodily fluid gushed out, tracing nauseating arcs through the air.

The tentacles discarded the shattered shell, wrapped around the mangled mass of flesh, and slowly brought it to Zhou Ze's mouth.

Madness gleamed in "Zhou Ze's" eyes. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and tore into the flesh in great mouthfuls. The mucus corroded his skin, leaving it riddled with pits, but he seemed unable to feel pain. Amid a constant cycle of corrosion and healing, he swallowed the foul-smelling flesh bite by bite.

By then, the containment chamber was teetering on the brink of collapse. Huge cracks spread like spiderwebs across the ceiling and walls, threatening to bring the entire room down at any moment.

After devouring every last scrap of the giant snail, "Zhou Ze" stood motionless, as though he had become some grotesque statue.

The tentacles coiled around his body began to writhe slowly, spreading out as though they had minds of their own and swaying in the air as if probing their surroundings. A moment later, they seemed to sense something and all pointed in the same direction.

This was a medium-sized containment chamber covered in thick grass and colorful wildflowers.

An enormous flower stood in the center of the chamber, slightly taller than a person. Its petals were dark red, like congealed blood, and faintly translucent around the edges.

Countless thorny vines extended from its roots. Some curled along the floor, while others climbed and spread into every corner of the containment chamber.

The stamens at the flower's center formed a humanoid girl. Her body was composed entirely of petals and stamens, in a soft shade somewhere between red and pink. Delicate features were clearly visible on her face, making her as beautiful and enchanting as a fairy.

At that moment, the girl formed from stamens was reclining against the crimson petals, lightly covering her mouth with her right hand as she yawned.

Suddenly, the containment chamber shook violently several times, and the lower section of the thick eastern wall began to bulge unnaturally.

The bulging section rapidly dissolved, as though corroded by some powerful acid. In an instant, an ugly creature composed of countless writhing tentacles squeezed out of the wall, leaving only a grotesque humanoid outline behind.

The flower girl froze for a moment, then licked her lips, a flicker of excitement crossing her eyes. She controlled the thorny vines beneath the flower, sending them creeping through the dense vegetation toward the prey that had delivered itself to her door.

But a second later, the flower girl's humanlike expression froze on her face.

The grotesque creature slowly turned his head, his hollow gaze fixed directly on her. Those eyes were filled with pain and madness, their scarlet whites threaded with blood vessels. Deep within the pupils, there seemed to be souls wailing without end.

The flower girl shuddered violently, and the crimson petals surrounding her snapped shut. The vines she had extended withdrew as quickly as possible, wrapping around the enormous flower and dragging it toward a corner of the containment chamber as though fleeing for its life. The entire plant pressed against the cold wall, trembling uncontrollably.

Fortunately, the tentacled monster showed no reaction to the flower. He headed straight toward the other side of the containment chamber. His writhing tentacles pierced the solid wall as easily as hot knives through butter, melting a passage large enough for him to pass through in the blink of an eye.

Only after the monster disappeared into the tunnel did the plant in the corner cautiously lower half a petal, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes still haunted by fear.

"We have confirmed that, after breaching the sealing systems of three containment chambers, the target did not cause a larger-scale containment failure. Current target location: the main corridor of Area C. Analysis of its route suggests its ultimate destination is the Alpha Office Area."

"No obvious reality-distortion field has been directly observed around the target. Our preliminary assessment is that its ability to destroy containment chamber walls stems from the unique anomalous structures on its body's surface. We cannot yet determine whether the primary mechanism is localized spatial reality distortion or an intrinsic property of the entity itself. Further observation and data collection are required."

"We have not yet determined whether the target possesses human-level rationality. Any direct attempt at communication would carry an extremely high risk. A more cautious contact strategy is advised. However, its behavioral patterns suggest it may possess some degree of intelligence or purpose."

"Lava team, report complete."

The five members of the Lava containment team had gathered in Corridor C of the containment zone. They were the emergency containment unit that had arrived first on the scene.

Unlike their usual assignments, the anomalous entity responsible for this incident seemed to have appeared out of thin air. It was not an item previously contained at Site 108. This meant they had no way to learn its specific anomalous properties beforehand, greatly increasing the difficulty and risk of containment.

Ordinarily, a troublesome incident involving an unknown anomaly like this should have been handed over to a specialized Mobile Task Force. However, the person in charge of this experiment clearly had other plans and insisted that site personnel handle the emergency.

"Target in sight. Position: northwest corner of the main corridor in Area C. Distance: approximately fifty meters."

The team leader spoke in a low voice.

Using advanced thermal imaging equipment, the team members clearly observed a grotesque humanoid creature composed of countless tentacles emerging around the corner and slowly advancing down the passage.

"Snipers, get into position. Prepare to fire suppression rounds."

The two prone snipers quickly adjusted their positions and aimed at the target, their fingers resting steadily on the triggers.

Bang... bang...

With two muffled gunshots, two specially designed tubular bullets spun toward the target at high speed.

They were not using conventional ammunition, but the XR-7 Biological Suppression Rounds newly developed by the research department. In addition to producing a powerful anesthetic effect, these rounds could effectively suppress cellular activity and energy metabolism in carbon-based organisms.

However, the monster's writhing tentacles casually deflected the suppression rounds. One tentacle even caught a rapidly spinning bullet with perfect precision, then hurled it back with astonishing force.

"Watch out!"

Although both snipers immediately took evasive action, the hurled bullet still struck one of them squarely in the right arm. The tremendous impact instantly dislocated his shoulder. As the suppressant rapidly entered his body, the team member fell into a deep coma within just three seconds.

After a brief assessment of his injuries, the team leader confirmed that the wounded man's life was not in immediate danger. Only then did he breathe a small sigh of relief. He looked with frustration at the anomalous entity still advancing in the distance.

Without knowledge of a clear weakness, threatening entities with superhuman physical strength and reaction speed were often the hardest to deal with.

But clearly, the standard containment equipment and weapons they currently carried were utterly inadequate for the situation before them.