Chapter 312

Antarctica.

The world's largest multinational joint research institute is under attack by humanoid monsters.

Since it is not a military base, it has few armed defense facilities and personnel.

Fortunately, Huaxia Guo, via satellite monitoring, spotted signs of the monsters appearing near a coastline hundreds of kilometers from the institute, buying the institute about ten hours to prepare.

Moreover, the several polar defense units closest to Antarctica arrived at the institute ahead of the monsters.

Without any preparation or the aid of the base's defense unit, over thirty humanoid monsters would likely have wrought unimaginable destruction the moment they reached the institute.

Subzero-degree winds swept across the white expanse of land.

A protective wall ten meters high and two meters thick stood here—a Copper Wall Iron Wall that even conventional heavy weapons could hardly blast open—but now the monsters had torn a gap in it.

The polar defense unit held firm at the gap, with specially crafted firearms and polar armored vehicles laying down interlocking fire, locked in a stalemate with the incessantly surging monsters.

These monsters are hardly affected by the extreme cold, remaining ferocious, agile, and seemingly limitless in strength; moreover, after suffering heavy blows in repeated charges, they have altered their tactics.

The monsters with the strongest defense and self-healing draw fire, while the wounded others retreat behind the wall to hide, waiting for their wounds to close before charging again in rotation.

The defense unit's ammunition is being steadily depleted, and the members' strength is nearing exhaustion.

Over thirty humanoid monsters, each with different abilities, pose a threat and pressure greater than that of a force of thousands.

Boom!

Five humanoid monsters over three meters tall simultaneously rammed the gap in the protective wall with their heads; their skulls bore armor as thick as steel plates, and focusing their force on a single point instantly widened the gap by about half.

At the same time, some monsters hiding behind them, whose wounds had healed, surged forward into the gap, charging toward the defense unit amid a hail of bullets.

Rat-tat-tat!!!

On the four armored vehicles, the heavy machine guns opened fire at full throttle.

A dozen or so humanoid monsters dodged and weaved, drawing ever closer.

Some, relying on incredible regenerative ability, could absorb a dozen or so machine-gun rounds, dragging their bloodied bodies forward; others could dodge bullets thanks to blinding speed.

In the blink of an eye, the machine guns on two of the armored vehicles ran out of ammunition.

The bullet barrage's defensive strength instantly dropped by half.

The combat personnel from those two armored vehicles jumped out and, together with the tactical team beside the vehicles, continued firing rifles and submachine guns.

Meanwhile, the vehicle drivers had prepared to ram their vehicles straight into the fray.

At this moment, all the humanoid monsters had breached the protective wall; the polar defense unit's ammunition was nearly exhausted, and the members' lives hung in the balance.

Knowing they would likely die in the monsters' jaws, not a single defender retreated even a step.

Even if it cost them their lives, they would willingly buy the monsters a few extra seconds.

"Fall back! Everyone, retreat!" Suddenly a powerful shout rang out.

The polar defense unit commander swore: "Who the hell is yelling nonsense!"

"Fall back! Hurry up and retreat!" Accompanying the shout, a tall, burly figure clambered onto the commander's armored vehicle.

The commander flew into a rage, pressing his gun barrel against the newcomer's chest: "Who are you! You're interfering with our operation—believe it or not, I'll shoot you!"

"I'm Ning Shan," the man said, white vapor puffing from his mouth, speaking quickly, "I just organized the institute's guards and set up traps in the rear! You can't hold them—fall back first!"

The commander frowned, the name faintly ringing a bell, but after sizing him up, he clearly didn't look like an institute guard.

But the situation was urgent; there was no time to ponder.

"Get out of here now!" the commander snarled, veins bulging on his forehead, "No matter who you are, get back to the institute and take cover!"

At that instant, a humanoid monster leapt high like a cannonball and lunged at the vehicle where the commander was.

Ning Shan hastily grabbed the commander and rolled with him off the vehicle.

The monster reacted with extreme speed; having missed, its claws dug into the vehicle's roof for leverage, it swiftly reversed direction and lunged at the two at even greater speed.

Ning Shan twisted, snatched the commander's backup pistol from his waist, lay on the ground, and sprayed a burst of bullets at the monster's eyes.

The commander likewise hesitated not, pulling the trigger of his submachine gun.

This agile-type humanoid monster, relatively weaker in defense, after taking dozens of rounds at close range in just two seconds, saw its attack capability greatly diminished.

Seizing the opening, the commander and Ning Shan rolled on the spot several times.

The monster was blinded and failed to pounce on them.

But before the two could catch their breath, the monster, using smell and hearing, lunged again at their position.

And the wounded spot on it was healing at a visible rate.

The commander's and Ning Shan's guns were empty of ammo, and the other defense unit members were fully engaged battling other monsters, with no spare attention for the two.

Just at this critical moment—

Bang!

The monster that had nearly pounced on them was flung several meters away by an invisible force, then rolled repeatedly across the snow.

The commander blinked, "What's going on?"

Ning Shan quickly looked in the opposite direction from where the monster had been hurled, and said in a low voice, "Didn't I tell you not to come out?"

"If I hadn't come out, you'd have just kicked the bucket!" a clear voice rang out; a tall figure in white cold-weather gear approached, reached out, and pulled Ning Shan and the commander to their feet.

"Hello, Commander, I'm Ye Zhiqiu." She pulled back the hat covering half her face, "You'd better listen to Ning Shan, or you're all surely dead."

"Ye Zhiqiu..." the commander said, puzzled and startled, turning to Ning Shan, "Who are you two?"

"She's my ex-wife," Ning Shan said.

"He's my ex-husband," Ye Zhiqiu immediately replied, adding, "I came here to inspect a joint project; I didn't expect to run into him."

"I'm here for an inspection too," Ning Shan continued.

Ye Zhiqiu chuckled, "Your group's projects are all in Africa—why are you scouting Antarctica? You're probably just on a trip with some lover."

Ning Shan retorted, "I've invested in this base; can't I come take a look? I think you're the one using project cooperation as an excuse to travel with your sweetheart!"

"Hah! You talk as if I hadn't invested anything!" Ye Zhiqiu shot back.

Seeing the two about to argue at a time like this, the captain hurriedly intervened, "Both of you, both of you! This is not the time to quarrel!"

"Then give the order to retreat quickly!" Ning Shan and Ye Zhiqiu said in unison.

The captain had just witnessed the two's skills with his own eyes, especially that Ye Zhiqiu somehow forced the monsters back, so he quickly asked, "Did you really set a trap behind us?"

Ning Shan nodded.

The captain no longer hesitated, took out the Walkie-Talkie at his waist to issue the command, and handed the field command to Ning Shan.

The defense force of about a hundred people immediately changed formation, and under Ning Shan's command, fought while retreating.

Ye Zhiqiu relied on martial‑arts punches and kicks, knocked several monsters into the air during the clash, and rescued a few wounded from under the monsters' claws.

After about ten minutes, the defense force withdrew to the designated spot, and all ammunition had been exhausted.

Ning Shan took a burning rod from his waist, broke it, and it emitted dazzling light and colored smoke, preparing to personally attract the monsters' attention and lure them into the trap area.

"Let me go!" Ye Zhiqiu snatched the burning rod.

Without waiting for Ning Shan to speak, she activated lightness skill and vanished like lightning into the wind and snow.

"Zhiqiu!" Ning Shan shouted.

"Stop howling!" Ye Zhiqiu's voice came through the gale. "Activate the trap in ten seconds!"

Ning Shan's expression grew solemn, he gritted his teeth and turned.

While the polar defense force resisted the monsters at the protective wall, Ning Shan, seeing everything from the research institute, persuaded the institute's guards to jointly set up a second line of defense early.

They used some heavy excavation equipment in the institute to dig a long and deep pit.

Then they placed explosives inside and installed a trigger switch.

Additionally, all the Drones originally used for surveying in the institute were retrofitted into explosive‑carrying attack weapons.

"Ten, nine, eight…"

Ning Shan held the remote button, counting down while watching the direction where Ye Zhiqiu vanished.

Only three seconds remained in the countdown, and she had not returned.

"Three… two…"

Ning Shan clenched his teeth, looked toward the institute behind him, then closed his eyes and pressed the switch.

Boom!

A deafening explosion roared.

On the Antarctic glacier already ravaged by wind and snow, a white storm seemed to rise, interspersed with flickering flames.

The massive shockwave spread in all directions.

Ning Shan was tossed several meters away.

Immediately after, nearly a hundred explosive‑carrying Drones took off from the institute, plunged into the blast zone one after another, and another series of explosions erupted.

The defense members who had withdrawn to the institute's front gate all stared anxiously at the explosion zone.

"Zhiqiu… Zhiqiu!" Blood dripped from Ning Shan's mouth corner as he struggled to stand, shouting hoarsely against the gale and snow.

When the explosions ended, the sky‑blocking snowstorm slowly dissipated.

Ning Shan stared helplessly, still unable to see Ye Zhiqiu's figure; his heart instantly went cold, he fell to his knees, tears poured like rain, repeatedly calling Ye Zhiqiu's name.

"I told you… stop howling… it's terrible…" a somewhat weak voice suddenly sounded.

Ning Shan trembled all over, suddenly looked up, "You… you're still alive!"

"What, you hoped I'd die so it wouldn't delay your marriage to your… partner?" Ye Zhiqiu staggered forward.

Ning Shan rose, hoisted her sideways into a tight embrace, "You can't die, otherwise at my next wedding, how would you attend?"

"You bastard…" Ye Zhiqiu glared at him, "Finally admit you have a partner, huh? What's her name!"

"Her name is Ye Zhiqiu," Ning Shan said, then suddenly bowed his head and kissed her forehead.

Ye Zhiqiu was stunned, raised a hand and hammered Ning Shan's chest, "You… bastard! Put me down!"

"Enough, don't move!" Ning Shan said sternly, "You're injured, be honest!"

"Oh…" Ye Zhiqiu pursed her lips, a faint blush spreading across her cheek.

The trap Ning Shan set, though unable to eliminate the monsters, did deal them serious damage.

During the monsters' collective rest and recovery, the combat team led by Shangguan Ying arrived.

While the monsters had not yet regained full combat power, the combat team again covered them with firepower, then used a special device to lock their limbs and confined them in cages.

"How many did we capture?" Shangguan Ying asked.

The team reported, "We live‑caught twelve, and after tallying, fifteen were too badly injured, died before healing, and the corpses have been placed in sealed containers."

Shangguan Ying's expression was wary, "Based on the biological signals we previously detected, there should be thirty, three remain."

A team member said, "There are many severed limbs in the explosion pit; we're analyzing whether those three were blown apart."

Shangguan Ying activated a handheld detector developed for monsters, staring intently at the screen on her wrist.

The radar ripple icon on the screen kept fluctuating, with no response spot indicating a monster biological signal.

Shangguan Ying did not relax vigilance, walking around while continuing to observe.

At that moment, the radar ripple on the screen trembled.

Although no spot appeared, the real‑time feedback data beside it showed a slight change.

Shangguan Ying quickly used the ear‑mounted Walkie-Talkie to give the combat team a coordinate.

The combat team members immediately followed the method she had previously trained them in, surrounded and attacked the coordinate location, and indeed discovered three shape‑shifting humanoid monsters that had broken through the ice layer and hidden two meters underground.

Finally, under Shangguan Ying's command, they used tactics to draw out the three color‑changing monsters and successfully captured them alive.

Shangguan Ying met with Ning Shan and Ye Zhiqiu inside the institute.

Both sides were old acquaintances and had kept in touch, so they exchanged no small talk.

Ning Group had become the world's largest comprehensive super‑group; Ning Shan and Ye Zhiqiu were both primary heads, and at Shangguan Ying's request, the two each ordered the group's biological department researchers to cooperate with experts from the National Research Institute to study the captured humanoid monsters.

The research site was chosen to be within the Antarctic Research Institute, which has sufficient equipment and is far from human habitation.

With the help of the Ning Group, the research progress accelerated dramatically.

In less than a week, many crucial clues were uncovered.

Those humanoid monsters are indeed human in origin, but have been fused with the genes of many animals, making them products of genetic modification.

Such a practice, which violates humanity and could potentially bring disaster to all mankind, has always been explicitly prohibited worldwide.

But it was unexpected that the Holy Pu Empire disregarded ethics and risk, and produced these monsters.

However, what truly made the researchers and Shangguan Ying shudder was far beyond that.

"General Shangguan," the chief researcher reported in the office with a heavy mood, "According to our detailed calculations, to create monsters of this magnitude would require at least tens of thousands of live experiments, the consumption of no fewer than one million live humans, plus on the order of ten million various animals…"

Even though Shangguan Ying's temperament is as steady as Mount Tai, hearing that figure made them so angry that they punched the desk, cracking it.

"Is there any way to obtain concrete evidence that these genetically modified humans all originated from the Holy Pu Empire's hand?" Shangguan Ying asked, clenching their fist.

The chief researcher shook his head, "We can perform genetic tracing, but none of the captured humanoid monsters are from the Holy Pu Empire."

"Then where did they come from?" Shangguan Ying furrowed their brows, "Moreover, their genetic modifications require millions of live humans and tens of millions of animals; such an extravagant and cruel consumption is something we could not have missed. How exactly did they achieve it?"