Chapter 2

The research vessel's cabins were distributed as three below and seven above, with the deck located on the fourth level.

The restaurant, boarding hall, and work area were all located on this level.

The crowd, who had just been enjoying the view on the deck, hurriedly squeezed into the boarding hall.

Although this was Li Youyi's first time facing such an emergency, he displayed extraordinary psychological quality, remaining calm in the face of danger. He sent all the research team members into the cabin door before being the last to leave the deck and locking the cabin door tightly.

In just these two short minutes, the purple-black bear-like creature had crossed three or four kilometers of ice field and arrived below the *Long Ji*.

"Whoosh—"

With a leap.

Its huge and robust body jumped onto the ship's rail, which was several meters high, and landed heavily on the deck with a *bang*.

The floor of the boarding hall trembled because of it.

Observing at close range, its entire body was covered in long hair, like wearing a layer of purple-black iron armor, and its eyes were larger than a human fist, appearing purple-red. Its teeth were sharp, like saw blades.

Its facial features were already approaching human-like.

Even through the thick, specially made glass, one could feel its ferocity, and even Li Youyi felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.

Fortunately, the cabin windows were small, so there was no need to worry about it breaking in.

"Boom!"

The bear-like creature rushed out suddenly and collided with the cabin door that had just been closed. The entire boarding hall rattled, and the specially made glass showed a large number of cracks.

Many research team members let out screams.

The boarding hall was in chaos; some took the stairs, some took the elevator, fleeing to the higher cabin levels.

The cabin doors of the *Long Ji* polar research vessel were made of alloy material and a multi-layer design to prevent cold and resist wind pressure. Even though the purple-black bear-like creature had immense strength, it couldn't break through directly.

But Li Youyi discovered that the ship's structure around the cabin door had deformed.

Being broken through was only a matter of time.

"Move everything that can be used and block the cabin door," Li Youyi shouted.

The boarding hall was noisy and chaotic; everyone just wanted to escape this most dangerous area as quickly as possible, and no one responded to him.

The cabinets and utensils on the research vessel were designed for wave resistance and were fixed connections.

Li Youyi had just managed to dismantle a storage cabinet in the boarding hall and was preparing to push it over to block the cabin door when he heard Xie Jin, who had just arrived, shout: "What are you doing?"

Xie Jin and seven security team members arrived in the boarding hall, taking weapons like stun guns, protective shields, and tear gas.

They were tall and robust, with firm and sharp eyes; they were elites selected through layers of screening.

"Is he trying to dismantle the ship?" someone joked and laughed.

"It's just a bear, scared like this?"

"Boom!"

The purple-black bear-like creature collided for the fourth time; the area around the cabin door was severely deformed, showing signs of tearing.

The deafening sound was like a cannonball hitting the ship's hull.

The eight security team members, including Xie Jin, saw the behemoth outside the window and, even though they were elites, were scared pale, feeling suffocated and fearful.

It was as if they were suffering from bloodline suppression.

What kind of bear was this?

It was simply like a prehistoric monster, huge and ferocious, completely beyond cognition. If it were filmed and reported...

"Click!"

The sound of a shutter rang out in the boarding hall at an inappropriate time.

The short student who liked to recite poetry and tell myths actually didn't flee and was taking photos by the window.

Facing the crowd's gazes, he put away his camera awkwardly and explained: "I study ecology and environmental biology. This is definitely a new species that has never existed on Earth; it's a truly earth-shattering discovery. With this discovery, our polar research will surely shock the whole country... the whole world..."

"Boom!"

The fifth collision arrived; the ship's hull around the cabin door made a sound of breaking and tearing, and the largest crack reached a palm's width.

Cold air poured in, and everyone in the boarding hall was horrified.

"I'll help you push."

The short student shuddered in fear, hurriedly ran to Li Youyi's side, and together with him, pushed the storage cabinet to the cabin door to block it.

But this was clearly not enough.

Xie Jin had already reacted and hurriedly ordered all security team members to dismantle and move cabinets and tables and chairs.

This bear-like creature was simply like a mutation caused by nuclear radiation; it was not something they could resist with the weapons in their hands. Once it rushed in, everyone on the research vessel would just be its flesh and blood rations.

"Rum-rum-rum!"

The sound of propellers rang out outside.

When the bear-like creature collided with the cabin door, the helicopter had already been pushed out of the hangar.

At this moment, the helicopter hovered in mid-air, and Zhao Meng, wearing sunglasses and holding a rifle, aimed at the purple-black bear-like creature.

"So there's an American-style net on the ship; now it's stable, a false alarm." The short student relaxed and cheered.

The bear-like creature on the deck had great spiritual intelligence; sensing danger, its entire body's hair stood up like foot-long steel needles. It stood up on its hind legs and roared at the distant helicopter.

The sound was better than a lion or tiger, high-pitched like a thunderclap.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, and the bear-like creature was hit in the head.

Before the crowd on the ship could cheer, the bear-like creature's even angrier roar echoed across the ice field. It tore off a metal utensil from the research vessel and threw it into mid-air, wanting to smash the helicopter down.

Fortunately, the helicopter pulled up a step earlier, avoiding it narrowly.

The place where the bear-like creature's head was hit oozed blood, but it was not a major problem, only suffering some minor injuries.

"The rifle couldn't even penetrate its skull; is it still a carbon-based life form?" The short student's scalp went numb, his legs trembling incessantly, losing the confidence he just had in the American-style net.

Li Youyi showed a worried expression; this bear-like creature had high intelligence and counter-attack capability. Once the helicopter was hit, the consequences would be unimaginable.

His senior brother was on the helicopter.

Li Youyi looked around and discovered the weapons on Xie Jin and the others, saying urgently: "Why haven't you used tear gas yet?"

Without waiting for an answer, he had already snatched one from Xie Jin, opened it, and threw it out through the crack in the cabin door.

In an instant, thick smoke billowed outside.

Although Xie Jin was unhappy, he knew the situation was critical and didn't flare up, just ordered everyone with a dark face to use all the tear gas.

On the helicopter, Zhao Meng was also angry, pulling the trigger continuously.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

The bear-like creature had already suffered, knowing the power of bullets, and no longer used its body to resist, dodging quickly.

It could sprint for three or four kilometers at a cheetah's fastest speed, so its reaction speed for jumping and dodging was naturally very agile.

Fortunately, Zhao Meng's marksmanship was excellent, and with the interference of the tear gas, he successfully drove it away from the research vessel before the two magazines were emptied.

Li Youyi rushed to the helipad at the first opportunity, helping Zhao Meng and the others push the helicopter back into the hangar.

"It hasn't left; it's observing from a distance and may launch a second attack at any time."

Zhao Meng's face was extremely ugly.

The *Long Ji* was a research vessel, and the ammunition carried was quite limited; only three bullets remained in the magazine.

"Now we can only count on the heavens! Just now in the sky, I saw dark clouds and strong winds in the distance; a blizzard is coming."

Zhao Meng reminded Li Youyi to pay attention to safety before rushing to the bridge to discuss borrowing a gun with the Captain.

There was still a shotgun in Laboratory 705.

But whether it could cause damage to that bear-like creature, Zhao Meng had no idea at all.

The bridge was located on the tenth deck, which was also the highest level of the entire research vessel.

When Zhao Meng entered the bridge, the Captain, Gao Xin, Second Mate Xie Tianshu, and five research group leaders, including Professor Xu, were already gathered inside.

The atmosphere was very grave.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the electronic nautical chart and the underwater monitoring system screen in front.

The screen displayed a 3D image of marine life beneath the ship.

Just look.

A marine creature larger than the *Long Ji* was slowly accompanying the research vessel in the water a hundred meters below, moving in the same direction.

It must have been two hundred meters long and had nine thick tentacles.

It was unimaginable what kind of strong undercurrents such a giant could stir up while moving underwater.

"A mutated bear-like creature just appeared, and now another one comes from the seabed. How could there be such huge life forms on Earth?"

Everyone on the bridge was shocked.

"Could it be a giant squid?"

"This is many times larger than a giant squid!"

"The largest known marine creature, the blue whale, is only thirty-some meters long and weighs nearly two hundred tons. But in front of it, it's like a newborn baby; I think this deep-sea giant weighs at least ten thousand tons."

Professor Xu was a biology expert; he adjusted his glasses and stared at the screen, shaking his head: "Look, each of its nine tentacles has a human-like head. The torso is like a giant ox. It's too incredible; it's definitely another new species that has never existed on Earth."

"That is Nine Infants."

At the entrance of the bridge, an old man wearing a navy blue Zhongshan suit appeared.

He was the person in charge of Laboratory 705.

No one knew his name; they all called him Director Yang.

"Nine Infants?"

Professor Xu had never heard of this creature.

Director Yang walked into the bridge and stood in front of the screen, his tone low: "Nine Infants is a fierce beast from myths and legends, recorded in the *Huainanzi*. It is said to be active in the Northern Sea, its cry resembles a baby's wailing, it has nine heads, eats people on sight, and can spray water and spit fire. But I didn't expect it to be so huge."

Just as a research group leader was about to reprimand him for "not talking about science, but talking about theology."

Director Yang bowed deeply to everyone and apologized: "I'm sorry, everyone! These fierce beasts were very likely attracted by that thing in Laboratory 705. I apologize for bringing everyone into a perilous situation."

Zhao Meng was a straightforward person and had long been holding a belly full of fire: "What exactly are you researching in Laboratory 705? You must give everyone an explanation today."

Captain Gao Xin clearly knew some inside information and looked at Director Yang: "The situation is now very dangerous; both land and sea are being watched by abnormal fierce beasts, and no one knows what we will face next. I think we must tell them the truth."

Director Yang nodded: "Everyone, let's go to Laboratory 705 together... you'll see at a glance."

Li Youyi returned to his cabin and took out a four-foot-long ancient sword from a wooden box under the bed.

It felt very heavy in his hand, with an ebony scabbard.

He pulled the sword out half a foot, revealing a sword body made of a material like brass. Li Youyi knew very well that this sword was definitely not cast from brass; it was the second most precious treasure of the Chan Sect, after the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

From childhood to adulthood, he had never seen the old sect leader grind or wash it, but it was always sharp and never had any rust.

The Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish was the token of the sect leader, and in his view, it only had symbolic significance.

The true first divine weapon of the Chan Sect had to be this Yellow Dragon Sword.

He sheathed the sword.

Li Youyi carried the sword downstairs and arrived at the boarding hall.

Although Zhao Meng told him he didn't have to think of himself as a member of the security team, since he enjoyed the treatment of a security team member, it was impossible to hide when danger arrived.

How long could he hide? When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

The cabin door of the boarding hall had been blocked tightly by boxes, cabinets, and tables and chairs.

Most of the security team members were guarding here, holding various weapons, ready for battle.

Seeing Li Youyi walk down the stairs, they all showed surprised expressions in their eyes.

"This college student has some guts and responsibility!" For the first time in over a month, they gave a positive evaluation in their hearts.

The light dimmed, and the sky was gloomy.

A blizzard was coming.

Outside the broken cabin window, the wind turned from a whisper to a roar, then swept across the entire ice field.

(End of chapter)