Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Sea Without Light Part 64

The severed tentacle continued to twitch on the ground, the gushing blue blood soon stopping. From the stump of the tentacle, a new segment sprouted quickly, extending in a sharp manner, wrapping itself around Kui Xin’s leg.

The tentacle tightened rapidly. The suckers on its surface scratched across the exoskeleton armor, generating an unbearable, shrill sound. The tentacle of this dual-headed monster was much stronger and more powerful than those of any xenomorph Kui Xin had encountered before. It squeezed the exoskeleton armor, causing it to deform slightly. The metal components pressed her leg forcefully.

Kui Xin stumbled from the sudden pull, almost losing her balance. She stabilized herself by driving her telescopic blade into the floor. Silverface promptly held onto Kui Xin’s waist to prevent her from being dragged away by the creature.

Black Obsidian drew his blade horizontally, slicing off the tentacle wrapped around Kui Xin’s leg. Blue blood splattered onto the armor, Black Obsidian then sighed with relief, “It isn’t corrosive blood.”

The dual-headed monster that resembled the human form looked absolutely unnatural as if it didn’t belong in this world.

The head with the monstrous face twisted in a distorted smile. The eyes conveyed a semblance of human emotion—excitement and cruelty. It extended its deeply purple, rough tongue, licking its lips eagerly as if eager to savour a delicacy.

And its prey were the three humans in front of it.

Yet, these humans had no intention of giving up their fight against becoming food.

Amidst the tentacle’s renewed assault, Silverface erected a water barrier, which the tentacles struck, causing intense ripples and impeding the attack from the dual-headed monster. However, because of the water barrier, neither bullets nor blades could exert their full force.

In the next second, Silverface removed the characteristics he had imbued in the water, causing the water barrier to collapse. Just as the misty droplets hung suspended in the air, about to dissipate, Kui Xin deftly used her blade to continue the attack.

With a swish, the finely-forged blade sliced through the water barrier cleanly, cutting a water droplet in half, splitting the transparent barrier, and also slicing the tentacle that had stretched towards them in half.

Blue blood mixed with the scattered water droplets, creating an artistic splash reminiscent of an ink painting, smooth and fluid as if a tailor had just cut fine silk.

Blood and water splashed onto Kui Xin’s helmet and body. Black Obsidian stepped forward, holding a pin-removed grenade with enhanced power.

He adeptly threw the bomb at the monster’s head. The bomb exploded the moment it made contact with the monster’s body, while Silverface simultaneously erected another water barrier and pulled them down to a prone position to avoid the powerful shockwave.

Water rippled violently, and flames and shockwaves burst from the kitchen door like a volcanic eruption. The metal walls of the kitchen trembled due to the impact. The explosion echoed down the long corridor repeatedly, so much so that their ears rang.

Kui Xin shook her head and got up from the ground.

The bombs they used when boarding the ship with the investigation bureau were micro-bombs, with only a two-meter blast radius, not compared to the one Black Obsidian used.

“They could dig out a pit several meters deep in the ground, is it still alive?” Silverface also got up.

“It hasn’t died, but the monster’s thoughts are still active, albeit slightly weakened. Its minds—both of them—are very confused; I can’t control them.” Blue light flickered across Black Obsidian’s eyes, then he frowned quickly and said, “That monster possesses two heads and two minds. Knocking off just one head won’t do. If one head is removed, the other would regenerate quickly. We might need to knock off both heads simultaneously.”

Kui Xin replied, “We couldn’t even get close enough to hit one head, let alone both.”

As a Class B Awakened, Black Obsidian could read the shallow thoughts and emotions of a specific person, but he could not probe deep emotions or control people’s minds at will. Controlling the weak-minded was barely possible for him, but controlling an Awakened was nearly impossible. With the enhancement of their Supernormal abilities, there’s substantial room for him to improve.

Supernormal ability users specializing in the Mind category have varying strengths, such as mind reading or thought control. The twin Ambereye and Black Obsidian had identical abilities, which did not excel in thought manipulation or reading, but their superpower was mainly manifested in ‘consciousness implantation.’

That is, brainwashing.

This differed from mind control, which turned the controlled into living puppets, whereas consciousness implantation implanted a special thought or keyword into a human’s mind. Over time, this seed would grow, changing beliefs and turning them into a “free” puppet.

After repeated hypnosis and consciousness implants, these seeds become deeply rooted in one’s mind, extremely difficult to remove.

The current powers of the twins were weak, but promising. Their status in the organization was somewhat awkward. Kui Haidong both feared and desired to nurture them.

Silverface glanced behind him, shocked to see the few tentacles that had been lying outside the kitchen door slowly moving on the ground, apparently trying to grab onto the three of them.

Black Obsidian signaled to Silverface and retrieved another grenade. Silverface understood and took the grenade, pulling the pin and using water to guide the grenade into the kitchen.

There was another loud explosion, and the tentacles outside the door were blown off, landing heavily on the wall where they stuck.

Silverface hopeful asked, “Is it still alive?”

“No…” Black Obsidian slowly walked towards the kitchen door, looking grimly at a large hole on the kitchen floor, “It escaped.”

The floors of the kitchen were steel plates, now punctured by a nearly two-meter-diameter hole. The monster must have jumped inside.

“Red, be on high alert. There’s a very troublesome creature onboard,” Kui Xin said.

“Received. Eden informed me about your situation. Our mission is challenging. Move to the deck. We’ve already removed the onboard AI’s motherboard, and besides, the fire source is actually in the hangar, but the safety systems were tampered with. We’ve activated them now, and the fire is under control,” Red replied.

“Understood,” Kui Xin acknowledged.

Before leaving, she examined the hole in the kitchen floor: “Black Obsidian, scan that hole… just toss the scanner over there,” she said.

Unlike the mini-drones, which could hover, they all hesitated to approach due to danger. Thus, the scanner had to be sacrificed.

Black Obsidian threw a spherical scanner into the hole beneath the kitchen floor. In mere seconds, the video feed returned, making everyone uneasy.

Below the kitchen was a large water storage tank.

Nowadays, sea-faring vessels could directly filter seawater into drinking water. But this system required a specialized reservoir, located beneath the kitchen on the Kraken.

Inside the massive tank lay stacks of eggs glued to its walls.

Clusters of eggs, akin to warts on a toad, appeared grossly grotesque and ugly under the dark environment, emanating a faint glow.

Kui Xin immediately recalled the nightmare scene from her last cycle aboard the Kraken’s deck: the helicopter’s spotlight swept across the sea, revealing countless xenomorph eyes, their reflections glowing eerily like ghost fires in a cemetery.

A hole punctured through the storage tank’s steel plate revealed how the dual-headed monster managed to escape and wander within the cargo hold now.

Silverface frowned, puzzled, “How many more xenomorphs are lurking here? Their numbers exceed the live humans on board.”

“We haven’t found many bodies. According to reports, the ship should house around forty crew members,” Black Obsidian said.

Kui Xin pointed to the kitchen freezer gate, which dangled precariously: “Notice the floor? The blood extends there. I guess some of the corpses were frozen, similar to how humans store leftover food to keep it fresh.”

The Kraken felt like a ghost ship destined for hell, filled with spirits of the dead, with demons eyeing the ship greedily, their utensils clinking menacingly in anticipation of devouring.

“Red told us to move to the deck. Let’s go,” Black Obsidian lowered his eyes.

“What about Tang Guan?” Silverface lingered at the back, asking.

“He obviously maintains a certain level of self-awareness. I think the unknown creature does not consume its host’s life like parasitic hydras or red spine hunters but competes with humans for bodily control, devouring their minds… So, sometimes, Tang Guan is lucid, fighting against the creature. When he breaks down, he’s consumed,” Kui Xin logically speculated, “Tang Guan and the creature seem to be in a symbiotic state.”

“I agree,” Black Obsidian said. “What happened on the ship is linked to the secret cult. This conclusion seems plausible.”

Having briefly exchanged views, they remained vigilant and began retreating swiftly.

Kui Xin took a brief moment to summon her system. Lights flashed.

“【Task Progress】: 99%.”

Just one percent remained.

If the mastermind wasn’t Tang Guan and he too was a manipulated pawn, where was the real villain hiding? Tang Guan’s pain seemed genuine. The disaster on the Kraken probably wasn’t his intention.

Just as they maintained vigilance and retreated, Kui Xin’s mind suddenly jolted.

“Thump… thump…”

Familiar heartbeats sounded.

At this moment, she heard friction noises as something slid through the ducts. Her temple throbbed, warning of impending danger.

Suddenly, the ventilation pipe above them groaned as it ruptured, and the light circuitry in the hallway was cut. The lights flickered violently, and in the blink of an eye, the dual-headed monster squeezed its contorted form through the vent and fell upon them.

Escaping through the kitchen below and somehow managing to squeeze into the ventilation duct.

Using octopus-like appendages to navigate the ducts, it sought out Kui Xin and company, then descended swiftly, grabbing the trio and cunningly restraining the strongest fighter, Silverface. With its weight advantage, it pinned Kui Xin and Black Obsidian to the ground, tentacles covering their noses and mouths, squeezing their bodies.

However, Kui Xin fiercely grasped her telescoping blade. Just as the monster’s body pressed down, she lifted the blade vertically, a meter-long sword stabbing powerfully upward, piercing through its body.

Kui Xin’s neck and ribs screamed under the strain. Redness filled her eyes from lack of oxygen. The external exoskeleton armor slightly alleviated the constriction, strengthening her body.

Mechanical components overloaded, Kui Xin’s hand veins bulged, surging in survival instinct, breaking the limits of her physical capabilities. Her wrist and arm muscles stretched taut, tearing like a fully drawn bowstring.

She broke free of the tentacles. Raising the blade, she forcibly tore open the beast’s shell!