116: The purge of remnants and the pursuit of data have led to a new crisis arising from the transformation of the prison.

Chapter 119: Clearing the Remnants to Recover Data, Cage Mutation Breeds a New Crisis

Inside the command tent of the Australia temporary base, the lights remained bright throughout the night.

Lin Zhou stared at the blinking red dots on the holographic sand table, his fingertips repeatedly tracing coordinates between the Indochina Peninsula and the Australian interior. The data back-tracing system had locked onto three signal reception points: deep in the rainforests of the Indochina Peninsula, the Gobi Desert of Western Australia, and an anonymous deserted island in the Pacific Ocean—the very hiding places of the Skeleton Serpent remnants.

“Form three elite task forces, codenamed ‘Hunt’,” Lin Zhou’s voice carried an unquestionable authority as his gaze swept over the officers before him. “Team One, led by Zhao Shanhe, equipped with modified Railgun tanks and winter war god mechas, will clear the Indochina Peninsula rainforest base. Team Two, led by American scientistss and carrying gene detectors, will go deep into the Western Australian Gobi to destroy the gene laboratory there. Team Three, handled by the Marine Corps aboard falcon fighter jets, will launch a surprise attack on the unnamed Pacific island. You must recover all leaked data and leave no survivors!”

“Understood!” the three officers responded in unison, turning and walking away quickly. Soon, the sound of troops assembling echoed outside the tent.

Three hours later, the three task forces departed simultaneously.

The First Task Force, led by Zhao Shanhe, hacked through the thorns in the rainforests of the Indochina Peninsula. The tracks of the apocalypse tanks crushed the muddy ground and the mutated plants along the way; the laser cutters of the winter war god mechas sliced through dense canopies, carving a path for the troops. The base deep in the rainforest was extremely well-hidden, surrounded by sentries and traps. Several gene-enhanced Skeleton Serpent soldiers were holding communicators, nervously transmitting messages.

“Target spotted!” the scout's voice came through.

At Zhao Shanhe's command, the apocalypse tank's Railgun roared to life, its golden energy beam accurately hitting the base's fortifications. The explosion shook down a shower of leaves, and a large hole was instantly blasted into the base's alloy gate. The mecha formation took the opportunity to charge, their heavy energy cannons sweeping through and tearing the resisting Skeleton Serpent soldiers to pieces.

Inside the base, a Skeleton Serpent Researcher attempted to destroy a data hard drive but was struck by a magnetic storm grenade thrown by Zhao Shanhe. Blue electric arcs instantly consumed the entire lab. While the hard drive melted in the current, it also triggered a hidden backup storage device. Zhao Shanhe stepped forward, kicked open a deformed metal cabinet, and retrieved an encrypted USB flash drive flashing with red light.

“Data secured!” he reported grimly into the communicator. “Base cleared, no survivors.”

Meanwhile, the Second Task Force in the Western Australian Gobi encountered unexpected trouble. The Skeleton Serpent remnants had bred a batch of improved mutated creatures here; they were fused with God Devourer gene fragments, making them smaller, faster, and immune to some magnetic storm energy attacks.

The American Old Professor looked at the gene sequences of the mutated creatures on the screen, his expression grave: “These monsters were modified using leaked God Devourer genes! Their scales can absorb magnetic storm energy; ordinary weapons are useless!”

The task force soldiers fought while retreating. Many were scratched by the sharp claws of the mutated creatures, and dark purple patterns quickly surfaced on their wounds—a sign of genetic erosion. In a moment of desperation, the Old Professor ordered the Anti-Resonance Bombs they carried to be modified into decoys and thrown into the area where the mutated creatures gathered.

The moment the Anti-Resonance Bombs exploded, they generated a powerful energy wave that temporarily suppressed the genetic activity of the mutated creatures. Seizing the opportunity, the soldiers fired wildly with Magnetic Storm Rifles loaded with gene neutralizers, finally annihilating the batch of improved mutated creatures and destroying the gene laboratory deep in the Gobi.

The Third Task Force's operation on the unnamed Pacific island went exceptionally smoothly. The Marine Corps boarded falcon fighter jets and silently parodropped onto the island, sneaking into the base under the cover of night. The Skeleton Serpent remnants never expected humans to find them here; they were still dreaming of breeding new monsters when their throats were slit by the Marines' knives. All data in the base was completely destroyed.

Success reports from the three task forces were sent back to the Australia temporary base one after another. Lin Zhou looked at the encrypted USB drive in his hand, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes. The data crisis was finally temporarily resolved.

But what he didn't know was that a new crisis was quietly brewing in the detention room of the East Sea Barrier Base.

Zhulong had been locked in a special Vibranium Alloy cage for three full days. Since his plan had completely failed, he had remained silent, staring blankly at the ceiling as if he had lost his soul. The guards gradually lowered their guard, assuming he had completely resigned himself to his fate.

But no one noticed that beneath Zhulong's skin, dark purple patterns were slowly writhing.

Long before breeding the God Devourer, Zhulong had implanted God Devourer gene fragments into his own body as a final trump card. These gene fragments usually remained dormant, only activating when his vital signs dropped to a critical threshold. For the past three days, he had been using mental power to stimulate his heart, causing his vital signs to continuously decline.

Now, the gene fragments were finally activated.

Zhulong’s body began to twitch violently, his bones making a tooth-aching 'crack' sound as his size rapidly expanded. The Vibranium Alloy bars of the cage creaked under the pressure of his expanding muscles. His eyes turned into crimson vertical pupils, sharp fangs grew in his mouth, and two barb-covered tentacles tore through the skin of his back.

“Argh—!”

Zhulong let out a non-human roar, his voice filled with bloodthirsty desire. He slammed his tentacles hard against the cage bars. Although the Vibranium Alloy was incredibly hard, fine cracks appeared under this terrifying force.

The guards were pale with shock and immediately raised their Magnetic Storm Rifles to fire. Blue electric arcs hit Zhulong's body, but they only made his movements pause, instead stimulating him into a greater frenzy.

“Alert! Alert! Zhulong is undergoing genetic mutation! Requesting backup!” the guard captain screamed frantically into his communicator.

The alarm instantly blared throughout the entire East Sea Barrier Base. Chen Hao immediately led the Gene-Enhanced Warrior Squad toward the detention room, issuing orders along the way: “Close all gates in the detention area! Activate the emergency energy shield! Research team, prepare the gene neutralizer immediately!”

Inside the detention room, Zhulong's tentacles slammed into the cage bars again. This time, the cracks expanded, and several bars snapped. He reached out with sharp claws, grabbed the gap in the cage, and tore it outward with a violent pull—

“Boom!”

The specially made Vibranium Alloy cage was actually torn open with a large hole by his bare hands. Zhulong hunched his body and stepped slowly out of the cage, his crimson gaze sweeping over the panicked guards as a cruel smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“The game... has only just begun.”

His body expanded once more, the tentacles on his back grew thicker, and a dark purple energy field swirled around him. The former leader of the Skeleton Serpent had now completely transformed into an out-of-control mutated monster.

The alarm of the East Sea Barrier Base was shrill and piercing, and the energy shield slowly rose, completely sealing off the detention area. The Gene-Enhanced Warrior Squad led by Chen Hao was already waiting outside the shield, the blue electric arcs of their Magnetic Storm Combat Blades flickering.

A new bloody battle was about to begin.

Far away in Australia, when Lin Zhou received the emergency report from the East Sea Barrier Base, his face instantly turned pale. Looking at the hideous image of the mutated Zhulong on the screen, a strong sense of unease surged in his heart.

“Return immediately!” Lin Zhou roared into the communicator. “All fleets, return to the East Sea at full speed!”

The smoke in Australia had just dissipated, but the alarm in the East Sea suddenly rang out. Humanity had just escaped the threat of the God Devourer, only to face an even more powerful mutated monster transformed from the leader of the Skeleton Serpent.