Star Rank Hunter

Chapter 413: The Person in the Warehouse

When Luomiluosi woke up, he found himself sitting in a chair, bound hand and foot. Two other men sat on either side of him...

Luomiluosi was all too familiar with these two. They had been scheming against one another for a long time. Yet, despite being the leaders of the three major factions in the pharmaceutical plant area, they were now equally trapped here.

The three men looked at each other in silence. They couldn’t afford to offend whoever had captured them this effortlessly. Less talk meant fewer mistakes; rather than wasting breath, it was better to save their energy for whatever came next. Besides, they knew each other well enough to read the others’ expressions. A single glance was all it took to know if they were on the same page, so speaking was completely unnecessary.

Luomiluosi examined his surroundings. The place resembled a small private room of about ten square meters. The layout was simple but far from crude—it was easy to tell the furnishings were advanced technological products.

Luomiluosi’s head still ached. He remembered the cat he had seen right before passing out—that bizarre cat.

Swish—

The door opened. The people who walked in wore protective suits that hid their faces, though their voices sounded young and their presence was imposing.

Unlike the other two, Luomiluosi kept his eyes fixed on the gray cat. Right now, the fat cat was perched on someone’s shoulder, licking its paws and looking utterly harmless.

“Oh, you woke up pretty fast,” Lung said, looking at them. Holding a Syringe as thick as an arm, he added with a hint of regret, “I was going to give you an injection if you hadn’t woken up.”

The three middle-aged men’s faces twitched. With a Syringe that large, wouldn’t it just kill someone?

Judging by the situation, pretending to pass out again was impossible. These people had come prepared.

“What do you want to know?” one of the faction leaders asked.

Cillin and the others pulled up chairs and sat down. Ci Jincheng took charge of the interrogation while Cillin sketched and wrote on his Electronic Pad. Lung and Knight glanced at the screen, couldn’t make heads or tails of it, and looked away.

“Just a few questions. First, did anyone from other planets come here over the past two days?” Ci Jincheng asked.

“There were, but they’ve been taken care of,” the man answered.

Taken care of meant killed.

Based on the men’s answers, Cillin learned that although this planet wasn’t far from the transit star and wasn’t entirely safe, people still came here. As soon as they arrived, however, they were robbed and killed by these three faction leaders for their aircraft. What the three leaders lacked most was transport. Although they were reluctant to abandon the territory they had conquered, having enough aircraft on hand served as an escape route and a safety net. If an aircraft came their way, how could they not hijack it?

Fortunately, the people who had come from the transit star had not been infected, meaning they hadn’t brought the virus with them. Furthermore, after learning about the situation on the transit star, the three faction leaders had grown much more cautious. Whenever outsiders arrived, they brought anti-virus equipment with them. Because this planet had originally been the domain of pharmaceutical plants, there was still an abundance of drugs and ample supplies of disinfectants, even though the three major plants had collapsed.

Regardless, there had indeed been no incidents of viral infection here—at least, none that they had heard of.

As for the biochemical beastmen, the three faction leaders didn’t know much. That was another faction’s territory. They only knew that something had gone wrong over there and that biochemical beastmen had appeared. Upon hearing the news, they established a defensive line on their border, but they had no intention of sending support. For one, they lacked fast aircraft to reach the area quickly; ordinary flying cars were too slow and unreliable. For another, they were already too busy taking care of themselves to worry about people elsewhere.

When Ci Jincheng brought up the Underground Base of the pharmaceutical plant in this area, the three faction leaders fell silent. However, after he produced intercepted communication data and broke down the situation for them, the three men reluctantly spoke up.

There was indeed a base down there. It used to be where the pharmaceutical plant personnel parked their transport vehicles. When the staff left, they had taken some of the transports, but apparently not all of them. The leaders believed there were definitely still aircraft inside.

The three faction leaders did have aircraft on hand, but they were small and few in number. They all wanted to get large aircraft or transport ships from that Underground Base.

“Transport ships? Is the Underground Base really that big?” Pride scoffed.

“While we don’t know exactly how big it is, this Underground Base is definitely not small,” Luomiluosi said.

“Then what is ‘that thing’ you mentioned? Or rather, ‘that monster’?” Ci Jincheng asked.

Upon hearing this term, the expressions of the three faction leaders shifted, as if they were recalling something terrifying.

Seeing that the three didn’t want to answer, Knight cracked his knuckles, looking fully prepared to beat a confession out of them.

However, the three faction leaders remained surprisingly calm.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter whether we tell you or not. It’s an open secret around here; it’s not just the three of us who know.”

Cillin and the others stopped what they were doing and listened. They were also very interested in “that thing,” wondering what could possibly make these three faction leaders so wary.

“We aren’t completely sure what it is either. Perhaps it’s a product of their research, or perhaps it’s something else entirely. However, according to our elders, there is a devil inside that base.”

A devil? Wheeze’s ears instantly perked up, his eyes shining.

Cillin flicked Wheeze’s ears, telling the little guy to behave.

“Your elders? How many years has that thing been around?” Cillin pressed, catching the detail.

“We aren’t sure. Probably for over seventy years. We grew up hearing stories about the devil in that base since we were very young.”

Over seventy years...

That was a really long time.

“Wasn’t it someone or something from inside the pharmaceutical plant?” Ci Jincheng asked.

The three men shook their heads.

“Probably not. We heard that people from the plant went down there. It’s a massive warehouse holding transport planes and other aircraft, but later on, they couldn’t be piloted anymore. All the electronic and mechanical equipment inside the warehouse became completely useless. There were no lights; it was pitch-black. Everyone who went inside claimed there was a devil—a black devil. Some tried to hunt it down, but the very next day, the plant personnel found them dead. Every bone in their bodies had been shattered. It was utterly gruesome.”

“Did the pharmaceutical plant people never try to clear it out?” Knight asked.

“The location of that warehouse is tricky. It’s hard to make a move down there. One misstep, and the workshops above would be destroyed, resulting in heavy losses. Because of that, the plant’s higher-ups eventually just sealed the warehouse off. After it was locked down, no other strange incidents occurred at the plant. Right before the plant collapsed recently, some people tried to open the warehouse again, but none of those who went in ever came back out.”

Wheeze’s paws grew restless again. He was always highly interested in bizarre things. It was like playing hide-and-seek, just with an unidentified target.

The three faction leaders didn’t bother hiding anything about “that thing” anymore. Weren’t they also hoping to use Cillin’s group to open the warehouse, deal with the devil inside, and secure the aircraft for themselves?

Cillin and the others understood their scheme, but they didn’t show it.

The three faction leaders didn’t spout any nonsense like “Let us go if we tell you.” They knew that since this group had captured the three of them so effortlessly, they could easily catch them again even if they were released. They were in no position to negotiate. Furthermore, with their sharp eyes, the leaders could tell these young men weren’t targeting them and wouldn’t waste energy dealing with them. So, since these strangers wanted to know about the pharmaceutical plant and wouldn’t be competing with them for the aircraft, what harm was there in talking?

After squeezing out the information about the pharmaceutical plant, the three were knocked out again and sent back.

Cillin looked at the ruins below the aircraft. He knew that the answer he sought lay inside that very warehouse.

When Luomiluosi, safely returned, woke up, he found himself sitting on the recliner in his office. Snapping fully awake, he grabbed the cold tea on his desk, took a few huge gulps, panted heavily, and then called in his trusted aides.

“Halt operations in the other areas. Send some men to keep an eye on the pharmaceutical plant, but no one makes a move without my orders! Report any developments directly to me first,” Luomiluosi ordered in a deep voice.

Although his aides were puzzled by the sudden change of plans, Luomiluosi’s grim demeanor kept them from asking questions as they left to execute his orders.

Besides Luomiluosi, the other two faction leaders did much the same. The previously blazing civil war ground to a halt. Whether influenced by the three leaders or not, the members of all three major factions felt a strange sense of tension and anticipation.

The aircraft arrived at the pharmaceutical plant ruins in stealth mode. As always, Wheeze went down first to place the detectors. Due to Cillin’s strict instructions, Wheeze didn’t run off, even though he desperately wanted to go to the warehouse and see what the devil inside looked like.

Data regarding the pharmaceutical plant was quickly fed back to the aircraft, mapping out the layout of the Underground Base.

“This should be the warehouse they mentioned.” Ci Jincheng pointed to an empty area on the layout map; the detectors that had entered the plant couldn’t scan the situation there either.

Cillin nodded. Judging by the signal feedback, it was indeed in that direction.

“But apart from these, there doesn’t seem to be much else. As for these,” Ci Jincheng pointed at some dim dots on the map, “the life signals aren’t strong, so they shouldn’t be too hard to deal with. However, even though there aren’t many creatures inside, the Underground Base is completely flooded with toxic gas. We’ll have to be careful down there. Because of the heavy chemical presence, everyone should carry some Neutralizing Spray, just in case.”

Cillin and the others landed on the ruins together. Meanwhile, out of sheer boredom, Wheeze had already dug a tunnel straight down into the Underground Base.

Knight and the others, having seen Wheeze dig holes before, were unfazed. But Ci Jincheng and his companions stared at the massive hole, turned their heads to look at Cillin in unison, and only then jumped down one by one.

Their expressions clearly read: ‘This cat you’re raising sure is multi-functional!’

The Underground Base was indeed filled with various toxic gases. They had to be extremely careful where they walked to avoid bumping into any bottles or jars. There was no telling what kind of chemicals were inside, and they couldn’t trust the packaging; the contents rarely matched the labels.

Even with lights on, the dense gas made it impossible to see the path in the Underground Base. Fortunately, the visors on their protective masks bypassed this issue, allowing them to see clearly through the mist despite the pitch-black environment.

Ci Jincheng checked the storage devices on some of the instruments. They were severely corroded; how much data could be recovered would simply depend on luck.

A colorful little snake slithered in the corner of a lab bench. Any creature capable of surviving in this kind of environment was highly lethal; it couldn’t be judged merely by its size.

The little snake lunged at Pride, who was closest to it. Pride reacted quickly, raising his hand and slashing down with a clean strike that chopped it straight in half. However, when the severed half of the snake rolled to the side, the blood leaking from it mixed with certain elements in the air and became intensely corrosive. This sudden acidic reaction quickly ate through a nearby reagent bottle, spilling the liquid inside.

“Run!” Cillin shouted, realizing something was wrong the moment he heard the sizzling sound of corrosion. Following his command, everyone rapidly backed away.

The next moment, a loud bang rang out from where the snake’s remains lay. Though the initial explosion wasn’t large, it triggered several consecutive blasts among the dense cluster of reagent bottles. The resulting chain reaction took a long time to finally die down.

“Holy crap. This place really isn’t meant for humans. I’d rather deal with those biochemical beastmen,” Knight said, brushing various debris off his suit.

Pride felt a lingering sense of dread. He hadn’t expected half a snake corpse to trigger such a massive chain reaction.

This couldn’t be blamed on Pride. The exact same thing would have happened to anyone else. In this Underground Base filled with volatile gases, the slightest change could trigger a disaster.

This wouldn’t do.

Cillin took out his Neutralizing Spray and sprayed a little into the surrounding area as a test. The colored toxic gases were absorbed by the neutralizer and converted into powder that rained onto the floor. This falling powder was far more stable than the toxic gases floating in the air.

“Spray some neutralizer first to save us from more trouble later,” Cillin said.

The group sprayed the neutralizer as they walked, which indeed made the journey much easier. However, keeping the previous disaster in mind, they remained exceptionally cautious of the mutant creatures that popped up from time to time.

Compared to the rest of them, however, Czedow and Wheeze were complete outliers. They neither wore protective suits nor used breathing apparatuses, yet they didn’t experience the slightest discomfort in this environment.

When they arrived at the core laboratories of the Underground Base, the others began assisting Ci Jincheng in recovering the local data.

Cillin looked around and said, “I’m going to check out the warehouse.”

“I’ll go with you,” Knight said, setting down the instrument in his hands.

Lung was also preparing to follow, but Cillin waved him off.

“No need. Czedow and Wheeze coming with me is enough. There are some questions I want answers to.”

Hearing Cillin say this, Lung and Knight no longer insisted. They tapped their communicators.

“Contact us if anything happens. And tell us what this devil really looks like while you’re at it.”

“All right.” Cillin made a reassuring gesture and headed toward the warehouse with Czedow and Wheeze.

“Are those three really going to be okay on their own?” Pride asked. He already felt this place was incredibly dangerous; with that supposed “devil” around, could Cillin’s group of two guys and a cat really handle it?

“Don’t worry, Cillin knows what he’s doing,” Ci Jincheng said, looking up. “Besides, don’t underestimate him, Czedow, or that cat. They’re all ruthless characters.”

Recalling Czedow and Wheeze’s recent performances, Pride felt glad that they were all on the same side. But Cillin—he was truly a mystery.

Heading toward the warehouse, Cillin didn’t even need a layout map; he could track the signal directly.

“You guys really can’t feel that signal?” Cillin asked again.

“No,” Czedow and Wheeze shook their heads in unison.

If they still couldn’t sense it by now, Cillin was certain: that thing was targeting him specifically!

The closer they got to the warehouse, the stronger and more urgent the signal became.

“Cillin, what kind of signal is it?” Wheeze asked, leaping up onto Cillin’s shoulder.

He felt a bit indignant that Cillin could sense something he couldn’t. However, the fact that Czedow hadn’t noticed it either provided the cat with a fair amount of psychological comfort.

“I can’t quite put it into words. It’s like a greeting—an old acquaintance saying hello. There hasn’t been any specific communication beyond that.”

Neither Wheeze nor Czedow fully understood Cillin’s explanation.

Amid their confusion, Cillin arrived in front of the warehouse. The doors were tightly shut and clearly hadn’t been well-maintained in decades. However, marks on the ground indicated they had indeed been opened recently, confirming the words of the three faction leaders.

Ever since they neared the warehouse, the base’s lighting equipment had been failing. Even without opening the doors, they could feel an eerie, bone-chilling presence radiating from inside.

Before they could crack the warehouse door’s password, the doors slowly opened on their own.

A draft of air a few degrees colder than the rest of the base seeped out through the open doors, carrying a faint stench of blood.

Cillin looked inside. There really were several transports and a few reasonably sized transport ships parked within. They looked as though they had been sitting there for a very long time. The three faction leaders claimed it had been over seventy years, and to Cillin, it certainly looked like it; the heavy silence of dormant machinery hung thick in the air.

Stepping inside, Cillin spotted a few corpses lying on the ground. They were likely the people killed when the warehouse was opened recently. Their faces were still frozen in expressions of sheer terror, but their bodies were caved in. Every bone in them had been shattered. There were no external wounds; the blood had all flowed from their noses and mouths.

The warehouse was dead silent. Even the sound of Wheeze flicking his ears was clearly audible.

Cillin stepped over the corpses and continued forward. A few paces later, he paused and looked up at the ceiling.

Up there, pressed tightly against the ceiling, a figure hung upside down in absolute silence.

A person wearing a cloak—no, that wasn’t a cloak. Those were wings!

The person had wrapped their wings entirely around their body, making them look exactly like a cloak.