Chapter 19

Zero moved through the cave, his boots on the slimy earth.

The slime of the golden bug was so slippery that it would fall if he wasn't careful.

Therefore, Lingcun walked carefully and at the same time, he lowered his footsteps.

All subterranean creatures have lost their vision due to environmental reasons, but their hearing is unusually well-developed.

They would be able to detect the sound of the needle dropping, so they did not move too fast, afraid that the insects would notice them if they made a sound.

This cave that was dug up by the gold devouring bug was curvy. It silently calculated its own footsteps and came to a conclusion that it had already walked nearly a kilometer.

However, the cave didn't seem to have an end, so he didn't take it to heart at all.

In the quiet underground, in the dark abyss, he walked alone.

It was as if this completely unfamiliar world had awakened them. Although there were many people in the Z7 base, but they all felt lonely.

After all, there was a gap of nearly half a century between him and those people.

Zero can't remember the past. Who is he?

From where?

What have you done?

There was no answer to any of this, but he knew that as long as he walked, one day he would come close and know the truth.

At this moment.

At the end of the cave.

However, the end of the tunnel wasn't quite the same. After reaching this place, it turned at a 90-degree angle, directly extending towards the dark abyss.

Zero took out the cold fireworks, lit them up, and threw them down.

Fiery light flashed across the vertical passageway, and some fist-sized iron beetles immediately scattered, far away from the cold but bright light.

Fortunately, the distance between them was only about ten meters.

The distance between them wasn't enough for Zero to notice. Cold Smoke continued to burn in the underground passageway. He used his hands and feet to climb down through the uneven surface of the tunnel.

By the time his feet touched the ground, the smoke was out.

Darkness returned to the underground once more. Soon, a ray of green light shone, dispersing the metal beetles that were gathering towards zero.

Zero continued along the transverse passage that the golden bug had made. He held a light stick in his hand.

The passageway continued to slant downwards, as if it was going straight to hell.

But this time, the journey of zero ended quickly.

This was because he could hear some special sounds coming from the quiet underground.

"Zzzzz ~ ~ ~"

It was like the sound of an alternating current, but also like the sound of something rubbing against each other.

It was impossible to say for sure, but he took out the .500 revolver.

This large caliber weapon, if fired at close range, was like the tough shell of a metal-eating bug. It might not be able to offset the impact of 50 rounds.

The sound was getting closer.

Under the green fluorescent light, the passageway came to an end.

At the end of the cave, there was an even bigger cave. Zero estimated that it had a circumference of about three hundred meters.

The strange sound came from the cave, from the edge of the zero squat.

Under the green fluorescent light, there were several huge insects intertwined with each other. The strange sounds came from the insects' slimy bodies rubbing against each other.

The Golden-Swallowing Worm was like a maggot that had been magnified countless times. It was difficult for people to distinguish its head from its tail.

Right now, several large insects were entangled, making it even more difficult to distinguish them.

Under the fluorescent light, something's reflection stung his eyes.

At the edge of the cave, there was a thick layer of copper mud.

Those were the gold devouring insects' food, Zero revealed a thoughtful expression.

Why would the golden insect bring food here?

Furthermore, with the amount of copper sludge, these foods could last a few golden insects for several days. In other words, did they prepare food in advance?

Why?

Could it be because of the 'movement' below?

Zero quickly analyzed the situation in front of him.

The intertwining of golden insects, such as snakes, that reproduce.

But the golden bug is asexual and does not need to reproduce through this behavior.

Zero didn't know much about this creature, and all he knew was that he'd gotten it from a chart when Old Jack took the assignment.

He couldn't tell, but he didn't want to stay.

The task of scouting did not include the destruction of the golden bug.

Nothing superfluous would happen, but when he turned to leave, something new was happening to the insects in the cave below.

The head of the largest golden bug suddenly popped out its head. On its fat white head, there were two rows of six small, scarlet eyes.

A cross crack appeared in the center of the insect's head, and it rolled over with the fat, revealing a mouth that was the same size as its head.

Under the green light, everything was clear.

There were three layers of small inverted teeth in the mouth. These were the unremarkable inverted teeth, but they were able to cut open mountains and dig stones.

But now, the mouthpart's target was his companion.

Puff! The insect swallowed its companion into its mouth.

The giant bug continued to suck, and it swallowed the other bug into its stomach bit by bit.

His pupils contracted.

What is this?

Kill each other?

Very quickly, the bug swallowed its companion whole, and its body gained a full circle.

Beneath the insect was a crease, as if the devouring companion were struggling.

However, the digestive juice of the Gold Swallowing Bug could melt gold fossils, so why would it not have the same kind of patience?

Very quickly, the giant bug's body stabilized.

But he seemed hungry, so he aimed his huge mouth at the other insects.

The sound of eating came unceasingly. Just like that, the giant bug devoured the remaining two of its companions.

After devouring the three bugbeasts in one go, the body of the Golden-Swallowing Worm became incomparably enormous.

It cried out in pain. Its six red eyes flickered nonstop, and layers of flesh formed on the surface of the insect's body.

It felt like it was digesting, yet it also seemed like it was excreting something at the same time.

The giant insect continued to twist its body, and its head began to sink downwards. Its body curled up, forming a huge cocoon the size of a small mountain.

When the cocoon finished and stabilized, it began to vibrate like a human heart.

Zero quietly withdrew. The reconnaissance mission was over.

This strange phenomenon of the Gold-Eating Worm should belong to the evolution process.

By devouring other partners and perfecting one's own genes, it evolves into a higher form of life.

In this era, in order to survive, he had to use every possible means to become stronger.

It was the same with humans and with other creatures.

As for whether the new form of the Gold-Eating Worm would threaten the base, a professional evaluation was needed.

That's not a zero job. We don't care how the base deals with the Gold-Swallowing Worms.

When he returned to the mine, it was already two hours later.

Zero jumped out of the cave and heard the hubbub of voices outside.

He frowned. It was working time, so it didn't seem like it should be so noisy. Things weren't simple at all.

Zero walked into the mine. Nick, the miner he had been in contact with, was arguing with someone.

When it came to zero, Nick ran over.

As he ran, he used his finger to draw the shape of a cross on his chest and forehead.

"Thank God you're back, sir."

Zero nodded and asked succinctly, "What's the matter?"

"Lost touch, sir."

Nick took a breath and pointed in the direction of the base. "Just half an hour ago, we were taking the first copper mines back to the base."

But the gates of the base were locked, and we communicated through the radio to the interior of the base, but there was no movement at all.

Everyone was so anxious that they didn't know what was going on inside. "

"You didn't contact Old Jack?"

"How can I?"

When there was no sound from the radio, we contacted our boss directly over the intercom, but no one answered. "

Nick hesitated. "This is incredible. It's almost as if the base's people suddenly disappeared."

After Zero heard this, he remained silent.

He left Nick in the crowd, climbed into the mineshaft, and headed for the entrance to the operating area.

But no one knew that his hand was resting lightly on the wood of the revolver.

The entrance to the working area was closed, and the arrival of zero sent all the surrounding workers towards him.

Zero jumped out of the car and asked, "Who's in charge?"

"Me."

A middle-aged man came out of the crowd and raised his hand, "Sir, I am the person in charge of mining operations. You can call me Jetto."

"How's the situation at the gate?"

Zero asked as he headed for the door.

"The electronic system has failed completely, and there is no reaction from inside the base. The electricians are already working on it, but the possibility of recovery is very low."

Beside the steel door, a thin man was squatting on the floor, checking the electrical circuits of the door.

Zero came up to him and asked, "Can you open it?"

"No, nothing."

The thin man replied without turning his head around. He then jumped up and respectfully said, "Sir, I've done my best."

Zero asked, "Can't it be activated manually?"

"Manual system?"

"Dammit, how did I forget about the manual system?" The electrician slapped his own head.

He immediately called for a few miners and ran to the other side of the gate.

Not long after, with a "ka" sound, the gate between the operation area and the base slowly opened.

The people near the gate all breathed a sigh of relief. However, the skin beneath their clothes gave off a needle-like feeling.

Dangerous!

From the door came the smell of danger.

The door opened a crack and a red, viscous liquid trickled out of it.

They ran across the brown floor, past the shoes of Zero and the others, then stopped ten meters outside the door.

The miners didn't say a word, but an arm slid out of the door in a stream of red liquid.

This was only an arm. It was broken from the root of the shoulder, and a ghastly white arm bone pierced out from within the blurry flesh.

"What's going on?"

The mine manager was dumbfounded as he hit zero.

Zero took a deep breath and said quietly, "You guys stay here. After I enter, close the door!"

With that, he stepped into the pool of blood. With another step, he had already stepped into the main gate of the base.

After a moment, the door slowly closed.