Book 1 Chapter 22: YeChen"s Gone Berserk!
Lying in the mud, Ye Zhu"s shoulder was dyedred with fresh blood. Had the demongale hound struck deeper, it would havetaken off her entire shoulder. With no time to even catch her breath, Ye Zhufrantically crawled forward towards Ye Chen"s group. The searing pain in hershoulder caused large beads of perspiration the flow down her brow.
The demongale hound howled before swiping itsclaw towards her once more. The shadow of death hung heavily over Ye Zhu"shead. Her heart sank as she witnessed the claw descend mercilessly upon her. Atthat moment, a frenzied roar carrying unbridled madness broke out: "SCRAM!!!"
Ye Chen"s eyes were bloodshot. His hair rose upas though channeled by his intense fury. Ferocious killing intent flooded hismind like a torrent of crashing waves. It felt as though all the blood in hisbody had starting flowing backwards. He wasn"t even aware of where his strengthwas coming from. Before he knew it, he had already leapt off Bai Long"s back andwas charging uncontrollably towards that demongale hound, howling at the top ofhis lungs!
He rushed forward with blatant disregard. Withoutany sign of trickery or finesse, he catapulted himself towards the demongalehound like a wild animal.
*Roar! Swiping its paw, the demongale houndsmacked Ye Chen away, sending him tumbling into the mud. However, the heavilyinjured man instantly sprang back onto his feet while taking in large breathsof air. Twisting his handsome features into mask of savagery, he directed a seethingglare filled with madness at the creature.
His eyes clearly conveyed an unparalleled senseof ruthlessness!
Yue Heng and Bai Long who were standing on thesidelines were bewildered by Ye Chen"s current appearance.
*Rumble~~~
The sky continued to tremble with the cries ofthunder. A sudden streak of lightning lit the dark sky for an instant. It wasas though something behind the dreary clouds, was gazing coldly upon the landsbelow.
"KILL!"
As the raindrops roll off the tips of Ye Chen"shair, he let out a furious roar. In his mind, there was simply nothing elseother than the maddening urge to kill. Like a wild ape, he flung himself at thedemongale hound and wrapped his arms around the creature"s large head,strangling its neck in an unyielding vice.
"Die! DIE!!!" Like a man gone mad, he openedhis mouth and violently bit down upon the demongale hound"s neck. Furiously gnashinghis teeth, he tore through the creature"s soft fur and sunk his teeth deep intoits exposed skin.
"ARUuu…." The demongale hound cried out inagony. Swiping its claw, it tore open multiple lacerations upon Ye Chen"s back.However, in this condition, Ye Chen no longer felt any pain. The attack onlycaused him to further tighten his stranglehold on the creature"s neck whilesinking his teeth deep into its flesh. No matter how it tried to shake him off,he stubbornly held on.
*BANG!
Suddenly, a deafening gunshot was heard.Immediately after, the demongale hound which was caught in a fierce strugglestiffened and collapsed to the ground, pinning Ye Chen underneath its ma.s.sive body.
Eventually, Ye Chen ceased biting after discoveringa lack of resistance from the demongale hound. Gradually, he felt his sensesreturning. From under the corpse, he saw his sister running towards him, herface covered in tears. Seeing her safe, he finally relaxed. Immediately, dizzinessengulfed his mind as his consciousness began to falter. Vaguely, he felt hissister calling out to him through anguished wails: "Brother----"
What followed felt like the sky collapsing uponhim. Only the sensation of falling rain upon his face and lips remained, coldand chilling, just like the darkness that covered the earth….
Soon after, he fainted.
Within a dark corridor, Ye Chen was walkingwith a fireman"s axe in hand. A zombie suddenly comes lunging out of thecorner. From its shape, he could tell it was a girl. Its long black hair was indisarray, concealing its facial features. Without the slightest bit ofhesitation, Ye Chen cleaved out with his axe, intending to put an end to itsexistence.
A sudden gust of wind blew away its hair aside,revealing a delicate face. It was his little sister Ye Zhu….
"Broth-er, brother…."
Ye Chen regained his consciousness. His wasinstantly arrested by the gripping pain coming from his abdomen. By the side ofhis ear, he could hear the worried cries of his sister. Slowly, he opened hiseyes. Although his vision was still quite blurry, he could tell that he was currentlyin a well-lit room. Immediately, a face cameinto view which he tried hard to focus upon. Eventually, he was able to clearlymake out his sister"s face. Her beautiful features were stricken with anxiety.
So it was just a dream!
Ye Chen inwardly sighed in relief. Straininghimself, he squeezed out a smile, saying: "I"m alright."
Upon noticing her brother"s movements, Ye Zhu"seyes widened in glee. Cheerfully, she said: "You"ve finally awakened. Are youfeeling any discomfort?"
With a bit of strain, Ye Chen shook his head.Glancing around, he noticed how tidy the room was. It seems the walls were madeof metal. Creasing his brows, he inquired: "Where are we?"
Ye Zhu blinked her eyes before saying: "This isinside the research facility. It was Professor Mo who shot that creature todeath, saving our lives."
Ye Chen nodded his head in understanding.
*Squeak!
The door suddenly opened and a few peopleentered. It was Bai Long, Yue Heng and a bespectacled young man at around eithertwenty three or twenty four years of age. Wearing an empty expression, the manappeared cold and hard to approach.
"Hey, feelin" better?" Upon discovering Ye Chenawake, Bai Long"s face lit up considerably, greeting him with visible cheer.
Ye Chen did not answer him. He glanced at thebespectacled young man, asking: "So you are Professor Mo?"
"Indeed." The young man nodded.
Ye Chen tried to sit up from the bed, yet hewas seized by a blazing surge of agony coming from his back. The throbbing painfrom his wounded abdomen didn"t help either. Furrowing his brows, he glancedover his entire body, which was currently wrapped tightly in thick layers ofgauze. With his appearance now closely resembling an Egyptian mummy, he didn"t knowwhether to laugh or cry.
"You"re not allowed to move!" Ye Zhu snapped. "Becareful or else you"ll reopen your wounds."
Bai Long walked over. With a big smileplastered upon his face, he said: "You sure are hard to kill; even a rupturedbelly couldn"t keep you from moving. Tsk, tsk. There"s no other explaination. Youwere definitely a c.o.c.kroach in a previous life."
While they were carrying him into the facility,they clearly noticed the numerous injuries riddled across his body. The largewound on his abdomen was especially prominent. All of them were shockedspeechless. How could anyone not die from such injuries and still afford tolead a group running down a few blocks and killing a horde of more than ahundred zombies?
Just how terrifying was this man"s will tosurvive?
Bai Long still remembered the sadness on Ye Zhu"sface as she cried. Even that seemingly emotionless Professor Mo seemed to betaken aback upon inspecting Ye Chen"s extensive injuries. He was so shockedthat he didn"t even raise any questions.
Ye Chen looked behind them and furrowed hisbrows, asking: "Where"s that mutant ant?"
Bai Long shrugged, saying: "We handed it overto Prof. Mo Feng, he"s experimenting on it."
Ye Chen nodded. Immediately after, he hurriedlyasked: "What day and month is today?"
Bai Long stared at him strangely. With a laidback att.i.tude, he said: "Today"s the 29th of September. Don"t tellme your head"s all muddled from sleeping too much?"
Ye Chen heaved a sigh of relief and raised hishead to look at Prof. Mo Feng, asking: "There"s something I need your helpwith."
"Speak!" There wasn"t any expression on hisface and the way he talks was pretty concise.
"Help me extract that mutant ant"s gene cellsand siphon them into a syringe." Ye Chen said as he stared at the professor.
Mo Feng gave the request a thought, beforegiving a nod while saying: "Fine."
Ye Chen heaved a sigh as he sank his head backupon his pillow. Looks like all the preparations were in place. Now, he simplyneeded to prevail in the process of integrating with the mutant ant"s explosivelypowerful cells. If he failed to become a genome warrior, he might end uptransforming into some kind of monstrosity!
Translator"s Notes:
Prof. Mo Feng"s name (莫枫) means "nothing/noone" + "maple".