In less than thirty seconds they had wiped out all of the craft trailing them.
This achievement raised the morale of the entire team.
Xiao unconsciously raised a victorious fist towards Casey in celebration. Suddenly he realized his action and pulled his hand back. Casey"s fist landed on him playfully and Xiao felt his heart tremble as a small smile stretched his lips.
They did not have an opportunity to relax. They were both acutely aware that these craft were mere cannon fodder that Valentin had deployed to test their abilities.
They were closing in on the Antarctic base and Xiao couldn"t help the surprise that welled inside him. In a short time Valentin had built such a ma.s.sive structure. The scans showed that the base was extremely deep and structurally sound. All the support materials were ultrhigh density t.i.tanium. Xiao couldn"t imagine the manpower and resources necessary for such a stable and immense base. Where had Valentin acquired the means?
There were no more than 2 meters away when the craft suddenly began to fall from the sky. Neither Xiao Yan nor Casey could control the engines at all. It was a though a large force had smashed into the craft and pulled it down.
The situation quickly spiraled out of control and Xiao and Casey hit the alarm. Everyone was instantly ejected from the craft, just as they were about to meet the ground.
The impact explosion caused an avalanche along the glaciers in the distance. As Xiao rolled off the ground, he could feel the violent tremors reverberate toward him. Scorching air rolled over his back, his uniform protecting him from the high temperature. Xiao quickly got to his feet. Only when he was positive that everyone had made safely from the craft, did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"f.u.c.k! What is going on?!" Mark shouted.
Heine squatted on the ground and moved his hand over the snow until he hit a distinctive material.
"Magnetic field. Valentin used this to destroy our engines. No matter how powerful the pilot he cannot resist physics."
Xiao Yan immediately contacted the support team and warned them not to drive the aircraft near the area before removing the device.
He turned back toward the base; The grey material seemed like monster standing amid the cold and wind-Ready to devour them.
Winn sneered. "Sure we want to go inside? You think Valentin will open the door and invite us in?"
Even if they knew it was a trap, they still had to move forward. The supporting team remained at the outer edge of the magnetic field.
"Let"s move." Jane walked forward, step by step. He left a deep row of footprint behind him. Casey said nothing. He simply gathered his terminal equipment and followed behind him.
As they reached the entrance, Jane stopped abruptly and coldly spoke. "Xiao, Casey, connect your wireless terminals."
As soon as his curt command pierced the frigid air, he pressed his palm against the door panel. His biological readings were instantly recognized and they heard a "welcome home" chime from overhead. The greeting was delivered in Claire"s voice. Casey"s shoulders slumped and the door slowly opened revealing a wide deep channel ahead of them. The cold wind whipped through the pa.s.sage, whistling eerily through the gloomy opening.
Jane unsheathed his blade and lifted his foot to move forward. Casey went to grab him, but he had already stepped through the threshold. The entire pa.s.sage lit up.
"IS this a welcome?" Mark scratched his head bewildered.
"He wouldn"t let us enter so easily." Casey snorted and then lowered his eyepiece to scan the walls.
"There is a laser weapon affixed to the wall. No matter how good your healing abilities are, it will cut you to pieces. Not even G.o.d can save you from such an attack."
"Hm a laser. How old fashioned. I figured he would just fire a missile at us head on." Winn grabbed a silver wing from his belt and threw it into the hall. The lasers deployed and the small weapon was cut into small metal fragments.
"So how do we pa.s.s through??"
Jane laughed at Winn. "Obviously we have to destroy the lasers."
His words had no sooner left his mouth when Heine removed his condensation gun and began a.s.sembling it. In less than a second, he held the weapon and rushed into the pa.s.sageway.
"Heine!" Xiao anxiously moved forward when Jane suddenly shoved him back. Xiao was knocked into Casey"s arms.
"Do you thing Heine and Jane can"t handle this?
As they moved into the channel, the laser shot off in a gridded mesh like pattern. Once it hit its target, the destruction was horrific.
Winn stood to the side of Xiao. Heine stepped off the wall and twisted in the air. The laser pa.s.sed along his arm, nearly severing his limbs. Suddenly the trigger of the gun pressed down and the laser weapon was destroyed. The minute Heine landed he shot off several more shots at a different angle.
Xiao"s heart was tight and tense. His brain calculated the angle of Heine"s attack. Heine seemed to have an almost instinctual understanding of the strategy needed. Before Xiao could even think Heine had bypa.s.sed the first laser and destroyed it before it could track his movements, then maneuvered himself to take out the third laser.
Jane"s approach is more direct and crude. He reflects the laser off his blade and uses the altered beam to take out the other lasers. His weapon"s material is able to deftly redirect the beams. Casey must have designed his sword.
Xiao pulled out his gun and looked over at Casey. As their eyes met, an understanding swept between them. It was impossible for Heine and Jane to take out all the lasers. The pa.s.sage is simply too long.
Winn did not stop Xiao"s advance, but quickly followed him inside.
Xiao ability to fire rapidly and accurately is top notch even among the special missions troops. Because the lasers do not emit a natural heat signature, the condenser gun cannot automatically lock on to the weapons and must be manually aimed. The further Heine and Jane head into the pa.s.sage, the more dense the laser spread becomes. The speed of the weapons gathers and Xiao must quickly eliminate the danger and reduce the burden on them. Within a couple seconds, Xiao shoots off two shots and the blasts pa.s.s beside Heine"s ear to lodge into a distant wall. Within a minute Xiao had eliminated the lasers along their route as they reached the end of the pa.s.sageway.
Mark and Liv moved to carefully guard Xiao as they approached Heine.
The opening to the base closed behind them and Xiao attempted to contact the forces waiting outside, but the signal couldn"t breach the base.
Xiao tiredly closed his eyes and his head fell back against the wall. There was no option to retreat now.
"Can you invade the master system here?" Jane"s reached over and poked his finger into Xiao"s cheek. As soon as he made contact, Heine firmly grabbed his wrist. Xiao looked up to see the tight grip Heine had on Jane and he could hear the crunching sound of Jane"s bones breaking.
Xiao reached up and grabbed ahold of Heine"s wrist, forcing him to loosen his grip on Jane. Jane stretched out his fingers and smiled indifferently.
"I can"t invade. Not only is the signal blocked but I cannot access any other signals to use within the base." Xiao frowned as he spoke.
Winn leaned his palm against the wall and spoke in a cold vicious tone. "It seems that Valentin is quite threatened by Xiao"s abilities. He doesn"t intend to allow his mind to connect to the systems inside here. The configuration is quite antiquated, instead of having modern systems that might contain opening."
"What do you mean?" Mark asked scratching his head.
Winn pushed Mark back. "You don"t need to understand what it means!"
They advanced forward, the path ahead led to the lower levels of the base.
Mark stopped to look down. The entire hall was brightly lit, but the cold lights cast an eerie feeling of horror that wrapped the s.p.a.ce. The ground shone like a gla.s.s mirror, and they all wondered how it remained so polished.
"You think we will encounter variants below?"
"Of course there will be some. But we have all been injected with the Sharon virus, no zombie will attack us." Xiao narrowed his eyes, he felt deeply uneasy. With each step they took, they were acting according to Valentin"s plan, but there was no other choice.
"Calm down. You said yourself, there is no way to be completely prepared. That not only applies to us but to Valentin as well.
As Heine"s voice sounded in his ear, Xiao"s wildly erratic heart suddenly calmed.
"Let"s move."
They looked down at the expanse of the base. The entire place seemed empty and everyone felt a sense of trepidation fill them. Were there really others in here besides themselves?
This kind of silence was loud and disconcerting and Xiao"s heart tightened inexplicably. Liv Mark and Winn form a protective triangle around him. Xiao is focused on locating the control room, as long as he can get into the system he can find out the layout of the base.
The still empty base ate at Mark"s patience. He lowered his voice and spit out a curse. "d.a.m.n. Valentin is hiding here? There is nothing!"
Xiao narrowed his eyes as he surveyed overhead. There were countless doors lining the walls. All were closed.
"Not necessarily nothing."
The instant he spoke the doors all slammed open and the sound of things falling saturated the s.p.a.ce. Everyone was instantly vigilant. As an object swept above them, Mark unsheathed his blade. He heard the sound of bones breaking and muscles tearing as blood splashed over him, accompanied by the smell of nutrient broth. Heine grabbed Xiao and pressed him behind his body. Everyone stood stunned. A corpse lay before them. They looked to be no older than a teenager. His eyes were wide and unfocused and his muscles were deteriorated. His facial features were warped and unbalanced. Still, something felt familiar and Xiao couldn"t help but glance in Jane"s direction.
Jane lowered his head and moved the corpse"s face toward him with his blade. A cold poison filled his gaze.
"A failed clone. If I am not mistaken, this is where Valentin manufactures his "children"."
Suddenly more than a dozen bodes fell from the openings. As they hit the ground, they could see that their skulls were smashed and there features were completely deformed. It was difficult to look directly at them.
"We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Obviously this level is used to dispose of failed clones. The dissolving agent will soon be released and eat up any organic matter." Casey let out a severe warning as even more bodies landed
"d.a.m.n! No wonder the floor is so smooth." Mark yelled out.
"How do we get out? Where do we go? There is only one path and it doesn"t make sense to go back?" Liv frowned as she contemplated their options.
Heine didn"t say a word. He released his rope and it affixed along a pipe. He reached for Xiao Yan. "Let"s go!"
Xiao nodded. The shaft must be linked to the laboratories used to incubate the clones. There should be a terminal in the lab! Xiao quickly began to climb up the rope. The walls were smooth and frictionless. Although the rope was strong enough to support them, it was difficult to traverse. Bodies were constantly falling and they continually slipped along the slick surface. Several times Xiao was almost knocked off by a falling corpse. Heine caught him on his shoulders. Xiao used him to support himself and began to climb again. The nutrient solution had completely coated Heine"s body. In order to maintain support for Xiao Yan, his entire musculature was tight and taxed, but he remained indifferent to the exhaustion.
Xiao finally glimpsed the exit and two more bodies fell down. Xiao was almost washed down with them, but Heine sighed heavily and roughly pushed Xiao up. Xiao collapsed onto the ground. As he glanced up, he was shocked at the scene before him.
In the dark s.p.a.ce countless incubation chambers lined the pa.s.sage. Each contained a clone. They were sleeping peacefully, suspended in the nutrient solution. Xiao looked further down the line and saw, through the faint light, that they all were incarnations of Jane"s DNA. Some were still babies, other a few years old and a few were near adulthood.
Not far from them, one of the clones suddenly twitches and his eyes snapped open. Their pupils shook madly as they struggled to focus. Their eyes went bloodshot as they banged against the chamber gla.s.s in an effort to free themselves. They writhed, struggling to breathe in the nutrient solution. Amid his thrashing his skin gradually peeled from his body, revealing bright red viscera and his convulsions grew more violent as his pain intensified.
This clone has failed.
Xiao Yan couldn"t help but stare at the horrific sight in front of him, when suddenly a palm covered his eyes and he was pressed back into powerful arms.
"Do not look."
Heine"s voice wove through his brain like a cool breeze and he instinctively grabbed at his wrist, concentrating on the even rise and fall of his chest. For Xiao Yan, this is proof of life; the heat of Heine, and his steady breath.
Suddenly a loud sloshing sound broke the air and the dead clone was ejected from the chamber. He pa.s.sed through a machine and fell through the shaft...disposed of like a piece of garbage.
When Heine removed his hand from his eyes, Xiao noticed that the chamber was already prepped with another embryo...like some twisted nightmarish reincarnation.
Winn and Liv helped Mark up from the shaft. The large man stared agape at the line of chambers in front of him.
"Oh...my...how many...they are all Jane Wallace?" Mark knocked on the gla.s.s of one of the incubation chambers. "Valentin could build an army...An army with the power of the special mission forces! MY G.o.d!"
"Hn. This is how Casey and I came into this world. There are many unstable variables in cloning a DNA line. Valentin was attempting to enhance our adaptation of the x virus. Such embryos are more p.r.o.ne to deformities and premature ejection. Out of a hundred clones, maybe one will survive. This is what makes us different from you guys. We don"t know where we belong. Rather...from a genetic point of view...I am Valentin." Jane"s lips twisted into a bitter and pained smile.
"None of these chambers are connected to the main system. " Winn looked carefully over the chambers and looked for a line that would potentially link them to the base. "Here. This line is different."
Xiao frowned. "Winn. There is no need to keep looking. None of these are connected to a terminal. It is a very rudimentary system. It requires a very basic program to continue the process of copying continuously."
"d.a.m.n! It is a ghost town. How do we find Valentin?" Winn pointed down the line as the chambers seemed to stretch on infinitely.
Suddenly Xiao felt as though something were approaching. The sound of silverwings whizzed through the air and the gla.s.s from the chambers shattered around them, some of the clones were pierced through. Everyone instantly evaded the attack and Xiao pushed off one of the chambers. He pulled his knife out and blocked a silver wing headed for his waist. As he maneuvered, he realized that it wasn"t just a few attackers...it was a whole group.
A cold light flashed briefly to his side. As his dagger collided with his opponent"s blade he was able to glimpse their face.
"Jane - what the h.e.l.l are you doing!"
Suddenly Jane hit the ground and two killers who looked identical to him waved their blades menacingly.
"Aw s.h.i.t...How come they are all Jane Wallace?!" Marks shout boomed through the pa.s.sage.
All of the a.s.sa.s.sins were clones of Jane.
As if Surge a.s.sa.s.sins weren"t difficult enough to deal with... if these killers possess the same combat abilities as Jane...it would be a disaster.
Xiao went low and slashed the abdomen of one of the killers then he moved behind him to stab his blade through the other"s neck.
As the a.s.sa.s.sin fell, Xiao"s gaze collided with the clone"s. His eyes were completely different from Janes. They were cold and empty; no fear of death disturbed their depths-as though the clone was a machine.
The a.s.sa.s.sins closed in and the ruptured chambers poured out their nutrient broth onto the floor. Xiao slipped on the slick solution and slammed to the ground. The minute he hit, the killer swept his blade and knocked his knife from his hands. As he moved in, Heine slit his throat. The killers continued to move toward them and Heine quickly picked Xiao from the floor and moved ahead to block their offense. His fierce momentum was extraordinary. The killers fixate on Heine and struggle to find a gap in his attacks.
Xiao bent to pick up the fallen killer"s blade. When the killer moved his entire body"s momentum to attack Heine, he swept the blade over and slashed at their waist. Then slammed the blade through their skull. As the killer fell to the ground, he stared at Xiao with wide eyes as though disbelieving his own death. Another killer moved to attack Xiao Yan and Heine slashed his blade along his shoulder, savagely severing his limb.
Xiao turned toward the hiller and kicked at his lower body. When he fell to the ground to grab his fallen blade, Xiao stomped on his skull.
Nearby Mark and Liv joined forces to take care of several of the killers. Winn was covered in blood and standing over a body.
What shocked Xiao was Casey"s skill. His attacks were nimble and unpredictable. He looked over to see Casey twisting off the head off of one of the killers. There is no flicker of mercy lighting his features. He is severly focused on his goal and his determination is unshakeable.
Then there was Jane"s arrogant combat style. His blade was buried in the chest of one of the killers. He ruthlessly pulls it out and swings it along a semicircular path, forcing the killers to back away from his fearless attack. His movements seems easy and casual, but they are the result of many battles. He is adept at adopting the most lethal kill with the subtlest of movements.
Winn rested his arm on Marks"s shoulder as he admired Janes killing blow. His face is serious and stern. He remembers than that Jane was originally Heine"s successor.
"You know, although it is nice to repeatedly kill Jane Wallace, seeing that d.a.m.n face over and over again is too much." Winn lazily commented to Mark.
Jane grinned and sheathed his blade. He walked up to Xiao and lowered his head fondly. "Aw. Your hair got dirty."
"Those killers didn"t come from the incubation chambers. There were complete and trained." Xiao looked down, his eyes scanning the corpses littering the floor.
"They may be the finished product, but they are far from my standard. If even a third of them possess my abilities, not even Heine Burton can guarantee you will leave here alive." Jane kneeled on the ground looking closely at the face so resembling his own.
Heine walked into the dark depths ahead and Xiao Yan followed behind.
"Boss ! Where are you going?!"
Liv shoved mark in frustration. "Idiot! Those killers had to come from somewhere! Wherever they came in, we can leave from."
The pressed forward, moving past the chambers still intact until they found an access panel on the floor.
"It feels like we are heading deeper into Valentin"s trap. With each step it seems we are wrapping ourselves in a web we may not be able to extricate ourselves from." Liv frowned.
"I have a bad feeling about this."