novelraw Chapter 316: No Mutation
Chapter 316: No Mutation
The cave entrance was opened by Alistair White and two Earth Element Superpower Users.
"You’re a Fire Element Superpower User. Go in and take a look."
Alistair White said, pointing to one of the men in the team.
The man was wearing only a vermilion tank top, his muscular arms tattooed with flames of various sizes.
The cave entrance was quiet after being opened. Nothing rushed out, but the inside was pitch-black.
"If I go in and find something, do I get to keep the reward?"
The man in the tank top wasn’t scared.
He knew from their journey that no matter the Mutated Animal, they all had a healthy fear of the Fire Element Superpower.
Although exploring it was dangerous, it was also an opportunity.
"It’s yours."
Alistair White replied.
"Alright, then I’ll be on my way."
The man in the tank top conjured his Fire Element Superpower in both hands, and flames erupted from his shoulders and arms.
"Wait, can we go with him?"
A few others were eager to try.
"You’re a Space Superpower User, so you can’t. The rest of you can, but you’d better not think about pulling any tricks."
Alistair White replied.
Greg Unger and Aaron Axton exchanged a look. It seemed Nina Jacobs and her group knew what was in the cave. But these outsiders didn’t look like good people, and they had no intention of warning them.
The flickering firelight, along with the figures of the volunteers, disappeared into the cave.
Shirley Lucas took the opportunity to casually chat with a man standing nearby. "Hey brother, how much is your commission?"
’Why else would they be willing to risk their lives like this?’
The man glanced at Alistair White, then thought for a moment before replying, "Enough supplies for one person for a year. What about you?"
"Us? We don’t get as much. We’re just freeloading, so we came along since there was something to gain."
Shirley Lucas replied.
’The payment from The Aegis Conclave sounds substantial.’
’But whether they’ll actually pay up is another story.’
’After all, that guy Alistair White kills so casually.’
"Doesn’t sound like there’s any movement inside. If I’d known, a few of us would’ve gone in too."
A few minutes later, the people inside the cave were still able to talk to Alistair White’s group via walkie-talkie.
Some of the people who had hesitated earlier were now starting to regret it.
"Yeah, all we have to do is find one meteorite to get the commission. I heard that old dog Lynch used to be a tomb raider. He might actually have some experience with this."
"I wonder if it’s too late to go in now..."
Listening to the crowd’s whispers, Nina Jacobs and her group understood. No wonder so many people were willing to be hired, remaining indifferent even after seeing their comrades killed.
It was because the offered terms were attractive enough. All they had to do was find a single Mystic Ice Core to complete the mission...
’It seems The Aegis Conclave is really willing to pay a high price for these Ice Cores.’
"They’re not actually going to find something, are they?"
Adrian Shaw said in a low voice.
Their equipment looked very comprehensive and high-quality.
"They’ve probably already found some."
Nina Jacobs replied.
These people were insistent on exploring the blocked cave entrance, which most likely meant they knew the Mystic Ice Cores were related to animal mutation.
In other words, they had already found some Mystic Ice Cores, just not very many.
"We got here too late."
Adrian Shaw said regretfully.
"Yeah, we are a bit late."
Nina Jacobs looked up at the gradually darkening sky.
Just then, a surprised cry suddenly came from inside the cave.
It was followed by several panicked shouts.
"What’s wrong? What did you find?" Winslow asked immediately over the walkie-talkie.
"So many... so many eyes! AHHHHH!!"
"Quick, use your Fire Element Superpower to burn it!"
"No, it’s no use! The path ahead is blocked by that thing! Run! Run back!"
A series of bloodcurdling screams echoed endlessly, and the expressions of the people outside began to turn fearful.
Alistair White stared vigilantly at the pitch-black cave entrance.
The screams finally stopped, and what sounded like the squeaking of rats came from the walkie-talkie.
"It couldn’t be Zombie Rats, could it?"
someone asked, their voice trembling.
"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s normal for a place like this to have something in it. We just have to eliminate it, right?"
Calix Stone conjured a massive Fireball, and the other Fire Element Superpower Users were called to his side.
"Mr. White! Those two ran off!"
At that moment, Soren Sullivan, who had beaten Greg Unger earlier, shouted.
The two Bishop Clan Members who had been behind them had vanished at some point!
"Ran off?"
Only then did Alistair White realize the two were gone. He instinctively looked toward Summer Warner’s group.
But he saw that from where they were standing, there was nothing they could have done.
"Forget about them for now. We’ll find them sooner or later."
What puzzled Alistair White the most was how the two had untied the Alloy Ropes. However, with danger imminent, they couldn’t be bothered to chase after them.
A piercing shriek came from inside the cave, a sound so shrill that several people standing at the entrance couldn’t help but cover their ears.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Alistair White immediately conjured a Metal Shield in front of him.
His words had barely faded when the sound of rocks crashing and falling echoed from inside the cave.
Seeing that things were turning bad, Nina Jacobs promptly used Diamond Sand to form a circular protective shield around her group.
From a distance, the Diamond Sand Cover looked like specks of sand floating in mid-air, resembling a mesh screen more than anything.
"You guys will take on any job, huh? Your skills as an Earth Element Superpower User seem a bit lacking, don’t they?"
a Superpower User who had conjured a thick Stone Shield nearby laughed out loud.
’Imagine an Earth Element Superpower User who can’t even conjure a Stone Shield.’
"Just worry about yourselves."
Holden Shaw stood inside the Diamond Sand Cover, feeling completely at ease.
’This is the Earth Element Protective Shield that even the Mutant Wolf King couldn’t do anything about.’
The things inside the cave finally appeared.
A dense swarm of black shadows flew out of the cave. The shadows, as if in a frenzy, charged madly toward the crowd outside!
"It’s bats!"
The group under the Diamond Sand Cover finally saw clearly what they were.
"There are so many of them!"
Leo Hale felt goosebumps rise all over his skin.
In less than a minute, at least tens of thousands of bats had flown out, and more were still pouring out from inside the cave.
The speed could only be described as a torrent.
"These bats aren’t mutated."
Chase Gallagher said.
The size and shape of the bats flying out were no different from before the apocalypse.
Generally speaking, a Mutated Animal’s body would be more than twice its original size.
"They’re Mornfell bats! Mornfell bats are man-eaters! Everyone, run!"
someone in the crowd shouted.
BOOM!
Calix Stone spewed out Superpower Fire, and a few bats diving toward him instantly fell.
"It’s no use, there are too many of them."
Winslow was also using Wind Blades to continuously kill the attacking bats.
These bats must have been sealed in the cave for too long. Seeing humans now made them unusually agitated.
Their Superpowers couldn’t kill them all!
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Dozens of Gold Spikes hit a group of bats, but Alistair White’s expression was grim.
’These bats aren’t mutated, which means there’s nothing in the cave after all.’
"AHHH!!"
Screams rang out constantly from all around. The bats were exceptionally ferocious. The Superpower User who had been using a Stone Shield for cover was now covered in bats of all sizes.
In contrast, for the group watching the show from under the Diamond Sand Cover, the bats couldn’t break through that layer of sand at all!
"Get in the cars!"
Alistair White had the Space Superpower User beside him bring out two off-road vehicles, then drove off with a portion of the group to escape.
As for the remaining hired mercenaries, no one seemed to care whether they lived or died.