Life Mission Chapter 45:
There are few mutants that show their identities in such a unique manner . Of them, only the hatchery follows heartbeats .
-[Of course . ]
-[I think it is as well . ]
The force members agreed with Cha Jun Sung’s opinion . They had each also experienced Life Mission for a few years . They knew how to distinguish between unique mutants .
-[Which stage do you think it’s at?]
-[Since it’s level D, 1st stage is highly possible and 2nd if it’s more evolved?]
-[That’s right . If it’s completely developed, it would not be 5000 points . ]
It is a hatchery . It is nearly unable to fight but like its name, it consumes nutrients when it feels danger to produce mutants .
Hatcheries go through the nest in the 2nd stage and become a complete headquarters . Headquarters in the virtual version are whopping levels 5 to 7 .
Cha Jun Sung had never seen a level 7 headquarters before either . According to rumors, only Nine Tail of the 36 rankers had caught one but he could not remember well .
The guy outside is a hatchery or nest . It would be better if it were a hatchery, as long as it is not an old nest with a level 4 .
-[Seeing how it is waking up from hibernation, it seems it smelled the force members . ]
-[There isn’t movement in the production . It hasn’t sensed danger yet . ]
The radio became busy . It is easy for 100 people to get rid of a hatchery .
What they are reluctant about is coming across a new mutant during battle .
Mutants are each individuals . So most of them including the hatchery, do not like encroaching on other areas .
This is a variable . They could get in trouble if they let their guards down thinking that it is just a hatchery area . They must calculate all possibilities in every situation .
More is better does not apply in the case of mutants . If there are more mutants, there are only more disasters . Not having any is the shortcut to world peace .
-[I still see a few dark corners . Let’s throw a few more photothermal grenades . ]
-[If possible, I’d like to get visibility and get by without fighting . ]
They cannot bother it . It is important to deliver the message, ‘I want to get by this path . I don’t intend to impose on you . ’
Instead of throwing the photothermal grenades, they were rolled out . 3 photothermal grenades lit up the rest area . The panorama came into sight, including the hatchery hanging on the ceiling .
-[Nest?]
-[Damn it!]
Thump .
It is a living being hanging ominously over a rest area exceeding hundreds of square feet .
It is like a wrinkled piece of meat with disgusting veins, bumpy thorns, and dozens of open wombs that give birth to mutants .
A hatchery has less than10 wombs . It has a short range, thin veins, and thorns that look as though they are not fully protruding . The one on the roof is immature .
The light red color shows this . Regardless of its evolution, the color gets darker the longer it stays . In the case of headquarters, it is a darker red than blood .
Even if it is freshly evolved, a nest is a nest . Therefore, it is definitely a level 3 .
-[Does anyone know how many minutes it takes to pull a level 3 in the virtual version?]
-[It only takes a few seconds for level 1, 1 minute for level 2, and 5 minutes for level 3 . ]
There must be a Lifer other than Cha Jun Sung who knows because someone responded as soon as they heard the question .
-[How many wombs are there?]
-[26 . ]
It was hard for people other than the leading group to check the situation, so it was relayed by word of mouth .
-[It could pull out 400 mutants by itself . It looks like we’ll have to expect at least 2 mutants in level 3 as well . ]
This is in the case of a fight . If they just get past this safely, they will not have to face even one .
-[Do you see a way out?]
-[Wait a second . ]
The Lifers that were an issue to Chun Myung Ik had found a path using photothermal grenades .
With the force as the point, there were doors similar to the one they had come through to the east and west . They must be paths to places like warehouses .
In a direction slight off a straight line, a connection that they could go in and out of with ease was waiting for visitors .
-[I can see it . It’s difficult for us to assess this on our own, so please come and take a look for yourself . ]
-[I’ll go up . ]
The force members pushed their bodies against the wall . The passage is narrow but when they moved around a little, they could make enough space for Chun Myung Ik and a few others to get through .
When they arrived at the front, Chun Myung Ik looked in the direction the Lifers indicated .
-[We’ve found the right place . ]
A rest area is a place to meet . Even if they had rode the cargo lifts into a different warehouse, they would have had to go through this one anyway .
It seems the road pioneering mission exists because of the nest . Since it is in the center, blocking the path to the latter half of the mission, they will need to either avoid it or kill it .
“Do you think the mission will be complete even if we avoid it?”
“I don’t think so if it’s pioneering . ”
“Right? If we avoid it, it’ll stay alive . That’s not pioneering it . With time, it’ll multiply or develop into headquarters . ”
The force members nodded to Park Jin Hyuk’s words without realizing .
It makes sense . What if when they received a sample takeover that is suspected to be a link, the starting point selection is always a tunnel? Every time they come, they would have to face the nest .
[Battle will be the worst possible situation . We will go in the direction of avoiding it . ]
Chun Myung Ik thought on Park Jin Hyuk’s words before making his decision . They will go with the lower risk first . Battle is not the best method, it is the second best .
***
Cha Jun Sung who was passing through the rest area with the force members slightly tilted his head .
Boom boom!
The nest is moving . Is it because it senses movement in the area but not danger? They were being consistent without showing activity . Even if it noticed that they have a motive, it had no way to know what that is . Look . Does that bizarre creature have expression? It is just stuck to wall .
‘Throwing it is a problem too, but the middle falls and blasts if the bomb’s timing is off . In this battle, a bomb is a double-edged sword . ’
The distance between the floor and ceiling is about 30m, higher than a 10 story building . This problem is not to be resolved with strength alone . There needs to be a sense for measuring distance .
Even with Cha Jun Sung’s muscular strength, he could not guarantee that he would get the timing right .
To only bring shock?
As a building type, the outer shell of the nest is tough and thick . The eggs is hatches are indescribably hard as well .
‘Confine them . ’
There are 100 people in the force . It is a large space of almost 500 to 600 square feet, but a battle here would put shackles on the Lifers .
If they misuse the weapons, allies will be hurt . Weapons do not have eyes .
‘It’s the best way . ’
A few Lifers kill the hatching eggs that fall one by one .
A few check from the rear . The Lifers cannot get mixed up no matter what . A level 3 that falls will keep several Lifers **** .
If this happens, there will be fewer deaths . There is no guarantee for what will happen once they encounter it . It is all just prediction .
-[The situation at the tail-end?]
-[Groups 7 and 8 just passed . Now, only 9 and 10 need to pass . ]
Soon after, the rest of the groups came over . The force went into a connected path . A change occurred while they were get farther away from the nest’s sensing range like this .
-[If you would like to complete the mission, you must get rid of the nest in the rest area . ]
-[Ack!]
-[This is crazy!]
The force was in despair . What Park Jin Hyuk said had come true . They could not avoid battle . They reacted with sensitivity because the situation has a direct impact on their lives .
-[We’ll need to split up into teams . It is not a good environment for 100 people to start shooting . ]
-[Are you saying that some people will have to go out and fight while others stay back and keep a lookout?]
-[If you have a twisted outlook like that from the beginning, our teamwork will only come apart . ]
There are several conversations . There is one meaning in all of the conversations . ‘I don’t want to go out and fight, so you go out . ’
It is different if the entire force goes out, but they do not want to take the initiative to go out and fight . Cha Jun Sung did not refute this either . He was the same .
-[Can’t we lure them into the warehouse?]
-[Oh! It would work if we take on a few with our large numbers!]
It is the method that Cha Jun Sung and Park Jin Hyuk used in Field of Meat . If they use that narrow passage, they could reduce the nest’s productivity for sure .
‘Will the nest be deceived so easily?’