Helena’s body suddenly convulsed.
The swollen bulge beneath her abdomen rose again.
Her black combat suit stretched tightly over it.
Dark blood seeped from the wound, mixing with thick black pus as it trickled down her side.
Leon stood beside her.
His palms were soaked with sweat.
He had seen scenes like this countless times in games and videos.
Watching an alien larva tear its way out of a living person right in front of him…
That was something entirely different.
Suppressing the nausea twisting his stomach, he knelt beside her.
Helena’s face had turned deathly pale.
Cold sweat soaked through her tied-back hair, leaving damp strands clinging to her forehead.
She bit down hard on her lip.
Her entire body trembled.
Something beneath her abdomen writhed violently.
It was desperate to burst free.
“Big guy.” “Lay her down.” The SCV carefully loosened its massive mechanical claw and gently lowered Helena onto a freshly cleaned steel plate.
“Ada.” “Run another scan.” [Scan complete.] [Heart rate: 28 beats per minute.] [Respiration critically weak.] [Norn Suppressant has fully entered the circulatory system.] [Alien genetic evolution successfully locked.] [Negative report.] [The larva continues causing physical damage.] [Liver rupture detected.] [Estimated survival time: 12 minutes.] Leon felt his eyelid twitch.
“So you’re saying…” “It can’t evolve anymore.” “But it can still rip her apart from the inside?” [Correct.] [Recommendation: Deploy a Medic immediately for cellular-level repair.] Leon opened the resource panel.
Medic Deployment Minerals: 50 Vespene Gas: 50 Current Resources Minerals: 15 Vespene Gas: 0 Stored Resource: Unstable Biomass Concentrate Warning: Material fails Medic deployment safety verification.
Leon stared at the glaring zero beside Vespene Gas.
“Damn it…” Minerals could still be gathered.
Gear Street was overflowing with scrap.
Even if they had to pry apart every rusted bolt by hand…
They could eventually collect enough.
Gas was another story.
Without a stable high-energy source…
The alien biomass was nothing more than useless currency.
Thirty-five more Minerals.
Only thirty-five.
Leon cursed under his breath.
“This system really loves stopping one step short.” “My lord!” “Kill her!” Ironbone suddenly screamed.
He stumbled backward across the mud.
His heavy mechanical arm scraped loudly against the ground.
“That could be a Purestrain!” “If it hatches…” “We’re all dead!” His finger shook as he pointed toward Helena.
His face had gone completely white.
“Burn her now!” “Burn her together with the monster before it’s born!” “It’s the only way anyone here survives!” Leon slowly stood.
Click.
He chambered a round in the Bolt Pistol.
Instead of pointing it at Helena…
He aimed directly toward the settlement entrance.
“Say one more word…” “And I’ll burn you first.” Ironbone instantly shut his mouth.
His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously.
Looking at Leon…
He felt an even deeper chill.
This man didn’t look like the lunatics who ruled the Underhive.
Somehow…
That made him even more terrifying.
“My lord…” “But we’ve really run out of good metal.” He looked ready to cry.
He pointed toward the scavengers still tearing apart nearby walls.
“This place has already been picked clean hundreds of times.” “Nothing’s left except rust.” “The mineral yield is terrible.” Leon frowned.
“That’s because you’re looking in the wrong places.” He opened the tactical display.
“Ada.” “Scan everything within one kilometer.” “I want the highest-value metal source.” [Wide-band radar scan initiated.] [Target located.] [Bearing: Southeast.] [Distance: 800 meters.] [Residual high-output plasma signature detected.] [Database match: Communications Relay Station ruins.] [Damaged plasma generator detected.] [Core retains stable high-energy output.] [Suitable for refining unstable biomass concentrate into deployable Vespene Gas.] [Estimated recoverable Minerals: 120 units.] Leon’s eyes lit up.
One hundred twenty Minerals.
Enough to save Helena…
And reinforce his forces.
“A plasma generator?” He turned toward Ironbone.
“That relay station southeast of here.” “There’s still a generator inside?” Ironbone’s face somehow became even paler.
“My lord…” “You have to be joking.” “That place is the Gate of Death.” His voice shook uncontrollably.
“Half a month ago…” “The entire security team disappeared.” “After that, every scavenger who went inside vanished too.” “There has to be an entire nest of Purestrains in there.” Leon casually patted the SCV’s thick armor.
“For you…” “It’s the Gate of Death.” “For my big guy’s drill…” “It’s just another pile of building blocks.” Inside the cockpit, the bearded SCV operator grinned around his cigar.
“Now that’s what I like to hear, Commander.” Leon glanced toward Helena.
Her breathing had become almost imperceptible.
There was no more time.
“Big guy.” “You stay here.” He pointed toward both the purification unit and Helena.
“Protect the purifier.” “Protect her.” “If anyone gets close…” “Or tries touching the machine…” “Roast them.” The SCV operator laughed.
“Don’t worry, Commander.” “I’ll make sure they’re crispy on the outside and tender in the middle.” Leon turned toward the two Marines.
“You’re coming with me.” Without hesitation…
Both Marines raised their Gauss Rifles and took position behind him.
Ironbone looked from Leon…
To the purification unit still dripping clean water.
Finally…
He clenched his teeth.
“Damn it.” “I’m all in.” He drew the rusty cleaver hanging at his waist.
Turning toward several trusted followers, he roared, “Grab the powder guns!” “Follow the lord!” “If anyone falls behind…” “I’ll chop them down myself!” The group left Gear Street.
Purple toxic mist drifted across the broken alleys.
The air was thick with fertilizer dust and oxidized metal.
It left Leon’s throat dry.
He checked the display on his wrist.
Distance to Relay Station: 400 meters.
The Marines advanced at the front.
Heavy boots crushed mud…
And scattered old bones with every step.
Leon followed in the middle.
The captured Bolt Pistol rested firmly in his hand.
Honestly…
He had never even killed a chicken before.
Now…
He was leading an assault on an alien nest.
It felt like playing the hardest difficulty in a game…
Without any save points.
[Warning.] Ada’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
[Psionic biological signatures detected.] [Quantity: 14.] [Location: Ventilation ducts.] Leon stopped instantly.
“Weapons up.” The Marines immediately moved back-to-back.
Their rifles aimed toward the rusted pipes overhead.
Ironbone and his scavengers huddled together against the wall, raising their crude firearms with trembling hands.
“My lord…” “What is it?” Ironbone whispered.
His teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Leon didn’t answer.
Silence settled over the alley.
Only distant sewage echoed through the tunnels.
Then…
A faint scraping noise came from the pipe overhead.
BANG!
One Marine fired first.
An 8mm Gauss round punched straight through the ventilation duct.
A stream of foul-smelling green fluid sprayed from the hole…
Covering Ironbone from head to toe.
Shrill screams erupted from inside the pipe.
The next instant…
More than a dozen lean blue-purple figures burst from the darkness.
They moved on all fours.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Extra mutated arms protruded from their bodies.
Some wielded sharpened steel spikes.
Others carried crude bone spears.
First-generation Hybrids.
Leon fired at the nearest one.
BOOM!
The Bolt Pistol kicked violently.
The recoil nearly numbed his wrist.
A bowl-sized crater exploded through the Hybrid’s chest.
Yet it didn’t die.
Dragging the lower half of its body behind it…
It continued crawling toward him.
“Damn it!” Leon retreated half a step.
The Marines opened fire.
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
They didn’t spray wildly.
Every burst was short.
Controlled.
Precise.
Each Gauss round removed another Hybrid’s skull.
Less than a minute later…
All fourteen Hybrids lay motionless across the muddy alley.
Ironbone’s crude firearm slipped from his fingers.
His face had gone pale green.
These monsters had terrorized every gang in the Underhive.
Yet before the two armored soldiers…
They hadn’t even survived a full minute.
“My lord…” “That marksmanship…” Leon shook the numbness from his hand while looking at the still-smoking Bolt Pistol.
“Nothing special.” He stepped over another corpse.
“Let’s move.” “That plasma generator…” “I’m taking it.” At the end of the road…
The relay station finally emerged from beneath the surrounding mountains of scrap.
A massive rusted radar dish leaned sideways.
Dim electrical sparks flickered inside the abandoned structure.
Suddenly…
A deafening crash echoed from behind the station’s reinforced blast door.
Something…
Had slammed against it from the inside.
The air instantly filled with the overwhelming stench of fresh blood.
[Warning.] [Type-II Mutant detected.] [Recommendation: Maintain distance.] Even Ada’s normally emotionless voice sounded more serious.
Leon stared at the sealed doorway.
A pair of enormous…
Scythe-shaped claws slowly curled around the edge of the metal frame.
Ironbone’s legs gave out.
He collapsed onto the ground.
“…Purestrain…” “It’s a real Purestrain…” Leon didn’t retreat.
Only one objective remained in his mind.
The plasma generator.
Once he reached it…
They would have enough Minerals.
Enough stable Vespene Gas.
Helena could still be saved.
“Open fire!” Leon pointed toward the blast door.
“Don’t let it come out!” Both C-14 Gauss Rifles erupted simultaneously.
A storm of electromagnetic rounds slammed into the darkness beyond the doorway.
The monster answered with a thunderous roar.
Dust cascaded from the ruined relay station above.
Blue plasma arcs danced wildly throughout the wreckage…
Illuminating the creature’s monstrous armored body.