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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 1: [Nether Realm of the Dead]
Chapter 2: [The Nine-Infant]
(2nd of Volume 1)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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The research vessel's cabins were arranged with three lower decks and seven upper decks, with the main deck located on the fourth level.
The dining hall, boarding lobby, and work areas were all situated on this level.
A few moments ago, the crew was leisurely enjoying the view from the deck.
Now, they hurriedly squeezed into the boarding lobby.
Although Li Weiyi was facing such an emergency for the first time, he displayed remarkable composure. Remaining calm under pressure, he ensured all research team members were safely inside the cabins before being the last to leave the deck, securely locking the hatch behind him.
In those brief two minutes, the purplish-black bear-like creature had already traversed three to four kilometers of icy terrain and arrived beneath the Dragon Pole.
"Whoosh!"
With a powerful leap, its massive, muscular body soared over the several-meter-high railing and landed heavily on the deck with a resounding thud.
The ground of the boarding lobby trembled from the impact.
Up close, its fur appeared thick and long, resembling a purplish-black iron coat. Its eyes, larger than a human fist, glowed blood-colored. Sharp, serrated teeth lined its jaws like a saw blade.
Its facial features were already showing signs of humanization.
Even through the thick, specially reinforced glass, its terrifying presence was palpable, sending a chill down Li Weiyi's spine.
Fortunately, the cabin windows were small, eliminating the risk of it breaking through.
"Boom!"
The bear-like creature charged forward, slamming into the newly closed hatch.
The entire boarding lobby rattled violently, and cracks spiderwebbed across the reinforced glass.
Many research team members screamed.
The boarding hall descended into chaos as some fled up the stairs, others crammed into elevators, all scrambling to reach higher decks.
For this polar expedition - The Dragon Pole research vessel's cabin doors were constructed from alloy and layered for insulation and wind resistance.
Even the immensely powerful purple-black bear-like creature couldn't breach them directly.
But Li Weiyi noticed the ship's hull around the door was already warping.
It was only a matter of time before the door could be knocked open.
"Bring everything you can find and block the door!" Li Weiyi shouted.
The boarding hall was a cacophony of noise and panic. Everyone was focused on escaping the most dangerous area, and no one responded to him.
The research vessel's cabinets and equipment were designed to withstand rough seas and were securely bolted in place.
After struggling to detach a storage cabinet from the boarding hall, Li Weiyi was about to push it toward the door when Xie Jinxun, who had just arrived, shouted, "What are you doing?"
Xie Jin and seven Security Team members had already armed themselves with stun guns, riot shields, tear gas, and other weapons before rushing to the boarding hall.
Their tall, muscular frames and sharp, resolute gazes marked them as elite personnel, handpicked through rigorous selection processes.
"Is he trying to dismantle the ship?" someone joked.
"Just a bear. Why are you so scared?"
....
"Boom!"
The purplish-black, bear-like creature slammed into the hatch for the fourth time, causing severe deformation and signs of tearing around the frame.
The deafening impact sounded like artillery shells bombarding the ship's hull.
The eight members of the Security Team, including Xie Jin, stared in horror at the colossal beast outside the window. Even these elite operatives paled with terror, feeling suffocated by primal fear.
It was as if their very bloodlines were being suppressed.
This was no ordinary bear.
It resembled a prehistoric monster - massive, ferocious, and utterly beyond comprehension.
"If this were captured on film and reported..."
"Click!"
The shutter sound rang out incongruously in the boarding hall.
The short man who loved reciting poetry and telling myths hadn't fled.
Instead, he stood by the window, snapping photos.
Under the collective gaze, he awkwardly put away his camera and explained, "I study ecology and environmental biology. This is absolutely a new species never before seen on Earth - a truly earth-shattering discovery. With this find, our Polar Expedition will become a national... no, a global sensation!"
"Boom!"
The fifth impact struck.
The hull around the hatch groaned and tore, the largest crack widening to the width of a palm.
A blast of frigid air swept into the boarding hall, sending shivers of terror through everyone present.
"I'll help you push!"
The short-statured trainee, trembling with fear, rushed to Li Weiyi's side.
Together, they shoved a storage cabinet against the hatch, hoping to reinforce the barrier.
But it was clearly not enough.
Xie Jin, having regained his composure, shouted orders to the Security Team members to dismantle and move cabinets, tables, and chairs to reinforce the barricade.
This bear-like creature seemed to be a nuclear-irradiated mutation, far beyond the capabilities of their weapons. If it breached the hatch, everyone on the research vessel would become mere flesh and blood for its insatiable hunger.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
The sound of helicopter rotors thundered outside.
As the bear-like creature continued to batter the hatch, the helicopter had been rolled out of the hangar.
Now it hovered in mid-air, Zhao Meng, sunglasses perched on his nose, aimed his rifle at the purplish-black beast.
"They had an American-style net on board! We're safe now! What a false alarm!" The short-statured trainee, his tension easing, let out a whoop of relief.
The bear-like creature on the deck, remarkably intelligent, sensed the danger. Its fur bristled like foot-long steel needles as it reared up on its hind legs and roared ferociously at the distant helicopter.
The creature's roar surpassed even that of lions and tigers, its thunderous bellow shaking the ice plains.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out, striking the bear-like creature in the head.
Before the crew could cheer, an even more furious roar echoed across the frozen wasteland.
The creature tore a metal fixture from the research vessel and hurled it into the air, aiming to smash the helicopter out of the sky.
Fortunately, the helicopter ascended just in time, narrowly avoiding the projectile.
Blood seeped from the impact site on the creature's head, but the wound proved superficial, causing only minor injury.
"A rifle can't even pierce its skull? Is it even carbon-based?" The short trainee's scalp tingled with fear, his legs trembling uncontrollably. His earlier confidence in the American-style net had vanished.
Li Weiyi's expression grew anxious.
This bear-like creature possessed high intelligence and the ability to retaliate. If the helicopter were hit, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Senior Brother is on that helicopter."
Scanning the surroundings, Li Weiyi noticed the weapons on Xie Jin and the others.
"Why haven't you used the tear gas yet?" he demanded urgently.
Without waiting for an answer, he snatched a canister from Xie Jin, activated it, and tossed it through a crack in the cabin door.
Instantly, thick smoke billowed across the ice plains.
Though Xie Jin was displeased, he recognized the urgency of the situation and suppressed his anger. With a grim expression, he ordered the team to deploy all the tear gas.
Aboard the helicopter, Zhao Meng's fury erupted as he relentlessly squeezed the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
After having learned its lesson from previous encounters, the bear-like creature no longer relied on its thick hide to withstand the bullets.
Instead, it moved with lightning-fast agility, dodging and weaving through the hail of gunfire.
Capable of sprinting at a cheetah's top speed for three to four kilometers, its reflexes were naturally razor-sharp.
Fortunately, Zhao Meng's exceptional marksmanship, combined with the disorienting effects of the tear gas, allowed him to drive the creature away from the research vessel before he emptied his second magazine.
Li Weiyi immediately rushed to the helipad to help Zhao Meng and the others push the helicopter back into the hangar.
"It hasn't left. It's observing us from a distance, ready to strike again at any moment," Zhao Meng warned, his face grim.
The Long Ji (Dragon Ploe) was a research vessel, carrying only a limited supply of ammunition.
They had only three bullets left in their magazines.
"Now we can only rely on divine intervention! I saw dark clouds gathering and strong winds brewing while I was in the air - a blizzard is coming."
After reminding Li Weiyi to stay safe, Zhao Meng hurried to the bridge to ask the Captain for a loan of firearms.
Laboratory 705 still had a shotgun.
But Zhao Meng had no idea whether he could even harm those bear-like creatures.
.....
The bridge was located on the tenth deck, the highest point of the research vessel.
When Zhao Meng entered the bridge, Captain Gao Xin, Second Mate Xie Tianshu, and five research team leaders, including Professor Xu, were already gathered inside.
The atmosphere was heavy with tension.
All eyes were fixed on the electronic nautical chart and the seabed monitoring system screens.
The screens displayed a three-dimensional image of marine life beneath the ship.
There, in the water a hundred meters below, a creature even larger than the Dragon Pole was slowly keeping pace with the research vessel.
It was at least two hundred meters long, with nine massive tentacles.
It was unimaginable what kind of powerful underwater currents such a colossal creature could generate as it moved.
"First a mutated bear-like creature emerged, and now this thing from the deep sea. How can such massive life forms exist on Earth?"
The crew on the bridge were stunned.
"Could it be a Colossal Squid?"
"This is many times larger than any Colossal Squid!"
"The largest known marine animal, the Blue Whale, is only about thirty meters long and weighs around two hundred tons. But compared to this deep-sea behemoth, it's like a newborn infant. I'd estimate this thing weighs at least ten thousand tons."
.....
Professor Xu, a biology expert, adjusted his glasses and stared intently at the screen, shaking his head.
"Look at this," he said, "Each of its nine tentacles has a human-like head. Its torso resembles that of a colossal bull. This is utterly astonishing- undoubtedly a new species never before seen on Earth."
"That's Jiuying (Nine Infants)," an elderly man in a dark blue Zhongshan suit said from the cockpit doorway.
He was the director of Laboratory 705. No one knew his real name; everyone simply called him Director Yang.
"The Jiuying?" Professor Xu had never heard of such a creature.
Director Yang entered the cockpit, stood before the screen, and spoke in a low voice.
"The Jiuying is a mythical beast recorded in the Huainanzi: Benjingxun. Legend says it dwells in the North Sea, its cries resembling an infant's wails. With nine heads, it devours humans on sight and can spew water and fire. But I never imagined it would be this colossal."
Just as the research team leader was about to reprimand him for "abandoning science for theology," Director Yang bowed deeply to the crowd, apologizing, "I'm deeply sorry, everyone! These ferocious beasts were likely drawn here by the entity in Laboratory 705. I apologize for leading you all into such danger."
Zhao Meng, known for his bluntness, had been simmering with anger.
"What exactly are you researching in Laboratory 705? We demand an explanation today!"
Captain Gao Xin, who clearly knew some of the inner workings, turned to Director Yang.
"The situation is critical. Both land and sea are swarming with these abnormal beasts, and no one knows what we'll face next. I believe we must tell them the truth."
Director Yang nodded.
"Let's all go to Laboratory 705... Seeing it firsthand will reveal everything."
.....
Li Weiyi returned to his cabin and retrieved a four-foot-long ancient sword from a wooden chest under his bed.
The sword felt heavy in his hand, its hilt encased in ebony.
He drew the blade halfway, revealing its brass-like metal. Li Weiyi knew this sword wasn't actually made of brass; it was the Chan Sect's most treasured artifact, second only to the Dao Ancestor's Tai Chi Fish.
Throughout his life, he had never seen the Sect Leader sharpen or polish it, yet the blade remained eternally sharp and free of rust.
The Dao Ancestor's Tai Chi Fish was merely a symbolic token of authority for the Sect Leader, holding little practical value in his eyes.
The true divine weapon of the Chan Sect was undoubtedly the Yellow Dragon Sword.
He sheathed the sword.
Li Weiyi descended the stairs, sword in hand, and arrived at the boarding hall.
Although Zhao Meng had told him not to consider himself a member of the Security Team, having enjoyed the privileges of membership, he couldn't possibly hide when danger struck.
How long could anyone hide anyway?
When the nest is destroyed, no egg remains unbroken.
The boarding hall's hatch had been barricaded with crates, tables, and chairs.
Most of the Security Team members stood guard here, armed with various weapons, ready for battle.
When they saw Li Weiyi descending the stairs, surprise flickered in their eyes.
"This college student has some courage and responsibility!"
For the first time in over a month, they offered a positive assessment of him.
The light dimmed as dark clouds gathered overhead.
A blizzard was imminent.
Outside the shattered cabin windows, the wind gradually transformed from a whisper into a roar, sweeping across the frozen wasteland.
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END OF CHAPTER
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