Seven Star Island. It wasn't really an island; it was more like an ancient beast, imprisoned by an unseen shackle. The energy barrier that blanketed the sky wasn't comparable to natural sea fog. It was a chilling dark red, laced with flickering, blinding arcs of electricity. It undulated ominously, radiating an unholy vitality. Wild, chaotic, and carrying waves of intense bloodlust and mutated energy, its aura struck even from across the sea, shaking the soul. This wasn't a normal defensive structure. It was more like a "cage" on the verge of collapse, completely isolating the island from the outside world.
On the Canghai, Lin Wanqing and Zhang Tao's faces were ashen, while Chen Changqing remained calm. Zhang Tao, in particular, stared at the familiar barrier, his eyes filled with pain and fury. "This is the 'masterpiece' of the radicals..." Zhang Tao's voice was hoarse, laced with self-mockery. "They call it the Skyguard. I think it's more like the Sky Prison!"
"How do we get in?" Lin Wanqing frowned, her Azure Frost Sword already drawn a fraction of an inch from its scabbard. The scabbard trembled slightly, clearly sensing the polluted aura within the barrier.
Zhang Tao took out a bronze token the size of his palm. The front of the token was engraved with complex cloud patterns, while the back bore an ancient "Gold" character, the identity token of the Golden Shark Merchant Guild. He infused true energy into the token, and a soft green light immediately shone from it. "This is a token for passing through Seven Star Island within the guild. Hopefully, it will be of some use." Zhang Tao said, tossing the token forward.
The bronze token transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the massive energy barrier. The moment the token touched the barrier, the violent energy abruptly calmed in a small area. Then, the surface of the dark red barrier rippled like water, slowly opening a narrow gap just wide enough for a ship to pass through. At the edges of the gap, countless electric snakes danced wildly, and energy fluctuated violently, as if it could close at any moment.
"Quick! Get in!" Zhang Tao urged urgently. The sailors were already scared out of their wits. Hearing this, they struggled to control the battered Canghai, desperately sailing towards the gap. As soon as the ship passed through the gap, the energy barrier behind them slammed shut with a muffled roar. The scene inside the barrier sent shivers down everyone's spines. The sky was gray and obscured, as if hidden by endless dust.
The island's vegetation was strangely distorted. Many trees had gnarled, twisted branches that reached towards the sky, with leaves of an ominous dark purple or ink green. The air was a mixture of pungent chemicals, the smell of corroded metal, and a foul stench that made them want to vomit. In the distance, a group of broken metal buildings lay on the ground, like abandoned steel behemoths. Among them, blurred black shadows wandered, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
"This place... is like hell on earth..." a young guard whispered, his voice trembling, filled with fear.
Under Zhang Tao's guidance, the Canghai docked at a relatively calm stretch of coastline. This seemed to be a designated landing area, with some abandoned landing facilities on the shore. Zhang Tao held the Dragon Scale Key, which was emitting a faint glow, its tip vaguely pointing towards the depths of the island.
"The main control laboratory should be in that direction," he judged solemnly. "We must get there as soon as possible, find the support of the conservatives, or... directly destroy the core data."
The others didn't dare to delay. They quickly packed their belongings and, under Zhang Tao's lead, set foot on this perilous island. They had only gone less than a mile into the island when a "rustling" sound suddenly came from a twisted forest ahead.
Following that, several shadows shot out of the forest like lightning, pouncing on everyone! These monsters were vaguely recognizable as the original beasts of the island, but now, their fur had fallen off, their skin was covered with disgusting pus-filled blisters and festering wounds, and their eyes were blood red, filled with a bloodthirsty frenzy. What was even more shocking was that among them were a few monsters that barely maintained a human form, their limbs twisted, roaring inhumanly, and the tattered rags on their bodies indicated that they had once been human!
"Be on guard! It's Mutants!" Zhang Tao shouted, his long knife vibrating as he charged forward. These creatures, thoroughly transformed by energy radiation and failed experiments, had long lost their reason, retaining only their primitive attacking instincts. Their speed, strength, and even wound recovery abilities far surpassed those of normal beings of the same level. A guard was unable to dodge and was brutally knocked down by a wolf-shaped Mutant; its sharp claws instantly tore open his chest, and blood gushed out.
"Ah!" The screams stimulated everyone's nerves. "Senior Brother!" Lin Wanqing shouted, the Azure Frost Sword in her hand transforming into a cold, sharp beam. Wherever the sword light went, the coldness was chilling. Her Azure Frost Sword Vein had a natural purifying and killing effect against these filthy Mutants. "Chzzk!" The sword light slashed across the body of a leopard-shaped Mutant, and the Mutant let out a shrill howl, black smoke billowing from the wound, its body quickly dissolving and disintegrating like a burning candle.
Lin Wanqing's sword techniques were fierce, and her movements were agile. Each strike accurately targeted the vital points of the Mutants. In an instant, three or four Mutants had turned to ashes under her sword. "Good job, Miss Lin!" Seeing this, the remaining guards were invigorated. Chen Changqing remained calm. He was only superficially dealing with the frenzied attacks of a humanoid Mutant, but in reality, his Karma Heavenly Eye had already seen through the movements and attacks of all the Mutants within dozens of feet.
His steps seemed to move casually, always narrowly avoiding fatal attacks. At the same time, he occasionally flicked out a few talismans from his hand, either creating flames or attracting falling rocks. These seemingly casual actions often broke up the encirclement of several Mutants. Occasionally, he would also take out a dark blue conch from his sleeve—the Sea Language Conch—and gently blow towards a certain direction. An invisible mental shockwave spread out, and the attacks of those Mutants who were fiercely pouncing suddenly stagnated, their eyes vacant, and they fell into a brief state of confusion, buying precious time for others to counterattack.
Under his covert direction, everyone cleared the obstacles in their path in an orderly manner at the lowest cost, while also preserving their strength to the maximum extent. After the fierce battle, the ground was left with a dozen or so Mutant corpses, and two of their own guards were seriously injured. "How can we ever kill these monsters!" A guard gasped violently, his face still showing traces of fear.
"This is still the outer perimeter." Zhang Tao's face was solemn. "The closer we get to the center of the island, the stronger and more bizarre the Mutants will become." They continued forward and encountered several more waves of Mutant attacks along the way. The scale of these attacks was not large, and under Chen Changqing's direction and Lin Wanqing's fierce attacks, they were all resolved without any danger. About half an hour later, they arrived outside a relatively intact abandoned building complex.
Judging from the architectural style and the remaining markings, this should be a branch research institute of Seven Star Island. "Let's go in and investigate. Maybe we can find some useful clues," Chen Changqing suggested. Everyone cautiously entered the interior of the research institute. The interior was a mess, filled with broken instruments, scattered documents, and dried dark brown bloodstains. The stench in the air became even more intense. In a room that looked like the main laboratory, they found a large number of experimental subject remains imprisoned in metal cages, as well as mountains of experimental records.
Chen Changqing picked up a well-preserved record and began to read it. The words on the record were cold, sharp, and cruel, detailing how researchers forcibly injected the genes of various marine creatures into human bodies, how they observed the mutation process of the test subjects, and how they recorded their agonizing screams…
"…Test subject number K-073, injected with deep-sea giant octopus gene fragments, observed limb mutation and proliferation, significant increase in strength, but rapid loss of consciousness, exhibiting strong aggression… Deemed a failure, to be destroyed…" "…Test subject number X-009, attempted fusion of trace amounts of Flood Dragon bloodline and tiger shark genes… Test subject exhibited extremely strong vitality and energy affinity, but emotions were highly unstable, with a risk of loss of control… Recommend increasing the dosage of 'stabilizer'…" The records were shocking, with a horrifying madness and cruelty pervading every line.
This so-called "God-Devil Creation Project" was entirely built upon the pain and screams of countless lives! Lin Wanqing's face turned pale after reading only a few lines, her stomach churning, almost vomiting. Zhang Tao silently stared at the records, his fists clenched, his knuckles turning white, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins. Although he had long known the radical faction's madness, seeing these blood-stained evidence still sent chills down his spine. Just then, Chen Changqing's gaze fell on several records about the "Inhibitor's" formulation and use. He suddenly remembered the boxes that had been tampered with on the cargo ship, his heart tightened, and he once again took out a sample of the "Inhibitor" he had collected earlier from his storage bag, carefully sensing its energy fluctuations.
Sure enough! The energy fluctuations of this so-called "Inhibitor" were surprisingly similar to the violent aura on those Mutants! "Elder Zhang, look at this," Chen Changqing informed Zhang Tao. "These 'Inhibitors' that the radical faction tampered with are probably not used to suppress mutations, but rather… catalysts! Or even some kind of beacon that can remotely detonate these Mutants!" "What?!" Zhang Tao's face instantly turned ashen, as if struck by lightning. "They… they even schemed against us, the conservative faction!" He had always thought that the radical faction only wanted to use him to escort the Dragon Scale Key. He never expected that even the "Inhibitors" themselves were a huge trap! Not only did they want to use the Blood Shark Pirates to get rid of him, but they also planned to use these "inferior Inhibitors" to detonate all the Mutants on Seven Star Island at a critical moment, causing chaos!
"Beep beep beep—! Alarm! Alarm! Unknown intruders detected! All security units, immediately proceed to Research Institute C-13! Repeat, all security units…" At this moment, the piercing alarm suddenly resounded throughout the entire research institute! The red warning lights on the walls flashed wildly, reflecting a crimson hue on everyone's faces. "Not good! Retreat quickly!" Zhang Tao's expression changed drastically and he was the first to rush outside. However, it was too late!
At the end of the corridor, shadows writhed eerily, and a huge, distorted figure with a suffocating, terrifying sense of oppression slowly emerged. The figure vaguely retained some human form, but its body was forcibly pieced together from various biological parts, covered in jagged bone spurs, thick armor, and constantly wriggling tentacles, grotesque and terrifying. Its eyes flashed with crimson evil light, overflowing with violence and madness, and a pressure far exceeding all previous Mutants at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage swept over like a raging tide!
Zhang Tao stared at the figure, both familiar and utterly alien, and exclaimed in horror, his eyes filled with disbelief, fear, and despair. This monster was actually one of the core supervisors who had been missing from the Seven Star Island project for many years! The mutated supervisor let out a non-human roar, its crimson gaze sweeping across everyone and finally locking onto the "Dragon Scale Key" tightly held in Zhang Tao's hand!
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