They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 314 Investigation and Findings

"Primal Awakening?!"

Sensing this aura, the white-haired woman's face showed surprise for the first time.

The human body is an open, giant system. Under extreme stimulation, humans can unleash strong emotions, thereby generating willpower.

This alters the chain reaction of brain activity, thereby affecting a series of variables in the macroscopic world: electromagnetic signals, material structure, energy flow, and even spacetime structure...

It can also stimulate the turbulent flow of life essence, granting various incredible abilities; this is essence awakening.

However, for those who awaken to self-awareness, the most difficult step is to mobilize that unseen and intangible "power of will".

Humans cannot control something they cannot perceive.

Therefore, in the old world, only the ancient Heluo Empire possessed the method of using special instruments to assist in awakening.

Even so, the success rate of Source Awakening is shockingly low.

She was 100% certain that the lighthouse did not have such an instrument.

In other words, in that aerial prison where emotions were suppressed to the extreme and humanity was distorted by the laws of survival, someone could actually achieve this near-impossible awakening of self-awareness single-handedly? It's truly unbelievable…

She watched the convoy that had successfully broken through the snake-dog encirclement and was heading towards the distant ruins, her expression quite complex.

……

Meanwhile, inside the transport vehicle

"Squeak—Clang!"

With a heavy metallic clang, "Dawn-Modified" landed steadily back in the rear of the carriage, and the fixing latches automatically locked.

The cockpit door slid open to the side, and Mark, with a smile, jumped out.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Captain!"

"Mark! Well done!"

The hunters swarmed around him, excitedly pounding his shoulders.

"Hahaha!"

Mark burst into laughter upon seeing this, looking around at the excited faces, his heart brimming with pride.
"You all saw that, right? This is just the beginning! When we get back this time, we'll pull off something big and have Aqi change all your precious kids into this shape!"
"Then, this damned land will be our hunting ground!"

"Roar--!"

An even louder cheer erupted, and all eyes were drawn to Zhang Qi, their burning desire and anticipation almost melting him.

Zhang Qi nodded helplessly; it seemed that their technical department would have to work overtime again when they got back.

The convoy drove for several more hours across the scarlet wasteland, and finally, a unique scene appeared on the distant horizon.

It was no longer a twisted, fleshy land, but a far more magnificent ruin constructed of steel and concrete.

In the center, the most eye-catching feature is a huge launch pad that resembles the ribs of an ancient behemoth. This is an electromagnetic orbital accelerator designed to allow spacecraft to defy Earth's gravity and fly into space.

Next to it was the ruins of a spaceship.

This is their destination: the ruins of the R-49 starship.

The transport vehicle slowly came to a stop, and the atmosphere inside the compartment became somber again.

"Cheer up, everyone, get off the bus."

Mark's voice regained its usual calm. He walked up to Zhang Qi, casually took a sleek assault rifle from the weapon rack, and tossed it to him.

"You know how to use it, right?"

"Click!"

Zhang Qi caught the rifle, skillfully removing the magazine for inspection, pulling the bolt, and disengaging the safety—a series of fluid movements, without the slightest awkwardness. He glanced at Mark, a slight smile playing on his lips:
"This is a design proposal I submitted three years ago, don't you think?"

Mark raised an eyebrow, gave a noncommittal "hmm," and then turned to Erica, the youngest member of the team: "Erica, you and Zhang Qi, protect him."

"Yes! Captain!"

Erica responded crisply and gave a respectful salute.

Then he immediately stood next to Zhang Qi, like a loyal little guard.

Then, Mark waved his hand and, leading Ran Bing, Donnie, and other elite hunters, stepped off the transport vehicle and disappeared into the deep, beast-like entrance to the spaceship launch base.

The passageways inside the spaceship were dark and long, the emergency lights long since turned off, with only the beams of searchlights from the hunters' tactical helmets sweeping back and forth in the darkness, illuminating a chilling scene.

"There's... way too much fleshy soil here!"

Mo Cheng, who was leading the way and responsible for scouting, stopped, his voice trembling slightly. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the passage—almost the entire space—were covered with a thick layer of dark red organic material.

On the ground, thousands upon thousands of people are frozen in place.

They maintained the posture of their last moments in life; some were running, some were embracing each other...

None of the flesh-covered faces showed the slightest panic or pain, as if death had come in an instant and they were completely unaware of the impending danger.

"It was instantly drained of its life essence... Could it be some kind of Devouring Beast that we've never seen before, capable of launching wide-area attacks?"

Penny, following behind, lowered her voice, her curiosity tinged with fear; this was the first time she had ever witnessed such a phenomenon.

"Doesn't seem like it..."

Zhang Qi shook his head, his gaze falling on a piece of fleshy soil on the wall beside him.

It was a tall, adult male with a little girl with pigtails on his shoulders, and the little girl was even clutching a doll tightly in her hand.

Some unknown factor froze the last tender moments between father and daughter in this eternal death.

"This is an interstellar spaceship from the old world. In that era, humans had the time and resources to build such a thing, which shows that the arrival of the Mana ecosystem was not something that happened overnight, but rather a relatively long process."

Zhang Qi paused for a moment, then continued his analysis:
"Places like interstellar launch sites would have the highest level of security in the Old World."

"To kill tens of thousands of people instantly without triggering any alarms or providing any warning, the brute force of the Devouring Beasts simply cannot achieve that."

"If it's not a Devouring Beast, then what could it be?"

Erica tightened her grip on the gun and asked curiously.

"It's human."

Zhang Qi shifted his gaze from the mangled remains of the father and daughter, and uttered two words softly.

"Huh? Humans?! Why?! And can humans also extract life essence?"

Erica's eyes widened in complete disbelief.

"Because tickets on the Ark are limited. In the face of the apocalypse, only a small fraction of people can ever board the spaceship and leave Earth..."

Zhang Qi explained calmly.

The principle itself is not difficult to understand, but the darkness and despair it contains sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

In order to survive, the sins that humans commit against their own kind are perhaps more terrifying than those of any Devouring Beast.

"Okay, we're here."

Just then, Mark's instructions interrupted his heavy thoughts.
The procession stopped, and in front of them was a huge alloy gate with the words "A-03 Ecological Food Storage Warehouse" printed on it.

Several hunters stepped forward, used hydraulic shears to cut the lock, and together pushed open the heavy gate.

After confirming that there was no direct threat inside the warehouse, Mark gave the order via communicator for the Dust People squad behind him to enter and begin moving supplies.

This place contains a large quantity of compressed food and high-energy nutritional pastes, making it the top priority target for this mission.

Leaving a few hunters behind to guard and supervise the transport, Mark led Ran Bing, Mo Cheng, Donnie, and Zhang Qi to a side road.

"Follow me. According to the base's structural diagram, the weapons depot should be over here."

Mark said in a deep voice that, apart from the most basic food, they need high-strength alloys, energy transmission pipelines, and various rare materials that can be used to modify heavy structures.

After passing through a narrow maintenance passage, another gate marked "Storage of High-Energy Weapons and Experimental Materials" came into view.

The door was ajar, covered in claw marks, clearly indicating that something had forced its way in.

Mark made a gesture, and everyone immediately became alert.

He kicked open the door and stormed in with Donnie and Mo Cheng in a triangular formation, pointing their guns at every corner of the warehouse.

The warehouse was in a mess, but no active Devouring Beasts were found.

However, when Mark's searchlight beam swept across the center of the warehouse, his expression suddenly changed, and his pupils instantly contracted.

In the very center of the warehouse lay a huge, colossal shell, resembling a cicada's molt.

It is about ten meters long, and its surface is covered with complex and strange patterns that reflect an oily sheen under the light. There is a huge crack on the back of the shell, indicating that what is inside has already broken out.

Those present were all experienced hunters, and they recognized what it was at a glance.

This is the old shell that the Devouring Beast shed after completing a higher-level metamorphosis and evolution.

In other words, this area is also inhabited by even higher-level Devouring Beasts...

(End of this chapter)