Chapter 16: Helicopter

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Helicopter

A sudden turn of events!

SHHHRRRIP—

With a single swipe of its bone claws, the Parasitic Humanoid sliced clean through the tough vines!

Its twisted body contorted as it rose to its feet, its blood-red eyes locked onto Marcus Maxwell. A guttural rattling emanated from its throat. It was clearly enraged.

Meanwhile, the Canine Mutant was tearing frantically at the vines, on the verge of breaking free!

Marcus Maxwell’s face went deathly pale. He clearly hadn’t expected his Plant Binding to be broken so easily.

He staggered back a couple of steps, fumbling to pull out another handful of seeds. This time, however, his movements were far more panicked.

In an instant, the situation took a nosedive.

The Parasitic Humanoid’s twisted limbs propelled it forward, and it lunged at Marcus Maxwell with astonishing speed.

Its deformed bone claws glinted menacingly under the moonlight as they sliced through the air, swinging down with vicious force—

SQUELCH!

"AH—!!"

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the night sky, and Seraphina squeezed her eyes shut.

When she opened them again, the scene in the distance had transformed into a hellish banquet.

The two mutants were hunched over on the ground, making gruesome, crunching sounds as dark red liquid pooled and flowed under the moonlight.

Seraphina jerked her head away, her stomach churning violently.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, the taste of blood finally forcing her to calm down.

’The combat power of these Parasitic Humanoids is... terrifying. Those sharp bone claws... one hit from those and I’d be finished.’ She murmured to herself, her fists clenching unconsciously.

’I’ll have to be much more careful when dealing with Humanoid Mutants from now on.’

The night wind whistled through the cracks in the operator’s cab, carrying the sound of distant, mutated creatures roaring one after another.

Seraphina curled up in the seat and tightened her safety harness.

Using the night vision function on her Analysis Glasses, she carefully scanned every corner of the town.

All she could see were dilapidated houses, empty streets, and abandoned vehicles. There were no signs of human activity whatsoever.

The place was clearly deserted, likely abandoned after all the residents were forced to evacuate during the parasite outbreak.

’The apocalypse must have started here a long time ago,’ Seraphina thought, wondering what to do next.

Her gaze shifted toward the waterfall she had originally planned to reach.

The area around the waterfall, on the other side of the broken bridge, was also shrouded in darkness. Only the faint roar of rushing water could be heard.

It was the one place Seraphina had thought would be safest, but the broken bridge now made it unreachable.

’No, that’s not right. If both the Parasitic Bloodworms and the other mutants are afraid of water, people should have gathered there. But why is it completely dark? It looks like there’s no one around.’

Seraphina knew absolutely nothing about this instance.

’I shouldn’t overthink it. First, I just need to survive the night. Looks like I’ll have to tough it out here...’ Seraphina sighed.

She took off the Analysis Glasses.

She forced her eyes shut, but every distant howl made her entire body go rigid.

The night dragged on, exceptionally long.

Every time she drifted toward sleep, she would jolt awake and warily scan her surroundings.

The cold metal walls of the cab chilled her to the bone, but compared to the monsters roaming outside, such discomfort was nothing.

’Please, let the sun come up soon...’ she prayed. It was the first time Seraphina had ever yearned so desperately for the sunlight.

...

WHUM WHUM WHUM—

A low, rumbling sound roused Seraphina from her drowsy state, leaving her momentarily dazed.

It sounded like the thrumming of some machine, growing steadily louder and clearer as it approached.

’What is that sound?!’

Seraphina was jolted fully awake. Her body tensed instinctively, and a Silver Needle instantly materialized at her fingertips.

The sky was beginning to lighten. A few dim rays of morning light pierced the gray, overcast clouds, but the sun had yet to rise fully.

The sound was coming from the sky.

Seraphina immediately looked out of the crane’s cab. A dark green military helicopter was streaking low across the town’s sky, its rotor blades churning the morning mist as it sped off into the distance.

A faded military insignia was faintly visible on its fuselage, but what made her heart pound was the fact that it was clearly a human-piloted aircraft!

’A helicopter! It’s people!’

She scrambled to put on her Analysis Glasses, quickly switching them to Remote Locking mode.

Seraphina tried to capture the helicopter’s details, but it was too fast. In the blink of an eye, it was just a tiny black dot on the horizon.

"Damn it!" Seraphina slammed her fist on the control console in frustration.

Worse yet, the roar of the helicopter had completely shattered the town’s silence—

"AWOOOO—!"

"ROOOOAR—!"

The entire town erupted into a cacophony!

Countless Parasitic Mutants swarmed out from the buildings, roaring at the helicopter.

Through her Analysis Glasses, Seraphina saw them all. She had never imagined there could be so many Parasitic Mutants.

Some leaped down from shattered windows while others smashed through rickety doors, all of them craning their heads back to let out frenzied howls at the retreating helicopter.

Seraphina even saw a few mutants attempting to scale the taller buildings, their bone claws making a grating screech against the walls as if trying to drag the aircraft from the sky.

She held her breath, huddled in the operator’s cab, not daring to move a muscle.

Although the helicopter was long gone, the commotion it left in its wake had the entire town in an uproar.

Seraphina stared in the direction the helicopter had disappeared, her gaze growing thoughtful.

The morning light illuminated her weary face, but it couldn’t hide the calculating glint in her eyes.

’Could there be a Survivor Base in the direction that helicopter was heading?’

She murmured to herself, her fingers unconsciously caressing a Silver Needle.

But she soon faced a dilemma.

The helicopter had flown in the complete opposite direction of the waterfall, where she had planned to set up a shelter.

’And I can’t get to the waterfall now anyway because of the broken bridge...’ Seraphina bit her lip, her expression hardening with resolve. ’I might as well head in the direction the helicopter went. Maybe I really can find a human settlement.’

As the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, the Parasitic Mutants, agitated by the helicopter, finally retreated reluctantly into the shadows.

The town returned to an eerie silence, as if the night’s chaos had never occurred.

Seraphina retrieved a pack of bread and half a bottle of water from her Space and began to replenish her energy.

Crumbs fell onto her lap, but she was too preoccupied to brush them away.

’I need to eat to have the strength to gather supplies,’ she mused while eating. ’I’ll use the daylight to scavenge for more supplies in town, then decide my next move.’

The sunlight grew stronger, dispelling the fears of the night.

Seraphina carefully climbed down from the crane’s control room. Her legs were still a little weak when she landed.

She took a deep breath of the crisp morning air and clenched her fists.

’Day two of the instance. Let’s begin.’

The town was a completely different place by day.

On the empty streets, the only sound was the rustle of wind blowing through discarded newspapers. The sunlight reflected off shattered storefront windows, creating a harsh glare.

There wasn’t a single Parasitic Mutant in sight, which made Seraphina feel considerably bolder.