Volume 16 Tower of Babel Chapter 940 Simon
The one who stayed behind to stare at the thing was Simon, the former observer and current sniper of the scout team. Looking at the monster in the scope that could barely be considered a human form, he felt the acid in his stomach seem to be rushing up to his throat in waves.
It is difficult to describe this monster in words. Compared with it, even Ronnie, with her face covered in blood and flesh, can be considered "handsome".
Judging from the clothing fragments left on the monster, it should have been a resident of the power plant before it was "alive". Now, it was wandering around the public communication terminal with a staggering step, just like the NPC monsters guarding the mission target points in video games.
"Perhaps the employees of the power plant discovered that something was wrong and wanted to use the public communication terminal to report to their superiors, but just as they arrived here, the infection in their bodies suddenly broke out and they turned into monsters?" Simon thought to himself, stroking the trigger guard of the semi-automatic sniper rifle with the index finger of his right hand.
The scout who had rushed back to report the news soon returned. He ran to Simon, who was squatting behind a roadblock with his gun, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "The captain's order is to get rid of this monster."
"Got it." Simon said expressionlessly, took a deep breath, and moved his finger from the trigger guard to the trigger.
The shooting distance is 190 meters and the target moves very slowly. In this case, Simon's skills can almost make him hit the target every time.
“Puff, puff, puff.”
The sound of the semi-automatic sniper rifle equipped with a silencer was very dull. Simon's first two shots directly hit the chest and abdomen of the humanoid monster. The monster responded and then he moved the crosshairs of the scope to the monster's head and fired another shot.
The "Mozambique shooting method" of two shots to the chest and one shot to the head is not only suitable for close-range combat with pistols. This operation can also be accomplished with a high-precision sniper rifle, but it requires higher technical skills from the shooter - and it is also more lethal to the target.
"Shoot again." Simon said to his companion.
The scout nodded, grabbed the short assault rifle in his arms and rushed forward, firing a series of three short bursts at the motionless humanoid creature.
The magazine of this short rifle is filled with active ammunition - as mentioned before, the Mukach base has no stock of active sniper ammunition. Simon used conventional ammunition, and in the case of uncertainty as to whether this type of monster is a seed of erosion, using active ammunition to fire another shot is undoubtedly the safest way.
"The threat is lifted."
After confirming that the humanoid monster was completely dead, the entire team quickly approached from behind and arrived at the roadblock where Simon had set up an observation position.
"That monster should be an employee of the power plant. Look at the light gray uniform it's wearing." The transport plane pilot handed the telescope to the team leader. "Apart from it, there are indeed no other traces of creatures nearby."
"Captain, I think it was originally trying to use the public communication terminal to ask for help or send a message, but unfortunately, it mutated into a monster when it was only a few steps away from its target ... It had been wandering around the pavilion of the public communication terminal before. I guess the obsession left over from its 'previous life' is still affecting its logic of action to a certain extent."
"Is it the only one?" The team leader frowned, holding the telescope tightly in both hands. "If it came to the public communication terminal for help, then where are the other people in the power plant? Where is the half-armed security force? If they turned into monsters, where did they go?"
"Do you suspect there might be an ambush here?" asked the transport plane pilot. In this small team, apart from the squad leader who is the commander, the transport plane pilot has the highest rank. According to the wartime regulations of the field army, he will automatically serve as the deputy captain.
"It's hard to say. In the terrain ahead, if there are people who have turned into monsters hiding around and surround us, the situation will be very unfavorable for us." said the team leader.
The public communication terminal is actually an oversized "telephone booth" with an octagonal shape and eight separate compartments. It can be used for video communication, virtual transactions, and various civil affairs procedures. It is called a communication terminal, but it is more like a multifunctional, fully automatic "convenience center."
The bottom of the public communication terminal is directly connected to the Ark's cable and fiber optic dual networks. It can still operate normally when radio communications are interfered with. Among the various communication methods on the Ark, it is the fastest among the reliable ones and the most reliable among the fast ones.
The only drawback may be that it is not very convenient for people who live far away from the communication terminal, unlike mobile phones, which can be used as soon as they are taken out of their pockets.
The public communication terminal in front of the team was located at a crossroads, perhaps for the sake of convenient transportation. The surrounding terrain was extremely empty, with no shelter or cover at all.
If they were surrounded at the location of the public communication terminal, it would be difficult for them to build even a simple defensive position.
"I think you're overthinking it." The transport plane pilot said, "Judging from the behavior of the monster just killed by the sniper, these guys probably don't have the ability to think and act completely on instinct. At most, they may be affected by some obsessions from their previous lives... I don't think it's possible for them to ambush us."
"No... What if these monsters can be controlled? What if the monster that was just killed was just a bait used by the enemy to lure us into the encirclement? The sample size is too small. It is difficult for us to make a judgment on this kind of monster based on the behavior of a few individuals... In short, I think it is better to be cautious."
"To be more cautious, just divide the troops." The transport plane pilot said in a deep voice.
"Yes." The team leader nodded and began to assign tasks. "The scout team will take three black cards to the public communication terminal and try to get in touch with the 'big shot' mentioned by General Maginot. Group A and Group B will guard the four intersections in the southeast and northwest respectively. Set up a sentry every 20 meters to ensure that nothing moving approaches within 100 meters. The rest of you, stay where you are."
"Understood." Simon took the black card handed over by the team leader, stuffed it into the pocket of his tactical vest, hung the semi-automatic sniper rifle behind him, opened the folding butt of the submachine gun and put it in his arms, hunched over and trotted towards the public communication terminal.
The other two scouts were each given a black card, and they set out one after another, keeping a distance of about thirty meters between each person - the reason for keeping such a distance was to ensure that if the person in front was attacked, the people behind would have enough space and time to react.
Soldiers from Group A and Group B also spread out along both sides of the road and quickly set up a "dynamic cordon".
Everyone else stared at the three scouts nervously, not daring to even breathe - but the scenes often played out in horror movies did not appear. None of the three scouts, including Simon, came under any attack, and nothing unusual happened around them. The three of them arrived at the location of the public communication terminal smoothly, and each found a compartment to crawl into.
Each compartment of the public communication terminal only has space for one person, and the doors and walls are made of transparent soundproof glass, so there is no possibility of monsters hiding inside. After Simon got into a compartment, he immediately turned on the power of the communication equipment and quickly checked it.
The communication equipment is in good condition, the power supply is normal, and there are no network failures.
Simon did not rush to insert the black card into the card slot of the communication device. He first swiped his personal ID and then opened the web browser.
The last update time of all the portal websites on the Ark was three days ago, and the time difference between the updates of each website was no more than three hours. But what puzzled Simon was that no website reported on these unknown creatures that attacked the Ark, and there were no posts discussing these things even on the forums.
"Did the authorities block the news?" Simon thought about it and this was the only possibility. He hesitated for a few seconds and then entered a URL.
It is an "underground website" in a gray area. The topics discussed on that website are all on the edge of legality and illegality. Many things that cannot be said in formal forums can be "spoken freely" on this website...If the official information on portal websites and formal forums is blocked, then some rumors can often be detected on such underground websites.
But Simon still got nothing.
The latest post on this underground website was a question about how to avoid high taxes on certain controlled military materials. The poster was an anonymous netizen, and the post was posted thirty-seven hours ago. The last reply to him was also from an anonymous netizen, and the reply was also thirty-seven hours ago. In the following thirty-seven hours, Ark seemed to be completely disconnected from the Internet, and there was no new content on the Internet.
"That's not right... the network is not down. These websites are still accessible, which means their servers are still operating normally. How come there is not even a single person talking?" Simon was full of doubts. He had originally planned to collect some information through the Internet, but the results of the search made him feel extremely uneasy.
If there were still survivors on the Ark, then why did all the Internet users seem to have disappeared out of thin air when the Internet was still functioning normally...where did they go?
Have they all turned into that kind of monster?
Are there really any survivors on the Ark?
Simon took a deep breath, closed the web browser, opened the video call, hesitated for a long time, and entered a number.
This is the cell phone number of his younger sister. Simon is not married yet and has no wife or children. His only relatives on the Ark are his parents and his younger sister who lives with his parents. Their home is in the West Seventh District, which is not a wealthy area but is still okay. If those monsters attack from the outside, Simon's family should have a chance to retreat to the core area which is heavily protected.
Assuming the core area is heavily guarded and willing to be opened to civilians.
“Beep—beep—”
The reminder tone of waiting to be answered was like a drumstick hitting Simon's heart again and again. Every time it sounded, he felt his body tremble... It's not that he didn't worry about his family, but before this, he forced himself to forget these things and concentrate on the task. Now, when he had the opportunity to confirm the life and death of his family, he felt a little scared.
He was afraid to hear the answer that he couldn't accept.
When the reminder sounded for the ninth time, Simon finally couldn't help but hang up the video call, and then inserted the black card into the card slot at an extremely fast speed.
“Buzz——”
With a slight sound, the entire compartment darkened, and even the screen that was originally lit fell into darkness.
"The power is out?" Simon was stunned for a moment. He turned his head and looked behind him. Through the light black frosted glass door, he could see that the light outside the public communication terminal was still on, which meant that there was no problem with the power supply line.
"Could it be that there is a problem with the communication equipment?" Simon glanced at the card slot. The black card had been completely swallowed up and could not be pulled out by conventional means. Even the "forced card ejection" button was stuck and could not be pressed at all.
"Could it be that there's something wrong with the black card the general gave us?"
Just when Simon was suspicious, a deep voice sounded in the compartment: "I am a member of the Undead Crew, Zeus, what do you want from me?"
"Undead Crew Guild? Zeus?" Simon couldn't help but be stunned. Although he knew that the "big shot" mentioned by General Maginot was not a member of the United Parliamentary Group, what kind of organization was this Undead Crew Guild?
Zeus? That seems to be the name of a mythical figure, right? Is this the other party's name? Or a code name?
But Simon didn't want to dwell on this matter. He thought for a moment and answered, "I am Simon Villiers, an observer of the Spear Squad scout team of the Mukach Fortress garrison. After losing contact with the Ark, the Mukach Fortress observed that the Ark was attacked by unknown creatures and is currently organizing a support force. We are the first reconnaissance force to return to the Ark. This black card was given to me by General Maginot. He asked us to follow all your instructions after we contact you."
Although he didn't know the other person's identity, Simon still used honorifics.
"Mukakh Base...Maginot...Oh, I get it. You just stay where you are and I will send someone to meet you immediately." said the man who called himself Zeus.
"Uh, please, can you tell me what happened on the Ark? Where did those monsters come from?"
"When you meet up with my people, they will tell you."
