Chapter 364: Subduing 2 |
Wu Shanqi looked toward the voice.
"Old Zhao?"
Wu Shanqi never expected to see his old university roommate here.
Zhao Pu chuckled, stepping forward and affectionately patting Wu Shanqi's shoulder. "Long time no see. Can't believe I'd run into you here. Got scared just now, didn't you?"
"Not really, I wasn't actually that scared..."
Wu Shanqi's lips twitched. He glanced around at their surroundings, a trace of bitterness showing between his brows. "Where is this? Are we still on Earth?"
"Definitely not. Where on Earth would you find a centipede that big?" Zhao Pu smiled. "Since we're here, we might as well accept it. Don't think about going back. We've been here for months already, haven't seen any sign of a way back."
"Months? Didn't you just arrive last week?" Countless questions swirled in Wu Shanqi's heart.
"What last week? We've been here at least three months." Zhao Pu paused, then smiled again. "Probably a time difference."
"Alright, we're here on a mission too. You're the doctor here, so you should be more familiar with this place. You lead the way. Where should we start clearing?"
"Uh, just me? Should I call the department head? The head should know better than me." Wu Shanqi hesitated. Just thinking about leading the way made him feel immense pressure.
"No need. Just you." Zhao Pu stated unequivocally.
Then, he said meaningfully, "Are you sure you want to miss this opportunity? This isn't Earth. Everything's started over from scratch. I'm not asking you because of our relationship, but because you were the first doctor to run down from the second floor."
Wu Shanqi was momentarily stunned by this. Was he really the first doctor to run down from the second floor?
He hadn't even noticed.
...
"Guild Leader, here are the preliminary clearing results. The hospital is now under initial control."
"After investigation, we found this hospital is a 'newbie building' from the first wave of arrivals. Their arrival time differs from ours by only one week. The time flow rates on both sides are likely not synchronized." Zhao Pu presented a roster with both hands.
"Mhm." Qin Ziwen took the roster but didn't look at it, placing it on a nearby table instead. "Where did those insects come from?"
Zhao Pu replied, "Our reconnaissance found they emerged from a cave behind the hospital building. There are signs of insect activity near the cave, likely their nest. Our arrival probably disturbed them, causing them to invade the hospital."
Cao Biansheng approached, dragging a five-meter-long giant centipede. "Guild Leader, these insects aren't ordinary bugs. Their bodies are quite tough, and they're tenaciously resilient. Even cut into several segments, they won't die immediately. We need to be careful during hunts."
"So this is the monster that attacked the hospital." Qin Ziwen examined the centipede. Its head was severed, its tail chopped off, and a long, thin wound split its abdomen. A pale green, viscous fluid oozed from the open wound, emitting a foul odor.
He cast Insight.
[Common · Giant-Jawed Subterranean Centipede: ☆☆☆]
It was just a common three-star lifeform.
Meaning, this five-meter-long centipede was only a relatively strong individual.
Far from reaching the level of a peak specimen. It could still continue to grow and develop.
Given the potential for insect metamorphosis, with sufficient resources and time, reaching seven stars would just be a matter of time.
One centipede was manageable, but this was underground.
Thinking of this, Qin Ziwen's brow furrowed.
Insects never win through individual strength.
But through numbers.
Vaguely, he seemed to understand where the danger of this map came from.
Come to think of it, it was strange. The Hunting Ladder rankings from the previous two maps hadn't appeared for this one.
The newbie Shedding Abyss had already appeared, but traces of the cooperation partner hadn't been found yet.
Perhaps they weren't nearby.
"Guild Leader, would you like to go to the hospital for a check-up?"
"A check-up?" Qin Ziwen was puzzled.
Zhao Pu said, "Yes. A batch of medical equipment came along with the hospital. There's a backup diesel generator in the hospital, so the equipment is temporarily functional, but it probably won't be usable for long."
"It's not just the generator issue. Many devices can't undergo regular maintenance. Plus, the underground environment affects them. The shelf life of medical equipment is limited."
"Let's go try it out." Qin Ziwen thought it was worth a look. "There should still be some injured people within the Alliance. Make a list. Take this opportunity to have everyone examined."
Zhao Pu understood immediately. "Yes."
...
The first-floor lobby of the hospital.
Wu Shanqi was surrounded by over a dozen people in white coats, including department heads and specialists he once had to look up to.
At this moment, their faces all bore expressions of near-enthusiastic concern, their words carrying a familiarity and deference he had never experienced before.
Wu Shanqi understood the root cause was still his old classmate.
Within this organization calling itself the Qin Alliance, his old classmate seemed to hold a rather high position.
"Little Wu, I always knew you were no ordinary fish in a pond! In critical moments, it's still you we can rely on!"
"These people don't seem simple. There's never been such creatures on Earth. We probably aren't on Earth anymore."
"I think it's possible we're still on Earth. If it were another world, why would there be humans? And not creatures of other forms?" An older doctor voiced his opinion.
"No, no, Director Zhou, have you heard of convergent evolution? On Earth, sometimes a species goes extinct. Many years later, a new creature with little genetic relation to it somehow evolves an extremely similar body structure and appearance."
"Sometimes it's not about what they want to look like. It's the living environment that determines their underlying genetic coding."
"The environment shapes life forms. As long as the physical and chemical laws are similar, the optimal solutions evolved by carbon-based life forms will converge. So it's normal for the animals here to look familiar." A bald deputy director nearby offered his view.
"I think I get it," a chief resident's eyes lit up, making an analogy. "It's like a game version update. Early on, there are all sorts of playstyles, but in the end, the strongest lineup everyone agrees on is often just one or two sets. The environment is that 'meta answer'."
While everyone was discussing, the sound of footsteps approached.
"What's everyone chatting about so animatedly?" Zhao Pu walked over with a smile.
The group of doctors turned their attention to Zhao Pu.
But quickly, their gazes shifted to the "unremarkable" young man beside Zhao Pu.
Because from the moment they entered, whether it was Zhao Pu's posture, positioning, or his expression while chatting, everything clearly indicated that the true core and backbone of this group was the young man beside Zhao Pu.
Zhao Pu said, "Let me introduce everyone. This is the leader of our Qin Alliance, Guild Leader Qin Ziwen."
Following Zhao Pu's introduction, the doctors all spoke up.
"Mr. Qin."
"Hello, Guild Leader Qin!"