He pressed the tool into the flesh.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the blade struggled.
"It’s dense," he said. "Very dense."
He applied more pressure, and finally the tool cut through. Thick black fluid oozed from the incision, staining the surface of the tentacle.
"Sample collected."
Another crewman scanned the fluid with a handheld biological analyzer.
"Reading abnormal cellular activity."
The marine beside him looked over.
"What does that an?"
"It ans I don’t like it."
The sample team collected more tissue from the outer layer, inner muscle, suction hook structure, and black blood residue before sealing everything into reinforced containers.
The recovery officer transmitted back to the destroyer.
"Initial samples collected. Creature tissue is extrely dense. Possible infection activity still present at the cellular level."
Inside the destroyer’s Combat Information Center, that report was imdiately relayed to Subic.
Adrian listened silently from the naval operations center.
Ryan stood beside him with both arms folded.
"So even dead, it’s still dangerous?"
"Most infected are," Adrian replied.
An officer turned from his console.
"Sir, fleet reports towing the full body may be difficult. Estimated mass is beyond standard recovery limits. They can tow large sections, but the main body may require multiple vessels and reinforced cable systems."
Adrian nodded.
"Cut what can be cut. Bring back the head section, portions of the tentacles, armored growths, blood samples, and organ tissue. Burn or sink the rest after docuntation."
"Yes, sir."
Ryan glanced toward him.
"You’re going there yourself?"
Adrian looked at the monitor showing the corpse.
"Yes."
Ryan frowned.
"Of course you are."
Adrian gave him a brief look.
"We need to understand what we killed."
"Yeah, but that thing nearly crushed a nuclear submarine."
"And now it’s dead."
Ryan sighed.
"That’s not exactly comforting."
A few hours later, Adrian arrived aboard the lead destroyer by helicopter.
The SH-60 Seahawk landed on the flight deck with its rotors beating hard against the sea air. Deck crews moved quickly as the aircraft settled, securing the landing zone while Adrian stepped out with Ryan and two ard escorts.
The sll reached them even from the flight deck.
Rotten.
tallic.
Heavy.
Ryan imdiately covered his nose slightly.
"Damn. That thing slls worse than a city horde."
Adrian didn’t respond.
He walked toward the railing where the destroyer captain waited.
"Sir," the captain greeted with a salute.
Adrian returned it.
"Status?"
"Recovery operation is underway. We’ve collected tissue samples, blood samples, and several suction hook fragnts. Cutting teams are preparing to remove a larger tentacle section now."
"Any movent?"
"None. Sonar and visual observation confirm the creature is dead."
Adrian looked over the side of the destroyer.
Even after seeing it through screens, nothing compared to seeing the body in person.
The creature’s corpse floated several hundred ters away, surrounded by recovery boats, floating barriers, and naval drones. Its central body looked like a torn mountain of infected flesh rising above the water. One massive eye remained half open, cloudy and lifeless, staring toward nothing.
The injuries from the battle were brutal.
Missile impacts had blown open deep craters across its body. Naval shells had shredded armored growths. Torpedo detonations had torn the underside apart so badly that internal organs floated through the water around it.
And yet, Adrian still found himself thinking the sa thing.
It had taken too much firepower to kill.
A notification suddenly appeared in front of his vision.
[Congratulations! You have killed Abyssal Kraken!]
[You have received 1,000,000 points!]
Adrian froze for a second.
Ryan noticed imdiately.
"What?"
Adrian stared at the system notification silently.
Abyssal Kraken.
So that was what the system called it.
Not just an infected octopus.
Not just a sea monster.
A Kraken.
And it had given him one million points.
That ant the system considered it a major kill.
A very major kill.
Ryan leaned closer.
"Adrian?"
Adrian blinked once and looked toward him.
"The system nad it."
Ryan’s expression changed.
"What did it call it?"
"Abyssal Kraken."
Ryan slowly looked back toward the corpse.
"Well, that’s not good."
"No," Adrian said quietly. "It isn’t."
The destroyer captain looked between them, clearly confused but smart enough not to ask too much.
Adrian continued staring at the body.
"One million points."
Ryan looked back at him quickly.
"You got one million from that?"
"Yes."
Ryan let out a low whistle.
"That’s another thousand gacha spins."
Adrian nodded slowly.
It was.
One thousand more spins.
That could an more ammunition, ships, aircraft, fuel, defense systems, or even equipnt they did not have yet.
But unlike earlier, the reward did not make him feel relieved.
It made him more cautious.
Because if one Kraken was worth a million points, then that ant the creature stood on a different level from ordinary infected and Hunters.
And if there were more of them beneath the sea, humanity had a much bigger problem than anyone realized.
A loud chanical grinding noise drew their attention.
Across the water, recovery crews began cutting into one of the severed tentacles using industrial saws mounted on a small work platform. Sparks flew briefly when the saw hit one of the hardened armored growths embedded in the flesh.
The operator’s voice crackled through the radio.
"Cutting resistance is high. Tissue density is abnormal. Armor plate layer is comparable to composite material."
Ryan stared.
"Did he just say the flesh is like armor?"
The destroyer captain nodded grimly.
"That’s what our technicians are reporting."
Adrian watched the cutting team continue.
"Preserve those armor samples."
"Yes, sir."
"If that material can resist naval weapons even partially, I want our research team studying it."
The captain nodded.
"Understood."
Another radio transmission ca in from one of the small boats.
"Sample Team Two reporting. We found smaller growths attached along the inner wound cavity. They look like eggs or parasite pods."
Everyone near the railing went quiet.
Ryan slowly turned his head toward Adrian.
"Please tell they’re not eggs."
Adrian’s expression hardened.
"Contain them. Do not open them. Seal everything in biohazard containers imdiately."
The captain repeated the order over the radio.
"Sample Team Two, seal all pod-like material. Do not cut. Do not expose. Biohazard protocol level four."
"Copy that."
Adrian stared toward the corpse with a colder look now.
The Kraken was dead.
But it might have been carrying sothing.
Parasites.
Larvae.
Infection clusters.
They didn’t know yet.
And not knowing was dangerous.
The recovery operation continued for several more hours.
The destroyers maintained defensive formation while the cruiser scanned the surrounding waters. Captain Weber’s submarine remained subrged nearby, damaged but operational, using passive sonar to watch for any other large contacts.
No one wanted a second monster arriving while recovery crews worked.
Fortunately, the sea remained quiet.
Too quiet, but quiet.
By the ti the first large tentacle section was secured for towing, the sun had begun rising over the Philippine Sea. Orange light spread across the horizon, reflecting over black water stained by the Kraken’s blood.
Adrian stood on the deck of the destroyer, watching the crews work.
Ryan approached beside him.
"So what now?"
Adrian remained silent for a mont.
Then he answered.
"We bring the samples back. We study everything. We upgrade naval patrols. And I use the points."
Ryan nodded slowly.
"Another thousand spins?"
"Yes."
Ryan looked toward the corpse again.
"You think the system might give sothing useful for sea combat?"
"It better," Adrian said.
User Comments
0 comments from readers