Volume One: Mutation Chapter Forty-Three: The Battle Begins

“Comrades! You all know very well why we established G15. Now, the time has come! All units, pay attention! From this point forward, keep your eyes peeled—don’t let even a tiny crab slip through!”

The G15 defensive line stretched over a thousand kilometers. For ease of management, it was divided from north to south into ten sectors, each a hundred kilometers long. Every sector had its own operations command. After receiving Zhang Chu’s orders, each commander promptly reported in.

“Sector One, in position!”
“Sector Two, in position!”
“Sectors Three and Four, in position…”

Only after all the sectors had reported did Zhang Chu allow himself a slight sigh of relief. At this moment, he feared not the enemy outside, but rather disorder within his own ranks. If any sector were to fall, it could trigger the collapse of the entire line.

At some point, the once-blue seawater near the coast began to grow murky. Shadows darted through the depths, and the water level swelled to an abnormal height, as if making it easier for creatures beneath the surface to come and go.

A small buoy, glimmering with light, bobbed on the waves. Suddenly, a gaping maw emerged from below, snapping the buoy in its jaws before sinking beneath the surface and vanishing, leaving only ripples as evidence of what had just occurred.

Similar incidents unfolded in other areas.

“Sir, more than half of the thousand-plus radar markers we deployed in the nearby waters have lost contact, and the remaining signals are vanishing as well,” a soldier at the computer reported in disbelief.

Zhang Chu understood all too well what this meant. He just hadn’t expected these mutated creatures to be so cunning, removing the buoys they’d placed in advance. If not for that, once the creatures entered the area, the signal markers—intended for another use—would have given them quite a surprise.

“Have they discovered our underwater base?” Zhang Chu asked gravely.

“Sir, the underwater base remains undetected. The connection is stable and remote control is available.”

“Activate the underwater radar. Scan the waters below to find out just how many mutated creatures there are.”

Deep beneath the sea, a massive metal machine began operating silently under the sandy seafloor, sending out wave after wave of electromagnetic pulses. A slender antenna extended from the seabed, receiving continual feedback.

In the command center, the display refreshed with a clockwise sweep, marking red dots—some small, some as large as submarines—each representing a mutated creature.

In a mere minute, the surrounding waters were thoroughly scanned, and the radar screen was soon filled with a dense array of red dots. The warning counter in the upper right told them: over eight thousand mutated sea creatures were advancing en masse toward G15!

“Sir, they’ll reach us in fifteen minutes.”

Fifteen minutes. Zhang Chu sighed, pulled out his phone, and made a call to report upward.

“Commander Jiang, we’re fifteen minutes out from a direct confrontation with the mutated creatures at G15. I’ve given the order and we’re fully prepared for battle, but I’m not confident. Please be ready to provide air support. If the line is breached, G15 will be for nothing.”

“Zhang, why such pessimism before the fight even begins? You just focus on holding the line. Our missiles are already locked onto that sector of the sea. If needed, we’ll launch immediately!”

“With your reassurance, I’m at ease.” Zhang Chu hung up.

Along the imposing G15 defensive line, many soldiers bustled about, preparing for battle. Several on observation duty perched atop the wall, keeping watch as they chatted.

“Hey, do you really think those things in the water can come ashore? Sounds pretty far-fetched to me.”

“And the mutated creatures on land aren’t far-fetched? When dogs can grow bigger than cattle, why can’t things from the water come ashore?” another soldier retorted.

“Besides, if those water creatures couldn’t come ashore, why would the country spend so much effort building this base? There’s always a reason behind national decisions—you think you know more than the country? Let’s just follow orders and stop overthinking it.”

“That’s true, but what would these things want from coming ashore anyway? There’s hardly anyone around except us soldiers.”

“Old Li, what's with all your questions today? Why else? Didn’t you notice the provinces behind us are heading into the rainy season? I bet these monsters are after the black rain that falls from the sky—they’ve always been attracted to that stuff.”

“I disagree. How could the black rain on land be more plentiful than in the sea? Haven’t you seen the news? Most of the Pacific is now black water. If that’s what they want, there’s plenty in the ocean.”

“Are you really that dense? Let me ask you, those mutated creatures—don’t they eat meat? Don’t they all need to eat?”

Old Li nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“Those mutated creatures feed on the unmutated, right?”

Old Li nodded again.

“And the more black water a creature’s exposed to, the stronger and bigger it becomes, right?”

“That makes sense, but what’s that got to do with them coming ashore?”

“Think about it: the closer a fish is to the black water, the bigger it gets. Big fish eat little fish. If the smaller ones don’t come ashore to seek black water, do you expect them to just offer themselves up to the bigger ones in the sea?”

“Hey, you’ve got a point. Not bad, kid! But how’d you know it’s going to rain in those regions?”

“My family lives back there—do you think I wouldn’t know?”

…

The two continued their conversation, unaware that their radios had been on the whole time, broadcasting their discussion to nearly everyone, who found the reasoning sound.

Zhang Chu overheard as well, laughing and swearing good-naturedly to those around him, “That rascal’s pretty sharp—he’s guessed it almost exactly.”

Indeed, the soldier’s hunch was correct. The mutated creatures were coming ashore, likely for the black water, but there was another crucial factor. Once the underwater creatures mutated, not only did they grow enormous, but their appetites grew as well. A single mutated creature now needed to eat more than ten times its previous intake to be sated. As their numbers rose, they devastated the underwater ecosystem—the regular fish population simply couldn’t replenish fast enough to meet demand. The result: a severe shortage of food beneath the waves.

Inevitably, they would have to come ashore to find new sources of sustenance.

---

“Sir, all our radar buoys have gone offline. Many were swallowed whole. Should we send in a drone to attempt a close-range detonation?”

Zhang Chu only paused for a second before issuing the order. “Deploy the drone. Try to detonate them underwater.”

A drone lifted off from the G15 helipad, accelerating directly toward the sea.

In the command center, Zhang Chu and the others watched the drone’s feed, tension evident on their faces. If the detonation succeeded, perhaps most of the eight thousand mutated creatures would be eliminated before reaching their defenses, making the coming battle much easier.

The drone reached the targeted waters, and the video revealed huge black shadows gliding beneath the surface—numerous, their types unknown. This was a battle where the enemy was hidden, and their own forces were exposed.

The operator tried several times to detonate the explosives without success. Not even a ripple disturbed the sea.

“Detonate underwater!” Zhang Chu commanded grimly. The drone was expensive and its materials hard to come by, but necessity trumped thrift—especially now, with only two drones remaining along the vast G15 line.

The drone circled above, then released its sole bomb. This bomb was specially crafted, packed with compressed fresh meat. Upon detonation, it lured a horde of underwater predators to swarm the area.

---

Liu Cong and Liu Qingqing soared through the sky, hand-in-hand, as dark clouds gathered overhead.

“Brother Liu, is it going to rain here again? It really seems like those mutated creatures are following the clouds wherever they go,” Liu Qingqing asked anxiously. She could already see, on the ground below, countless mutated creatures of all shapes and sizes converging beneath the rain clouds, with others joining from various directions.