Free Web NovelChapter 128: Chapter 128: Hunting
The moment he heard footsteps, Shen Feng’s eyes narrowed. He was just about to find a place to hide when the sound began to fade into the distance.
It seemed whoever it was was just passing by in the distance.
He couldn’t even tell if they were on the same floor.
Now that he had confirmed the presence of living people, he actually calmed down and was no longer in a hurry to make contact.
Relaxing slightly, Shen Feng put on his tactical helmet and night-vision goggles. He raised the assault rifle slung across his chest and began to explore the massive warehouse-like structure.
’When you run into other people, bullets are always more useful.’
As he walked, Shen Feng discovered that the "glass coffins" weren’t made of glass at all, but some kind of transparent metal.
Judging by their gray appearance and overall construction, they seemed to be another masterpiece of the Nanomechanical Insects...
’But if this was the result of the nanoinsects’ consumption, why hadn’t they gray-eaten these humans into metal statues? Why were they still flesh and blood, still alive?’
’What exactly is this place?’
’A hospital? A sanatorium?’
Suddenly, a line of small English text on the side of one of the glass coffins caught his attention:
Bernard Bent, Male, ID: NY-4819, 7 years. There was a photo next to it.
He then realized with a jolt that every glass coffin had a similar line of text on its side: the name, gender, and ID of the person inside, along with a number of years.
There was also a one-inch ID photo.
Judging by their names and appearances, they were all Westerners.
NY. New York.
’He was still in this world’s New York!’
’But what did the ID number and the years mean?’ fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Shen Feng pressed on, his mind full of questions. As he ventured deeper into the enormous structure, he discovered a staggering number of glass coffins.
Within his line of sight alone, there were at least ten thousand of them, and it seemed there were even more in the distance.
Or perhaps, they were more like biological pods, or cryogenic Hibernation Pods.
Moreover, some of the Hibernation Pods had shattered lids and were empty, with only brownish bloodstains and dried-up liquid left on the ground.
They appeared to have been broken open by force.
Just then, a Hibernation Pod with no nutrient fluid appeared before Shen Feng.
Inside was a mummified corpse, twisted as if in a struggle.
This Hibernation Pod was perfectly intact. It seemed a malfunction had drained the nutrient fluid. The person inside must have woken up but was completely unable to break the lid to escape, ultimately suffocating as the oxygen ran out.
His fingernails had all come off, and the inner surface of the transparent lid was covered in scratches. He had clearly tried everything to break free before his death, but to no avail, finally dying a slow death from asphyxiation.
Due to the sterile, temperature- and humidity-controlled environment inside, his body hadn’t decomposed, but had become mummified instead.
"Jingwei, analyze the corpse’s condition and time of preservation," Shen Feng said, carefully examining the mummy.
Before setting out this time, he had specifically tasked Jingwei with collecting a large amount of relevant data, which she had used to create several analysis models, including one for examining and making deductions about corpses.
After all, it was difficult to determine the passage of time in the apocalypse, and the state of a corpse could sometimes serve as a measuring stick. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"You got it. Just let me wake up a few subroutines," Jingwei said and began her analysis.
After a person dies, the cells in the body begin the process of autolysis. Lysosomes within the cells release various proteolytic enzymes, which gradually break down biological macromolecules into smaller molecules.
In addition to autolysis, the body is also subject to putrefactive decomposition from bacteria and other external factors. This is a natural process.
The existence of a mummified corpse, however, defies this natural process.
The main reason is that the corpse is in a small, highly sealed environment with no gas exchange with the outside world. The initial processes of decay and oxidation inside the coffin consume the remaining oxygen, creating an anaerobic environment that is inhospitable to the growth and reproduction of putrefying bacteria, thereby halting decomposition.
The moisture from the body also seeps out and is either absorbed by the surroundings or drained away, completely preventing further decomposition and resulting in mummification.
"Based on indicators like the degree of decomposition, dehydration, and skin changes, this person has been dead for about thirty years."
Jingwei’s voice rang out.
Shen Feng nodded.
’Thirty years...’
In other words, at least thirty years had passed since the beginning of the Gray Tide apocalypse.
And it was probably longer.
After all, there was no way of knowing when this person had suddenly woken up.
’Combined with the time marker I saw on the metal wall earlier, the current year in the Gray Tide apocalypse must be 2059 or later...’
’Who are these people?’
’And what is this place?’
’A Shelter?’
’But you can come and go as you please. It doesn’t seem like a Shelter at all.’
’Besides, if this was a Shelter and this area is relatively safe now, why haven’t these people been woken from hibernation?’
’No, that’s not right. These Hibernation Pods are clearly made of material formed by the gray-eating process...’
He also noticed that the number of years on the mummified man’s Hibernation Pod was different from the others he had seen.
years.
Looking at the surrounding pods, he saw that the ones in this area were all marked with "13 years."
’What do these years signify?’
Shen Feng took a deep breath and continued forward, passing pod after pod, person after person.
And the number of years marked on these Hibernation Pods was gradually increasing.
years.
years.
years.
years.
years...
At the same time, the deeper he went into the structure, the more broken Hibernation Pods he encountered.
Many of these pods were stained with brown blood.
There were even some yellowed, brittle bones scattered on the floor.
Shen Feng crouched down, picked up a bone, and examined it. Data on human skeletal structures flashed through his mind as he tried to identify it.
It was a human tibia.
There were several teeth marks in the middle of the bone.
Human teeth marks.
Soon, he reached the deepest part of the structure, where the years marked on the Hibernation Pods were even higher.
The pods in this area were mostly marked with 300 years or more.
The several hundred Hibernation Pods in this section had all been opened.
Although there were some bloodstains, there weren’t many skeletal remains.
Shen Feng walked up to one Hibernation Pod and looked at the intact lid, which had clearly been opened from the inside. His expression grew thoughtful.
The number of years marked on this pod was the highest yet.
Mike, Male, ID: NY-83587, 1762 years.
Next to it was a photo of a muscular Black man.
And unlike the others, this Hibernation Pod’s lid was completely undamaged, and the inner walls still bore the marks of evaporated nutrient fluid.
The person in this pod had awoken naturally.
Looking again at the years marked on the surrounding Hibernation Pods, Shen Feng began to understand.
Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps rang out, accompanied by screams and wild laughter!
Shen Feng’s brow furrowed, and he rushed toward the source of the sound.
The sound wasn’t far, likely just behind a freestanding metal wall!
Switching quickly into a combat stance, Shen Feng saw a nearby pillar covered in protruding metal bumps. Using both his hands and feet, he scaled it to the top.
Then, grabbing some strange metal columns and handholds hanging from the ceiling, he landed atop the freestanding metal wall and moved swiftly toward the sound like a panther.
Soon, he reached the source of the noise.
People. Dozens of men, dressed in rags or completely naked, were holding metal components or daggers fashioned from shards of Hibernation Pod lids. With savage grins, they surrounded a man in a loose-fitting white patient gown.
The man’s clothes weren’t fully dry and his hair was still slick with some kind of slime. He seemed to have just woken up from a Hibernation Pod.
Two metal shards were embedded in his body, one of his legs was broken, and he was huddled in a corner against the wall, staring at the approaching crowd with a look of utter despair and terror.
"You... Police! Police! I want to call the police! Where the hell is this place? What are you trying to do? Help! Help me!"
But his injuries were too severe. One of the metal shards had pierced his heart. After shouting just a few words, blood gushed from his mouth, and he soon fell silent.
Seeing the man was dead, a skinny man among the weapon-wielding group turned to the bald, muscular Black man beside him and asked:
"Boss Mike, you think this one’s enough to eat?"
The others around them remained silent, clearly deferring to this "Boss Mike."
Mike stared at the dead man with a blank expression, as if looking at an ant, and said:
"Not quite. This one’s too skinny. Go pick out a fatter piece of prey."
Shen Feng’s eyes narrowed.
’That’s him. The man from the Hibernation Pod marked with 1762 years!’
"Alright, boys, let’s go pick a new one! A fat one this time!"
"Haha, you got it!"
"We’re having an open-air barbecue today!"
The crowd surged into action like a pack of wild animals, rushing into a nearby cluster of Hibernation Pods and beginning to inspect the sleeping occupants.
Their gazes were mocking, cruel, and indifferent, yet also filled with greedy anticipation, as if they were picking out livestock at a slaughterhouse.
"This one’s good!" the skinny man from before shouted. "This one’s fat enough! Boss Mike, come take a look."
The man named Mike slowly walked over, glanced expressionlessly at the person sleeping inside, and nodded.
"This’ll do. We’ll take this pig."
The crowd immediately swarmed forward and began smashing the pod’s metal lid with their makeshift weapons.
Soon, with the sound of the lid shattering, a slightly overweight man was revealed, still deep in hibernation.
The man was dragged out of the Hibernation Pod, still in a deep sleep, as unresponsive as a log.
But these people were clearly used to this, and they expertly began to punch and kick the man.
The skinny man even stabbed the metal shard in his hand directly into the sole of the man’s foot to jolt him awake.
After a moment, the man’s eyelids twitched slightly.
The next instant, they flew open!
