novelEntering The Tiger's Den, Stealing The Tiger's Cub
| ← Ch.225 | Ch.227 → |
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
His words were like gold scattering onto the ground.
Evidently, Feng Lin had already made up his mind and wouldn't change his decision.
Plans would never be able to match up to actual circumstances.
He deeply understood the importance of improvisation.
Because of the lack of time, their plan that was supposed to be executed in the day had failed. Hence now, they needed to improvise.
If not, they would waste a night's worth of time for nothing. When they tried again tomorrow, be it success or failure, another day would be gone.
There were only 10 days for the second round; time was very limited. He had to seize all available time to obtain as many points as possible to make up for the difference between him and the other candidates that formed teams.
Although Feng Lin didn't walk on the Athena Mythological Path and he didn't have such monstrous brain power as Yana, he understood this very well and had his own ideas.
"Not getting the tiger's cub if we don't enter the tiger's den?" Although Feng Lin had explained his reasons, when Aris heard it, she instinctively rebutted."Do you think this place is as simple as a tiger's den? This is a mother nest of the aberrations. It is a location much more terrifying compared to a tiger's den!"
However, Feng Lin simply looked at her and said a sentence which she couldn't refute.
"But we are not ordinary humans, are we?"
That's right!
Although the mother nest of aberrations was more dangerous than a tiger's den, they were not ordinary humans after all. If they were so fearful of everything, why the hell did they cultivate for?
Aris intentionally wanted to go against Feng Lin, but this time, she couldn't find any reason. She could only cast a 'seeking-for-help' glance at her sister Yana.
However, Yana's next sentence caused Aris to widen her eyes in shock.
"You are right! Now, this is truly the time where the defense of the mother nest is at its weakest. If we enter now, our rate of success would be even higher than if we entered in the day. The space inside the mother nest can help us to resist the cold as well." After hearing Feng Lin's words, Yana's brows were furrowed as she entered deep in contemplation. Her brain power revolved quickly, and she soon saw the merits of this plan. Hence, she agreed with Feng Lin.
"Elder sis..." Seeing that her elder sister was also supportive of this idea, Aris panicked.
Yana shook her head."Aris, although our plan earlier was good, it couldn't catch up to the changes in the situation; we have to improvise to achieve what we want. The changes in the heavens and earth are boundless. No matter how good a plan is, it wouldn't be perfect. No matter how high a human's intelligence is, it ultimately cannot win against the law of the heavens."
She voted for Feng Lin's suggestion, and this matter was settled just like that.
Aris had no way to refute her sister. She could only cast Feng Lin an infuriated glance, and her expression was filled with reluctance.
As expected of Yana, her intelligence far surpassed the majority of humans. After agreeing with Feng Lin, she thought of many details instantly to optimize this plan.
"Although the bitter chill of the night would cause the defense of the mother nest to be at its slackest period, there's no need for us to be in such a hurry. Right now, Asura Planet just entered the start of the night cycle phase, and the temperature has not gone down completely yet. The aberrations had yet to retreat to the deepest level of the cave and are still very vigilant. If we enter now, we would be throwing ourselves into the net. Let's only enter when the temperature has plunged to its lowest point and after that, we will use our strongest attack and aim for the aberration queen together, assassinating her. Once we succeed, the dragon's head would be separated from its body. The situation in the mother nest would definitely descend into chaos and by then, we can hunt for points as much as want to..."
Her calm words were filled with icy killing intent.
"Annihilation Plan, edition: aberration?" Feng Lin mumbled.
"Right!" Yana replied. The three of them then nodded in agreement.
The boundless darkness flowed forth from the sky like waves from the ocean, engulfing the entire land. Along with it, the bitter chill that came from the plunging temperature manifested as well.
Feng Lin's group dug a huge pit and hid there like groundhogs. They sealed the entrance and only left some holes to allow air to pass through, just enough for them to breathe.
They were like mature hunters, enduring the vilest environment to wait for the perfect moment to snare their prey.
Although they were covered by many layers of soil, the cold wind was still able to penetrate the pit.
Yana was someone with a very weak physique; the colder the temperature was, the more difficult it would be for her to endure. She was like a tender flower inside an ice storm. She shivered violently as her pale face turned even paler.
However, she didn't complain in the slightest at all, displaying a resolute determination that couldn't be seen from her fragile appearance.
As for that brash and violent Aris, she also displayed a tender side of hers. She hugged her sister in her embrace and used her body warmth to warm Yana up.
Intense waves of tyrannical aura gushed forth from her and became corporeal, forming a barrier that protected Yana from the bitter wind. This made Yana's countenance much better looking.
Feng Lin felt puzzled in his heart.
Athena was a very powerful god in Greek Mythology. Since this Yana walked on her mythological path, why was her body so fragile?
But this was a private matter of Yana after all, he wouldn't pry too deeply.
Feng Lin didn't pay too much attention to it after this. He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, circulating his qi and blood to ward off the cold.
In this hellish temperature that was over a negative hundred degrees, even metal would turn to ice and would shatter into pieces when they fell onto the ground. There was no need to mention about the fragile human flesh.
A faint jade luster appeared on the surface of Feng Lin's skin, acting like a formless layer of isolation that blocked the chill. The cold wasn't able to invade him the slightest.
He then took out a gene hypophysis from one of the aberrations he had killed and consumed it. The meat lump transformed into currents of warmth that flowed through his body like lava.
Genetic potential +58%, +58%, +58%, ... increasing by a total of 290% in one shot.
Feng Lin didn't hesitate. His perception locked onto to the gene that he had always ignored before. Genetic energy flowed into it.
=====
Gene: Adrenaline Gene
Grade: Perfect-grade Basic Gene
Strengthening Tally: 4
Ability: Bullet Time (Secretion of adrenaline, stimulating the acceleration of thinking)
=====
He strengthened the Adrenaline Gene to 4 points, extending the duration of Bullet Time from 20s to 80s.
Every bit of strength was important as they were going to enter the mother nest. He had to adjust his physical and mental state to their strongest peak.
As for the principles of having no regrets, it was precisely because in the past, Feng Lin wasn't sure of what the Adrenaline Gene could evolve into. This was why he didn't strengthen it further.
If he added too many points, even if he regretted it in the future, he wouldn't be able to do anything.
Hence, Feng Lin had never added points to the Adrenaline Gene after awakening it. But now, he couldn't care too much about the consequences.
Strengthening the Adrenaline Gene to 4 points was a number that was neither high nor low. It should be suitable.
In the future of his evolutionary path, if the Adrenaline Gene was useless, having 4 points in it wouldn't be considered a waste even if he had to abandon it. However, if the Adrenaline Gene could be evolved into higher-tiered genes that were suitable for him, there was naturally no problems in enhancing it even more.
After all, the stronger a gene was, the more would its requirements be in regard to increasing the strengthening tallies of its basic components.
This was the most universal rule of the cosmos.
Accumulation and being well prepared was the key to success.
The number of points added to a gene could be considered 'accumulation'. The more points there were, the deeper the foundation was. Only with enough accumulation would the gene be able to undergo a sufficiently wondrous evolution.
This was also how Feng Lin, despite awakening two of the lowest-grade basic genes, managed to evolve them to a variant-grade primeval gene like the Stone Monkey Gene.
By accumulating enough droplets, enough water would form floods that could drown everything.
Gene evolution followed the same theory.
Time flowed by and it was now the middle of the night. There were no hints of life on Asura Planet at all. Almost all of the monsters were in hibernation.
Feng Lin opened his eyes.
Everything was prepared; they were only lacking the east wind. [1]
During these hours, the two sisters also did some preparations and now, they were wearing an interstellar warrior's battle suit.
Clearly, they had interspatial equipment with them. These battle suits were able to isolate both heat and cold, but the patterns on them seemed slightly strange. There was a bizarre-looking silver-colored star symbol, and the battle suits were radiating bloodthirsty aura.
Feng Lin tactfully didn't probe further. No matter where these battle uniforms originated from, it had nothing to do with him.
The three of them nodded to each other and walked out from the pit.
There was no moon on Asura Planet. During the night, the darkness was reigning, and nobody could see their fingers even if they were stretching out their palms before them.
The atmosphere of the mother nest was so gloomy that it was terrifying. The entrance to the cave was like a gigantic maw wanting to swallow people whole.
Swish~
A gust of cold wind blew by, causing the three of them to shiver despite the protective battle suits and Feng Lin's constitution.
In this temperature of negative hundred degrees, even water vapor would be crystallized, turning into frost and ice. Everything was covered by thick layers of frost.
The devil's den was right before their eyes, boundlessly dark and extremely deep. The cold wind emitted low-frequency noises akin to roars.
Feng Lin's group cautiously entered. The tunnel felt extremely cold and gloomy, and a sour-rotten smell that could cause one to puke permeated the atmosphere.
The three of them also weren't ordinary humans. They frowned slightly but didn't hesitate to continue moving in.
Sha, Sha, Sha...
As they proceeded deeper into the cave, clicking noises rang out, causing them to feel somewhat irritated.
"Shush!" Feng Lin's spirit force gushed forth. He suddenly made a silencing gesture by placing his finger on his lips and pointing upward.
The greek sisters looked up and had to hold their breaths. On the ceiling, groups of densely packed monsters were squirming about as they stuck close to each other. Their eyes gleamed with redness and resembled bats. They were none other than the embryonic-form of the aberrations, the facehuggers.
Their numbers were well above millions, basically countless. The sight of this would cause one's scalp to turn numb.
Although Feng Lin and the sisters were cultivators, if they alerted these monsters, they would be engulfed by the unending tides of facehuggers and it would be almost impossible for them to escape.
The three of them retracted all traces of their presence and silently departed, moving into the depths of the mother nest.
The inner structure of the mother nest was like a beehive, extending everywhere. It formed a spatial three-dimensional structure that resembled a maze.
The gigantic mountain this place originally was, had completely been dug and tunneled through by the aberrations.
Feng Lin's spirit force gushed forth and scanned the surroundings, allowing him to have something like 'transparent vision'. He had a complete understanding of this maze; nothing could obstruct his vision.
Through the many layers of walls, he could sense an extremely powerful life force undulations from a certain direction.
That place should be the location of the aberration queen.
However, a spiritual scan was different from vision. Feng Lin couldn't be sure until he had seen it personally. He had to get closer before he could tell if his guess was right.
"Come with me!" Feng Lin signaled. He then led the two sisters in the direction of the queen.
"Quickly, look!" Yana suddenly called out. In front of them, hanging from the ceilings, half-transparent cocoons with different creatures could be seen. There were messenger-types, soldier-types... etc.
Feng Lin could sense that their mind had entered a state of stillness and they were just like rocks. He actually didn't notice their presence until Yana called out.
He and Yana then exchanged glances as an idea formed in his head.
Chi, chi, chi~
Feng Lin's spirit force transformed into formless small swords that pierced out into the air, stabbing into their minds and killing the lives in the cocoon mentally. Since their minds had died, they naturally died as well.
Yana also acted. Her mental energy transformed into golden arrows that destroyed the thought processes of the aberrations in the cocoons.
These aberrations were all hibernating. They were like fish on the land, unable to put up any struggle at all. Feng Lin's group could harvest as much as they wanted.
Mental-type energies were without form nor substance. They could kill silently, leaving no traces at all.
All aberrations were points, and right now, they were being harvested effortlessly.
Truly, one could only capture the tiger's cub by entering the tiger's den.
However, Feng Lin's group didn't dally. After killing a few more, they headed straight for the queen.
Assassinating the queen was the main point; all other things were secondary.
The deeper they went into the cave, the higher the temperature was. Apparently, the bitter chill from the outside wasn't able to reach so deep into the cave. Currently, the temperature was around negative 80 degrees.
The cold wind also abated somewhat, making Feng Lin's group resent this instead.
This wasn't a good thing for them!
With an increase in temperature, it meant that the life activities of the aberrations might surge again and they would all wake from their hibernating states. If that was the case, their plan to assassinate the queen might end in failure.
Feng Lin's group of three exchanged mutual glances. They could all see the trepidation and heaviness in the eyes of each other.
Just like what they expected, the deeper they entered the mother nest, the more silent the atmosphere was. Even those sounds made by the facehuggers had completely vanished.
They felt like countless fearsome monsters were hiding in the dark, waiting for a chance to lunge over and tearing them into shreds.
Sou~
A black figure flashed by, so fast that they weren't able to track it with their eyes.
Feng Lin instinctively turned and chased after. Now, he could make out a three-meter-tall aberration that was hiding in the dark. Its entire body was glossy black, perfectly melding into the darkness inside the cave. A pair of eyes were staring ruthlessly at Feng Lin's group, overflowing with savageness.
This was clearly a prowler-type aberration!
At the next moment, it opened its maw and clearly was preparing to scream.
Feng Lin's expression changed."Grow!"
The metal cudgel in his hand quickly expanded and pierced into the aberration's throat, not allowing it to make any noises.
Bang!
Aris also didn't hesitate. She jumped over and punched out with hands that were imbued with black-colored tyrannical aura. Her punches were like hammer blows, but she controlled the force in them very well. Although she smashed the aberration into pieces, she didn't alert the other monsters inside the nest.
"We must have reached the region where the temperature in the cave is the highest. Some of the aberrations are starting to awaken. This must be the inner section of the mother nest, and the aberrations here are all high-level ones. We have to be careful." Their expressions were heavy. They increased their speed and moved directly toward the direction of the queen. The wariness in their hearts was also raised to the maximum.
They discovered that in the inner part of the nest, a prowler-type would guard every corner. The security here was extremely strict.
The three of them joined forces and used the swiftest, most silent method to kill the prowlers as they proceeded toward where Feng Lin felt the aberration queen would be.
Finally, they saw what they wanted. They entered a spider-web-like hole and could see thick tentacles everywhere.
A terrifying monster over ten meters in length coiled upon itself. It had malevolent-looking claws and tentacles. And there also was a giant egg-spawning organ at the area below its stomach that was squirming unceasingly.
"KILL!" Upon seeing the aberration queen, the three of them instantly rushed over.
The metal cudgel in Feng Lin's hand transformed quickly, becoming a gigantic heaven pillar that smashed down heavily.
For Yana, her mental energy transformed into a golden arrow that shot straight into the consciousness of the queen.
Aris's tyrannical aura equipment manifested a long spear, wanting to penetrate everything that was before her.
...
The three of them unleashed their strongest attacks, wanting to kill the queen instantly and not giving her any opportunity to react.
As her life was at stake, the gigantic aberration hurriedly let out a piercing scream.
Six black figures immediately appeared, blocking between the queen and Feng Lin's group. Their bodies were torn to bits and their acidic blood splattered on the ground, causing sizzling sounds to ring out.
The attacks were completely blocked by the aberrations who ignored their lives. At the next moment, they discovered that they were now completely surrounded by a group of terrifying black figures.
Feng Lin glanced at the surroundings, and his heart couldn't help but sink into the valley.
This was a group of aberrations clad in black-colored armor. Their bodies were tall and their muscles seemed to be filled with explosive violence.
Their tough head crowns were as sturdy as shields, and their bodies exuded a devilish charm. They were akin to the most loyal guards protecting their queen.
Guard-type aberrations!
—-
Note:
'Lacking the east wind' is a chinese idiom, meaning everything is ready, save for one crucial detail.
| ← Ch. 225 | Ch. 227 → |