Chapter 15: The Sea Monster

The three of them followed Lin Xiaofeng's gesture and looked in that direction, each wearing a look as if they'd just witnessed something utterly absurd. What in the world was going on here? This wasn't the deep sea of the East China Continental Shelf, but rather the shallow coastal waters near land. How could such bizarre creatures appear here? What exactly were these things? They looked like they belonged in the open ocean or deep sea, and were shockingly ugly.

They activated their portable holographic internet device—let’s call it a holo-computer for convenience—connecting to the temporary federal government internet system. They scanned the unidentified creatures swimming toward the submarine and searched for information, but found no relevant results.

Just as expected, trouble had come knocking.

"Are these unknown life forms?"

"That can't be! With current detection technology, any creature this large would have been discovered ages ago!"

"Didn't we learn in military theory that this round of biological mutations all happened on land? No one said anything about the ocean!"

"Let's wait and see. The ship's team must have a contingency plan."

After a brief discussion, the four decided to observe the situation and react accordingly.

Meanwhile, in the control room, as the fleet of massive creatures approached, the crew was at their wits' end. The captain ordered the entire ship's team to battle stations, ready to take action at a moment’s notice.

"Take aim! Fire!" At the captain's command, a barrage of small torpedoes shot toward the enormous sea monsters like a meteor shower.

The torpedoes rained down in a storm, and while they did kill some of the smaller creatures, most only suffered light injuries, and some weren't harmed at all. Their skin and flesh seemed as tough as steel or stone. The most outrageous was the leader: it actually swallowed a torpedo whole, belched, and was none the worse for it.

Despite the bombardment, only the larger, more agile monsters remained. The shells were having less and less effect. Still, it wasn't for nothing—they discovered the monsters' weakness: the very center of their heads. Some, hit repeatedly, were showing signs of excessive blood loss.

With ammunition running low and collision imminent, the captain decided he couldn't allow everyone on board to be put in danger. He broadcast a call for emergency reinforcements, dispatching real soldiers to handle the monsters that couldn't be taken out by torpedoes.

When the broadcast sounded, the four members of Falcon Squad were naturally among those called up. After all, only about a quarter of the people on board were military personnel. Of the rest, a fifth were staff—captain, first officer, and so on—while the remainder were scientists, members of the routine investigation unit headed to Fuzhou, and civilians. They couldn't be expected to fight.

Given that the sea monsters weren't particularly formidable—just terrifyingly large—the Falcon Squad wasn't afraid. In fact, they were a bit excited at the prospect of teaching these monstrous fish a lesson. If they could turn them into hot pot, all the better.

They suited up in tight-fitting wetsuits, strapped on their oxygen tanks, and set out with the main force.

After leaving the compartment and swimming only a short distance, they encountered the sea monsters. Perhaps the creatures, like deep-sea fish, had poor eyesight. Noticing something unusual ahead but unable to see clearly, they paused, much like a nearsighted person squinting without their glasses.

"Hello there, big fish! We're here to fight you. Are you scared? Don't start crying for your mom in a minute!" Long teased the sea monster mischievously.

The monster roared back at them.

"Wait—did that thing just understand Long?" Damen said, suddenly uneasy. "It looks like a lower life form, but it might actually be sentient!"

"Maybe it's just mechanical mimicry, like a parrot repeating words without understanding," Lin Xiaofeng speculated.

"Let's test it out!" said Long, darting into the monster's field of vision and moving forward. The creature likewise lurched ahead. Suddenly, Long turned and retreated; the monster also backed up.

Damen, Nana, and Xiaofeng were torn between criticizing Long’s impulsiveness and marveling at what they were seeing. What on earth was this? If several people did different things in front of it, would the poor thing split its mind trying to imitate them all?

Applause for such a grand experiment—Falcon Squad had given up hunting, now playing the role of “fish teasers.” Yet, when faced with the team’s manic gestures, the monster didn’t break down. Instead, it let out a furious roar. The four suddenly heard an enraged, distinctly human-sounding voice: “You’re making fun of me!”

“Did you hear that? Someone’s talking!” Nana was the first to notice.

“There’s no voice! Women are always so paranoid,” Long scoffed at Zhao Nana’s reaction.

“I think I heard it too,” Lin Xiaofeng added, suspecting it was the monster itself.

Again, a voice came: “You’re making fun of me! You all want to play with me!”

This time, all four heard it clearly—it was indeed the monster, and there was a hint of sorrow in its tone.

Zhang Xingmin had been observing for a while. It seemed the monster truly possessed human-like consciousness. Or perhaps it wasn’t a fish at all. A bold guess: the monster was mutating toward humanity, or perhaps had been grafted with human genes. But that didn’t quite add up, either. Previous federal medical research had grafted human genes into laboratory mice to grow organs for transplant, but the mice never developed language abilities.

After a hasty discussion, Falcon Squad landed on two shocking possibilities: either the monster had been transplanted with a human brain, or it could acquire traits from creatures it devoured—having consumed a human, it inherited language skills.

Either way, the implications were grim. This was no brainless brute, but a sentient being. That was the real danger.

And sure enough, danger arrived as expected. Just as Falcon Squad was preparing to continue their antics, the monster's jaws yawned wide—wider than a blue whale’s—becoming a bottomless pit that sucked in the surrounding water. The four used the backwash to avoid becoming its next meal.

They barely escaped, only to have the monster attack again. Its tentacles, octopus-like and arrogant, lashed out at the team. With no time to coordinate, the four scattered.

“Min! This won’t work! We need to end this quickly—the longer it drags on, the worse for us!” Lin Xiaofeng signaled, since underwater, with wetsuits, oxygen tanks, and weapons, they couldn’t speak—only communicate with hand signals.

Zhang Xingmin immediately understood. He and Long would distract the monster while Lin Xiaofeng and Zhao Nana sneaked up to its head.

With roles decided, Xiaofeng and Nana swam away to hide. Damen and Long fired a couple of shots at the monster, then turned and bolted. As expected, the enraged creature gave chase.

Like a mantis stalking a cicada, never seeing the oriole behind, Xiaofeng and Nana managed to sneak up behind the monster, swimming along its body to its head. Just as Damen and Long were about to be caught, exhausted, Xiaofeng and Nana reached the creature’s head, drew their long knives, and stabbed hard into its vulnerable spot. The knives were attached to wrist-thick chains tied to their waists to anchor themselves and avoid being flung off by the pain-crazed beast.

Xiaofeng and Nana were fine, but Damen and Long weren’t so lucky. As the monster howled in pain, it retaliated furiously, wrapping its flexible "octopus arms" around them like ropes, squeezing until they nearly blacked out. It was as if, by hurting them, it could alleviate the pain in its head.

Seeing their teammates in mortal danger, Xiaofeng and Nana panicked and nearly made a rash move, but the chains kept them in place. After a moment, they calmed down.

Time was running out—the longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it was for Damen and Long. Nana quickly observed the monster’s head, found its weakest spot—much like the human temple where the skull is thinnest—and caught Xiaofeng’s eye. They each took a side, plunged their short knives into the spot.

With several strikes, the monster’s brains oozed out, its life force dwindling rapidly. If Xiaofeng and Nana had listened closely, they might have heard its final words: "Humans, truly ruthless..."

But they had no time for the monster’s last words. They quickly unchained themselves and swam toward Damen and Long, anxious for their friends’ safety. Though it was less than ten meters, it felt like a lifetime.

On their end, as the monster’s strength faded, the grip around Damen and Long loosened. Zhang Xingmin realized Xiaofeng and Nana had succeeded. What should have been a straightforward action had turned into a harrowing ordeal, but victory was exhilarating—surviving by the skin of their teeth was a thrill all its own.

Long, however, was less fortunate. The monster had snapped the hose of his oxygen tank, and he was suffocating. Desperate, he signaled for help. Fortunately, Zhang Xingmin noticed and rushed over; by then, Long was already semi-conscious, on the verge of losing the ability to breathe.

“What now?” Zhang Xingmin hesitated for a second, then closed his eyes, pried Long’s mouth open, and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation…