Chapter 276:Caves.
The vehicle continued moving. Silver wanted to stop, every instinct told him to investigate but he knew they couldn’t. There were nine other people depending on them to follow the mission.
And more importantly, Larry had already warned him not to wander away from the convoy. The cave would still be there.
He hoped.
Silver turned his head slightly as they passed. The entrance disappeared behind the rocky hill. He looked through the rear window.
The animals were still there. One by one, they turned their heads toward the convoy.
Silver stared.
For just a second, he thought he saw something deeper inside the cave. A faint flicker or something else. Then the angle changed and the cave disappeared completely.
"Silver."
Ravenna’s voice pulled him back.
"What?"
"Will you be okay?"
"Mmh, atleast we’ve seen it."
She looked behind them.
"Should we tell Larry?"
Silver thought about it.
"Not yet."
Ravenna nodded.
She understood why. If they told Larry that they thought there was something strange about the cave, he might think they were trying to get in. And Silver didn’t know whether stopping would help or hurt them.
They continued for another hour and the terrain gradually changed.
The rocky hills became steeper, and the road narrowed between two larger formations. The number of beasts around them decreased slightly, but Silver noticed more signs of burrowing creatures along the road.
Small holes, freshly disturbed soil, and broken patches of vegetation. At first, he assumed they were simply animal burrows, then Larry’s voice came through the communication system.
"We’re approaching the mission site."
Silver looked ahead.
The convoy began slowing down. Several of the Rank Fours were already preparing their equipment.
Ravenna checked her rifle.
Silver looked at her.
"Ready?"
She nodded.
"Always."
Antony’s vehicle pulled alongside them for a moment.
"What’s the mission again?"
Silver glanced at him.
"You forgot?"
"I was listening."
Ravenna laughed. Silver shook his head.
"Burrowing worms."
Antony’s expression changed.
"Ah."
"Problem?"
"I don’t like worms."
Silver smiled.
"Good."
"Why is that good?"
"Because you’re going to kill a lot of them."
Antony stared at him.
"How many?"
Silver looked ahead.
"Apparently enough to make an entire team of Rank Fours take the mission seriously."
Antony became silent. That answer seemed to concern him. The convoy finally came to a stop and everyone began exiting their vehicles.
Larry approached the group.
"The cave entrance is just ahead."
Silver looked toward the rocky hill. He could already see dozens of small holes scattered across the ground.
Larry continued.
"The colony is believed to have been established for several months."
Victor frowned.
"How large?"
"We don’t know." Larry pointed toward the cave. "But based on the number of tunnels they’ve found, it’s big."
Silver looked at the entrance.
The smell was faint at first, then the wind shifted. A rotten, sweet odor reached them.
Ravenna covered her nose.
"What is that?"
Larry’s expression hardened.
"The colony." He pointed toward the cave. "The worms are parasitic. They reproduce quickly, and once the colony reaches a certain size, some of them undergo metamorphosis into insect forms."
Antony looked uneasy.
"What kind of insects?"
"Destructive ones." Larry continued. "They can leave the cave, infest animals, destroy vegetation, and spread to other colonies."
Marcus stepped forward.
"So we kill everything."
Larry nodded.
"Everything." He looked at the group. "The queen is the priority. She lays eggs every hour."
Silver’s expression became serious.
"Every hour?"
"Yes."
"And the eggs?"
"Roughly two weeks to incubate."
Silver looked toward the cave.
"So if we leave even a few adults behind... they can rebuild the colony."
Larry nodded.
"That’s why this is an extermination mission." He gestured toward the cave. "We go in, find the queen, kill her, destroy the eggs, and eliminate everything else."
Silver drew his sword and Ravenna loaded her rifle. A faint orange glow spread around her fingers before disappearing into the weapon.
Antony stayed in his male form. The eight Rank Fours gathered together, their expressions were serious now. This wasn’t going to be another roadside encounter but were going underground, into an unknown tunnel system. Against an entire colony of parasitic creatures.
Larry looked at everyone one final time.
"Once we enter, stay close."
He pointed toward the darkness.
"And whatever happens..." his expression hardened. "Do not let the colony reach the surface."
The group moved toward the cave.
Silver took a final glance back toward the direction they had come from.
Silver turned toward the cave in front of him. The darkness swallowed the light from the entrance. Something moved deep inside.
Ravenna stepped beside him.
"Ready?"
"Before we go in, Activate your tracker. If we get separated I want us to be able to locate each other in the caves. The guy I bought them from said they’re military grade so they should be helpful."
Ravenna nodded and Activate it. Silver didn’t the same thing.
"Why don’t I have one of those."
"We’ll buy one for you when we reach Alpha 3."
"Okay, I’ll remind both of you."
Silver tightened his grip on his sword.
"Let’s get this over with."
Then the group entered the cave.
The moment Silver stepped across the threshold of the cave, the atmosphere changed. The warmth of the valley disappeared almost immediately, replaced by a damp chill that clung to his skin.
The natural light from outside reached only a short distance into the entrance before being swallowed by the darkness, forcing several of the contractors to activate lamps attached to their equipment.
The beams of light swept across rough stone walls, revealing countless scratches and narrow openings scattered throughout the cave. Some tunnels were barely wide enough for a person’s arm, while others were large enough for something several meters long to disappear into.
Silver’s eyes moved constantly, looking for movement. Ravenna walked beside him with her sword already drawn. The familiar blade rested loosely in her hand, and faint heat shimmered around its edge.
Her swordsmanship had developed alongside her fire element, and the combination had become her primary fighting style.
Silver glanced at the blade.
"Your fire is already active."
Ravenna nodded.
"I don’t want to be surprised." She smiled. "You should probably take your own advice."
Silver’s smile widened.
"I was planning to."
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The cave changed; the darkness seemed to disappear.
Silver’s perception expanded outward, spreading through the surrounding space in a way that ordinary vision couldn’t reproduce. The walls became boundaries rather than obstacles. He could feel the irregularities in the terrain, the spaces behind certain sections of rock, and the faint movements of creatures hiding in places the lamps couldn’t reach.