"What is that thing?"
"Heavens, what is crawling up there? So gross."
"I knew it. Why did the sky go dark all of a sudden. I thought endless daylight ended, but something is blocking it."
Someone recognized the creatures crawling over the shield.
"Mutant snakes. There is a red crystal on their heads. Those are mutant snakes."
"Heavens, why are there so many mutant snakes? Why are they all coming here?"
"Ah, I am terrified of snakes."
"Does the shield work? They will not get in, right."
For the moment the snakes could not enter. The first layer of protection was not enough, so the second layer had already risen.
With two layers of shielding, anything short of an especially savage mutant should be held off for a while.
But how long was a while. Could the base hold until these people returned with help.
The H City base was built against a mountain. There were no tall towers, but the grounds were vast. For the snakes to blanket the entire shield said everything about their numbers. With numbers like that, even strong ability users such as Lan Jin might not find it easy to clear them if she returned. In short, it could go either way.
There was almost no chance of finding a weakness in the hardened shield itself. But there were gaps at the gate. If you wanted in, it was not impossible to find a seam there.
Snakes had no limbs. They excelled at slipping through the smallest cracks. Even the tiniest opening would do.
One or two slipped in. The mass behind them crowded the hole. The opening widened.
The worry they had spoken aloud came true in minutes.
As the tide of snakes poured through the gate, the ability users on guard could only keep hurling powers at them.
It was useless.
Those ability users were not very strong to begin with. When the snakes were few, extermination already took time, strength, and energy. Now they were spent almost at once.
And they were getting hurt.
One thing did help. After repeated attacks by mutants in the past, the H City base had its own protocol. The instant any alarm rang, shutters down and doors sealed. That kept the snake horde from harassing ordinary residents once they got inside.
When the ability users realized their powers were not enough, they grabbed their issued weapons, just like the ordinary defense team. Guns felt great to use, but if the breach at the gate stayed open, snakes would keep flooding in.
For a time, the H City base was chaos.
…
The returning ships were in no better mood. At the same time, Doctor Wang from the R City base got a satellite call. Their base was almost overrun.
Faced with this, none of the base leaders could offer comfort. It seemed likely every base was in trouble.
What was causing this all at once.
In the cabin, Lan Jin frowned. "It is too neat. Why would mutant creatures attack all the bases at once? If you think about it, the deep freeze would have been an even better time. You could move freely over ice and escape more easily. Animals are animals, but they are not stupid. So why attack bases now?"
"Who knows? Maybe there is an unseen plot behind it."
The strange part was this. According to news Huang Jinghe got from his parents, the Capital city base was fine. While almost all bases were swarmed at once, the Capital city base was intact and calm.
That made it hard not to think.
Why did every other base have problems while the Capital city base had none at all? Was the Capital city base sitting on blessed ground, immune to attack?
If so, why build a base at all. Just live there in the open?
So there had to be something they did not know.
…
The ships pushed for speed toward their respective bases. When the five ships prepared to split up and head home, and everyone was saying goodbye on deck, Captain Zhang got a satellite call from upstairs.
Captain Zhang frowned, face heavy. "I know that mission matters, but our bases are in crisis. Are we really going to ignore them."
"Do not worry about your bases. We have already sent people to handle it. You only need to complete your mission. Understood."
Before Captain Zhang even hung up, the other base leaders received the same call. The content was nearly identical.
After he ended the call, the captains all looked grim. Captain Zhang said, "What is this? Our bases are like that and we still have to continue the mission. We are just not going back."
"Who knows? Orders say reinforcements are on the way to help. We are soldiers. Soldiers follow orders."
Doctor Wang of the R City base glanced at Captain Zhang and sighed. "Then let us keep moving. No point wasting time here."
So there was no farewell. They simply turned and pushed on toward the destination.
Back in their cabin, only then did Ling Jiang let herself breathe. She said with relief, "Thank goodness Grandma Ling and Lan Qiaoqiao are in your space. If not, I would be out of my mind."
Lan Jin felt the same. "Yes. The world is not safe. Who would leave those two outside."
Lao Gao said, "We should be grateful Sister Lan has a space. Otherwise we would be sunk. But I do worry about one thing. If the base was hit, and people were hurt or worse, they will count heads later. Lan Qiaoqiao and Grandma Ling are not in the base. What do we say."
Huang Jinghe said, "You really think Captain Zhang knows nothing. When Sister Lan asked for the extended leave before we set out, Captain Zhang looked like he had guesses. He should not talk out of turn though. If he meant to report it, he would have already."
Lao Gao analyzed it. "He likely knows we have a space, but thinks it is like the storage spaces some others have in the bases. Only for carrying things, no other function. If he knew the full scope, a benefit to the whole country, do you think Captain Zhang would not report it?"
Lan Jin nodded, worried. "That makes sense. I wanted to keep the space quiet, let as few people know as possible. Who could guess more and more people would figure it out?"