“Huh? This…
“That’s it?”
Feng Long licked his lips and scratched the back of his head in surprise as he stared at the wriggling flesh and blood splattered on the ground.
The soldiers had a blast during the attack of the giant mutant rat that charged toward them.
They were either relieving their pent-up resentment from being injured during the ambush led by Guan Yuan, or they had a burst of courage since it was the first time they had come face-to-face with a mutant creature that only existed in movies and TV series.
It only took them one round of precise shooting to dismember the monster completely.
The monster did not even have the chance to threaten them with a decent growl before it had already been shot down to pieces.
Meanwhile, the soldiers in their trenches also glanced at the defeated monster in confusion. Some of them have not even recovered from the strong crackling sound from the shooting.
Yet…
‘Is it already over?
‘No one was sacrificed, and not even a single soldier was injured?’
“That’s a ghost? That’s it? According to the TV shows I watched, they’re supposed to be able to pass through walls, possess human bodies, and have an impenetrable body against weapons or bullets! How can it go down so easily?”
“Dumbass, that’s not a ghost. It’s obviously a mutant beast. I saw its appearance just now, and it looked like a giant rat.”
“Nonsense! How can a rat be so massive? He was bigger than the cow I raised in the past when he stood up. Have you ever seen such a big rat before?”
“Didn’t I already say it was a mutant? Isn’t it normal for a mutant to be slightly bigger?”
“D*mn. He must’ve been soaked in a jar of nuclear radiation for a few months to have such a significant gene mutation to become the way he looked just now. That just sounds like complete nonsense!”
“…”
The dust dissipated, and the interior past the door was finally visible.
After ensuring that a second monster would not suddenly charge toward them, the soldiers lying on their stomachs began discussing the sight they had just experienced after confirming that a second monster would not suddenly charge toward them.
Some suggested that it was the doings of a ghost and that an evil spirit had possessed the rat, giving it so-called “ghostly powers” and transforming it into a terrifying creature.
Others were convinced that it was the effect of radiation and plausibly reasoned their argument with civil science reports from Earth, preaching that there might have been radiation inside the house that caused the mutation of an ordinary rat.
Meanwhile, there was a minority that believed in neither of the two hypotheses. They thought it was merely a unique species of creature on the wasteland and not a creature from Earth.
The tense atmosphere was relieved and became lively under the discussion of divergent opinions being formed.
Su Mo listened to the debates for a while and coughed a little to gain Feng Tianmin’s attention. He was lying on the ground beside him, equally interested in the topic.
“Don’t rush in yet. Get Feng Long to measure the radiation around the surrounding areas with a Geiger counter.
“The others should stay on guard and keep an eye out for a possible second monster that might charge out from the building!” Su Mo instructed.
Su Mo predicted a low possibility of a second monster in the building according to his previous experience at the ruins of Liangfang Town.
However, the chatter of the soldiers made him slightly more vigilant about the situation.
The black dog, mad cow, and the recent mutant giant rat all had a slight sense of sanity.
According to the characteristics shown previously, the dark creatures were not like brainless zombies that were infected by a mutant virus but instead felt like a mutation caused by radiation.
Feng Tianmin nodded and walked to the team’s rear after receiving the order.
A soldier cautiously took out a Geiger counter from the supply box and gave it to Feng Long.
The relaxed atmosphere immediately tensed up once again.
Everyone held their breath and fixed their eyes on Feng Long, paying attention to the Geiger counter in his hand.
Bzzt…bzzt…bzzt…
A very rhythmic sound came from the counter’s speaker and echoed in everyone’s ears very clearly.
According to the counter’s frequency,the radiation could be estimated to be about 45 counts per minute, which was within a safe range of cosmic rays.
However, the closer Feng Long moved toward the wriggling black flesh, the quicker the sound of the counter began to click.
48 counts per minute!
55 counts per minute!
The counter began to sound rapidly as it got closer to the puddle of bloody flesh.
The counter’s number could no longer display a precise number and rapidly increased continuously, indicating that the radiation levels of the surrounding area had far exceeded a safe level.
“There really is radiation.”
Su Mo’s eyelids twitched as he watched Feng Long approach cautiously and occasionally send back the data with hand gestures.
Feng Long was still five meters away from the monster’s remains, but the calibrated radiation on the Geiger counter had already reached 3.91 μSv/h.
The average absorption of a human body in one year was 2400μSv. Thus, the radiation level that they were recording was terrifying.
The radiation absorbed in such an environment for an hour would significantly exceed the safe amount that a human body could absorb.
Fortunately, the number no longer soared as Feng Long got closer.
Ultimately, the display stopped at a reading of 9.7μSv/h and remained the same for a long time.
‘The radiation won’t affect us if we don’t stay too close to the bloody remains for an extended period.
‘The human body is extremely fragile yet can be highly tolerant in different situations.
‘The regulations for the limit a radioactive industry worker can withstand is 20mSv per year, which means that our bodies will tolerate being in close contact with these remains for two hours without being greatly affected.
‘It’ll be fine as long as we don’t deliberately approach the radiator,’ thought Su Mo.
“Get the team to wear leaded clothes. We’ll have to collect and bury away the remains of the monster, or else it’ll be a scourge to have them lying around here.
“Also, instruct everyone to stay vigilant while outside the building for the time being and prevent outsiders from trying to inspect it while I lead some of the guys inside to see what’s there!”
Su Mo no longer hesitated after ensuring the safety of the surrounding.
He led the soldiers divided into his group down the high slope slowly and walked straight toward the three-story building.
…
