Chapter 1: The Mutation Descends

June 7, 2013, 3:00 AM, National Marine Biological Research Institute.

The spacious dissection room was completely white, and a dozen armed soldiers stood around the edges. In the center of the room was an alloy dissection table, with rows of dissection tools arranged on it. The five dissectors responsible for the operation stood in front of the table, holding their breath and methodically carrying out various preparations before the dissection.

Ten minutes later, one of the dissectors turned his head and nodded toward the observation room next to the dissection room.

Ren Zhigang, who was in charge of the entire dissection command, picked up the internal phone and said, “You can start!”

In the transport passage of the dissection room, two staff members pushed a cart into the room. A tempered glass tank filled with seawater contained a black sphere with a diameter of half a meter, drifting and sinking in the water, bobbing up and down as the cart moved.

Soon, with the help of machinery, the black sphere was placed onto the dissection table and secured.

Removed from the seawater, the black sphere reacted, shaking violently, and the black membrane occasionally bulged with impact points.

More than a dozen people stood in the observation room, all of whom were authoritative biological experts, as well as navy and army generals. They all stared seriously at the black sphere, and the atmosphere seemed very solemn. This was a small dissection, but what was hidden behind it was a catastrophe that would sweep the world. Research and analysis reports from various countries had all caused a magnitude ten earthquake among the upper levels of their governments.

The exterior of the black sphere was just a layer of black membrane, which seemed as if it would break at a touch. But in reality, the dissection room had to use a cutter. Previous dissections had long confirmed that the toughness of this membrane had reached an outrageous level. During the first dissection, a sharp scalpel could not cut it even a little bit.

Under the cutter, the membrane was only cut a small slit before it stopped.

The violent movement made the entire black sphere become agitated. From the small slit, a green four-fingered claw suddenly extended, waving wildly, seemingly struggling to squeeze out through the opening.

The dissectors had expected this situation. Without panic, they picked up an anesthetic needle from the side and quickly jabbed it into the extended claw, injecting the anesthetic inside. This amount of anesthetic would knock down an elephant instantly, but the injected subject reacted even more fiercely. The incredibly tough membrane was actually torn open with several cracks.

It lasted for half a minute before the black sphere gradually quieted down; the anesthetic finally took effect.

The dissection continued, but everyone in the observation room frowned tightly.

Ren Zhigang sighed slightly and said, “Compared to yesterday, it is more fierce and agitated. Their growth has already exceeded our understanding of biology. Through research, we found that from their appearance to their current state, it took only seven days. We cannot yet determine the time when their growth will be completed. We hope this dissection experiment can provide us with the most accurate time data.”

Chen Guozhao, wearing a Navy Major General’s uniform, said, “Is there no way to stop their growth?”

Zhou Yuantao, standing nearby, was not much less knowledgeable about marine biology research than Ren Zhigang. He took off his glasses, wiped them gently, shook his head, and sighed, “I am afraid there is no way. In the four major oceans, there are hundreds of millions of these black spheres, which is no longer something manpower can stop. What is more, we discovered them too late.”

Just thinking about the calculated consequences, everyone present could not help but tremble all over.

During the conversation, the dissectors in the dissection room had completely removed the black membrane. What appeared before everyone was a curled-up green monster-like creature. Its whole body was green, and after the dissectors unfolded its body, a layer of white scales similar to human abdominal muscles could be seen on its chest and abdomen. Its head was somewhat like a lizard, with a whole row of sharp teeth exposed in its mouth, and its two eyes were opening and closing unconsciously.

Its four limbs were strong and powerful, especially its claws, which were solid and sharp. Its whole body gave off a depressing sense of danger. Through observation of its toes, the conclusion was quickly reached that this green monster could walk upright like a human. Through dissection, its developed muscles and strong bones suggested that its running speed would be amazing.

Its tail, somewhat like a crocodile’s, was covered with a thick layer of small, fine green scales. From its occasional movement, the power of this tail could be foreseen.

Once the entire monster-like creature was displayed before everyone, even those who were used to the strange monster creatures appearing in the previous dissections could not help but gasp. Just from some dissection data, one could imagine that once this monster grew Raging Fury, it would definitely have the ability to tear everyone present to shreds in an instant.

Everyone looked pale, and after watching this dissection, they were all soaked in cold sweat.

The dissection data was quickly sent to the observation room. Looking at the powerful data on the computer, everyone was silent. Several biological researchers were the first to recover and began to organize and analyze the data. Half an hour later, a final completion report appeared on the huge LCD screen in the observation room.

As soon as the report was completed, Ren Zhigang and a group of authoritative biologists immediately took the report, boarded an armed helicopter that had been waiting outside, and disappeared into the night sky.

Two hours later, Ren Zhigang stood in front of an LCD screen in a secret conference hall, looking pale at the dozens of leader-level figures below, whose single cough could make the whole country tremble. He said in a deep voice, “One week ago, on June 1, the meteorite belt discovered on May 25 officially collided with the Earth. After calculation and simulation by a large number of experts from more than a dozen developed countries, this small meteorite belt, containing 1,867 meteors with a maximum diameter of only 35 centimeters and a minimum of only 10 centimeters, would burn up completely in the friction with the atmosphere and would not have any impact on the Earth.”

“According to calculations of the length, speed, and flight trajectory of this meteorite belt, starting from the first meteorite colliding with the Earth, the collision would last for a whole day, which completely matches the Earth’s rotation. More importantly, through the efforts of various countries and a series of complex calculations, it was finally determined that even if some meteors did not burn up completely due to friction with the atmosphere, they would not pose a threat to the Earth. Because the calculation results showed that the landing points of these small meteorite fragments were distributed in the four major oceans of the Earth.”

“It was precisely these reasons that led us to treat this meteorite shower, rare in human history, as a day-long atmospheric firework display.”

“However, the results that occurred on June 1 were very different from the scientists’ calculations in many ways. The first was our inference that these small meteorite fragments would burn up due to friction with the atmosphere. In fact, from the data we obtained, all 1,867 meteorite fragments, even the smallest ones only 10 centimeters in size, successfully passed through the atmosphere and scattered into the ocean.”

At this point, Ren Zhigang paused to let the important figures below digest the news.

“The other change is that we inferred these meteorite fragments would not affect the Earth. However, what I need to say now is exactly where the problem lies. These meteorite fragments from outer space carried a mutated gene that we have not yet been able to study. After entering the ocean, they mutated with marine plankton, evolving a biological phenomenon that does not belong to the creatures of our Earth.”

On the LCD screen, a fist-sized sphere appeared, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ren Zhigang knew that time was tight, so he said, “We cannot determine the exact number of these spheres. They are distributed in the four major oceans of the Earth, all over the world. This means that the phenomenon occurring in our waters is not an isolated incident, but involves the entire world. Intelligence indicates that coastal countries have all discovered this situation.”

“We discovered this anomaly on June 4, when fishing vessels caught this kind of black sphere at a depth of 53 meters while operating in offshore waters. On the 5th, naval submarines discovered a huge number of black spheres in deep-sea areas.”

“Three days of dissection and research, and a series of data indicate that each black sphere nurtures a monster-like creature. Initially, we found as many as seven types of their various forms, and this number is increasing rapidly, with various types beyond estimation. These monster-like creatures are extremely aggressive and have a very high danger level.”

Although the leaders below were mentally prepared, seeing the footage on the LCD screen, they all showed surprised expressions and kept talking to each other.

Zhao Haishan stood up and asked directly, “We just want to know if there is any way to stop their evolution, or how much impact they will have on us.”

Ren Zhigang looked serious and said, “Commander Zhao, their evolution can no longer be stopped. From various inferences, their growth period only takes seven days to complete from nothing to maturity. As mentioned just now, they are extremely aggressive. Once their growth is complete, they will break out of their bodies and swarm the coastal land. As for how great the impact will be, further research is still needed.”

Just at that moment, the mobile phone of Wu Xinzhe, who was in charge of the Central Intelligence Division, vibrated. After he answered, just a few seconds later, his face turned pale, and he said in a deep voice, “We just received news that in the Indian Ocean, where the meteorite fragments first landed, a large number of monsters have landed…”

The staff switched the LCD screen to show footage transmitted back via military satellite.

On the coast, countless black spheres surfaced. When they drifted to the shore, they shattered, revealing monsters of various shapes. They let out sky-shaking roars and quickly advanced inland. Villages, towns, and cities built by the sea were instantly plunged into a tide of monsters.

Humans who were completely unaware of the truth were directly torn to pieces by the ferocious monsters and then devoured.

Messages on Wu Xinzhe’s phone kept popping up, all of which was the latest intelligence sent back by intelligence personnel distributed in various countries. He didn’t need to look to know what these messages were.

There was no need for Wu Xinzhe to remind them; after discovering that the monsters devoured humans without hesitation, the people present stood up with a whoosh and began to scatter, rushing toward their workplaces. There was no need to understand Ren Zhigang’s series of research data anymore, because the result was already out.

Coastal areas were in danger.

Almost moments later, the highest central command was transmitted to coastal cities one by one. The troops receiving the order, under the strictest commands, moved toward their destinations at the fastest speed. The time was so short that there was no need for research, no need to go through the general staff, and no need to determine any marching routes. The order was only one: to reach the coastal defense at the fastest speed.

But in such a short time, how could it be possible to complete the mobilization of millions of troops?

When a ray of morning sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone on the earth, black spheres floated up from the sea surface, densely packed, covering the sea. Then, with the struggle of the monsters inside, the membranes were torn, and monsters of different forms appeared, scrambling to pounce toward the cities…

Even at this time, the developed coastal cities had not noticed anything. The baffling city evacuation order, the city administrators had not yet figured out the intention… Most citizens were still sleeping soundly in their dreams, and those who got up early were no different from usual, continuing their fixed life routines.

It seemed like a signal; in coastal areas all over the world, black spheres began to surface one by one…

Miserable alarm sounds and ignorant people constructed a picture of the end of the world descending.