Dark Civilization Volume 1 Chapter 22

Book 1 Chapter 22: Ye Chen's Gone Berserk!

Lying in the mud, Ye Zhu's shoulder was dyed red with fresh blood. Had the demongale hound struck deeper, it would have taken off her entire shoulder. With no time to even catch her breath, Ye Zhu frantically crawled forward towards Ye Chen's group. The searing pain in her shoulder caused large beads of perspiration the flow down her brow.

The demongale hound howled before swiping its claw towards her once more. The shadow of death hung heavily over Ye Zhu's head. Her heart sank as she witnessed the claw descend mercilessly upon her. At that moment, a frenzied roar carrying unbridled madness broke out: "SCRAM!!!"

Ye Chen's eyes were bloodshot. His hair rose up as though channeled by his intense fury. Ferocious killing intent flooded his mind like a torrent of cras.h.i.+ng waves. It felt as though all the blood in his body had starting flowing backwards. He wasn't even aware of where his strength was coming from. Before he knew it, he had already leapt off Bai Long's back and was charging uncontrollably towards that demongale hound, howling at the top of his lungs!

He rushed forward with blatant disregard. Without any sign of trickery or finesse, he catapulted himself towards the demongale hound like a wild animal.

*Roar! Swiping its paw, the demongale hound smacked Ye Chen away, sending him tumbling into the mud. However, the heavily injured man instantly sprang back onto his feet while taking in large breaths of air. Twisting his handsome features into mask of savagery, he directed a seething glare filled with madness at the creature.

His eyes clearly conveyed an unparalleled sense of ruthlessness!

Yue Heng and Bai Long who were standing on the sidelines were bewildered by Ye Chen's current appearance.

*Rumble~~~

The sky continued to tremble with the cries of thunder. A sudden streak of lightning lit the dark sky for an instant. It was as though something behind the dreary clouds, was gazing coldly upon the lands below.

"KILL!"

As the raindrops roll off the tips of Ye Chen's hair, he let out a furious roar. In his mind, there was simply nothing else other than the maddening urge to kill. Like a wild ape, he flung himself at the demongale hound and wrapped his arms around the creature's large head, strangling its neck in an unyielding vice.

"Die! DIE!!!" Like a man gone mad, he opened his mouth and violently bit down upon the demongale hound's neck. Furiously gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth, he tore through the creature's soft fur and sunk his teeth deep into its exposed skin.

"ARUuu…." The demongale hound cried out in agony. Swiping its claw, it tore open multiple lacerations upon Ye Chen's back. However, in this condition, Ye Chen no longer felt any pain. The attack only caused him to further tighten his stranglehold on the creature's neck while sinking his teeth deep into its flesh. No matter how it tried to shake him off, he stubbornly held on.

*BANG!

Suddenly, a deafening gunshot was heard. Immediately after, the demongale hound which was caught in a fierce struggle stiffened and collapsed to the ground, pinning Ye Chen underneath its ma.s.sive body.

Eventually, Ye Chen ceased biting after discovering a lack of resistance from the demongale hound. Gradually, he felt his senses returning. From under the corpse, he saw his sister running towards him, her face covered in tears. Seeing her safe, he finally relaxed. Immediately, dizziness engulfed his mind as his consciousness began to falter. Vaguely, he felt his sister calling out to him through anguished wails: "Brother----"

What followed felt like the sky collapsing upon him. Only the sensation of falling rain upon his face and lips remained, cold and chilling, just like the darkness that covered the earth….

Soon after, he fainted.

Within a dark corridor, Ye Chen was walking with a fireman's axe in hand. A zombie suddenly comes lunging out of the corner. From its shape, he could tell it was a girl. Its long black hair was in disarray, concealing its facial features. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Ye Chen cleaved out with his axe, intending to put an end to its existence.

A sudden gust of wind blew away its hair aside, revealing a delicate face. It was his little sister Ye Zhu….

"Broth-er, brother…."

Ye Chen regained his consciousness. His was instantly arrested by the gripping pain coming from his abdomen. By the side of his ear, he could hear the worried cries of his sister. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Although his vision was still quite blurry, he could tell that he was currently in a well-lit room.  Immediately, a face came into view which he tried hard to focus upon. Eventually, he was able to clearly make out his sister's face. Her beautiful features were stricken with anxiety.

So it was just a dream!

Ye Chen inwardly sighed in relief. Straining himself, he squeezed out a smile, saying: "I'm alright."

Upon noticing her brother's movements, Ye Zhu's eyes widened in glee. Cheerfully, she said: "You've finally awakened. Are you feeling any discomfort?"

With a bit of strain, Ye Chen shook his head. Glancing around, he noticed how tidy the room was. It seems the walls were made of metal. Creasing his brows, he inquired: "Where are we?"

Ye Zhu blinked her eyes before saying: "This is inside the research facility. It was Professor Mo who shot that creature to death, saving our lives."

Ye Chen nodded his head in understanding.

*Squeak!

The door suddenly opened and a few people entered. It was Bai Long, Yue Heng and a bespectacled young man at around either twenty three or twenty four years of age. Wearing an empty expression, the man appeared cold and hard to approach.

"Hey, feelin' better?" Upon discovering Ye Chen awake, Bai Long's face lit up considerably, greeting him with visible cheer.

Ye Chen did not answer him. He glanced at the bespectacled young man, asking: "So you are Professor Mo?"

"Indeed." The young man nodded.

Ye Chen tried to sit up from the bed, yet he was seized by a blazing surge of agony coming from his back. The throbbing pain from his wounded abdomen didn't help either. Furrowing his brows, he glanced over his entire body, which was currently wrapped tightly in thick layers of gauze. With his appearance now closely resembling an Egyptian mummy, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You're not allowed to move!" Ye Zhu snapped. "Be careful or else you'll reopen your wounds."

Bai Long walked over. With a big smile plastered upon his face, he said: "You sure are hard to kill; even a ruptured belly couldn't keep you from moving. Tsk, tsk. There's no other explaination. You were definitely a c.o.c.kroach in a previous life."

While they were carrying him into the facility, they clearly noticed the numerous injuries riddled across his body. The large wound on his abdomen was especially prominent. All of them were shocked speechless. How could anyone not die from such injuries and still afford to lead a group running down a few blocks and killing a horde of more than a hundred zombies?

Just how terrifying was this man's will to survive?

Bai Long still remembered the sadness on Ye Zhu's face as she cried. Even that seemingly emotionless Professor Mo seemed to be taken aback upon inspecting Ye Chen's extensive injuries. He was so shocked that he didn't even raise any questions.

Ye Chen looked behind them and furrowed his brows, asking: "Where's that mutant ant?"

Bai Long shrugged, saying: "We handed it over to Prof. Mo Feng, he's experimenting on it."

Ye Chen nodded. Immediately after, he hurriedly asked: "What day and month is today?"

Bai Long stared at him strangely. With a laid back att.i.tude, he said: "Today's the 29th of September. Don't tell me your head's all muddled from sleeping too much?"

Ye Chen heaved a sigh of relief and raised his head to look at Prof. Mo Feng, asking: "There's something I need your help with."

"Speak!" There wasn't any expression on his face and the way he talks was pretty concise.

"Help me extract that mutant ant's gene cells and siphon them into a syringe." Ye Chen said as he stared at the professor.

Mo Feng gave the request a thought, before giving a nod while saying: "Fine."

Ye Chen heaved a sigh as he sank his head back upon his pillow. Looks like all the preparations were in place. Now, he simply needed to prevail in the process of integrating with the mutant ant's explosively powerful cells. If he failed to become a genome warrior, he might end up transforming into some kind of monstrosity!

Translator's Notes:

Prof. Mo Feng's name (莫枫) means "nothing/no one" + "maple".