novelbin Chapter 69 The Gu Struggle of Proxima Centauri
Chapter 69 The Gu Struggle of Proxima Centauri
Let's rewind to a month ago.
The "daylight" of Proxima Centauri B appears exceptionally long under the cold gaze of the dark red star.
Prometheus Base, Central Control Zone.
Dr. Eric Sen has been missing for seventeen hours.
The first to discover his absence was Rick, the security chief who had been ordered to report on the expedition team's casualties. The door was ajar, and the room was empty.
After searching the surrounding area, Rick's heart sank.
He immediately ordered a search of the entire base. This isolated island, which had been inexplicably transported to an alien planet, was only 1.2 square kilometers in area, with limited space to hide people.
Two hours later, the search yielded no results.
Dr. Mori has truly vanished, just as he has demonstrated his power in suppressing the rebellion, disappearing without a trace.
Panic spread again, but this time it was different from the initial teleportation.
Having experienced Dr. Mori's iron-fisted suppression and witnessed extraordinary power, people's fear has deepened.
If even such people cannot cope with the dangers of this world, and may have already met with misfortune, then what hope do ordinary people like them have?
Inside the main control room, the disappearance of Eric Sen caused unrest among the group.
In the end, Rick led the security personnel to bring the situation under control, but this small-scale conflict resulted in more than ten casualties.
In order to stabilize morale and find a way to survive, Rick continued to follow Dr. Sen's instructions and first took stock of the base's supplies.
The preliminary statistics are somewhat reassuring.
The main structure of the base seemed undamaged, and the external camouflage and observation facilities were also undamaged, as if the entire base had been cut off from Earth by some force and then filled into this alien world.
It's just that the environment here is completely different from Earth. Problems have arisen in the ecological experimental chambers above the third level. Most of the plants and experimental animals cultivated there have died, and the few survivors have shown extreme stress reactions, just like them.
The energy system is relatively sufficient, after all, the original base has the most complete facilities, but the most critical problem is also the energy issue. They cannot get replenished, and every bit used is less. Moreover, the terrain of the Prometheus Ecological Base is inherently unsuitable for storing supplies.
Of course, there is also fresh water. Although they have three large water storage tanks, those points are simply not enough for more than 300 people for several days.
"Based on the minimum consumption standards, the current fresh water supply can only support four hundred people for a maximum of two weeks." This was the logistics manager's conclusion. "If we include the water used for experiments..."
"We're out of water for the experiment!" Rick interrupted him rudely, and then began to assemble an exploration team. The first team consisted of 12 people, with Rick himself serving as the captain.
They made thorough preparations for their first expedition.
Each person received the best equipment available at the base: a ruggedized protective suit designed for extreme environment research, equipped with an individual oxygen tank providing four hours of oxygen, a basic radiation shield, a temperature control system, and basic communication equipment. As for weaponry, aside from the security personnel's standard rifles, everyone else was only equipped with survival knives and stun guns.
Before setting off, Rick looked at his fully armed team members and said helplessly, "We're not doing this for anyone else; we're doing this to survive. Without water, without other resources, even if we stay in the base, we won't survive for more than two weeks, understand?"
Everyone nodded helplessly and set off.
It was this very exploration that plunged them into despair once again.
The round trip was five kilometers. There were twelve people on the way there, but only five people came back. The good news was that they found water, but the bad news was that there was something in the water.
Because of the harsh environment outside the base, with extremely sharp rocks all around, two team members had their protective suits torn, and their skin underneath was also pierced. At first, they didn't pay attention to it and just used bandages and plasters to tie up the injured areas. Then, they found water.
Discovering water in this strange world, even if it was just a trickle of water in a crack in the rocks, excited them immensely. However, out of caution, they immediately tested the water, and the results excited them once again.
The composition is approximately 89% H2O, 9% minerals such as sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate, and 2% unknown organic matter. The pH value is 6.8, slightly acidic. The radioactivity level is normal.
This was the result of the initial inspection. All the data showed that the water here was similar in composition to the mineral water on the basketball court, and was suspected to be edible. However, it still needed to be taken back to the base for further testing. In the midst of the excitement, a team member with an injured hand accidentally got some water on his hands, and a terrible thing happened.
His body began to convulse violently, his cries becoming increasingly inhuman. His face beneath the protective mask twisted and deformed, his eyes bulging and bloodshot. Most horrifyingly, his right hand, which had come into contact with water, was completely ulcerated, exposing the bright red muscle tissue beneath. This muscle tissue was being eroded and broken down from the inside by something, turning into more pale yellow, viscous substance. Soon, the team member stopped moving altogether, becoming a pool of writhing, expanding pale yellow biomass.
The horrific sight caused one of the team members fetching water to instinctively drop the test tube he was holding, which, unfortunately, spilled onto another injured team member. Then, the horrific event repeated itself, plunging the exploration team into despair.
But ultimately, thanks to the insistence of a genetic researcher named Lena Chen, the exploration team brought back some water samples.
Inside the base, the in-depth analysis and testing results brought despair to everyone. Under the electron microscope, they finally saw what was in the water: clumps of gray threads that looked like a bunch of tangled strands, each thread about 0.1 micrometers in diameter and ranging in length from a few micrometers to tens of micrometers. The surface of the threads had fine spiral patterns, and the ends had flagella-like structures.
It can be confirmed that this is a microorganism. This microorganism has no cell nucleus, no mitochondria, and no organelles as known to humans on Earth. Most importantly, when this thing comes into contact with mammalian cells, it will penetrate the cells and burrow inside to multiply, becoming thicker and longer. Some of them will decompose into a pure pale yellow viscous substance after growing to a certain stage, while a very small number of them will evolve into a small grayish-brown worm about one centimeter long.
This is the limit that their ecological experimental base can achieve.
Further experiments require more resources, and right now, they are facing a severe shortage of resources.
The discovery of water, along with terrifying alien life, was enough to shake the entire world of biology. However, winning the Nobel Prize for discovery did not bring them joy; instead, it plunged them into deeper despair.
Even a tough guy like Rick paused the exploration team's mission.
On the fourth day, the base experienced its first large-scale riot.
About forty people stormed into the storage warehouse, attempting to seize the remaining fresh water and food. During Rick's suppression, the rioters ignited medical alcohol, burning most of the stored resources to the ground. Worst of all, when the fire broke out, the automatic fire suppression system activated, but instead sprayed out the base's fresh water reserves.
The fire was extinguished, but at the cost of more than five tons of precious water resources and over one hundred lives.
Now, the base was completely plunged into despair. With no other choice, Rick began to take stock of the remaining supplies, distribute them according to the number of people, and begin preparations for the second exploration.
Meanwhile, to prevent further accidents, Rick gathered everyone together and established a safe zone: the ten operating rooms of the original base. Because the operating rooms themselves had high-level sealing and filtration systems, the walls and floors were easy to disinfect. The only entrance was an airtight door.
This is also to prevent other accidents from happening. After all, there are strange creatures in the water of this other world. Who can guarantee that there aren't any in other places?
After settling these people in, Rick began to organize a second expedition, but unfortunately, it also ended in failure.
Ten days later, the people inside the base realized they were truly in dire straits, and a desperate riot broke out again, this time, Rick was powerless to stop it.
Now, a month later, only about thirty people remain of the hundreds at the base. Most are security guards, and a few relatively quick-witted researchers. But everyone knows that the base's supplies have run out, and what follows is truly hellish...
It was under these circumstances, when everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit and could snap at any moment, that Hu Biao threw Ledger's body onto the operating table.