Chapter 260 - Episode 1: I Should Gain the Rewards of Labor
“What the hell!”
Surprised, Black Mamba lowered his fist to the ground.
Poof—
Poof? It was not a “bang” but a “poof,” and his fist just went through the bedrock.
“No way!”
Black Mamba’s eyes widened. It was an underground world that far surpassed common sense, but what kind of illogical situation was this? He didn’t feel an impact, either. It was as if he’d punched tofu.
There was a dimensional difference between shattering a hard object and piercing it. When an object failed to break with a strike of the hands or feet, the rebound came as a direct shock. That was also the reason why one would injure their fist or wrist when attacking the opponent.
The plastic bag had not only increased his original power by several folds but buffered the rebound. It was an extraordinary object. Black Mamba turned to stare at blacky with his eyes wide open.
“What is this?”
“As expected, the power of a failed Epidium is astounding. That object is an artificial muscle made of layered active proteins. In the Age of Twilight, the Concretus’ body suffered because of their thin bones and weak muscles. It was similar to the chronic muscular dystrophy you have in your knowledge.”
Blacky continued, “It was impossible to control 500,000,000,000,000 cells despite their advanced genetic engineering technology and medicine. It was a bothersome hereditary disease that improved momentarily, but it was not long before the original symptoms returned. The Concretus, which regression proceeded rapidly, found it hard to sit or walk. That object was a medical support device developed to protect their weak muscles and bones.”
“Hah, those medical support devices must have done them in.”
“That is not quite true. It power-ups a muscle contraction up to five to 10 times its original power. The Concretus that wore these objects only alleviated their discomfort temporarily. Half of the Concretus wore the medical support device like armor during the Age of Twilight. It was not for people with exceptional powers like you, but the weak Concretus. Unable to withstand themselves, the Concretus ultimately made beings like me, the Adras, to transfer bodies.”
“Hoo, what an amazing race.”
A mere medical support device could kill a person. It was an object that the American and French government would set their eyes on if they caught wind of it. Those two countries were out for blood, trying to create an artificial muscle suited for military purposes. That was the same for the Soviets, First World countries, and international organizations. It was an object that would go for 1,000,000,000s of dollars if auctioned.
“Thank you for the gift. I’m afraid I have nothing to give you in return.”
“That object is not mine. Thank the owner of the object, the Concretus. If you’re grateful enough, get me a gift too.”
“Hehe, you’re a human in all but appearances. What do you want?”
“The Adras is weak against viruses. Our nuclear cell membranes burst once invaded by a virus. It means death in a human’s vocabulary. That’s the reason why I can’t leave this place. However, when an Epidium comes into contact with a special kind of virus, it produces powerful antiviral blood. I realized this after analyzing your blood that transferred onto my skin during our fight,” Blacky replied.
“Oh-ho, you were going to kill me and draw my blood.”
“Kekeke, I won’t deny that. We weren’t friends then.”
Blacky crackled like a human. It wasn’t a genetically engineered creature anymore, but a human wearing a black leopard’s skin.
“Huh, I suppose this is fate, too!”
It was a nerve-wracking chain of fate. The virus that blacky was talking about was the ancient virus he had named Excita. He’d almost died after getting infected by the Excita virus from kissing the skeleton at Wol Song San.
Thanks to the virus, he remained fine after being bitten by a salmusa. He didn’t suffer from a single cold and grew up healthy despite the unfavorable environment. He wasn’t even affected after Wu Tak had poured the poisonous pesticide stock solution into his mouth. It felt strange to realize that his creature friend would need his blood.
“My blood certainly does have the ability to protect against any poisonous substances or microorganisms. I’ll give it to you willingly, friend, if it helps.”
Black Mamba drew a line across his radial artery with his Kukri. Blacky didn’t refuse. It opened its enormous jaw and downed the pouring blood. A Paranthropus’ blood hardened immediately after bleeding outside the body. Blacky sucked on the wound like a baby sucking on a bottle.
“Dude, are you a vampire! Stop sucking.”
Blacky moved back, licking its lips.
Kuuuu—
Blacky suddenly leaped into the air. Each strand of its fur rose like needles.
Kugh—
Kwueeg—
It started screeching and rolling on the ground. Its fur alternated between black and white color.
“Hehe, b*stard. I nearly died too.”
Black Mamba snickered. He’d gone through hell and back after he had been infected by the Excita virus on Wol Song San. Although he didn’t know what it was back then.
Blacky stabilized in 10 minutes. Black Mamba found it slightly unjust. He’d suffered from the virus for days, after all.
“Thanks, friend.”
“It’s fine, are there any downsides to this artificial muscle?”
“It’s basically weak against heat since it’s made out of protein. There can be irreversible reactions when exposed to temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius.”
“Dude, that’s not weak against heat. That’s extremely resistant.”
“Your standards and the Concretus’ standards are different. When the artificial muscle becomes exhausted, it’s pushed back out of the skin. Once it rehydrates, the main constituent, which is the protein, activates again. It won’t absorb water from your body. It probably needs some time to rest. I don’t know any more details.”
“If it dries out, I can just soak it in water or blood. Since you’re an object from the past millennia and can only draw strength from water, you’re now billion’s water armor.”
As always, Black Mamba created names carelessly.
“Friend, don’t you want to head up to the surface with me?” Black Mamba asked.
“I want to escape. Despite your short life, I’ve realized that you’ve had an interesting time on the surface. Astonishingly, you’ve been able to live such an intense and dynamic life. I want to live that way too. There are no changes here. If I had self-consciousness before, I would have committed suicide long ago.”
historical
“Well, that’s true.”
He understood blacky’s feelings. If he was forced to live in an underground world without a single breeze or tree while listening to the screeching monsters day in and out, it would have been hell.
“Then let’s get out. Is there a reason to be attached to this place?”
“It’s hard to do so now. I need time to adjust to the land above. I also need to recover my body, which was damaged by you. A part of my nuclear cell structures was destroyed. I need to wait until it regenerates.”
“I understand. Cells get attached to the environment if one remains in the same environment for several 1,000s and 1,000,000s of years. You’ll need time to adjust even if you’re a genetically engineered being.”
“Get on. I can’t fight, but I can be your ride.”
The black leopard offered him its back, which was wider than a horse’s back.
“I’m fast enough.”
“This is an island. This place you named the Jurassic world is bigger than you think. In your terms, it’s 200 kilometers wide and 400 kilometers long. You’d need to cross the lake and run at least 130 kilometers to reach the vertical cave.”
“Damn!”
Black Mamba got on blacky’s back without protesting. Not only did he want to avoid entering the poisonous lake, but he was also tired from the vastness of the Jurassic world.
Grrrrrr—
Blacky let out a majestic roar. The lake swayed due to the sound waves. It was a signal for the creatures to make way.
Crack—
Blacky jumped into the lake without hesitation. It leaped over 30 meters and landed in the water, but there was no splashing. It was truly a creature that ignored the laws of physics.
Woosh—
Blacky sped through the currents at a speed that would make a speedboat cry. Black Mamba raised the Gorgon in his hand.
Woosh—
Keeeeek—
A medium-sized monster, which had followed them fearlessly, got whipped by the Gorgon before floating on its back. The water soon boiled. He felt spooked whenever he saw a view that looked like piranhas rushing in.
None of the large reptile sea creatures attacked, but the small and weak predatory dinosaurs did. It was a situation where the strong recognized the strong. Black Mamba flicked his Gorgon 20 times while crossing the river. Blood rained down every time.
20 minutes had passed. A land appeared on top of the lake like a mirage.
Woosh—
The Gorgon wrapped around a seal-like creature as it was lifted.
Keeeh—
The creature with the Gorgon around its neck kicked around.
Crack—
He rapped its head until it knocked out and tied it around his waist.
“What are you going to do with that?” Blacky asked.
“It’s lunch.”
“What an uncomfortable life.”
“Great to know that you’re comfortable.”
“Wait here.”
Blacky leaped into the lake once more.
Kueeegh—
A scream rang.
Woosh—
A large sea reptile jumped up to the surface. It was a large creature, which looked like a combination of the Tylosaurus and Mosasaurus. Blacky’s large body, which was attached to its head, looked like a huge bump.
Kuoooo—
The large monster struggled, spraying its blood everywhere like a waterfall.
Slap—
Its large body splashed the water as it tried to escape by shaking off blacky, which frame was smaller in comparison. The whirlpool settled. Blacky pushed the dinosaur with its paws, swimming peacefully toward the shore.
“Your lunch. I managed to grab one of those few boss-level monsters.”
“Kugh, you damn b*stard!”
Black Mamba, who didn’t even blink at the most shocking matters, found himself at a loss for words. It handed him a monster that was 25 meters tall with a weight of 10 tons for lunch. Well, he couldn’t expect humanistic concepts from blacky, he supposed.
“It’ll be useful to use its tendons as a rope.”
“That won’t be hard. Even if I can’t land powerful attacks, I can dissect him easily,” Blacky said.
Blacky glared at the Boss-saurus.
Slip—
The Boss-saurus’ large body was horizontally cut as though it was sliced by a knife. Blacky pulled the ELF finely as though it had used a cutting machine. Its muscles and bones were separated immediately. Black Mamba thought it’d be great to employ blacky if he did start up a slaughterhouse.
“Look, friend, a fish’s belly is the most delicious part.”
“The belly fat? Got it.”
Like a tuna, the muscles in the lower part of the Boss-saurus’ belly were divided into pieces. Black Mamba used the tendons that blacky had pulled out to bind the seal-like creature. It was almost 200 kilograms in weight. His memories of Bang Tae San remained a trauma. Black Mamba was someone who’d bring food with him, no matter what crossed his path.
Blacky rushed through the land at a terrifying speed. The wind pushed Black Mamba’s fat cheeks back with every jump. The number of sea sparkles rapidly decreased as they traveled further on land. Despite possessing night vision, he could barely see several meters ahead.
The entire colony of sea sparkles disappeared. He was surrounded by absolute darkness. Blacky ran in the dark without rest. Well, it was a creature that didn’t need eyes in the first place. At all times, Black Mamba looked out for danger using his dimensional sight. The air density lowered, making it more humid. The smell of sulfur intensified.
Just when he thought they were approaching the volcano, the scenery changed. A cliff reaching several kilometers high blocked their path. It was the central pillar of the Cretaceous world’s ceiling, in a sense. The more they approached the pillar, the lower the ceiling became. Two kilometers ahead, he could see the ceiling.
“Friend, we’ve arrived.”
They were barely three kilometers away from the active volcano. He jumped down and looked up at the ceiling. It was almost 200 meters high. He finally felt as though he was in a Jurassic world.
“Huh, amazing.”
There were countless sparkling objects stuck on the ceiling. Every time the active volcano rumbled, the gems lit up in colors. Although he’d found kimberlites, there was a possibility that it was diamonds. However, he wasn’t greedy for them. What was the point of diamonds when he was about to die? He was only surprised by the sparkling scenery of the dark underground world.
A vertical cave with a diameter of 20 kilometers above the ceiling opened its dark mouth wide open. From the ground to the entrance, there was a 200 meters distance. Even if he did jump, he could barely cross 25 meters. He’d have to fly to reach the height, that was if he had wings.
Black Mamba looked up at the gaping cave entrance and frowned. The cave’s mouth, which flashed before his eyes every time the active volcano vomited, seemed like it was challenging him to try.
“Friend, I should have pulled out more tendons.”
“You forgot what I said. The Epidium are really stupid.”
Blacky disappeared in a flash. A gray rope fell from the air.
“Woah! What kind of a cheat existence are you?”
It wasn’t Jack and the Beanstalk but blacky’s furry tail. It was true that it could extend parts of its body. When he grabbed its tail, it began to pull him up like a lift. Black Mamba didn’t have to exert any energy.
His heart lurched when he approached the entrance of the vertical cave. His father had often given his mother gifts. A ripe peach, a crimson glory vine from Wol Song San, a beautiful comb he had bought from the market, a pretty plate, and a four-leafed clover. Despite the small gifts, his mother had received them with a bright expression. His throat clogged up. His mother had gone missing, and her only son was wandering around the underground world.
Mother, I’ll bring you a gift. You need to stay alive.
He hit something sparkly on the wall with his Kukri. Sparks flashed, but the object remained unharmed. It really was a diamond. He dug out the diamond, which was larger than a walnut. He would give it to his mother once he found her.
“Friend, what was that flow of intense emotions just now?”
“It’s love. It’s longing,” Black Mamba replied.
“Love and longing, hm? I want to feel that too. Do you think it’s possible if I travel with you?”
“Did you forget that you’re the Adras? It’s possible.”
“I see. Well, this is all I can do to help. I’ll find you, friend, once I adjust to the outside environment.”
“Thanks, blacky. I’ll see you on the surface in the future.”
He jumped and shoved two hands into the vertical wall. Although it was a sturdy cliff, his hands were embedded up to his wrist. The billion’s water armor was a gift given at the right time. It was like giving suction abilities to a lizard.
“I’ve memorized your DNA. I’ll find you, wherever you might be. Goodbye.”