Chapter 229 – Rescue Mission
The meeting room emptied quickly, leaving behind only Diao Hongzhi and his two lackeys. Furious, Diao kicked the table leg repeatedly, while his lackeys stood behind him, too scared to even breathe.
After leaving the meeting room, Tu Ran finally took a closer look at the mission briefing.
[Rescue Mission:
A luxury cruise ship, located 150 nautical miles off the east coast of the Federal Administrative Center, has reported the appearance of at least three different types of genetic monsters.
The cruise ship originally had 205 people on board, including 40 tourists, 65 crew members, and 100 private bodyguards.
The current number of survivors is unknown. The ship’s surveillance system has been destroyed, and communications are down. The estimated fatality rate is 90%.
No personnel are currently manning the ship’s control room, and the cruise ship is drifting downwind.
Immediate rescue is required.
All pioneers within a 350-kilometer radius of the cruise ship are to depart immediately.
Target location: Waters near the Mildred Islands
Mission approval: Commander Xie Zhao]
Tu Ran and her team quickly boarded the helicopter waiting on the rooftop helipad of the Executive Department. Her eyes never left the screen of her communicator as she tried to gather as much information as possible about the area around the Mildred Islands and the situation inside the cruise ship.
Zero had already compiled the necessary data and sent it to all the pioneers assigned to the mission. Additionally, Tu Ran received a separate file that was exclusive to her.
The publicly available information described the environment around the Mildred Islands and its surrounding waters.
Located far from the industrial zone, the Mildred Islands had relatively low levels of ocean pollution compared to other regions. Over the past decade, the Federation had prioritized environmental restoration efforts, starting with the Mildred Islands, which had seen remarkable results. The islands had since become a stunning tourist destination, often referred to by the media as “the last gem of the Federation’s seas.”
Next came the private information Zero sent to Tu Ran.
Tu Ran quickly skimmed through it.
The so-called “tourist paradise” was really only for the wealthy. A trip to the Mildred Islands required a huge amount of federal currency, something most ordinary people couldn’t afford, especially when they could barely manage to live on nutrient solutions.
Meanwhile, the middle-class workers, who could scrape together enough money, simply didn’t have the time for such luxuries.
The cruise ship in question, where the genetic monsters had appeared, had been rented by a member of a branch of the Wells family, a young man named Papara Wells. He had invited six of his friends and more than thirty entertainers from his family’s business to host a party aboard the ship.
The cruise had departed from the Administrative Center’s coast at 8 p.m. the previous evening, heading toward the Mildred Islands.
The ship was moving slowly, and from the path it took, Tu Ran deduced that Papara’s goal wasn’t actually the Mildred Islands. Instead, he was enjoying the leisurely drifting on the open sea, so the cruise ship had stopped 30 nautical miles short of the islands.
The party had proceeded normally.
Then, at 6 a.m. this morning, when most of the passengers were asleep, three entertainers from the Wells family suddenly ran out of Papara’s room and started killing everyone they encountered. This caused a panic among the ship’s private bodyguards and staff.
Despite having advanced weaponry, they were no match for the genetic monsters. Not only did they fail to injure the creatures, but many of their own people were killed.
During all this, there was no movement from Papara’s room, and it was likely he hadn’t survived.
Papara’s friends managed to send a distress signal to the outside world, but before the Executive Department could gather more information, all communications with the ship were lost, and the surveillance system went dark.
The current situation on the cruise ship was completely unknown.
The Federation issued an emergency order for the pioneers to launch a rescue operation. Pioneers from the Pandalin District weren’t the only ones assigned to this mission—several other districts had also been mobilized, making it a large-scale, collective action.
Zero sent everyone the final surveillance footage from the cruise ship, highlighting the forms of the three genetic monsters to give the pioneers a clear idea of what they were dealing with.
Tu Ran studied the high-definition images of the creatures.
They were incredibly bizarre and grotesque.
Each of them fit the classic description of genetic monsters—hybrids that looked like misshapen combinations of different species.
All three were gnawing on humans.
One of them, particularly memorable due to its long rabbit-like teeth, seemed to have a penchant for biting into major arteries. In several frames, it was clamped onto a person’s neck, its three-lobed lips contracting and releasing as though it were sucking blood.
Upon seeing this, the people in the cabin instinctively touched their own necks.
Half an hour later, the helicopter hovered over a massive cruise ship.
Through the window, Tu Ran spotted five other helicopters identical to theirs. On the water, not far from the ship, there was also a small rescue boat.
One of the helicopters was hovering directly over the deck, dropping a rope, and pioneers were sliding down it onto the deck below.
Everyone was dressed the same, making it impossible to tell who was who at first glance.
However, by using the magnification function in her visor, Tu Ran zoomed in and spotted the name tag of the pioneer leading the group: Yao Bei.
‘Oh, so she’s here too,’ Tu Ran thought.
Once Yao Bei’s team had all landed, it was Tu Ran’s turn.
Although Tu Ran hadn’t practiced rope descent, her body’s original memory had, and muscle memory kicked in as she carefully slid down the rope, landing smoothly.
The deck was eerily clean—no people, no bodies, just an empty, spotless surface.
As the helicopters behind them continued to land, Tu Ran made her way toward Yao Bei.
Yao Bei and her team were busy setting up a signal device to restore communication between the cruise ship and the outside world.
They worked quickly; by the time Tu Ran walked over, Yao Bei was already standing up.
Tu Ran blinked. “Is the connection set up?”
“Yeah,” Yao Bei nodded slightly, her gaze passing over Tu Ran and focusing on something behind her.
Tu Ran followed her line of sight and saw Ding Naiqing.
He didn’t seem to be in great shape, looking listless and far from his usual energetic and sunny self.
When Ding Naiqing saw Tu Ran, his eyes flickered, but he lowered his head without saying a word.
There were only two helicopters left in the sky, keeping a steady distance from the cruise ship. It didn’t seem like they were planning to send more people down; they were likely the backup team, ready to support if anything went wrong.
For now, there were only three teams on this mission.
Everyone gathered around as each team assigned two people to stand guard while the rest planned the action route.
The design of the cruise ship had already been uploaded to everyone’s combat helmets, allowing for real-time route planning.
Yao Bei, unsurprisingly, took command. “This cruise ship has six levels—five above ground and one below. Tu Ran, your team will be responsible for the basement level and the first floor.”
“Got it,” Tu Ran nodded.
“Ding Naiqing, your team will handle the second and third floors. Papara is located on the third floor.”
Ding Naiqing nodded. “Understood.”
Yao Bei glanced at him and continued, “I’ll take care of the remaining two floors.”
Her gaze swept over the group. “Our main goal is to capture the mutants. Any survivors will be rescued by the security team from the Executive Department. All we need to do is mark their locations. We don’t know the situation inside, so be careful. The mutants might not be distributed as evenly as I’ve assigned. If any team encounters two mutants, immediately call for backup from the others.”
