Chapter 14
As the warning broadcast echoed through the bus, the three passengers, apart from Su Ci, became visibly panicked.
“Damn it, blood rain again!”
“Check—what’s the closest building?”
“The Logistics Building. It’s a five-minute drive, but with the emergency protocols, the hover bus should make it in under two!”
They exchanged information rapidly, though even two minutes felt agonizingly long under such circumstances. The atmosphere in the bus grew tense, heavy with anxiety and fear.
In stark contrast to their agitation, Su Ci remained remarkably calm.
He kept his gaze fixed on the window. During their discussion, the rain had already begun.
Blood-red droplets fell from the roiling clouds above, driven fiercely by the howling wind. They splattered violently against the window, streaking the glass with jagged, grotesque patterns.
Through the hazy crimson curtain of rain, faint outlines of distant buildings shrouded in blood mist could be discerned.
The scene was oppressive and foreboding, evoking a myriad of dark, terrifying images.
The sight indeed resembled a rain of blood. Furthermore, as the weather shifted, an unsettling sensation crept into the air, as if something hidden within the mist was awakening.
A thought flickered in Su Ci’s mind, prompting him to glance down at the seat beside him.
The small child, who had been quiet since boarding, had edged closer. His tiny body pressed tightly against Su Ci’s side, and his black-and-red eyes were wide with fear. The slight flush on his pale cheeks had drained completely away.
Holding the work manual in his hands, Su Ci concealed his actions as he reached out and gently grasped the boy’s hand.
His palm was warm and dry, radiating a calming energy.
Startled, Number One looked up at Su Ci. The caretaker’s steady, composed black eyes reflected no trace of fear, and the dark shadow that had gripped Yi Hao’s heart seemed to dissipate in an instant.
In the past, he had always faced such moments alone. But now, someone was silently holding his hand, giving him a sense of reassurance.
The boy’s trembling stilled, and he sat up straighter.
He had experienced countless blood rains and even harsher weather conditions, but this was the caretaker’s first encounter with such extremes.
Gazing at Su Ci’s slender frame, a strange feeling stirred in Yi Hao’s heart. Had he grown up in a normal human society, he might have understood this emotion to be a nascent protective instinct.
Sitting in the row ahead, Luo Shengfei finished his conversation with the other two passengers and turned back to glance at Su Ci.
He was taken aback by the young caretaker’s unflinching demeanor. Compared to their obvious tension, Su Ci’s calmness seemed almost unnerving.
After a moment of surprise, Luo Shengfei rationalized it and couldn’t help but feel envious.
Ignorance, after all, was bliss.
The new Su caretaker hadn’t yet experienced the horrors of extreme weather on Prison Star, so his lack of fear was understandable. Unlike them, seasoned veterans of this hostile planet, he hadn’t developed their reflexive apprehension.
The hover bus sped through the downpour.
As an autonomous vehicle, it automatically shifted into emergency mode, doubling its speed as it forged ahead through the crimson rain. The pounding of the rain against the windows grew even fiercer.
Luo Shengfei’s expression darkened as he observed the scene.
“Let’s go. We need to be ready at the door. As soon as the bus stops, we’ll dash out!”
He rummaged through his toolbox, pulling out a raincoat, then strapped on his toolbox. In practiced motions, he donned the raincoat, wrapping himself tightly with only his eyes visible.
Seeing Su Ci unprepared, Luo Shengfei asked, “Didn’t you bring a raincoat?”
Su Ci glanced at the mess inside his spatial device and shook his head uncertainly.
“What are you going to do?”
“No problem.” Su Ci held up the Caretaker’s Handbook in his hand. “I have this.”
Luo Shengfei: “…”
Unable to bear watching this absurdity, Luo Shengfei grabbed Su Ci and dragged him toward the door. As they moved, he advised, “Stick close to me when we run. Luckily, the stop isn’t far from the Logistics Building. Even if you get a little wet, it shouldn’t be too bad.”
He added, “Once we’re there, make sure to grab an umbrella or a raincoat from Logistics. You’ll need it often on Prison Star.”
Su Ci nodded and followed him to the door. Number One, trotting behind, quickly caught up, staying close as the three joined the other two passengers at the front.
Patter patter—patter patter—
The hover bus sped on, the sound of rain drumming against the windows growing louder. The fierce raindrops splattered against the transparent glass, creating a cascade of overlapping crimson streaks, like blooming blood-red flowers.
Su Ci glanced out the window, his brow furrowing slightly.
Amid the pounding rain, faint noises seemed to intertwine—murmurs of countless voices and eerie, high-pitched laughter.
He turned his gaze to Luo Shengfei and the others. They had clearly heard it too. Their faces were pale with unease, beads of cold sweat glistening on their foreheads. Yet, they kept their mouths tightly shut, avoiding any noise.
The cabin fell into silence, leaving only the unsettling patter of the rain.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, distant flashes of fire illuminated the gloom, accompanied by thunderous explosions. Through the hazy rain, a massive black silhouette shifted into view.
When the figure fully emerged, it seemed to drain the world of sound, leaving the rain a distant murmur.
Thump—thump—
The rapid, pounding rhythm of a heartbeat seemed to echo unnervingly, as if emanating from right beside them.
At the same time, the repeating broadcast changed its message:
“Warning! Large unidentified biological entity detected invading Base 24. Coordinates have been marked. All Operations Division squads are to respond immediately! All personnel not involved, seek shelter immediately.”
A monster had infiltrated the base!
“Outdoor personnel are to enter nearby buildings immediately! All base building passageways will lock down in three minutes!”
As the broadcast continued, the hover bus arrived at the Logistics Building stop. The building was only about 50 meters from the stop.
“Get off the bus now!”
The other two passengers, already clad in rain gear, pulled their goggles down over their faces. The moment the doors opened, they bolted into the rain.
Luo Shengfei followed suit, donning his goggles and hugging his toolbox tightly as he dashed into the crimson torrent toward the building entrance.
Instinctively, he glanced back.
There was Su Ci, crouching down as if to tie his shoelaces, then lifting the Caretaker’s Handbook over his head like an umbrella.
Luo Shengfei’s mouth twitched.
Boom! Another explosion flared in the distance.
Startled, Luo Shengfei focused on his own safety and sprinted toward the entrance without looking back.
Meanwhile, Su Ci carried the child on his back, running through the rain. A transparent spiritual shield extended outward from the handbook, acting like an invisible umbrella, keeping the torrential rain completely at bay.
By the time they passed the identity verification and rushed into the Logistics Building, the broadcast had already begun counting down the last thirty seconds.
Inside the Logistics Building, bright lights illuminated the space. The stable, solid structure exuded a sense of security, allowing Luo Shengfei and the others to finally relax.
Despite having sprinted a significant distance—carrying a large toolbox in Luo Shengfei’s case—the three of them were breathing steadily, showing no signs of exhaustion.
Once inside, they adeptly removed their rain gear and goggles, depositing them into a box labeled Pollutant Disposal Unit by the entrance.
Even with the raincoat, Luo Shengfei’s bangs were damp, leaving him looking a bit disheveled.
He wiped his face with a handkerchief, which turned red almost immediately.
Remembering Su Ci running through the rain, Luo Shengfei turned to look at him and froze mid-motion.
The slender and pale caretaker, except for his slightly damp shoes, was otherwise completely dry. His hair was clean and untouched by moisture, and his gray-blue uniform showed no visible water stains. Though the fabric’s color might obscure smaller marks, his hair was undeniably dry.
Luo Shengfei stared at the drenched Caretaker’s Handbook in Su Ci’s hands, which was still dripping water, and muttered to himself incredulously: “Can a handbook really work this well for keeping dry?”
Should he try it next time?
Noticing Su Ci’s gaze fixed on something, Luo Shengfei followed it to the windows lining the logistics building’s first-floor lobby.
For security reasons, the windows were relatively small.
After the countdown began, a layer of metal shutters had descended outside, cutting off their view of the outside world. The soundproofing was excellent, and all they could hear now was the soft patter of rain. The earlier commotion caused by the monster had faded into silence.
Luo Shengfei assumed Su Ci was still shaken by what he had seen outside in the rain.
Unlike the guards responsible for overseeing interstellar prisoners, most positions on Prison Star required military affiliation. Exceptions were rare, including a handful of research institute personnel. Recently, the caretaker position at the nursery had also relaxed its requirements.
Thus, it was no surprise that Su Ci’s physical and mental resilience were significantly lower than those in other fields.
Frankly, it wasn’t Su Ci’s fault. Monster incursions like this were rare. It was just bad luck that he encountered one on his second day of work.
In retrospect, the alarm at the nursery last night might have been a harbinger.
Just as Luo Shengfei was thinking about how to console Su Ci, a faint sound made his expression change dramatically.
Crack—
One of the lobby windows emitted a faint creak. The sound was so subtle it could easily have gone unnoticed, but Luo Shengfei’s attention was still on the windows, so he caught it.
He stared intently at the source of the sound.
A crack had appeared in the metal protective plate outside the window, and the bulletproof glass beneath it began to develop spiderweb-like fissures.
As the cracks spread, the sinister laughter from the rain grew louder.
It was much sharper and more unnerving than what they had heard earlier on the bus. It resembled a cacophony of whispers merging into a dizzying hum that seemed to seep directly into their ears.
The lights in the logistics building’s lobby began to flicker erratically. They blinked on and off, and paired with the persistent blare of alarms, the atmosphere grew tense and oppressive.
“The monster that infiltrated the base… it’s heading for the logistics building…”
The female colleague behind them spoke in a trembling voice.
Her communicator’s screen lit up, projecting a real-time map of Base 24. A red dot, marked to indicate the monster’s location, blinked ominously, almost overlapping with the logistics building’s icon.
Oof
?
Scaryyyy