What is the most gruesome way to die?
Everyone has different experiences, so naturally, their conclusions differ as well.
But unquestionably, the deaths of some passengers on this ship unsettled even the battle-hardened Captain Griss, prompting him to contemplate pixelating the twisted bodies on the corridor’s edge.
"Stay vigilant," Griss whispered as his laser rifle discharged several light bullets, methodically shattering the skulls of these corpses.
This was a necessary precaution.
On several occasions when dealing with biochemical leak crises, they had encountered lifeforrms declared dead suddenly reanimating, and even instances of human cells recombining into monstrous forms.
That imagery was quite horrific, far more terrifying than the internal organ swelling caused by sudden depressurization.
The advancement of biotechnology did not always yield beneficial outcomes.
Moreover, an extended lifespan was a lifelong pursuit for many high-ranking officials and nobles.
Hearing Griss’s instructions through the earpiece, several team members behind him each nodded.
Two Fire Control Mechanical Soldiers illuminated the cabin ahead with their devices, but the security door blocked their path.
Something seemed to be writhing and clinging to the door.
They were at the transition bridge of the ship, located on either side of the engine room. The heartless capitalists had even installed passenger seats here, leaving only a narrow corridor; both the front and back were cargo holds.
Griss frowned at the patterns on the security door. Approaching a bit closer, he recognized that this was not uncommon.
It was merely some pink cellular tissue with various protrusions.
Around it were some light white, foam-like hardened tissues—a result of the cells becoming stiff.
Suppressing a wave of nausea rising in his stomach, Griss gestured to the rear.
The Mechanical Transformed—engineers controlled two spheres moving forward, with one spewing high-temperature flames directly onto the security door, and the other emitting a high-energy laser beam attempting to cut through it.
Although the door of this civilian ship was made of simple alloys, the process was slow due to the single-soldier equipment they carried.
Two more spheres joined the cutting task.
"Mind your energy consumption," Griss reminded in a low voice.
His voice traveled through the communication device, reaching the ears of his teammates, and also those at the command center of the three dedicated battle ships on the outskirts and the special forces command hall.
All three teams that had entered the Ghost Ship were sending back similar images.
They were all blocked by security doors, finding cell tissues clinging everywhere.
One team entered the rear cargo hold, which was filled with web-like pink structures that made one’s skin crawl.
After a brief discussion, the commanders, showing a hint of conscience, relayed an order to the front line:
"Permission to open fire at will."
Griss’s mouth twitched slightly.
Do we need your authorization for this? You prohibit me from shooting at monsters, and I’ll shoot you back.
Of course, this was merely a fleeting thought.
"Understood," Captain Griss responded in his mature male baritone.
Before Yang Ming was a projection screen with constantly scrolling characters.
Lyu was attempting to crack the opposing side’s communication signals.
The Sherman Empire had always been "dwarfed in civilian matters," "a giant in military matters." The complexity of encryption between their warships’ communication devices often left adversaries in awe.
Even equipped with the new main brain of the East Wind, Lyu needed some time—and success was not guaranteed.
With the equipment on the Feinan, Yang Ming could only monitor the Blue Issue from afar.
He felt a bit anxious.
This anxiety reminded him of the most significant event he’d experienced on Earth—the high school entrance exam.
Of course, the two were incomparable.
A small instrument was placed beside him.
This was a bio-signal jammer completed by Lyu using technology provided by the examiner teacher, similar to Miss Hera’s.
Thanks to this instrument, the Valkyrie couldn’t sense Yang Ming at that moment; similarly, Yang Ming couldn’t sense the Valkyrie directly.
He merely felt slightly irritable.
Yang Ming suspected that the Valkyrie might share a similar feeling.
His fingers rested against each other, his body nestled in the seat, his expression unchanged for a long while.
The projection screen in front trembled slightly, revealing a few images.
But since the opponent utilized multi-channel communication techniques, the footage Yang Ming saw was incomplete, frame-skipped, barely allowing him to discern the cabin scene.
Yang Ming’s forehead slowly darkened.
Wasn’t this reminiscent of that old research ship scenario?
Cells freely proliferating everywhere?
Even a few uncensored grotesque corpses laying in the corners.
Lyu continued deciphering the communication, building a dual channel structure after several minutes.
Finally, the images Yang Ming saw stabilized, allowing him to view the cabin details via devices carried by the three exploration teams.
Yang Ming raised an eyebrow, murmuring, "He’s quite active."
Lyu offered no response to such pointless comments.
She was busy "snooping" the signal. The Sherman Empire’s dynamic encryption machine continually altered decoding methods, forcing her to stay in sync with their rhythm to let Yang Ming continue snooping.
At this moment, the progress of the three teams was almost in unison; they had opened the first security door.
Lyu adjusted the monitoring footage of the three teams, locking the main perspective on the recording equipment on Captain Griss’s shoulder.