A dozen mercenaries hit the ground, wracked by convulsions. The others fell back, for though electric weapons were deadly, they had limited range.
After a brief moment of surprise, the bald mercenary leader regained his composure. “You’re –“
The mysterious stranger cut him off by removing his hooded cloak and dropping it to the side, revealing his burned features. His strong and robust frame stood out against the mist. He remained at the head of his cryptic contingent, unmoving. Only, every pore on his body started to writhe. Coarse black hair slithered out from every inch of him. Even his face underwent the astonishing change. Where half a moment before, he’d been a normal man, now, his canines extended into sharp fangs.
In the space of a horrified gasp, the man had become some sort of human-wolf hybrid. It wasn’t only the mercenaries who gaped in surprised alarm. Cloudhawk also looked on wide-eyed and uncomprehending.
What the hell was this guy?!
Some sort of mutant? Impossible! They couldn’t control their mutations, unlike this guy who seemed able to switch at will. This ability was completely outside of the realm of anything they thought possible,
but there was no time to think!
The wolfman leapt forward faster than anyone could have expected. The mercenaries had their weapons raised, but the creature was on them before they could pull the triggers. In a single swipe of his sharp talons, the first mercenary’s weapon and armor were shredded. His chest was split apart by a series of deep gouges.
The second victim was set upon before he could blink. With an inhuman fury, the beast man burst his head like an overripe watermelon.
He was too fast. Everywhere he went, fountains of blood followed, and though he looked like a beast, he clearly retained the intelligence of a man.
The bald man charged at the beast with axe in hand. He was no weakling, probably comparable in level to Panther or Salamander. However, he only managed three or four quick exchanges with the beast man before his weapon was knocked away.
The creature grabbed the mercenary leader by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Inch by inch, his sharp claws dug into the man’s soft flesh as he taunted him through his half man, half beast face, “This is all you’ve got, and you think you can best me?”
The bald man was consumed by fear, having never encountered anyone – or anything – as strong as this creature. He fought to speak through his quickly closing windpipe, “Let me… go. I’ll… leave!”
“I gave you a chance. You chose to ignore it.”
With as much effort as he would use to flick away an insect, he threw the mercenary aside. He flailed through the air for thirty feet before landing on his head. The resulting sound was sickening, like every bone in his body broke at once. His head was a bloody, soggy mess as he lay in a heap on the floor, unconscious or dead.
Gradually, the thick black hairs on the wolfman withered and disappeared. Once again, his burned face became human, and he covered himself in that grey cloak. His glimmering eyes slowly slid sideways to where Cloudhawk stood watching, who was still as a board with eyes wide. “Will you come, or do I have to bring you myself?”
Cloudhawk veritably shook in terror. “I-I can walk.”
If this guy wasn’t stronger than Hydra, he was at least close. Beyond that, his mutation was incredibly strange and unique. Cloudhawk knew what he was capable of, and the only one he knew who was capable of defeating this monster was the Bloodsoaked Queen. He couldn’t oppose the wolfman, so rather than incite him, Cloudhawk figured he’d behave.
“Who are you?”
“This valley belongs to us. We knew the moment you and the others crossed into our territory. Relax, we aren’t interested in the bounty on your head. We’re only interested in you.” He spoke as they began to make their way through the marsh, “You can call me Hyena. As for who we are? The people of the wastelands like to call us Seekers.”
They were Seekers?
Cloudhawk was dumbfounded. The first time he’d heard of them was from Cooke, back when he was with the Tartarus mercenaries. He’d learned that the Seekers were one of the most mysterious powers in the wastelands. They controlled technology and knowledge typical people didn’t even know existed.
The panacea syringes from Greenland Fort were treasures purchased from Seekers. What kind of lives did these mysterious people lead?
105 Blackwater Base
The Seekers group brought the unconscious mercenary leader with them when they left. As dutifully as he promised, Cloudhawk followed. He had no intention of causing trouble, especially since he was surrounded by several men with lightning-spitting weapons. Any wrong move could result in his getting shocked with a few hundred volts, not to mention the unfathomable Hyena who was always nearby.
As far as Cloudhawk could tell, the one Seeker he knew was as strong as Hydra, maybe a little weaker. The likes of Snaketooth or Artemis, however, wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.
Before long, several peculiar looking vehicles appeared. They were a strange combination of beast and machine, wooden sleds pulled by a contingent of some deer-like animal? It was certainly well-suited for the marshy terrain. The pack animals were wrapped in copper pipes, some of which dug into their bodies, making them look like some nightmarish amalgamation of flesh and metal. The wooden sled they dragged had some capability to move on its own as well, making it even faster.
Hyena gave Cloudhawk a light shove. “Get on!”
Cloudhawk dutifully clambered up onto the odd vehicle. When everyone was aboard, Hyena somehow turned the grotesque contraption on and the machine-creatures started to move. They were sailing along the marsh in short order. Cloudhawk could tell that the sled itself could move, which made it exceedingly fast when the additional force provided by the animals was added in.
The valley marsh was much larger than he’d anticipated. The further in they went, the denser and quieter it became. It was no wonder that no one had found the Seekers even after so many years. Typical wastelanders didn’t have the means or interest to travel so deep into this dangerous territory.
As they continued, ruined buildings began to appear more regularly, peeking up through the bog. It was hard to judge their size or number since most of the wreckage was scattered and half buried. They swept past like towering sentinels, and before them rose a single peak. They were headed toward the grotto at its base.
The grotto was a dark and serene hideaway that narrowed into a hall. Its walls were smooth, and the floor was paved with smooth and even stone, clearly not natural features. Despite having endured what had to be years of use, the ground had no cracks or blemishes to catch their toes.
Hyena led Cloudhawk down the passage and deeper into the mountain.
The young wastelander noted that the hall was sloped downward, and the deeper they went, the further underground they were going. He couldn’t imagine this place being possible to construct with current technology, so it had to be a holdover from the ancient days. The large, metallic polygonal door that arose to block their path confirmed his suspicions.
The door had been cleaned, but corrosion was still visible along its surface. It spoke to the many years this door must have seen march by. Letters etched on its surface read “Blackwater Base.”
Blackwater Base? That’s a strange name…
A cluster of sentries with guns guarded the door. Compared to those at Greenland Outpost they were orders of magnitude better equipped. Cloudhawk lifted his head and spotted a small alcove above the door. The barrel of a pitch-black minigun was pointed their way. Anyone who dared try to fight their way past the door would be shot to ribbons before he could get close.
Several of the sentries approached. “Hyena, boss, back so soon?”
Hyena didn’t pay them any mind. “Open the door!”
“Yes, sir!”
The guard captain fished out a complicated-looking seven-section key and inserted it into the door. Once one section was properly inserted and tu
rned, the rest of the key could be pushed in, functioning like a seven-digit passcode. Cloudhawk heard the squeal and grind of gears before the heavy door parted.
Cloudhawk had never seen mechanisms so exquisite before, and the shock only increased when he walked in to view the scene beyond. It was magnificent. Though they were clearly underground, the base was far from gloomy, for it was peppered with strange trees that released light. Several electric lamps supplemented their illumination.
Everywhere he looked, machinery whirred. Pipes snaked along the walls and released pure water that was as clear as crystal. This place had to have a state of the art water purification system that allowed them to turn the poison bog water into something potable.
If nothing else, that capability alone made Blackwater Base a unique jewel in the wastelands.
As they made their way through the base, Cloudhawk noted that there weren’t many people. Judging from an eyeball estimation, he figured there couldn’t be more than ten thousand residents. The biggest difference he recognized was how they dressed; Seekers wore more refined clothes like people of the ancient days, whereas excavators were clad in simple and primitive clothing.
Hyena was not in the mood to stroll about. He led Cloudhawk quickly through the common area and arrived at a heavily guarded cave entrance.
“This is –“
Cloudhawk gaped at what appeared before him. The cave wasn’t guarded by humans. It was guarded by beasts.
Each guard was reptilian in appearance but was very different from what one might expect. They stood back on two legs, slightly hunched over, and their beady black eyes carefully scanned their surroundings. From time to time, a black forked tongue would slither out of their mouths to taste the air. Their equipment was humanoid: leather armor and bows held in their humanoid hands. They vigilantly guarded the cave.
These things weren’t the least bit human. They were beasts from head to toe!
Hyena saw Cloudhawk’s stunned expression and offered a languid explanation, “Don’t worry. The lizard guards are loyal. They’ll only attack if you give them a reason to.”
Cloudhawk had completely forgotten about his pain. He stared at one of the creatures curiously for a long time. “Why does it look kind of human? I’ve never seen a lizard that can use bows!”
“It’s been mutated.” Hyena’s expression never changed as he patiently explained, “And that’s all you need to know. They were created by the Academician.”
Cloudhawk struggled to pronounce the word. “Aca... de... mician?”
“A title taken from ancient books. It means someone who is wise, learned.” Hyena punctuated the explanation with a note of assurance, “The Academician is the wisest person in Blackwater Base. We’re headed for the laboratory. You’ll meet soon.”
Cloudhawk hobbled after Hyena as they made their way into the heavily guarded area. As he looked around, the young man noted that he’d never seen a cleaner or more organized place his entire life. The floors and walls looked painstakingly cared for, even polished. They were so spotless that he could almost see his reflection.
Cloudhawk had lived his life in the presence of filth: filthy places and filthy people. Here, amongst this immaculate environment, he was clearly uncomfortable. The next thing he noticed was several dozen steel cages housing various creatures.
Wolves, panthers, lizards, giant rats, and some creatures Cloudhawk couldn’t identify. These ferocious beasts hunched in their cages listlessly, hardly even opening their eyes as the two of them passed.
Hyena explained that they were experimental subjects.
Cloudhawk was puzzled. How was this Academician guy able to capture and experiment on these creatures for so many years? They passed through an iron door and were met with the squeals of pained animals.
He saw a giant rat, its body painted with blood, strapped to a platform. Infusion tubes impaled it; all sorts of medicinal fluids – green, blue, red – were being pumped into its body. It was apparently a painful process, for the rat screeched and writhed. The pores along its body tore, and blood leaked freely from them like it’d been flayed.
Cloudhawk couldn’t keep his curiosity hidden. “Why are they tormenting this mutated rat?”
To Hyena, this was clearly a standard scene. “These subjects hold a very high value. Through special procedures, the Academician has a high probability of instigating mutations. We then harvest valuable medicinal materials from them. Some even develop intelligence.”
In all the wastelands, only the Academician was able to perform such shocking and incredible feats.
As Hyena explained, he did not notice the strange look that came over Cloudhawk’s face. The young man suddenly remembered something he’d encountered before – the rat king. He remembered it clearly, for it had one of those rare mutations that turned a beast intelligent. Could the rat king have escaped from here? Or been released from here?
Cloudhawk contemplatively watched the rat scream and struggle upon the operating table. This whole laboratory was unimaginably strange. There were perhaps a hundred Seekers performing experiments on these monsters. He spied a specimen containment room where thousands of wasteland beasts were held. Another room contained the failed experiments. Perhaps a hundred corpses were piled up awaiting disposal.
Cloudhawk was completely taken aback. This was like nothing he could have imagined.
Hyena led them to a room framed in glass, wherein a tall and thin person was standing. When they were perhaps a dozen feet away, he was able to see that the person was a youngish woman. She was clad in clean white clothes – a rarity in the wastelands for sure – as well as gloves and a mask. Her attention was concentrated on one of her experiment subjects.
Although he couldn’t see her face, her figure was alluring, and her bearing was refined. Her backside, round and plump, was especially pleasing to the eye and led down into a pair of shapely long legs. She was built to catch a man’s attention.
Was this the Academician?
She was definitely not what Cloudhawk expected. Was the most prestigious person in Blackwater Base her? A woman? He didn’t know how powerful this place was compared to Greenland Outpost, but if he used Hyena as a standard, no ordinary person could demand obedience from a creature like him. How could a young woman like her command them?
The only thing he could think of was that she had to have skills comparable to those of the Bloodsoaked Queen.
Sensing their arrival, the woman stopped her work and slowly raised her head. She fixed them with two shimmering eyes that were like deep twin pools. In addition to her round backside and long legs, she also had a plump chest. She looked at them through a pair of safety goggles framed by silvery hair rarely seen in the wastelands. It only enhanced her mature and dignified appearance.
“This is the Academician’s assistant, Manjusaka [1]. Most just call her Hellflower.” Hyena quietly introduced her before respectfully stepping forward. “The demon hunter our Academician wished to meet has arrived.”
1. Red spider lily. They are considered ominous plants in Asia. They are used in funerals, believed to guide souls through the underworld to reincarnation. So we can expect this lady to be cray-cray.
106 The Academician
In his entire life up to now, Cloudhawk had two women he counted as friends.
The Bloodsoaked Queen was the first. She was about his age, strong, tenacious, persistent and devout. Physically, she could be called a peerless beauty, and even out in the Elysian lands, she was special. It was hard to speak of her without sounding overly keen. Still, she had been hard to get along with. They were closer by the time they parted, but there was always a distance between them.
Artemis was the second, a model wastelander in her twenties with all the bad habits that came with her upbringing. She was as loose as she was zealous, straight talking and stubborn. In a lot of ways, she was inferior to the Queen, but she had been closer to Cloudhawk.
Hellflower possessed neither the feral fla
vor of the wastelands nor the delicate and flawless mark of the Elysian lands. Hers was a unique style, like someone from those bygone days.
That characterization was a little abstract. To be more specific, she reminded Cloudhawk of the pictures he’d seen when he was a scavenger. He and the old man would gather them and pore over the images from that long-past era. Hellflower looked like she’d strode right out of one and into this lab. Her bearing, from the way she stood to her mannerisms and gestures, spoke of poise and intellect. She was altogether different from both the wastelanders and the Elysians.
Like the magnificent view of a winding river, Hellflower’s beauty was inexplicable – unattainable. She looked back at Cloudhawk and sized him up while he looked at her, and in her eyes, he could see doubt. She said nothing, but the slight contempt in her eyes made her opinion of him clear.
Consider the reputation of the Caliph of the Sands, what that beast had been. Asking her to believe this scrawny wastelander had killed a demon was like telling her an ant could eat five elephants in a single bite.
Hyena respectfully conveyed Cloudhawk into the room.
“We’re running low on samples for the Promethean Project. I’d like you to set aside some time to collect more.” She picked off her gloves as she conveyed her orders to Hyena. She made her way over to Cloudhawk and stood before him. Her lithe figure was roughly 1.75 meters tall, half a head taller than Cloudhawk. She looked down her nose at him. “You’re a demon hunter?”
Cloudhawk looked at her carefully. She had a mature and attractive face framed by that fastidiously-kept peculiar silver hair. Cloudhawk didn’t suspect she was strong physically. However, her presence was nonetheless heavy-handed.
Cloudhawk answered her in his typical straightforward fashion, “Nope.”
The Wastelander Page 73
