"Run! You fools! Run!"
Cain let out a piercing, booming scream, but because he suddenly choked on his saliva, the sound seemed like a commanding order to others.
Under the command to retreat, Cain successfully bought the squad some precious time. A large group of mutated Gretchin hybrids poured out of the tunnel, forcing them to split up completely.
Despite suffering heavy casualties, these hybrids still unleashed devastating firepower. Cain recognized this tactic, a method he had seen during the cleansing of Kofia, and Yugen finally recalled it too.
Before retreating, Yugen raised his melta-gun, and superheated air whistled past Cain, instantly vaporizing the charging xenos and engulfing several enemies in the front row.
Amidst the chaotic gunfire, Las-fire and bullets tore through the masonry, and Cain felt a sudden pain in his chest. He looked down to find a Las-fire round had struck the armor hidden beneath his greatcoat. Fortunately, his meticulous preparation beforehand meant the armor saved him.
At this moment, the Soldiers fired and moved in an orderly fashion, and Cain's heart slightly relaxed. Amberly drew a bolter pistol from her cloak, aimed precisely, and took down two leaping monsters, the bullets detonating inside their carapaces, exploding their chests into a mist of blood.
"Keep your distance!" Cain shouted.
Cain knew these hybrids were meant to suppress them, giving the Pure-Strain Genestealers a chance to get close, and once they did, the situation would become extremely dangerous.
These xenos lunged forward, their scythe-like claws inspiring fear. Cain had witnessed the ferocity of these Genestealers; he had seen them easily tear through Terminator power armour and eliminate the Astartes Warriors inside when the "Redeemers Space Marine Chapter" assaulted the Cursed Seed.
That scene was deeply etched in his mind, making him determined never to get close to these killing machines. Now, the appearance of four Pure-Strain Genestealers made the situation even more perilous.
"Once is enough!" Treibek calmly fired, accurately taking down a Pure-Strain Genestealer and a hybrid wielding a flamethrower.
Her quick reaction saved Cain's life. Sorel followed suit, shooting through the enemy's fuel tank, instantly filling the corridor with flames.
"Awesome!"
Sorel nodded and continued to retreat. The flame barrier blocked the enemies and bought them more time. However, what terrified Cain most was that these burning hybrids did not scream in pain; instead, driven by an indomitable will, they struggled through the flames, closing in on them until their muscles were burned away and their limbs shattered.
On the other side of the flames, the Kroot were quickly overwhelmed by the enemies; although they were skilled in close combat, for every enemy that fell, a new one took its place.
Eventually, the Kroot line was torn apart, and the good-natured Gworok stood alone on a pile of corpses, fighting until several fierce Gretchin attacks tore him to shreds, turning him into a mist of blood.
As for the Tau, no sound of Tau weapons could be heard now, so they had likely been completely wiped out.
When Cain realized he had only looked back for a moment but was already alone, the Soldiers had obeyed his command to retreat, but he didn't know which tunnel entrance they had gone to.
He briefly felt the scratch of loneliness and fear but quickly pulled himself together. The burning agent had a limited burn time, and the enemies were likely familiar with this labyrinth and would soon find a way around. Cain decided he couldn't stay put and chose the nearest pipe, beginning to run.
Entering the darkness, the long-suppressed terror surged again. Cain struggled to control himself, slowing his pace to discern direction, but his limbs, driven by fear, kept moving forward.
He ran at full speed, completely disregarding the dangers that might be hidden in the darkness, until his strength was exhausted and his legs trembled, then he stopped to catch his breath.
Sitting on a large rock, Cain tried to assess the situation. Things seemed quite grim; he was still deep underground, with no escape in this perilous labyrinth.
And his only allies might have already presumed him dead, or even if not, for strategic considerations, they wouldn't waste time looking for him.
The underground threat they had discovered posed a huge potential danger to the surface, and Amberly would surely insist on conveying the news to Li Feng or Kastin as soon as possible.
However, Cain remained confident about finding an exit to the surface, especially alone, as his concealment was greater. His keen sense of geography and vague memory of the command post's direction gave him some sense of orientation.
Although fleeing underground left him parched and hungry, Cain, relying on his many experiences facing fear, forced himself to calm down.
For those who have never experienced such circumstances, Cain's advice is: fleeing in fear usually makes you both hungry and thirsty.
Regardless, Cain decided to use this brief calm to replenish his strength. He sat down, drank some water from his canteen, and chewed on a compressed ration bar.
The military rations Li Feng had made tasted quite good, with a fragrant aroma and a biscuit-like texture. Many Soldiers even used these compressed rations to cook into porridge.
The sudden chaos earlier had made his heart race and his emotions run high, so he took advantage of this quiet moment to calm himself down, while also concentrating on listening for any movement in the surrounding darkness.
He considered turning on his flashlight but ultimately decided against it, as that would reveal his position. His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to distinguish the outlines of shadows, both dark and light, around him, and his unique sensory ability as a "Tunnel Rat" gradually began to work.
For example, through echoes, he could roughly judge the distance between himself and the walls. This special ability could not be easily explained to outsiders, after all, Cain had spent most of his childhood in the lower passages of a Hive City.
Just as Cain was gradually recovering, he heard a faint scratching sound of something moving in the darkness. He knew that most people in this situation would either shout loudly or immediately turn on their flashlight, neither of which would be a rational choice for the current situation.
After all, he was extremely familiar with this environment and confident enough to fight blindly in such dark, confined spaces. Cain was certain that if a Genestealer or hybrid approached, they wouldn't conceal their presence but would directly pounce, so he waited patiently, and a moment later heard another faint sound of a small stone falling.
Based on years of experience, Cain judged this sound to be some small creature sharing this refuge with him. However, before he could think further, a faint ringing in his ears distracted him; his comm-unit was activating, which could only mean one thing... a command channel communication was taking place nearby. His guess was quickly confirmed as a faint, intermittent voice, undoubtedly female, spoke:
"...Can you hear me...Political Commissar...respond..." Cain couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It seemed they hadn't completely abandoned him during the retreat.
"Inquisitor?" Cain cautiously responded.
"Do you think so?"
A harsh voice was close to his ear, and Cain quickly realized it was Kaelp's voice. If not for the other party's usual mocking style reminding him, the rifle butt might have already smashed his head.
Cain nimbly dodged the attack and retaliated with a punch. Although it hit Kaelp's abdomen, the other party's hard shell armor made the attack almost useless, and instead made Cain's hand hurt.
Nevertheless, Cain successfully unbalanced Kaelp, intending to knock him over, but the other party quickly adjusted his posture and flexibly dodged the attack.
Cain had to admit that the bulky Kaelp's reaction speed was much faster than his size suggested.
Cain suddenly recalled the argument in the mess hall and unhesitatingly stepped back, avoiding Kaelp's leg sweep attack. In that instant, he realized he had the advantage in this environment and thought it was time to teach this "Labyrinth Fighter" a lesson.
His hand was already on the hilt of his Chainsword, ready to end this close-quarters combat.
However, Kaelp's subsequent leg sweep caught Cain off guard. The other party kicked him heavily behind the knee, and Cain stumbled, falling forward onto the ground.
Kaelp sneered, "Almost right, but this painful world isn't my pain, is it?"
As Cain fell, the other party continued to try and kick him, but the armor under his greatcoat once again proved effective. This blow caused him slight discomfort but no serious harm.
If Kaelp had focused on attacking rather than taunting, Cain's situation might be worse now, as Kaelp had given up at least several opportunities to directly kill Cain.
Cain remained silent, secretly adjusting his position and using the darkness to conceal himself. He carefully rolled to one side, finally successfully drawing his Chainsword.
Cain stood calmly, masking the low hum of the Chainsword's activation, enticing Kaelp closer: "If you want to fight, then do it, no more speeches."
Kaelp clearly felt victory was assured, roaring as he charged at him, smashing his rifle butt at where he thought Cain's head was. However, Cain had already moved, deftly sidestepping and fiercely slashing Kaelp's leg with his Chainsword.
To be honest, Cain had originally hoped this strike would sever Kaelp's knee, but the other party reacted quickly, realizing the threat, and adjusted his body at the last second, resulting in Cain only cutting his calf.
Kaelp let out a low growl of pain, "Cyka! Damn it!"
Wounded, he retreated a few steps, and at this moment, several flashlight beams suddenly illuminated the entire space, Soldiers holding firearms, with flashlights taped to their muzzles or hands, focused their gaze here.
"Political Commissar, did you miss me?" Amberly nodded a greeting to Cain, her tone as casual as if they had merely met by chance on the street.
Cain stood up. He remembered Li Feng had said the same thing last time, so Li Feng and Amberly probably had a lot in common... (Of course, this also included Li Feng's girlfriend Sanguinius, and the two later became very good friends and confidantes, though not like Celestine.)
"Inquisitor, it's good to see you."
Cain walked towards Kaelp, who limped backward, his face full of terror.
Cain had already decided to give this treacherous hybrid a "Chainsword back scrub."
Cain gestured for Amberly to wait, "Give me some time, I'll rejoin you after I'm done."
Kaelp suddenly raised his hellgun, aiming it at Cain's chest, and threatened fiercely:
"One more step, and I'll kill you."
It was clear he hadn't realized Cain's armor was hidden under his clothes; otherwise, he would likely have aimed directly for Cain's head. Cain stopped a few meters away from him, calmly smiling and shrugging:
"Yugen, take him out."
Kaelp's stunned expression lasted only half a second before his head was obliterated into a cloud of fleshy vapor by the melta-gun.
Cain nodded his thanks to Yugen, who put away his melta-gun and replied nonchalantly:
"You're welcome, sir."
Yugen's tone was as if he had merely poured Cain a cup of tea.
Cain turned to Amberly, saying with a cynical tone:
"What a pleasant reunion. I thought I'd only see you all again back at the bar."
Amberly smiled in response: "I thought so too, but I picked up your comm-unit's signal wave and tracked the strongest signal direction to find you."
Cain nodded, glancing sideways to see Treibek scraping Kaelp's sticky remnants with her boot. Seeing this, Amberly couldn't help but smile more deeply. She quipped:
"It looks like you had the situation completely under control."
Cain shrugged: "It's nothing, I've been in worse situations."
Amberly nodded: "Indeed, but in a way, Kaelp actually helped you. His movements made it easier for us to find you; noise is easy to track in the dark."
Her words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Cain's head, making his heart sink. Cain collected himself and quickly issued orders:
"Form up, prepare to move out."
Hollanby stepped forward, opening his medical kit, and cautiously said: "Wait, sir. I'd like to bandage you first."
Cain looked down and only then realized that his finger knuckles were stained with blood from the earlier fight or gun battle.
He felt that damaging the armor was well-deserved, and fortunately, the injury was not serious, but there was a deep abrasion on his forehead that stung fiercely. Hollanby sprayed some medicine on the wound, and Cain immediately waved him off from further treatment.
"No time. If we can hear, others can too."
These words quickly invigorated the squad of Soldiers, and at the thought of possibly encountering Genestealers or other threats again, they immediately formed up in neat order and set off with optimal discipline.
Cain noted with satisfaction that the team members worked together seamlessly, as if days of practice had finally paid off at this moment. Kaelp's disappearance seemed to have dissolved all discord in the mission, and Treibek even moved to the front of the line without waiting for an order.
Cain looked at her, thinking that if she continued this performance, he might consider restoring her corporal rank and promoting her to Sergeant as well.
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