Chapter 103: Arrival at the Mother Nest
The metal floor of the abandoned passage groaned underfoot, every step feeling like treading on thin ice that could crack at any moment.
Chloe walked at the front, the old wound on her left shoulder throbbing with a dull ache. The price of forcibly releasing pheromones to suppress the G-Embryo was beginning to show; her palms were slightly numb, and flashes of crimson occasionally darted across her vision.
Claire followed closely behind, holding Sherry tightly. The little girl's body was as hot as a small furnace, her breathing heavy and rapid. Claire gently patted Sherry's back, whispering reassurances over and over: "It's okay, Sherry. Just hold on a little longer. We'll see your mom soon."
Sherry buried her face in the crook of Claire's neck and gave a small "mm-hmm," but her body couldn't stop trembling.
Chloe suddenly stopped and raised a hand to signal Claire to stay back. Her gaze pierced through the darkness ahead, landing on a metal cable car suspended in mid-air not far away.
"That cable car leads to the NEST Core Area." Her voice carried a faint, barely perceptible rasp.
Claire's eyes lit up, and she quickly looked down at Sherry in her arms. "Did you hear that? We're almost there. Can you hold on just a little longer?"
Sherry nodded weakly, her small hand tightly gripping the hem of Claire's clothes.
The three of them hurried to the Cable Car Platform, where the rusted metal doors stood ajar. Chloe pushed them open and found that the cable car was surprisingly intact, parked by the platform with its emergency lights still emitting a faint white glow.
"Great, it still works!" Claire was overjoyed.
Chloe walked to the console and glanced at the card reader. "It needs an ID card." She frowned, her gaze instinctively falling on Sherry's wrist.
There, she wore a silver wristband—the identification device Annette had given her.
Chloe gently lifted Sherry's wrist and held the wristband close to the reader. With a soft "beep," the green light flickered on, and the cable car doors slowly slid open.
"Wonderful!" Claire carried Sherry into the car, carefully laying her down on a bench. She took off her jacket and draped it over her. "Sherry, just bear with it a bit longer. We'll be there very soon."
Chloe pressed the start button. The cable car vibrated slightly before slowly pulling away from the platform. A cold, mechanical broadcast echoed through the car: "This car is bound for NEST. Please do not exit until the final stop."
The car swayed gently with the movement of the steel cables. Outside the windows was an endless darkness, punctuated only by the occasional flash of emergency indicator lights casting distorted shadows on the walls. Sherry's eyes were closed, and her breathing had steadied somewhat, but the skin around her eyes had begun to take on an unnatural red hue, with tiny blood vessels clearly visible beneath the surface.
Claire looked at Sherry, her heart tightening. She turned to Chloe, who was sitting opposite her. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked, "Um... will that G-Virus S01 Inhibitor work for your... condition too?"
Chloe was taken aback for a moment, her hand instinctively reaching up to touch the Bony Horn on her forehead. She curled her lips into a nonchalant smile. "Actually, I think it looks pretty cool, doesn't it?"
Claire was amused by her response, but the worry in her eyes didn't fade. "I'm serious. If there's a way..."
"I've been to NEST before," Chloe suddenly interrupted, her gaze fixed on the darkness outside. "With Sister Jill."
"And then?" Claire pressed.
Chloe fell silent for a few seconds, her tone as flat as if she were talking about someone else. "And then I died."
"What?!" Claire sat bolt upright, her eyes widening. "You... don't scare me like that!"
Chloe turned her head and, seeing Claire's panicked expression, couldn't help but laugh. "Just kidding. I only almost died."
"You scared the life out of me!" Claire patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. "I thought you were a ghost for a second."
Chloe didn't continue the topic. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Memories of that night flashed through her mind—the excruciating pain of G1 William's giant claw tearing through her body, and Jill's heart-wrenching cries. Those memories were like poisoned blades; any touch would leave her feeling cold all over.
Silence fell over the car, broken only by the creaking of the cable car's steel wires and Sherry's light breathing.
Suddenly, Sherry struggled slightly and began to whimper. Claire quickly leaned over and tucked the edges of the jacket around her.
"Your jacket is so warm," Sherry murmured drowsily.
"My brother gave it to me," Claire said with a gentle smile. "He said this jacket brings good luck. Now, it will protect you too."
"Thank you, Big Sister Claire," Sherry's voice was thick with congestion. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Don't say that." Claire felt a pang of guilt. "You were fine before. I'm the one who dragged you into all this trouble."
She reached into her pocket, pulled out the Golden Rose Locket, and held it out to Sherry. "By the way, here's this. You dropped it at the parking lot that day."
Sherry glanced at the locket but turned her head away, whispering, "I don't want it."
"Why not?" Claire asked, surprised. "It's very pretty."
"It was a birthday present from my mom last year." Sherry's voice grew smaller and more aggrieved. "But what I really want isn't some pretty locket. I just want her to come home every day, to eat with me, to tell me stories..."
Claire's heart felt as if it had been sharply pierced. She tucked the locket away and gently took Sherry's cold little hand. "I know. I know your mom might seem busy and like she doesn't care, but..."
Before she could finish, Sherry suddenly curled her body up tight and let out a groan of pain. Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, large beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and the purplish-blue bruising around her eyes spread rapidly.
"Sherry! Sherry, what's wrong?" Claire panicked, trying to pick her up.
"Let me." Chloe stood up and quickly moved to Sherry's side. She pulled Sherry up to lean against her and then placed her right hand gently against the girl's lower abdomen.
A wave of pheromones emanated from Chloe's palm. Sherry's body gradually stopped trembling, and her painful groans slowly subsided. However, Chloe's face grew increasingly pale, her lips lost all color, and the veins on her forehead throbbed.
"Approaching NEST. Passengers, please prepare to disembark," the mechanical broadcast announced again.
The cable car slowly docked at the platform, and the doors opened with a chime.
Chloe took a deep breath, withdrew her hand, and gently handed Sherry back to Claire. "Hold her tight. Let's go."
Claire stood up with Sherry in her arms, only to find Chloe still standing there, her head bowed and her shoulders trembling slightly.
"Chloe?" she called out, puzzled.
Chloe looked up, her face returning to its usual cold indifference, though a trace of crimson still lingered deep in her eyes. She rubbed her temples and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing. Let's go, don't waste time."
She was the first to step out of the cable car, tightening her grip on her Blade Claws as she led the way. A cold wind blew from the depths of the passage, carrying a heavy scent of disinfectant and blood.
Chloe's right hand was behind her back, clenched tightly into a fist. Forcibly suppressing the G-Embryo just now had nearly caused the Dual Viruses in her body to lose their balance. A violent power was rampaging through her veins, threatening to shatter her sanity at any moment.
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down.
She couldn't lose control here.
Absolutely not.
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