Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 644 - 172: Valkyrie 04

Where am I exactly?

Valkyrie 04's heart gradually became uneasy.

Just as she planned to wait until her strength slightly recovered, to undo the seatbelt and check around, she vaguely heard the sound of water flowing.

A river? Or a lake?

She recalled the terrain around the restricted area. It was all mountainous here, those bare stone mountains, without any streams or mountain springs.

To the east of Chimera 17, there were two river valleys, but both dried up years ago, leaving only a riverbed full of pebbles and rugged riverbanks.

Rainfall within the restricted area did form some shallow lakes in depressions... but the problem was that there was no rain where she was, suggesting she was most likely on the periphery of the restricted area.

But... why... was the sound of water getting louder?

The area illuminated by the red signal light of the ejection seat suddenly shimmered with waves; an unknown liquid was pouring in from all sides, quickly submerging Valkyrie 04's feet.

Under the red light, the liquid appeared like blood.

Feeling the cold from her feet, Valkyrie 04 immediately drew her legs up, but the water level rose rapidly, and within seconds, the blood-like liquid had reached knee level.

Valkyrie 04 wore the most advanced anti-load flight suit, which not only helped the pilot withstand G-forces from various high-mobility maneuvers but also had top-tier protective functions.

The so-called four protections naturally meant cold (wind) resistance, waterproofing, gas and radiation protection, ensuring a pilot's survival in extreme environments—an older model of this flight suit once kept a pilot warm after a crash in the Arctic Circle. The rescue team found the pilot 34 hours after the accident, and despite temperatures below minus forty degrees Celsius, the pilot not only avoided hypothermia but even "complained" to rescuers about the suit's excessive cold resistance, making him feel like a clown for trying to warm himself with a polar bear skin after a great effort hunting the bear.

Valkyrie 04 once trained for high-altitude skydiving, and even at temperatures ten degrees below zero in the air, she never felt cold in this suit... yet the piercing cold just now was so real, as if the blood-red liquid had seeped through the fabric, even into her skin and flesh, into her very marrow.

She shivered involuntarily.

At this point, even with a dull brain, Valkyrie 04 realized there was something wrong with this liquid. She swiftly unfastened the seatbelt and tried to climb onto the backrest... but as she tried to pull her calf out of the water, she encountered an immensely strong resistance, as if the liquid was so viscous it glued her leg firmly in place.

She panicked slightly, but the harder she pulled, the greater the viscosity... and as the coldness eroded, her legs gradually went numb... she even felt an illusion, as if her legs were frozen in ice blocks and unable to move.

"Damn... damn it!"

Valkyrie 04 cursed softly, then resolutely drew her pistol from her waist and fired at the water!

"Bang! Bang bang!"

The gunshot echoed, bullets plunged into the water, splashing over a meter high.

Just when Valkyrie 04 aimed to shoot closer to her legs, the adhesion on her leg suddenly turned into a fierce pulling force!

Valkyrie 04 only had one hand gripping the backrest; caught off guard, her whole body was dragged underwater!

She didn't even have time to scream, as the icy liquid filled the helmet's interior and forcefully poured into her mouth!

Valkyrie 04's eyes widened; she distinctly remembered not opening the airtight valve between her helmet and flight suit collar... how did the water pour in?

Her vision blurred red like the recent redout, yet the sensation throughout her body was completely different from a redout...

After the initial coldness, Valkyrie 04 actually felt a strange warmth... she felt as if she was back in her mother's womb, gently enveloped by amniotic fluid; this eerie comfort made her want to close her eyes and drift off to sleep...

No... can't sleep...

Valkyrie 04's consciousness was still resisting, but her body had abandoned resistance, floating motionless in the water, allowing the blood-red liquid to pour down her throat and nasal cavity into her body.

In a daze, she seemed to hear many voices, men and women, old and young, speaking various languages and dialects... the murmurs gradually turned into a bustling marketplace, someone shouting loudly, another singing loudly, while others recited something with an emotive voice...