The firepower of the Black Hawk was unstoppable. No matter how strong the mutant spiders were, they couldn’t fly, and so they were beaten into a bloody pulp for some time.
Finally, the fearless spider horde began to retreat. It had sustained heavy losses, with less than one in ten spiders surviving.
The two Black Hawks pursued, one in front and one behind. With another boom, a Hellfire missile exploded into the spider horde right before they could retreat into the mines, once more dealing a devastating blow.
Once the spider horde had been destroyed, the two Black Hawks flew several times more around the small town before finally unloading their soldiers at the mall.
There were 22 soldiers dressed in military fatigues. Surprisingly, they were not soldiers. Rather, the backs of their tactical vests had the words ‘FBI’.
Did the FBI also have jurisdiction over mutant creatures and creature invasions? Or had the giant spiders been taken as a terrorist plot?
…
The FBI Special Tactical Response Team!
The hook-nosed captain leading the team gave their name and said no more, not even introducing himself. He exuded a cold and unapproachable aura.
Although the FBI agents were rather taciturn, the townspeople still welcomed them. After all, the FBI were their saviors, no matter how bad their attitude was.
But the police had a completely different reaction. America’s police system was very complex. Federal police and city police ate from the same bowl, but their relationship had never been very good.
Now that they were so close, the police chief scowled. On their part, the FBI didn’t even glance at him.
Luo Su also didn’t have a good impression of the FBI. Perhaps because they thought of themselves as the best of the best, these FBI were rather condescending, or at least that was the feeling they gave off.
For safety, the townspeople stayed in the mall for the rest of the night. The next day, before daybreak, a convoy of several dozen cars arrived.
There were soldiers, researchers, and also the FBI.
The police chief was very unhappy. After speaking with Samantha, he left with his subordinates. The defense of Prosperity was now left to the hook-nosed captain.
After a single morning, a significant number of fortifications had been erected in Prosperity. A crude research center had also been established in the McCormick Mining Company’s office.
All the entrances to the mine in the town were sealed. Many townspeople were also requested to evacuate their homes, as their basements were connected to the mines. Only the three research teams received special treatment. It was clear that the FBI was not too concerned about protecting the townspeople and their property. They were only concerned about the spiders.
The research teams’ equipment and members were detained. The FBI forbade them from privately researching the spiders. The professors were furious. They were extremely talented members of their domain with a certain level of status. They didn’t care one bit about the FBI.
However, when Hooknose mentioned that they could become research teams for the government and freely research the giant spiders, the professors became much more accomodating and impatiently went along with their students.
Luo Su, Chris, and Gladys moved out of their home, which had been one of the hardest-hit areas. It had a very high chance of being attacked by the spiders again.
Aunt Gladys took the French bulldog with her to the city to weather the storm, and many other townspeople chose to leave. But Luo Su still had his mission, and Chris was determined to stay in the town, so they both chose to remain.
The two men imposed themselves on the Parker home. As there wasn’t enough room, they had to sleep on the couch.
Luo Su had reached his initial goal. With the FBI to help him investigate, he spent these days in a rather carefree manner. Recently, he had been making progress with his photography, and it was showing signs of becoming a permanent skill.
Ashley had been very unwilling at first to pose in front of the camera, but in the end, she was still celebrity material. After an adjustment period, she grew more and more used to the camera and was willing to make any sort of pose.
Luo Su wasn’t just taking photos the whole time. He would occasionally see what was happening with the spiders, but ever since that night of steel and gunpowder, the spiders had vanished.
The FBI sent teams down into the mines every day, but they couldn’t find any. This was very strange, as they had seen the spiders flee into the mines with their own eyes and had sealed off the exits. But the reality was completely different from what they had anticipated.
…
On this day, two FBI special agents paid a visit to the Parker Home. The hook-nosed captain said that he wanted to see Chris and Luo Su. The reason was simple. The mine was owned by the McCormick Mining Company, and these two were the inheritors. The hook-nosed captain believed that they would know some secret about the mine.
“I’m sorry. If it’s about mine, I recommend that you ask Leon. He’s worked in mind for 20 years and is a living map of it.” Chris helplessly shrugged his shoulders. He had left Prosperity for ten years and had come back just in time to run into the spider invasion. The only time he had gone down into the mines was to look for the missing researchers.
Yes, with Samantha.
The hook-nosed captain stood in front of a map of the mines and pointed at several areas indicated by red dots. “I’ve already asked Leon, and he’s the one who guides us in the mines each time, but we’ve still turned up nothing.”
The FBI was looking for the spiders not to ensure the town’s safety, but to find the reason for the mutation and extract everything they could from the mine. Like a biological weapon, for example.
Luo Su raised an eyebrow and decided to ask, “Did you look into the water polluted by the chemicals?”
Hooknose gave Luo Su a profound glance and generously answered, “We did, but there was no problem. Other than the fact that it was involved in smuggling of a prohibited item, it was up to all the standards.”
The answer left Luo Su surprised. He asked, “Perhaps there was some unknown chemical reaction with gas in the mines that caused the spiders to rapidly grow.”
Hooknose firmly denied this. “Impossible. It’s extremely stable, at least in a dark place like the mines.”
This is a very serious and proper person!
Luo Su gave Hooknose the evaluation of ‘uninteresting.’ He wasn’t good at dealing with this sort of person, inflexible and humorless. “Nothing is impossible. Peter even began to grow hair again…”
“We’ve already taken a scalp specimen. His hair growth is a normal result.”
Luo Su: “…”
Fine, you win!
Hooknose: “You two have inheritance rights for the mine, but there are times when the law has loopholes…”
“What do you mean?” Chris turned happy. He could hear a threat in this man’s words.
“I’m sure you can understand if someone wants to buy this piece of land. From the moment the giant spiders appeared, the mine’s value became far higher than its usual price, even if you could dig gold out of it.” Hooknose took out a contract, indicating that he wanted to buy the land and was willing to pay generously.
Chris took the contract. Hooknose was offering a very reasonable price for the mine. As for the buyer, he smartly chose to ignore it.
Luo Su glanced at the price at the bottom and frowned. “We can’t accept this price. There really is gold down there!”
It didn’t actually matter to Luo Su whether the price was high or low. He wouldn’t leave until the mission was over, no matter how much money was offered. He was negotiating the price for Chris. If Chris had money, Samantha had money, and if Samantha had money, Ashley could become a movie star. He was very optimistic about this big-breasted girl’s chances in Hollywood.
“Gambler mentality! Everyone with a mine says this!” Hooknose was unperturbed. “I know what you’re worried about. This mine is linked to the livelihood of the entire town and can’t be easily given away, but facts are facts. There is no gold, nothing! The mine has been mined out.”
“No, there’s a gold vein down there! I’m sure of it!” Luo Su had seen the end of the movie, where the black radio announcer had smiled to reveal a shining gold tooth.
It had been a powerful picture, and Luo Su could not forget it. He added, “Before dying, my adopted father found a gold ore vein, but before he could start mining it, he died. Leon also mentioned that he had found gold ore…although he might have been suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning there.”
Hooknose’s eyes flashed as he suddenly realized something. A smile cracked open on his stiff face. “I recall that your name is Luo Su. My case file has your name in it. You’re special, very special.”
“Huh?”
Hooknose stared at Luo Su. “How do I say it…your selling of the spider corpses was truly admirable.”
Chris didn’t understand what was going on, but Luo Su understood Hooknose’s implication and immediately turned wary. The spider corpses brought with them many inexplicable questions and had drawn the FBI’s attention.
“Don’t be nervous. There are a lot of special people in this world, not just you.” Hooknose indicated that he meant no ill and extended an olive branch. “What do you think? Do you want to join us and become a special forces member?”
Luo Su: “…”
Too much information! Let me catch my breath!