The Bigshot's Superstar Wife - Chapter 186

Chapter 186: Elimination
The battle against the infestation had only just begun. The initial explosion had taken out one nest, but it didn’t take long for them to realize there were many more hidden beneath the base.

The underground tunnels, once meant for shelter and emergency escape routes, had become breeding grounds for these grotesque creatures.

Their numbers were overwhelming, and the soldiers fighting on the surface were struggling to hold back the endless waves of rats, insects, and monstrous hybrids that poured out from below.

Athena and Xavier worked their way through the tunnels, eliminating nests one by one.

With every nest they destroyed, hundreds of creatures shrieked in agony, their bodies twisting and convulsing before finally collapsing.

But for every nest they took down, it felt as if ten more appeared. The deeper they went, the more they realized just how infested the underground had become.

Walls were covered in thick, pulsating veins, some nests the size of small rooms filled with writhing, unborn creatures waiting to hatch. It was a nightmare given form.

Above ground, chaos reigned. The creatures that managed to breach the surface spread like wildfire, attacking civilians and soldiers alike.

The base had gone from a secure haven to a war zone in a matter of hours. Soldiers fought tooth and nail to defend the stronghold, but their numbers were dwindling.

Some were overwhelmed by swarms of carnivorous insects, their armor doing little to protect them from the razor-sharp mandibles slicing through flesh.

Others fell victim to the massive rats, creatures that had evolved to be larger, faster, and deadlier than any normal pest.

Screams echoed through the base. The sickening crunch of bones, the gurgling last breaths of the dying, it was all around them.

Athena gritted her teeth as she shot down another rat, its head exploding in a spray of blackened blood. She knew they were losing too many people. At this rate, the base wouldn’t hold much longer.

“We have to evacuate,” Xavier said, wiping blood from his face. His voice was grim, but his movements were as precise as ever as he reloaded his weapon.

Athena didn’t argue. The base was beyond saving. The infestation had spread too deep, and no matter how many creatures they killed, it wouldn’t be enough.

The only choice left was to retreat while they still could. The orders for evacuation were given, and the survivors scrambled to escape.

Vehicles roared to life, people shoving their way onto transport trucks, their faces twisted in fear and desperation.

Soldiers covered the retreat, forming a last line of defense against the encroaching swarm. But even as they tried to hold the creatures back, they were overwhelmed.

One by one, they fell. Athena watched as a soldier she had fought alongside mere hours ago was dragged to the ground by a mass of rats, their gnashing teeth tearing into his exposed skin.

His screams were cut short, and within seconds, there was nothing left of him but blood-stained armor.

Another soldier was impaled by the sharp legs of a monstrous insect, his body convulsing before going limp. There was no saving them.

Xavier grabbed Athena’s arm, pulling her toward one of the last transport trucks. “We’re leaving,” he said firmly.

She hesitated, her gaze sweeping over the battlefield. The base, once a symbol of security and order, was nothing more than a burning ruin filled with death.

She hated the idea of running. But she knew Xavier was right. There was nothing more they could do here.

They climbed into the truck, the last of the evacuees crammed together, faces pale with shock and horror.

As the vehicle sped away from the base, Athena looked back one last time. The fires raged, smoke rising into the already-darkened sky.

The creatures swarmed over the remains, feasting on the dead and claiming the base as their own. She clenched her fists. They had survived. But at what cost?

As the transport truck sped away from the burning ruins of the base, the atmosphere inside was thick with tension.

Survivors huddled together, some in shock, others tending to their wounds. The air smelled of blood, sweat, and the acrid stench of burning flesh.

Athena sat near the back, gripping her weapon tightly as she watched the darkened road ahead. No one spoke for a long time.

The silence was heavy, filled only with the distant cries of the forsaken base they had left behind. Xavier sat beside her, his expression unreadable.

His fingers tapped rhythmically against his knee, a habit he had whenever he was deep in thought. “This isn’t sustainable,” he finally muttered.

Athena turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“This infestation. It’s unlike anything we’ve faced before. They just keep coming. No matter how many we kill, their numbers don’t seem to decrease. We burn their nests, we crush them, we shoot them down, and yet…”

He exhaled sharply. “It’s like the entire world is against us.”

Athena couldn’t deny it. The creatures were spreading too fast, too aggressively.

They weren’t just mindless pests. There was something unnatural about their rapid proliferation. “Do you think they’re evolving?” she asked.

Xavier gave her a sharp look. “Evolving? No, I think they were made this way.”

The words sent a chill down her spine. Athena had already seen the remnants of an abandoned laboratory, filled with unfinished experiments, and biological weapons left to rot.

She knew, deep in her gut, that this infestation was no mere accident of nature. Someone had designed these creatures. Someone had let them loose into the world.

“So what do we do?” she asked. “We can’t keep running forever. We need a real solution.”

Xavier leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We need to find the source,” he said.

“Wherever these things are coming from, wherever their main nest is, we need to destroy it at its root. Otherwise, this cycle will never end.”

A murmur of agreement came from the others in the truck. They were all tired of fighting a losing battle. They needed answers. They needed a plan.

“But where do we even start?” one of the soldiers asked. “We’ve already lost the base. We don’t even know where to look.”

Xavier’s eyes glinted in the dim light. “We head back to where this all began,” he said.

“We need to find the people responsible for creating these things. And if they’re still alive, we make them fix their mistake.”

Athena met his gaze and nodded. It was a dangerous plan, but it was the only one they had.

They couldn’t keep fighting an endless war against creatures that never stopped coming. They needed to find the true enemy.

And when they did, Athena swore, she would make them pay for unleashing this nightmare upon the world.