A few days later, following swift preparations by the United Government, the first batch of supplies destined for the Ishimura was ready. Alongside the provisions, dozens of highly qualified individuals from various former countries had been selected.
According to Marcus's plan, once these people boarded the spaceship, they would be trained by engineers like Jacob and Isaac, and would be responsible for the Ishimura's future maintenance and upkeep.
As for the possibility of leaks, Marcus had no concerns whatsoever. Firstly, the Psychic Contract completely prevented such actions. Secondly, the Shield Bee Intelligent System was meticulously monitoring all communication between the Ishimura and Earth in real-time, ensuring no message would go unnoticed.
French Guiana, a certain space launch base. Due to the hasty formation of the United Government, most of its high-ranking officials were, in fact, former leaders of various nations. Within this small aerospace base, dignitaries and officials from across the world had gathered. More than a dozen giant transport vehicles were carrying nearly a thousand tons of various foods and supplies, concentrating them on a large open space at the center of the base.
A few minutes later, in the clear blue sky, the Valor, a true warship several times larger than the Sanctuary, rapidly broke through the atmosphere. It then decelerated, extended its landing gear, and slowly descended onto the center of the open space. As the hatch opened, the Ishimura's crew, led by Isaac and others, emerged from the cabin.
Everyone wore the highest-grade engineer protective suits, and some individuals even donned military combat suits, a precaution against any unexpected situations. Inside the cockpit, Marcus sat to the side, choosing not to personally disembark from the Valor. He remained there primarily as a safeguard, prepared to intervene in any special circumstances.
Since this was the first formal contact and exchange between humans from the Resident Evil world and an extraterrestrial civilization, the scene was meticulously staged, complete with red carpets and elaborate wreaths. If Isaac hadn't already informed the United Government that the Valor didn't intend to stay long, an elaborate outdoor banquet would likely have been prepared.
Isaac and Jacob stepped out from the crowd and engaged in conversation with the professional diplomatic personnel dispatched by the United Government. Soon, the initial contact concluded. In truth, the finer details of this operation had already been negotiated by both parties several days prior; this exchange was merely a procedural formality.
Many automated machines drove out of the Valor, efficiently loading all the supplies from the open space onto the ship. These provisions, while important, were secondary. Both Marcus and the United Government officials were more concerned with the dozens of carefully selected technical personnel.
A total of thirty-four individuals, dressed in uniform blue attire, with varying skin tones and ethnicities, walked in an orderly fashion to stand before Isaac and the others. After a brief exchange with the person in charge, these thirty-four individuals, led by Hammond, officially stepped inside the Valor under the watchful eyes of the United Government.
Just as everything had been handed over and the Valor was preparing for takeoff, a cannonball streaked across the sky, directly hitting the side of the Valor's hull, then exploding with a roar. This sudden turn of events caught everyone present completely off guard, especially the United Government officials.
Before this, the entire aerospace base had undergone more than a dozen exhaustive scans, both inside and out. Forget bombs, not even a slingshot could have been brought in. They never imagined that someone would dare to attack the site of the first offline exchange between two civilizations.
"It's over." This chilling thought echoed in the minds of all United Government personnel. They dared not imagine if the Ishimura side were to hold them accountable, or even worse, if there were casualties among the Ishimura crew...
Before these officials could react, outside the aerospace base, several more cannonballs were fired, aimed directly at the seating platform, as well as the Valor and Isaac's group. In the cockpit, Marcus narrowed his eyes, instantly locking onto the three incoming cannonballs. Immediately, he summoned the zoanthrope, the Tyranid Hive Tyrant, and the Tyrant Xenomorph.
Outside the Valor, the zoanthrope hovering in the air unleashed a Psychic scream. The powerful Psychic energy instantly assailed the cannonballs mid-flight, detonating them remotely. Three bursts of fire erupted into the sky. But before the smoke could dissipate, more than a dozen additional cannonballs struck.
The zoanthrope and the Tyrant Xenomorph once again detonated them all remotely. At this point, in the spectator stands, the stunned officials and security personnel finally reacted and began to evacuate urgently towards the nearest safe house. Among them, several fearless individuals, risking being blown to smithereens, rushed to Isaac and his group, frantically trying to explain. They were terrified that the Ishimura would blame the United Government for the attack.
"Mr. Isaac, this... this absolutely has nothing to do with us," one person explained, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.
"No matter, no one on our side was injured." Isaac, being worldly, was not easily frightened by a few cannonballs; he had quickly ascertained the condition of the Ishimura crew. Seeing this, the few officials finally breathed a sigh of relief, but remained deeply worried.
"It must be those lunatics who refused to join the United Government! This is a crime against humanity!" one person gritted through clenched teeth.
"It's fine; this is a good opportunity to help you stabilize the situation." At the hatch, Marcus, looking calm, slowly disembarked. Beside the Valor, the Tyranid Hive Tyrant and the Tyrant Xenomorph roared skyward, then crashed through all obstacles, rushing out of the aerospace base. Marcus also activated his Psionic Teleportation skill. A quiet blue Psychic projection rapidly drifted towards the outside of the base.
Upon teleporting, Marcus arrived at the base's main gate. At this moment, outside the base, the Tyranid Warbeasts were frantically slaughtering several armored vehicles and tanks, crudely disguised with leaves and grass. The surfaces of these vehicles bore no national or factional insignia, and their occupants all appeared to be mercenaries. In addition to these vehicles, over a hundred mercenaries were firing wildly from the surrounding woods. Leaping onto a large tree, Marcus could see that in the distance, more and more tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry were approaching the aerospace base.
"Such a large-scale operation?" Marcus had initially thought this was just a small, isolated attack, but now, the targets visible before him already constituted the size of a small army. Relying solely on a few Tyranid Warbeasts might not be enough to eliminate all these enemies in a short time. After a moment of thought, Marcus raised his hand and summoned the Purifier Colossus he had recently drawn.
The Purifier Colossus, dozens of meters tall and appearing out of thin air, created an immense sense of pressure just by standing there. Its four mechanical legs, which accounted for most of its body height, caused the surrounding ground to tremble with each thunderous step.