Not long after Mark and his team descended, another fully armed Special Operations Team arrived nearby.
Their defensive gear was not as advanced as that of the Special Action Team, but their firepower was stronger. Everyone was equipped with CTAR-21 assault rifles.
In addition, they carried Smith & Wesson standard pistols, the usual sidearm for most S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
This Special Operations Team was clearly less specialized than the Special Action Team. They were normally responsible for frontal assault missions rather than infiltration, so their focus was on fire suppression.
Although they had undergone professional training, those working for the government ultimately could not compare to the private special forces of corporate enterprises who risked their lives for money.
When they arrived at the expedition team's camp, they immediately began searching the area.
They had rushed over after hearing gunfire, but upon arrival, they were shocked to find no one there.
As they took photos and searched for clues, they completely failed to notice three cloaked Predators watching them from behind.
As a race specialized in hunting, Predator armor not only possessed optical camouflage but also the ability to isolate thermal energy.
Earth's thermal infrared devices simply could not detect their presence.
The three Predators, who had been cloaked, were originally preparing to descend into the hole.
But then they saw another group arrive.
The Predators couldn't help exchanging glances.
This was already the fourth wave in the past half hour.
They couldn't be wiped out completely. They simply couldn't be wiped out completely.
"Captain?"
"Kill them."
Soon, the battle began again.
The Special Operations Team had fifteen members in total.
After a chaotic firefight, only five men were left, scrambling down the steel rope into the hole in panic.
What they saw next was a scene of utter devastation—shattered bodies and broken limbs littered the ground, with blood splattered everywhere.
And in the darkness, they saw countless pairs of eyes, large and small, staring back at them.
At this moment, they finally understood why no one was left above ground.
It turned out everyone had gone down into the hole.
Boom!!
Ten minutes later, when Luke arrived, the expedition camp was already deserted.
"Everyone, come forth!"
At Luke's command, the entire Shadow Ninja Corps instantly appeared before him and knelt on one knee.
"Immediately search within a one-kilometer radius for any clues related to the Thing and the Predators."
The Ninja Corps nodded in unison, then transformed into shadows and silently swept across the snow.
Although these Shadow Ninjas could not speak, they possessed a certain level of intelligence derived from their summoner.
Luke's Intelligence attribute had reached 6000, which meant the Shadow Ninjas also possessed intellect far beyond that of ordinary people.
At the very least, they could flawlessly carry out the tasks Luke Rowling assigned.
Luke opened the 3D map and began scanning the surroundings.
After scanning the area, he instantly teleported into a room in the camp.
A seemingly harmless husky was confined in a cage, looking at Luke curiously.
[Anomalous Object "The Thing" discovered. Gained 100 Anomaly Points. Current Anomaly Points: 1600 / 3700]
Luke subconsciously cast Sacred Shield and Rock Shield on himself, then used telekinesis to create an absolute air barrier around his body.
He made sure that not a single foreign particle could cling to him.
Although Luke was very confident in the resilience of his own cells, the cells of the Thing were far too terrifying.
If even a single one attached itself, it could rapidly replicate and assimilate human cells.
In a process completely undetectable to outsiders, it would transform the person into the Thing.
Even the assimilated individual would not realize what had happened, still believing they were a normal human.
There was only one way to tell the difference—by checking whether inorganic objects like earrings, dental fillings, or internal implants had been expelled from the body.
The Thing would eject these unassimilable items during the assimilation process.
However, by that point, the person had already completely lost their identity as a human.
The Thing would inherit most of the assimilated person's memories, because it even absorbed nerve cells.
In this way, it could easily blend into the population and rapidly expand its species.
Judging from the current situation, it was clear that this expedition camp had been completely wiped out. Only after setting up multiple layers of protection did Luke Rowling begin to study the Thing.
If he were a mad scientist, he would definitely have taken this creature back for research.
But Luke was different.
He preferred to nip such dangers in the bud, leaving them no chance to reproduce.
The husky seemed to sense that Luke was not a dog lover. Its originally harmless gaze suddenly turned cold.
In the next instant, its body burst open, extending several flexible, elongated limbs.
Its head swelled rapidly, splitting apart like a person infected by a parasitic beast, revealing sharp fangs and a long tongue inside.
Luke wasn't afraid—he simply felt disgusted.
He summoned two Shadow Ninjas and ordered them to test the Thing's capabilities.
Among the Nine Shadow Legions, the Shadow Ninjas were not especially outstanding in raw strength.
Their power was mainly related to the summoner, and possibly also to the summoner's degree of darkness.
Once, a Shadow Ninja summoned by Xiaoyu had even kicked Jackie Chan away.
But the ninjas summoned by Shendu were nothing more than roadside thugs—any ordinary person with some strength could beat them.
Luke wasn't sure whether the Shadow Ninjas he had summoned were Royal Guards or Opium Banner soldiers.
It wasn't until the two female ninjas each stomped on the Thing, causing it to burst apart, then pulled out grenades from who knew where and blew it into pieces—blood splattering everywhere, utterly brutal—that Luke was finally certain.
His Shadow Ninja Corps were the Founding Imperial Army, and their combat effectiveness was top-tier.
But doing this alone was still not enough to truly kill the Thing.
Luke ordered the female ninjas to withdraw, then casually summoned Amaterasu and threw it out. The iron cage and the Thing were instantly consumed by the black flames.
He injected additional energy, allowing Amaterasu to engulf the entire room.
Only after confirming that not a single cell remained—and checking with the 3D body map—did he finally relax.
"It seems my minimap is the natural enemy of the Thing. If it were anyone else, even carpet-bombing this place wouldn't necessarily guarantee its complete eradication."
Luke led the Ninja Corps down into the hole.
They were immediately surrounded by a group of monsters parasitized by the Thing.
After being wiped out by the Umbrella Special Action Team, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Operations Team, and the Predators, most of the Thing's parasitic hosts here had already been eliminated.
However, some severed hands and legs of the Thing were still alive.
Moreover, Luke saw these remnants extending countless tentacles, merging together and actually transforming into a gigantic, bloated, tumor-like Mega Thing.
Dozens of swollen, agonized faces roared across its surface.
Its many arms and legs writhed constantly, making Luke momentarily feel as though he had stepped into the world of Cthulhu.
"Come to think of it, the Thing isn't actually related to Cthulhu, is it?"
In terms of sheer grotesqueness, only Cthulhu's warped creatures could rival this abomination.
Worried about any unforeseen complications, Luke Rowling raised his hand and unleashed a massive surge of Amaterasu flames. They landed on the Mega Thing and immediately ignited, burning fiercely as if the creature had been drenched in oil.
In just a few seconds, the monster was reduced to ashes amid its piercing screams.
Luke controlled the Amaterasu flames, letting them spread deeper into the tunnel.
He expanded the entire passage several times over before finally extinguishing the fire.
[Killed anomalous object "The Thing." Gained 1000 Anomaly Points. Current Anomaly Points: 2600 / 3700]
"Killing the Thing only gives 1000 Anomaly Points? That's a lot less than I expected."
Luke Rowling frowned slightly, but after a moment's thought, he understood.
After all, this thing was both terrifying and very weak.
As long as someone had a flamethrower, they could wipe out every last one of the Things.
Its most frightening trait was its ability to assimilate and replace you without you ever realizing it.
All of its strengths were invested in assimilation and reproduction.
Its own offensive and defensive power was no greater than that of an ordinary person.
Luke continued forward, burning everything in his path.
Even an arsonist at heart would have to concede defeat after seeing this.
[Discovered and killed anomalous object Xenomorph. Gained 200 Anomaly Points. Current Anomaly Points: 2800 / 3700]
"Hm? What did I just burn?"
Luke glanced at the drifting ashes and continued deeper inside.
...
Meanwhile, inside the pyramid,
Special Operations Agent Mark leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
All of his other teammates had long since been killed—either in the siege by the Things or in surprise attacks by the Xenomorphs.
One of his companions he had been forced to shoot himself.
Whenever he thought about the Thing's terrifying assimilation speed, a wave of dread washed over Mark.
"Fuck, fuck! Are there any normal people left in here? What the hell are all these things?"
Mark knew a little about Southeast Asian culture and had heard of "Gu raising"—the practice of cultivating poisonous creatures.
But he believed that even the most horrifying Gu grounds couldn't compare to a ten-thousandth of this place.
Invisible, mysterious butchers.
Ferocious Things that assimilated everything.
Phantom-like Xenomorph killers lurking in the darkness…
If not for his powerful sixth sense—allowing him to narrowly escape death and kill his enemies again and again—he wouldn't have survived this long.
Mark silently counted the few remaining bullets in his pistol, his heart sinking.
If he were facing ordinary people, even elite special forces soldiers, he would be confident in fighting his way out with nothing but a dagger.
But this time, his enemies were a horde of monsters.
He had no idea how much longer he could hold on.
For a moment, he even began to doubt whether he was still himself.
Mark didn't dare to look back.
He could only keep moving forward.
Along the way, he killed three more Xenomorphs.
At last, Mark encountered another living human—a Black woman.
But… was she really human?
The moment he had personally killed his companion, the already fragile bridge of trust between people had completely collapsed.
"Shh!"
The woman, Wood, signaled for Mark to be careful. She also didn't dare approach him, instead pointing toward a gap ahead, as if warning him of something.
Mark's heart sank. Damn it—had he stumbled into the boss room?
He cautiously moved to the doorway and peeked inside.
What the...
Monster eggs, waiting to hatch, were neatly arranged around the edges of the chamber.
Deeper inside, there were more than a dozen captured humans.
Several of these captives had their bodies torn open, revealing long, segmented limbs.
Even more alarming, not far away stood a gigantic, oversized Xenomorph bound in chains. She appeared to be the Monster Queen, possessing a massive reproductive organ that continuously laid eggs.
But at this moment, the Queen—who should have been invincible—was wailing.
In front of her stood at least thirty Xenomorphs, their backs to her as they guarded the Queen.
Facing them were another forty or so Xenomorphs, crouched low and slowly closing in.
Mark saw it with his own eyes—their bodies writhed from within, sprouting even more razor-sharp tails.
The good news was that the monsters were fighting among themselves.
The bad news was that the two types of monsters were merging into something even more terrifying.
He didn't know whether the Thing had assimilated the Xenomorphs, or whether the Xenomorphs had parasitized the Thing.
But he did know one thing—if these abominations escaped, humanity would face an extinction-level crisis.
"God above, if you can hear my prayer, please freeze this place completely… or just drop a massive meteor and flatten it!"
Mark could only pray.
Until—he saw light.
Blazing, dazzling fire!
"What is that?"
Mark and the woman turned to look behind them at the same time.
There, a dazzling sea of dark-purple fire was rapidly advancing.
That flame was terrifying. It burned straight through the thick stone walls of the pyramid, ignoring every obstacle and reducing everything in its path to nothingness.
And in front of that sea of fire, panicked "humans" running on all fours, along with screeching Xenomorphs, were fleeing toward them at the fastest speed they had ever managed.
The strange humans realized that with only four limbs, they couldn't outrun the Xenomorphs, so four more legs sprouted from their sides.
Running wildly on six legs and two arms, they actually overtook the Xenomorphs, closing in under the horrified gaze of Mark and Wood.
Then… they ignored the two humans entirely and plunged headfirst into the chamber where the Xenomorph Queen confrontation was taking place.
"What the hell?"
Mark and the woman were stunned. Then they saw the Xenomorphs rush in as well.
They even caught sight of three struggling figures.
They were the hunters of this mission—the Predators.
Although Mark couldn't see them, he immediately realized that these three were the mysterious butchers behind the invisible slaughter.
Yet now, those three terrifying entities were running in panic, completely ignoring the two humans as they desperately forced their way through the doorway.
And within that sea of fire, they saw a sight they would never forget.
A man was walking forward at an unhurried pace, surrounded by the blazing flames.
He radiated golden divine light, looking exactly like a god.
Mark and Wood muttered in stunned disbelief, "Did The God Answer Our Prayers?!!"
____
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