Lin Xuan returned to the office, sat back down at his desk, and opened the system panel.
[Ding! Hidden mission completed. 50 energy points have been distributed. Host, please claim your reward: "Manhattan Experience".]
When he clicked to claim it, the scene before Lin Xuan's eyes instantly shattered. The dim lights of the Gymnasium were swallowed by a piercing white light. Immediately after, a sense of weightlessness hit him. When he opened his eyes again, Lin Xuan found himself suspended hundreds of meters in the air. Below him was a giant fortress encased in steel and concrete—the Manhattan Charlie Military Base.
The sky here was a sickly dark red, and the air was thick with the scent of viral spores and gunpowder. Lin Xuan looked down in shock; it was a real army. Thousands of fully armed Marine Corps soldiers, as well-equipped as Miller and Reed, were patrolling the base's perimeter in an orderly fashion. M1A2 Main Battle Tanks roared through the streets, and AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters circled in the sky, the sound of their rotors cutting through the air like thunder.
Peering through the thick blast walls, Lin Xuan saw the interior of the base. Over fifty Black Watch Soldiers in black tactical armor were gathered around tactical tables. The aura of each one was no less than that of the soldiers in Commander Xu Chuan's Red Light Squad—cold, lethal, and like a pack of black reapers waiting to hunt.
"Charlie Base Commander reporting. All systems are online. We are currently standing by. Over."
The Commander's steady and confident voice came through the communication channel, reflecting an absolute trust in their own military might.
"Red Crown, we have inspected all medical supplies. Everything is in order." A base clerk was checking off items with a notebook.
However, this tranquility lasted for only about ten minutes.
A piercing siren suddenly tore through the sky, and red warning lights dyed the entire base the color of blood. You see the defensive line on the perimeter instantly fall into chaos as flames soar into the sky.
"Enemy detected on the perimeter! Scramble the air units! Get the tank units into combat positions!" The Commander's voice rose sharply, carrying a hint of incredulous fury.
Lin Xuan saw a figure wearing a black leather jacket and a hood appear at the end of the street. Surrounded by thousands of soldiers and tanks, that figure looked as tiny as an ant, yet the pressure he radiated was like an approaching tsunami. That was the Prototype—Alex Mercer.
"All units, attention! You are authorized to engage the target! Permission to fire! Marines, open fire!"
Countless tongues of fire instantly wove into an airtight web of death. The main guns of the tanks let out deafening roars as shells exploded around Mercer. Dust and smoke billowed, but the figure did not fall; instead, he transformed into a bolt of black and red lightning and charged into the crowd.
Marine: "Base, this is E-1-A. Target lost. Repeat, target lost." A large number of Marine Corps soldiers were searching everywhere with their guns for the target.
Black Watch Soldier: "Zeus lost (codename for the suspect), attempting to search."
"Where is he...? Where did he go?" a muffled voice asked.
The battle outside also alerted the Black Watch Soldiers inside the base. They understood exactly what they were about to face. Soldiers rushed from the base onto the streets, trying to find suspicious targets. Some Black Watch Soldiers even opened fire and killed civilians hiding behind cover out of suspicion.
Base: "All units, Charlie Base is now on high alert. Enemy location unknown!"
Ten seconds later... several soldiers were suddenly shredded into pieces of meat.
"Enemy spotted on the base perimeter! Initiate lockdown! Lockdown the entire base!"
Alex Mercer's arms transformed into giant claws, every swing bringing a bloodbath. Those Marine Corps soldiers, who seemed so elite in Lin Xuan's eyes, were torn apart and consumed like paper toys before that man. Sixty-ton tanks were flipped over by his bare hands, then thrown like trash at the attack helicopters in the sky.
"All outposts, we are engaging the enemy. Deploy strike teams!"
"Visual confirmation on the enemy. It is heading toward us. Go to Code Red! Battle stations! Over!"
The Base Commander's voice trembled slightly, though it soon became calm again. Grenade launchers and anti-tank missiles in the soldiers' hands poured out frantically, but they still seemed pathetically weak before that monster.
"We are under attack and holding our ground. The enemy's offensive is very intense, Red Crown!" The Base Commander reported to the headquarters system.
"Military Base Charlie is under fire! The captain is preparing to issue evacuation orders and deploy heavy weaponry!"
The defensive line collapsed. You see Mercer charge into the interior of the base. Black biological tentacles erupted like vines from hell, instantly piercing through the thick armored doors.
"We are taking heavy damage! Red Crown! Give us some air support if you can!"
Virus Detection Drone: "Warning! Strike formation alert! Strike formation alert! Warning! Strike formation alert! Strike formation alert!" At that moment, a drone hovered over Mercer's head, its red light flashing.
"Beep, beep, beep...!"
"Authorized Strike Group 0-0-H, main attack helicopters are on the way. Over." Finally, the cold male voice of the headquarters' Red Crown system spoke.
Base: "Our outpost is about to be overrun! Red Crown! The base is severely damaged, and the captain is KIA... I will do everything I can to hold this position. Over..."
In the footage, the door to the command room was violently smashed open, and the hooded man walked in. The Black Watch Commander, ready to die for his cause, raised his rifle and fired at Mercer. He was then grabbed by the neck and lifted up by Mercer with one hand.
"Kill me! Eat me if you want! Just don't fucking infect me! Even if I fucking die, I'm still better than you!"
A second later, the Commander's vision was filled with black and red biological tentacles as he was consumed. The perspective then returned to a god's-eye view.
"All ground forces! Immediately switch to a tight defensive posture! Do you copy?"
"Military Base Charlie 3-2 calling Red Crown! We're finished! All lines of defense have fallen! Charlie is shut... bzzz-!"
Accompanied by the static of an electrical surge, the entire base began to collapse. Finally, the screen faded to black.
[Host has finished watching the footage. Reward: Command and Leadership skills increased.]
"Haa—!"
Lin Xuan bolted upright from his chair, gasping for air as cold sweat soaked his back. The Gymnasium was still dim, and the roars of the zombies outside sounded so distant and powerless. That slaughter, like a final judgment, was deeply etched into his mind, along with the feeling of helplessness before that man.
If I could also...
The system's cold voice reminded him, [Host, please do not have any unnecessary thoughts. To become an existence like Alex Mercer, you must die first and then be consumed and replaced by the virus.]
...Then never mind. He hadn't lived long enough yet.
[Ding! Current campus order stability: 75%]
[Achieve over 90% order stability. Reward: 500 Biomass]
[Campus fortification progress: 15%]
[Complete 100% of fortifications. Reward: 500 Biomass and Super Soldier *1]