The cold wind howled, snow and ice swirling.
A specially-designed military helicopter descended from the sky with a loud rumble, its rotors stirring up flakes of ice that danced in the air.
"Professor Carl!"
Major General Hausman was a burly white man, shielding his forehead with one hand as he shouted:
"We've arrived."
His shout was barely audible over the sound of the spinning rotors.
"Hmm."
Carl nodded and leapt out from the cabin.
His agile posture and nimble movements made Hausman's eyebrows raise slightly before he retracted his gaze.
It seemed this Professor Carl was neither as old nor as genteel as his demeanor suggested.
This was the Polar Regions.
A temporary camp set up by the military.
Spotlights stood around, sweeping back and forth over the camp, and some uniformed staff were busy.
"Mr. Austin."
Leading Carl to a tent, Hausman gestured with his hand:
"This is Professor Carl, an expert in biological genetics. Professor, this is Mr. Austin, who is sponsoring this operation."
The collaboration between the Federation Military and various commercial groups is a well-known fact, with some commercial groups even possessing their own independent armed forces.
Armies,
also need to eat.
The salary issued by the Federation alone is likely not enough to cover the cost of recruitment, cooperation is inevitable.
"Austin?" Carl extended his hand for a light shake:
"I've seen your interviews on TV, you're hailed as the most talented entrepreneur in the Federation over the past century. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise." Austin, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a tailored suit, and with a thin sword at his waist, was dressed somewhat eccentrically yet exuded a heroic aura, quite different from ordinary businessmen.
He smiled as he spoke:
"Professor Carl, your research in genetics is truly astonishing, I've always wanted to visit you."
"It's a privilege to have you here."
"Even without the military's request, the fee alone was worth the trip." Carl chuckled:
"Where is it?"
"Inside!"
Both Hausman and Austin gestured for him to proceed.
"Please, Professor!"
Behind the tent, there was a large base tunneling into the ice, hidden from the outside because it was underground.
The ice layer of the base was thick, but beneath it there was still water, separated from the base by a strong, transparent material.
Carl touched the wall.
"This is the latest composite material, capable of withstanding low temperatures, with its hardness increasing as the temperature drops."
Austin explained:
"Useless elsewhere, but perfect for the Polar Regions where the temperature stays below freezing."
Carl slowly nodded.
Entering the base, personnel in safety suits were busy working.
The most conspicuous thing here was a black sphere placed in the center, completely frozen.
"Professor."
Once here, Austin assumed a leadership role, opening a screen to enlarge the sphere's details:
"This thing fell from the sky several days ago, suspected to be a meteorite, but we've analyzed organic matter from it..."
"It might be a kind of organism."
"Using several detection methods like isotope decay, we found this organism may have existed hundreds of millions of years ago."
Hundreds of millions of years ago?
Carl's gaze shifted slightly as he opened the handed-over documents.
"Fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago aren't rare, but this thing... you say it might still be alive?"
"Yes."
Austin's expression was grave:
"It's still alive!"
"As long as the temperature is above a certain level, it will awaken; below that, it enters hibernation. We're unsure of its potential danger, so we've asked Professor Carl to take a look."
"Hmm." Carl nodded, put down the documents, and entered a small laboratory with a piece of black stone the size of a fingernail.
The black stone was placed in a sturdy alloy container, with various instruments observing its reactions inside.
As temperature increased, the black stone would liquefy and dissolve.
Temperature decreases,
and it would solidify.
"We've tried."
The military's Major General Hausman spoke with a grave tone:
"This thing is extremely hard and heat-resistant, only large machinery can slowly grind it down."
"And..."
"It has very strong aggressiveness!"
"Aggressiveness?" Carl looked up:
"Did someone get hurt?"
"Well..." Hausman's face changed slightly:
"Military secret. It's inconvenient to disclose at the moment."
It seemed people were either killed or injured personnel were under illegal surveillance, Carl understood.
"I need some time and some equipment."
Stretching a bit, he said:
"Is there a laboratory set up for me, I've brought some things with me which might be useful later."
"Yes."
"Your laboratory is this way."
A few hours later.
Carl used tweezers to place a hair-like object in a petri dish, observing the detailed changes.
"A very strange organism, bearing characteristics of both carbon-based and silicon-based lifeforms, with a terrifying assimilation ability."
"Hmm..."
He looked up, lit up a screen:
"This is its true form."
An immediately interested Austin, awoken from his daze, looked at the screen thoughtfully:
"Parasite?"
"Pretty much."
Carl nodded:
"That rock contains nearly three million parasites, each one capable of assimilating a lifeform."
"Once assimilated, it can extract nutrients from the host to divide and reproduce, expanding the population."
"Assimilation and division are its genetic instincts, and this process seems irreversible at the moment."
?
Austin's face turned pale.
This was no longer intriguing but frightening, terrifying.
"Transcendent..."
"Professor Carl, how can we kill it?"
"A certain level of energy shock can achieve it, but ordinary people definitely don't have the means." Carl shook his head:
"Lowering the temperature can decrease its biological activity, we should be thankful it landed in the Polar Regions."
Coincidence?
Definitely not!
This thing is here to exterminate all life, a residual instinct of the Gods for sure.
"Destroy it!"
Austin growled softly:
"We must destroy it!"
"Yes."
Carl nodded:
"If this thing leaves the base and revives, it will soon become rampant, destroying everything."
"They are as small as a hair, capable of hiding in bread, in soil, completely undetectable."
"Also..."
"This piece of stone isn't complete, someone must have taken a part of it, we need to retrieve it immediately."
Incomplete?
Austin's eyes flickered:
"The Polar Research Team took some samples!"
He turned around and quickly walked to his residence, dialing a certain phone number.
Watching Austin's departing figure, Carl lightly shook his head, looking thoughtfully at the laboratory in front of him.
"From beyond the heavens..."
"Exotic Realm Gods!"
"It seems the external Gods can no longer sit idly by, the Child of Destruction inherited the Bloodline's faith in poison, and can reproduce offspring, if it expands to other worlds..."
"Twilight of the Gods is upon us!"
*
*
*
Cloud Shield University.
Material Research Institute.
It was already evening, and some researchers still hadn't left, carefully observing a few black bugs.
"Professor."
A female graduate student spoke:
"Through our research, we discovered that the black bugs parasitize inside the host and can enhance the host's various physical attributes."
"This is a groundbreaking discovery!"
Her voice couldn't hide her excitement.
If the material that enhances physical fitness could be extracted, it would surely shake the entire biological science community.
"Then..."
The white-haired professor spoke:
"Once parasitized, is the creature the black bug or the original host?"
"This..." The girl was stunned.
"Peng!"
"Not good, the parasitized mouse has smashed the glass, bitten Newman, and escaped."
"What?"
