The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

The Jiaolong submersible smoothly broke through the sea surface, and with the assistance of Shen Ge's [Leaving the Ghost Domain], the return journey was exceptionally smooth.

The "Wriggling Nest," which had fallen into hibernation due to the destruction of its core, could no longer pose any obstacle to them.

Although there are still many "questions" to be answered in this operation, such as the "empty shell" of the strange tumor heart and the huge, bizarre "artificial object" deeply embedded in flesh and blood, Shen Ge has now completed the main objective of this trip, and the mission can be considered a perfect success.

A heavily guarded secret naval port on the eastern coast.

As the massive Jiaolong submersible slowly approached the dock, General Zhao Xinhong, accompanied by a team of personal guards, was already waiting there.

When this veteran general, who had spent his life in the military, saw Shen Ge walk off the cabin unharmed, a rare look of relief appeared on his usually tense face.

There was no unnecessary small talk.

Shen Ge solemnly handed a portable, sealed container, about the size of a suitcase and emitting a faint blue light, to Zhao Xinhong.

“There are three core samples of the ‘Wriggling Nest’ here. I have already notified Rong City and asked the General to immediately arrange for the highest level of security to airlift them there. The remaining two samples will be handed over to the Dajing Research Department for study.” Although Shen Ge’s tone was calm, anyone could tell the weight of his words.

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhao Xinhong nodded heavily, knowing full well that the box might contain the only hope to resolve the catastrophic crisis in Dajing.

He immediately ordered his guards to send two elite soldiers in heavy anti-cybernetic combat suits forward. They carefully took the box, which seemed to weigh a ton, and escorted it onto an armed transport plane equipped with an independent anti-cybernetic shield.

After doing all this, Shen Ge did not leave immediately. He looked at Zhao Xinhong and said in a deep voice, "General, there is another piece of intelligence that may be more important than this sample."

Half an hour later, in the highest-level confidential conference room of the port base.

A detailed report on "deep-sea man-made objects," personally compiled by Shen Ge, was projected onto a giant holographic screen.

When the enormous sphere, over fifty meters in diameter, made entirely of an unknown dark gold alloy, and with non-human style energy veins engraved on its surface, appeared in the center of the conference room as a 360-degree holographic image, everyone present, including Zhao Xinhong, subconsciously held their breath.

"...According to my investigation, the entire 'Wriggling Nest,' including this enormous and bizarre monster of the King-level, is like a meticulously designed and cultivated 'bioreactor.' Its sole purpose seems to be to provide this metal sphere with a continuous supply of bizarre energy." Shen Ge's voice echoed in the quiet conference room.

The faces of the high-ranking officials in Beijing present were filled with shock and disbelief.

At almost the same time, thousands of kilometers away, at the Quanlongshan underground research base in Rongshi City.

Li Xiang's eyes were shining as he stared at the screen in front of him, completely absorbed in the almost manic excitement unique to technical personnel.

"Man-made monsters! And on such a massive scale! Look at these energy channels, their design logic completely exceeds our existing theories of monster energy engineering! This... this is a completely new technology tree!" He was like Columbus who had discovered a new continent, pointing to the huge metal sphere on the screen, and excitedly said to Jiang Peiwen and the group of researchers beside him.

But he quickly calmed down, and as a top scientist, he immediately realized the immense difficulty of bringing this thing back.

He connected with Shen Ge and quickly presented a series of critical engineering problems: "Shen Ge, getting this thing back will probably be very difficult!"

"First, peeling. According to your feedback, the regenerative ability of the 'Wriggling Nest' is terrifying. Conventional cutting methods will not be able to cut it open before it is wrapped up again by newly grown flesh."

"Second, transportation. The density of this unknown alloy is completely unknown. Even if you can get it out, its weight... can you withstand it? How to get it out of the strange space is also a problem. At the same time, how much engineering work would be required to retrieve it from the deep sea at a depth of 10,000 meters?"

"Third, and most importantly, safety! Does this thing itself possess any unknown, corrosive energy? Could it be a new type of contaminant, like the 'Dead Strains'? Bringing it back to human society before we understand these things is far too risky!"

Every question Li Xiang asked hit the nail on the head.

Inside the conference room in Dajing, Zhao Xinhong, Long Zhenguo, and other officials from the Special Affairs Department were contemplating a different issue.

Who is its owner?

Long Zhenguo tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes grave: "Is it some strange organization we've never encountered before? Or... a relic of some prehistoric civilization?"

If it's the former, it's understandable. But if it's the latter, then wouldn't the argument that "the eerie are monsters that have appeared in recent decades" be overturned?

“More importantly,” Zhao Xinhong continued, his sharp, hawk-like eyes sweeping over everyone present, “how long can this information be kept secret? Once it’s leaked, how will those jackals in America react?”

A vast treasure trove representing unknown technologies, but also a hot potato that could ignite global conflict.

Although the tech enthusiasts in Rongshi and the strategists in Dajing had completely different perspectives, they quickly reached an indisputable consensus:

Regardless of how that mysterious "artificial object" is dealt with in the future, the most priority, most important, and only correct task at present is to use the core sample brought back by Shen Ge to resolve the imminent crisis of the "dead bacteria" as soon as possible!
Shen Ge suggested that the Rong City Special Policy Department begin the core research on inhibitors, but Long Zhenguo was clearly reluctant to place all his hopes on Rong City.

This is Dajing's own "war"!
“I agree,” Zhao Xinhong promised in a deep voice. “I will immediately order the mobilization of the top biological and materials science experts at the Dajing Research Institute to form a joint team, on standby 24 hours a day, to fully cooperate with Rong City’s ‘Sequence-X’ project!”

Zhao Xinhong made the decision, and Long Zhenguo had no right to object.

At this moment, a joint scientific research effort spanning the core research forces of the two major special operations departments in the north and south officially began.

The underground research base at Quanlong Mountain in Rong City has entered a state of near-wartime alert.

The air was filled with the faint warmth of the instruments and the aroma of caffeine. Along the corridor, researchers, their faces hunched and eyes deep-set, were everywhere, yet their spirits were high.

Inside the core laboratory of the base, a huge holographic conference screen was divided into dozens of small windows. On one side were Li Xiang, Jiang Peiwen, and their top team from Rong City;

On the other side were several elderly professors with gray hair from the Dajing Research Institute and young PhDs who had already made a name for themselves in their respective fields.

The top "brains" of the two special operations departments in the north and south are now closely connected for the same goal.

"The core sequence analysis of 'The Creeping Nest' is 97% complete!" Jiang Peiwen's voice rang out, and countless complex eerie energy sequences refreshed like a waterfall on the screen in front of her.

"Its 'regeneration' properties are more powerful and pure than we expected. The problem now is how to stably integrate it with the 'decomposition' energy we have extracted from the body of the third-order 'devouring parasitic monster'."

On the other end of the screen, an elderly professor from Beijing specializing in genetic engineering of bizarre creatures immediately offered advice: "We can't splice them directly! Their bizarre energy structures are incompatible; forcibly fusing them will only lead to sequence collapse. I suggest using a 'carrier' approach. We need to find a structurally stable and highly compatible bizarre energy sequence as a 'skeleton' to carry the two functional sequences." "That's right!" Li Xiang slammed his hand on the table. This idea coincided with his own, and he readily accepted the job.

His team then began to focus on a core challenge: how to design and manufacture a "carrier" that could stably support and activate this "artificial eerie sequence".

“This is our initial design model,” Li Xiang said, pulling up a 3D design drawing.

"A specially designed psychic mechanical insect. Its shell will be made of a shape memory alloy mixed with 'psychic turtle' bone powder, and the internal miniature psychic engine will be responsible for providing the startup energy for 'Sequence-X'."

Looking at this miniature creation that shimmered with the light of science fiction, even the well-informed experts from Beijing couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

At this moment, the wisdom of the North and South underwent a dramatic chemical reaction. The boundless creativity of Fuzhou City and the profound theoretical foundation and materials science knowledge of Beijing City formed a perfect complement. One technical problem after another was raised and then overcome time and time again.

half a month later.

When the first batch of the pale gold, liquid gold-like medicine was extracted from the sophisticated production line, the entire laboratory erupted in an uncontrollable cheer.

The first generation of "Sequence-X" achievement—"Strain Inhibitor-Type I"—has been born!

Who would have thought that this seemingly slime-like liquid potion is actually a new type of man-made "parasitic monster"!
Inside the Dajing Operations Command Center, looking at the suppression report on the screen with a success rate of over 90%, Long Zhenguo's brows, which had been furrowed for more than half a month, finally relaxed.

Beside him, General Zhao Xinhong, who had remained silent, suddenly flashed a sharp, hawk-like light in his eyes.

He abruptly stood up, picked up the military cap on the table that represented the highest command of the "First Pair of Ghost Army Groups," put it on his head, and his voice, loud as a bell, resounded throughout the entire command center:
"Pass on my order! Activate the highest level of combat readiness plan—'Dawn'!"

"All participating troops, proceed to the designated areas immediately! Lift communication silence and broadcast live across all channels to the entire nation—no, to the world!"

"I want everyone to see that on the land of the Great Celestial Empire, no 'strange plague' is insurmountable!"

The old general's words were resounding and carried an unwavering, iron-willed determination.

This is not just a crackdown operation, but a "show of force" to declare our resolve to all forces, both domestic and foreign!
……

As dawn broke, the edge of the vast gray, polluted area in the western F district of Beijing was already completely surrounded by a torrent of steel.

Hundreds of the latest "Azure Dragon" and "Black Tortoise" class anti-monster mechs stood in neat formation. Their cannons and armor reflected a cold, gleaming light in the morning sun. Behind the mech force were tens of thousands of fully armed elite soldiers of the "First Anti-Monster Army Group," their chilling aura soaring into the sky.

General Zhao Xinhong's command vehicle was parked at the very front of the position. Instead of staying in the safe rear command post, he chose to go to the front line with his soldiers.

"General, drones have detected that the activity of the fungal carpet within the sealed-off area is increasing abnormally!" an officer urgently reported.

"It seems... it sensed our gathering!"

Before the words were even finished, a strange change suddenly occurred on that desolate gray land!

The originally flat fungal carpet began to writhe and bulge violently, like a living thing, forming huge, constantly pulsating tumors.

The tumor burst open, and out emerged grotesque, fused creatures that had been completely assimilated and transformed by the fungal carpet!

They retain the bizarre general outlines they had when they were animals, but their bodies are covered with a grayish-white, keratin-like fungal carpet armor.

Their eyes were filled with a deathly gray-white, like manipulated puppets, as they charged toward the human positions!

"Fire!"

Zhao Xinhong gave the order.

In an instant, ten thousand cannons roared!
The missile pods on the shoulders of the heavy anti-monster mechs burst forth, drawing arcs across the sky.

The large-caliber paranormal cannon roared deafeningly, knocking over a fourth-tier paranormal being of fusion size that was charging at the forefront.

However, these terrifying "creep golems" are far more difficult to deal with than imagined. They feel no pain, and conventional physical damage has little effect on them. One "creep serpent," its body blasted in half, still dragged its mangled remains and writhed wildly toward the position.

What's more troublesome is that after they die, their bodies don't disappear; instead, they decompose rapidly, turning into a more active fungal carpet that further expands the area of ​​contamination.

"Drone formation! Execute 'Sweet Rain' Plan!"

At the command of headquarters, dozens of heavy drones with wingspans of over twenty meters, emitting a low hum, sped across the battlefield.

Countless atomizing nozzles beneath the wings sprayed down the golden "strain inhibitor-type I" like the sweet rain of dawn.

A magical scene happened.

The moment those ferocious "creep golems" came into contact with the golden potion, their charging speed visibly slowed down, and the gray-white creep armor on their bodies began to show signs of "dormant" over a large area, making their movements sluggish and stiff.

"Mech unit, phase two! Liquid nitrogen suppression!"

The "Black Tortoise" heavy mech unit, which had been waiting in advance, launched a counter-offensive with heavy steps and under sparse firepower.

Instead of using flamethrowers, they were equipped with giant cannons that spewed out cryogenic liquid nitrogen.

"laugh--!"

A white, cold front swept across the land. (End of Chapter)