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

Those "fungal carpet puppets" paralyzed by the inhibitors were instantly frozen into ice sculptures, and the large areas of fungal carpet beneath them became as fragile as glass.

"Engineering Team! Keep up!"

The final moment has arrived.

Hundreds of specialized engineering mechs equipped with massive alloy buckets and cutting arms followed behind the combat mechs. With their enormous buckets, they scooped up the frozen, brittle, and hard fungal carpets and bizarre ice sculptures from the soil, placing them into specially made leaded alloy containers whose inner walls were coated with "Silent Jellyfish" gel.

This was a textbook example of multi-unit coordinated combat, with reconnaissance, suppression, assault, and mopping-up operations seamlessly integrated into every step.

Through satellite footage broadcast globally, the world's attention was focused on this battlefield.

What they saw was no longer the panic and helplessness of humanity in the face of the unknown and bizarre, but a disciplined, well-equipped, and tactically sound steel army, using the power of industry and the wisdom of science to easily "eliminate" a bizarre disaster that could destroy a city.

"The 'elites' of America are still getting their ass kicked by a few thick worms, while the warriors of Europe are still suspecting each other about who the traitor is..."

A foreign military observer watching the live stream expressed his heartfelt sentiments on social media: "And in the East, they have already begun to 'reap' disaster."

As the sun set, General Zhao Xinhong stood on the command vehicle, gazing at the land that was being gradually purified. His weathered face showed no joy of victory, only a deep solemnity.

He knew this was only the beginning of humanity's counterattack against the supernatural, but this battle was enough to declare a fact to the whole world:
In this war between humanity and the bizarre, the Great Celestial Empire has already taken the lead over humanity.

The victory of "Operation Dawn" brought complete peace of mind to the Great Celestial Empire, which had been gripped by anxiety due to the "dead silence strain."

The city's order was quickly restored under the operation of the powerful state apparatus.

Two days later.

The Special Operations Department of the Great Capital, the Supreme Intelligence Analysis Center.

The intelligence analysts here have been working continuously for seventy-two hours. On the huge holographic planetarium, red arrows representing unusual military movements are slowly pointing from different directions to the same coordinate—the high seas where the "deep-sea crawling nest" is located.

"report!"

An intelligence analyst's voice broke the silence: "Confirmed, the USS Connecticut, a Seawolf-class stealth attack submarine belonging to the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, has deviated from its original patrol route and is speeding towards the target area. Accompanying it are two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers equipped with deep-sea detection equipment."

Another analyst then reported: "The Mediterranean detachment of the Europa Joint Fleet, codenamed 'Trident,' has also set sail, citing 'conducting a long-range anti-spy infiltration exercise.' The destination of the exercise highly overlaps with our target sea area."

The news eventually leaked out.

Despite the highest level of intelligence blockade imposed by the Great Celestial Empire, the unusual voyage of the "Jiaolong" submersible, the large-scale military mobilization at the secret naval port on the eastern coast, and the subsequent intense energy fluctuations in that sea area that could be detected even by satellites... these clues could not escape the notice of those ubiquitous spy satellites and intelligence networks.

"The Great Celestial Empire discovered a sleeping King-level monster in the deep sea and obtained some mysterious item from it"—this half-true, half-false rumor was like lighting the fuse of a powder keg, instantly causing an uproar among the highest levels of international anti-monster organizations.

Washington, D.C., underground bunker, the ACIA emergency strategic conference room.

The ashtray was piled high with cigars.

A gray-haired, hawkish general slammed a battle damage report onto the table, the heavy mahogany conference table thudding loudly.

"Gentlemen, look at this!"

His voice, like a roaring lion, echoed in the closed meeting room.

“Last month, our ‘Sentinel’ drone units deployed in the ‘Anti-Strange City-State’ system on the West Coast suffered a loss rate of over 40% due to underground sabotage by the ‘Iron-Eating Strange Worms’! Our high-tech advantage is being eroded from the very foundation by those damned bugs!”

He took a deep drag on his cigar, the smoke swirling around his ashen face.

"And now, the Easterners have not only resolved a bizarre biological contamination incident that we assessed as 'city-destroying,' but they may even have brought back something from the bizarre lair of a bizarre king-level creature that we've never heard of before!"

He glanced around at the White House officials and intelligence chiefs present, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I don't care what that 'thing' is, whether it's black technology, a new sample of supernatural energy, or a 'key' to control the supernatural! It must be in our hands! Activate the 'Deep Sea Lookout' contingency plan immediately. I want the USS Connecticut to be the first to reach that area!"

Meanwhile, in Geneva, at the headquarters of the International Organization to Combat Tricks (GOC), the United Nations Palace.

Unlike the tense atmosphere in the United States, the atmosphere here is more "civilized," but the air is still thick with the smell of gunpowder.

A representative from France, wearing a family ring on his finger, gently swirled his coffee cup, his tone calm yet sharp: "Ladies and gentlemen, we must admit that our friends from the East have once again surpassed us. We congratulate them on their achievements."

He paused, put down his coffee cup, and looked at the representatives from various countries present.

"However, according to Article 7 of the Global Mutual Defense Treaty against Strange Threats, any member state that discovers an 'unrecorded Progenitor-level/King-level Strange Being' is obligated to report it to the GOC Council. This is because it is no longer a security issue for a single country, but a common threat to the survival of all mankind."

His gaze sharpened: "I propose that we immediately send a formal 'note' to the Great Celestial Empire. The wording can be tactful, but the attitude must be clear. We demand that they share all relevant intelligence and 'suggest' that the GOC take the lead in organizing an international joint fleet composed of elite forces from each member state to jointly conduct 'scientific research' and 'security supervision' of the area."

The so-called "joint supervision" is nothing more than a hypocritical pretense that disguises robbery as "international cooperation."

A week later.

The sea, which had just returned to calm, became "lively" again.

The American fleet was the first to arrive. Under the high-sounding pretext of "hunting out-of-control high-level maritime monsters and maintaining the safety of international waterways," they brazenly drew a vast "temporary military restricted area" on the nautical chart and imposed a unilateral military blockade on the area.

GOC's "note" arrived as scheduled, filled with an arrogant tone that left no room for refusal.

Dajing, the highest military command center.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was incredibly oppressive.

"This is outrageous!" Long Zhenguo slammed his fist on the table, making a dull thud. "What are they trying to do? Armed robbery?"

General Zhao Xinhong remained silent, staring at the ship lights on the nautical chart that flashed with the identification signals of other countries, his eyes as cold as ice.

Just then, a calm voice rang out in the conference room via encrypted communication.

"General."

It's Shen Ge.

After returning to Rong City, he kept a close eye on the development of the situation through Cheng Shengnan's intelligence network.

"Just a bunch of flies, but their buzzing is really annoying."

His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced all the noisy discussions in the meeting room.

"Leave this matter to me."

Zhao Xinhong looked up at Shen Ge's young yet profound face on the screen and asked in a deep voice, "What do you plan to do?"

“It’s simple,” Shen Ge’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Don’t they like to draw up ‘restricted areas’? Then I’ll help them turn that sea into a real ‘death zone’.”

……

Night, Western Pacific.

The sea was as black as ink, and the stars and moon were without light.

Ten thousand meters above the ground, a jet-black, ultra-high-altitude stealth reconnaissance aircraft, resembling a deep-sea manta ray, silently sliced ​​through the thin stratosphere, like a shadow merging into the night.

Inside the cabin, Shen Ge, dressed in a simple black high-altitude combat suit, was checking the personal terminal on his wrist.

The image above shows the real-time deployment of the beautiful American task force below, with each dot representing a war machine worth billions of dollars.

"Arrived at the designated airspace." The pilot's voice came through the internal communication, tinged with tension. Even for the most elite ace pilots, single-handedly penetrating a carrier strike group at its highest combat readiness is an adrenaline-pumping event.

"I understand." Shen Ge's voice was calm and even.

He stood up and walked to the drop hatch on the belly of the plane.

The hatch slowly opened, revealing churning clouds and unfathomable darkness below. A violent gust of air rushed in, but was gently separated by an invisible barrier a meter in front of him.

With just one step, Shen Ge entered the sky at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

The figure was instantly swallowed by darkness.

The two drivers exchanged a glance, opened their mouths, and almost blurted out that classic line—

"Did he have a parachute?"

In fact, Shen Ge did not wear any parachute.

As the special ability was activated, Shen Ge's body quickly became transparent during the fall, completely blending into the surrounding environment.

All possible sounds, heat, and even energy fluctuations caused by high-speed friction with the air are completely absorbed and neutralized by the properties of being "silent" and "non-flammable".

He was like an invisible raindrop, silently passing through the clouds.

Below, the fleet that thought itself impregnable was still conducting its routine patrol.

The massive phased-array radar on the destroyer kept rotating, while the passive sonar array of the nuclear submarine USS Connecticut was quietly listening for any unusual movement from the deep sea.

However, the space-based and sea-based integrated anti-espionage network, built at a cost of trillions of dollars and touted as being impenetrable even to a seagull, has now become the world's most expensive decoration.

They showed no reaction to the shadow that was descending at freefall speed.

"Pfft."

With a barely audible sound, Shen Ge's body sank into the cold seawater, splashing up a tiny wave.

His first target was the fleet's most lethal fangs, and also its most vulnerable "eyes"—the USS Connecticut attack submarine.

In the deep sea, Shen Ge's speed was even faster than a torpedo.

Like an invisible undercurrent, he easily bypassed the submarine's external sonar and instantly approached its thick alloy hull.

Inside the submarine, in the command center.

The captain was leisurely sipping his coffee, watching the calm green light on the sonar screen.

everything is normal.

Just then, the weapons fire control officer beside him suddenly exclaimed, "Report, Captain! The fire control system has malfunctioned; all weapons are unable to lock on!"

Immediately afterward, the sonar officer let out a scream as if he'd seen a ghost: "God! The sonar array is completely black! My God! We've become blind and deaf!"

Tsk.

In the darkness, it seemed as if a voice was complaining, "What kind of weird translation is this?"

The captain's coffee cup clattered to the ground. He stared in horror at the screens that had instantly gone black, a chill running from his tailbone to the top of his head.

Unbeknownst to him, in those brief ten seconds, outside the submarine, Shen Ge's right hand had disregarded the special alloy that was tens of centimeters thick and directly reached into the interior of the submarine.

"Take one's heart out".

He didn't damage any structure; he simply used his fingers to "pinch" and break several core power transmission lines connecting the sonar system and the weapon fire control system.

A spark flashed briefly in the wiring compartment inside the submarine.

This three-billion-dollar deep-sea hunter, representing the pinnacle of human naval industry, was reduced to a mere moving metal can in less than ten seconds.

After doing all this, Shen Ge didn't even glance at the crippled submarine. He flashed forward and rushed towards the two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on the sea.

Do the same thing.

He didn't touch any weapons or ammunition depots, as that would only cause unnecessary casualties and uncontrollable conflicts. With his current strength, it wouldn't be difficult for him to simply "crush" this destroyer.

Absolute power may instill fear, but power that is completely unfathomable is what truly evokes fear in the enemy from within.

Bridge command center.

The first mate, who was on duty, suddenly noticed that all the dots on the radar screen in front of him had disappeared.

"Radar malfunction. Reboot the system!" he shouted instinctively.

However, no matter how the technicians operated it, the Aegis system, which represented the eyes of the fleet, remained unresponsive, like a piece of scrap metal.

Immediately afterwards, a report came from the engine room that the engine's anti-energy regulator had overloaded and burned out, and the entire warship lost power, floating on the sea like a dead fish.

Throughout the entire process, none of the officers and soldiers on the bridge sensed anything unusual.

Unbeknownst to them, just moments before, a transparent "ghost" had strolled past them in a way they couldn't comprehend, casually "taking" some key "parts" that kept the steel behemoth running.

Two destroyers and one nuclear submarine were all rendered inoperable within minutes. (End of Chapter)