America: The Cremator

Elena glanced at Sulong and Hannah, who were already considering quitting, and then at the two team members beside her who also looked tense, before speaking.

"Rest assured, everyone, our mission objective is not to engage in battle with the Shoggoths."

"To reiterate, our mission is not to engage in battle."

"All we need to do is infiltrate its lair, confirm its exact location, current size and energy readings, and then retreat immediately."

After she finished speaking, she walked up to Hannah, lowered her voice, and said something in a volume that only the two of them could hear.

Hannah's pale face shifted several times before she finally nodded forcefully.

Then, Elena turned to Suron.

She walked up to Su Long, her grey-green eyes scrutinizing him through her tactical goggles.

"Mr. Suron, this is a Class B disaster response order issued by the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Responders. As an employee of the Bureau of Corpse Management, you are obligated to cooperate with our operation."

"I know you have uremia, and your health condition is not suitable for participating in such a high-intensity task."

She paused for a moment, then changed the subject.

"But as long as you complete this reconnaissance mission, I will use my authority to resolve your work file issues at the Department of Corpses, including your medical records, so that they will no longer threaten your job or promotion."

"In addition, your salary and insurance benefits will be significantly improved."

Su Long looked at her, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth beneath the mask: "What if I refuse?"

Elena's tone remained unchanged: "Well then, I'm sorry."

"You will be immediately dismissed for refusing to comply with disaster emergency orders, and your name will be added to the employment blacklist of all federal agencies."

"This may sound harsh, but that's the truth."

Surong was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, Captain Elena, I will continue to follow you."

Elena seemed unsurprised by the result. Her gaze slowly moved down and landed on the black revolver at Su Long's waist.

"That was Old John's sacred relic, why is it on you?"

Su Long reached out and patted the cold gun barrel.

"Please, Captain Elena, if you want me to go with you to face a monster that can destroy a military base, at least allow me to bring something to defend myself."

"The sacred object will choose its own master," Elena said with a hint of disdain. "Those who are not recognized by it cannot even pull its trigger."

"But I feel that this child seems to like me quite a bit."

Elena raised an eyebrow: "You don't even know its name."

A smile appeared on Sulong's face as he clearly uttered the name: "Colt Sirius."

Elena's body stiffened visibly, and her sharp eyes widened instantly as she carefully recalled something, seemingly confirming a certain fact.

"I am absolutely certain that old John did not mention the name of the gun before he died."

"How did you know?"

Su Long patted the revolver at his waist again: "Would you believe me if I said this kid told me himself?"

Elena stared at Su Long for a long time, then finally took a step back and gave up asking questions: "Okay, if you can make it ring, then it's yours."

After saying that, Elena ignored Sulong and turned to give new instructions.

"Everyone, keep moving forward."

The group fell silent again, with only the sound of footsteps echoing in the empty pipes.

Hannah quietly moved closer to Surong, her voice low and tinged with apology and guilt.

"Su... I'm sorry, but I've decided to stick with the group."

I hope my choice hasn't caused you any trouble.

"Captain Elena gave me five times the bonus, I... I really couldn't refuse."

Looking at Elena's tall, straight back ahead, Su Long said calmly, "It's alright, I've also chosen to move forward."

Hannah paused for a moment, then asked, "You...were also promised a bonus?"

"If she had only used inducements instead of coercion," Suron said, "I would have been very grateful to her."

As the team continued deeper into the main sewer pipe, the surrounding environment began to change strangely.

The concrete wall, which was originally covered with moss and dirt, now looks as if it has been coated with a thick, translucent gel.

The gelatinous substance covered the floor, walls, and even the pipes overhead. It had an unsettling, jelly-like sticky texture and was wriggling extremely slowly, emitting a strong, fishy, ​​and sour odor.

Stepping on it produces a sticky, pulling sound, as if you are stepping on a huge, rotting piece of biological tissue.

"We're very close to its lair."

Elena's voice rang out in the team channel.

"Everyone, turn off all heat sources, use only glow sticks for lighting, and walk quietly."

The light from the lantern at her waist went out immediately.

The two task force members immediately turned off the spotlights above their heads.

The entire world was instantly swallowed up by pure darkness and deathly silence, with only the glowing embers on everyone's bodies emitting a dim light.

Following the faint light, the group slowly moved forward along the pipes corroded by sticky glue.

Soon, a relatively open space appeared ahead.

It appeared to be the intersection of two main drainage pipes, forming a huge cavity resembling the nave of an underground cathedral.

The airflow from the pipes in four directions converges here, forming a never-ending, bone-chilling, eerie wind.

In the center of the cavity was a huge circular sludge pit, and the ceiling and the central area of ​​the sludge pit were piled with hill-like, dark black sludge.

Elena made a gesture, signaling the team to stop.

"This should be the center of the lair, but we don't know where that thing is hiding. Stay on high alert."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Geiger counter on her chest, which had been switched to silent mode, suddenly spiked in value, its blinding red light piercing the darkness.

Almost simultaneously, the revolver named "Sirius" at Sulong's waist and the extinguished lantern at Elena's waist began to vibrate violently, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

"Shit!"

Elena muttered a curse under her breath.

"Quick, hold them down! We'll be exposed!"

She immediately reached out and pressed her hand firmly against the lantern at her waist.

Su Long also realized what was happening and pressed his palm heavily onto the trembling revolver handle.

Just then, a drop of viscous, pitch-black liquid fell from the darkness above, landing precisely on the ground in front of Su Long.

pat.

The crisp sound was particularly jarring in the deathly silence.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

In the bottomless darkness above them, one, two, three...

Countless enormous eyeballs, emitting a ghostly green phosphorescence, opened simultaneously without warning.

The next moment, the huge shadow that had been looming over the ceiling lost its grip.

boom--

It crashed down with a thud, slamming heavily into the huge sewage pit in the center.

Countless streams of black sewage were thrown up by the enormous impact and poured down on them.

The entire team got soaked, but no one bothered to wipe themselves.

The two task force members immediately raised their rifles, illuminating the creature that was slowly rising from the sewage.

It was a nightmarish shape, shimmering with a dark, glossy sheen.

It has no fixed shape, resembling a living, flowing oil, emitting a stench strong enough to penetrate the filter mask.

It wriggled forward, flowing... its surface shimmering with a faint, internal light.

Thousands upon thousands of pus-like eyes, emitting a pale green light, constantly formed, bulged, and rotated on its tar-like surface, then melted, decomposed, and sank into the endless dark gel.

Elena quickly raised the tactical terminal on her wrist, pointed the camera at the monster in front of her, and the red dot of the recorder flashed in the darkness.

She quickly snapped a few high-resolution photos and recorded the terrifyingly high reading on the Geiger counter.

Su Long stood at the back of the group. His mental resistance prevented him from feeling the trembling and fear from the depths of his soul like the others. Instead, he observed the behemoth in front of him with an almost absolutely calm perspective.

An absurd idea popped into his mind.

This huge, black, viscous, flowing stuff really looks like some kind of high-quality crude oil.

Could it be that the US military base that was destroyed in Afghanistan was built because they mistook the dormant Shoggoth for a newly discovered oil field and excitedly set up drilling platforms on it?