Long-term salvation

Looking at the ground getting closer and closer, the human warrior, whose most body was occupied by the "Shoggoth-Thing", looked down at the laurel skull armband in his hand for the last time, and then closed his eyes.

The flames of the explosion engulfed the human consciousness, and the monster's body stood up from the wreckage.

Chapter 473: Cold Night Arrives (1/3)

The CH-47 transport helicopter plummeted toward the ground, beyond the realm of humanity.

The thirty-meter-long metal structure raised a cloud of snow dust almost as high the moment it touched the ground. The belly of the aircraft collapsed inward like a can hit by an invisible giant hammer, causing the remaining fuel to gush out from the cracks, expanding into a huge orange-red fireball on the snow. The leaping flames illuminated the sky covered by the blizzard and cast a dark shadow on everything around it.

Amidst the flames, shadows, and darkness, an amorphous, faintly glowing mass of protoplasmic bubbles rapidly multiplied. Tens of thousands of green, pus-like eyes constantly formed and disintegrated on its surface, becoming even more terrifying as it grew into a blurry, bloody body.

A fusion of ancient evil darkness and a flesh-and-blood plague from the stars, it fell dormant in a freezing ice cave, only to be gradually awakened by human curiosity... The newly born "Shoggoth - The Thing" found the most basic logical commands in the completely collapsed genetic database:

Resist the tide and continue the tribe.

So, ignoring the high temperature and explosion, the Shoggoth-Thing began to spray "itself" towards the human buildings in front - hundreds of pools of adult-sized minced meat were launched and split again in mid-air - even the military bases of superpowers faced unexpected attacks, not to mention that this monster still possessed the horrific assimilation ability of the Thing... But this place is different, this is the Midnight Base of the Army Without Borders.

The moment the transport helicopter crashed, a shrill alarm rang out. All the lights turned on, and the war machines, already preheated, drove out of the warehouse, and the human soldiers who had been waiting for a long time rushed to the battlefield:

"Everyone, get to your fighting positions—for humanity, until death!"

"Til death do us part!"

The steel giants slowly rose, their snow-covered tarpaulins swept away by the strong wind. They grabbed the anti-tank machine guns and arc weapons connected by thick cables from the weapon racks beside them. At their feet, maintenance personnel wearing mechanical exoskeletons and carrying rifles on their backs raised light signal wands to guide the route.

Several mechas also wielded heavy flamethrowers. M6S Arctic ASes trudged through the buildings, using flames to clean up the large chunks of minced meat that had fallen nearby, then handing the remaining debris over to the soldiers of the Army Without Borders. They wore thick winter clothing and were fully armed, though their exoskeletons' batteries were still affected by the extreme cold, significantly reducing their duration. But this was enough:

What the Midnight Base lacks the least is weapons, ammunition and logistical supplies!

Most of the base buildings began to be blocked and closed, second-line personnel began to evacuate and arm themselves, leaving only the military-use parts still operating at an accelerated pace.

At this moment, bullets, machine gun shells, mortar shells, and even flames and electric arcs all attacked the wreckage of the transport helicopter. The shock wave of the explosion tore open a brief vacuum in the blizzard, tearing and confusing the black smoke and snow fog, turning it into a horizontal tornado.

But before the smoke cleared, the monster had disappeared without a trace.

At the moment of the first round of explosions, the Shoggoth-Thing expanded and exploded like a balloon, with large and small pieces of flesh scattered everywhere, and then quickly condensed around it - imitating - steel giants, running soldiers, and armored vehicles rolling over the snow, in a similar shape but bloody state, as if someone had roughly peeled off their skin.

This slave created by the ancients finally stood before the world tens of thousands of years later. Even though its thinking and wisdom had long since collapsed due to the failed assimilation, degenerating into the cunning and madness of beast instinct, the power of deformation and the malice rooted in the depths of its twisted soul remained unchanged.

Amidst the flames of war and the snowstorm, the creatures of flesh and blood began to run—even if they were fake, they were enough to stir up a bloody storm!

In the dust raised by the explosion, the charging monsters switched their bodies smoothly, dispersing from large pieces of flesh and blood into small pieces to avoid direct artillery shells, and then condensing from small pieces into large pieces or flesh and blood giants to resist electric arcs and flames, and finally transformed into a posture for fighting when they were close enough.

The distance of nearly a thousand meters was shortened in a few breaths, and both sides could see each other clearly, but there was no need to do so, just look at themselves.

"Maintain a safe firing distance...live ammunition weapons are ineffective!"

The AS driver shouted over the communication channel, controlling the mech to retreat while covering the retreat of the infantry units and light vehicles. Recalling what he had seen in the past few minutes, the driver added:

"The enemy has the ability to transform and can use helicopter wreckage and rocks to fight back, but their intelligence doesn't seem high. They have no sense of tactical coordination!"

"Understood. Command has received the order. The mecha troops are retreating to establish a defense line. More flamethrowers and discharge devices are being mobilized."

The mecha troops began to retreat, and every step they took raised the surrounding snow dust, which was then formed into a thick mist under the strong wind - the flesh and blood giants broke through the mist, and thousands of eyes appeared on their bodies that resembled AS mechas, staring at every human who dared to look them in the eye!

The machine gun shells blasted huge holes in the flesh and blood giant's body, and dirty blood slowly flowed out, but the blood immediately began to shrink, solidify, and shape, turning into dozens of spikes flashing with cold light on the monster's chest!

The sharp spikes shot out and pierced into the heavy shields held by the mechas, but the next second they quickly "melted" and turned into petite, twisted monsters, attacking the surrounding human soldiers:

A soldier from the Army Without Borders kept pulling the trigger at the monsters, throwing incendiary grenades and slowly retreating under the protection of the flames. In the battlefield filled with the roar of explosions and the dim light of fire, he did not notice that his trouser legs had been cut open by a sharp blade extending from a pool of flesh and blood.

This pool of flesh and blood penetrated into it silently and no one noticed.

When the soldier reacted, dozens of insect-like arthropods had grown out of his right leg and suddenly detached, starting to move upwards along his abdomen and chest... The cold-proof suit tightly locked the blood that suddenly spurted out from inside, and even the screams stopped abruptly!

Soon, the "soldier" stood up again, a snake wriggling beneath his winter coat. The moment he opened his eyes, he gripped his rifle tightly and pulled the trigger at his companion until the magazine was completely empty.

Replace the magazine and continue.

The entire front quickly fell into chaos and the balance of battle began to tilt.

In a corner of the underground command center of the Midnight Sun Base, the screen used to monitor combat personnel is constantly refreshing the health signals of frontline personnel. Several numbered human bodies dim, but soon light up again.

"...Hmm? Lieutenant Colonel Gleb!"

The technician raised his voice and shouted to the base commander who was looking at the real-time dynamic defense map. The commander first whispered a few words to the staff officer next to him, then walked over quickly and asked:

"The frontline troops suffered heavy losses?"

"No... I suspect it's a problem with the health monitoring system. It just showed that several soldiers' vital signs were lost for over 30 seconds, but they just came back on."

The technician took a breath, lowered his voice, and nervously stated his guess:

"I know that the monster that fell outside the base is capable of camouflage and imitation, although it was very crude at first glance... So, could it be... it could just be a problem with the system."

If the enemy is really able to perform replacement camouflage, then these new "flesh and blood soldiers" may use palm prints to trick open most of the currently blocked buildings, attack the workers and other base personnel who are taking refuge and on guard inside, and then continue to spread.

Lieutenant Colonel Gleb was unable to determine the monster's specific level of intelligence and could only infer the worst possible outcome.

"I see."

After pondering for a few seconds, Lieutenant Colonel Gleb nodded solemnly. He took out a communication device and said to it:

"Ms. New Jersey, we've run into a bit of a problem here... Yes, the monsters are quite tricky... No, we can handle the front lines, but we need your help in looking after the brightest minds. I'll need the help of the professors at Miskatonic University and the researchers at the base."

After putting the communication device back in place, the lieutenant colonel strode back to his position and gave orders to the battlefield commanders on the front line:

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Gleb Morozov, the base commander. All infantry units, disperse and retreat according to the pre-planned plan. AS and armored vehicles, activate their three defense systems and ensure the main body of the monsters are stopped at the outer edge of the base! Also, you need to know an important piece of information..."

Chapter 474: Do me a favor and burn it red (2/3, 3K)

"Theoretically, I need to flip on this little thing called a safety and then pull the trigger."

Professor William Dale, holding his M9 pistol, was dazed. God had mercy on him—he was just a middle-aged man with no power to even tie a chicken! The most he had ever done in his life was to watch demons summon and corpses resurrect with others... Compared to his colleagues, Professor William didn't have as many "wonderful experiences."

"Are you really from the United States?" Professor Lake, who was standing next to him, was wearing a knitted wool hat and holding a submachine gun. There was a hint of sneer on his face. "And you're a geologist. Have you ever encountered a wolf in the wild?"

"I have a geological hammer!"

"That's useless! Professor Atwood, Dr. Serizawa, do you two know how to use guns?"

"This will definitely happen..."

Before Professor Atwood finished speaking, he saw the red lockdown light on the shelter's gate turn green. The metal locks opened one by one, and the clacking sound of mechanical movement pierced the slightly dull space, making the personnel taking refuge there look at each other in confusion.

Outside the gate, a figure was standing calmly.

"Professors of Miskatonic University," Battleship said, her expression serious. "The Midnight Base needs your help. And Dr. Serizawa, please come along too."

The four middle-aged men looked at each other, quickly packed up their belongings, took the grenades, small bags containing food and water, and medical kits handed to them by the people next to them, and left under the envious and encouraging gazes of everyone in the shelter.

Walking along the cold corridor, the four professors followed New Jersey and walked cautiously into the blizzard outside.

"…The problem is indeed serious, but I need biological samples to confirm it."

Professor Rick from the Department of Biology said this, and he tossed his submachine gun to Dr. Serizawa, who checked the magazine and added:

"After being surrounded, the enemy immediately exploded and dispersed, and then tried to destroy the flamethrower's fuel tank. It seems that it is not without intelligence, or its intelligence is being upgraded."

"Is it because it assimilated a certain number of humans? One, two, or ten or twenty?" Professor Atwood frowned. As a physicist, he couldn't offer any help with the monster itself. Instead, he pondered another question. "So, how many people does it need to 'assimilate' to gain normal or even extraordinary intelligence?"

"Actually, professors, I feel like it's more like an instinctive action based on fragmented memories. But it's true that they've begun to exhibit some more complex behaviors... in just over ten minutes! Delaying it won't do us any good."

The ship girl's furrowed brows never relaxed. She could still remember the scene of using artillery to smash a flesh and blood giant that broke through the fire blockade - that thing really couldn't withstand the fire of the 406mm main gun, but the flying flesh and blood that was not swallowed by the explosion and fire was still alive, and began to gather together instinctively, or tried to escape in a dispersed manner.

At this moment, the mechas and other vehicle units no longer needed to block the main body of the monster, but this was not good news:

Some of the monster's flesh and blood was destroyed, but much of it was still scattered throughout the Midnight Base through explosions and other means. If the base facilities had not been sealed off long ago and no longer needed personnel had been evacuated, the situation would have been a hundred times more difficult!

The current situation feels like playing a ghost game, but the "ghosts" are real, and it is also true that you will be doomed if you can't catch them.

What's somewhat ridiculous is that inside this huge base, the ones who are easily ambushed by monsters disguised as various debris and stones are the humans who built this base and know it well - a kind of alternative guerrilla and counter-guerrilla warfare is quietly unfolding in this "Snowstorm Villa"!

"I should have brought Abigail and the others here earlier. The commander only said there might be monsters... damn blizzard!" The ship girl muttered in frustration. She turned her head, looked at the professors, and warned:

"According to feedback from the soldiers on the front lines, even just a little bit of blood and flesh can lead to assimilation. You must be extra careful."

"Of course!" x4

No professor would want his knowledge and dreams to be devoured by monsters!

Walking cautiously in the wind and snow, several professors did not dare to go too far away from the ship girl. They still needed to walk some distance to reach the temporary biological laboratory - and the researchers who had been conducting research in some polar day bases left the shelter in armored vehicles and started working under heavy protection.

But now, they need fresher samples, not the residue that has been burned by a flamethrower.

New Jersey readily accepted the request and prepared to bring several professors with him.

"Although I really want to observe the entire process of human assimilation, I also want to leave the Midnight Base alive, rather than being burned to death in golden flames or shot in the back dozens of times, so..."

Professor Lake adjusted his hat and turned to look at the other professors:

"Who among you will be the bait? An unarmed idiot would be the best target."

A moment later, Professor William Dale was walking alone in the snow. He held his geological hammer and decided to give Professor Rick a hard hammer after the incident was over.

Of course, New Jersey and the other three were still following quietly in the shadows.

If it weren't for the fact that the existence of the ship girl seemed to arouse fear among those small flesh and blood creatures, the larger and more intelligent flesh and blood monsters would not dare to attack this person who could instantly manifest huge artillery. Another reason was that she did not have the "flesh and blood" aura like humans.

Perhaps the Thing would foolishly move forward and try to attack, but the Shoggoth part of it would instinctively sense its inhuman nature.

If not, New Jersey would have found the flesh and blood and sent it to the laboratory long ago, so why would it be so troublesome?

The decoy plan went smoothly. In the shadowy corners woven by the lights and searchlights, a monster disguised as stone gradually revealed its bloody and mangled flesh. It melted like liquid and attacked Professor William, who was trembling as he walked.

In just a moment, Professor William felt a gust of wind far harsher than a snowstorm blowing from behind him! When the professor stumbled forward and fell to the ground, he quickly got up in panic and saw New Jersey standing aside, covering his palm with a transparent glass cover.

A dark red, blurry mass of flesh and blood that kept changing shape was trembling inside, and the eyeball that floated and melted on it was truly disgusting.

"It looks like they can't assimilate beings like you. That's good news, but it shouldn't be of much use to Mr. Rhodes either," Professor Rick said, trotting over and carefully examining the object within the high-strength bulletproof glass. "It's about the size of two adult fists... It reacts to light and can distinguish between different humans... Interesting. How does this thing manage this recognition?"

"This isn't a good place to talk about things, Professor."

"...Indeed, Ms. New Jersey, please lead the way."

Without wasting any more time, New Jersey walked against the howling wind of the blizzard and led several professors to the designated location - this was once an empty warehouse for storing supplies, but now it has been quickly arranged into the style of a biological laboratory, and three researchers in fully enclosed protective suits have been waiting here.

In addition, there were several soldiers from the Army Without Borders standing in the corner of the room. They all carried flamethrowers and wore the same thick, fully enclosed protective suits.

Amid the muffled breathing sounds in the room, New Jersey quickly walked to the lab table and carefully took out a little blood and flesh sample.

After separating from the larger body, the bits of flesh and blood immediately melted into an amorphous substance similar to blood, and even began to emit a faint light.

"Let me see this."

Professor Rick, impatient, donned his protective gear and rushed to the lab table like a whirlwind. After briefly discussing the information he had previously obtained with the researchers, he began to observe carefully:

"Hmm... It devours and rapidly assimilates other cells. What a terrifying creature! If it were released into human society, it would likely infect billions of people in no time. But it can't assimilate inorganic matter?"

"So far, yes, those who have been assimilated have been observed scavenging our weapons to fight or assembling certain items," said a researcher. He paused and added, "There are also reports of weapons disguised as firearms, but actually firing body parts. These 'flesh bullets' are powerful enough to penetrate thick coats, which is the main reason for the spread of infection."

"So, how did your base commander deal with this problem?"

"He ordered our personnel to disperse in groups of three or four. Everyone was required to place their weapons beside them, but within easy reach – in other words, to detach their 'firearms.' Those who refused to detach and couldn't explain were clearly the enemy, but this method didn't always work."

The researcher sighed. The casualty reports he had seen alone exceeded a hundred people... The facilities used to deal with the group of people from the [Organization] had never been so difficult before!

Because of this, many members of the Army Without Borders in the Midnight Base realized that they had become too dependent on Rhode's strength, to the point that it had become a matter of course - if there were any problems, the boss would handle them, and the others only needed to help out or do some auxiliary work - but would this situation last forever?

Will the boss die? Will he perish in a difficult battle and never come back?

No one knows the answer.

As outsiders, the professors at Miskatonic University do not know what the members of the Army Without Borders are thinking, and they are still troubled by the current situation.

"Wait, aren't these guys smart enough?" Professor Atwood asked. He looked down at the blood that was still glowing, his curiosity overflowing. "How can they blend into the crowd so easily?"

"It's not easy, but being able to ignore them for a dozen seconds is enough to spread the infection—sneak attacks, poisoning, or forceful attacks. Not everyone carries a flamethrower. Besides, the intelligence of these monsters will increase after assimilating humans, so it's not impossible for them to remain dormant for a longer period of time."

Dr. Serizawa murmured, "Although he switched from physics to paleontology, that didn't mean his knowledge of biology was immature. On the contrary, this scholar, who had been diligently pursuing the giant beast, was an expert in this field."

"In short, we need a simple and convenient monitoring method. After all, we can't take everyone's blood samples to the laboratory for examination one by one."

"I don't know why you're bothered by this... Your thinking is misguided, my friends—this thing acts on instinct when it's miniaturized, which means it will fight back instinctively."

Professor Rick suddenly spoke up, walking around the lab table and approaching a soldier carrying a flamethrower. The soldier's eyes behind his goggles showed a hint of caution, but the professor simply showed the tweezers in his hand and said,

"Young man, do me a favor and make it red hot."