Long-term salvation

"Aidid commanded his militia to shoot and kill 23 Pakistani UN troops and desecrate their bodies."

+ + + + + + + + + +

"...This happened before both sides entered Mogadishu. The standoff lasted a long time, almost four days," the restaurant owner said, stroking his mustache with a touch of emotion on his face. "The Atlas Company, or the Army Without Borders, then entered history."

"And then there's the Mogadishu incident? Terrorists detonated a nuclear bomb in the city! Was it really detonated by terrorists?! Or was it really manufactured by Atlas Corporation itself?!"

The investigative reporter was excited, but his excitement was soon mixed with fear - the ominous premonition in his heart was screaming at him to shut up and leave... But, but the truth was right before his eyes!

The man in front of me knows the truth about the Battle of Mogadishu!

"Well, before that, I have to admit something to you," the restaurant owner stood up and took off his white apron. "I lied to you. Although I left Atlas Corporation, in fact, I just transferred to the intelligence department of the Army Without Borders."

"!!!"

The investigative reporter tried to stand up, but was immediately pinned down by two different hands, unable to move. Among the shiny tableware hanging in the kitchen, the reporter saw two men in suits and sunglasses.

"Given your abilities and courage," the restaurant owner took out a silver cylinder and pushed it upwards with his finger, "you now have two choices..."

Chapter 504 Black Hawk Down (3K)

"Tail rotor failure!"

"Flight 64 is going to make an emergency landing...Flight 64 is going to crash...Flight 64 is going to make an emergency landing...We are going to make an emergency landing!"

The video continued to repeat over and over again, and the pilot's panicked screams were repeated over and over again in the joint task force's headquarters.

Major General William F. Garrison pursed his lips, turned around abruptly, slammed his hands on the table, and asked angrily:

"Where is the 10th Mountain Division's quick reaction force?!"

"They were also trapped... Aidid's men cleared the road and set up a large roadblock again after the Humvee and convoy passed. They also focused on attacking the leading vehicles. Their casualties were no less than those of the capture troops."

A staff officer tried to keep his voice steady, but his inner anxiety and anger still made his words tremble:

"Damn it! The Pakistanis turned back because their tanks hit mines, and those Malaysians refused to let the armored vehicles in, saying they had to wait for tanks and more reinforcements. General, we must call in more heavy armor and air strikes. We're facing an entire city of enemies! And those monsters!"

“… Discussions are still ongoing in Washington.”

The general closed his eyes in pain. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed, walked out of the hot and noisy command center, and looked into the distant sky.

At this moment, Mogadishu seemed to be placed in a turbid glass jar. Extremely low lead-gray clouds gathered from the distant horizon, and the edges were even ominously rusty, as if the sky was oxidizing and being coated with a layer of bloody and ominous color.

Pale beams of light pierced the city swirling in dust and fog. The light was not projected from the clouds, but penetrated the clouds from bottom to top - like a searchlight laid out from the abyss, shining the light of hell on the world - now, Mogadishu has indeed turned into a hell for the living.

"God bless us," the general murmured, his heart in turmoil. "God bless those young men... Where is your son? Where is the savior of mankind?"

Thirteen hours ago - Operation Irene begins

The rotors of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and the MH-6 Little Bird helicopters stirred up the slightly fishy sea breeze and circled along the waves along the coastline towards the city of Mogadishu. At the same time, the Humvee convoy on the ground also began to move into the city.

Ever since the images of the peacekeeping soldiers being killed spread throughout the world, Washington immediately asked the joint task force to capture and attack Aidid, especially before Atlas Corporation took action.

It was a hasty but not wrong decision.

The US forces knew that Mogadishu had a large population and that Aidid, who controlled the city, had received significant assistance over the years. Consequently, they did not underestimate the enemy and instead deployed nearly 200 of their most elite special forces to carry out the capture/decapitation mission. Three battalions of the 10th Mountain Division, acting as support, were already on standby at various entrances to the city, ready to storm it at any moment.

More elite soldiers, more armored vehicles, more air support... The operation went smoothly at first.

However, everything changed when Delta and the Rangers stormed Aidid's residence:

Two rangers rushed into the residence first, but their headless bodies were soon thrown out - the T103 Tyrant in a black leather coat walked out of the building with heavy steps, it casually picked up the car next to it and threw it at the terrified special forces soldiers!

The metal object rolled and crashed into the building across the street, causing the fine sand and gravel growing from the broken walls to expand rapidly, turning into a slight dust mist that blocked the soldiers' sight, but the figure had no intention of hiding itself at all.

"What the hell...it's out! Concentrate your fire!"

Bullets rained down on the tyrant like a torrential rain, without causing it to tremble even a little - the monster grabbed a Delta Force member who had no time to dodge, and then tore him apart, just like tearing apart a piece of tattered linen - the soldier's screams stopped abruptly, leaving only the intestines and blood scattered on the barren yellow sand, and the wet muffled sound of those things hitting the ground.

This scene shocked the soldiers of the United States. When the tyrant began to run, they quickly dispersed as if awakened from a dream and continued to fight back.

"Concentrate fire! Kill it before the Somali militia gets here... Where's the rocket launcher?!" Sergeant Major Jeff Sanderson, who was in charge of the battlefield command, shouted loudly, but after a sharp whistle, he cursed in fear, "How could this monster even dodge the rocket?!"

Facing the fierce firepower, the tyrant protected his head with both hands and knocked over the stone pillars of the Islamic-style building like a bull. He then grabbed the broken half of the stone pillar and threw it at the heavy machine gun on the Humvee that was firing continuously.

"Fvck!"

The gunner operating the heavy machine gun screamed in horror and quickly retreated into the car, but the car body still shook violently due to the impact. The fierce gunfire outside penetrated the soldier's ears, making him retch several times. He grabbed the rifle that had fallen beside him, opened the door and got out.

The moment he got out of the car, a streak of warm blood splashed on the soldier's face, forcing him to open his mouth and swallow back the curse words and doubts - the tall monster was already standing in front of him, and then swung a heavy punch - the human head exploded like a rotten watermelon, and brain matter and blood immediately spurted onto the body of the Hummer.

Amidst the roar of anger at the loss of comrades, a Humvee suddenly broke through the smoke and dust. The Ranger sergeant driving the car ignored the shouting in the communicator. He stepped on the accelerator hard and rammed the Tyrant straight into the other end of the street corner.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment, leaving only swirling dust and fog.

"…It's over?"

A Delta Force soldier asked subconsciously as he saw a blurry shadow slowly emerging from the dust in the distance.

"Sergeant?"

It was the Tyrant—the Tyrant lifted the Ranger Sergeant's head, crushed it indifferently, and dodged another direct hit from a rocket.

"Fuck! Command, we need backup. There's one... two..."

Another Tyrant came from another block, and it even carried a Gatling gun and heavy bulletproof armor!

The tall organic biological weapons marched forward, wrapped in gunpowder smoke, blood mist, and unparalleled power - they silently watched the special forces members gather their personnel and retreat in a panic, then looked up at the Black Hawk helicopter flying through the sky.

Minutes later, the Joint Task Force headquarters at Mogadishu International Airport received news of the downed Super 61 Black Hawk helicopter.

Then came the "Super 62" and "Super 64". Most of the helicopters that entered the city for support early on were shot down, and the crew members were besieged by Somali militias. The other side set up ambush firepower in an undisguised manner, waiting for the arrival of the rescue convoy.

Aidid's troops include many former Somali government army officers and veterans, and after obtaining help from certain people, their combat effectiveness has risen again. At least the absolute main force of thousands of people are not cannon fodder who can only raise their rifles above their heads and shoot indiscriminately.

This was bad enough, but soon, the command helicopter, still struggling to hover over Mogadishu, received the following message:

"We're being besieged by the dead—my God, these people are crazy! They're biting each other and eating human flesh!"

"Emile became ill after being bitten by those people... Wait, what's going on?! Aa ...

"Requesting reinforcements..."

"Something is spreading...Somali militias are not exempted...This is definitely a biological weapon!"

"The Somalis are infected. I repeat, the Somalis are infected. We can't let them out!"

"Ah ...

There was an explosion, communications were cut off, and no news came back.

Four hours after the start of Operation Irene, communications within the entire city of Mogadishu were completely cut off, and after hundreds of people from the 10th Mountain Division who went to support were trapped in it, no one knew the fate of the special forces soldiers in the city.

The black smoke from the burning tires curled up, exuding a strange sense of absurdity, as if some strange transparent cover was firmly imprisoning the city, allowing chaos and plague to spread within it, bringing death.

Dark clouds began to gather, and the energy of the inner world became active due to the huge extreme emotions.

The bullet-riddled minarets bent beneath the leaden sky, like a spine crushed by an invisible weight. It should have been midday, the sun at its blazing peak, but Mogadishu was shrouded in an eerie light, somewhere between dusk and dawn, even the smoke from the gunpowder seeming to solidify into a murky amber gel.

The city began to crumble, and the evil supernatural dimension cast a glance at this place, attaching the "Plague" to the best carrier here - the T virus quickly mutated and connected with each other - human stupidity and arrogance manifested the darkest creations of the nightmare here, allowing them to be born from the swollen vesicles, attacking the panicked humans, and continuing to multiply through the latter's flesh and souls.

Thirteen Hours Later - Operation Irene Failed

Some people were recording it all excitedly, some were struggling in the waves of death, and some made a decision.

“…Make a phone call for me.”

Major General William F. Garrison said this to his staff when he returned to the headquarters with a determined look on his face.

The general knew what would happen to him in Washington and the Pentagon after this, but those soldiers, those young men, those children who had walked into hell because of his orders - they had to survive.

"Call Jonathan Irons, CEO of Atlas Corporation, and tell him I'm asking for his help."

Chapter 505 Council - Emergency Meeting (3K)

[Main Quest: Listen to Revelation - Plague]

[Mission Description: Lead human civilization to overcome the disaster brought about by the advent of the apocalypse]

[Side Quest: Black Hawk Down]

Mission Description: Go to Mogadishu, rescue the besieged Joint Task Force members, and kill "Mohammed Farah Aidid"

Waving his hand to close the system interface, Rhodes put out his cigarette. He was leaning against the window of the conference room, gazing at the dark clouds that were peeking out from the distant horizon.

This is Marka, just 80 kilometers from Mogadishu, and the main base for the elite troops of the Atlas/Army Without Borders. But even here, one can sense the dark forces wreaking havoc.

"There's no side quest to kill the leader of the Ibris organization... This is not good news."

Rhodes sighed and turned to look at Irons, who had walked in from outside the meeting room and sat down.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Ibris organization is likely to have mastered ultra-long-range mind control and otherworldly spells. Furthermore, what Nikki and the others discovered during their mission is that while we grow stronger, the enemy is also rapidly growing."

"As expected."

This old man's mood in recent days can be described as a super roller coaster. From the worry and anxiety during the battle, to the exhaustion and excitement after the war ended, and the non-stop political wrangling, he was exhausted. Not to mention now:

An otherworldly disaster, which Rhodes called "apocalypse" level, is about to happen.

"But obviously that doesn't include what you just told me." Irons took a sip of coffee, his eyes fell on the dark clouds outside the window, and continued to ask:

"Although your Army Without Borders has begun to assemble and prepare for war against the other world, I still want to know...how bad is the situation in Mogadishu?"

"A repeat of Chernobyl, but with nearly two million people crammed into Mogadishu. A massive bomb—we need to prepare for the possibility of the inner world being exposed to the world. Even if it isn't, it will surely come to the attention of the permanent member governments... although I imagine they've more or less noticed something unusual."

"..."

Hearing this, Ains subconsciously took a deep breath. He reached out and pressed his brow, saying helplessly:

"Major General Garrison of the Joint Task Force just called me and requested that we send reinforcements immediately."

"Isn't that perfect?" Rhode asked calmly. "Warriors will eventually have to face even more horrific battlefields. Expecting a war without casualties is impossible, especially a thousand, ten thousand, or even forty thousand years from now."

Rhode said this and looked down at the [Shiting Box]. The blue-haired girl inside was sorting out the debris, placing assault rifles and grenades she had found from somewhere on the ground. It seemed that she, like the others, was also planning to set foot on her own battlefield.

Needless to say, the girls from Hill Villa were also joining the mass-produced Nikkis from all over Somalia. Together with the other soldiers from the Army Without Borders, everyone was required to complete airborne preparations within two hours.

The reconnaissance drone has been launched and is currently collecting intelligence within the city at the risk of being shot down. Once the intelligence is collected, the troops will set off immediately.

According to the plan, Rhodes will personally lead the most elite troops of the Army Without Borders and airdrop directly into the city of Mogadishu to interrupt the rituals of the other world, clear out high-threat creatures from the other world and search for surviving special forces members.

Another group of people directly used armored troops and heavy artillery to plow the land, tearing a hole in the simple defense line built by the Somali militia, and rescued the people of the 10th Mountain Division who were still resisting inside.

If we ignore the possibility of the other world getting out of control, this could be done by the United States forces, but their current joint task force here is underequipped and undermanned, and even so, the casualties and time required are difficult to predict - the soldiers trapped in Mogadishu cannot wait.

"Warriors will make sacrifices, but not for the sake of sacrifice," Rhodes took a deep breath. "If one day, we need the blood of countless men and women to maintain the existence of human civilization, that would be too tragic."

"Well, now that you've said that," Irons nodded. He had no objection to this. "Then make a contingency plan to ensure that they can be brought out before the situation becomes irreversible... The vacuum implosion bomb on the Alicorn is ready, isn't it?"

"Yes, and Abigail will come with me."

"That's good."

Hearing the name of the evil god's offspring, Irons felt unusually relieved. After seeing the information displayed on the data terminal, he stood up and signaled Rhodes to draw the curtains and turn on the projection screen.

The faces of the other eleven directors of the Cogito Foundation appeared on the screen. They were quickly flipping through the detailed information that had been passed to them, causing the clattering sounds to overlap, like a noisy classroom.

About five minutes later, the directors finished their reading one after another. After looking at the expressions of the others, Director Hannibal was the first to speak up and ask:

"So, it's not just the other world that will be exposed to the permanent members, but also the Army Without Borders? No wonder you had to call this emergency meeting... The impact of this incident is too great, and the future is so unpredictable that it's truly impossible to tell whether it will be good or bad. Director Sawai, can you still climb the ranks at the UN?"

"Of course I can, but liaising with scientists isn't going to be very helpful right now," the gentle scholar said, spreading his hands. "I can help guide discussions within the UN, and of course, among scientists."

"That's enough. Besides, we can't completely isolate the inner world from their sight. I should have known earlier..."

Ains sighed, and just as he was about to continue, he met Rhode's bunny-like eyes. The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and after suppressing the urge to punch the boy in front of him, Ains continued:

"Since that's the case, why not let the incident become our driving force and first create an image of ourselves occupying the moral high ground and being able to cooperate."

This prompted the directors to discuss in low voices. They were either in the early morning or at night, in the study or in the bedroom, and were obviously busy with their own affairs before being woken up by the Foundation's secret agents.

After careful consideration, Director Sawai Soichiro asked:

"What about the Kogito Foundation? Continue to hide in the dark?"

"Yes, and that includes me," Rhodes nodded slightly.

Rhode's statement caused the directors to fall silent. They almost forgot about the chairman in front of them. If this guy's identity were to be revealed, the impact on the world would be no less than that of the other world.