Chapter 316: The Thing: Medals and Forgetting

In the asteroid belt's cosmos.

Axi Si was swiftly devoured by a "Sun" twelve kilometers in diameter.

The artificially excavated residential, entertainment, and mining zones—and even the unknown spacecraft that caused everything within the mining zone—were instantly "vaporized" and "evaporated".

———————

…

Meanwhile.

In the pre‑dawn hour of Kogler City District 09.

Near the Space Gate.

Inside the dedicated cabin of a large transport vessel…

【Detected: Agent Lin Shunsheng under the host's command has destroyed the last remaining "theThing" species in the primary universe.】

Simultaneously, analysis of its abilities determines that the species belongs to an anomalous creature between Hera (Level 3) and Ixi Vantis (Level 4).

Thus, 35,000 points are awarded to the host.】

?

Sitting behind a fixed desk, Sui Bian was busy approving Zero‑One Universe documents when he suddenly heard a system alert.

theThing??

Having heard the alert clearly, Sui Bian stopped focusing on the various screens on his desk and turned to the Hong Hou, who had just "devoured" the machine side and resumed monitoring and dispatch duties, and asked:

"Retrieve the file of an intelligence officer named Lin Shunsheng for me."

"Understood," Hong Hou replied with a nod.

After a few seconds, one of the desk's screens displayed Lin Shunsheng's detailed file.

The file shows that the officer was born on April 14, 2045, on Mars, with his parents' ancestral home in northern Hebei, Asia.

From 2045 to 2062, Lin Shunsheng spent his adolescence on Mars with his parents, until 2063 when he was admitted to the Third Military Academy jointly funded and built by Umbrella and the UNSC, leaving Mars to begin his university life on Earth.

In 2064, his outstanding grades attracted the attention of company officials, and the following year he was transferred by the company to Minos Island for intelligence officer training.

He officially graduated in 2067, and that same year, Lin Shunsheng, following company orders along with four fellow graduates, was transferred to the newly opened Kalisto Colonized Star System for a year‑long internship.

The internship concluded in mid‑2068.

In 2072, war broke out between humanity and the Covenant Empire.

After that, remnants of the Covenant Empire attempted infiltration and sabotage throughout human territories.

During this period, Lin Shunsheng gradually displayed the qualities and abilities of a top intelligence officer, covertly alone or in cooperation, dismantling numerous infiltrations and terrorist attacks from Covenant remnants.

Thus the file also records that Lin Shunsheng was dubbed the "Night Judge" by local colleagues.

In 2081, Lin Shunsheng registered his marriage with a woman named Ji Lusi Feng Bulang, a C‑level employee of Umbrella, who served as the head of the emergency department at the company's comprehensive hospital in Kalisto Metropolis District 19.

However, due to the special status of an intelligence officer, the couple did not hold a wedding ceremony.

"Chairman…"

Before Sui Bian could finish browsing Lin Shunsheng's file, Hong Hou spoke to him:

"Within the Kalisto star system where Lin Shunsheng is located, there is an asteroid mining site named Axi Si overseen by Hona Mining, which was destroyed by an artificially overloaded fusion reactor."

"Lin Shunsheng, following orders from the local intelligence department, covertly infiltrated the Axi Si mine eleven hours ago to assist intelligence officer Yi Lianna Charlesde in conducting an investigation."

"Subsequently, the Axi Si mine was deliberately signal‑jammed twenty‑two minutes ago, cutting off communication between the local intelligence department and the two officers."

"Chairman, based on the intelligence I possess and my assessment, I can confirm that Lin Shunsheng, Yi Lianna Charlesde, and all personnel residing on Axi Si have perished."

"Moreover, with the current information, the full course of the Axi Si incident cannot be analyzed, but the local intelligence chief Qiao Er Mi Le said they will investigate as thoroughly as possible and provide the company with a response."

Death?

Sui Bian glanced at Hong Hou, then back at the screen, sliding his left hand down to scroll the displayed file back to the top.

Staring at the half‑body portrait of Lin Shunsheng in an Umbrella black uniform, perpetually expressionless, Sui Bian fell silent for a moment and said:

"Fine, I understand. No need to overly interfere with the local department's investigation, but one point remains: the aftermath concerning Lin Shunsheng and Yi Lianna Charlesde should be handled directly by the company. Convey this order to Chief Qiao Er Mi Le."

"Understood," Hong Hou promised again.

With the conversation ended, the cabin returned to silence.

Next, the twin queens' eyes—Hong Hou and Bai Hou—continued to flash, indicating they were both occupied with another Earth reconstruction project and various monitoring and corporate affairs.

Sui Bian, using his absolute authority, retrieved all data concerning the Axi Si incident for review.

Indeed, as Hong Hou said, if one looks only at the existing data, the full sequence cannot be discerned.

But Sui Bian could hear a reminder from the system.

Since troublesome species like theThing are rampant, Sui Bian could boldly conjecture that the internal situation of Axi Si is already quite severe, and to curb theThing's spread, Lin Shunsheng was forced to use an overloaded fusion reactor to eliminate the threat.

Currently, humanity has long mastered the use of "nuclear" technology.

Employing relatively "green" and "environmentally friendly" nuclear bombs for mining, or using fusion for power, recalls that as early as the 1960s the Soviet Union used nuclear bombs to create reservoirs and for nuclear "fire‑extinguishing" operations.

Beyond overloaded fusion reactors…

In fact, Umbrella is constantly battling anomalies, demons, and alien forces, so many outstanding intelligence officers, agents, and soldiers constantly sacrifice precious lives.

When these individuals sacrifice themselves for humanity, for relatives, or simply to complete a mission, Sui Bian feels regret and sorrow.

All he can do is say "thank you" in his heart and use the company's wealth and influence to protect the families the employees care about.

As for the "special care" for Lin Shunsheng, only Sui Bian truly understands this officer's contributions, and this officer eliminated one of humanity's most troublesome and hard‑to‑defeat races—

theThing.

This entity was also the most weighty childhood trauma in Sui Bian's previous life.

Although both the Thing and the Xenomorph share the character meaning "shape" and have parasitic traits, the two species are not on the same level.

Regarding controllability, since the Antarctic Pyramid incident, Umbrella has been researching Xenomorphs and now even uses their strong acidic blood to develop various weapons and tools.

It's not that Xenomorphs never try to escape; they simply cannot get out of Umbrella's facilities.

Moreover, when the plague doctor was using alien specimens to research a vaccine, he "conveniently" also developed a sedative for the aliens, making it easier for Umbrella to control them.

It's the monster, though…

Each cell is an individual, possessing the full memories and intelligence of the species it has assimilated.

When they gather and combine, they can perfectly mimic and replace the assimilated species; they are indistinguishable by appearance alone, requiring blood testing.

Even though they, like ordinary organisms, fear extreme environments, if they escape from Astate, they will spread rapidly and overflow, becoming harder to deal with than Flood.

Up to now, Sui Bian clearly remembers that in the movie "The Thing", a doctor who had been assimilated could, using only improvised tools, "handcraft" a small aircraft.

As for the source of the "monster" ravaging the Astate mine, Sui Bian does not know; it could be a survivor who activated the Halo matrix, or it could have been suppressed by an alternate dimension.

But with them completely exterminated and no longer able to threaten humanity, there is no need to investigate the past.

———————

…

July 15, 2089.

Calisto Star System, second‑orbit colonized planet, Metropolitan District 19 in the Northern Hemisphere.

Afternoon.

In one of District 19's green parks, many residents dressed in light, breathable clothing were present.

Some were strolling, some leaning against tree trunks, sitting in the shade, taking a brief rest in the warm breeze, or picnicking with relatives in the park.

A mother with a high ponytail of rare silver‑white hair, wearing a deep purple dress, a tote slung over her left shoulder, and holding her two children's hands, walked toward the edge of the expansive lawn.

The children were young, looking about five or six years old.

The boy had short black hair, the daughter sported a silver ponytail like her mother; the two children resembled each other, appearing to be a dragon‑phoenix twin, and were quite delicate and handsome, clearly inheriting their parents' best traits.

They arrived at an empty shaded spot.

The moment the mother let go…

"Mom~! Let's go play first!"

The children said it in unison, then couldn't restrain themselves and ran toward the lawn to play with other kids of similar age.

"You two, watch out!"

"Got it~!"

Seeing the children's backs recede, the mother shook her head helplessly, then took a neatly folded light‑white picnic cloth from the tote.

She spread it out and laid it down.

At this moment the mother slowly half‑crouched, first kneeling her knees on the cloth, then leaning left to sit fully.

Watching her son and daughter bathed in sunlight, already playing with other children, she couldn't help but smile.

But…

"May I ask, are you Mrs. Lin?"

The smile vanished with a low, throaty question.

?

Upon hearing that, the mother—who was Lin Shunsheng's wife, Ji Lusi Lin—turned around and saw two men in suits with sunglasses standing on the nearby sidewalk.

"Company personnel?"

From their attire, Ji Lusi instantly realized they were Umbrella Armed Division personnel.

As for the original surname "Feng Brown" being changed to "Lin," it's because taking the husband's surname is their custom; although times have changed and no one is forced to obey, she personally insists on adding "Lin" to all her documents.

After all, Lin Shunsheng's work is classified; even his closest relatives know nothing, and once he undertakes a mission, he completely loses contact with his family.

As an Umbrella C‑level employee, Ji Lusi naturally knows these facts, so she chose to change the surname to give her husband more presence.

"That's right, it's me."

Ji Lusi answered the two sunglasses men's question, rose from the picnic cloth, walked to the sidewalk, and with a bad feeling said, "Is it about my husband?"

One of the men glanced into the distance, then said, "First tell the children to stop playing, then come with us."

"Okay, I understand."

Seeing that the other party had no intention of clarifying things immediately, Ji Lusi said no more.

Next.

Ji Lusi and the others left the park, boarded a black airship, and departed District 19.

During this time, the two children, excited to play, asked the pilot and co‑pilot sunglasses men questions, and the men patiently answered each one.

Meanwhile, Ji Lusi grew increasingly worried, feeling that something had happened to her husband.

About thirty minutes later.

The airship took them to District 01, then approached the Umbrella Building in the bustling area, finally landing at the building's mid‑level airship docking bay.

They disembarked the airship.

They continued following the two sunglasses men deeper into the building, arriving at a spacious, bright large conference room, and then…

"Wow!! Mom! It's OriginalBody Rus!!" the two children shouted excitedly.

Inside the conference room were Joel Miller, several senior intelligence‑department staff, and Rus dressed in a custom oversized formal suit, with blond hair slicked back and a full beard.

The conference room's automatic doors opened, and upon seeing Rus, Ji Lusi couldn't hide her surprise, while the children grew even more excited.

It should be noted that many current children's cartoons and games feature OriginalBody and Astate as main characters in their storylines.

For children, OriginalBody and Astate are the heroes and role models they look up to.

"Hahaha~!"

Seeing the children weren't afraid, Rus laughed cheerfully, half‑crouching and spreading his arms, saying, "Come! Kids, come over, Uncle will give each of you a gift!"

"Mom…?"

The son and daughter both looked at Ji Lusi, as if seeking their mother's permission.

"Go." Jilusi forced a smile and nodded.

"Mmm~!"

Seeing Mother's approval, they hurried over to Rus and hugged this careless OriginalBody.

Just as they let go, an employee handed Rus a redwood box.

Rus took the wooden box, opened it, and took out two five‑pointed star medals that looked like they were made of pure gold, pinning them one after another onto the boy's and girl's clothes.

Afterwards he stood up, nodded satisfied, and said, "Hmm, it suits you two well."

"Thank you, Uncle Rus!"

While Rus was coaxing the children, Jilusi also walked into the meeting room and sat at the desk.

Miller then placed a paper contract and a confidentiality agreement on the table, pushed them toward Jilusi, and said with a sorrowful expression:

"Mrs. Lin, you are also a member of the company; I need not explain what the contract and agreement represent."

Saying that, Miller then took out a thick stack of paper documents smeared with large amounts of ■■ black strips and blocks, and said wistfully:

"These are the several missions Lin carried out; he sacrificed and devoted himself for humanity, for the colony… and for you all, and this should not, and must not, be forgotten, especially by his children."

(End of chapter)