Chapter 45: You Come, Chris

August 31, 20:18.

In the sea about 100 km from the pyramid.

The weather is fine, a light breeze; yesterday's aurora was fleeting, and the night sky is once again filled with countless stars.

Now the icebreaker and the Bo Han Dong are moored in this frozen sea; this is the farthest the icebreaker can reach.

The lights on the ships blaze, and the crew and ground staff of both vessels are busy, preparing for the upcoming operation.

Inside the Bo Han Dong's operations conference room.

The space is relatively narrow, fitting just over twenty officers to listen to the battle plan, yet all the usual conference‑room equipment—whiteboard, projector, and so on—is present.

At this moment.

Marini and Chris of the Caron Task Force, Victor and Carlos of the Olympus Spear, the Epsilon Lieutenant, five elite security sergeants, and several researchers are seated on folding chairs in the conference room.

And Sui Bian, with his arms crossed over his chest, stands at the right side of the projection screen.

The lights dim slightly as the projector displays a satellite overhead view of the pyramid and a 3‑D model drawn by the Red Queen.

"Everyone." Sui Bian scans the room and says in a low voice, "At 03:30 this morning the company discovered a massive pyramid built by an unknown civilization 100 km west of our position; the pyramid lies 600 m beneath the ice sheet."

A pyramid in Antarctica?

600 m under the ice?

"Sir, we lack professional drilling equipment. Should we contact the African base to ship in the necessary gear for borehole excavation?"

Although Chris, Victor, the lieutenant and others were puzzled, as combat personnel they asked nothing further; instead a middle‑aged researcher in a down‑filled vest and black‑rimmed glasses raised the question.

"No need, because 'someone' will have already dug it for us," Sui Bian replies.

"Someone?"

"Impossible, could another company have discovered it?"

After Sui Bian finishes, several researchers voice their doubts.

He pauses briefly, then says bluntly, "All of you here are the backbone of the company, the most loyal employees. You know of the Plague Doctor, you understand that beyond this world lies unknown and dark forces beyond human comprehension.

This time…

We may come into contact with an extraterrestrial civilization."

!!

"What??"

"Extraterrestrial civilization…aliens?"

"Aliens? There really are aliens?!"

Now a whole group of combat personnel voice their confusion; even the burliest of them know the urban legends about UFOs and aliens…

From today's perspective, aliens may not be mere urban legend but a real existence.

"Ahem, alright, let's quiet down for now," Sui Bian coughs lightly as a reminder.

When Sui Bian speaks, the conference room quickly returns to silence.

Next, Sui Bian draws on the movies he's seen to explain to everyone the relationship among Xenomorphs, Ancient Humans, and Iron Blood Warriors.

He emphasizes the custom that young Iron Blood Warriors must kill prey to reach adulthood, that they do not bully unarmed women and children, and that they respect strong opponents, enemies, and even prey.

After finishing the Iron Blood Warrior briefing, he moves on to introduce Xenomorphs, the Xenomorph Queen, and the Facehugger.

For example, their detachable secondary teeth, hard exoskeleton, ability to hide in darkness, and the highly corrosive acid blood that must be watched.

(Iron Blood Warrior: Predator/Yautja.

Alien: Xenomorph.).

"Sir…" After hearing Sui Bian, Chris is the first to ask, "Do you want us to eliminate the so‑called Xenomorphs and Iron Blood Warriors?"

"No." Sui Bian shakes his head lightly and explains, "Given our company's—or rather humanity's—current technology, it's best to avoid antagonizing a species capable of interstellar travel."

They can already travel between stars, while we still need a massive effort just to reach the Moon, not to mention that even their teenage physiology surpasses the limits of human capability.

"So, sir, you mean…?" Chris asks again.

"It's simple." Sui Bian watches Chris's mouth lift and says, "Lieutenant Redfield, I need you to help the young Iron Blood Warriors complete their coming‑of‑age rite.

Although I don't wish the company or humanity to fall out with the Iron Blood Warriors, Lieutenant, I also need you to acquire their weapons; as for the method…

I trust you can accomplish it."

"Yes, sir, wait… just me alone?"

—————————

…

21:00.

The icebreaker deploys ten snow‑tracked vehicles, which form a convoy that drives across the ice toward the area above the pyramid a hundred kilometers away.

As Sui Bian said a little over half an hour earlier, this operation is carried out by Chris 'alone'; accompanying him are not the task force, USS, or elite security, but temporary D‑level personnel.

These D‑level personnel are selected from those 36 prisoners.

The prisoners, once transferred to the Bo Han Dong, underwent brief interrogations; after obtaining their names and birthdays, the Red and White divisions investigated and found anomalies in the accounts of 24 of them.

The remaining twelve had clean accounts, but require repeated questioning and investigation to determine who is innocent.

Thus the 24 flagged individuals were classified as D‑level personnel and, under Chris's lead, sent toward the pyramid.

Among the 24 are researchers of underground facilities, engineers, and many armed security from Lockford Island; the staff mix is complete enough to form a temporary task force.

The commander of this temporary task force is Chris.

Before departure, Sui Bian did not disclose the mission details to these temporary D‑level personnel, and they have no knowledge of Xenomorphs or Iron Blood Warriors.

However, Sui Bian assures these D‑level personnel that as long as they dutifully carry out the mission, the company will overlook any entanglement with the Asifort family, erase their memories and release them, and also provide subsidies to their families.

When mentioning families, Sui Bian adds extra emphasis.

As for killing Chris and escaping?

The fuel only suffices for the snow-track vehicle to travel 160 kilometers, and the food and drinking water are only enough for two days; fleeing on foot in the uninhabited areas of Antarctica…

This action is tantamount to suicide.

Even ants cling to life, let alone humans.

Moreover, the company has my family as hostages; my own death would be no matter, but my family must not suffer disaster because of it.

The final point that can put Sui Bian at ease is that Chris, who bears an abnormal phenomenon attribute, could not possibly be killed so casually.

In the movie, that black woman can survive to the end and even gain the favor of the Iron Blood Elder, while Chris, as the protagonist, would be grateful just to kill off those 24 people, the Aliens, and the Iron Blood Warriors.

(End of chapter)