Chapter 486

After receiving their respective tasks, all personnel went to the armory, either completing it alone or with the help of comrades and logistics staff, to don their powered armor.

Inside the female armory.

The trainee sisters changed into form-fitting combat uniforms, perfectly outlining their extremely standard and aesthetically pleasing figures.

Afterward, they donned black-painted powered armor resembling a 'vintage-grade' TPS, and over the armor they wore a vivid red outer robe, adorned with decorations related to 'Human Truth'.

Attire complete.

Without fastening their helmets, they picked up. 50-caliber pulse weapons and flamethrowers fueled by promethium, grabbed sufficient ammunition, and then rushed out of the armory toward the landing pad.

As trainee combat sisters, Tanya, Celesstin, and the others had no authorization, nor were they qualified to receive exclusive powered armor and. 50-caliber bolt guns.

However, they possessed an improved pulse weapon system, which is also a high-quality substitute for bolt weapons; conversely, the flamethrower is identical in model to that used by the regular sisters.

Arriving at the landing pad.

Tanya, Celesstin, and the others, according to the holographic display generated in their left eye, quickly boarded the Yuyou of the Intelligence Department.

They entered.

They actually saw twenty 'Auxiliary Forces' equipped with Herculian III, as well as Zax Redfield wearing simple powered armor, already waiting inside the cabin for a long time.

Auxiliary Forces?

Though doubtful, they did not dwell on it, stowed their weapons, and then took seats in a row on the right side of the cabin.

Soon, the communication announced that the 1st Reconnaissance Company was all in place; immediately, the Yuyou took off together with the aviation squadron of the 3rd Battalion Headquarters, soaring above the rainforest toward the site where twenty-four special squad members had fallen.

"Boom... boom..."

The rear cabin door was not closed, allowing the trainee sisters to clearly hear the outside noise and also to see the rainforest under nightfall.

However, at this moment they did not look outward but instead focused on the silent Auxiliary Forces opposite them and on Zax, who was consulting files and data via the holographic screen.

Regarding the Auxiliary Forces...

Although they too are somewhat legendary troops, only in the capital star systems of each star region, and in star systems where a battalion headquarters is stationed, does one have the chance to 'see their true form'.

But with the Auxiliary Forces numbering close to six hundred million, they are often stationed in regiment-level units in the subsidiary star systems of battalion headquarters, after all some battalion headquarters are extremely wealthy, with more than one star system under their jurisdiction.

And their mother star in the main universe happens to lie within the subsidiary star system of the 45th Battalion of the Extreme Legion, where there is a reserve company and three Auxiliary Forces assault regiments.

During regular training, Auxiliary Forces also come to provide instruction and pass on experience.

However, it has been nearly a month since they arrived at Tai Luo Ke Er in the Zero-Three Universe, and they have not heard the elite captain say that this fringe planet has Auxiliary Forces stationed.

But combining Zax's surname 'Redfield'...

"Little old fogey." Tanya, thinking, slightly turned her head and whispered to Celesstin sitting beside her: "I recall that the commander of the Auxiliary Forces of the Dark Crow Guard Legion seems to be surnamed Redfield."

"Hmm." Celesstin gave a slight nod without denial.

The Auxiliary Forces commander they spoke of is none other than one of the elders of Umbrella, who once nearly kicked Kaelter into a bloody eunuch with a single foot—Chris Redfield.

This formidable figure, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries of the main universe, rendered meritorious service to both Umbrella and humanity, and even entered textbooks as a living legend.

Currently he is the Auxiliary Forces commander of the Dark Crow Guard, and within the legion he ranks second in prestige only to OriginalBody Kelakesi, a position of great authority and high standing.

As for Zax Redfield, she is actually Chris's granddaughter.

Chris had his son go to the harshest, most arduous places to undergo training, accumulate experience and prestige; at most he merely pulled strings, lending a hand when necessary.

Conversely, he dotes on his granddaughter, wanting both to fulfill her desire to gain experience and to ensure her safety.

Thus Chris dispatched from his direct subordinate units a combat company of Auxiliary Forces rich in experience, accompanying his granddaughter to Tai Luo Ke Er.

There's no helping it; the pattern of grandparent-grandchild affection applies to Chris as well.

However, dispatching his direct troops under the guise of an external assignment, while not violating any rules or regulations, everyone knows it is Chris's private maneuver.

However, treating Chris as an uncle-generation figure, Kelakesi won't intervene, and Sui Bian certainly won't care.

As long as the elders are smart enough, not 'relying on old age to sell old age,' Sui Bian will still grant them as many privileges as possible.

And Zax is quite capable; upon arriving at Tai Luo Ke Er, she had the Auxiliary Forces conceal their identities and covertly provide protection.

Furthermore, through another covert infiltration that dismantled the Dark Spirits, advance notice to the reserves, Umbrella, and UNSC to respond, and multiple perfect handlings of parasitic alien invasions, Zax successfully rose to become the new head of the Intelligence Department.

Thus, although she appears to be in her mid-twenties, in reality Zax is more than a full generation older than these trainee sisters before her.

"I'm going..." Tanya, however, made an expression of realization and continued: "This commander before us might very well be a young lady of wealth; otherwise, why would such elite Auxiliary Forces serve as her bodyguards?"

"Whether or not she's a young lady of wealth, with the Auxiliary Forces' assistance our mission success rate will greatly increase; stop being startled, now you should think about how to solve the worm disaster." Celesstin remained calm.

"Of course we burn, burn it clean." Tanya said without hesitation.

"Hehe." At this moment Zax dispersed the holographic screen before her, smiled, and suddenly interjected:

"I don't object to burning it clean, but before we do that, could we first have the Intelligence Department capture a live specimen, Adams Sisters?"

"Ah... certainly, that is indeed our mission." Tanya promptly replied.

Obviously, their earlier conversation was completely overheard by the so-called 'young lady of wealth' before them.

As the Yuyou and the aviation squadron were about to arrive, the atmosphere in the cabin grew increasingly solemn; even the lively trainee sister Tanya wore a grave expression, tightly gripping her flamethrower.

Soon, with a sensation of descent, the Yuyou rapidly lowered its altitude, flying at a height of over thirty meters above the ground.

When the Yuyou brushed past the lower branches to hover, the cabin lights dimmed from bright to dark, and the twenty Auxiliary Forces silently rose, directly performing a 'feet-to-ground' drop.

The trainee sisters closely followed.

"Thud! Thud!"

In the rainforest, heavy landing sounds echoed.

"Huff... huff..."

Due to nervous excitement and a surge of adrenaline, Tanya's breathing became rapid, and she kept a highly vigilant watch on the rainforest ahead.

"Boom~! Boom..."

The engine's roar faded into the distance; even though dense branches and leaves blocked the view of the aerial situation, one could still tell that the Yuyou and the aviation squadron were beginning to gain altitude and circle above.

Only after they complete their mission will they return to this rainforest.

They eased up.

Tan Ya adjusted her breathing, and saw a small holographic screen at the front of her left eye, displaying the reconnaissance company commander, ordering the intern sisters to escort the intelligence department to a point twenty-five meters to the southwest.

Thus they followed the order, forming three-person teams, supposedly escorting but actually accompanying Zhakesi and the support troops, arriving at the designated position to the southwest.

During this time, Tan Ya could see the location of friendly forces in the reconnaissance company via the miniaturized radar on the holographic screen, but she could not see them clearly, after all, visibility inside the rainforest was extremely poor.

Arrived at the designated position.

Here it was relatively open, visual visibility improved, and Tan Ya also saw a group equipped with TPS-XIII type, painted in jungle camouflage, UNSC Army reconnaissance soldiers, as well as the reconnaissance company commander…

He was a male Iron Blood wearing a TPS-XIII variant, needing to wear a dedicated helmet to cover his dreadlock-like hair, and his breathing emitted a "ga… ga…" sound.

Moreover, among the nearby troops responsible for guard duty, one-third were elites over two meters tall.

These individuals are of human citizenship; elites are relatively common within battalions or regiments, but Iron Bloods, due to their scarcity, rarely appear in public view.

However, the main reason is that the UNSC offers good treatment, making the Iron Blood clan unwilling to squeeze into battalions or regiments where everyone is a "Sparta" or "Astate".

No sense of accomplishment.

Know that they need not undergo time-consuming and costly modification surgeries; compared to ordinary people, they are already called "super soldiers".

At that moment, not far ahead of the Iron Blood company commander lay a pile of bones surrounded by flies, emitting a foul odor.

Fragments of power armor violently dismantled and cut, as well as weapons forever bereft of their owners, were scattered all around.

Clearly, this was the site where, not long ago, twenty-four special squad members clashed with numerous high-risk anomalous creatures.

Tan Ya, grouped with Celesstin and another sister, accompanied Zhakesi and two support troops to the bone pile, whereupon she heard the Iron Blood company commander ask:

"Ga… how should these be handled?"

"Wait a moment."

Zhakesi approached the bone pile, half-squatted nearby ignoring the foul smell, conducted a close-up observation, and then lightly lifted a skull with his left hand.

Seeing the empty interior of the skull, Zhakesi frowned, then gently placed the skull back where it was.

Tan Ya stood up again, continued scanning with her portable instrument; shortly after, Zhakesi read the scan results via his holographic glasses and told the Iron Blood company commander:

"The anomalous creatures we will face seem to have a great demand for flesh and brain tissue, and they may have deliberately left the bones here to create the illusion that they are only interested in flesh and brain tissue."

"No airborne pathogen has been detected so far; even if there were, our internal nanobots could handle it; as for how to deal with…"

"Time is pressing; our intelligence department recommends incineration." Saying this, Zhakesi turned away from the bones and told Tan Ya and the others:

"Sergeant Adams, the bones of those special squad members who have sacrificed and the victims shall be entrusted to you, the intern sisters, to handle."

"Okay."

Tan Ya, appointed sergeant by the lieutenant elite, immediately gestured, and then together with three sisters holding sprayers, aimed at the bone pile and pulled the trigger.

"Whoosh~~!!"

The high-temperature flames instantly purified the bones stained with blood and being harassed by flies.

Meanwhile, Celesstin half-squatted on the ground, left hand resting on the paperback edition of Human Truth on her right shoulder pad, gazing at the raging flames before her with a compassionate expression, saying:

"The cold light emanating from the Lord of Humanity in another dimension will guide you back to the pure sea of Spiritual Energy; may you find rest there."

After Celesstin finished speaking, Tan Ya and the others also completed the incineration measures.

The formerly foul-smelling bone pile had now become a patch of ash, with the nearby soil also baked dry.

Done.

Zhakesi marked this location with his holographic glasses, planning to let the intelligence department's technical personnel carefully gather the scene after resolving this incident and freeing up time.

Next.

A contingent of over one hundred sixty people spread out, swiftly moving through the rainforest, tracking according to the traces left by the anomalous creatures.

Moreover, the Iron Blood company commander, who treads the rainforest as if on flat ground, led the way with his rich experience; the group reached a region of relatively compact geology in about half an hour.

Tan Ya and her companions also discovered an entrance to the underground in this area.

Insect nest?

Upon seeing the entrance, Tan Ya and her companions immediately concluded that below must be the anomalous creatures' nest.

Fortunately, over the past decade or more, they had learned many characteristics of known insect species and countermeasures, and even had killed and burned large numbers of live aberrant forms during graduation drills.

Moreover, as tension eased, when Zhakesi suggested everyone go deeper underground and the Iron Blood company commander led the way into the nest, Tan Ya, Celesstin, and the other intern sisters followed silently, adapting to the combat atmosphere.

Entering the nest.

Since the insect burrow tunnels are confined spaces, and due to their complexity and the need for efficiency, the Iron Blood company commander ordered the reconnaissance company to operate separately.

However, to ensure it was "separate action" rather than being "individually defeated," the Iron Blood company commander merely had the reconnaissance company split into three teams based on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd reconnaissance platoons, continuing deeper underground to capture live anomalous creatures while attempting to locate or lock onto the nest's core.

After all, the tunnels inside the nest are narrow; having the entire company gather together would hinder firepower, so splitting into three groups is the optimal solution.

Tan Ya, Celesstin, and four other sisters, together with the eight support troops led by Zhakesi, followed the Iron Blood company commander and the 1st platoon, exploring toward the west and north.

Strangely, from the moment they entered the nest, they had never encountered any attack by anomalous creatures.

After advancing for over ten minutes.

Their party finally arrived at an extremely spacious underground space; standing at the tunnel exit on higher ground, they gazed over the whole underground area and also discovered countless egg sacs densely packed.

It appears the anomalous creatures have realized they are exposed, confirming that the earlier bones were indeed bait meant to draw attention.

As for them, they likely intend to use the previously dug underground tunnels to launch a full-scale invasion of Olivlan Town and even the entire Tai Luo Ke Er.

(End of chapter)