Chapter 553

The scene before him, however, made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

On the cold ground lay an extremely obese person, nearly three meters tall, covered in pus-filled sores and tumors.

It hadn't been dead long.

And around it lay a large group of rotting, decomposing corpses, all wearing Mobile Task Force uniforms.

Among the dead task force members, Adrien saw an old man with ginger and gray hair.

Undoubtedly, Squire had also sacrificed himself in this battle.

He was still holding a rusty knife in his hand, and another was stuck into the chunks of fat around the thing's neck.

"What a tragic battle..." Welt Yang commented softly.

In the end of the world of "Stars Don't Wait", "Abel", who could go a few rounds with the "Missing Thing", had actually died here.

It was hard to imagine what kind of end of the world the Foundation at that time had to face.

Moreover, if according to O5-10, the only thing that could truly stop this disaster was the Supreme Divinity.

Adrien waited patiently, but still didn't see "Abel".

He knew "Abel"'s special nature, but since even he had died in battle, there shouldn't be anyone left alive here...

Just then, a low voice came from the darkness:

"They were attacked shortly after you entered the facility. Unfortunately, they were all killed in action by the time I arrived."

The nine surviving members of Mobile Task Force Omega-7 raised their muzzles as fast as they could, aiming at the man in the shadows.

He was tall and handsome, and his arms were made of steel.

"Containment-073", "Abel"'s brother, a humanoid anomaly named "Cain".

"Cain," Bates breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her weapon.

Adrien made a gesture, and the rest of Omega-7 followed.

"If I were you, I wouldn't get so close to the corpse." Cain warned, "Even if it's dead, these toxic gases are still lethal."

"... Everyone, fall back." Adrien ordered. "Put on your masks, gather in Conference Room Six. Fred Collison, you lead the way."

As the team began to retreat, he took one last look at Squire.

The old man's body had already dissolved into slime, leaving only a skeleton covered in slime.

The knife had corroded into a piece of rust, and a moment later even that turned into a pile of rust-red ash.

"Let's review the situation, shall we?"

Adrien looked at the team leaders present, while other members found resting spots in the conference room.

"Everything is normal," Bates said, "undamaged."

"Ammunition?"

"My squad has plenty of ammo." Fred Collison said.

"Effie and I only have one magazine left, we resupplied from Vincent, picked up what he had left, and now we have plenty of ammo." William said with a sheepish smile.

"Alright, no wounded, the fallen have all been laid to rest. As for the mission-critical equipment..."

Adrien laughed self-deprecatingly and shook his head:

"In this situation, brothers, I'm not sure what our mission is anymore."

"'Abel' team has been routed, presumed all killed in action."

"The nine of us can't go any deeper into this site."

"If the O5s give us any more tasks, I'll say we're incapable of combat and push the job away."

Bates smiled helplessly, "That's it, we're the only ones left."

"Yeah," Adrien grinned, "so I'm asking for opinions on what we should do next."

"No one is suggesting... you know, asking that ancient existence?" Fred Collison suggested.

All three of them turned to look at "Cain".

—He was the only one who hadn't entered the conference room.

He stood in the corridor, calmly observing the long hallway ahead.

Adrien and Bates looked at each other, "Worth a try."

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After hearing their questions.

"Alright," "Cain" said, "I do have some suggestions on how to improve your situation."

"Why didn't you say so before?" Adrien was a bit confused.

"You didn't ask," "Cain" replied, "if there's no question, the answer has no meaning."

"Alright then—what should we do?"

"That depends on your definition of 'we'." "Cain" remained calm.

"If 'we' means you, the woman, and me... I don't want to give you that answer."

"If it refers to the whole team... most of them are useless. Except for you and your lover, everyone else is irrelevant."

After "Cain" gave his suggestion, the entire conference room fell into silence again.

Until Fred Collison spoke:

"I'm not sure if I understood correctly... but I think 'Cain' is telling us to get lost, and you and Bates solve the rest."

"Looks like it." Adrien sighed and looked at his partner, "Bates?"

"'Cain' is the only one with an idea, which means he's already one step ahead of us. I think we should do as he says."

"Then it's decided. Me, Bates, and 'Cain' go. As for the rest... Fred Collison, you take the lead."

Adrien looked at this old friend:

"I suggest you take the remaining team back to the starting point, there's an exit there in fifteen minutes."

"Sir, all three of our Humvees are smashed—we can't be fast enough to reach the outside before it solidifies again," Fred Collison refused.

"Our only way out is the front exit."

"That goes through the area with the highest concentration of enemies." Adrien warned.

"In this situation, we might be better off going with you, right?" Fred Collison said, "We'll die if we try to escape, I might as well join this suicide mission."

"Listen, Fred Collison..."

"Sorry, Adrien," Fred Collison immediately interrupted the other party, "You let me give the orders, right? This isn't up to you to decide, we're following."

"Alright," Adrien stared into Fred Collison's eyes for a while, finally shook his head, bit his lip, and gave the order.

"Form up on me, let's go."

Another part of the site.

Surrounded by the bodies of the dead and the dying, a huge square stone block opened.

A tall man with olive skin and deep red tattoos all over his body returned to the world once again. ===== CHAPTER 555 =====