As more and more heavy engineering units smoothly passed through the spatial portal, the Empire's initial integration operation for Universe Two-Three began to run at full speed in an orderly manner, like a massive and precise machine.
Passing through the portal and shouldering the heavy responsibility of vigilance and escort was the designated main legion for this operation, namely the First Company of the newly promoted legion, the White Scars.
They were clad in the legion's signature white-painted Titan power armor, with red lightning patterns symbolizing speed and assault decorating the armor.
The moment these tall warriors crossed the spatial portal, they deployed their formation with skilled tactical movements, guarding the key positions around the engineering convoy like white boulders.
Their sensor arrays were turned on at full power, scanning this unfamiliar desert and sky, while the muzzles of the bolters in their hands pointed vigilantly in any direction that might pose a threat.
Before ensuring absolute safety, they were the most solid shield for the engineering troops. In the subsequent base construction, they would also assist in carrying heavy modules or executing perimeter clearance missions, fully demonstrating the high mobility and adaptability of the White Scars.
And the Empire's Engineering Department had long since honed the construction process of cross-universe frontline bases into a standardized art.
As the orders were issued, the massive engineering convoy seemed to be endowed with life, beginning to efficiently disassemble and reassemble.
The core consisted of modular prefabricated components.
These standard components made of high-strength alloys and composite materials, such as walls, frames, energy pipelines, armor plates, and internal partitions, were precisely transported to designated coordinates by maglev flatbed trucks.
Engineering soldiers wearing exoskeletons worked in coordination with heavy engineering machinery, construction hunters, and multi-legged walking lifting platforms to quickly piece together these building blocks.
The speed was so fast that it seemed like the process of city construction had been fast-forwarded.
Even more impressive were the Hex multi-purpose engineering robots that had undergone countless iterative upgrades.
They were nimble creations with eight or more bionic arthropod limbs, shaped like metal spiders.
The sizes of these spiders ranged from domestic dogs to small trucks. They could adapt to various complex terrains and felt even more at home in the desert.
They operated in swarms; some used the precision welding guns and riveters at their front ends for structural reinforcement;
Some were responsible for laying internal wiring and pipelines;
Others were equipped with small scanners and material injection heads, carrying out delicate repairs and surface treatments.
They were like hardworking worker ants, quickly turning blueprints into a steel reality under the unified dispatch of the engineers.
Accompanying the team were mobile heavy 3D printing factories. After these hundred-meter-long behemoths anchored in the designated area, they unfolded into a small industrial center.
They could directly use engineering waste, locally sourced minerals, and the standard alloy powder they carried as ink to print layer by layer according to the design blueprints, creating standard or non-standard components with complex structures and high demand, such as specially shaped defense turret bases, the dome structures of large warehouses, or even components for small ship repair docks.
This greatly reduced the reliance on long-distance transportation of specific parts from the main universe, improving the flexibility and speed of base construction.
While the Engineering Department was working in full swing to construct the steel fortress, the actions of the scout troops were equally efficient.
A large number of small reconnaissance drones took off from the assembly point like a swarm of bees leaving their hive. A portion of them quickly climbed, entered low-Earth orbit, and began global scanning and mapping of the planet;
The other portion flew low over the vast desert where the spatial portal was located, conducting detailed reconnaissance of the terrain, potential water sources, mineral deposits, and any abnormal heat sources or energy signals within a radius of hundreds of kilometers.
At the same time, dozens of well-equipped scout squads were dispatched. Not only did they execute patrol missions, but they also shouldered the task of secretly deploying automated hidden sentinel sensors at key passes, commanding heights, or concealed areas.
These sensors could monitor vibrations, sounds, electromagnetic signals, and even psychic fluctuations, forming an invisible early warning network.
Meanwhile, the agents of the Investigation Department and the Inquisition rested and prepared in the temporary standby area that the Engineering Department had prioritized completing.
This was not a crude tent, but a fully equipped comprehensive barracks made of rapidly deployed prefabricated cabins.
The interior was divided into a dormitory area, a briefing room, an equipment maintenance room, a medical station, and even a smoking room equipped with an air circulation system.
At this moment, inside the smoking room, two figures were standing in front of the transparent isolation window, looking out at the desert that was rapidly changing its appearance.
The isolation window effectively separated the smoke from the outside air without affecting the field of vision in the slightest.
One of them was none other than Leon S. Kennedy. He was still wearing bulletproof casual clothes, his short blond hair combed meticulously, and his face bearing a calmness settled by the years.
He was not smoking; he merely wrapped the chewing gum in his mouth with a tissue and flicked it with unerring accuracy into a sensor trash can a few meters away.
As for his old partner Mike Monadi, he leaned against the window, holding a lit cigarette between his fingers, the smoke forming a small vortex at the ventilation vent above his head.
Mike's face had more traces of weathering than in the past, but his eyes were still sharp, and his mouth always habitually hung with a trace of a cynical curve.
Outside the window, the center of the desert, which was originally boundless with only sand dunes and scorching sunlight, had already become a massive construction site comparable in scale to a small town.
Modular buildings sprang up like mushrooms after a rain. The preliminary outline of the defensive wall had appeared, and the energy shield generators emitted a faint blue light as they were being adjusted. Transport crafts occasionally took off and landed in the air, bringing more supplies and personnel.
The White Scars were like white embellishments, shuttling through the torrent of steel on high alert.
"Tsk tsk, those guys from the Engineering Department are still so over the top."
Mike flicked his cigarette ash, his gaze sweeping across the busy scene, "Last time we went to the Combine Empire, the Salamanders pushed through all the way like slicing melons and chopping vegetables. The intel we gathered in the early stages was barely used, and the casualty report was pitifully thin. I wonder what kind of tough nuts we'll run into this time."
As he spoke, he used his right hand, which was holding the cigarette, to operate the miniature individual computer worn on his left wrist a few times.
A clear hard-light screen was projected in front of the two, displaying the preliminary assessment report regarding Universe Two-Three issued by the Empire's Intelligence Department before the spatial portal was opened.
Mike pointed vaguely at a few lines of highlighted text on the screen with his cigarette butt, "The Intelligence Department specifically warned that we need to be highly vigilant against signs of supernatural entity activities that might exist in this universe, as well as highly dangerous and organized fanatic cultist groups formed under their influence or drive."
"Supernatural entities, crazy cultists, they don't sound like easy things to deal with. They are much more troublesome than those brainless aliens."
Leon crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze still fixed on the gradually forming base outside the window, and analyzed calmly, "The Intelligence Department's wording is very cautious."
"The scope of supernatural entities is very broad, but combined with the description of fanatic cultists, there is a high probability it points to Chaos corruption."
"Demons, or at least the manifestation of warp energy in the material universe."
"If that is really the case, then our colleagues in the Inquisition will probably be much busier than us this time."
Hearing this, Mike grinned, "Exactly! Haha, if we really get into a fight with demons, once the initial reconnaissance and intel gathering are done, we'll just watch how the guys from the Inquisition perform their holy purification."
"After all, dealing with that stuff, our weapons are sometimes really not as effective as a prayer, or a blessed chainsword."
He took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled slowly, and changed the subject with a lighter tone, "By the way, how is your family doing lately? Is little Lynn doing well? What about your wife?"
Mentioning his family, the lines on Leon's face visibly softened, "Lynn is doing very well. She has so much energy it gives me a headache, and she dreams of becoming an investigator every day."
"Ada..." He paused, "She is in a semi-retired state right now."
"She mainly stays at home to take care of Lynn, and occasionally takes on some technical consulting projects or goes to the training ground to guide the rookies."
"It's not like when Atlas was just starting out and the Empire hadn't been established yet, when we were desperately short of hands and had to step up for everything."
"She said that seeing how big the Empire is now and how stable society is, she feels that being an ordinary person, worrying every day about our child going to school and what to eat at home, is also quite nice."
Mike clicked his tongue twice, his tone carrying envy, "This life of yours is not bad. You have generous benefits and can retire whenever you want."
"Unlike me, those bratty boys at my house, each one is more capable of causing trouble than the last. School, training, getting into trouble... the expenses are huge. If I don't go on a few more missions and earn more merit points and allowances, I'm afraid I won't be able to afford to raise them."
Leon gave a rare smile and patted his old partner's shoulder, "Be content. At least they are all alive and kicking. When they get a bit older and can be independent, you will have it easier too."
The two stood like this in front of the isolation window in the smoking room, watching the Empire rapidly take root in this desert while chatting about family matters and the past.
Inside the window was the smell of tobacco and the relaxed atmosphere between veterans, while outside the window was the roaring of steel and the bustling construction scene. Further away lay that unfamiliar world, shrouded by unknown supernatural shadows and the possible whispers of Chaos, waiting for the Empire to unveil it.
In the span of a few hours, the Empire's Engineering Department seemed to have had its fast-forward button pressed.
In the originally dead and desolate center of the desert, a frontline base of astonishing scale and full of cold industrial aesthetics had already been erected.
The towering alloy defensive walls had closed up, thickly covered with automatic turrets and sensor arrays at the top. A faint blue energy shield, like an inverted giant bowl, enveloped the entire base within, isolating the wind and sand from the outside and any potential prying eyes.
Inside, functional buildings such as modular barracks, warehouses, command centers, maintenance workshops, and energy stations lined up in a row. On the neatly planned passages, engineering robots were still checking for omissions and making repairs, while the White Scars carried out patrol missions in different areas.
Above the base, several strike cruisers and frigates of the White Scars First Company were quietly anchored like suspended steel mountains. Their shadows cast upon the base, serving both as a powerful martial deterrent and a hub for maintaining close contact with the reconnaissance units.
And at the core of the base, inside the command center, the atmosphere was solemn.
In the spacious conference hall, the lighting was bright. All the senior military officers participating in this initial operation had arrived, including Leon and Mike from the Investigation Department, representatives from the Inquisition, the main officers of the White Scars company, as well as the heads of the Engineering Department and scout troops.
Everyone's gaze was focused on the front center of the conference room, on that standing stalwart figure: the Company Commander of the White Scars First Company, Li Mu.
Company Commander Li Mu was clad in snow-white master-crafted power armor adorned with red lightning patterns. He was not wearing a helmet, revealing a resolute face.
His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, sweeping across the entire room, and then he tapped on the control panel in front of him.
The holographic screen in the center of the conference room shone brightly and began to synchronously display the massive amount of data, high-definition images, and video materials sent back over the past few hours by the low-Earth orbit reconnaissance drones and some high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that had penetrated deep into the atmosphere.
After preliminary integration, this information outlined a heavy-hearted picture of the current state of Earth Two-Three.
"Based on the preliminary mapping and landmark comparisons..." Company Commander Li Mu's voice was steady and powerful, "Our current location is the hinterland of the Nubian Desert in the northeastern part of the African continent on this Earth. The harsh environment and sparse population provide a natural cover for our initial foothold."
The screen switched to display a global overview map.
Many areas were marked with high-intensity energy residuals, large-scale geological changes, or traces of the destruction of city clusters.
"However, looking at the globe, our human compatriots are in the midst of a dire catastrophe."
A hint of coldness was added to Li Mu's voice.
The screen began to play processed reconnaissance footage.
The footage showed that many once-prosperous metropolises were now nothing but broken walls and ruins.
Amidst the ruins, there were no zombies or mutated monsters, but a large number of humans in tattered clothes, reduced to mere skin and bones.
Their behavior was bizarre—
Some gathered around temple-like structures with twisted and weird styles hastily built using ruin materials or original buildings, frantically kneeling, bowing, and roaring, conducting incomprehensible sacrificial rituals full of self-mutilation;
Others were like beasts that had lost their minds, chasing, biting, and slaughtering each other in the streets without any reason, their fresh blood dyeing the rubble red.
The traces of order, reason, and civilized society no longer existed in these areas. All that remained was a living hell shrouded in madness and despair.
"The traces of global large-scale conflict are obvious, and technological civilization has shown a cliff-like regression." Li Mu continued his explanation as the screen switched to the wreckage of some suspected old-era military bases or industrial zones, most of which were completely destroyed or abandoned. "But the main cause of the current situation is not simply war."
Immediately after, the screen focused on a few large metropolises that were preserved relatively intact.
In the core areas of these metropolises stood magnificent palaces and temple complexes with extremely grotesque styles, mixing elements of various ancient civilizations such as Egyptian, Mayan, and Greek, yet appearing incredibly evil and bizarre.
The buildings towered into the clouds, their surfaces covered with dark substances that seemed to be alive or runes flashing with ominous light.
And guarding these areas were a group of soldiers.
They were generally over two point three meters tall, exceptionally burly and robust in build, clad in heavy armor of ancient styles decorated with twisted symbols and biological bones, yet emitting a non-metallic luster.
Wielding giant cold weapons or strangely shaped energy weapons, they patrolled and stood guard around the perimeters of the palaces with extremely uniform, almost mechanical paces.
The high-magnification lenses of the drones captured the cold, non-human light that occasionally flashed through the gaps in their helmets, as well as the subtle spatial distortions produced around them when they moved.
On the holographic screen, these guards were clearly highlighted in red and marked with an eye-catching label: Supernatural Entity - Suspected Controlled/Symbiote.
"These are the direct manifestations in this world of the supernatural entities mentioned in the intel." Company Commander Li Mu's voice was resolute and decisive. "According to preliminary judgments, Earth Two-Three is suffering from a systematic invasion and mental corruption led by this type of entity."
"The old civilization has collapsed under internal and external attacks. The minds of the surviving humans have been distorted on a large scale, reducing them to crazy cultists and sacrifices, driving them toward extinction in mutual slaughter."
"And these entities have occupied the cores of the old world, establishing a twisted order based on fear and worship."
The conference hall was completely silent.
Leon and Mike exchanged a glance. Their previous speculations had been confirmed—this was indeed a world severely eroded by supernatural forces, with a high probability of it being Chaos and its derivatives...
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