"Yes."
After hearing the conversation between William and Serana, the pleasant atmosphere among the Alphas instantly switched to serious, and they prepared to escort William out of the recording building.
Hank immediately contacted the fire spirit, ordering it to dispatch a pelican to pick them up.
While being tightly protected and following the Alphas, William continued to ask Serana:
"Serana, what exactly is the situation this time that led you to classify it as a Keter-class anomaly?"
"Boss."
Serana replied, "Detailed image and video information can only be played at the central console on the Bridge of the fire spirit."
"But it is certain that the 'deity' worshipped by this cult has some kind of ability to influence human thought, and can even cause physiological changes in the humans who worship it."
"Furthermore, these cultists demonstrate a high degree of organization, and many wealthy individuals are also members of the cult, providing them with substantial financial backing."
"According to data transmitted back by the Agents, the number of cultists has reached over forty thousand, and they also possess their own armed forces."
"The most troublesome part is that these cult personnel have a clear division of labor; there are veterans responsible for training armed personnel, as well as personnel responsible for capturing ordinary civilians for absorption and modification."
"The surrounding area has been almost completely infiltrated by the cult, but there are still a large number of unaware civilians and our own hidden Agents."
"As for the Agents undercover within the cult, for unknown reasons, they are not affected by the cult's 'deity', maintaining their normal sanity and have not leaked any information about Umbrella."
When Serana finished speaking, William had already arrived at the parking lot outside the recording building under the escort of the Alphas.
Looking at the ten neatly parked SUVs, William said calmly, "Serana, the town where the cult is located should not be able to evade your surveillance, right?"
"Except for the palace where that 'deity' resides, I can monitor any place connected to the network," Serana replied.
"Hm." William nodded slightly.
'It seems... those undercover Agents must have their loyalty guaranteed by the system's assimilation, which is why they weren't influenced by that deity and turned traitor.'
William thought to himself with a slight frown.
And while waiting for the pelican to arrive, he pondered where this anomaly came from.
The church...
The Los Illuminados from resident evil 4?
It's very similar, but Los Illuminados uses parasites to control human minds.
But the cult Serana mentioned possesses a 'deity' that can directly influence people near it.
It seems it's not something like a parasite.
"Whoosh—~"
At this moment, the unique noise of hydrogen engines echoed over the parking lot, interrupting William's contemplation.
A pelican was seen slowly landing in the open space of the parking lot.
Hank immediately ordered ten Alphas to drive the SUVs away, while the remaining Alphas followed William onto the pelican to head to the fire spirit 'parked' in low Earth orbit.
Inside the Bridge;
The fire spirit's Captain Carter, and Mike, who is responsible for shipboard combat personnel, were both here. The two of them and William gathered around the central console.
Serana also imaged herself on the central console's screen to explain the anomaly they were about to face to the three of them:
"Everyone, five kilometers west of the town of Dale Fort in Utah, United States, there is a mountain named North Point."
"And on the summit is a giant palace built by the cult; the anomaly is inside this palace."
As Serana introduced this, the screen beneath her feet also updated with real-time images and data.
First, what caught everyone's eyes was a thumbnail image of Utah, United States, taken by an Umbrella satellite.
The image focused on the center of Utah.
Zooming in.
They saw towns like Dale Fort, Ferron, and Huntington, as well as North Point Mountain on the left side of the image.
The image zoomed in again.
On the summit of North Point Mountain, on a platform at the edge of the eastern cliff, stood a magnificent palace building.
When the image was taken, a group of black-robed cultists happened to be holding a kneeling ritual on the square outside the palace.
Serana then continued to explain, "According to my statistics, there are three towns affected by this anomaly, involving a population of one hundred and twenty thousand."
(Diagram of the affected area)
"Now preparing to play the video files of the anomaly."
With that, Serana played the video transmitted back by the undercover Agent.
Video footage:
The Agent used a micro-camera with a special design, replacing a button on his shirt collar to carry out covert filming.
Through the dialogue in the video, it was learned that the Agent seemed to have assisted the cult in handling a police investigation, thereby successfully gaining the trust of the cult's high-ranking members.
Immediately after, the Agent followed several high-ranking cult members into a bus and drove westward, leaving the town of Dale Fort where they were located.
Since the journey took over twenty minutes, Serana fast-forwarded it.
Until the vehicle stopped halfway up North Point Mountain, when the video playback speed returned to normal.
The Agent followed the cultists off the bus.
After getting off, a large number of armed personnel appeared in the video.
With uniform khaki uniforms, Kevlar helmets, bulletproof vests, and tactical belts, their weapons and equipment were clearly superior to the U.S. National Guard.
Then, an armed individual dressed like an officer appeared in the Agent's field of view and asked about their purpose.
The high-ranking cultist leading the Agent to the summit replied, stating that the Agent had gained the church's trust and they were preparing to take the Agent to receive the 'God's' baptism.
The officer stared at the Agent for a few seconds, then turned and waved, signaling all armed personnel to let them pass.
The Agent and the cultists got back into the bus.
The bus continued to drive toward the summit.
The video fast-forwarded again, returning to normal after a few seconds.
The Agent got off the vehicle and followed the high-ranking cultists through the square in front of the palace.
The cult members here behaved extremely strangely; some voluntarily allowed others to inflict violent abuse on them, with expressions of enjoyment on their faces.
Even worse, some were masturbating in public, and the floor tiles of the square were covered with red and white liquids, utterly depraved.
Then they arrived inside the palace.
Twelve guards, three meters tall, wearing black cloaks and masks, were stationed there.
The Agent deliberately pointed the camera toward the nearest guard.
Due to the mask, the guard's specific appearance could not be seen, but the guard's eyes emitted a faint red light, and the skin showed signs of rotting.
At this point, the video shot by the undercover Agent confirmed that the cult possessed an anomaly.
Then the Agent walked through a dim corridor lit only by torches.
Finally, the Agent and the high-ranking cultists arrived at the hall inside the palace, which was also illuminated by open flames.
On the high platform at the end of the hall sat the 'God' worshipped by the cult.
It had a roughly human shape, rotten skin, and eyes that emitted red light like the guards just now, with soft, octopus-like tentacles covering everything below the Bridge of its nose.
That 'God' gave William, who was watching the video, the first impression of the octopus Captain from "Pirates of the Caribbean".
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