Lex Wood looked helplessly at the others, but most of them were level-headed and unwilling to take unnecessary risks for a stranger, especially a black woman they didn't know. Besides, she wasn't exactly a looker, and the guy who'd spoken up for her might've just been desperate after not seeing a woman for too long.
"You're all 3K Party! White devils!" Lex Wood spat, cursing nonstop and even throwing out the 3K Party label to smear Roy.
The 3K Party, for context, is an extremist white supremacist group in America, notorious for using violence against people of other races. A side note: hardcore white supremacists believe only Anglo-Saxons are "pure" whites. Germans, Slavs, and others with fair skin don't make the cut in their eyes. Don't even mention Latinos or Jews.
Later, as Anglo-Saxon birth rates dropped, these groups grudgingly accepted Germans, but Slavs and other fair-skinned races were still outsiders. On the flip side, there's a black extremist group called the Black Panther Party, which likely inspired the name of a certain black superhero.
"Shut up! You're the one acting like a Black Panther!" Roy snapped, done with the nonsense. He grabbed Lex Wood's arm and forcibly cut her finger.
Her blood dripped into a petri dish, and the red liquid immediately contracted, like a person huddling against the cold. Did this thing fear low temperatures?
As Roy pondered, Lex Wood's head suddenly split in two, and several red tentacles shot out, trying to grab him.
Roy was ready. With a quick kick, he sent Lex Wood flying over ten meters away, avoiding any blood splatter. The Black Mountain mercenaries behind him opened fire and tossed incendiary grenades.
Lex Wood was burned to death on the spot.
The guy who'd defended her was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected her to actually be infected. They'd been standing so close—he'd nearly gotten caught in the crossfire.
"See that, everyone? This parasite is incredibly dangerous. It takes over a human's body, gaining their memories and intelligence. We absolutely cannot let it leave Antarctica!"
The group now understood the parasite's threat. No one refused the blood test anymore.
The scalpel used on Lex Wood was contaminated, so Roy tossed it onto her burning corpse and had the Conqueror drop another one.
Suddenly, one of the Aurora Station crew turned and sprinted toward the station. The Black Mountain mercenaries fired, shattering the man's legs, but they were too far to throw an incendiary grenade.
Then, his head, along with his spine, burst out of his body, abandoning his limbs and scuttling away like a centipede.
Roy didn't hesitate. He pulled out an incendiary grenade and hurled it like a baseball, nailing the creature's head with an explosion.
The thing didn't escape—it was set ablaze.
The mercenaries quickly threw more grenades to burn the remaining husk.
Their failure to keep a closer eye had let the creature get that far in the first place.
The Aurora Station crew was shaken, especially the two who'd been near the transformed man. They'd probably have nightmares tonight.
"You all saw that, right? Keep testing!"
The rest of the blood tests went smoothly, and Roy brought the group onto the Conqueror.
Though the Conqueror had plenty of space, adding over a dozen people made it feel a bit cramped. No one dared complain, though—the events they'd just witnessed were beyond imagination.
Having resolved the Aurora Station crisis, Roy became the group's de facto leader. No one dared disobey him.
"Everyone, take a break and grab some hot coffee to warm up. I'll head out later to blow up the Aurora Station. Charles, we brought explosives, right?"
Charles nodded. "Yeah, the Black Mountain mercenaries brought some C4, just in case."
"Good. I'll take them to destroy the station later. The parasite seems weak to cold—we can freeze them out."
Roy then turned to the station's director, his earlier call for a break actually a pretext to question him.
Feeling Roy's gaze, the director visibly trembled, clearly terrified of him.
"Mr. Blake, w-what's up?"
"Director, where did these parasites come from? They didn't just appear out of nowhere."
The director spilled everything, not daring to hold back.
It all started that morning around 7 a.m. The Aurora Station crew heard the sound of helicopter blades, thinking they had visitors. When they went outside, they saw a helicopter chasing an Alaskan Malamute.
Puzzled, they watched as the helicopter crashed due to pilot error. The station took in the dog.
"So the parasite came from the dog?" Roy asked. "What about the guy who just turned?"
"That was the doctor. Clark got bitten while caging the dog, and the doctor treated his wound. He must've gotten infected then."
That made sense—medical staff are often at high risk of infection.
"And the helicopter? Where'd it come from?"
"We checked and found it was from the nearby Norwegian station. We planned to visit tomorrow to investigate, but Mike Dean said we had visitors coming, so we held off."
That decision likely saved Aurora Station. Who knows what happened at the Norwegian station? If they'd gone, they might've brought back something even worse.
Roy turned to Charles. "We're heading to the Norwegian station tonight."
Charles hesitated. "But the underground energy source…"
Roy waved him off. "We might find answers at the Norwegian station. Besides, Mike Dean said some of the afternoon visitors were bitten by the dog. That expedition team is probably done for."
Mike Dean nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Lucas Barnes himself was bitten!"
Charles laughed. "Ha! That guy's always been a thorn in my side. Serves him right!"
Clearly, there was bad blood between Charles and Lucas Barnes—enough for Charles to wish him dead.
"Roy, let's check out the Norwegian station then. You take charge. I'm heading to my room for a bit."
As the expedition's financier, Charles had a private room. From his expression, it looked like he was stifling a laugh, eager to gloat in private.
Roy also had a room, shared with Heather and Penny. It was a bit cramped, but they liked it that way.
"Rested enough? Grab the C4 and let's go."
The mercenary captain hesitated. "Everyone's going? What about the ship?"
"Heather and Penny will watch things here. Let's take care of Aurora Station and get to the Norwegian one before a blizzard hits."
Outside, it was getting darker, with signs of wind picking up. Night was falling, and working in the dark would be risky. Better to act while there was still some natural light.
"Let's move!"
Roy led the Black Mountain mercenaries off the Conqueror, planting C4 around Aurora Station. Blowing up the surface buildings was easy, but the station's basement posed a problem—surface explosions wouldn't reach it, so they needed to plant C4 down there too.
"I'll handle the basement. You guys guard the perimeter and stay sharp."
"Got it!"
The mercenaries, now fully aligned with Roy, weren't about to argue.
Roy entered the main building alone, gripping his M500. It was dusk, and the lack of natural light made the interior dim. He tried a light switch—no response. The power was out.
The timing of the blackout was too convenient. Roy was sure something was lurking in the station.
Whatever it was likely thought darkness gave it an edge, since most humans can't see in the dark. It didn't know Roy had night vision.
After checking the main building and finding nothing, Roy headed to the basement. It was even darker, but in his ghost wolf form, it made no difference.
The basement held a large generator and some clutter, but nothing seemed off. Roy pulled out a flashlight, pretending to be cautious in the dark as he approached the generator to plant the C4.
Suddenly, a web of thin, pink tentacles shot out from the generator, aiming to ensnare him.
If that web caught him, it'd be game over.
Luckily, Roy's reflexes were sharp. He pushed off the ground, leaping back several meters to the wall.
But the creature wasn't done. A long, thin pink tentacle shot out from the electrical conduit on the wall.
This sneaky bastard had compressed its body to hide in the conduit protecting the wires—impossible to anticipate!
An ordinary person would've been done for, but Roy wasn't ordinary. With a psychic teleport, he warped to the basement entrance and tossed an incendiary grenade.
Flames engulfed the generator and conduit, but the tentacles only retracted—they didn't burn.
"Still underground, huh?" Roy muttered, guessing the creature's main body was beneath the generator. Digging it out would be a hassle.
So, Roy stomped the ground with all his strength.
A powerful shockwave rippled out, centered on Aurora Station. The main building began to collapse. The creature below didn't fare well—its body was crushed by the shifting earth, and blood seeped from under the generator.
Roy found some gasoline in the basement, likely for the generator. He poured it out and ignited it.
The flames from the earlier grenade hadn't died down, and with the gasoline, they roared to life. The creature's blood tried to escape, but the fire was faster.
Soon, the entire basement was ablaze. Roy stepped outside, watching the flames until he was sure no organic matter escaped, then left the building.
The mercenary captain, seeing Roy emerge unscathed, looked uneasy. "What happened? Why was there an earthquake?"
"There was a monster in the basement trying to ambush me. I took care of it. The earthquake? Probably a coincidence," Roy said, shrugging as if nothing had happened.
Out of caution, the captain asked Roy to do a blood test.
Roy didn't object—it'd put the others at ease. "All good?"
The captain stared at Roy's blood on the snow for several minutes, confirming it didn't contract in the cold. He nodded. "We're clear. I'm detonating the C4 now."
With a press of the button, Aurora Station was reduced to rubble.
"Alright, let's head to the Norwegian station."
The sun had fully set, but they had to risk a night trip to check on the Norwegian station. Two small snow exploration vehicles led the way, guiding the Conqueror.
"How far is the Norwegian station from Aurora?" Roy asked the director.
"About 100 kilometers. At this speed, we'll get there in roughly two hours."
"Two hours, huh?" Roy checked the time. They'd arrive around midnight, likely in the middle of a brewing blizzard.
"Hope we make it before the storm hits," Roy said, then told Heather and Penny to keep an eye on the others. He retreated to his room to make a call.
The discoveries in Antarctica needed to be reported to Gerald. If these parasites weren't dealt with, they could devastate Earth. Their environmental destruction was worse than the Color Out of Space, which at least didn't spread as aggressively.
Fortunately, the wind wasn't too strong yet, and Roy got through to Gerald. "Mr. Olin, I've got critical intel for you!"
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