Meanwhile;
Hank and the four cloaked Alphas left the isolated island where the arena was located, crossed another stone bridge, and proceeded deeper.
They also heard William's speech.
But they wouldn't be shouting 'Woo-la!' like the UBCS.
Besides Andre and Halsey, the people who understood William best were the Alphas.
They knew that the benefits William provided to combat personnel were clearly higher than those for any other employee.
Otherwise, the UBCS and USS wouldn't be ranked A-Class.
And the Agents, who seemed like cannon fodder, wouldn't be at B-Class along with the various Researchers.
It was precisely William's emphasis that made the vast majority of combat personnel display such selfless devotion when facing anomalies.
Recognition and affirmation were often more powerful than the force of money.
Back to the main point.
Hank and the others quickly passed through the stone bridge and corridors, arriving at the innermost 'room' of the mausoleum.
The layout here was very similar to the main hall of the Nemean Lion.
On the left side was a magma abyss providing illumination, and on the right side was a statue cluster of ancient heavily armored infantry.
At the end of the line of sight was a stepped, pyramid-like structure.
At the four corners of the structure's summit were general statues draped in cloaks, and a sarcophagus made of special material.
Solemn, reverent.
The hero lying in eternal sleep within the sarcophagus seemed to be truly suppressing this active volcano.
The final containment object was kneeling on the marble floor tiles in the very center of the room.
It resembled a normal hind.
But the antlers emitting a faint golden light indicated that it was an anomaly.
Although the Alphas were in stealth mode, the hind still perceived their presence.
It stood up and walked toward Hank and the others with graceful steps.
It stopped a few meters away, tilted its head, blinked its intelligent eyes, seemingly pondering something.
Seeing this, the Alphas deactivated their optical camouflage.
Hank signaled his subordinates to spread out and maintain vigilance with a gesture, and quietly inquired:
"Command Center, the containment object is not showing hostility; it is merely observing us nearby. We require advice from President Papulias."
"Understood, please wait."
A few seconds later, a slightly aged voice from Carlos came over the communication line:
"Lieutenant, what you are seeing is the Ceryneian Hind. In legends and myths, it possesses extremely strong perception and near-infinite stamina.
However, no record has ever indicated that it has any aggressive tendencies, and the Ceryneian Hind has no defensive capabilities.
As long as you do not display hostile actions, I believe it can be safely contained."
"Understood."
Hank nodded, then used a gesture to command the Alphas beside him:
"Three of you stay here to guard it and await the follow-up Omega unit. You will come with me to inspect the sarcophagus."
"Yes, Lieutenant." (x4)
"Hee~"
Seeing that the humans had not attacked, the hind raised its head and let out a soft cry, then again knelt down without any guard.
It then licked its fur a few times before continuing to rest on the ground, showing no intention of stopping Hank and the others.
..
With unimpeded passage, Hank and the other quickly climbed to the top of the pyramid structure and gradually approached the sarcophagus placed in the very center.
There were no ornate carvings.
But what lay inside was the hero from the myths, Achilles.
Hank instructed the accompanying Alpha to be vigilant of the surroundings while he approached the sarcophagus to inspect it closely.
After finding no hidden mechanisms, he reported: "Command Center, the sarcophagus is confirmed to be normal."
— — — — — — —
..
At the military Base three hundred kilometers away.
Inside the Command Center.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after viewing the live feed on the central screen and hearing Hank's report.
After all, the appearance of Hydra had made everyone believe that the third 'Tomb Guardian' would be even more powerful, making the containment operation much more difficult.
It now seemed...
The ancients, when building this mausoleum, believed that the Nemean Lion and Hydra were sufficient to deal with any tomb robbers.
So, for the final checkpoint, they only had the gentle Ceryneian Hind accompany the 'lonely' Achilles.
Andre, who stood with his arms crossed and a stern expression throughout, slowly walked behind the Communications Officer, personally taking the microphone and stating solemnly:
"This is the Command Center. The recovery team has entered the mausoleum.
Lieutenant, your mission is to collaborate with the Omega unit to assist the recovery team in retrieving all containment objects and the sarcophagus."
Hank: "Alpha received."
..
As this conversation ended, it signified that all anomalies within the mausoleum had been successfully contained by Umbrella.
The heavy atmosphere inside the Command Center instantly released all its pressure.
Even old President Carlos, standing behind Andre, wore a smile.
Conversely, William, watching from the high platform, felt somewhat conflicted.
He was happy that this containment operation could conclude.
Yet saddened by the Omegas who had died.
From the very beginning of establishing Umbrella, William knew that casualties in the UBCS and USS were inevitable, and future containment operations would become increasingly difficult.
Employees respected him, but how could he not cherish his employees?
Although William focused on taking special care of the Alphas' equipment, in reality, he treated every combat personnel equally.
If the bio-armor could be mass-produced, he would rather equip all deployed Agents with it.
Unfortunately, reality did not allow him to be so willful.
"Sigh."
[Detected that the Host's subordinate forces have successfully contained all anomalies in this incident.
Reward drawing available, please wait...
Congratulations to the Host for obtaining two chances to draw characters from the 'halo Legends' series. Do you wish to draw now?]
Just as William's mood sank, a series of words from the system appeared in his ears.
He glanced at the people still busy below, turned, leaned against the railing, looked up at the ceiling, and said inwardly:
'Draw.'
[Received, initiating the first draw, please wait...
Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Spartan-II Soldier 141, Karl (Cal).
Selecting one of the fourteen children...
Undergoing modification...
Modification complete.
Name: Karl.
Status: Not at peak.
Number: 4.
Age: 12.
Combat Power: 204.
Special Skill: None.]
'Oh?'
Hearing that he obtained Karl.
William raised an eyebrow slightly, seeming to finally show some interest.
He still had a relatively deep impression of the female Spartan who stunned the entire audience when she took off her helmet.
[When Karl is modified into a Spartan Soldier, she will reach peak data.
Karl's revised data is as follows:
Combat Power: xxx
Special Skill: Fatal Blow.
Karl is the sniper among the Spartan-II Soldiers, skilled at discovering enemy weaknesses.
When equipped with corresponding heavy sniper weapons, there is a 4% chance to activate this special skill.
An anomaly that is hit will either immediately lose combat capability or die.
Note: Anomalies must have a physical form; spiritual entities are ineffective.]
"Whoa!"
The system's words successfully pulled the depressed William back to shore.
-------------------------------
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