"Command Center received."
The Communications Officer on the other end of the communication channel reminded Hogan and the others:
"Agents, the order from above is to scout, not to contain. Please do your best to preserve your lives."
"Vulture Team received, over."
"Command Center, over."
After cutting contact with the Command Center at Kennedy Airport, Hogan looked up toward the end of Fifth Avenue and glanced at the miniature map on the top right of his visor.
He confirmed the distance between the Plaza Hotel and their current location was about five hundred meters.
Seeing this, Hogan checked his rifle and said calmly:
"Vulture Team, confirm that the magazines are loaded with subsonic ammunition, and ensure the suppressors are installed."
"According to Dr. Halsey's hypothesis, the containment object codenamed Elizabeth Green possesses a hive mind, which means it likely has absolute control over every infected individual."
"Therefore, for this operation, we must avoid firing our weapons as much as possible. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, prioritize evasion and avoiding contact."
"Understood?"
"Yes, Officer." The group of Agents responded in low voices.
"Very good."
Hogan nodded, gripped his rifle with his right hand, waved his left hand forward, and ordered: "Move out."
Immediately after.
The Agents, divided into ten teams of four, spread out across Fifth Avenue, maintaining a distance of about four meters between each team to ensure optimal covering fire.
As they ventured deeper, visibility decreased until the concentration rose again, reaching a point where they could barely see their own hands in front of their faces.
However, relying on the scanning system and dynamic detection developed by Dr. Halsey, the group moved through the blood mist unimpeded; the Agents could even'see' small pebbles in front of their combat boots.
Beep—beep—
At this moment, a green indicator light flashed on the top left corner of Hogan's visor, signaling that the blood mist concentration here met the requirements.
"Stop." Hogan ordered in a low voice, bringing the advancing team to a halt.
He then slung his rifle to his side, raised his hands to fumble through the multi-pocket vest on his chest, and pulled out a silver metal container.
He pinched the metal buttons on both ends of the container and gave them a twist.
"Whoosh—!"
In less than half a second, the container sucked in the red mist until it was full, and the metal buttons automatically closed and sealed.
Sample collected.
Hogan placed the container back into his pocket, pressed firmly on the pocket's Velcro with his right thumb, and after confirming it was secure, picked up his rifle again.
"Move."
"Yes."
The dialogue between the Agents was concise and to the point; having completed the primary objective, they proceeded to the next.
The journey was silent.
Furthermore, it seemed as if the Goddess of Luck was watching over them, as no infected individuals appeared during this time.
A good omen?
Who knows.
But this allowed the Agents to quickly arrive beneath the building of a certain wealthy merchant; they were now only a little over a hundred meters away from the Plaza Hotel, the center of the red mist.
In other words, one more intersection forward, then a left turn, and they would reach their destination.
However,
The anomalous phenomena that the Agents were familiar with and 'loved' were no longer hiding; they finally began to reveal their true appearance.
The originally smooth road had become pitted and uneven, and stepping on it felt soft and bouncy.
Through the imaging transmitted by the visor, there were intertwined vine-like structures on the road, though they possessed no offensive capabilities.
However, they would occasionally writhe and twitch, indicating that these vines were not plants, but rather the tubular organs of some organism.
They walked a few dozen meters further.
The images returned by the scanning pulse showed that within the distance between the Agents and the intersection, there was a large, an extremely large number of egg-shaped structures.
Judging from the outlined shapes, calling them eggs was less accurate than calling them massive lumps of flesh.
"Stop." Hogan immediately brought the team to a halt.
"Alert."
The Agents spread out, gripping their firearms tightly to guard the surroundings.
Inside his mask, Hogan narrowed his eyes and walked toward the nearest lump of flesh.
Getting closer, closer, he could see the outline with his own eyes, then stopped.
Now, Hogan finally understood what the crisscrossing tubular organs on the ground were; they were connected to the base of the flesh lumps, as if transporting nutrients to them.
He looked up to observe further.
He saw that the outer wall of the flesh lump looked like pink sandpaper, emitting a chilling red light from within, and he could vaguely see a massive humanoid creature inside.
"Fuck." Hogan muttered in a low voice, then immediately contacted the Command Center:
"Command Center, this is Vulture Team leader Staff Sergeant Hogan. Please project my personal camera feed onto the main screen and let Dr. Halsey see this... disgusting thing."
"Command Center received. Your feed is being projected, Staff Sergeant. Dr. Halsey is analyzing it now."
In just a few seconds, the communication channel switched to Dr. Halsey's voice:
"Staff Sergeant, do not proceed any further with the reconnaissance for now. I have already gathered enough information."
"The Boss has ordered you to withdraw as soon as possible. A group of Technicians carrying decontamination equipment is already heading to the Yellow Zone under the protection of the Marine Corps."
"As for the specific coordinates, they will be sent to you shortly."
"Yes." Hogan prepared to turn and leave.
But after walking back just two steps, he stopped, turned his head back to look at the cluster of flesh lumps, and suggested:
"Dr., do you need us to plant demolition equipment?"
"No, do not disturb them, but..." Dr. Halsey seemed to be contemplating something.
She said, "Staff Sergeant, crouch down and let me get a close look at those tubular tissues."
"Yes." Hogan crouched on the ground, bringing his head as close as possible to the flexible tube.
"Hmm..." Dr. Halsey murmured, then said, "Staff Sergeant, please help me extract a liquid sample from inside."
"Yes."
Hogan slung his rifle onto his back and pulled out a longer container from his many pockets.
He removed the protective casing, revealing a needle shimmering with silver light.
Then...
"Pfft! Whoosh!"
The custom needle easily pierced the flesh wall of the tube, again extracting a liquid sample with extreme speed.
"Click!"
The moment he saw it was full of liquid, Hogan raised his hand, withdrew the needle, and replaced the protective casing in one fluid motion.
The entire process took no more than two or three seconds.
He placed the container back into his pocket, pressed the Velcro shut with his thumb, stood up, walked toward the south, and ordered:
"Vulture Team, prepare to evacuate."
"Yes."
Following the short, forceful response, the group of Agents retreated in an orderly fashion toward the coordinate location.
.
All Agents who participated in this reconnaissance operation were thoroughly decontaminated by the Technicians who met them, and they withdrew from Manhattan under the protection of the Marine Corps.
The temporarily formed Vulture Team suffered no casualties.
———————
...
Inside Kennedy Airport;
After William Russell confirmed through the screen that all Agents had evacuated safely and were preparing to board the helicopter to return, the weight that had been hanging on his heart finally lifted.
He remarked to Dr. Halsey beside him:
"Catherine, I think Elizabeth Green is planning to turn the Red Zone into her nest. Based on the data transmitted back by Vulture Team alone, there are at least over a thousand of those... eggs..."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"