Cairo.
It is the capital and largest city of Egypt, and also the largest city in Africa and the Arab world, straddling the Nile River.
On its outskirts stands the Great Pyramid of Khufu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, along with the Sphinx, which holds various unsolved mysteries.
But at this moment, Cairo...
It was as if it had'split open'.
More precisely, the entire city of Cairo seemed to have vanished due to a collapse, and a massive chasm had opened in the earth.
The rift emitted a crimson glow that reached to the heavens.
In addition, there were gigantic humanoid creatures on the outskirts of the city, too far away to discern clearly.
Clearly, this anomalous phenomenon was something that could not be explained by science.
.
John's face, behind his helmet, darkened, and with a slight frown, he asked Cortana:
"Cortana, can you directly ascertain the current situation in Cairo?"
"Master Chief..." Cortana, displayed on the screen, shook her head with a bitter expression.
"It's impossible. Unless I get closer to the outskirts, then I might be able to scan the rift and the matter within it."
"Alright."
Upon hearing the reply, John immediately stood up, preparing to leave the dune and discuss a strategy with Michel and the other Helljumpers.
"Huh? Wait a moment."
At this moment, Carl, with the best eyesight, seemed to have discovered something, looking through his sniper scope towards the road northwest of the dune.
Meyron, holding a rotary Gauss gun, half-knelt on the ground and asked, "What is it, Carl?"
"Look quickly." Carl pointed his finger towards the road.
Hearing this, John slowly moved to Carl's left, also half-kneeling, and maximized his long-range vision.
What appeared on the screen were ordinary humans and'soldiers' escorting them.
This group of people and'soldiers' gathered on the road were heading towards the rift, which could be seen no matter how far away one was.
Although the long-range vision couldn't make out everyone's faces, it was still possible to see that they were raggedly dressed, and some walked with a limp.
And the'soldiers' were clearly not human at a glance.
Their forms varied.
The vast majority were skeletons emitting an eerie red light, holding scimitars and round shields.
Leading these skeleton soldiers were mummies wrapped in white cloth, carrying long spears.
"Oh my God..."
Meyron, who also saw the scene on the road, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Did I actually guess correctly? Is that rift hell, otherwise where would these ghost soldiers come from?"
"We don't need to worry about whether it's hell or not, only about the mission at hand."
John replied indifferently, then ordered Cortana, "Cortana, record everything we've seen. Upload it to Dr. Halsey immediately upon exiting the containment zone."
"Yes, Master Chief."
"Mhm." John nodded, then turned and left the dune.
Afterward, Meyron and Carl exchanged glances, shrugged in unison, picked up their respective weapons, and followed John, leaving together.
.
Back at the landing zone.
One by one, olive-green four-wheel drive all-terrain vehicles were assembled.
Some were two-seaters, with a turret at the rear.
The turrets were equipped with heavy-caliber Gauss cannons, or rotary Gauss guns, or missile launchers, and other armaments.
Besides these offensive types, there were also six-seater transport-type all-terrain vehicles, providing high-mobility transfers for Blue Team and the Madjaws.
These types of all-terrain vehicles had a unified name: 'Warthogs'.
(Image)
The Warthog was a multi-purpose light vehicle personally developed by Halsey, capable of troop transport, combat, reconnaissance, and anti-aircraft defense. It could adapt to various terrains and was extremely fast.
What further highlighted the 'lightness' of the Warthog was its ability for easy assembly and disassembly.
The components contained within every two special drop pods could form a Warthog, providing excellent ground'service' for the Helljumpers.
.
Michel, who had just finished directing his subordinates to assemble the Warthog convoy, saw the returning Spartan Blue Team.
He immediately stepped forward and asked, "Master Chief, what's the situation we're facing?"
"Not optimistic." John said in a deep voice:
"The anomaly possesses an army of corpses composed of skeletons and mummies, and Cairo has vanished, replaced by a massive rift like hell.
Cortana, share the video you just recorded."
"Yes."
As Cortana responded, she also shared the 'hell rift' they had just seen, as well as the ordinary humans being escorted on the road, and the ghost soldiers resembling hell's envoys.
Soon, the content of their recent reconnaissance appeared on the helmet screens of Michel and the Madjaws.
Seeing this, Michel's tone became even more severe, and he asked, "Then, Master Chief, what are your orders?"
Hearing this, John looked at the Warthog convoy nearby, and after a brief thought about the strategy, he said:
"This anomaly has an entire army, and our scale is a bit too conspicuous. So...
(Looking at Michel)
We'll first rush to the highway and engage them, providing Dr. Halsey with some combat data and gathering some useful intelligence.
Then we'll split into two groups.
Major, you will lead the Madjaws company, using the Warthogs' high mobility to maneuver around the anomaly.
And I will lead Blue Team 'on foot' towards Cairo to obtain more detailed data on the anomaly."
"Just the three of you? That's too risky, and without the Warthogs, how will you make a rapid assault? This is practically going deep alone, no!" Michel immediately refused.
"Don't worry, Major." Meyron, standing behind John, helped explain:
"With our Spartan physique, plus this MJOLNIR armor, our running speed is no less than these metal beasts."
As he spoke, Meyron even raised his hand and tapped a Warthog.
"This..." Michel could only sigh, "The boss once said your Spartan combat power rivals gods. To be honest, we might even be a burden to you."
"No, you are also elites." John waved his hand.
Then he turned and boarded a Warthog's gunner position, and ordered, "Major, prepare to commence operation."
"Yes."
Michel saluted John, and then, raising his voice on the comms, said, "Helljumpers! You all heard the Master Chief!
Cover your drop pods! The fleet will recover them after we contain this anomaly that's playing god!
Get your fat asses moving! Hurry up! We're deploying!"
"Hooah!"
Under Michel's 'encouragement', the Madjaws all shouted the Marine Corps' favorite motto into their helmets, then began to move quickly.
Before long.
The Madjaws, as elite Helljumpers, had finished organizing themselves according to Michel's orders and quickly boarded the Warthogs.
Engines started.
The convoy of thirty-four Warthogs drove out of the oasis, moving across the desert as if on flat ground, rushing towards the highway in the northwest direction.
Everyone was ready to engage those 'ghost soldiers' and provide Halsey with effective combat records.
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