Chapter Summaries

Halsey briefed Kent and the Spartans on an attack that killed an Umbrella convoy in Dadaab and ordered them to assassinate the warlord Glad Mahmud. John and his team accepted the mission, which Halsey framed as an exercise.

• Halsey showed Kent and fourteen Spartans a report that Glad Mahmud's forces and refugees had attacked and killed an Umbrella supply convoy near Dadaab.
• Halsey asked Kent about the Spartans' combat abilities, then confirmed that she wanted them to take part in the incident.
• John told Halsey that the Spartans were confident they could complete the mission, and his teammates backed him.
• Halsey identified Glad Mahmud as the warlord who had seized Dadaab and revealed that the convoy trucks were inside his guarded manor.
• Halsey declared that Mahmud had given the Spartans an opportunity to conduct an exercise.

Kent briefed the Spartans on infiltrating Dadaab and killing their target before Umbrella's assault, while Halsey warned that Mahmud might be a puppet. As the Spartans traveled toward the city, Halsey learned that the boss was arriving at the base and panicked over not having makeup.

• Kent explained that the Spartans would enter Dadaab in groups, eliminate their target before 00:09, and face an A-10 strike if they failed.
• John asked what would happen if the Spartans missed the deadline, and Kent warned them to run when the bombing began.
• Halsey told Kent to watch for signs that Mahmud was a puppet and urged John to discover what was wrong.
• A security officer told Halsey that the boss's private plane and a transport aircraft would arrive in half an hour, and Halsey panicked about her appearance.
• Mylon, John, and Carl drove toward Dadaab disguised as Libyan university students.

John, Mylon, and Carl drove into Dadaab to prepare for a planned attack on Gerard Mahmud, but the city’s mass killings and an eerie broadcast made John suspect an anomaly. They reached their safe house and found the agent inside muttering about killing.

• Mylon drove John and Carl toward Dadaab while John reviewed their plan to meet an agent and prepare for the midnight attack on Gerard Mahmud.
• Mylon asked whether their mother would call off the A-10 airstrike if they failed to escape, and John said he believed the threat was a bluff.
• The Spartans saw starving refugees, militia killings, and other horrors on Dadaab’s outskirts, leaving Carl sickened and Mylon questioning whether humanity was worth saving.
• John noticed that the refugees did not flee the militia and heard loudspeakers broadcasting in Swahili, so he warned Mylon and Carl to stay alert.
• The three Spartans reached the safe house, but the agent did not answer the door, and they heard someone inside muttering about killing.

John, Carl, and Mylon found an Umbrella agent acting violently and learned that other Spartan teams had encountered similar situations. John chose to proceed with the Decapitation Operation, and Team Seven prepared to attack Mahmud’s estate with drone support.

• Mylon kicked open a locked door, and John, Carl, and Mylon found an Umbrella agent muttering and holding a dagger.
• The agent attacked Mylon, who knocked him unconscious; John had him restrained while Carl contacted the other teams and the Command Center.
• After learning that other teams faced similar incidents and were following her lead, John ordered the Decapitation Operation to proceed.
• At night, John and Mylon silently killed two militiamen while Carl accompanied them toward the estate.
• John reported Team Seven ready and requested real-time tactical support; the Command Center confirmed a drone feed for the Spartans’ Graduation Exam.

At Kenya Base, William and Halsey discussed how an enemy was using language to manipulate people while Sparta raided Mahmud's manor. The operation ended with Sparta killing Gerard Mahmud and containing an anomalous phenomenon.

• William watched the military operation from Kenya Base and wondered whether an organization had ordered Mahmud to attack Umbrella's aid convoy.
• Halsey explained that broadcasts in Dadaab used Swahili phrases to push listeners toward killing, and described how language could influence thought.
• Halsey compared English and Chinese writing, then concluded that the person behind Mahmud could manipulate behavior through words and qualified as an anomalous phenomenon.
• A report announced that Sparta had killed Gerard Mahmud and successfully contained an anomalous phenomenon.

John, Mylon, and Carl led Team Seven into Gerard Mahmud’s manor to carry out a decapitation operation while other Spartans and USS cleared the grounds. They shot Mahmud, subdued a white man who tried to reveal a coded message, and reported that they had secured a possible anomalous entity.

• William ordered the troops to attack after Porcupine One finished dropping the bombs.
• John led Mylon and Carl over the manor wall, where the drone guided them past militia sentries toward the villa.
• The three Spartans entered the villa, killed Elite Militia in the corridor, and advanced toward Gerard Mahmud’s living quarters.
• Mylon kicked down the security door, and John shot Gerard Mahmud as the Spartans entered the room.
• A white man began to reveal a coded message, but John ordered Mylon to silence him, and Mylon knocked him unconscious.
• John reported to the Command Center that the decapitation operation was complete and a possible anomalous entity had been secured.

The Spartans escaped the manor as an A-10 strike destroyed it and routed the leaderless forces in Dadaab, while Umbrella’s troops advanced to occupy the city. At the Kenya Base, William learned the identity and likely motives of their captured anomalous prisoner, Dixon Power.

• John ordered Mylon to bind and gag the anomalous prisoner, then led the Spartans out of the manor as the team abandoned the women under its control.
• Kent congratulated the Spartans on passing their coming-of-age ceremony and issued them Optical Camouflage cloaks.
• An A-10 fired two missiles at the manor and strafed militia forces, while Umbrella troops advanced toward Dadaab.
• The Spartans rested at the Kenya Base hangar as USS personnel loaded supplies onto a V-22 Osprey and William and Halsey arrived.
• William identified the captive as Dixon Power, a University of Washington language professor whose daughter and ex-wife had died in Africa, and concluded that Dixon had used his anomalous linguistic ability to seize control of Dadaab’s forces.

William interrogated Dixon about his ability to control people and ordered him killed and completely disposed of. Later, after rewarding the Spartans for their performance, William asked Halsey whether gods existed, and she answered with Skinner’s pigeon experiment before asking why ancient people made sacrifices.

• William questioned Dixon and learned that he had discovered his speech-based influence within the past six months and that its effects were not permanent.
• William ordered Hunk to kill Dixon, dismember him, and dissolve his remains, and Hunk carried out the order with the Alphas.
• William congratulated the Spartans on their performance and invited them to ask for rewards.
• William asked Halsey whether gods had existed after seeing mythological monsters in Greece.
• Halsey described Skinner’s experiment with pigeons and asked William why the ancients had made sacrifices.

Halsey explained her theories about ancient gods and higher civilizations before revealing that she had created Cortana, an AI based on her own scanned neural structure. William received a hidden system reward for Halsey’s achievement, and she prepared to use Cortana to help open Achilles’ sarcophagus.

• Halsey described Skinner’s pigeon experiment and speculated that ancient gods might have been higher civilizations, while warning that humanity risked attracting danger by broadcasting Earth’s location.
• Halsey brought William to her quarters, where she summoned Cortana as an assistant.
• William’s system announced that Halsey’s creation of Cortana had triggered a hidden reward, granting him one physical enhancement draw, which he chose not to use yet.
• Halsey explained that she had cloned herself, scanned her brain, and converted its neural structure into Cortana, whom she planned to use to control media and coordinate responses during the frigate launches.
• William asked whether Cortana could help them open Achilles’ sarcophagus, and Halsey agreed.

William gained Albert Wesker’s superhuman abilities while Halsey and Cortana examined Achilles’s sarcophagus on Minos Island. They discovered Achilles was still physiologically alive, leaving William wary as they considered how the legendary hero had fallen into a deep coma.

• Technicians secured Achilles’s sarcophagus in the isolation chamber, and Cortana began scanning it under Halsey’s direction.
• William used the system to obtain Albert Wesker’s super speed, rapid healing, and great strength without needing viruses or parasites.
• Cortana detected rhenium in the sarcophagus alloy and confirmed it contained no harmful substances, so Halsey ordered it opened.
• Mechanical arms removed the lid, revealing Achilles’s remarkably well-preserved body in armor and a helmet.
• Cortana and Halsey reported that Achilles had basic physiological activity and was likely in an irreversible deep coma, while William recalled accounts linking his fall to pain from Paris’s arrow.

William proposed using Achilles’ blood, Hydra, and the Ceryneian Hind to create a piloted giant biological weapon, with Spartans as its pilots. Halsey began exploring how to build and control it, while William envisioned arming it to fight giant creatures.

• Halsey examined Achilles’ apparently uninjured feet and found that a needle could not pierce his neck, but drew blood from his heel.
• William told Halsey that he had also brought back blood from Hydra and the Ceryneian Hind, then said he wanted to create a god.
• William explained that Hydra’s size and the threat of future giant creatures demanded a humanoid weapon capable of matching them.
• Halsey realized William wanted to create a piloted giant biological weapon using the three creatures’ blood and Achilles’ divine side.
• William suggested that Spartans pilot the weapon, and Halsey began considering neural connections and other ways to control it.
• William imagined equipping the biological weapon with an electromagnetic accelerator cannon to fight giant creatures.

Halsey and Cortana created a giant biological mech by combining Achilles's body model with Hydra, Ceryneian Hind, and Mylon's genes, then equipped it with armor and a shield system. William approved moving ahead with the God Creation Plan, beginning with mechs designed for John, Carl, and Mylon.

• Halsey had Cortana enlarge a model of Achilles and combine it with Hydra and Ceryneian Hind blood, causing repeated mutations until the model stabilized.
• Cortana reported that the stabilized body could withstand conventional weapons, heal itself, and maintain nearly unlimited stamina.
• Halsey added Mylon's genes and designed armor, a Fusion Reactor, and an Energy Shield system for the biological mech.
• Cortana estimated each mech would cost 2.54 billion dollars and take three months and five days to produce, and Halsey said only modified Spartans with compatible genes could pilot one.
• William said he would fund the plan and have Wang Zhaofeng's Engineering Team renovate Minos Island, while Halsey ordered the first three mechs to use John, Carl, and Mylon's genes.

William left the observation room and relaxed on the beach, reflecting on his feelings for Halsey and the Spartans’ uncertain future. He interrupted John’s training of Mylon and asked John to walk with him, while Mylon and Carl headed back to the base.

• William let Hunk and the Alphas relax, but they continued to follow him as he walked past UBCS and young Spartans training in urban combat.
• William watched the Spartans fight, remembered that some children would die or be disabled during their future surgery, and continued toward the shore.
• William walked barefoot along the beach and thought about taking Halsey out once she had the God Creation Plan underway.
• William found John, Mylon, and Carl training on the beach, with John pinning Mylon in a combat hold.
• William told the children to balance training and rest, then asked John to walk with him; Mylon and Carl returned to the base for live-fire practice.

William encouraged John to rest, praised his work, and appointed him First Class Master Chief and Blue Team leader, charging him with keeping the Spartans alive. The appointment triggered a system reward that shortened the reset period from 120 days to 30 days.

• William told John that the Spartans had earned a break and praised his performance in Dadaab.
• John admitted he pushed the Spartans to train because he feared losing his brothers and sisters, and William said they were both there to protect them.
• William appointed John First Class Master Chief of the Umbrella Force and named him Blue Team leader with wartime command over the other squads.
• William told John to make the Spartans a symbol of hope and ensure their survival in battle.
• The system rewarded William for appointing John 117 as Master Chief by shortening the reset period from 120 days to 30 days.

William returned to Troy Base and met with Andre to discuss funding and expand Umbrella’s military preparations. He ordered new armor and protective equipment for UBCS, agents, security personnel, and Alpha Squad.

• William learned that John’s Master Chief skill enhanced nearby allies’ luck and let a three-man team gain Good Luck and steadily increase their combat power.
• William left Minos Island with Hunk and the others, traveled through Kenya Base, and returned to Troy Base, where he rested overnight.
• William met Andre at Troy Base on October 14, 2007, and said Umbrella had enough money to fund its military plans.
• Andre described Umbrella’s bases and estimated its military personnel at around seventy thousand.
• William ordered the Canadian arms factory to produce AAES for UBCS and called for simplified exoskeletons and sealed combat suits for agents and security personnel, plus Biochemical Power Armor for Alpha Squad.

William approved a massive equipment budget for Umbrella’s agents and promised Andre he would decide by year’s end about starting a family with Catherine. Later, he took the nervous Halsey to a New York premiere, where she stepped out to face a crowd of reporters.

• William authorized six hundred billion to support Umbrella’s personnel and research, including better equipment for its agents.
• Andre pressured William to marry Catherine and have children, and William promised to give him an answer by the end of the year.
• William said he would stay in Troy to train with Hunk and the Alphas, then learned St. Mary’s might expel him for missing a year of classes.
• William decided to buy St. Mary’s, then traveled to the Empire No. 25 cinema in Manhattan with Halsey.
• William reassured Halsey and draped his overcoat over her before she stepped out of the SUV to face the reporters.

At the premiere of Starship Troopers 2, William publicly called Halsey his girlfriend and kissed her, making their relationship official. As the film began, the system warned William that Elizabeth from Prototype had been detected.

• Halsey stepped out of William's car and was swarmed by reporters asking about her relationship with him and Megan Fox.
• William introduced Halsey as his girlfriend, dismissed questions about Megan Fox, and escorted her into the cinema with his Alpha soldiers.
• Halsey complained that William had never confessed, and William kissed her before saying the reporters' news would count as his confession.
• William, Halsey, and their group took seats in the second-floor box to watch the premiere of Starship Troopers 2.
• As the film showed human soldiers fighting bugs, the system warned William that it had detected Elizabeth from Prototype.

While watching Starship Troopers 2, William learned that Elizabeth Green had appeared in Manhattan and infected tens of thousands of people. He evacuated with Halsey and the Alphas, who prepared to fight their way through the chaos outside the theater.

• The system warned William that Elizabeth Green from Prototype had appeared in Manhattan and offered a detailed report.
• William learned that Green had devoured everyone inside the Plaza Hotel and infected an estimated forty thousand people within a five-hundred-meter radius.
• William carried Halsey out of the theater and told her they were returning to Long Island.
• Hunk met William at the theater exit and confirmed that an emergency evacuation was underway.
• Hunk stopped the group at the back door after they heard screams outside, and William ordered the Alphas to proceed.

William and Halsey escaped the cinema with Hunk and the Alphas as infected flooded Manhattan, and they prepared to hold the parking lot until helicopters could evacuate them. Halsey identified the outbreak as the work of a highly contagious hostile Patient Zero, but the Alphas came under renewed attack before William could explain what he knew.

• Hunk led William and Halsey into the parking lot, where an injured businessman begged for help and revealed he had been scratched by the infected.
• Hunk shot the businessman and ordered the Alphas to purge the parking lot, and they killed the approaching infected.
• William ordered Hunk to request helicopters from the Long Island branch and arm the Alpha squad for further infected waves.
• The Alphas equipped themselves with armor and rifles, while Halsey concluded that a hostile Patient Zero had likely caused the outbreak.
• William brought up a satellite map to explain the outbreak to Halsey, but Hunk and the Alphas opened fire on more infected nearby.

William and Halsey escaped Manhattan by helicopter as Umbrella and the Marines destroyed the infected below. William invoked Clause Twenty-Five of the Athabasca Protocol and learned that the US Marine Corps had already begun a total blockade of Manhattan, leaving him puzzled by the lieutenant general’s initiative.

• Hunk and the Alphas boarded five Little Birds while William and Halsey evacuated with the remaining team in Black Hawks under Marine Cobra escort.
• The helicopters withdrew as infected flooded the parking lot, and the ten abandoned SUVs exploded, destroying nearby infected and Umbrella technology.
• In the Black Hawk, Halsey said Manhattan had no hope if Elizabeth Green was Patient Zero and admitted she had no immediate way to contain her.
• William contacted Troy’s Command Center and ordered Umbrella forces to assemble on Long Island and coordinate a complete blockade of Manhattan.
• Troy reported that Marine Lieutenant General Mike O'Donohue had already initiated the blockade, leaving William confused.