Chapter Summaries

William appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show, where he discussed Umbrella's technology and wealth without revealing confidential details. After the recording, Serena reported that an infiltrated cult was connected to an abnormal phenomenon of at least Keter-class, and William headed back to the Fire Spirit.

• Conan O'Brien introduced William as the young owner of Umbrella Enterprises and asked how the company had obtained its advanced technology.
• William credited his family's innovations and Umbrella's researchers, then declined to disclose the family's assets.
• After the show, William invited Hunk and the Alphas to get chicken wings, but Serena interrupted with an urgent report about a cult her agents had infiltrated.
• Serena told William that an agent had gained the cult's trust and that the organization involved an abnormal phenomenon of at least Keter-class.
• William canceled the outing and ordered the Alphas to return to the Fire Spirit.

William learned that a mind-influencing anomaly had taken hold of a Utah cult with tens of thousands of members, a trained armed force, and influence over three towns. At the Fire Spirit, he watched undercover footage reveal the cult’s palace, its decaying guards, and an octopus-like being worshiped as a god.

• Serena told William that the cult’s god could alter human thought and physiology, while more than forty thousand organized cultists had infiltrated the surrounding area.
• William left the broadcast building with the Alphas and boarded a Pelican bound for the Fire Spirit.
• Serena showed William, Carter, and Mike satellite images locating the anomaly in a palace on North Cape Mountain near Delberg, Utah.
• The undercover agent’s footage showed armed cult forces, disturbing worshippers, and twelve towering, masked guards inside the palace.
• The agent’s video revealed a decaying, red-eyed being with writhing tentacles beneath its nose, seated in the palace’s main hall.

After an undercover agent infiltrated a cult worshiping a tentacled being, William ordered the Helljumpers to contain the phenomenon and eliminate the cultists in Utah. Company A prepared to drop into the palace plaza, with orders to rendezvous with the agent and storm the palace.

• The agent’s video showed the cult’s four-meter-tall god baptizing him and warning him not to hurt himself, while a cultist demanded he kneel in thanks.
• Mike reported that the fleet had thirteen thousand Marines, and Serena said the baptism permanently changed cultists’ minds and bodies.
• William ordered the fleet to Utah, tasked O'Donohue with commanding ground forces, and had Serena organize cultist data and arrange a National Guard blockade.
• Company A’s 120 Helljumpers geared up and boarded their Drop Pods after receiving orders to clear the palace plaza, meet the undercover agent, and storm the palace.
• Serena authorized the drop, and Company A prepared for a feet-first landing.

Michel Victor led the Helljumpers in a rapid drop onto North Cape Mountain, where they crushed the Cultists gathered in the palace square. The square was nearly cleared in minutes, and Michel’s undercover agent survived and regrouped with him.

• Serena cleared the paratroopers for a drop, and Michel ordered his company to launch from the Fire Spirit toward Wei Lan.
• The undercover agent watched Cultists gather and mutate around a bonfire in the palace square as drop pods approached from the sky.
• The drop pods struck the square, killing or injuring many Cultists while the agent remained unharmed thanks to his locator chip.
• Michel emerged from a nearby pod, killed a mutated Cultist, and reunited with the agent, who took cover inside the pod.
• Michel and the other companies used their armor, Pulse Rifles, and Mechanical Skeletons to overwhelm the Cultists’ armed forces and clear the square within two minutes.

Michel led the Helljumpers into the palace to contain the anomaly known as the Evil God after securing the plaza. The Evil God hid on the great hall’s platform and shouted at the advancing troops to stay back.

• Michel reported that the plaza was secure, then received Serena’s order to lead Companies A, B, and C into the palace.
• An undercover agent warned Michel that hundreds of powerful mutant guards were inside, so Michel left squads outside to secure the retreat and await reinforcements.
• Helljumper breachers blew open the palace doors, and the troops quickly killed the guards with their Pulse Rifles.
• Michel’s forces stormed through the palace and reached the great hall seven minutes later.
• Michel confirmed the Evil God’s location and assigned Companies A, B, and C to secure the hall and subdue it.
• Before the Helljumpers could move, the Evil God shouted, “Don’t come any closer!”

Michel and the Umbrella Corporation paratroopers secured the cooperative Evil God, whose influence could not affect company employees. The chapter ends with its containment profile and interrogation record identifying it as a transformed former human who wanted to be left alone to play games.

• William told Michel that the Evil God's influence could not affect Umbrella Corporation employees and authorized its containment.
• Michel led eighteen paratroopers up to the platform, where the Evil God surrendered without resistance.
• A paratrooper reported that the Evil God had been secured, and Serena said a Pelican carrying technical personnel would arrive in ten minutes.
• The containment file described how the entity's influence caused humans to worship it, form Praise the Darkness, and undergo mutations, while noting its requests for fast food and an Xbox were approved.
• During an interrogation, the Evil God said it had once lived in Delberg Town, Utah, and had become a cult's unwilling object of worship after transforming.

William left the Fire Spirit for Minos Island to see Halsey’s completed God Bodies, built for the fourteen Spartans. He arrived at the underground facility and saw the towering machines for the first time, where Halsey welcomed him.

• William reviewed the file on the contained FuckoffCult God and reflected on the danger it posed and Umbrella’s safeguards.
• William flew to Minos Island to witness the Spartans’ first test of their completed God Bodies.
• During the journey, William told Serena to continue overseeing Umbrella and said her work was the best birthday gift he could ask for.
• William, Hunk, and the Alpha agents descended into the underground facility and saw fourteen armored God Bodies standing in a row.
• Halsey greeted William as he admired the God Bodies and turned to face her.

William and Halsey examined the fourteen Spartan-derived Bio-Mecha, then the Spartans prepared to pilot them. John entered his God Body with Cortana assisting him, as the test began.

• Halsey explained that each Bio-Mecha inherited its Spartan pilot’s traits and that John’s was the most balanced, while Jerome’s ranked second overall.
• The fourteen Spartans dressed in neural-sensor suits, and John ordered Mylon to stop talking before leading the group to their machines.
• The Spartans boarded their respective insertion plugs, which carried them into the Bio-Mecha.
• Cortana told John that neural sensory connection liquid was about to be injected, then appeared in his cockpit to help him pilot the God Body.

John and the other Spartans tested their newly armed divine bodies, launching from the underground facility and destroying hundreds of target ships with their giant weapons. William then ordered Halsey to have the Fire Spirit deploy targets so they could test the electromagnetic accelerator cannons.

• Cortana confirmed that all fourteen Spartans had stable neural links and guided technicians as they armed the divine bodies.
• William encouraged the Spartans, and Cortana launched the divine bodies through a rail tunnel to Minos Island's surface.
• John led the Spartans to the eastern coast, where Cortana marked the target ships for their live-fire test.
• The Spartans fired their giant cannons and destroyed hundreds of target ships within minutes.
• William praised the weapons' power and asked Halsey to have the Fire Spirit deploy targets for testing the sniper rifles.

The Spartans tested the God Bodies and their new Electromagnetic Accelerator Cannons, destroying distant targets while defending against drone attacks. Halsey proposed testing their defenses against a hydrogen bomb.

• Halsey told Carter that William wanted a spectacular demonstration, and Carter confirmed the message.
• John assessed the Spartans’ earlier accuracy, then ordered Carl and Jerome to prepare an ultra-long-range test of the new cannons.
• William and Halsey secretly launched hundreds of armed drones to test the Spartans’ agility and defensive coordination.
• The drones launched missiles, but the God Bodies withstood the barrage while Cortana helped the Spartans evade further attacks.
• Carl and Jerome each destroyed a target aircraft more than two thousand kilometers away with a single shot.
• William approved of the results, and Halsey suggested testing the God Bodies against a hydrogen bomb.

William declined Halsey’s proposal to test the god-body’s shield with a hydrogen bomb, and they resumed watching the live-ammunition demonstration. A report then introduced Project Beacon and the Marines stationed at Chief Mining’s FJ336 colony, where Hicks and Hudson began their shift.

• Halsey explained that the god-body’s shield could withstand a powerful hydrogen bomb, but William refused to risk testing it with a real one.
• The report identified Project Beacon as the first anomaly discovered beyond Earth and credited Hicks Dawn, Hudson Williams, and Gina Ivanovna Ivanova with stopping its effects.
• Umbrella sold Colony Ships to three mining companies and required its Marines to serve in each colony’s security forces.
• The report described Chief Mining’s FJ336 colony, where Hicks commanded the three Marines openly monitoring the miners.
• At shift change, Hudson brought Hicks coffee made by Gina and complained about its bitter taste.

Hicks, Hudson, and Gina suspected the Chief Corporation was concealing an anomaly on asteroid FJ336 and armed themselves to investigate. In the residential area, they found the miners’ relatives killing themselves, and a dying mother screamed that someone wanted their corpses.

• At breakfast, Hicks agreed with Hudson that the Chief Corporation might be hiding an anomaly and decided the three Marines should investigate without alerting Umbrella yet.
• Hicks, Hudson, and Gina equipped themselves and headed for the colony’s Control Room.
• The three entered a bloodied residential area where miners’ relatives were killing themselves.
• Hicks, Hudson, and Gina tried to stop a mother from stabbing herself, but they arrived too late to save her baby or prevent her injury.
• As Hicks supported the dying mother and Hudson reached for biological foam, she twisted the knife and screamed, “They! They want our corpses!”

Hicks and his Marines crossed a colony consumed by mass suicide and reached the Control Room with Chief Corporation executive Edward Jones. There, they restored communications and learned that the Chief Corporation had unearthed an artificial, inscription-covered structure called the Marker.

• Hicks reported a mind-affecting anomaly at FC336, but communications with Mars Base had been cut off.
• Hicks refused Hudson's suggestion to escape, and the Marines continued toward the Control Room while passing the colony's suicide victims.
• The Marines encountered Edward Jones, who warned them to flee and then agreed to help after Hicks slapped him back to his senses.
• Jones led the Marines into the Control Room, restored communications, and showed them images of the object excavated deep inside the asteroid.
• The Marines saw a gigantic, inscription-covered double-helix structure identified as the artificial anomaly known as the Marker.

Hicks, Hudson, and Gina learned that a beacon inside FC336 had caused the colony’s mass suicides, and they set out to retrieve the supervisor’s identification card and contact Mars Base. They left the Control Room as bloody footprints appeared where the bodies had been, suggesting something else was moving through the colony.

• Jones explained that the beacon emitted a carrier wave that caused the mass suicides and that the supervisor had planned to keep it from the Marines.
• Hudson nearly attacked Jones, but Hicks stopped him and promised to keep Jones alive.
• Jones discovered that communications required the supervisor’s identification card and that the supervisor was at the beacon alongside hundreds of tracking-chip signals.
• Jones began to lose his sanity, so Hicks ordered Hudson to restrain him and gag him.
• Hicks ordered the Marines to recover the identification card and contact Mars Base, and the three set out for the mine shaft.
• The Marines found that the corpses in the living quarters had vanished, leaving bloody footprints behind.

Gina, Hicks, and Hudson fought their way through the colony’s mutated corpses and bat creatures, then entered the mine to retrieve the identification cards and reach the Beacon. Their gunfire drew the mutated entities near it, beginning a battle of two thousand against three.

• Gina, Hicks, and Hudson encountered Bat Monsters and mutated corpses, and Gina cleared the passage to the barracks with her M56 Smartgun.
• Hicks ordered Hudson to shoot the apparently dead creatures and recorded that the Beacon could mutate corpses and create bat creatures.
• The Marines returned to the barracks, changed into airtight combat suits, and prepared to enter the mine.
• Gina kissed Hudson and slapped him when he began to speak, reminding him of his jinx.
• The three Marines charged into the mine and shot through groups of mutated corpses as they advanced toward the Beacon.
• The Marines’ gunfire attracted the mutated entities near the Beacon, starting a battle of two thousand against three.

On Mars, Colonel Mikhail Victor learned that Corporal Hicks Dawn had discovered an anomalous phenomenon on asteroid FJ336 and ordered a support mission. Hicks, Gina, and Hudson held off a horde of mutated creatures until Victor’s Marines arrived.

• A technician told Victor that FJ336 had missed its scheduled report and that communications with the colony had failed.
• Hicks contacted Mars Base, reported an anomalous phenomenon on FJ336, uploaded his video, and requested containment support.
• Victor ordered the Obstacle Clearers to deploy and announced that he would lead the operation.
• At the FJ336 control console, Hicks, Gina, and Hudson fought hundreds of mutated creatures while waiting for help, with Hudson’s mechanical arm damaged and their ammunition nearly gone.
• Victor’s support force attacked the horde, and he told the Marines that help had arrived.

The chapter summarized the Beacon incident and its aftermath, then showed William deciding that Umbrella would pursue monopoly after Chief Corporation’s betrayal. It left William aboard the Phantom, his hidden warship and new mobile home.

• Umbrella sealed the FJ336 asteroid colony, sanctioned Chief Corporation, and arranged the arrest of its senior executives before the corporation went bankrupt.
• Umbrella ended its partnerships with Bondiog Mining and Breakwater LLC, acquired both companies, and resolved to monopolize space mining and other industries.
• The report recorded Edward Jones’s permanent mental damage and the promotion of Hicks Dawn’s squad to the elite Guardians company.
• William read the Beacon file and condemned Chief Corporation for causing more than two thousand deaths.
• William reflected on the Phantom, the camouflaged warship that replaced his private aircraft and carried his protectors.

William prepared to end Umbrella’s cooperation with other corporations after the Chief Corporation accident, then ordered the Phantom to warp from the Jiu Hai Colony to Mars. Halsey remained aboard the ship to research the Beacon, and the chapter ended as the Phantom began its journey.

• William and Halsey discussed the casualties caused by Chief Corporation and Umbrella’s role in the mining industry.
• William told Halsey to finish translating the Beacon’s writing and get back to work.
• William walked through the Phantom and admired the Jiu Hai Colony before heading to the bridge.
• William ordered Serena and Cortana to set a course for low orbit around Mars.
• Serena and Cortana confirmed the coordinates and cleared the warp, and William ordered the Phantom to initiate warp.

William arrived at Mars and inspected Fortress, Umbrella’s largest military base, before meeting its commander, Colonel Mihal Victor. Victor agreed to show him around Fortress and Mars City.

• William ordered the Phantom to hover above Mars Base and saw the vast Mars City and the steel-and-Titanium Alloy Fortress below.
• William removed Serena’s chip, put Cortana in charge of the Phantom, and asked Serena for a report on Mars.
• William met the Marines and the three members of Blue Team in the hangar, then boarded a Pelican with the Spartans.
• The Pelican landed inside Fortress, where Colonel Mihal Victor greeted William and prepared to lead him on a tour of Fortress and Mars City.

William toured the Fortress on Mars, admired its new Mammoth tanks and Vulture aircraft, and learned about Umbrella’s expanding defense fleets. He then boarded a high-speed train with John and the other Spartans, arriving at Mars City.

• William inspected the Mammoths and Vultures with Victor and praised Victor’s brother Michel for his work in the Utah Containment Operation.
• William offered to arrange a meeting with Michel, who was serving aboard the Phantom as commander of William’s personal Helljumpers, but Victor planned to visit him after the tour.
• Victor showed William the Fortress Command Center and explained the plans for Umbrella’s First, Second, and Third Fleets.
• Victor led William to the southern station and asked Serena to guide him around Mars City while he returned to the Command Center.
• William, John, and the other Spartans boarded the high-speed train and arrived at Mars City through a transparent tunnel.