The sun sets in the west.
Like a festering wound, dark red blood oozed from the sky.
A dilapidated St. Maria Church stands among the grass, above the church, with the rusty spire cross leaning crookedly.
The light shining on it is not a warm golden yellow, but a rust-like brownish red color.
Like a pool of dried blood, smeared on the mottled gray walls of the church.
Lev adjusted the headset and looked at the church entrance not far ahead.
The church door is half open, and you can vaguely see the scene inside.
It's just that it looks a little hazy because of the light.
The shadows of the surrounding trees were stretched under the afterglow of the setting sun, like twisted tentacles crawling on the ground.
Seeing this scene, Lev's muscles under the khaki protective clothing tightened slightly.
Revealing the tension in his heart.
"Command Center, this is Cleaner D-Class Group 17. We have arrived at the target location and are ready to enter immediately."
"Received, according to intelligence, the target has visual contact anomalous effects, all personnel must maintain indirect observation."
A calm female voice came from the headphones.
"Good luck to you."
The words fell.
Contact is broken.
Lev Take a deep breath.
He glanced at a few teammates aside.
"Attention everyone, check the status of equipment and protective clothing at the end! The mission will be carried out as planned in three minutes!"
"Copy that, Captain!"
The remaining people nodded silently, their expressions isolated by their thick protective clothing, and only a few dull electronic sounds came out.
The khaki composite material wraps the whole body, and the sealed mask reflects cold light.
Everyone wears special reflective goggles with specially treated lenses that filter specific wavelengths of light.
The Cleaners logo on the chest is an inverted black triangle with three jagged cracks inside.
The symbolic meaning is destruction and removal.
Lev reached out and clicked on the watch.
Uh-huh!
A projection light curtain appeared.
Task code: Twelve-Winged Angel Statue
Target number: lb-727
Risk level: T3
Containment Team: White Tower. Cleaners d Class 17 Group (4 people)
Target description: Upon entering its area of influence or making eye contact with it, the target will be corrupted by some unknown force.
The body and spirit will gradually twist and deform, and eventually transform into a terrifying angel-like monster.
These mutants have extremely high defense power, quick action capabilities, and show extremely strong aggression.
They will kill all life within sight indiscriminately, and will not stop until there are no more living things to kill.
Containment plan: Attempt to approach, activate optical isolation barrier, and block images.
Look at this line of information.
Lev's eyes flickered and he was a little silent.
My mind couldn't help but recall what happened during this period.
Originally he was just an ordinary person.
Three years ago, because of some things, I realized the most terrifying side of the world.
There are all kinds of Heterogeneous Entity in this world.
These things simply cannot be explained by science.
The abilities in it are all kinds of strange.
The most important thing is that some of these Heterogeneous Entity are extremely dangerous and can even cause a large number of deaths if not careful.
Among them, these Heterogeneous Entity are divided into five levels based on hazards and various data detection.
They are t1 to t5 respectively.
Level t1, also known as Stasis Class.
The external threat is extremely low or completely inert, the containment measures are simple, and the abnormal effects emitted are controllable.
For example, some Heterogeneous Entity he knows.
jz-004: Eternal Ink Bottle
This is a glass ink bottle that never dries out. Any liquid poured into it will be converted into black ink, but has no other abnormal effects.
Containment method: Stored in room Archive for paperwork purposes.
jz-071: Time-Speed Pocket Watch
Description: A brass pocket watch. The wearer will feel that the flow of time slows down (the actual external time is normal), but the effect disappears after taking it off.
Containment method: Stored in a glass cover, senior researchers are allowed to apply for use, and the maximum wearing time is no more than 4 hours.
jz-099: Phantom Bookshelf
Description: An oak bookshelf where books will randomly swap positions but will not be lost or damaged.
Containment Methods: For storage of unclassified documents and occasional entertainment.
——
Among them t2 (Disturbance Class)
This level, Heterogeneous Entity, has controllable but unpredictable anomalous effects, requires moderate containment measures, and may cause minor effects on humans or the environment.
For example rd-012: Echo Telephone
Description: An old-fashioned rotary phone. After answering the call, you will hear the voice clips of the caller in the next 24 hours (the content is random).
Containment: Stored in a soundproof room, only for use by personnel above level 3.
rd-055: Flesh and Blood Potted Plant
Description: A succulent plant that absorbs the growth of epidermal cells from those it comes into contact with, and may cause local parasitism if it comes into contact with wounds.
Containment: Placed in a closed glass box and trimmed regularly by designated personnel.
As for, t3 (Fission Class)
This level of Heterogeneous Entity is threatening. Failure to contain it may lead to a regional disaster. Containment protocols must be strictly followed.
Example 1: lb-303: Light Eater
Description: An amorphous black shadow that swallows all surrounding light sources and releases low temperature.
Once a creature is touched, it freezes it.
Containment method: It needs to be stored in an absolutely dark electromagnetic shielded room. Anyone who enters must wear thermal insulation equipment.
lb-104: Cognitive Plague
This is a memetic virus in which infected people come to believe that they are a fictional character from a game or book that has traveled through time.
And wants to try to "rewrite" reality to fit its setting.
Containment methods: All contacts are to undergo amnestics, and research is limited to AI simulation environments.
lb-277: Blood Ants
This is a group of semi-corporeal ants that appear as ordinary insects when observed, and instantly gnaw on metal/flesh when not observed.
Containment method: Raised in a fully monitored glass box, liquid nitrogen will be injected immediately when the power is cut off.
——
t4 (Catastrophe Class)
It refers to those Heterogeneous Entity that may destroy civilization or rewrite the laws of physics.
Containment is extremely difficult, often requiring multiple insurance measures, and may even result in the death of a large number of people during the containment process.
for example.
tz-001: Clock of Time
A rusty gray and white clock, when the hands stop turning.
The ages of all humans within a radius of 10 kilometers randomly increase or decrease by 1-100 years.
Containment method: The mechanical arm is continuously wound up, and the surrounding area is set as a restricted area, prohibiting humans from approaching.
tz-027: Black Hole Egg
A black sphere with a diameter of about 3 meters is suspected to be connected to an unknown dimension inside. Any matter that comes into contact will be "swallowed" and disappear.
Containment method: Suspended in a quantum locking field, with a 10-kilometer perimeter set as a restricted area.
tz-999: Divinity Code
A self-evolving AI program that can tamper with real-life data briefly transformed the entire research site into a pixelated world.
Containment method: Isolated in a closed server, only non-networked terminals are allowed to analyze.
——
t5 (Conceptual Class)
This is also the weirdest one Heterogeneous Entity.
If there are other Heterogeneous Entitys, there is still a way to contain them.
Heterogeneous Entity of this level often cannot be contained by conventional means.
Their abilities usually involve time, causality, or reality distortion.
Such as gn-000: Archive
A document whose content is automatically rewritten in real time as the reader's thoughts and activities, including attempts to destroy it.
It cannot be contained. The moment you see and know it, your Archive will be generated and tampered with.
gn-004: Vacuum Whisper.
A radio signal appears from time to time and cannot be blocked. The listener will gradually think that "themselves and even the world they live in are false", and eventually self-disintegrate and turn into a pool of blood.
Current situation: We can only create interference by forging "reverse signals" and delay the damage caused by propagation.
gn-019: Spacetime Closed Loop
This is a fixed space-time area with no entity.
The entrant will repeat the same period of time indefinitely, and the outside world cannot intervene or escape.
Unable to contain it, the entrance can only be blocked and marked as an "absolute restricted area", prohibiting any creature from approaching.
There are many types of Heterogeneous Entity.
There are objects and living things.
Some of the less harmful Heterogeneous Entitys can be used by humans and help contain other Heterogeneous Entitys.
However, most of these are from T1 to T2 levels.
The higher the level, the harder it is to use and control.
There are even some abnormalities that have an IQ equivalent to that of a human being.
And now this is Twelve-Winged Angel Statue, codenamed lb-727.
The level is Fission Class located at t3.
This level of anomaly is already extremely dangerous.
However, as a member of Cleaners, White Tower.
Their duty is to eliminate and contain these Heterogeneous Entity.
The reason for doing this.
It's because they themselves are serious criminals, so even if they know there is danger, they can't do anything about it.
If you perform tasks, you can get a reduced sentence. If you don't perform tasks, you will be shot immediately.
Three minutes will be up soon.
Follow the instructions of Lev.
The other three teammates wearing khaki protective suits beside him all nodded.
The four passed through the gate.
Walked into this abandoned church.
The rotten wooden floor made a soft sound under the soles of boots.
The team advanced in a wedge shape.
Holding a firearm, a tactical flashlight on the muzzle cuts through the darkness.
Just as a few people turned a corner.
When the beam in his hand swept across a wall.
Lev, who was walking at the forefront, suddenly shrank his pupils, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.
I saw.
On the wall ahead.
There are a dozen human corpses embedded in the wall, like sculptures poured into concrete.
Strangely, varying numbers of wings grew out of their backs.
Some are pure white, others are pitch black.
The faces of these people were frozen with expressions of passion and pain.
Very strange.
See this scene.
Several people were shocked.
In this case, if there is no accident.
It's because of the influence of Twelve-Winged Angel Statue.
Fortunately, these people seem to be completely dead.
Maybe it's because of seeing these weird ways of death.
As we go deeper into the church, there seems to be some invisible pressure squeezing everyone's chest.
Lev could feel his heartbeat speeding up, but he forced himself to stay calm.
This is his seventh mission.
Just get it done.
He can choose to clear this part of his memory and get rid of the identity of Cleaners.
And, he was exempted from the punishment and returned to the life of ordinary people.
After turning another corner and entering the main hall.
Everyone couldn't help but pause.
Because the target they need to contain this time has appeared.
The benches in front of me were covered with dust.
And at the end of the line of sight.
A few rays of dim light slanted in through the broken stained glass windows, forming several turbid light pillars in the air.
Under the light, in the deepest part of the main hall, where the altar stood, there stood a suffocating huge existence.
It was a five-meter-high stone angel statue, standing there quietly at the moment, with twelve pairs of wings looming in the dim light.
The six wings on the left were as dark as ink, and every feather seemed to be able to swallow light.
The six wings on the right are as white as snow, emitting an unnatural halo in the darkness.
These wings spread out in a way that defied the laws of physics, occupying the entire space above the altar.
At this moment, a beam of light was shining obliquely on the face of the stone statue.
This also allowed everyone to see the face of the stone statue clearly.
This is a very beautiful woman.
But the strange thing is that there are some cracks on the face.
He was wearing a broken armor, holding a huge sword in both hands on the ground, looking straight ahead.
To this.
Lev just took a cursory glance. Didn't look much further.
Although wearing special goggles.
However, there is no guarantee of immunity to the effects of these Heterogeneous Entity.
But at this time.
The tactical flashlight in the hands of the new team member behind him, Sogir, suddenly flickered, and the dazzling beam of light shot straight into the face of the stone statue.
In an instant, everyone's expressions froze.
——Crack!
The sound of stones rubbing against each other was eerily clear.
Lev saw a terrifying picture out of the corner of his eye.
I saw that the neck of the five-meter-high stone statue turned, and the facial muscles of the stone statue showed a strange sense of vividness.
When it completely turned its head, the pair of heterochromatic pupils shrank into needlepoint shapes in the light, locking directly on Sogir.
"Don't look! Look away!"
Lev's expression changed, and he stretched out his hand to cover the light of the flashlight.
However it was still too late.
Plop!
Sogir Suddenly his knees bent and he knelt on the ground.
He looked towards the angel stone statue.
"My Lord!"
A hoarse and fanatical voice came from his mouth.
Poof!
The next second.
Along with a tearing sound, Sogir's back protective suit was suddenly torn open.
Two black wings stained with mucus broke out of the body, and there were still bloodshot threads on those feathers.
What's even more frightening is that as the first pair of wings unfolded, another creepy "gurgling" sound came from Sogir's shoulder blades.
That's the second pair of wing buds wriggling under the skin.
His body hunched over.
The joints of the limbs begin to bend in reverse, and the nails extend into hook-like shapes.
This one looks strikingly the same as the stone monsters inlaid on the walls that we encountered before.
puff!
However, he hasn't waited for him to make any move.
A red beam shot out from the muzzle of the gun, directly piercing Sogir's head, leaving a black mark on the wall nearby.
It was no one else who fired the shot.
It is Lev.
As Lev, who has completed six containment missions, understands.
Sogir This situation is obviously hopeless.
The guns in their hands are quite powerful.
But it actually doesn't have much effect against Heterogeneous Entity.
Because all Heterogeneous Entity almost have the same characteristics.
That is indestructible.
If this is not the case, there is no need to try every means to contain it, just destroy it.
This gun is more often used to deal with teammates affected by Heterogeneous Entity in this situation.
After doing all this.
Lev looked at the angel stone statue with his peripheral vision.
I found that the other party had no reaction.
He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Then, he reached out and gestured to the remaining two teammates.
The two nodded in agreement.
Several people took out a silver rectangular object from their arms and inserted it around the stone statue.
Fortunately, no further accidents occurred during this process.
After finishing.
In an instant, four silver objects burst out with a ray of light that converged into a shining point of light three feet above the head of the stone statue.
A translucent curtain of light pours down from the apex like a waterfall.
It turned into a cube and sealed the angel stone statue inside.
After doing all this.
The three of them quickly walked outside.
Their mission is accomplished.
As for follow-up research, experiments and other matters, other personnel will naturally do it.
The twilight is closing, the setting sun is like blood, and the last ray of dark red sinks into the horizon.
A layer of darkness came over.
The moment I stepped out of the church.
Lev couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
This mission was a near miss.
Although a teammate was lost, the mission was accomplished.
This means that he can break away from the identity of Cleaners and return to normal life.
"Hiss, what is that?"
Just then.
From the side, a teammate exclaimed.
Lev was shocked.
I thought there was something wrong with the angel statue.
Instinctively look back.
It was discovered that the church had not changed.
Only then did I feel a little relieved.
At this time.
He found two teammates looking up at the sky, as if they had seen something extremely incredible.
See this.
He also followed his gaze.
I saw.
High in the sky, the dim clouds squirmed.
It seemed as if something huge was slowly stretching out.
See this.
Lev At first I thought it was some kind of rare celestial phenomenon.
But very quickly.
He noticed something was wrong.
Because the pale outline became clearer in his eyes.
It was a huge Pale Body, like a giant python, like a dragon, like a mythical earthly snake, coiling around the entire sky.
The scales were pale and glowed with a dead luster in the twilight.
It seems to be the incarnation of the annihilation of the universe.
and.
He discovered an extremely horrifying truth.
This thing seems to be alive, its body is swimming, and the clouds are rolling and tearing like waves under its swimming.
This also caused his body to become clearer in his eyes.
Suddenly, he saw a pair of huge snake eyes like Blood Moon.
At this moment.
The whole world seemed to be weighed down by some invisible weight.
The air became stagnant, and the birds froze and fell.
Lev's knees weakened and he fell to his knees, his vision distorted, his head in his hands, and there was a buzzing in his ears.
It was as if some indescribable whisper was pouring in.
His whole body twitched twice.
Accompanied by a muffled sound of 'bang'.
Blood instantly filled the goggles.
The same goes for the other two.
Inside the church.
At the moment when Lev and others died.
The light curtain that was originally blocked suddenly exploded.
The stone angel statue was revealed.
At this moment, it seemed to be alive.
Stone chips fell from his body.
It raised its head, its death-gray pupils turning.
It was as if his sight could penetrate the barrier of the church roof and see the huge pale shadow in the sky hidden in the clouds.
A somewhat frightening mental wave suddenly sounded in this world.
"You can actually ignore the rules of this world, how is this possible..."