Hexiang, an obscure little city on the frontier, was now covered by dark clouds. A rare torrential downpour was about to wash over it.
In the city's southwest corner, a colossal lead-gray building lay motionless. It had once served as a military supply depot, but was now abandoned. The red warning painted on the guard tower stood out starkly: MILITARY AREA. KEEP OUT.
The enormous building resembled the rotting corpse of a giant beast, radiating decay from every corner. Weeds and tangled shrubs had overgrown the rusted wire fences, and against the gloomy backdrop, the oppressive atmosphere was almost suffocating.
And it was only fitting. The place was surrounded on all sides. Soldiers in dark camouflage had established a vast perimeter about five hundred meters from the building. Several armored vehicles blocked the only road in and out of the base, their gaping gun barrels aimed at the entrance.
This was no mere show of a military exercise. The soldiers here had been ordered to kill anyone in the base who dared to resist.
That was right: anyone. That was how the order from above had put it, in black and white. The officer in charge had repeatedly drilled it into his soldiers, too. Their enemies this time weren't human—or... weren't "human" in the usual sense of the word.
They didn't quite understand, but the soldiers instinctively tightened their grip on their guns. On a battlefield, a gun in hand was the only thing that made them feel safe. This time, though, they wouldn't be fighting alone.
The ground trembled faintly. A fully equipped heavy armored regiment was on its way from the rear, armed with the latest tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. A deep rumble sounded overhead from time to time: several attack helicopters, loaded with ammunition, circling at