Humans were terrified!
With the torrential rain washing everything clean, along with his senses far beyond those of ordinary people and the feedback from his surroundings, he was confident he had left no traces.
Combined with his arrangements for later, his stay in the United States should be fairly comfortable.
It was his first trip abroad. Although he had not come specifically for a vacation, surely he did not have to rush in and rush right back out. Besides, he wanted to see whether those four prospective Knights could provide any useful intelligence.
At the very least, he wanted to find out whether the United States had made any preparations at the national level.
Whether they were fully prepared or knew nothing at all, Qin Xiaoxia already had a plan in mind. The ideal situation would be that they had discovered some of the world's anomalies, but only on a superficial level-alarmed by the changes in the world, yet floundering without knowing how to respond.
For the time being, Qin Xiaoxia had a fairly leisurely stretch ahead of him.
He planned to look around nearby and see whether there was anything fun to do, but after searching through the options, he found absolutely nothing that interested him.
Chinatown?
Completely unnecessary. Why would Qin Xiaoxia go there when he would be returning home before long?
Little Tokyo?
How fucking bored would I have to be to come to the United States just to visit a Japanese neighborhood?
Disneyland?
He passed on it immediately. No particular reason; he simply was not interested.
An urban park?
Great. Traveling abroad specifically to stroll through a park. That would really take the cake.
In the end, bored out of their minds, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou decided to try authentic KFC and see how Chinese food abroad differed from what they ate back home.
The results were deeply disappointing.
As Doudou put it:
"I can understand Chinese food abroad not tasting as good as it does back home, but why does this fried chicken taste worse in the place it came from?"
Too lazy to explain much, Qin Xiaoxia answered that question with:
"If it tastes bad, why are you still eating it? You'll stuff yourself to death!"
Who knew how Doudou's stomach was built? That tiny body seemed to contain a bottomless pit.
Although he had never specifically tested how much Doudou could eat, he had yet to see Doudou leave any food Qin Xiaoxia bought unfinished.
Qin Xiaoxia, however, conveniently ignored his own terrifying, ever-growing appetite.
Compared with Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou's leisurely days, another group was swamped with work.
On the afternoon of the second day after the mine collapse, Norton had barely stepped off the plane before he rushed toward the suburban area where Old Ode lived in a car sent by the local Department of Homeland Security, disregarding the exhausting night of travel he and his department's personnel had endured.
Everyone was mentally drained after a night without proper rest, but as they approached the recycling yard, they immediately perked up.
The Department of Homeland Security had taken control of the site, with the Los Angeles police assisting around the perimeter and personnel from the Disease Control and Prevention Center working inside.
All of them had already been given orders to maintain secrecy.
Everyone inside now knew that the higher-ups had dispatched a special department dedicated to handling this case, and they were all waiting quietly.
Although special government departments often appeared in science-fiction blockbusters, this was their first real-life encounter with anything of the sort, so they were somewhat nervous.
Little did they know that the special department they were eagerly awaiting was just as nervous.
The vehicles carrying Norton and the others slowly approached. Through the windows, they could already see the restricted area ahead.
"Stay sharp, everyone. This case is the closest 'anomalous incident' to us that is currently under control."
"Analysis of reliable intelligence indicates that the entity responsible for this anomaly has already been destroyed."
"But we must maintain the necessary vigilance. Remember last year's multinational expedition to Siberia?"
At Norton's mention of it, goosebumps instantly rose all over everyone in the group.
It had happened during Siberia's winter, amid ice and snow. Five countries, including the United States, had assembled experts, scholars, and a military security contingent.
Together, they entered a wondrous place discovered through an online video: an oasis amid an icy wasteland.
But that expedition left behind a horrific, top-secret file.
At first, although certain details in the video had put them on their guard, everyone was filled with wonder.
The experts, particularly the botanists, were beside themselves with excitement, declaring that many of the plants there represented landmark discoveries for terrestrial botany.
But soon, a subtle, silent horror began to seep through the expedition.
At some unknown point, spores of a parasitic fungus had taken root in the feet of several members.
People began disappearing with alarming frequency.
More horrifying still, apart from a handful of battle-hardened officers, nobody seemed to care at all.
A rafflesia growing from a bed of corpses used as fertilizer.
That was how the survivors later described the enormous flower they had seen before escaping.
Of the five-nation expedition, numbering over a hundred people including military security personnel, fewer than half escaped.
Half of those survivors were infected by the parasite. Five never had the parasitic growth completely removed and became literal "vegetative patients" within forty-eight hours.
Outwardly, it was not particularly obvious, but these unusual patients moved sluggishly and had gaunt faces.
The attending physicians concluded that even surgery could not save these "patients," because the roots inside them had already infiltrated numerous vital organs, and even their brain nerves were beginning to wither.
Was that all?
No!
When three of the nurses responsible for their care were also "infected," the severity of the problem was raised several notches again.
This was no movie about people courting death.
Every member of the nursing staff wore a chemical protective suit. Nobody knew how they had become infected.
The incident caused an uproar.
Given the danger unanimously emphasized by the botanists, after several days of discussion, the Russian military ultimately sent bombers on thirty sorties and flattened that icy, snowy death trap.
Yes, simple and brutal.
Humans were terrified!
We were the masters of Earth! Weren't we?
Humans were truly terrified!
Our dominance, our rule, had endured in this world for so many years.
The more we gained, the more we feared losing it!
Humans were terrified!
In those old science-fiction movies, certain individuals or even entire groups would often court disaster.
But when something beyond the scope of existing response plans actually happened in reality...
There was only one outcome.
Eradicate it completely, at any cost!
Back then, the Nineteenth Organization Department had still been a small, neglected department. It was after that incident that its status rose dramatically.
The most detailed information they had access to concerned that very "Corpse-Fertilized Rafflesia Incident," and they had seen those "vegetative patients" after they had been burned.
They therefore understood the danger all too well.
As far as they knew, all five countries involved in the expedition had begun making some kind of preparations, to varying degrees.
"But today's case is different!"
There was a hint of excitement in Norton's voice.
"This torrential rain! And this mine collapse! Neither was an accident!"
Everyone understood that the value of this case lay precisely in the unknown third party standing between them and the anomalous entity.
Their hearts continued beating at an elevated rate.
Leading his department's subordinates, Norton saw the crystallized corpses in person.
The local Disease Control and Prevention Center had erected a plastic isolation enclosure, and the bodies were inside it.
Seven corpses, still crystalline under the soft lighting. Personnel were currently taking tissue samples and cutting off crystal samples.
The department's personnel were all specialists in various fields, and they immediately stepped forward to take over and review some of the testing.
Norton, meanwhile, took a team directly down into the mine.
After more than a dozen hours of work, a small space had been cleared amid the cave-in.
Standing at what had originally been the center of the underground mine, Norton was as excited as the department members beside him.
There were unmistakable signs of a fight!
Fist marks! Had it been a human?!
P.S. Thanks to readers Soul-Resting Valley and 161016211138070 for their tips of 2,000 coins, True Angel Earthcloud for 1,500 coins, Find a Partner Soon for 1,000 coins, Penglai Road Racing God for 500 coins, and I'm Du, Not Du, Little Fish 941204, Dawn, and Exorcist for 100 coins~~
As for the book title, I discussed a few options with my editor, then changed it to this one...
Sigh, coming up with a title is exhausting.
If I go back to them right after changing it, they'll probably get sick of me!