Based on Bella's observations, Professor Serizawa's team had descended at most one to two kilometers before turning back. They'd never truly penetrated the underground world. Kong had no shortage of food now, so she simply sealed the volcanic vent, permanently blocking that passage.
Kong wasn't going hungry. He wouldn't need to hunt underground anymore. Let the big guy sleep and fatten up on Skull Island in peace.
Bella hadn't completely hidden her abilities. To maintain influence over the upcoming research, she'd demonstrated just enough—between the massive quantities of food and her gentle coaxing, she could briefly calm the temperamental Kong.
Kong had a weakness for pretty women. Ever since Carol Danvers soothed the raging ape back in the 1970s, Monarch had concluded that Kong simply couldn't keep his composure around attractive females. The organization's internal archives contained over three hundred published papers on the subject.
Bella, a beautiful woman, calming Kong down? Nothing strange about that. Old One-Eye calming Kong down—now that would've been strange.
In the end, she'd managed to worm her way into the beetle monster autopsy team despite not even having finished her graduate degree.
Due to the beetle monster's extreme radioactivity and the way its body dissolved spontaneously upon death, the dissection had to be conducted on Skull Island.
A small army of researchers refined every step of the procedure. Video recordings, written documentation—everything was prepared before thawing even began.
The corpse's radiation was so intense that Monarch and S.H.I.E.L.D. had assembled seven separate autopsy teams. Over five hundred personnel in specialized protective suits were present on-site.
Even frozen solid, the beetle's body had already auto-dissolved by more than a fifth. The teams raced against time, cutting away useful organs for study before refreezing them. Whatever couldn't be salvaged was disposed of following nuclear waste protocols.
"The outer shell has properties similar to chitin—insoluble in alkaline solution, with moderate resistance to strong inorganic acids."
"The shell's compressive strength is extraordinary. It can withstand pressure equivalent to the ocean floor at ten thousand meters. Preliminary assessment suggests this organism originated from the deep sea."
"The beetle's muscle tissue has largely dissolved. Total weight is impossible to calculate. It appears to be an amphibious species."
"The blood contains some kind of amino-based compound with high radiation and extreme toxicity."
"Dear God! Professor! Cell dialysis shows that this thing... this thing might be silicon-based life!"
All manner of lab reports poured in. Twelve hours later, the beetle's corpse had completely dissolved. The human teams had scrambled to salvage what they could, ultimately preserving only the axe-blade protrusion from its head, one of its four hearts, and a pockmarked skeleton riddled with holes.
The beetle's muscle, mucous membranes, skin—even its organs—had liquefied like water, dissolving on their own.
The scientists began devising countermeasures. This creature was far weaker than Godzilla. From humanity's perspective, a monster that could be killed with nuclear weapons and one that couldn't were two entirely different propositions, and the beetle monster fell squarely into the former category.
Still, the thing was incredibly "dirty." If modern weapons were used against it, the battlefield and everything within a hundred-mile radius would be rendered uninhabitable. Having Kong simply beat the monster to death was actually the best solution.
"Where exactly did you find this thing?" Watching a room full of scientists argue red-faced over the beetle monster's biological classification, Old One-Eye lowered his voice and quietly asked Bella.
"Kong found it."
"OK, OK. Then ask Kong for me—where did he find this thing?"
Bella shot him a sideways glance. From the perspective of Earth and humanity, Old One-Eye was someone worth trusting.
"Kong says it was underground. Beneath the underground world."
Old One-Eye didn't look surprised. His expression didn't change. "Did Kong mention how many of these things there are?"
"How would he know that? Kong never went down there to look."
"Understood. Thank Kong for the warning on my behalf."
Old One-Eye paused for five or six seconds before bringing up something else. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is planning to explore the secrets at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. We've been preparing for three years. Would you like to come see?"
Bella looked at him gravely, dropping the pretense of speaking through Kong. "If I said I didn't want to, would you call it off?"
"Would a ten-billion-dollar investment grind to a halt over one word from you?" Old One-Eye fired back.
"Here's some advice. Don't touch the Mariana Trench. We're not ready. Humanity isn't ready. There may be unimaginably enormous terrors lurking in the deep sea—things that could be allies of this beetle creature. If they're provoked, I honestly don't know what humanity would use to fend off monsters of that magnitude."
Old One-Eye's single eye studied her for several seconds. "I'll give your advice serious consideration."
…
The beetle monster earned Monarch a massive influx of funding. Professor Serizawa and several other department heads began consolidating their resources and intelligence.
They divided the known monsters into five tiers.
Skull Island's Sker Buffaloes, the spider-like Mother Longlegs, and the Mire Squids—which Kong had already eaten into extinction—all qualified as Tier 1. The lowest classification: food-grade. Or to put it another way, creatures that could be killed by human rifle fire.
Skullcrawlers were considerably stronger, earning their own separate tier. These monsters posed a serious threat to humans—vicious, bloodthirsty, and insane. Heavy machine gun rounds couldn't even breach their defenses. Whether larvae or adults, all Skullcrawlers were classified as Tier 2.
Kong and the newly discovered beetle monster were Tier 3.
Tier 4 was left empty. No corresponding monster had been found yet. Godzilla—glimpsed only once—was designated Tier 5: Titan-class.
"Try this. Tell me if you like the flavor." Bella discreetly tossed Kong a hunk of meat.
The great ape sniffed it, then immediately perked up. He clutched the jet-black slab of meat and gnawed at it with gusto.
"Roar! Roar!" After finishing, he nodded vigorously at Bella and gave her a thumbs-up, his enormous eyes brimming with anticipation. The message was clear: this meat was delicious.
Of course it was. That was Smaug's meat.
Weyland-Yutani's Smaug cloning experiments were nowhere close to success—not even a glimmer of hope on the horizon. They could clone muscle tissue, but bones, blood vessels, internal organs—the core components—were beyond their capability. The monthly disposal of waste meat alone exceeded two hundred thousand tons.
Bella had originally found disposing of the waste meat to be an enormous headache. Now, it seemed she'd found a customer.
Cloned dragon meat certainly wasn't as good as the real thing, but even at its worst, it had to beat pork, right?
Three days later, Weyland-Yutani secured the contract to feed the great ape from Monarch.
All Monarch had to do was pay. Weyland-Yutani would handle the feeding.
Monarch's scientists had found the task a nuisance to begin with. Now that someone else was volunteering, they couldn't have been more grateful.