[Temporary Command Center, Air Force Airbase]
Wilson braced both hands on the table as he looked at the screen in front of him.
On the screen was footage captured by drones of the disaster site in New York.
The area was filled with thick smoke, like a sea of fog. Within the dense mist, bursts of fire flared from time to time, while arcs of lightning flashed and crackled.
After Homelander refused to join the battle, the military joined forces with the Seven to set up barricades on several key streets around the disaster area to prevent the Chimeras from breaking out of the quarantine zone.
But judging from the current situation, the results did not seem promising.
The reason was that there were simply too many Chimeras.
Aside from some civilians who failed to adapt and died suddenly, a large number of residents continued to undergo genetic mutations, becoming stitched-together creatures with the traits of several different species, Chimeras.
An Army colonel said, "Sir, we may not be able to hold them."
Wilson nodded, "Do your best. If we really can't hold them, the Air Force is already prepared to carry out saturation bombing on the disaster area at any time."
The colonel nodded.
Wilson continued staring at the screen. Every so often, a black shadow flashed past it, or a red beam streaked through the air, "Maybe it isn't time to despair yet."
"Because we have the Guardian."
Wilson spoke in a voice only he could hear.
———
[New York City]
The thick fog filled the streets.
Chimeras of every shape crowded forward. Some leaped between streetlights like wild apes, while others crawled across the outer walls of buildings like geckos.
Some ran across the ground like tigers, while others spread their wings and soared like eagles.
The moment they tried to approach the defensive line, they were met with grenade launchers, anti-aircraft machine guns, assault rifles, and other modern firearms.
Mixed into the fierce bombardment were attacks released by superhumans, such as ice spears, lightning, and fireballs.
Most Chimeras could not withstand such fierce attacks. They often fell during the charge before they could even reach the defensive line.
However, among the Chimeras were always some powerful variants.
They cleverly used their own kind as cover, then made full use of their abilities to assault the defensive line.
They were not interested in fighting, nor did they care about killing humans. They only wanted to break through the line and leave the fog.
And at times like this, they faced the fiercest resistance.
Because both the military and the Seven had received the same order: hold the line to the death and never allow a Chimera through.
At that moment, a Chimera with a bear's head, tiger claws, and octopus tentacles growing from its back attempted to break through the line.
It was a variant among the Chimeras. A diamond-shaped crystal floated from the center of its forehead.
That was the mark of a variant.
Those diamond-shaped crystals were the product of highly condensed biological energy. Chimera variants could vibrate the crystals to generate certain force fields or release unusual abilities.
That made them very difficult to deal with.
Just like this one.
The crystal on the bear's head vibrated slightly.
Suddenly, the soldiers and armored vehicles on the defensive line floated into the air, as though the Earth had lost its gravity.
A zero-gravity field.
It was this variant's specialty.
It manipulated gravity in a localized area, sending its opponents into the air before canceling the zero-gravity field.
Immediately, the soldiers and armored vehicles crashed back to the ground.
The soldiers died on the spot, while the armored vehicles malfunctioned.
The variant took the opportunity to rush through the defensive line.
Fortunately, a red beam descended from the sky.
It swept forward.
The variant, along with several Chimeras behind it, was cut apart.
"Homelander?"
"No, Homelander's lasers are gold."
The surviving soldiers all looked up.
Within the dense fog was a figure with two glowing red lights on its face.
It looked very much like Homelander, but it was far too small.
It looked like either a dwarf or a child.
That figure was Ryan.
After undergoing a series of military training sessions from the Department of Defense, the boy had become agile and decisive.
Although today was his first real battle, he acted without the slightest hesitation.
Ryan focused exclusively on the Chimera variants. Thanks to him, the variants had not yet broken through the streets.
But as more and more variants surged toward the defensive line, even Ryan was beginning to struggle.
"Ah!"
At one defensive line at a street intersection, the ice shield created by Ice Princess shattered, and she was thrown back, crashing heavily onto the ground.
She lay there without a trace of strength left.
Now she could not even gather a single shard of ice, much less kill enemies.
Ice Princess looked helplessly at the thick fog overhead, one thought turning over in her mind.
'Why hasn't he come yet?'
'Has Homelander abandoned us?'
Cries of alarm and screams rang in her ears.
Ice Princess struggled to raise her head and saw that the military had exhausted its ammunition, giving the Chimeras an opening.
A Chimera with a crocodile's head opened its jaws and bit off everything above one soldier's chest.
Severed limbs and blood were everywhere before her eyes.
The scene was like hell.
At that moment, a wolf-like Chimera pounced toward her. It opened its huge jaws, its breath reeking, as it bit toward Ice Princess.
Suddenly, the Chimera froze.
Then its whole body began convulsing.
It fell to the ground, hugging itself.
As it trembled, its body gradually returned to normal.
In the end, a middle-aged man lay on the ground.
This was not an isolated case.
One after another, more and more Chimeras returned to normal, as if Compound No. 6 had lost its effect.
At the same time, the dense fog covering New York gradually dispersed.
A silver moon hung in the night sky, and its pale moonlight spread across the earth, as though it signaled that the disaster had passed.
More than an hour later, many temporary tents had been set up throughout New York City to house the residents who had once transformed into Chimeras.
Wilson sat in a helicopter with Ryan beside him as it flew over the streets.
Looking at the clusters of tents below, the Secretary of Defense said loudly, "They all must be quarantined."
Dr. Kyle's voice came through the headset.
"You're right, Mr. Secretary."
"They may have returned to normal, but there's no guarantee they won't suddenly turn into Chimeras again at some point."
"I'll need to study them carefully before I can reach a conclusion."
Wilson let out a breath, "No matter what, at least we don't have to bomb New York. That's a blessing in disguise."
Ryan said with some dissatisfaction, "I was just getting into it when it ended."
Wilson laughed, "Kid, there'll be plenty of chances in the future."
The Secretary's expression turned cold, "Resettling the residents and continuing research on the Chimeras aren't the most important things."
"The main event is sanctioning Homelander."
"He must pay for his arrogance!"
———
[Two Days Later]
Alex looked through the newspaper.
For the past two days, every newspaper had been reporting on the Chimera incident.
Naturally, as always, the Federation pinned the blame on some so-called armed organization.
Just then, Ashley hurried in, her face pale, "This is bad, sir."
"The Department of Defense has officially filed charges against you."
"They accuse you of openly refusing the Department of Defense's orders during the 'Boiling Midnight' incident. If the charges are upheld, they'll arrest you."
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