Chapter 214: The Mimicry's Secret Creator! The Reaper Civilization!
Chapter 214: The Mimicry's Secret Creator! The Reaper Civilization!
The soft spring rain had been falling for several days in a row, soaking the long-neglected roads until they were a mire of mud and potholes.
On a dark, moonless night like this, the ideal place to be was curled up in a warm, safe bed, listening to the white noise of raindrops hitting the ground outside.
But that silence was suddenly shattered by the roar of engines and the rhythmic thump of rotor blades slicing through the air.
A small combat fleet consisting of three Skyhawk shuttles, two Stormhawk gunships, and one ornithopter aircraft cut through the low skies, speeding toward Paris.
Each of these aircraft bore the bold, unmistakable insignia "LA"—a clear sign that they belonged to the Universal Megacorp!
To keep a low profile and minimize unnecessary impact, Li Ang had selected fewer than 70 personnel for this mission. Even the number of aircraft was kept under ten.
Every individual on this mission was an elite chosen from the Iron Hand Legion—battle-hardened veterans carefully picked across three prior missions in alternate worlds. Their combat prowess was unquestionable.
This time, there was no margin for error.
Li Ang was betting the Megacorp's sharpest blade on a decisive victory—to bring Omega into the Matrix.
"Report: We're 30 kilometers from the Louvre. Estimated arrival in six minutes!"
A pilot's voice crackled through Li Ang's earpiece.
"Proceed."
"Yes, sir!"
The pitch-black night and continuous spring rain served as perfect cover for the fleet.
They had flown all the way from the Stargate forward base without being detected by the UDF ground defense forces—and more importantly, without encountering any Mimicry attacks.
Inside one of the Stormhawk gunships—its cabin large enough to hold thirty warriors—the hum of engines was mixed with the clanking and grinding of weaponry and powered armor systems.
Both sides of the cabin were lined with Astartes warriors clad in Mark X power armor, calmly checking their weapons and gear with military precision.
Within the Iron Hand Legion, these soldiers were among the most elite—each one a veritable "King of Soldiers," serving as the combat core in their respective squads.
And tonight, they would be the Megacorp's sharpest spear, driving straight into the heart of the Mimicry leader—Omega!
As for Li Ang, he sat in a nearby ornithopter aircraft alongside his bodyguard and senior Megacorp executive, Morgan Blackhand, overseeing the operation firsthand.
Although he wouldn't be joining V and the others in direct combat, Li Ang had come to the frontlines to supervise the operation in real-time.
After all, Omega's abilities were far too dangerous—especially its blood, which could even grant infected hosts the ability to Reset.
Li Ang suspected Omega itself was a construct of faster-than-light particles. Its blood likely contained a high concentration of such particles, enabling it to "grant" others the power of Reset.
Still, whether this mission succeeded or failed, Li Ang's determination to take down the Mimicry was unwavering.
At this moment, V, seated in the gunship's cabin, had just disengaged the safety on his custom Tempest Burst Pistol and slid it back into the holster at his right hip.
He looked up at the holographic display on his tactical helmet, analyzing the dynamic map feed transmitted by the pilot, confirming their proximity to the Louvre.
Standing on either side of the cabin, the crew were ready—hands poised to throw open the doors and deploy the warriors into their designated drop zones.
"Everyone! Get ready!"
"This is your time to shine!"
As the words fell, a sharp hiss rang out—the aircraft hadn't even touched down before both side doors were flung open.
Fully armored Astartes warriors dropped one by one like meteorites from the sky, landing with explosive force—each descent as impactful as an artillery shell.
To provide cover for the descending soldiers, the gunships and shuttles began strafing the area below, gunning down visible Mimicries with machine guns and cannons.
Boom—!!
Sharp bursts of machine gun fire and the thunderous roar of cannons filled the night air in overlapping waves.
"Everyone."
Li Ang, seated high above in the ornithopter craft, addressed the soldiers through the comms channel linked to the entire team:
"You are the blades of the Universal Megacorp—the elite of the Iron Hand Legion. I won't waste your time with sentiment. I have only two demands—"
"First, secure victory. Complete the mission."
"Second, crush any Mimicry scum that dares stand in your way. I'll be waiting for your triumphant return."
Li Ang was known for his absolute fairness when it came to merit and reward.
So there was no need to talk about bonuses or benefits. These Astartes warriors understood that success meant they'd earn what they deserved.
[Mission will be completed—!!]
The soldiers roared in response.
At the same time, waves of dark Mimicries surged into the combat zone.
But between the firepower raining down from the gunships and the soldiers' coordinated attacks, the battlefield lit up like fireworks—death blooming in brilliant bursts at the heart of the Mimicry ranks.
Caught under the hail of bullets and bombardment, many Mimicries could only burrow half their bodies into the mud, trying to protect themselves.
They then retaliated, firing spear-like projectiles from their cores at the Astartes.
Bang!
One such projectile struck a warrior dead-on—but thanks to the thick ceramite-titanium shell of their armor, the attack was shrugged off.
The gunships continued to hammer the ground with their cannons from above.
Boom—! Boom!
A missile fired by a Stormhawk exploded into a mass of Mimicries, tearing up the mud along with them.
Crew members on either side of the cabin weren't idle either. They manned 7.62mm Vulcan miniguns, unleashing a rain of bullets on the enemy below.
In this moment, the Mimicries caught in the Megacorp ambush were utterly outgunned and overwhelmed.
Omega had not anticipated that a human combat fleet would show up here, so local defenses were light.
In under a minute, the Mimicries in the area had suffered heavy casualties. But their numbers were vast—as soon as one group fell, another surged forward to take their place.
Fortunately, with the gunships and ground units advancing rapidly, the glass pyramid hiding Omega was now within reach!
Soon, the Astartes reached the northern plaza. The moment they laid eyes on the target just meters away, they roared in excitement.
"Brothers—charge!!"
Without hesitation, the team split up according to plan.
"Jack, Reid—take your men and hold the western and southern flanks. Don't let a single Mimicry through!"
V issued orders through the squad channel.
His power armor was equipped with a Matrix-link device. He would personally execute the plan to "integrate Omega into the grid."
The moment his command came through, dozens of warriors split into two teams, pushing toward the west and south.
Both flanks secured favorable terrain and quickly set up overlapping fields of fire, maximizing suppression and kill zones.
Meanwhile, the gunships, ornithopter aircraft, and shuttles circled above the Louvre, providing overhead fire support.
"David! Hold this position with your team. V and I are heading for the objective. Got it?"
Johnny Silverhand called out to David Martinez.
"Understood!"
David led the last squad of Astartes, splitting them into two groups. One stayed behind to form the final defensive line for V.
The other escorted V to the glass pyramid—the ultimate target.
The once-brilliant pyramid, once adorned with countless works of art, had been ravaged by the Mimicry invasion.
Water gushed down broken glass panels, splashing across the cracked tiles below in a miniature waterfall.
V and his team rushed inside, moving swiftly and alertly through the shattered structure.
Fully focused, they alternated point and rear positions with military precision, updating Li Ang on their status as they advanced.
Before long, they reached the underground parking garage about ten meters below—where they finally laid eyes on their target: the Mimicry central brain—Omega!
"Report: Omega's location confirmed. Beginning Matrix integration task."
Even with victory so close, V showed no trace of excitement or overconfidence.
[Good. Proceed with the task.]
Li Ang's response was calm and brief.
This was the moment where composure mattered most. Celebrate too early, and disaster would be inevitable.
V, confirming no immediate threats, signaled his squad to follow him down into the parking garage.
Thanks to their superhuman physiques and reinforced Mark X armor, this jump was nothing to them.
No rappelling—just jump.
As they landed, the warriors quickly spread out, scanning the area with weapons ready.
V noted that aside from abandoned vehicles, there were no Mimicries here, which gave him a small sense of relief.
At least it wasn't as overcrowded as outside—perfect for completing their mission.
He then retrieved a pre-prepped Matrix access device—a chip-like piece of tech with neural fiber connectors.
This special "bio-cable" system was specifically designed to interface with biological entities like Omega.
V had previously used this same device to forcibly integrate Eywa, the planetary consciousness of Pandora, into the Matrix.
If it could handle Eywa, then Omega—just a living organism—was no problem.
With the device in hand, V led Johnny and the others carefully toward the marked target zone.
Soon, they spotted a large water pit up ahead. It pulsed with an eerie, bioluminescent blue glow—and inside it, they saw Omega.
Nearby, an Alpha Mimicry circled the pit, alert and patrolling.
"Perfect. Looks like we've found the right place."
There was a hint of excitement in V's voice. The target was in sight—success was within reach.
Used to life-or-death situations, V showed no nerves—only the determination to finish the job and clock out early.
After a quick exchange, Johnny Silverhand peeked around the corner to observe the Alpha, then gestured to his squad.
They'd launch a direct assault to hold the Alpha's attention, giving V a window to approach Omega.
"V, it's all on you now."
Johnny gave V a thumbs-up, full of confidence in his partner.
"Leave it to me."
V clapped Johnny on the shoulder, smiling with calm assurance.
With that, Johnny and four Astartes charged out of cover, launching a close-quarters assault on the Alpha.
"Hold that heretic freak down! Don't let it interfere with V's mission!"
Johnny's furious shout rang out as the warriors clashed with the Alpha.
Their goal wasn't to kill it—but to distract it long enough for V to reach Omega.
Because if the Alpha were destroyed, Omega would initiate a Reset sequence—observing outcomes from a fourth-dimensional perspective, it could alter events to avoid capture.
And if that happened… no one could predict the consequences.
"ROARRR…!"
---
Seeing a human soldier leap forward to provoke it, Alpha flew into a rage. It writhed its countless limbs and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before the warriors.
Tentacles extended from its body, transforming into sharp bone spikes that suddenly thrust toward Johnny and the others.
Bang!
Not only did Alpha's bone spike miss Johnny, but Johnny also sidestepped the attack and landed a heavy punch with his iron fist—each the size of a sandbag—squarely on Alpha.
That Astartes power-fist, backed by his armor's servo-enhancements, slammed down like a cannon blast, actually causing Alpha to suffer internal bleeding.
Realizing that Alpha had been left dazed by just one punch, Johnny worried he might've hit too hard and killed it on the spot.
So, he quickly called over the surrounding warriors to help him restrain Alpha and prevent its escape.
"Brothers! Grab this thing and hold it down—don't let it get away!"
The entire fight turned out even easier than Johnny had imagined. Looking at Alpha, now surrounded by several Astartes and tightly restrained by its limbs and bone spikes, Johnny chuckled:
"This guy's got some strength, I'll give him that. But take it easy—don't kill it. That'll be a real pain later."
"Yes, sir!"
While the soldiers here practiced the fine art of combat restraint, V dove into the deep pit of water and quickly swam toward Omega's location.
"Roar—!!"
Realizing it had been deliberately trapped and that Omega was now in danger, the furious Alpha let out a defiant, thunderous howl.
It began struggling desperately, trying to break free from Johnny and the others—but what awaited Alpha was another heavy punch.
After taking two brutal hits, Alpha suffered more internal damage. Its struggles weakened, almost as if it was begging Johnny: "I've calmed down—please let me go."
In the pit of water.
Clutching the matrix device tightly, V relied on his armor's built-in assistance systems, allowing him to glide smoothly past obstacles with minimal effort, diving ever deeper.
Soon, he spotted a massive sea-anemone-like creature floating silently in the water—that was their target: Omega.
Through close observation, V could see Omega's core: a glowing, spherical device over two meters in diameter, spinning steadily.
It radiated a brilliant blue light. No wonder they'd seen a faint bluish glow from a distance, even before arriving.
"Let's get you hooked up to our megacorp's power grid—time to shine as a top-tier generator!"
With that, V approached Omega's core and drove the matrix device directly into it.
Bzzzz—!!
The moment the matrix's neural cables made contact with Omega's core, they pierced in deep and instantly linked Omega to the matrix server.
In that split second, Omega's entire muscular system froze, only relaxing and returning to normal after several moments.
Meanwhile, high above the Louvre, Li Ang received the update from the matrix server: Omega had been successfully linked!
[Mission complete. Begin retreat.]
As soon as Li Ang's command was transmitted via comms, the morphs still locked in fierce combat with the Astartes suddenly froze in place.
It was as if someone had pulled their power cables—they all simultaneously lost motor function.
Clearly, Omega had issued a full-system halt command to all units: cease attack and enter standby.
And the one who triggered all of this… was none other than Li Ang!
With the mission accomplished and the objective secured, the soldiers didn't break into cheers or celebratory shouts.
There were no high-fives or emotional embraces celebrating the success of the operation.
They simply followed Li Ang's orders, reporting casualties by squad while retreating along the designated route.
Once it was confirmed that there were zero casualties, the team regrouped at the landing zone where their gunships and shuttles awaited.
Even Alpha—nearly knocked offline by Johnny's two punches—was hauled aboard.
The entire extraction was clean, orderly, and efficient. No one let their guard down, despite the victory.
"This operation took 15 minutes and 57 seconds in total. No casualties. Successfully secured Omega, one Alpha specimen, and a number of morphs for research."
"Report complete."
As squad leader, V finally allowed himself to relax after reporting to Li Ang.
[Understood. All units, return to the front-line base.]
---
As the combat team returned to base aboard their dropships, the Astartes soldiers finally began to unwind, bantering and joking with one another.
Meanwhile, Li Ang, through the matrix, had learned the true origins of the morphs and Omega.
Strictly speaking, Omega wasn't some miraculous creature born through natural evolution. It—and the morphs—were biological weapons carefully engineered by an advanced civilization.
The blood within Omega and Alpha contained faster-than-light particles, not something they had evolved naturally, but rather something given to them by another race.
In other words, there was a higher civilization behind the morph species—a creator civilization!
Just as I thought... This mission wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Li Ang had already suspected as much when he deduced the existence of FTL tech. The morphs clearly bore all the hallmarks of engineered weapons.
They resembled an automated, modular system used by advanced civilizations to harvest resources—composed of nanotech-like materials and operating under a hive-mind system.
Launched via meteors, asteroids, or other propulsion mechanisms, a single morph seed would land on a planet.
It would then rapidly evolve into three types: Omega, Alpha, and standard morphs, each with specific functions.
They would begin polluting and terraforming the environment, consuming local resources to replicate themselves at an alarming rate.
For instance, morphs could consume soil to replicate, and their waste would poison the ground, devastating local ecosystems.
Their body structures were highly adaptable, capable of morphing into multiple forms. Once a planet had been fully harvested, they would transmit a signal to their creators—
Inviting them to come and claim the planet's resources.
This style of interstellar colonization had a strange kind of elegance and brutal efficiency.
Using such creatures to expand the reach of a civilization… was almost too convenient, too effortless.
The creators of the morphs… must be god-tier programmers! They basically wrote a cosmic bot to go around farming planets!
Li Ang couldn't help but marvel. The newly opened level-2 stargate had just raised the difficulty level of this entire multiverse.
He had a strong feeling: the civilization behind the morphs was not to be trifled with, and their technology might already surpass even that of the Megacorp.
"Show me everything you have on your creators."
With that command sent through the matrix, Omega immediately transmitted all relevant data to Li Ang.
Soon after, Li Ang saw the name of the civilization that had engineered the morphs:
[The Reaper Civilization]
---
(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: p@treon.com/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)