"Xiaoyu and I also need to prepare our equipment."
This was, of course, just an excuse for Fenrir to go home and cause trouble.
However, Hongye still keenly sensed Hayden's plan. After leaving the [All-Round] team's location, she cautiously asked privately, "Master, are you really planning to lead a team of mortal mercenaries into the factory teeming with gods? The risk is too great. What if the gods discover us?"
“What else can we do?” Fenrir raised an eyebrow. “This clone of mine can unleash the fighting power of at least ten Vajra Warriors, and you should be about the same. If we are discovered, the two of us can combine our strength and take over a city-level bio-factory in a short time.”
If Hayden's main body were nearby, the "Fenrir" clone's combat power would be even stronger. Unfortunately, Hayden isn't a god of capital and isn't good at multitasking; managing three things simultaneously like this is already his limit. Once the heart beast clone is too far away from his main body, its power naturally decreases.
But Hongye clearly didn't want to say that, and said urgently, "But sir, this will expose our identities!"
"So what if we're exposed? Gustav and his four lives are more important, of course. Besides, we two fake mercenaries have already done enough investigating here in a month or two. Our investigation team should have been withdrawn anyway."
Fenrir shrugged.
"On the other hand, even if something unexpected happens during this mission, once we drop the pretense, what problem can't we solve by force?"
As for Hongye, she naturally couldn't say anything against it.
So, that very night, a group of four plus two criminals quietly slipped away to the outskirts of Bogotá.
"Hmm, it roughly matches the intelligence!"
Dolly meditated in the swaying bio-truck, her eyes half-closed as she murmured to herself.
"The thrushes I'm controlling have already circled the factory and found that the security equipment they've seen is all as expected, at least the external ones."
As everyone knows, the South American Smoke Mirror Company specializes in life magic, and it's naturally the type of magic their mages learn most often. The term "life magic" might initially conjure images of healing spells, but everyone also knows it's never been as idyllic as it seems.
Using one's own life force to invade the bodies of other organisms—this kind of life hacking is, of course, a form of life magic. Dolly is now using her magic to hack into and control the thrushes, and further using composite magic to reconnoiter the large factory.
Since she is also the de facto biohacker of the [All-Round] team, Dolly will have to use her biohacking magic to disable the factory's security systems one by one, otherwise they will be detected as soon as they get close to the factory, let alone sneak in.
"I'll park the car here and get ready. You can go ahead."
At the edge of the bio-factory's perimeter, the veteran driver stopped the bio-truck and waved for his teammates to get to work.
The driver must ensure that his teammates have a reliable way to escape immediately when they come out, so he certainly doesn't need to go into the factory like everyone else, and doesn't need to step into such a dangerous situation himself—but so what?
In the end, it all comes down to sharing the workload and making up for each other's shortcomings. Without drivers, no one can even escape; without biohackers, the idea of hacking in without leaving a trace is just a dream.
Everyone was well aware of their responsibilities, and none of the four members of the [All-Round] team doubted it. Gustav and Dolly grabbed their equipment and, under the cover of night and magic, infiltrated the biological factory. Crocodile provided cover from behind.
That being said, even if Dolly could disable all the biosensors along the way (which is already quite incredible), infiltrating the Protoss's heavily guarded factory would still be extremely difficult. This is because the Smoke Mirror Corporation's bio-factory is practically a giant living entity in itself.
A few foreign invaders, like bacteria, burrow into the body of a living creature. Even if they manage to get away with it for a while, they will eventually be detected by the immune system.
So Fenrir (Hayden) then spoke up: "Dolly, you're better at bio-magic, so you'll handle cracking and deceiving the bio-alarm system. I'll use runic magic to enhance everyone's stealth."
He pretended to be proficient only in Norse magic within the All-Round Squad, but in reality, Hayden's Norse magic was almost entirely self-taught, enough to disguise himself as a mortal archmage. Fenrir waved his hand, drawing three runes in space: [? (Movement)], [? (Breakthrough)], and [? (Protection)], which combined to form a spell that landed on everyone, instantly invigorating them.
"Leave the scouting and reconnaissance to me. After all, I'm a ninja."
Xiaoyu chimed in.
This was, of course, a pre-arranged exchange between the two of them. This arrangement was safer for Gustav and his companions. If they triggered some factory trap and killed Gustav, Fenrir wouldn't be able to revive him. Just to be on the safe side, it was better for them to go ahead themselves.
Moreover, Voldemort was on duty in the factory's security center at that moment, looking quite serious. Who knew the factory's security arrangements better than Hayden? And the most reliable way to fool the immune system was to have a mole within it.
Gustav, unaware of Hayden's ulterior motives, assumed they were both very enthusiastic about their work. This pleased everyone. Passing through the factory's perimeter security fence, they slipped into a circular sewage tunnel and vanished into the darkness.
Sneaking into the pipes of a bio-factory is like crawling into the intestines of a gigantic monster. The air around you is stinking yet warm. Various cellular-like, half-human-sized monsters float around on the intestinal walls. They are spreading throughout the factory; some hurriedly crawl past, while many more disappear into the branching tunnels leading in different directions.
Ninja Tama led the way, with Dolly following beside her, occasionally using her life magic to deceive the passing immune cells, making them believe that the "All-Round" team was a legitimate group of other cells, and so on, they continued to penetrate deeper into the anthill-like interior of the biological factory.
They passed by the chambers where human embryos were being cultivated, countless pale larvae wrapped in silken cocoons, wriggling gently like worms.
They passed through a series of wide burial pits. These pits were more like recycling areas for biomass. Corpses decomposed here, emitting a stench and heat, eventually breaking down into coarse, reddish-black powder, which was then transported away by cellular-like structures.
After that, they continued to move forward in the tunnel, occasionally bumping into cells and tissues, because there were thousands... even hundreds of thousands or millions of tool-like creatures crawling all over the ceiling, walls and floor.
They even passed by a chamber where biological trucks were being cultivated. It was a towering, domed chamber, with six-legged trucks, forty meters long, dangling in mid-air, their legs curled up. Their chitinous bodies were segmented, with numerous organic rocket nozzles distributed on their thoracic segments, and a row of tentacles stacked on their smooth backs. To be honest, in Hayden's eyes, they didn't look like life at all, but more like war machines under construction. But Gustav and his South Americans were, of course, used to it.
In short, this enormous biological factory contained countless chambers and tunnels, forming a vast labyrinth that could dazzle any intruder. Fortunately, the All-Round Team had obtained intelligence beforehand; fortunately, they had Dolly, a skilled and agile biohacker; fortunately, they had Jade scouting ahead; and fortunately, Hayden was secretly helping them from behind—so in the end, they still managed to reach the room where the biological mainframe was located.
This was a vast, dark chamber, at the very center of which was the main production unit of the biological factory. Although it was made of warm, soft flesh, its essence was that of a large industrial machine. Large quantities of pre-digested nutrient paste flowed continuously into the smooth opening of the main unit. Round, soft flesh undulated incessantly, emitting rhythmic popping sounds, and then, like a conveyor belt, continuously produced egg after egg, each egg the size of a human torso.
These eggs contain mold-like beings, things that aren't even product-like beings.
The place Voldemort saw on his first day was the room where the [Qiqimiti] created humans, but this biological factory certainly wasn't just for creating humans. Only real humans were qualified and needed to be sculpted by the gods themselves. Mold-made humans didn't require the [Qiqimiti]'s effort. Their lives weren't as precious as real people's; they would simply be broken down by the factory and the market, transformed into various parts and tools.
This production process continues continuously, day and night, without ceasing. All biomass is endlessly cycled and perfectly reused. They are self-sufficient and self-sustaining, forming a perfect bio-industrial system.
As long as Dolly connects to the factory's mainframe and copies the production plan, the [All-Round] team can go back and collect the money.
...Everything was going so smoothly, but just before Fenrir was about to step into the chamber, he suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
"Wait a moment."
At the entrance to the chamber, he raised his hand and called out to everyone.
"...Master, something seems a bit strange."
As Xiaoyu reached the edge of the cave entrance, she seemed to be doing the same, whispering...
"The flow of Qi is not very smooth."
When the front stopped, the rear naturally followed suit.
Gustav asked in a low voice, "Is the situation not good?"
"perhaps."
That being said, going back now wouldn't get them any payment. Fenrir communicated with the others using hand gestures, confirmed the timing, and then, one, two, three!—he reached out and drew a rune [?] (open) on the isolation door of the chamber, and with a "whoosh," pushed the isolation door open!
Xiaoyu immediately darted silently into the room, wanting to quickly assess the situation.
The main production unit lay there, huge, perpetually spitting out biomass as usual, transporting it to other parts of the factory through various pipelines. This seemed normal; nothing appeared to be wrong.
So the all-around squad that followed her also came in, forming a battle formation just in case. However, they couldn't see anything wrong either.
Only Fenrir felt a growing, inexplicable sense of foreboding.
“Sorry,” he said, “sorry, friends. Let me check this place thoroughly first, then Dolly, you can go up and copy the data.”
A moment of silence.
Then finally a buzzing male voice echoed from the void: "Quite perceptive."
As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen people silently emerged from the shadows. Each of them wore a black, tight-fitting combat suit without any organizational insignia. But upon seeing this equipment, Fenrir couldn't help but curse.
Because they were equipped with military gear of god-like standards from head to toe, and the divine power permeating the air was so strong that it made him complain.
“If these mercenaries don’t intend to connect to the host, then kill them and trigger the factory alarm directly.”
The buzzing sound said,
"Do it."
320: Raising his arm and wielding the killing axe
Although Fenrir immediately erected a huge blue protective shield, protecting everyone in the [All-Round] team, the shield around them disappeared as a large-scale shield-breaking attack came down.
Then ten men in black, dressed in Protoss military-grade enhanced combat suits, brandished their weapons and advanced towards the mercenary group.
The scene became extremely ugly in an instant.
Everyone knows that mortal mercenaries, even the most skilled ones, would be instantly slaughtered if they fought against gods. The black-clad warriors advanced much faster than these battle-hardened mercenaries, even faster than their eyes and reactions!
Dolly only had time to gasp before the lead black-clad warrior stepped in front of her. Fortunately, the crocodile closest to Dolly shoved her aside with a thud, leaving him to face the black-clad warrior's blade.
In desperation, the crocodile could only unleash its full bio-modification potential, and thick, layered scales instantly sprouted from its arms. These scales were stronger than steel and as hard as diamonds. They could deflect not only ordinary swords but even adamantite weapons!
However, the black-clad warrior remained calm, simply raising his longsword high. The slashing blade seemed to make the surrounding air howl.
This swing transcended the crocodile's senses. Its speed far surpassed his agility. Its sharpness was like a demonic wind that extinguished the world—a blade of gale, an obsidian sword, effortlessly severing the crocodile's hands protecting his head as easily as cutting tofu!
Before the crocodile's two severed arms could even spurt blood, the black-clad warrior's other hand had already viciously grabbed at his forehead! If it were grabbed with that force, the crocodile's head would instantly explode, and his brains would splatter everywhere!
Fortunately, at the critical moment, it was ninja Tama (Momiji) who swung her sword and blocked the black-clad warrior's punch, forcefully deflecting the attack!
"master!"
But Xiaoyu also noticed the situation during this exchange and exclaimed in surprise.
"It's of the standard of the War God race!"
She didn't need to call out; Fenrir (Hayden) already understood. Just as the crocodile lost its arm and Jade shielded one of the black-clad warriors, the other nine warriors had already swiftly attacked the others. Gustav reacted quickly, drawing his gun and firing, but the bone bullet shattered weakly upon impact with the combat suit. The black-clad warriors didn't even slow their pace.
How could a heavy pistol, something that can be bought with a license, possibly penetrate military armor?
Therefore, only Fenrir could stop him here. Raising his right hand, he swiftly drew the rune representing "power," [Uruuz (?),] which exploded in the air with invisible force, like a thunderclap. Several black-clad warriors were thrown backward as if hit by a train, but quickly regained their footing.
Both sides were taken aback by this instantaneous exchange.
The black-clad warriors were astonished: Where did this Master Rune come from as a mercenary? Could he be from the Wotan Corporation?
Fenrir Hayden was even more frantic: Why was there a full squad of unidentified Protoss warriors lying in ambush in the factory's mainframe room?!
His clone, Voodoo, is currently on duty at the factory's security center, but he has no idea that this is all about!
In any case, a single [Power] rune certainly wouldn't be enough to hold off the nine War Gods for long.
Dolly realized what was happening and reached out to cast a spell on the black-clad warriors. She wasn't stupid; she knew these enemies wouldn't be afraid of her attack spells, so she immediately unleashed a blinding beam of light.
Generally, even if such a spell fails to blind the enemy, it should at least dazzle them, since people tend to blink reflexively in bright light—but this principle is meaningless to the warriors in black. The bright light doesn't slow down their attack. Dolly's spell is extinguished like a spark before it even touches them.
Almost simultaneously, nine black swords swept towards Dolly and Gustav like a whirlwind!
Just as Mithra's vajra is thunder and lightning, the swords of these black-clad warriors are not just swords, but storms—demonic winds that destroy the world!
"Is it really necessary to take mortals so seriously!?"
This time, Fenrir couldn't even keep up the pretense any longer. He was merely Hayden's inner beast avatar, and it was impossible for him to use runic magic to block the divine power attacks of the nine War Gods. In desperation, Fenrir finally had no choice but to transform and reveal his true beast soul form.
A giant, silver-white wolf appeared in the dark factory chamber, standing in front of Dolly and Gustav, blocking all nine demonic winds for them.
This surprised not only the War God Clan, but even the All-Round Squad!
Fenrir didn't let this fleeting opportunity slip by. Opening his blood-red maw, he actually bit down on the head of a black-clad warrior, tearing it off along with his combat suit and helmet with a single rip from his jaws. However, the taste of the head immediately made Fenrir realize that something was wrong.
Because he didn't bite the head at all, only the helmet, and it was an empty helmet.
These black-clad warriors are headless!?
At the same time, the buzzing voice that had been there earlier spoke again: "I didn't expect that among the best mercenaries I could hire, there was a Wotan Company agent. You deal with the others, I'll handle this one."
As soon as he finished speaking, a taller figure emerged from the darkness. He wore the same standard military combat uniform as the other black-clad warriors, concealing his identity and face. However, he held an obsidian spear, and the divine power emanating from him was at least twenty times that of the other black-clad warriors.
This is a minor god, and a combat-type minor god at that.
But why would a minor god from the Aztec pantheon lead a team of warrior gods, concealing their identities, and ambushing in the mainframe room of the bio-factory? Judging from his tone, the "All-Round" team was deliberately hired by him to infiltrate the facility.
Fortunately, Hayden no longer had time to complain.
"Run!"
Fenrir roared at Gustav and his companions, then lunged at the black-clad war god, closing the distance instantly. The lesser god laughed heartily, offering no resistance. His dark spear emitted a shadow capable of swallowing the sun, and as Fenrir closed in, he thrust it forward.
Silver light and dark shadows collided violently. Fenrir's tail streaked like a meteor, shoving the black war god forward. The opponent's back smashed through the bio-wall at the other end of the room—an explosion, followed by a strong gust of wind, and then the war god was shoved into the next room by Fenrir, beginning their fierce battle.
Meanwhile, the [All-Round] team had to face the remaining dozen or so warrior gods alongside Hongye.
Could Red Leaf defeat a well-coordinated Protoss tactical squad? It's hard to say. Even if they could, the aftershocks would almost certainly kill Gustav and his team.
But as the black-clad warriors continued to surge forward with the storm, Momiji could only raise her katana to properly "meet" them.
A warrior in black pressed forward relentlessly, his black sword flashing like a dagger, and in an instant, it landed on Hongye's head, slicing her down.
Now Hongye understood. Seeing the obsidian sword, he knew it belonged to a battle god from the Smoke Mirror Company. With a single slash, he unleashed countless demonic gusts of wind. His moves, seemingly simple yet powerful and incredibly fast, were all-encompassing.
But when it comes to speed, Kureha has never been at a disadvantage since she first met Hayden. The seemingly endless demonic sword slashes did not faze her. Instead, Kureha, like Fenrir, unleashed her previously hidden and suppressed divine power. Her fox ears and tail exploded with crimson flames, and with a single swing of her sword, she actually managed to forcefully deflect the black sword.
Before the black-clad warrior could make another move, the path of the Red Leaf Blade changed again, and the blade actually pierced through the demonic wind, piercing the heart of the god warrior!
With a swift movement of the blade, Hongye had already ripped out the black-clad warrior's heart. However, upon closer inspection, everyone realized that the heart lying on the ground was no heart at all! No matter how you looked at it, it was a piece of obsidian that faintly emitted a red glow and heat!
In other words, these war gods have neither heads nor hearts. Their chests don't have heartbeats; instead, they contain obsidian imbued with the fire of the sun. As for what replaces the brain and allows them to think, Red Leaf has no idea. Perhaps they simply don't need to think at all.
Because they are the exclusive warrior race of the Smoke Mirror Life Creation Company, headless demons walking in the night, warriors under the command of the Smoke Mirror chief god, the dark sun god Tescatlipoca. They emulate the great incarnation of the Smoke Mirror, summoning the Nightaxe, the axe of the end of the world.
Only the most powerful living warriors are worthy of being chosen to be transformed into the War Gods of the Smoke Mirror Corporation. In a sacrificial ritual, their heads are chopped off with an axe, and their hearts are replaced with obsidian fragments of the sun as their power source. This ritual makes them manifestations of the calamity power of the Smoke Mirror's chief god. This supreme dark sun power allows them to unleash the destructive divine power of Tescatlipoca!
But why would these immortal god warriors, led by a minor deity, infiltrate Goddess Mikt's biological factory? What were they planning to do by deliberately luring the [All-Round] team in?
Hongye doesn't have time to think about these things right now.