Infinite Metaverse

San Francisco, Cemetery of Oblivion.

The place is littered with monster skeletons and mecha ruins.

In the evening, in a secret camp, Laust stood among a group of devout believers, forming a circle with them, sometimes side by side, sometimes in line, performing various weird rituals... The alchemist frowned. head.

Religion is really stupid.

Lust thought to himself.

At this moment, the leader slowly stopped, stood still, and began to chant the monster's prayer loudly:

"We are monster brothers and sisters."

“We open our arms to welcome the angel from the sea.”

"Sacred and mysterious creatures save suffering mankind and drive out the demons in our hearts."

"You are the messengers of mercy, tasked with forgiving humanity and liberating us from our defiled homeland."

"You have great power, raising turbulent waves and covering the vast sky."

When he recited something, the believers followed him.

Lust suppressed his inner disgust and discomfort and chanted loudly along with a group of believers:

"Oh, King of Monsters, please guide us to that underwater paradise and make all those who oppose your supreme rule bow down."

"Please subdue mankind's false prophets and cruel monarchs, who fear everything they cannot understand. You are not the cause of suffering, but the true savior."

"We kneel down devoutly to thank you for your boundless protection, and raise our hands to express our heartfelt admiration and praise."

"Let the blue blood of the Archangel wash away the sins of mankind, and we will return to the world we once were and start a new life."

After the monster's prayer was finished, the ceremony finally ended.

Lust opened his hood and took off his robe, walked through the crowd to find the leader just now, and asked:

"Has the plan been implemented successfully?"

"Oh, great angel of monsters."

The leader looked the alchemist up and down and said:

"As you wish, our brothers and sisters hidden within the PPDC have inserted the memory chip into the mecha. I believe the results will come soon."

Lust nodded.

This is why he obviously hates religion and despises this group of so-called "monster believers", but still wants to get involved with them - the alchemist never dreamed that these monster cults could actually develop believers into PPDC.

Lust just showed off his Sith alchemy skills casually, and frightened the monster believers into submission and shouted miracles. The alchemist took advantage of the situation to express his position, and soon he naturally blended into the monster believers. Promoted to "Divine Envoy".

So far, it seems that everything is being implemented as planned and very smoothly... The alchemist nodded with satisfaction.

Then he lowered his head and took out his mobile phone to send a group text message:

"Reincarnators, gather for a meeting."

…………

Zofia still felt frightened when she recalled that scene.

Or in order to alleviate the hardship and frustration caused by the long training, the pilot led the students to visit the training mecha "Eden Assassin" and allowed the two students with the best synaesthetic matching progress to enter it to operate.

It's definitely not Zofia, because she's currently the slowest in synaesthesia matching. Zofia is the one with the strongest fighting ability and the most proficient driving control among all the students.

But she doesn't want to open up to people.

Therefore, Zofia could only watch from outside the training mecha as the other two students entered the cockpit at the head of the mecha and tried to control this behemoth for the first time.

At that time, a controller at the Lawson Command Center issued an instruction to the training mecha:

"'Eden Assassin', move your right hand."

After a very short reaction time, the mecha hunter raised its right hand.

The onlookers' mecha technicians and engineers applauded the pair of students.

"Good. Now raise your left hand."

The "Eden Assassin" raised his left hand as he was told.

"Step forward with your right foot."

no response.

"'Eden Assassin, please step forward with your right foot."

Still no response.

"Hoyazi? Doris?"

the controller asked confused.

"Oh my god!"

Huo Yaqi suddenly shouted.

Then Doris started shouting too.

Suddenly, both of them fell silent at the same time.

"What happened?"

The driver, who was the instructor, asked anxiously.

"I don't know," the controller said. "We're not getting feedback from the Eden Assassins."

"Can't receive feedback? All feedback? How to reply..."

"Boom——"

The "Garden of Eden Assassin" suddenly leaned forward, punched the air, and then punched again. With just two punches, he smashed the thick cement wall, and the broken concrete slabs and steel fragments fell like raindrops.

Although this is a training mecha that has had its weapon system removed, the limbs and torso of the mecha itself are also weapons and can still cause enough damage.

"What are you doing?" the driver yelled.

Huo Yaqi and Doris were not causing trouble. Something must have happened. Something very wrong must have happened.

"Make it stop!" he told the controller.

"No!" said the controller: "The failsafe system has been changed."

"Who did it? What was it changed to?"

"A certain pilot, I don't know. Damn it!"

The "Eden Assassin" suddenly turned around, ran a few steps, and then punched the Lawson command center.

"boom!"

The steel beam instantly twisted into a ball, the bulletproof glass exploded, and a huge steel fist sank deeply into it.

…

"marshal!"

A man in military uniform with a Chinese face walked into the office.

"Please take a seat, General Quan."

Panticost said.

The visitor sat down on the sofa meticulously.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Panticost asked in a deep voice.

"We later played back the synaesthesia synchronization footage of the training mecha and saw that two students thought they were fighting a level three monster 'Avenger'. The location and scene were in Jakarta. According to subsequent statistics, a total of five personnel died on the spot. Including two trainees and three controllers in the command center."

General Quan replied sternly.

"Is the simulation training scene repeated?"

Panticost first asked about this possibility.

General Quan shook his head:

"We have never arranged simulation training for Level 3 monsters for our students."

"Hoyazi and Doris, have they ever experienced a monster attack?"

Panticost asked again.

Panticost recalled the first synchronization between his beloved general Raleigh Beckett and his adopted daughter Mori Mako.

At that time Raleigh recalled the battle with the monster "Scythe Head", in which he lost his brother. His surge of memories triggered memories of Mori Mako, making her also fall into the memory and believe it: she remembered the monster that attacked Tokyo and killed her parents.

That synchronization incident almost went awry when Mako Mori almost fired the Danger Wanderer's plasma cannon inside the Shattered Dome.

"No."

However, General Quan shook his head and denied:

"Hoyazi is from Rio de Janeiro and Doris is from Johannesburg, and neither of them has been to any city that has been hit by monsters."

"So that's not caused by their memories."

"Yes, that scene was like a simulation training, but more...realistic."

"Then the accident was not an accident."

"I don't think it was an accident."

General Quan said with great certainty:

"This was a case of vandalism, as well as murder."

"There must be traitors and spies among us... You have sealed the Shattered Dome, right, General Kwon?"

Panticost asked.

"Yes, Marshal, as soon as the accident occurred, I ordered the entire Shattered Dome to be sealed off."

General Quan replied.

"very good."

Panticost nodded and asked:

"Before Hoyaqi and Doris entered the 'Eden Assassin', who else had entered the head control cabin of that training mecha?"

"All students have gone in and visited."

"You mean, the new students are suspicious?"

"The possibility of mecha maintenance personnel is also not ruled out."

"Is there any news from the outside world?"

"Yes, a video clip of the mecha 'Eden Assassin' losing control and destroying the Broken Dome base appeared on the Internet. The cult organization War Demon God claimed responsibility for the incident."

"boom!"

Panticost punched the table hard.

"All personnel in the Broken Dome Base will be screened one by one! Re-examine everyone's files, including past experiences and family situations, and evaluate their psychological conditions."

"Yes, Marshal."

…

K-Science Lab.

Fu Qinghai was sitting in front of the computer, using a search engine to retrieve relevant information about "Monster Believers" - but in fact, he quietly inserted the artificial intelligence chip into the chassis.

"Monster Cult Revealed."

Kelly Kellyski, ZNN reporter.

Fu Qinghai found an interview video from a few years ago.

Click to open the video:

"Hello, viewers, my name is Kelly Kelly, and this is the border of the San Francisco quarantine zone. The first monster 'invader' finally fell here. At that time, the Magnesium Air Force dispatched multiple units to jointly attack , and used tactical nuclear weapons for the first time on the mainland of the United States."

A white man wearing a shirt and no tie stood in the middle of the ruins, holding a microphone and talking to the camera. The camera slowly pulled in behind him as he introduced.

It's San Francisco's Forgotten Cemetery.

Fu Qinghai recognized it.

"The area near the edge of the Quarantine Zone has become a no-man's land, infested with disaffected people and rebels. Today religious services are held daily by the Wormhole Church, one of the most well-known local sects of monster believers today. one."

"Yes, you heard it right. Monsters come out of wormholes and cause harm to the world and destroy civilization, but they still have no shortage of fanatical admirers. Maybe you will never believe it, but there are indeed people here who worship alien monsters!"

"We tried interviewing several church leaders, but no one wanted to go on camera. They called the monsters kings and said they were world lords on the other side of the wormhole."

"The number of members of the Wormhole Church has been growing steadily every year, but there was a sudden drop in 2023. There were only two monster attacks that year. At that time, people thought that the monsters seemed to have stopped, but last year's facts proved that this The guess was wrong. The number of monster attacks became more and more frequent, and the number of members of the Wormhole Church also soared."

"As you can see now, many people gathered here to participate in the 'sunset ceremony' to commemorate the moment when the last nuclear bomb was bombed on the 'invaders', because that moment marked the first death of an alien invader at the hands of mankind."

"Everyone, look at the scene. Robert, turn the camera over there. The viewers in front of the TV don't want to miss this scene - we see hundreds of people holding candles heading to the border of the quarantine zone, saying prayers over and over again. Wen. They believe that monsters are messengers sent by God or the universe to remind us that humans have seriously damaged the earth’s environment and are not qualified to continue to live on this planet.”

"The Pacific Rim Joint Military Defense Forces are not impressed by the Wormhole Church. They declined my interview request, but I can tell you that the PPDC is always paying attention to any religious rituals of the church. Maybe the activities of the Wormhole Church can provide them with some clues. , guess the target of the monster’s next attack.”

"San Francisco is definitely the place where monsters feel most at home."

"Click", the video ends.

"Um……"

Fu Qinghai held his chin with one hand and frowned in thought.

Sometimes he will feel:

I can neither understand the people nor the government on the other side of the ocean.

Why do people worship monsters?

Stockholm Syndrome?

Why should the government let it go?

Just because of so-called freedom?

"From the time of the first monster invasion, some believed that they were messengers sent by God to punish mankind for its sins. Slowly, these people found each other and an organized religion based on such ideas."

A voice came from behind Fu Qinghai.

It's Dr. Herman.

"They build temples, sing hymns, show devotion, and hold ceremonies inside dead monsters. Most of these religions, however self-deceptive and obnoxious they may be, are not dangerous. They take pills made from some of the monster's body parts. Medicine. Some people even commit suicide by having an elaborate tea party, where they drink tea brewed with dehydrated monster fluids."

"The 'War Demon Gods' are different. They are violent extremists. They have always wanted to destroy PPDC. They have launched several attacks, trying to destroy mecha hunters, or assassinate pilots and scientists, but never before. It can lead to serious consequences like the accident just now.

Dr. Hermann explained to Fu Qinghai.

Fu Qinghai calmly pulled out the chip, shrugged and said:

"It's... unreasonable and unbelievable."

"Isn't this unimaginable? Isn't it the Christian theory of original sin? Everyone is born guilty."

Dr. Newton's voice interjected:

“The Huns invaded Europe thousands of years ago, and the Mongols invaded Europe hundreds of years ago. Christians in Europe still worshiped the invaders, believing that the invaders were heavenly soldiers and generals sent by God to help them drive away the Ottoman pagans. They also call them 'the whip of God', religion is so ridiculous."

Dr. Newton is from China, and his usual style and appearance are quite hippie-like. Naturally, he has no good feelings toward old Europe and Christianity. Of course, for Chinese people, hippies and beatniks are not good things either.

Fu Qinghai agreed with Dr. Newton's views.

Unfortunately, he could not find any clues about the monster cult organization "War Demon God" from the Internet.

Then the three of them chatted about other things, and then continued to conduct research on monsters step by step.

Until a Chinese man in military uniform walked into the laboratory.

"Dr. Fu Shan, please come with me."

The other party said politely.

Fu Qinghai turned around and looked, oh, Zhang Jin.

The second familiar face besides Jing Tian.

"Okay, General Quan."

Fu Qinghai put down his work and followed the man away.

…

Today's training content is dagger fighting and monster knowledge: including the anatomy and structure of monsters in the past, biological weapons, etc.

Fu Qinghai could completely memorize this superficial knowledge at just one glance, but after all, not everyone has the brain of M.O.D.O.K.

The students returned to their dormitories exhausted.

However, the atmosphere was a bit strange.

Everyone was clearly preoccupied.

"They think the saboteurs are among us."

A student broke the silence:

"I think they might be right."

"I do not believe."

A boy said angrily:

"I haven't done it, and I don't think the murderer is among you. Why would someone do such a thing?"

"Heart is under the kyte."

A girl replied calmly:

"Everyone has their own secrets, and as long as the time is right, anything can happen."

After speaking, she glanced at Zofia with a hint.

Zofia sat silently on her bed, quietly listening to the discussions of the classmates around her.

Although she got close to full marks in every course, she failed repeatedly in synaesthesia synchronization. Zofia had changed six synchronization partners, but she was still unwilling to let go of her guard and reveal her inner feelings. This made other students particularly uncomfortable. curious.

If things continue like this, this beautiful girl will be eliminated from the Hunter Academy sooner or later, and her desire to become a mecha hunter is so strong that almost everyone knows about it.

"Maybe."

A student helplessly spread his hands and said:

"Maybe the bad guys are among us, maybe the real culprits can frame us easily. But we don't even know why they suspect us. All we know so far is that they are questioning everyone in the Shattered Dome."

"All of us have entered the head control cabin of the training mecha, two at a time. Everyone has time to commit crimes. Have you seen anyone else doing anything strange?"

A student asked seriously.

"Please, stop trying to be detectives, okay? What can a bunch of us trainees do in the control cabin?"

Another student asked rhetorically.

"Although I don't know you very well, I don't think anyone would go through all the trouble to come to the Hunter Academy just to install a vulnerability program in the training mecha. If I were to carry out sabotage, I would definitely wait for someone who could cause an uproar. time, not like this.”

"Indeed." Someone agreed, "That makes more sense."

"Everyone……"

A student from Japan spoke.

Everyone looked at him in surprise because this introverted boy rarely spoke.

"The killer could be among us," he said, "and we might not even know it. My father worked for Interpol, and he said some gangsters knew how to use Ponce bridges to turn people into zombies — —No, not zombies, that’s not the right word. It’s about putting certain instructions into people’s brains, and then those people forget about it.”

"Zombie? Are you serious?"

A student asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"My father never makes fun of such things. In short, if you suddenly have some weird ideas, or your memory suddenly becomes fragmented..."

His voice trailed off.

"Then you might be a zombie."

Someone helped him complete what he had not finished.

The more Zofia listened, the more magical it became.

Does synaesthesia technology and Pons bridge device actually have this effect?

Why does it sound so much like Order 66 from Star Wars?

Zofia ignored these little brats and got up and left the dormitory alone under their suspicious eyes.

Zofia felt that this matter was not trivial and wanted to tell Fu Qinghai immediately so that he could make an accurate judgment.

However, when Zofia arrived at the K-Science Laboratory, she was told by the other two doctors:

Dr. Fu Shan has been taken away by General Quan.

…………

Thanks to the little tractor driver, the great sage who rules Mars, and two book friends for their rewards.