NOVPUBAt 2:40 AM, the Antonich Special District was still in silence.
Cabinet members and various aides had gathered in the National Palace meeting room, with the blond President Colin McDonald seated at the center.
A heated debate had been raging for twenty minutes about how to handle the corpse floating in space, and opinions varied widely.
"Gentlemen, I called you here to come up with a viable plan, not to listen to you bicker!" President Colin’s face was somber as he raised his hand to quiet them.
An elderly technical aide, clearly steeped in expertise, spoke up, "Mr. President, intercepting it in a short timeframe is unrealistic. The object is too large, too heavy."
"We need to mobilize manpower, adjust our existing spacecraft, and make suitable plans. All these require..."
Minister of Defense Reynard Toynbee cut him off, "I’m sorry, but is there no way to speed this up? What about Eldoria’s glorious space technology?"
"You must understand that the key issue now is that we must capture that corpse before other nations do, or the situation will become very unfavorable for us."
The technical aide shook his head, "If I may speak frankly, sir, I understand your concerns, but please trust my expertise. What we should really worry about now is the space debris."
"If the corpse collides with debris and loses kinetic energy, falling to Earth, I suspect it will burn to ash upon atmospheric entry, and then we’ll have nothing."
Just then, the door to the meeting room was pushed open.
Everyone frowned and looked over as someone rushed in: "Latest news from EASA, the corpse has collided with space debris, lost speed, and is now caught by gravity, plummeting toward Earth."
...
The room fell into a stunned silence, and the technical aide spread his hands as if to say, "See, I told you."
President Colin ordered, "Have EASA predict the landing site."
Then, turning to the Eldorian Minister of Defense with a serious expression, he said, "Get our elite forces ready. Even if only a small piece of charred remains is left, I want it brought back."
...
Ortland, Aedorich Empire.
Local time was 9:40 AM.
A dazzling meteor streaked across the sky.
In the midst of rebuilding ruins, crude machinery was already busy at work, and kids in ill-fitting shorts played.
Barefoot, they kicked a peeling soccer ball.
A pickup truck loaded with armed soldiers drove past, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A kid glanced at the sky and suddenly gaped, "Look up there!"
The others also looked up and saw a white trail across the sky, memories hidden in their subconscious surged forth. 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
They ran away screaming in terror, "Missile, missile!"
The children scattered, leaving behind only a lonely, worn soccer ball.
...
In the atmosphere.
The shadow plummeted rapidly.
The terrible speed caused it to emit a terrifying heat from friction with the atmosphere, piercing the air with a searing white light.
The outer layers of the corpse were burned and vaporized, its substance dispersing into the atmosphere.
As it neared the ground, less and less of the corpse remained.
Finally—
"Boom!"
The remnants crashed into the grayish-yellow wasteland, dust and smoke rose, and fragments of the corpse scattered.
When all settled, only a half-circular pit two meters in diameter remained, with dark liquid splashed around.
At the bottom of the pit lay a clump of charred flesh-like tissue.
Minutes later, the rumble of engines approached.
Four Golden Eagle armed helicopters laden with ammunition rose from the horizon. Two landed near the impact crater while the others circled overhead.
A group of Eldorian soldiers in full biochemical protective gear jumped out.
"Set up a perimeter and quickly collect the target material."
The well-trained men swiftly took up their duties, gathering chunks of the corpse into sealed containers.
The commander glanced at the silent village nearby and instructed his men, "Send a few over to check if any villagers have secretly picked up any pieces."
"Roger that."
Snipers and observers took their positions, watching for movement in the village, while a few soldiers with rifles headed toward it.
On their way, the soldiers heard no sound from the village, just an oppressive silence.
They didn’t find it unusual—they were used to it.
Stationed in Aedorich for years, they were well aware of what they had done and how the locals felt about them.
Entering the village, the soldiers methodically knocked on doors for checks.
With no response forthcoming, they exchanged glances and broke in with a "bang."
The table was still set with food, still warm to the touch, but the house was empty. Yet, in an old wardrobe, there was the sound of suppressed breathing.
Yanking open the wardrobe, a chorus of terrified screams burst forth.
"Please, I beg you! I don’t have any guns, I have no contact with Verisalia, I support Eldoria! Please don’t take me away, my wife and kids need me to support them!"
The man of the house immediately knelt and pleaded.
The woman and several children huddled together in terror.
The soldiers glanced at each other, guns pointed at them, "Did you secretly pick up any of the meteorite that fell over there?"
"No, we really didn’t!"
Twenty minutes later, having thoroughly searched the village, the Eldorian Army soldiers left, and soon after, several armed helicopters took off into the distance.
...
Riverland.
After a delicious meal, Martin conscientiously washed the dishes.
Vivian initially didn’t want him to bother, but he insisted. After all, if you can’t cook, it’s only fair to wash up.
But as he washed and Vivian tidied up the remaining ingredients, the two busied themselves together in the kitchen, giving him a strange sense of déjà vu.
Especially when the afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Vivian’s profile as she worked with a slight smile, seemingly in good spirits.
Her youthful attire transformed her aura from a sexy office lady to a sweet girl next door in an instant.
Martin’s breath seemed to catch for a moment; he quickly averted his gaze, hastening his movements.
Vivian’s smile seemed to grow a bit more pronounced.
Due to different life experiences, everyone has different emotional needs.
Those who are repressed desire dominance, liking glamorous and sexy career women; those who are always assertive crave adoration, liking clumsy and cute ditsy girls.
And Martin was an orphan.
He naturally longed for a warm family, liking a gentle and tranquil atmosphere.
Vivian knew this.
Just as Martin understood her, she understood Martin just as well.
After placing the dishes in the sterilizer, Martin hurried back to his bedroom, closing his eyes to calm his emotions.
That’s when he sensed something was amiss.
His Power of Meteorology and the global atmosphere were one and the same.
Although his spirit power level limited him from truly controlling global weather, sensing major changes in the atmosphere was no problem.
The vast spirit power evaporated from the falling corpse, dissipating into the atmosphere.
It was like dropping ink into a pool of clear water.
Martin felt clearly how a potent, cold spirit power was scattering and then, without a host, gradually fading away into the ether.
"Such a level of spirit power... at least spirit power level 3."
His brow furrowed, he activated Power of Wishing.
A blurry image suddenly emerged in his mind:
The falling corpse, a scarred nation, a multitude of Eldoria soldiers, helicopters heading to a base, and an active spirit power fluctuation amidst the wreckage.
"That spirit power level 3 creature, for some reason, was long dead."
"But it seems like there’s still a monster hidden in its carcass."
"That place, it’s Aedorich!"
Monsters from Alternate World often possess enigmatic powers, challenging even modern armies in direct combat. Yet, the Eldorian Army is courting death by bringing such an entity directly into their base.
Martin had no fondness for the Eldorian Army stationed in foreign lands.
Yet, Aedorich’s technology and military were severely outdated. If the monster wreaked havoc on the Eldorian base and then escaped, it would spell disaster for the local civilians.
The system’s voice suddenly rang out:
"Random task: Eliminate the Aedorich lizard beast. Reward: 30 organizational experience points, random reward."
It was clear that, whether driven by his own conscience or the system’s task, he had to make haste.
The sooner he arrived, the fewer lives would be lost.
The direct distance from Riverland to Aedorich spanned thousands of kilometers.
He could use his Power of Meteorology to fly there, but by the time he arrived, he would likely lack the energy to search for and destroy the otherworldly monster.
Thus, the fastest method was to take a commercial flight.
Of course, he couldn’t use his own identity, nor his original appearance.
Fortunately, these troublesome matters could be solved with the Power of Wishing.
With this in mind, Martin dialed Anna’s number. He needed to inform her of his departure to prevent her from looking for him in vain.
The call was quickly answered: "Leader."
Martin omitted the system details and briefly explained the situation to her, concluding with, "I have to make this trip, it might take a day or two, perhaps even three or four."
"I understand, Leader."
After hanging up, Anna clenched her hand slightly.
"Monsters... have they started to appear?"
The plans were still not fully formed, yet the enemy’s vanguard had already arrived, instilling a sense of urgency in her.
On the other side, Martin did not conceal the truth from Vivian.
The matter was urgent; he hadn’t brought anything with him and was ready to leave.
As he was about to exit, Vivian proactively handed him the coat hanging on the rack.
Using a fake ID, fake passport, and a disguised appearance, Martin breezed through the airport security checks and boarded the soonest departing flight.
Since there was no direct flight, he would have to change planes, so he braced himself for a journey of over twenty hours.
...
The helicopter landed steadily.
A group of people, all clad in full biohazard gear, rushed over and took the high-standard sealed containers, transporting them straight to an established laboratory.
This was typical of Eldoria’s unreasonable temperament, placing hazardous virus laboratories and the like on foreign soil.
Inside the lab, as the several sealed containers were wheeled in, the research staff already stationed there grew breathless with anticipation.
This was extraterrestrial life!
Throughout the history of human science, this was an extraordinarily significant discovery, and now they were the ones chosen to unravel its mysteries.
The excitement was chilling.
The largest fragment was placed on the table, and the researchers began securing numerous samples for preservation. Another scientist took out a detector, preparing to scan the remnant.
But as soon as he aimed it, his expression slowly stiffened because the remnant in front of him was subtly trembling and began to crack open...
...
