Perspective: Gestalt Iron-Gray-Resolute Sergeant
After the seven-colored, glazed light that could purify all things dissipated, an absolute, heart-stopping silence engulfed the entire battlefield.
The invincible, terrifying "Calamity-Tier" aberration that had cruelly devoured Sergeant Marcus Jones and the entire heroic "Worker Bee Six" squad had completely and silently vanished from its spot.
All that remained was a patch of scorched, purified earth that radiated faint warmth and a strange energy resonance. Miraculously, faint, tender-green, fluorescent wisps were emerging from the scorched ground, symbolizing the primal life force attempting to revive after the "Iridescence" contamination was forcibly dispelled.
Gestalt's breathing nearly stopped.
He watched Shen Kai, still holding a forward-pushing posture with his body covered in strange, matte, neutral-colored armor, collapse backward like a puppet with its strings cut. He hit the scorched earth with a "thud," kicking up a cloud of fine dust.
"Shen-kun—!!!!!!"
Nadeshiko's heart-rending cry was the first to pierce the silence. Without a moment to process the cognition-shattering scene she had just witnessed, she recklessly charged out from behind the rock and stumbled as she threw herself down beside Shen Kai.
Gestalt's gaze swept across the scorched earth, which had just experienced a "divine punishment" and "purification," as if he were the most precise battlefield scanner.
His eyes turned to Ryan, who was still slumped on the ground, clutching his head and staring blankly. His lips trembled, and he was clearly suffering a mental breakdown from witnessing such extreme brutality and power beyond comprehension.
Then, he looked at Nadeshiko. She was doing everything she could with medical gel and energy stabilizers to stabilize Shen Kai's vital signs. They could barely be accurately captured by her instruments. But she couldn't penetrate the seamless, strange armor at all.
Finally, there was Shen Kai.
He was an existence who, without the aid of any known model of driver or core cartridge, could erupt with a power sufficient to instantly "format" a Calamity-Tier aberration using only his own core.
This could no longer be described as a "rare anomaly."
It was an "absolute variable" that the entire existing power structure of the Federation could not explain, let alone control easily.
The face of Specialist Li Jian, always filled with a fanatical and inquisitive expression, flashed through Gestalt's mind. Along with it came the cold eyes of the Internal Affairs Investigation Department, hidden behind iron masks. They adhered to the principle of "most efficient handling" for any "unstable factors."
He knew that hesitating or overthinking at that moment would be fatal. He had to make a decision immediately.
"Ryan! Stay alert! Guard against any possible secondary attacks!" Gestalt's hoarse voice allowed no argument.
Gestalt's roar jolted Ryan. Still in a daze, Ryan subconsciously raised his rifle and pointed it haphazardly in one direction.
Gestalt strode over to Shen Kai's side. He crouched down, helped Nadeshiko study the strange armor, and activated the highest-level encrypted communication module on his personal terminal.
He bypassed the conventional theater command chain. Instead, he accessed a rarely used "red line," a one-way channel to the Federation's Strategic Intelligence Center. In the recipient field, he checked both "Supreme Commander Xuan Shu (Omega-Zero clearance, for your eyes only)" and "Chief Specialist Li Jian of the Federation Technology Division" without hesitation.
He packaged and compressed all of the combat data on the "Wailing Aggregation," as captured by the tactical recorders. He also included the unedited footage of Shen Kai's final, soul-shaking "abnormal power eruption." He attached an extremely brief but rigorously worded field assessment:
"Calamity-tier target 'Wailing Aggregation' encountered in sector T734. Confirmed purified."
"Pathfinder-04" Shen Kai (suggested internal monitoring code: "Origin-Point Colorless") exhibited a suspected, unknown-type core ability. Condition extremely critical. Requesting highest-level medical support and technical evaluation."
The instant the data stream surged out, an extremely rare, deep red warning icon lit up on Gestalt's terminal screen, representing the triggering of the highest-level "Iron Curtain" information lockdown protocol.
A cold, emotionless synthesized voice sounded in Gestalt's earpiece:
"Warning: The intelligence you have submitted has triggered the Federation's highest security-level response: 'Iron Curtain Protocol' has been activated."
"From this moment on, all forms of external communication are prohibited."
"Do not leave the current sector."
"Remain on site and await the arrival of the Gray Dove special operations team."
"Repeat: Stand by on site and await takeover."
Gestalt's body went rigid.
"Gray Dove"...
The Internal Affairs Investigation Department's most mysterious and feared unit. "Cleaners."
They weren't there to rescue anyone.
They were coming to "handle" the situation.
A chill, more bone-piercing than when he had faced the "Wailing Aggregation," shot instantly from the base of his spine to the top of his head.