In that cursed zone, a monstrosity of unimaginable horror writhed into view.
At first glance, it looked like a grotesque patchwork of corpses—massive in size, floating mid-air, its many limbs coiled and twitching. It had six legs, eighteen thick arms, and seventy-two hands attached to thirty-six forearms, each appendage moving independently in spasms and convulsions.
The entity had no head. Instead, a flat, circular structure sat atop its torso, covered in glowing symbols and glyphs that pulsed with a harsh white light, casting an eerie sheen over its ashen-brown flesh.
Golden bands wrapped around each limb, chains dragging across the ground with every movement, accompanied by a haunting, metallic jingle.
The moment this abomination came into view, the previously noisy chat group fell dead silent—then exploded.
"WTF?! What the hell is that thing?!"
"God… Just looking at it makes me feel my sanity crumbling."
"It's like a living meat mountain, stitched together in madness. Absolutely revolting."
"Holy shit—is that a PERSON fused to its… 'head'?"
Sure enough, a charred, emaciated figure was connected to the entity's flat, glyph-covered disc. The wretched soul thrashed violently, desperately trying to break free—while letting out blood-curdling screams.
"Ugh… AHHH!!"
"Help me! HEL—"
Every time the entity gestured, the symbols on its "head" flared brighter, searing the trapped human's flesh and eliciting fresh waves of agony.
The sheer wrongness of the sight sent waves of dread through the onlookers.
On the screen, T-5 Onru suddenly paled. "Dammit, DON'T look at its arms! Every movement carries a potent memetic hazard!"
The hazard wasn't just psychological—it fried her optical implants and overloaded her SCRAMBLE circuits.
The team scrambled back—but the monstrosity moved faster.
The wails grew louder.
"Eat this!" Munru hurled a high-sensitivity mine behind them.
A second later, blue electrical arcs surged between the server racks as the ground beneath them liquefied like quicksand.
Just as the entity closed in—
BOOM!
The mine detonated, the shockwave solidifying the ground again and buying them precious seconds.
The squad dashed around a corner, revealing a room with a gaping hole in the ceiling—a ruined containment unit, its complex mechanisms obliterated.
"Move!"
The floor beneath them began glowing with white-hot glyphs—each one a lethal memetic hazard.
They dodged frantically—but Nanku's left arm brushed against a symbol.
"FUCK!"
Instantly, her arm burst into flames.
Without hesitation, Irantu drew his sidearm and—
BANG!
The bullet severed her arm at the elbow. The limb hit the ground and disintegrated into ash before the fire could spread.
"This way! NOW!"
Munru breached the door first, the others piling in behind. Nanku stumbled through, Irantu last—but before the door sealed, he glanced back.
Through the closing gap, he could still see the entity's writhing limbs, the burning glyphs… and hear those soul-rending screams.
Then—
His eyes locked onto the name branded across the fused human's flesh:
EMERSON.
Three-Body Universe – Earth
Luo Ji's breath hitched. His body stiffened as if struck by lightning.
"Emerson… It's him."
That name was no stranger—the Jester, Barb, had mentioned "Papa Emerson" before.
The man responsible for Site-13's containment breach.
The architect of this nightmare.
And now…
He was dead.
Reborn as a memetic abomination.
Back in the Facility
"What the hell was that?!" Munru gasped, still shaken.
"Some kind of memetic hazard? But nothing should be that potent!" Onru eyed Nanku's missing arm.
"Gesture-glyphs," the captain said grimly. "A subclass of cognitohazards—physical and mental effects triggered by specific motions. Direct observation causes catastrophic damage."
Nanku smirked at her stump. "Gonna miss that arm."
"You'll live. Just watch your step."
She snorted. "Like I need two arms." With a shrug, she activated the flamethrower mounted where her limb used to be. "Who needs flesh anyway?"
The tension eased—briefly.
The Rescue
The team reached a barricaded hallway, stacked with explosives and incendiaries.
"Hello? This is T-5 Irantu! We're here for extraction—anyone alive?"
Silence.
Then—
Screeeech.
A crate shifted. A masked face peeked out.
"Thank fuck you're here!"
Deadpool sprang up like an overexcited puppy.
The survivors emerged, and the viewers exhaled in relief.
"Ohhh, the big damn heroes! They said you'd come." Deadpool circled them, grinning. "You guys look like you got hit by a train."
Munru smirked. "Something like that."
"Alright, enough chatter," Mole Rat Captain Hollis cut in. "We're on borrowed time."
As they moved, black fissures split the walls behind them—leeches oozing out in a tide of dark fluid.
The relief was short-lived.
Reunion & The Plan
Deadpool, ever the chatterbox, eyed the newcomers jealously.
"Man, Foundation finally hooks us up with gear, and these guys still outclass us!" He side-eyed Titus, then backpedaled. "Uh, no offense, big guy."
Titus ignored him. His Sigil of Purity had long since burned away—spent fending off the site's memetic corruption. Even for a veteran of the Warp, this place was worse.
Without Foundation's countermeasures, he'd have been screwed.
Now, reinforcements had arrived—but escape was far from guaranteed.
"Listen up," Onru projected a 3D map. "Site-13 is an inverted pyramid—multiple kilometers deep. The central shaft houses the incinerators."
Red zones marked certain death.
Deadpool groaned. "So we're trapped?!"
Even his regeneration was failing here.
"The Thresher Device is destabilizing space," Onru continued. "We can't destroy it without killing everyone—but we can cut its power, buy an hour to escape."
"Why not split up?" the Master Chief asked.
"No time. One team, one shot."
Deadpool threw up his hands. "Fantastic."
Irantu took charge. "Tau-5 holds the front. Master Chief's team flanks. Zeta-9 covers the rear. Survivors in the middle."
The Master Chief added, "Keep comms clear. No chatter—save it for when we're topside."
(He glared at Deadpool. Hard.)
Deadpool mouthed, "Boring."
Just as they moved out—
Titus' voice cut through.
"Contact. Doorway."