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Roy's sudden arrival on the battlefield instantly turned the tide.
The Leviathan Axe, when thrown, was like a cannonball. Anyone hit by it would be reduced to a bloody mist in an instant.
Adrian had already confirmed that these Black Mountain mercenaries were all dead men, so Roy didn't need to hold back. He could go all out without restraint.
Miss Jay was also in action. With Adrian's buffs enhancing her, her strength, endurance, and reaction speed surpassed human limits, allowing her to deal some additional damage alongside Roy.
As for Adrian, the healing angel, he didn't have any offensive abilities. His role was limited to buffing others or providing healing.
Together, the trio quickly cleared out the surrounding Black Mountain mercenaries.
At that moment, Point Man and the remaining Marines and FEAR team members emerged.
"Mr. Roy Black?"
Milo White looked at Roy with some uncertainty. He hadn't met Roy before, only seen his picture.
"That's me. Are all your people here?"
"Yes, Mr. Black. Everyone who's still alive is here," Milo White replied, his face filled with grief. Many of those who had died were comrades he'd fought alongside through thick and thin.
Roy could understand Milo's feelings, but now wasn't the time for mourning.
"Listen, the situation at the Armacham Research Facility isn't something ordinary people can handle. You all need to evacuate immediately. Leave the rest to me."
Milo White hesitated. Roy wasn't his superior, and he wasn't sure whether to follow his orders.
At that moment, Point Man suddenly spoke up.
"I've learned the truth about what's going on."
His words caused everyone to look at him in surprise, especially Milo White.
Point Man had only been gone for a few minutes, and yet he claimed to know the truth? It was hard to wrap their heads around.
Roy, having heard about Point Man from Iris, knew he wasn't the type to make things up, but he was still curious.
"Where did you find this out?"
Even though Point Man wore a mask, he still gave off a weary, almost defeated vibe.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"It's classified intelligence. I can only report it to General Hammer."
Roy frowned slightly.
"Point Man, I need to know this information. It could affect how I handle the situation at the Armacham Research Facility."
Point Man sighed.
"Alright, I'll tell you in private."
Point Man and Roy stepped into a small room in the dormitory building, where Point Man began to reveal what he knew.
This guy was usually the silent type, rarely speaking, but today, for some reason, he was unusually talkative. Maybe he'd been bottling things up for too long and needed to let it all out.
From Point Man, Roy learned a lot about the lesser-known secrets of the Armacham Technology Corporation.
"My mother, Alma, was a product of Armacham's Origin Project—a life created through artificially engineered genes. Part of her DNA comes from the project's lead, Harlan Wade, and another part from an unknown entity. In a sense, Harlan Wade is also my biological father."
Whoa! That first sentence alone carried a ton of weight!
Roy knew of Harlan Wade, Armacham's chief scientist and a world-renowned expert in genetic engineering.
But from what Point Man was saying, Harlan Wade was both his grandfather and his father? Was the scientific community really this messed up?
Point Man noticed Roy's strange expression.
"Harlan Wade believed that only superior genes could produce superior offspring. In reality, he had no direct contact with my mother. It was all done through artificial insemination."
Still, that's pretty bizarre! After all, artificial insemination between close relatives could easily result in offspring with genetic defects.
"Didn't Harlan Wade worry about creating a child with genetic issues?" Roy asked.
Point Man sighed again.
"That man had absolute confidence in his genetic engineering techniques. He also believed in an old saying that inbreeding could produce true genius." (Guess the ethnicity in a second.)
There was indeed such a belief—some thought inbreeding could create true geniuses, often citing Einstein as an example.
Einstein was a product of inbreeding, but no one talks about his siblings. His older brother and sister either died young or had intellectual disabilities. Only Einstein, by some stroke of luck, became a great physicist.
People who held such views treated living humans like data, chasing the slim chance of success to prove their point.
And what about the failed children? Were they just trash to be discarded?
Roy's expression turned to disgust. He suspected that if a child didn't meet Harlan Wade's standards, he'd have no qualms about killing them.
This was the kind of person who'd lost all humanity in the name of science—a type all too common in biology and law.
"My brother Paxton Fettel and I were born under these circumstances. But Harlan Wade still wasn't satisfied. He wanted to create an even greater being—a god among men! Conveniently, he acquired some special genetic material and used it to further modify my mother, turning her into a vessel to give birth to an artificial god!
"It caused my mother immense pain. She doesn't talk much, but I could feel her suffering. That's why I've always wanted to free her from this hell. Much of the intel Iris got came from me, and in return, she promised to do everything she could to save my mother, Alma."
Roy's expression grew complicated. He hadn't expected Point Man to be the root cause of all this.
Even more shocking, if Point Man's mother was the red-dressed girl who'd appeared earlier, did that mean she wanted Roy to be a stepfather to Point Man and Paxton Fettel?
Sure, those two weren't old, but their genetically enhanced growth made them look like middle-aged men—older than Roy himself!
"So why has the Armacham Research Facility ended up like this?"
"I don't know," Point Man replied. "I haven't seen my mother in the past year, and I have no idea what's been happening inside the facility. But I'm certain Harlan Wade did something to her. Just now, in this dormitory building, I saw my brother Paxton Fettel's spirit."
Roy was stunned.
"Wait! You're sure it was Paxton Fettel's spirit and not a hallucination?"
"I'm not mistaken! I spoke with him at length, and I'm certain it was Paxton. From him, I learned that something major happened to our mother, and Harlan Wade has been killed."
Roy's mind raced.
Paxton Fettel's presence at the Armacham Research Facility suggested that the succubus was likely there too.
Could this incident be tied to the Lust King?
But then, where did the Famine Knight's power come from?
Roy felt like the mysteries were piling up, a tangled mess.
"Point Man, who launched the nuke?"
That was probably the federal government's biggest concern.
Point Man didn't hide the truth, though he gave a bitter smile.
"The plan to launch the nuke was Paxton's. Our mother helped. They seem to want to continue Harlan Wade's experiments to create a god among men."
In a sense, while Harlan Wade's body was dead, his will lived on in Alma.
That explained Point Man's hesitation earlier.
"I think I understand the situation now. Point Man, you and the others need to evacuate."
"No, I have to stop my mother and Fettel! It's my responsibility!"
Roy frowned at Point Man. His strength might make him superhuman compared to ordinary people, but in the battles likely to come, he'd be little more than cannon fodder.
"If you stay, who'll deliver the intel?"
Point Man hesitated, then quickly came up with an idea.
"How about we have Miss Jay deliver the intel?"
As an agent of Naval Intelligence, Miss Jay was indeed qualified to handle the information. Plus, Roy wanted to convince her to leave the dangerous Armacham Research Facility.
"Alright. Call her in, explain the situation, and have them evacuate."
Miss Jay quickly learned the secret behind the nuke launch and Roy's intention for her to leave as well.
Knowing she couldn't help much, she handed Roy her military terminal.
"Roy, this terminal has a map of the Armacham Research Facility and access keys. With it, you can enter any building in the facility and unlock most electronic devices. I'll show you how to use it and give you the password."
Truthfully, Roy could get into buildings without it—worst case, he'd kick the doors down.
But being able to access electronic devices could come in handy.
Just as Miss Jay finished showing Roy how to use the Naval Intelligence terminal, Adrian's shout came from outside.
"Roy, more enemies!"
Roy rushed out of the dormitory building and saw a large group of emaciated figures, glowing with orange light, surrounding the area like starved ghosts.
"Where did all these people come from?"
Point Man answered.
"They're clones! The facility has a clone production line. These clones must be under my mother's or Paxton's control!"
Even Point Man and Paxton could easily control dozens of clones in combat. Alma, far stronger than her sons, could control even more.
Roy estimated there were at least two or three hundred clones on the scene.
"Major Milo White, evacuate your people immediately!"
Milo didn't hesitate this time. He led the remaining Marines and FEAR team toward the beach, where there were fewer clones compared to the dormitory area.
Under the Famine Knight's power, the clones had incredible physical resistance, rendering the Marines' and FEAR's weapons useless.
Fortunately, with Roy covering them, the Marines and FEAR managed to board the transport ship and begin retreating.
From the deck, Miss Jay watched Roy with reluctance in her eyes.
But then, something went wrong on the transport ship.
It started with one soldier's head exploding like a watermelon. Then, more soldiers were either torn in half or twisted into grotesque shapes by an invisible force.
In moments, the deck was awash with blood, more gruesome than a slaughterhouse.
"No!"
Roy noticed the chaos on the ship and instantly teleported to the deck using his psychic abilities. Transforming into his ten-winged angel form, he activated a protective aura, shielding Miss Jay.
Adrian stared at Roy in shock. Just three months ago, Roy had been an eight-winged angel. Now, he was a ten-winged angel with some kind of teleportation ability.
"Adrian!"
Roy could feel a powerful psychic force enveloping the ship. In mere seconds, half the people on the deck were dead. Clearly, Alma didn't want these soldiers leaving the Armacham Research Facility.
The psychic force didn't seem intent on killing Roy, but it showed no mercy to the others.
Even Roy's protective aura was struggling to hold up.
On one side, the clones were attacking. On the other, the people around him were dying one by one.
Adrian couldn't just stand by and watch. He transformed his guitar into a harp and began playing an ancient melody.
Music, one of humanity's oldest forms of expression, predated written language. Early humans used simple instruments to convey emotions and ideas.
The tune Adrian played was humanity's oldest music—a hymn praising God.
Roy found the melody familiar, like the music that played when the gates of heaven opened or when Michael or Gabriel descended.
Under Adrian's music, the clones stopped in their tracks, each covered in a white protective shield. The powerful psychic force seemed to retreat momentarily.
But then, Miss Jay, still in Roy's arms, twisted her head 180 degrees, her eyes rolling back as she stared at him.
"You care about her, don't you?"
Roy froze. The voice wasn't Miss Jay's—it was mature and seductive.
"Alma?"
"You know my name? Oh, my child must have told you."
Though Alma's voice was alluring, her manner of speaking was oddly childish.
It made sense. Since her creation, she'd been confined to the research facility, never seeing the outside world.
"You seem to care a lot about this woman. You're mine. You can't care about other women!"
Alma glared at Roy possessively, and he felt Miss Jay's body begin to twist in his arms.
"Hmph! I won't let you have your way!"
(F.E.A.R. Prequel Live-Action Video—Alma's Interrogation, check it out on Bilibili)