January 17
Across the vast, endless expanse of the North American Great Plains, tens of millions of infected followed the voices that guided them, overrunning one steel city after another.
From Miami to Augusta, from Boston to Washington, from Houston to Chicago, from New Jersey to California, from the White House to Capitol Hill, from the great metropolises to the Empire State Building—
The stench of the infected had seeped into every limb of that once-mighty empire. The colossal giant called America now had its every cell, blood vessel, and organ clogged with corrupted, necrotic tissue.
A black tide battered every place where living beings still remained.
And yet, in one remote, unremarkable little town in the American countryside—Knox County—the world above and the world below had become two entirely different realms.
Compared to the bleak and backward surface settlement, the underground resembled an anthill: dense with man-made structures, its many spaces linked together by pipelines and passageways.
At its very center lay an enormous circular chamber.
The white glare of incandescent lights shone down onto spotless pale flooring, while translucent blue tubes pumped liquid toward the technological construct at the chamber's center.
Across the floor, those tubes formed the six-pointed star of Jewish mysticism—the emblem of the Apostles.
This was one of the central strongholds of the Apostles: a cult devoted to biotechnology, revering the original Sumero organism as a god, believing that only through its transformation could humanity evolve into a higher species, and looking down with utter contempt upon old humanity.
The organization had grown out of Jacob Biotech, once controlled by a Judaic esoteric sect. After taking over part of the military's research into the Sumero virus, they discovered that it had other functions.
In a number of experiments, Jacob Biotech uncovered the virus's far greater potential: if a subject could survive the infection, the virus would dramatically accelerate biological evolution and greatly improve compatibility with different genetic material. From that point on, they sought to monopolize the virus completely.
By networking with other groups, winning over powerful elites, corrupting every stratum of human society, and recruiting on a massive scale—from ordinary civilians to top-tier specialists, from basic infantrymen to entire naval warships—an astonishing number of people had either been bought off or defected to their side.
On top of that, they had developed fully controllable bio-weapons, and through a Mother entity they could indirectly command the infected.
Their power was now at its zenith. Northward into Canada, east into Southeast Asia, west into Europe, south into Latin America—
They had flowers blooming everywhere across the globe. The fall of Korea, their most recent triumph, had pushed their grand global strategy even further. This was war. Yes—this was not some mere virus crisis.
This was war on a planetary scale. Under the virus's influence, every living thing had been dragged into it.
Fish and shrimp in the sea, birds in the sky, cattle and horses on land… all of it was struggling, slaughtering, clashing.
Its savagery far surpassed World War I or II. This time, every continent and ocean had become a battlefield. The killing had not ceased for a single moment. Billions upon billions of living beings were bathing in blood in trenches that stretched across the world.
Because the Apostles maintained branches across the globe, their grip on these regions was especially firm. Some of the clearest examples were the following:
In Asia: the Tokyo Underground City, Seoul, and Kolkata.
In Europe: Istanbul, Copenhagen, and Mainz.
In the Americas: the Louisville Underground City and the Panama Canal corridor.
…
At present, the balance of victory was tilting entirely to one side, and that filled them with jubilation.
Earth—our Earth—was on the verge of becoming the first world ever to be completely ruled by a single regime.
A long black shadow stretched across the white floor.
Its owner was none other than:
Abraham Middleton, the current supreme leader of the organization. It was under this madman's leadership that the Apostles had expanded so explosively.
His face was difficult to make out clearly. Standing before the grotesque mass beneath a glass enclosure, he was using it to communicate with the organization's leaders across the globe.
After the satellites had fallen and the solar storms had ravaged the world, humanity's communications and information networks had collapsed into disarray. But the Apostles, relying on infected biological nodes spaced every few dozen kilometers apart, had no such problems.
There was some delay, yes—but wherever a node-infected organism existed, the organization could maintain contact. It ensured global personnel deployment and resource allocation with remarkable efficiency.
The voices speaking with him at this moment belonged to:
Asia-East Commissioner: Naoyuki Okuno
Europe Commissioner: Nikita Bridges
South America Commissioner: Joshua Nehemiah
Asia-West Commissioner: Cody Lee
Africa Commissioner: Adam Law
Oceania Commissioner: Zong Ping Zheng
Abraham's voice was rough and booming, completely at odds with the solemn and refined religious robes he wore.
"Naoyuki, the Tokyo campaign and the Seoul campaign were both exceptionally well executed. Our god's gaze is now upon you! Hahaha! In the pillars of the kingdom to come, there will surely be a place for you."
Okuno had indeed performed brilliantly. He had overseen the occupation of key cities across Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea—far faster progress than anything achieved in Europe or the Americas. His role in the spread of Sumero had been immeasurable.
Naturally, Abraham was delighted. To unify the globe and become the ruler of a new era was no longer fantasy. The throne of Earth's supreme sovereign seemed almost within reach.
"Your Eminence honors me. To expand the dominion of God's kingdom is the duty I shall uphold all my life."
The delight in Okuno's voice was unmistakable.
But then Nikita, the European commissioner, spoke—and poured cold water over the mood.
"As expected of Okuno Naoyuki, the man they call Berserker. And how is the progress on those two artificial saints assigned to the Tokyo Research Institute?"
What else could it be?
Of course, nothing had been completed. Reproducing a miracle like Poseidon—the naturally born fusion aberration known in legend as Sea Monk—was proving maddeningly difficult.
They had absolutely no clue where to begin.
But in front of one's leader and peers, who would dare simply admit failure?
Naturally, he had to give the most optimistic answer possible.
"Exceptionally well. We're already preparing for the final testing phase. But what about you, Nikita? Your Eastern Europe campaign is going the way Napoleon's and Hitler's did. When exactly do you plan to wipe out all those Eastern Orthodox heretics?"
"What did you say? Okuno, you bastard—are you mocking me for not taking Moscow?!"
Nikita's personality was as wild and direct as the place he came from. Faced with provocation, he responded with full force.
Though he had been the one to start the conflict, the violence in his blood would never permit retreat.
Then, suddenly, a woman's voice rang out—majestic, overwhelming, instantly silencing everyone present.
"Enough. All of you. You occupy my psychic network only to bicker? When will you finally seize the so-called City of Glory and the remaining fragments?"
"My god, we shall present you with a complete world!"
Abraham was the first to answer, and all the others immediately followed, proclaiming their loyalty in manic reverence.
"The new Genesis may now begin. Let the foolish old humans die clutching their rusted iron."
"We obey your command!"
With a burst of triumphant laughter, the being they worshipped as Mother withdrew from the gathering. After exchanging a few final operational updates, the others disconnected as well.
Only Abraham remained, standing motionless before the grotesque, twisted mass. His expression could not be seen.
He was thinking of something else.
These commissioners had grown too powerful. So powerful that even he—the founder of the organization, the master of its headquarters, the great archbishop himself—had begun to fear them.
With only North America under his direct authority and the Great Apostle Corps at his command, he could just barely keep those regional overlords in check.
"I'll have to ask Mother to discipline them a little more often. And I'll need to cultivate a few more people from below."
Beneath the regional commissioners, the Apostles still maintained an additional hierarchy.
At the lowest level were the roaming special task squads—Missionary Apostle Teams. Their captains and subordinate cell leaders were granted biotechnological methods by the organization that allowed them to control infected within a local area. They were well equipped and usually operated in groups of several dozen.
Ordinary people absorbed by those external teams were typically broken up and reassigned into combat formations.
Aside from its military structure, the Apostles also possessed a relatively crude administrative system.
Under each commissioner's domain, management of production and the economy was still handled in accordance with old territorial divisions, using former government officials who had defected to oversee things.
As Abraham continued thinking, he suddenly sensed something.
At once, his expression twisted, and he strode toward the elevator.
Somewhere deeper underground, a dull, heavy sound had begun to echo.
When Abraham arrived in haste, the scientists in white coats waiting there greeted him with wonderful news.
"Archbishop, the Saint Project is complete. Her condition is perfect. She is like an angel from the old legends."
"May I go inside and see her?"
Staring at the screen, Abraham spoke in a low voice.
"I think it would be better to wait a little longer. The Saint is still under sedation."
Good heavens—this new Saint's destructive capacity was astounding. She had nearly wrecked a fifty-centimeter-thick alloy blast door with her attacks alone. If the Archbishop went in before she was fully stable, he would be dead.
"Very good. Go to Central Sector and collect your reward."
That ended the exchange.
A smile spread over Abraham's face like something painted there.
"Now my plan can proceed! Hahaha!"
His unrestrained laughter echoed throughout the underground complex.
All the staff now knew that a new Saint had been born.
Laughter and celebration spread through the facility.
But behind it all?
How many new bones would be buried now?
The blood-soaked earth had already provided its solemn answer.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
My Harem Is Indescribable 26
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