Chapter 308 - 304: Neller with Ice-Cold Hands and Feet

Chapter 308: Chapter 304: Neller with Ice-Cold Hands and Feet

「12 hours after the battle at Lau Park.」

「Berlinke City, Capital of De Yi Country. Headquarters of the Extraordinary Turmoil Investigation Team.」

Nelle Qiao Ge’er and his elite agents were in the conference room, sorting through various materials sent from Munich.

There was not only the corpse of the fallen monster, but also combat footage from the incident, as well as a few videos recorded by eyewitnesses around Lau Park.

Additionally, there were various photographs, aerial footage, and close-up videos from "ground zero" at Lau Park.

"Team Leader, we have preliminary results."

An agent in a greatcoat, operating a computer, reported on the research data they had just received.

After receiving a nod from his superior, he read the key parts aloud.

"The aerial monster, codename: Thorn Feather Dragon. Wingspan of 19 meters, total body length of 23 meters, with the tail accounting for 9 meters. It possesses strong lower limbs, indicating a suspected—though unverified—strong terrestrial running ability. Inferred primary methods of attack are biting, claws, a tail hook, and projectile quills. It has a certain degree of Radar-stealth capability. Analysis of eyewitness descriptions suggests the existence of an unknown sonic attack..."

In fact, it was that strange, eardrum-piercing shriek that prevented civilians on scene from recording anything beyond the midpoint of the battle.

The agent’s report continued.

"Total body weight is 12 tons, with tissue density far exceeding that of conventional animals. The long quills are hollow, made of a high-strength, metal-like material, and number around 2,000. If it hadn’t fired any, we infer that a healthy Thorn Feather Dragon would weigh over 14 tons. Its blood contains a fatal toxin that is poisonous on contact, with low volatility and a low risk of airborne transmission..."

At this point, the agent paused, as if to compose himself.

"The biology expert team unanimously concluded that this was a juvenile creature."

"What?!" "Impossible!" "You can’t be serious!"

Everyone in the conference room was stunned.

"Maiher, this is a monster with a twenty-meter wingspan!"

TAP. TAP.

Nelle tapped his fountain pen on the conference table, signaling for quiet, then nodded for Maiher to continue.

"The biology experts based this conclusion on three points. First, while the hollow quills could be for reducing flight weight, after cutting a few open with a laser, they discovered undeveloped, gland-like structures. Based on the toxicity of its blood, a mature specimen should be capable of storing toxins within its quills. In other words, it could fire Poison Needles."

"Second, we were unable to find any mature reproductive organs or similar tissues in the creature’s body. For a complex organism like this to reproduce, mating is almost certainly required. The experts suspect that certain sexual characteristics only appear upon reaching maturity."

"Third, there are significant variations among its feathers, similar to the differences between a fledgling’s plumage and an adult bird’s."

The conference room was silent for a long moment.

The analysis was comprehensive enough to prove the research personnel knew what they were doing.

But the more they thought about it, the more unsettling it became.

’This was just a juvenile...?’

Nelle sighed.

"Any leads on those two mysterious fighters?"

An agent in charge of tracking that lead immediately reported.

"The totaled vehicle at the scene was traced to an off-the-books transaction. The owner, a small business owner from Munich, sold the car over a month ago to a young man in a face-to-face cash deal. No photos were taken. The name he left was Jacob. We found three hundred people with that name. After filtering by age, thirty remain, all of whom are in perfect health. However, judging by the signs of combat at the scene, this person should be... severely injured. We’ve concluded the name is an alias."

"Severely injured" was putting it mildly. Forensic analysts believe both mysterious powerhouses were impaled in at least seven or eight places. Given the size of the quills found at the scene, an ordinary person could not have survived. Then again, they were clearly not ordinary people.

"Given that they could retreat so quickly afterward, they must have had a pickup team or reinforcements arrive later."

"We have reason to believe they, or the hypothetical organization they belong to, possess the means to detect high-risk monsters. Evidence from the scene and eyewitnesses indicates one of the fighters was at Lau Park in advance, preparing for battle, while the other was likely in pursuit by car."

The truth was, the Super-Tuning Team’s interest in these two appearing Super Soldiers was no less than their interest in the monster.

"Could they be similar to the two Superpower Users we’ve already discovered?" a team member of captain rank asked.

"We can’t rule out that possibility, but the difference in power level is too great. The two individuals currently at the research institute can’t compare to them on any metric."

"Mm, continue the follow-up, but don’t be too aggressive. We don’t want to antagonize them."

Nelle rubbed his forehead to alleviate his fatigue as he gave the order, but then something else occurred to him.

"Right, I heard one of our young agents performed exceptionally well this time?"

"Yes, Team Leader. His name is Carl Noeumann, a Munich local. He was on leave at the time. He heard the commotion and drove to ’ground zero.’ He engaged in limited combat, providing support to one of the mysterious powerhouses, and ultimately retreated under life-threatening pressure."

"According to his debriefing and analysis of short video clips from surrounding civilians, the 9mm Parabellum rounds Carl fired effectively distracted the Thorn Feather Dragon for several seconds. This bought time for one of the mysterious powerhouses to escape and for the other to arrive as backup. Both our psychological analysts and tactical evaluators have given him high marks."

"What about his family background?"

"He has a younger brother in college and a younger sister in high school. His father, who left home for over a decade, just recently returned. His grandfather was a staff sergeant in the army during World War II and was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class."

Nelle smiled for the first time today.

"A fine young man. We need more people like him!"

This sentence also determined the foundation of Carl’s future career path within the Super-Tuning Team.

"Organize the materials. Try to consolidate the files by tomorrow. And change some of the keywords—certain major powers we’re monitoring seem to have started uniformly referring to these as ’Aberration Events.’ It’s a shame our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is so incompetent..."

There was some unverified data on the computer that Nelle planned to include as well. It would serve as a bargaining chip to persuade the Chancellor and parliament, but he felt no joy.

The authority of the Extraordinary Turmoil Investigation Team was far less than that of the special agencies of the World Alliance nations. In some respects, they were even worse off than Japan, let alone able to influence foreign policy and the economy.

But many within the Super-Tuning Team already understood that in certain other countries, similar agencies were unusually active. No matter how good their secrecy, the sheer scale of the operations that leaked through was staggering.

And did the upper echelons of De Yi Country really know nothing?

Not necessarily. In fact, the establishment of the Super-Tuning Team early last year proved there were more than a few clear-headed people in the government.

But the subsequent deep-dives that should have followed were hampered from multiple sides.

The ostrich-like mentality of some politicians was only one factor. The main reasons were the deteriorating economic environment and the potential negative impact on national development. Of course, the presence of the US Army was another limitation to consider.

Ultimately, although strange or bizarre things were occasionally discovered within the country, none had had a major impact or provided enough persuasive evidence—until now.

However, one thing that put De Yi Country ahead of other, unaware nations was that its "on-paper" work had never ceased. The formulation of various plans, even absurd design work for things like doomsday shelters, was being continuously refined by an internal department within the Super-Tuning Team.

After all the members had left the conference room, Nelle continued to tap his pen on the desk.

He pulled two strange photos from a folder beside him, taken two days ago.

They showed a strange type of weapon accidentally captured by satellite over both China and the United States. Though the styles of the designs were different, they weren’t fundamentally dissimilar—much like different models of tanks or airplanes, they could essentially be classified as the same category of weapon.

It was a strange, armored mobile base-like structure. Just from the exposed parts in the photos, one could tell its weapon systems were not to be underestimated; its fire-coverage capabilities could only be described as terrifying.

A rough military-industrial analysis suggested that such an extravagant weapon, including its associated transport and assembly vehicles, would have a unit cost of at least tens of millions of Euros, even with the most stringent cost-saving measures.

’This kind of pointless weapon... in modern warfare, it’s less effective for coordinated advancing suppression than a few armored vehicles, and it’s too wasteful for defensive purposes. Are they meant to be used as targets?’

Nelle subconsciously dismissed the ridiculous thought. Those other parties were not to be trifled with; they had vast reserves of brilliant minds and wouldn’t do something so preposterous. Besides, for them to appear in both countries at the same time was too much of a coincidence.

’Unless... it’s not a weapon meant for humans!’

Whether it was the cold weather or some other reason, Nelle suddenly felt his hands and feet grow cold. He realized his country’s intelligence services might have made a grave mistake!