"…"
"…"
Shepard and the larva stared at each other in silence.
What's this? Why did Fangzheng give this to me?
Shepard couldn't figure it out. She remembered clearly that Fangzheng told her to open the box if she encountered any difficulties. She thought that there would be some secret weapon or something inside, but … What is this?
If she were an ordinary woman, perhaps she would have shrieked at the sight of the larvae. But Sheppard was an iron-blooded, battle-hardened woman who had seen the most disgusting things in the universe, so these larvae were nothing to her. But … how was she supposed to get them?
"Commander!"
While Shepard was puzzled, she heard Cayden's voice from outside the door. Upon hearing her subordinate's shout, Shepard shook her head and put aside her doubts. She picked up the lid and closed the box. Then, she stood up and opened the door. Cayden gazed at her nervously.
"Are you alright, Commander?"
"I'm fine. Get ready. Let's go."
Speaking until here, Sheppard tossed the box in his hand to Cayden.
"Here you go. Hold this properly."
"What's this?"
"A birthday cake!"
Facing Cayden's question, Chappard rolled his eyes in annoyance. Then, he picked up his gun and strode outside. Cayden was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly followed him with the box.
"You're amazing, Commander. How did you know that today is my birthday …"
The battle continued.
When Chappard and his men left the wreckage of Normandy, they immediately moved to the nearest headquarters. However, the Reapers were obviously prepared. Their first wave of attack directly destroyed all the important facilities and buildings of the Starlink Alliance, so Chappard could not contact the other troops at all. Fortunately, she was also famous as the ghost of the Divine Citadel. Along the way, she had gathered a lot of remnant soldiers and finally found a place to settle down in the dark.
But …
"This is simply a nightmare."
Looking at the burning city outside, Anderson sighed in exhaustion. He had hoped that Chappard could leave Earth and look for reinforcements elsewhere. But they didn't expect Chappard's Normandy to be shot down as well. This was bad. The Normandy was the most advanced battleship built by the Starlink. If even this battleship was destroyed by the Reapers, where else could the Starlink find another battleship?
Speaking of which, were there still any usable battleships on Earth?
"They attacked the Star Alliance Headquarters, the command post, and even the fleet headquarters. Just as you said, Sheppard, these monsters came prepared. Frankly speaking, I wanted you to seek backup, but …"
Looking at the scene outside the window, Anderson shook his head helplessly. Sheppard, who stood beside him, knitted her brows. Then, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Lieutenant General Anderson, in fact, I have something to report to you."
"What is it?"
"Do you remember that you asked me to issue an order to investigate the mysterious force that emerged from the Wandering Star System?"
"Oh … You mean the Tendo Temple … Of course, I know about that. What's wrong?"
Of course, Anderson was no stranger to this. After all, it was very rare to see a force that could make the Divine Castle's parliament speechless and suffer a loss. Although Anderson was also a member of the Divine Castle's parliament, he was quite satisfied deep down in his heart.
"It's like this. Back then, I led them to the Divine Castle according to the parliament's orders. But due to the incidents that happened along the way, I separated from them after dealing with Jess. Just a moment ago, I suddenly recalled that they gave me a gift before they left. They said that I can use it when I need help."
"Oh? Is that so? "
Hearing this, Anderson immediately pulled himself together.
"What is it? Is it some kind of weapon? "
"… It's this."
"… What is this?"
Anderson gazed at the larva that was poking its head out of the box in Sheppard's hand and was equally baffled.
"I don't know. Judging from its appearance, it should be a bug …"
"So? Is this the gift that they gave you? Are they trying to make fun of you on purpose? "
"I don't think so …"
Speaking up to this point, Chappard was actually a little hesitant. However, they had no other choice and could only try everything they could.
"So then, how do you use this thing? Don't tell me they want you to eat it? "
"… It can't be …"
Sheppard's hair stood on end as she gazed at the larva in the box. How am I supposed to eat this thing? Roast it?
"Do you intend to use it?"
"I want to give it a try, but General Anderson … I'm not sure if they're willing to help …"
Even if Sheppard wasn't a politician, he understood that this wasn't a simple matter of brotherly loyalty in a fight between two people. If there was a disagreement, it was as simple as saying, "Brother, let's go and take revenge for you". This involved a problem between two factions. In other words, even if the Heavenly Dao Palace was willing to help, the Star Alliance would have to offer enough benefits to get them to agree.
Sheppard didn't have such authority. No matter how powerful she was, she was only a specter in the Divine Castle and wasn't qualified to make such a decision.
In fact, Anderson wasn't qualified either. After all, he was only a lieutenant general.
As for those who were qualified … Yes, unfortunately, they were all wiped out by the reapers.
"… Let's give it a try."
Anderson hesitated for a moment and gritted his teeth.
"I'll take all the responsibility. Just as you said, if this continues, perhaps humanity will be completely destroyed. In the face of this crisis, everything else is secondary. Right now, we can only hope that the Tendo Temple's conditions aren't too much …"
Anderson said and shifted his gaze to the larva in the box.
"So then, how do I use this thing?"
"…"
Alright, this problem was back to square one.
"Don't tell me you're going to release it … and give it a try?"
Sheppard couldn't make up his mind. However, based on his understanding of Fangzheng, it was unlikely that he had given her something to eat. She flipped the box and placed the larva on the ground.
"Plop."
The larva landed on the ground and moved slowly like a snail. Sheppard and Anderson watched as the larva crawled along the ruins into the nearby garden. Then, they witnessed a strange, purple moss spreading from the larva's body. At the next moment, the larva curled up into a ball. Then, a layer of membrane wrapped around it and it gradually turned into a … egg?
"…"
What's going on?
Both of them stared blankly at the 'egg' that was expanding like a rubber ball. Just as Sheppard was about to use the universal tool to scan the 'egg', the 'egg' suddenly cracked open. Then, a flat, insect-like creature emerged from the inside. It was about the size of a human and had bat-like wings on both sides of its body. There were also scorpion-like pincers in front of its head ….
"Say, are you sure it's not looking for trouble with you?"
Anderson felt a little uneasy. After all, this creature didn't look like anything good …
"I don't think so …"
Sheppard's tone was uncertain. But what else could she do? She could only watch.
Not only that, but Sheppard also discovered that as the strange worm moved, the strange moss under its body seemed to be spreading slowly …
Then, Sheppard witnessed the strange worm expanding abruptly and turning into a huge sarcoma that almost covered half of the garden!
"… What should we do now?"
Anderson said and aimed his gun at the squirming sarcoma. Yes, Anderson couldn't be blamed for being sensitive. After all, the appearance of the worm was …
Understandable, understandable.
"No, let's wait and see. I don't think Fangzheng would lie to me …"
Da da da!
Just as Sheppard stopped Anderson, a series of gunshots sounded all of a sudden, followed by shouts from the outside.
"Enemy attack! It's a Corpse Puppet! "
Hearing this, the two of them looked at each other and hurriedly turned around and rushed out.
But no one noticed that in the garden, the 'blob' was growing bigger and bigger …
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