N-A-A Chapter 78 Neos's Troubles
Chapter 78 Neos's Troubles
Chapter 72 Neos's Troubles
Location: Himalayas, south slope of Mount Everest, altitude 8000 meters
The cold wind howled, swirling up thousands of piles of snow.
Deep within the thin air and the millennia-old glaciers, a magnificent black fortress lies silently nestled within the rock formation.
The top floor of the fortress is a huge office overlooking the sea of clouds.
There were no luxurious decorations, only cold, hard metal lines and countless holographic projection screens.
Behind that large, throne-like obsidian desk sat a man.
Neath is the current Secretary General of the GOC.
He looked very young, with long hair as black as night, but his eyes were a pure gold that was hard to look directly into.
That wasn't the color of the iris, but something more ancient and noble flowing in the depths of the eye.
He was wearing a well-tailored, even somewhat retro, dark black suit with gold double-headed eagle patterns embroidered on the cuffs.
Although he was just sitting there quietly reviewing documents, the air around him seemed to become heavy because of his presence, and even the light dared not refract freely.
"Damn it—why is bureaucracy in this century more complicated than in the last millennium?"
Neos rubbed his temples, looked at the mountain of holographic documents in front of him, and let out a sigh that only an old man who had lived for countless centuries would have.
At his fingertips, a golden electronic pen was rapidly signing various execution orders, containment agreements, and resource allocation orders.
Beside him stood a giant, nearly two and a half meters tall, like a statue.
The guard was wearing a GOC-made "Consul" class powered exoskeleton.
It wasn't the mass-produced white tactical armor of ordinary troops, but a heavy individual fortress that was entirely black with gold patterns inlaid on the edges.
Beneath the heavy armor lies a perfectly enhanced physique, enhanced by genetic alchemy.
Within the GOC, they are known as the "Guards".
The staff is extremely small, not affiliated with any country, and only obeys the Secretary-General and the mysterious 108 Council.
They are humanity's sharpest sword and its last shield.
"My lord."
The guard commander, named Vacado, lowered his head slightly, his voice coming through the grille of his helmet, deep and magnetic.
"The frontline command has sent the latest data on the battle situation regarding the anomalous entity 'Abomination Flesh and Blood.'"
Neos continued writing without looking up, and said, "Read."
"Yes."
Vakado brought up a holographic screen, displaying a hellish battlefield scene in the Siberian permafrost region.
"The large-scale operation to eradicate the anomalous entity codenamed 610, Abomination Flesh and Blood, has entered its third phase."
"The participating forces include the 7th Crimson Strike Group of the GOC Physics Division, the Russian Federal Special Intelligence Service (GRU-P), and — a Ranger support squad from the Federal Office of Control (FBC)."
Vacado's tone was steady, as if he were reading a preordained verdict.
"The battle was fierce. The infected flesh-and-blood creatures displayed unprecedented collective intelligence. But under the relentless barrage of firepower, the situation was settled."
"We deployed equipment including, but not limited to, Greek Fire incendiary bombs, heavy thermobaric bombs, and several newly commissioned Titan-class bipedal mechs."
"Currently, the spread of the infection has been physically contained, and the concentration of flesh spores in the core area has decreased by 40%."
At this point, even the usually stern commander of the Imperial Guards showed a rare hint of awe in his voice.
"Moreover, it turns out that your previous prediction was terrifyingly accurate."
"During our advance into the heart of the infected zone, we did indeed encounter the special variant you warned of,"—the high-level infected capable of driving soldiers insane directly through brainwaves.
"If it weren't for you, a week ago, overruling all objections and forcibly freezing the supply requests from other branches, and urgently transferring the global stockpile of Mind Blocking Alloy to the Northern Frontier—"
Vaccado glanced at the casualty estimates on the data panel.
"Our vanguard would likely be completely annihilated the moment we made contact, becoming mere puppets of flesh and blood. It was those protective barriers made of mind alloy that built a mental defense line for our soldiers."
"This is a tactical victory for you, Secretary General."
"A tactical victory?"
Neos stopped writing, his golden eyes slightly raised, looking out at the blizzard.
"No, Vaccado. This is just a stop-loss order."
He stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and put his hands behind his back. The innate pressure he exuded made Wacardo behind him instinctively want to kneel down.
"Hatred of flesh and blood—that thing is more profound than you can imagine. It's not just a plague—cough, it's a malicious projection from another dimension."
Neos gazed at the distant north, a cold glint in his eyes: "That 'mountain of flesh' in the core area is somewhat unusual; I sense a familiar aura of decay."
"Once the documents here are processed, I will personally go to Siberia. There are some things that I must handle thoroughly myself."
"You want to go to the front lines? But what about your safety—"
"My safety is none of your concern, Guard," Neos interrupted him calmly. "Make the arrangements."
"Yes."
Wacardo immediately agreed, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, regarding that batch of mind-blocking alloy that was urgently requisitioned—the logistics department reported that several branch managers have expressed some reservations about it."
"Especially the Asian branch, which is currently undergoing reconstruction, is facing a significant shortage of supplies."
"Asian branch?"
Neos paused for a moment, and the image of the young man he had recently promoted, whose resume was somewhat "special," came to mind.
Pei Qi.
A guy with no background who manages to solve problems in the Tokyo crisis using all sorts of unbelievable methods.
"Yes, it really happened suddenly, and I feel bad for them."
Neos nodded, tapping lightly on the glass window with his fingers: "That Pei Qi—although his methods are a bit unorthodox, his abilities are indeed quite good. This time, in order to protect the northern defenses, we had to sacrifice his quota."
"Alright then, Wakkado."
Neos turned around and instructed, "Give the Asian branch an additional special allocation. Also, send over a few relics from my private collection that don't require high-level access as compensation."
"After all, you have to feed a horse if you want it to run. I don't want my subordinates to say I'm a tyrant who only knows how to exploit his employees."
"Yes, my lord—no, Secretary General."
Vacado respectfully recorded the instructions.
Just as Vacado was preparing to step down to arrange this series of complex logistical moves.
Sudden.
Neos, who had been calm, suddenly twitched his brow.
In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed in his golden pupils.
The air pressure in the entire office instantly dropped to freezing point, and the faint crackling of static electricity could even be heard in the air.
"Um?"
Neos tilted his head, as if he had heard something utterly absurd.
"What is it, sir?"
Wacardo instantly went into combat mode, cocking his explosive pistol—cough, heavy explosive pistol—and scanning his surroundings warily. "An enemy attack? Or mental interference?"
"No—it wasn't an enemy attack."
Neos's expression turned somewhat strange.
It was a complex expression that mixed surprise, amusement, and "How dare that brat say that about me?"
Just now, in his perception, across half the distance of the earth, he clearly received an extremely strong resentment directed at him personally.
That resentment was so pure, so direct, it even carried a vivid, concrete imagery—
A man was about to kick open his office door, point his finger at him, and ask if he had "damaged his brain from squatting on the toilet for too long."
"Hehe—interesting."
A playful smile curved the corners of Neos's lips.
How many centuries has it been?
Since taking over this position, no one has dared to speak ill of him like that in their hearts.
"It's nothing, Wakkado."
Neos waved his hand, the golden light in his eyes gradually fading, and he reverted to being the weary bureaucrat he always was.
"I just overheard some little ant complaining. It was a bit disrespectful, but—I'll let it go this time since he's still working for me."
"Complaints?" Vacado was completely bewildered, but out of absolute loyalty, he didn't ask any further questions.
That's all for now. You can go ahead and get busy.
"As you wish."
As the heavy blast door slowly closed, the office returned to silence.
Neos sat back down behind the desk piled high with documents.
He picked up his electronic pen and drew another circle on the material allocation form for the Asian branch.
"Pei Qi? — I'll remember you."
He chuckled softly and muttered to himself, "Dare to say I'm senile? Fine, kid. Next time you come to headquarters for your report, I'll definitely arrange a 'special' welcome for you—"
"But now—"
Looking at the mountain of documents before him that seemed to never end, Neos let out a sigh full of human melancholy.
"I still have to read through this pile of damn financial statements. This is more tiring than ruling the galaxy!"