A forest road stretching for tens of kilometers, cutting through dense vegetation, following winding rivers, and crossing hills, all these landscapes were concentrated in a lost land.
Southern Pygros, Clarencia Rainforest.
Time: September 20, 1987, 08:05 AM.
Looking south from above the outskirts far from the Clarencia Rainforest, the endless green canopy forming a vast green grassland and the continuous towering mountains were the most common sights in the thousands of kilometers of the Clarencia Rainforest.
No matter how many times one saw it, people would marvel at the grandeur and beauty of the natural scenery.
In the morning, the Clarencia Rainforest was permeated with a light white mist, giving it a dreamy, fairy-tale like ambiance.
"Chirp chirp... tweet tweet..."
But the continuous chirping and calls of various birds, insects, and wild animals in this forest shattered this hazy and dreamlike atmosphere.
"Rustle rustle rustle..."
A flight team of three armed helicopters swept across the Clarencia Rainforest.
"Woof woof..."
A jackal hid in the grass, baring its teeth at the three steel monsters passing over its head. After they passed, it leaped out of the grass and casually strolled on the flat asphalt road.
"Why aren't we going to your company headquarters?"
In the helicopter, Killua turned to Illumi and asked.
"Because the headquarters moved."
Illumi sat beside him, closing his eyes to rest.
Two months had passed since the last mission ended.
All the important laboratories and numerous researchers of the Umbrella Bioresearch Corporation's headquarters industrial park had been relocated to the new base in the Clarencia Rainforest during this period.
Hours later...
Finally, just as Killua was looking around in the helicopter, after the flight team had rapidly traversed the Clarencia Rainforest for several hours, they reached the base's alert perimeter.
However, this was still only the outer area. The true core area was still a kilometer away.
In the helicopter, Killua stuck his head out and looked down.
At this moment, there was a military checkpoint on the clearing below. Over a dozen fully armed soldiers stood guard with standard firearms, and the checkpoint was also equipped with Gatling guns and long-range sentry weapon systems.
Of course, these weapons were primarily aimed at the fierce birds and beasts in the Clarencia Rainforest.
A convoy stopped at the checkpoint. The driver rolled down the window, extended his hand, and pressed it on the checkpoint's scanner. A blue light flashed, indicating permission to pass.
Killua watched the green forest and forest road beneath the helicopter until they reached a more open and flat area.
"Boss, we've arrived at headquarters."
The pilot's words roused Illumi, who had been resting with his eyes closed in the helicopter.
He looked down and saw that they had arrived at Lake Livingston.
At this moment, the sun was scorching, pouring hot sunlight from the sky onto the calm surface of Lake Livingston, making it shimmer.
"Arrived?"
Killua subconsciously asked, then stuck his head out, looking around at everything below the helicopter.
First to catch his eye were majestic mountains, a shimmering calm lake, and an artificially cleared, enormous base platform.
It was like an international airport.
On the platform, heavy long-haul trucks continuously stopped, opened their cargo compartments, and unloaded goods.
On the other side, there were even dozens of airships parked, used for transportation.
And now, several airships were slowly descending onto the platform from the sky. Seven or eight armed personnel and people in white uniforms disembarked from them.
After these people disembarked, staff in yellow uniforms immediately ran towards the airships, carrying down a large amount of equipment.
Whether outside or inside the platform, staff in blue, red, and yellow uniforms were walking around on the platform, busily working.
Not only that, but many military defense facilities were also set up around, with many fully armed elite soldiers standing guard or patrolling.
Killua then turned his gaze to the other side and discovered an area of low-rise buildings and many supporting facilities.
Those were the staff dormitories and various supporting facilities from five years ago, but they were about to be demolished.
As the helicopter moved forward, Illumi and Killua reached their destination.
A circular platform with a diameter of ten meters, built atop the mountain.
"Click~"
With a "click" sound, a slit appeared in the middle of the platform, slowly opening to both sides. The helicopter, rotors spinning, slowly descended into the mountain.
When the helicopter descended into the mountain, an empty base space appeared inside.
On the ground inside the mountain, dozens of armed helicopters were parked, and logistics soldiers in camouflage uniforms moved around inside the base.
"Boss."
As soon as Illumi leaped off the helicopter, a burly man in military uniform and a beret, accompanied by several elite soldiers in black uniforms, came forward to greet him. It was Amedeo.
"Mm."
Illumi nodded with an indifferent expression. Killua stepped to Illumi's side, looking around.
"This must be Mr. Killua Zoldyck from the assassination family."
Amedeo extended his right hand to Killua. Killua looked up at him blankly, not speaking.
"I am Amedeo, the chief instructor here. Welcome to Abyss."
Amedeo didn't feel awkward and naturally retracted his right hand, introducing himself simply.
"Where is King Bradley?" Illumi asked.
"He's already waiting for you on level 40, Zone A."
Amedeo immediately grew serious, turned, and led Illumi towards the depths of the base.
The three walked to a large platform elevator within the base. The two armed guards in front of the elevator, seeing Amedeo and Illumi approach, simply stood silently with their weapons, motionless.
Amedeo approached the elevator and pressed his left hand onto the palm print scanner. A special vibrating sensation swept across his palm.
"Ding!"
A green light flashed on the screen, and the elevator "clicked" into action.
The four armed personnel following Amedeo were the first to step in, standing in the four corners of the elevator.
Illumi and his two companions then entered. With a "click," the platform elevator slowly descended.
The SCP Headquarters Base, codenamed [Abyss].
It was located within the 3,000-square-kilometer Clarencia Rainforest in southern Pygros, and the [Abyss] base was built inside the Calavoss Mountains, which ran through the Clarencia Rainforest.
From top to bottom, there were a total of 49 floors.
Divided into five zones.
Zone D: 1-10F, Zone C: 11-20F, Zone B: 21-30F, Zone A: 31-40F.
And the most heavily defended, highest security, and least populated area—Zone S: 41-49F.
Currently, only Illumi, King Bradley, Pride, Greed, and a few others were qualified to enter this floor.
This unprecedented military base, built over five years and costing trillions of Jennies, was the result of the efforts of hundreds of engineers and thousands of laborers.
Now, it was finally slowly beginning to operate.
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