Maine, the outer defense line.
The trenches were choked with gunpowder smoke and agonizing screams.
"Boom!"
A shell from a main battle tank detonated on the high ground, blasting several monsters attempting to vault the defense line into shreds of meat.
Blood mixed with soil pelted down on the soldiers' helmets like rain.
"Maintain suppressive fire!"
"Medic, drag the wounded back!"
A frontline commander roared.
Nearby, his adjutant shouted, "At this pace, we'll reach the Black Mesa Research Facility in two days at most!"
Though the casualty figures continued to climb, the overall front was pushing forward steadily.
Just as the commander prepared to launch a new wave of assault, the ground began to tremble without warning.
Thump!
Ripples spread across the standing water in the muddy craters, reflecting a colossus that blotted out the sun.
Soldiers in the trenches stared up blankly, their assault rifles slipping from their hands and hitting the dirt.
"Fuck! What kind of hell did those goddamn scientists cook up?!"
A private cursed, his legs shaking.
Beside him, a young soldier with a face caked in mud gripped the cross hanging at his chest, his voice cracking with a sob.
"Mama... I was supposed to go home and get married after this war..."
Just as everyone thought the tide of battle would be turned by this behemoth, a sudden change occurred.
The white fog shrouding the entirety of Maine abruptly dissipated.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling once more onto the ravaged battlefield.
In the fray, a frazzled soldier slipped and fell. A hound-like monster seized the opening and pounced, pinning him down.
Saliva dripped onto the soldier's face. He closed his eyes in despair, waiting for death to claim him.
One second.
Two seconds.
Several seconds passed, yet the agonizing sensation of flesh being torn never came.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he summoned the courage to crack one eye open.
He saw the monster pinning him frozen in mid-snarl, its jaws wide, completely motionless.
A few seconds later, a light breeze blew past, and the creature dissolved into drifting sand as if carried by the wind.
The soldier looked on in bewilderment. He scrambled to his feet, scanning the surroundings.
The battlefield, once a cacophony of roaring cannons and gunfire, had fallen silent at some point.
It was as if a pause button had been pressed on every monster.
Whether it was the winged insects in mid-air or the hounds charging on the ground, they all went rigid under the sunlight, eventually crumbling into black sand.
In the distance, that soul-crushing colossus didn't even make a sound.
Its massive body fractured inch by inch and came crashing down in a silent collapse.
Soldiers stood up, guns still leveled but faces blank, looking at one another. A sense of shock and disbelief rippled through the ranks.
On the high ground behind the defense line.
The commanding officer lowered his tactical binoculars and turned toward the man in the white lab coat beside him. "Dr. Smith... what the hell is happening?" Dr. Smith looked at the tablet in his hand, then glanced up at the monsters that had already vanished, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"There is a symbiotic relationship between these monsters and the mist."
"They are like humans and oxygen; once separated, they die rapidly."
"The mist dissipating means the source has been cut off."
"Someone has already reached the Black Mesa Research Facility and closed the space rift."
"The space rift was closed?!"
The officer's expression shifted to one of profound shock as he shot back, "Wasn't the Black Mesa Research Facility completely overrun long ago? How could anyone still be alive in a Hell like that?"
"Let alone... manage to reach the lowest level and shut down the device?!"
Dr. Smith looked toward the distant mountains and let out a meaningful smile:
"Commander, never use common sense to measure this world."
"Then... can the rift be reopened?"
The officer asked hesitantly, remembering the orders he had received from above.
"Of course. Since it could be opened once, it means that space rift is weak."
Dr. Smith paused before continuing, "Besides, that isn't the only place where these weak space rifts exist."
Outside the Black Mesa Research Facility.
Sephirot stood on a dirt slope halfway up the mountain, squinting slightly against the morning sun.
Watching the white mist dissipate among the trees at the foot of the mountain, he said:
"The mist is gone. I imagine those monsters are dead too."
"Let's head back."
Amanda stared fixedly at Sephirot, her lips trembling slightly.
Having witnessed the way this man slaughtered those monsters, her gaze was a mixture of awe and complex emotions.
Ultimately, she said nothing and simply nodded in silence.
The old lady, on the other hand, was still holding her assault rifle with one hand, looking like she hadn't had enough.
She stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with excitement: "Young man, I swear, the teamwork between us just now was damn near perfect."
"How about considering forming a team? We could become mercenaries; we'd absolutely crush those guys."
"..."
The corner of Sephirot's mouth twitched.
He rubbed his nose and declined politely:
"Ma'am, being a mercenary doesn't come with health insurance. If you retire, I won't be able to afford your pension."
With that, he turned to Andre: "Let's go. Back to Los Santos."
"The military will likely be arriving soon, and I doubt you want to be caught by them, right?"
Before leaving, they had already destroyed all the surveillance equipment inside the facility.
Unless the military conducted an exhaustive investigation, there was a high probability they wouldn't be discovered.
On the way back, the opposing lanes were almost entirely covered by a sea of military steel.
Main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers roared past, while formations of helicopters streaked across the sky from time to time.
Andre gripped the steering wheel, his face flushed with uncontrollable excitement.
The lingering fear of his narrow escape and the sheer ecstasy of holding such an incredible scoop flickered back and forth across his features.
Clancy, however, was uncharacteristically silent. He sat with his head bowed, clutching the camera tightly in his arms.
Sephirot took in their expressions but said nothing.
At noon the following day, in downtown Los Santos.
The Jeep pulled over to the curb, and Sephirot stepped out.
Just as Andre impatiently started to drive off, a hand pressed down on him.
Sephirot's gaze was sharp: "It's only human to want to get rich."
"But if you bring any trouble my way, I'll come find you personally for a chat."
Andre's body trembled as he nodded repeatedly.
Sephirot watched the vehicle merge into the main road and paid it no further mind.
He wasn't afraid of that videotape being exposed, because no TV station would dare to pick it up.
Online platforms would likely block it before it even cleared the review process.
Sephirot took Alessa for a stroll around the city and stopped by to check on Constantine along the way, but unfortunately, he had already been discharged. They had no choice but to head back to the Agency.
Carrying a pizza he'd picked up on the way and eating a sundae, Sephirot strolled leisurely toward the Agency.
He paused slightly when the building came into view.
The door to the Agency was actually slightly ajar.
Sephirot swallowed his sundae, an eyebrow arching.
The thugs in this neighborhood should be thanking God that he hadn't come looking for them; why would they ever knock on his door?
Besides, in this dilapidated Agency, what was there to steal besides a few pieces of furniture?
He kicked the door open.