"I trust that everyone enjoyed a restful night." Lionheart exclaimed with a hearty laugh as the squad gathered around the table, each member displaying a range of expressions on their faces."Why do we have to wake up so early? It's just 5 am" Bai said, yawning and scratching his head."Yup, it's not like we're in a military drill camp," Hei added in agreement, gazing at Lionheart, who smirked in response before turning to a scientist seated beside him."This is Dr. Elena, the leading scientist here, holding a rank just below mine in terms of clearance. She'll guide us through the active threat we identified last night. However, before we proceed, I would like to introduce you to the final member of your team. Doc, you can take it from here." Lionheart smiled at the red-haired middle-aged scientist seated beside him, who grinned and nodded before standing up to reveal herself to the curious onlookers. She was quite stunning to the eye, dressed in white scientist robes, her eyeglasses o

"WHOOSH" The sound of parachutes flapping in the air echoed through the quiet night as the group touched down, swiftly taking up defensive positions and reaching for their weapons."West clear" Michael said immediately after landing, activating his night vision helmet and realizing that there were no enemies in the vicinity."East clear" Henry also cleared the East."North is clear" Bai successfully cleared the north."South clear" Hei also cleared up the south side."No enemies around then. Everyone, turn on your maps and follow closely behind me. Keep your eyes peeled on the surroundings. once you spot an enemy, alert the rest of us before you attack" Micheal instructed the others, his earlier seriousness returning as he grabbed his gun and followed the route on the map."Roger," The others responded, trailing behind him in a single file, with Michael at the forefront and the rest attentively surveying their surroundings.They walked from the drop-off location through the arid landsc

"What is it?" Hei rushed into the room, yelling as he entered to find Henry standing over a peculiar creature, gun aimed at it, prodding to check if it was alive."What on earth is this..this thing? It looks like a perfect blend of horror and death. Where did you find this..whatever it is, Henry?" Bai stared at the creature in shock; throughout his 27 years on Earth, he had never encountered anything like it. It resembled an alien parasite from space, measuring just half the size of a basketball. Its appearance was akin to an octopus, with spikes embedded in its tentacles. Several lines extended from its tentacles to its head, where a sphere was visible. It had two red eyes, each containing three layers of pupils. Although it lacked a visible mouth, when turned over, the mouth was revealed to be on the underside of its tentacles."I don't know; it came out of that hole and tried to attach itself to my face. Luckily, I was fast enough to respond; otherwise, I don't know what would have

"Are you saying that the recently infected individuals can be rescued?" Rachael inquired, caught off guard by this unexpected turn."If they can survive that neck bite, maybe, for now, that's just my hypothesis; I need proof to further validate it as a fact. Luckily, the hippocampus was still functioning, so I could use the latest technology to pierce through the fabric that encloses the memories," Yoshi replied, causing Bai to frown."Why do you speak in such a confusing way? I'm even more confused now than I was before," Bai said, shaking his head. "Yeah, you should tone down the encyclopedic speech," Henry chimed in, echoing Bai's sentiment who grinned at Yoshi with a sense of triumph."Okay how about now homie, you feel me now dawg?" Yoshi said, mimicking an African American accent."Now that's simply racism," Henry said with a frown, rolling his eyes."Hey, can we refocus on the issue at hand? We're wasting valuable time," Michael interjected, steering everyone's attention back

"Hey, Mike. What brings you here?" A young person, aged 20 to 21, offered a fist bump to a younger version of Michael, who snapped out of his daze and looked at the youth in confusion."Are you alright? You look a bit taken aback." The youth inquired once more, observing Micheal's perplexed expression."I'm fine, I think, but what brings you here?" Micheal rubbed his temple as he surveyed his surroundings."Umm, I live here. What's wrong with you? You seem to be acting strange. Are you sure you're okay?" The youth responded before rephrasing the question, now concerned about Micheal's unusual behavior. It was only then that Micheal became aware he was standing outside the youth's house. Remaining silent, he tried to comprehend the peculiar sensation he was feeling."Yeah, I'm okay, Jeff. Just had a strange sense of déjà vu," Michael shrugged before responding, reassuring himself that he was merely overreacting."It must have been quite a strong one to leave you so confused. Come inside