NOVEL NEXT Chapter 273: Operation
San Francisco.
Life Foundation.
With the start of human trials, the first man to make contact with the alien lifeform immediately suffered violent rejection. The subject died on the spot, and the symbiote slithered out of the corpse once the host expired.
But the failure didn't slow Carlton Drake down—it only pushed him to accelerate. Under the pretense of clinical drug trials, he lured in countless homeless people. They were tested in groups of four. Results remained grim.
Most died instantly. A handful survived bonding, but only for a short time. The record for survival was just thirteen days.
San Francisco's homeless population began vanishing before people's eyes. Blankets and makeshift beds remained in alleyways, but the people themselves were gone.
Dr. Dora Skirth, who had overseen much of the project, began to feel a deep pang of guilt. People were being consumed like lab rats. Humanity did need a new habitat, a new resource world—but this wasn't the way.
And Drake was paying them pittances, hundreds or a few thousand dollars, barely enough for food, let alone their lives. Skirth wanted to stop him, but she knew confronting him directly would cost her life.
Her mind wandered to that reporter, Eddie Brock, who had tried to expose Drake six months ago. But when she tried to track him down, she learned he had left San Francisco. The hope she'd been clinging to faded.
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Elsewhere.
League of Assassins headquarters—meeting room.
Smith Dole sat with the Red Guardian Alexei, Selina, Michael, Fox, and Eddie Brock.
Fox distributed files, then said:
"According to intelligence, during the Life Foundation's Life One spacecraft mission six months ago, alien organisms were brought back to Earth."
Eddie gasped.
"My God… there really are aliens?"
"So Drake wasn't lying?"
No one acknowledged his outburst. Without Smith's word, Eddie wouldn't have been allowed near this meeting.
Fox continued:
"But our intel also confirms this: over five hundred homeless people were taken into the Life Foundation under the guise of clinical trials. Not one ever came back out."
"In the past, their 'test subjects' took medication, got monitored, and left. But now, they vanish completely. No new medical supply orders. No signs of standard trial procedures."
"We have every reason to believe they are dead."
Eddie's eyes widened as he looked from Fox to Smith.
Smith Dole finally spoke:
"Over the last six months, we've confirmed major problems with the Life Foundation. Their actions now directly threaten human lives."
"Alexei, Selina, Michael—you will lead this mission. Destroy their nest and recover the alien organisms."
He turned his gaze on Eddie.
"Eddie, you'll serve as record keeper. Document the Life Foundation's crimes."
The group accepted their orders. Eddie's face lit up with satisfaction—the monster Drake would finally pay.
"I'll watch over you," Smith added, "but I won't intervene. Prepare—we leave shortly."
As the meeting ended, Eddie rushed to call Anne, telling her that justice for Drake was finally coming.
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A helicopter lifted off from the League base, heading for the Life Foundation.
Its campus, tucked in the forests outside San Francisco, sprawled across the landscape.
From the air, Eddie asked nervously:
"How are we supposed to get down there? And… is it really just the four of us?"
Alexei glanced at him.
"No. Just the three of us."
He strapped on a parachute, then jumped. As he descended, he cut the chute before landing and rolled across the rooftop, steady as a seasoned soldier.
Eddie's jaw dropped.
"He's… a superhuman."
Michael grinned.
"That's the former Red Guardian."
Recognition dawned—memories of the Cold War program that had produced a Soviet counterpart to Captain America. Eddie's shock deepened. Smith Dole wasn't the only superhuman—there were others.
Before he could process it, Selina leapt from the chopper—without a parachute.
"What—she didn't take one?!" Eddie shouted.
But in midair, Selina blurred in motion, blinking through the night until she landed beside Alexei, effortlessly, stylishly.
"Unbelievable," Eddie muttered. "That was… incredible."
Michael followed, shifting midair and touching down with ease.
That left only Eddie, clutching his camera, staring at Smith.
"Boss… I'm just an ordinary guy. How the hell am I supposed to get down?"
Smith chuckled.
"Hold the camera tight. I'll take you."
He grabbed Eddie by the back of his collar and, with bukūjutsu (Flight), descended smoothly to the rooftop.
As their feet touched down, alarms wailed.
Though Alexei had ditched his parachute, the flash of descent had tripped the Life Foundation's security systems. Armed guards were already racing toward the roof.
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(End of Chapter)
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