Ch.87Encounter with the Unknown! (3)

#087

The First Response Team was heading to the external standby room where the Immediate Action Teams took turns on duty at Valley of Fire State Park.

The team members, riding in their usual disguised van, were looking at Jimmy, who was unusually pale and sweating profusely.

“Jimmy, what’s wrong? You’re sweating like crazy.”

“I-I feel a bit cold.”

“What? It’s over 30 degrees today!”

“Is it a cold?”

While the team members were dismissing it lightly, the First Team Leader, who was riding in the van with them, noticed something strange. His eyes caught sight of Jimmy’s chest area.

The protective suit, torn around the chest area with compromised durability, had not yet been deactivated.

“When did this get torn?”

“Ah, earlier, by the Abomination…”

Jimmy, shivering with chills, barely managed to respond to the First Team Leader.

“Everyone put on your protective masks! Now!”

Noticing the abnormal change in Jimmy, the First Team Leader ordered all team members to put on their protective masks.

Without questioning, they immediately complied, and only then did they ask:

“Team Leader, what’s going on?”

“…It’s a biohazard. Turn the car around to the isolation room immediately, and contact the Support Team Leader.”

As dangerous as the Abomination’s physical force was, the true terror was something else entirely.

-Hello, this is the Support Team Leader.

One of the team members who had called the Support Team Leader handed the phone to the First Team Leader.

“This is First Team Leader Harold. Support Team Leader, connect to the isolation room immediately and tell them the entire First Response Team is in a biohazard situation. We need all twenty members tested, so get medical personnel dispatched as quickly as possible.”

-Are you infected as well, Team Leader?

“Not certain yet, but it’s highly likely. Also inform the personnel on perimeter duty about the biohazard threat and tell them to put on protective suits and masks immediately.”

-…Understood. I’ll arrange everything as quickly as possible.

After the call with the Support Team Leader ended, silence fell over the van.

Jimmy hung his head low, feeling responsible for the situation that had apparently occurred because his protective suit was torn, even as he struggled to stay conscious through his high fever.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s all because of me…!”

Jimmy looked at each team member with his pale face, apologizing profusely.

“How is this your fault? Blame whoever created that Abomination.”

“That’s right. When we find that thing, we’ll put a bullet right between its eyes.”

“And when you get back, you need to work out more. Who trips over a rock?”

“If you’d exercised harder, you could have dodged with a backstep.”

Harold smiled slightly as he watched his team members refusing to blame Jimmy, trying not to make him feel worse.

* * *

Dexter was cursing at the large package box in front of his door.

“These USPS bastards, seriously.”

The dust covering it was unavoidable in a Nevada desert town, but the box was completely crushed as if someone had thrown it.

“They could have just kept it at the post office. What the hell is this?”

The United States Postal Service, or USPS, was notorious for its terrible delivery service.

Dexter, who had only seen how OSA handled things until now and had never witnessed how regular U.S. government offices operated, couldn’t help but sigh.

“I was told not to expect much.”

He remembered how Dan, a senior correctional officer, and Jesse, an inmate, had mentioned that while Honeygood Correctional Facility had exceptionally good welfare, other federal prisons were completely terrible.

Recalling this, Dexter simply examined the package box, dusted it off, and brought it inside.

Though quite large, it wasn’t particularly heavy.

The sender’s name was unfamiliar, but since only one person would send him a package, Dexter opened it without much thought.

“As expected.”

Inside the box was a smooth white metal carrier without any scratches or defects.

It was originally a dark gray military carrier, but Eliya, who loved white, made his security detail wear white uniforms and had even repainted all the military carriers containing their weapons white.

‘If that bastard had a better personality and less of an obsession with white, he might have been tolerable to work with.’

Recalling Eliya’s unpleasant expression, Dexter opened the military carrier.

“…Does he think I’m living in some kind of monster den?”

Looking inside the carrier, he saw several weapons that he rarely used even when he was part of the security detail.

‘I understand the high-power blaster rounds, but why include plasma grenades and enhanced fission rockets?’

Though few in number, each item was an extremely powerful weapon.

The high-power blaster rounds, compatible with the blaster Dexter already owned, were more than twice as efficient as standard blaster rounds.

If fired at a person, the impact area would simply disappear.

The plasma grenade had a similar kill radius to Earth’s thermite grenades but set the surrounding area on fire after explosion.

Though similar to white phosphorus grenades, it was effective not only against organic life forms but also against mechanical entities like robots.

‘When was the last time I used an enhanced fission rocket?’

While it looked similar to rocket weapons used on Earth, it had a fire control system that allowed for precision targeting, automatically guiding the rocket in the desired direction.

Moreover, the rocket itself wasn’t ordinary but contained a miniature nuclear warhead, making it incomparably more powerful than Earth’s rocket weapons.

In Earth terms, its destructive power far exceeded that of any anti-tank rocket.

Of course, such rockets couldn’t be numerous, so only a single round was included in the military carrier.

‘USPS had no idea what these weapons were when they were throwing and kicking this package around.’

If the rocket and grenades had properly detonated simultaneously from the impact, an entire post office would have been obliterated.

For this reason, the USPS delivery person who delivered the package had no idea they had narrowly escaped death.

Finding it difficult to keep weapons at home and lacking proper storage space, Dexter decided to place the military carrier on the passenger seat of his pickup truck, where no one would sit for the time being.

‘Maybe I’ll go to the Oasis Bar. Haven’t seen the owner in a while.’

While Dexter leisurely prepared lunch, the situation at OSA headquarters was becoming increasingly serious due to the incident triggered by the Abomination.

The heads of each department had gathered in OSA’s main conference room for an emergency meeting.

“First, a brief overview of the incident.”

The OSA Director, who had been on a business trip to the New York branch for new agent training, had urgently returned and was seated at the head of the table.

“An Abomination appeared from a container on an emergency-landed cargo ship, and while the First Response Team was handling it, they were attacked. In the process, one team member is presumed to have been infected with the ‘Caonor Virus’ from an Abomination suspected to be a carrier.”

After receiving this brief report from a senior Information Department agent, the Director let out a sigh.

“…What’s the status of the other agents in the First Response Team?”

“Samples have been collected, but the 20 members excluding the initial infected are still being tested. However, three team members are currently showing symptoms similar to the first infected.”

A department head from another division raised his hand and spoke.

“I’ve never heard of this virus before, and it doesn’t seem to be of Earth origin. What exactly is the Caonor Virus?”

“It’s a virus originating from the planet Hacin, and this is the first case of it appearing on Earth.”

A Science and Technology Department agent began explaining in response to the department head’s question.

“It initially presents with cold-like symptoms, followed by sweating, coughing, and fever. The patient’s respiratory system then begins to expel toxic substances generated within the body along with the virus. It’s highly contagious.”

“What’s the transmission route?”

“According to our Science and Technology Department consultant, it spreads through respiratory droplets.”

“You mentioned toxic substances generated within the body?”

“It’s a toxic substance called ‘Pixitoxin,’ which is harmful to humans and most Earth life forms. It has a poisoning mechanism similar to tetrodotoxin found in pufferfish, and if accumulated in the body, it has a high probability of causing death.”

But the most important question remained.

“Is there a treatment?”

“There are antidotes, treatments, and even vaccines. However, since the virus has been nearly eradicated throughout the universe, only the manufacturing methods remain.”

Another senior agent from the Science and Technology Department added:

“However, the equipment needed to manufacture these medications is not available on Earth, so importing parts and facilities from nearby planets would take at minimum 5 days, possibly extending to months.”

Many more questions and answers were exchanged, but ultimately, everyone recognized that time was the critical factor in this incident.

As the Director nodded, a senior agent from the Support Department spoke up.

“Under no circumstances can we allow the Abomination, which is the disease vector, to approach civilians.”

“Who doesn’t know that? The question is who’s going to take responsibility.”

As soon as the word “responsibility” was mentioned, most people in the conference room looked toward the Cosmic Secret Operations Department.

This was because they were the parent department of the First Response Team currently on perimeter duty.

The senior agent from the Cosmic Secret Operations Department felt the pressure from the stares of agents from other departments.

“But the First Response Team’s manpower is insufficient. The Special Activities Team is also participating, but even that isn’t enough. How are we supposed to cover such a vast state park by ourselves…?”

The Cosmic Secret Operations Department had much to say. They were both victims and those held responsible simply because they were the first to respond.

The Director sympathized with this point.

Although they were all part of OSA headquarters, the First Response Team and Special Activities Team operated with limited personnel in each branch.

“You all know that we can’t place all the responsibility on a single department.”

As the Director shook his head, an agent from the Analysis Department cautiously suggested:

“Wouldn’t it be better to form a containment perimeter by mobilizing all field agents except the minimum personnel needed for departmental operations? The state park is quite large, and the situation is dangerous.”

If departments reduced their personnel, it would mean mandatory overtime for the already overworked OSA staff.

While the agents at the meeting looked displeased, they couldn’t let one department bear the entire burden, so they had no choice but to nod in agreement with the Analysis Department’s suggestion.

The Director also agreed with the Analysis Department’s opinion, so the meeting proceeded quickly, with the only remaining task being to select the agents who would participate in the containment effort.

* * *

“Ah, I see. Understood.”

After hanging up the phone, Dexter rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

‘So they’re conducting an operation at Valley of Fire State Park with other OSA agents?’

It was almost time to go home, but Himena wasn’t answering her phone or messages, which worried him. When he called OSA, he was informed that all but essential personnel were conducting an operation at Valley of Fire State Park.

Dexter, who had nothing particularly special to do today, was considering just wasting time at home, but the idea of sitting around doing nothing didn’t appeal to him, so he started thinking.

‘Maybe I should buy some donuts for everyone to share as a snack during their operation.’

While Dexter did enjoy resting when he wanted to, on days like this with nothing specific to do, he preferred to find something to keep himself busy.

‘The timing is a bit awkward, so I’d better hurry and get going.’

Thinking about the OSA agents working late and Himena standing around in the dark state park, Dexter opted for comfortable clothes and quickly headed to the donut shop.