The dimensional jump was a familiar echo, but the destination this time promised a different test. Li Wei, with Momo by his side on the Fortress of Justice's bridge, watched the main screen as Aegis processed data from the new universe. He was no longer alone in his crusade, and Momo's presence, along with Chen Mingxia's new support, had infused new strength into his soul.
"Commander, we have arrived at World 3: The Last of Us," Aegis reported, its voice as imperturbable as ever. "This universe presents a catastrophic anomaly: a global pandemic caused by a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus. Civilization has collapsed. Humanity is on the brink of extinction."
The screen displayed a grim image: ruined cities, vegetation-covered skyscrapers, rusted cars, and an eerie silence. There was no apparent life on the surface, only the omnipresent desolation.
"Primary mission: Ensure the survival of humanity and obtain a cure for the Cordyceps infection," Aegis continued. "Primary objectives: Locate the last pockets of human resistance, evaluate their viability, and eliminate biological threats. Secondary objective: Identify and retrieve any information or specimens related to a possible cure."
Li Wei felt a chill that had nothing to do with the trauma of his past. This was a world where humanity had not been decimated by a cosmic entity, but by nature itself. Hope, a concept he himself had fought to ignite on Earth-199999, seemed nonexistent here.
"Aegis, what kind of biological threats are these?" Momo asked, her voice tinged with apprehension.
"Cordyceps-infected individuals mutate into various stages: Runners (fast and aggressive), Clickers (blind but with echolocation and brutal strength), Bloaters (organic tanks with corrosive spores). Exposure to airborne spores is lethal to the uninfected. Direct confrontations are extremely dangerous," Aegis detailed, projecting disturbing images of the creatures.
"In addition to the infected, there are hostile human factions. Raider gangs, extremist groups, and corrupt military organizations," Aegis added, showing profiles of groups like the Fireflies, the Hunters, and the WLF.
Li Wei felt the familiarity of the struggle. Human desperation, monsters, and corruption. It was an equation he now knew well.
First Contact: Ruins and a Deadly Silence
The deployment was stealthy. Li Wei and a team of Elite Helldivers, accompanied by a squad of Super Earth Elite Soldiers for support and security, materialized in what had once been a commercial district. The city was in ruins, the asphalt cracked by vegetation, buildings empty, their windows like dead eyes. The silence was total, oppressive, broken only by the wind whistling through the skyscrapers.
First-Person Account: The air was dense, dusty, with a faint smell of dampness and decay. My Helldiver visor scanned the surroundings. There were no human life signatures, only occasional readings of fungal colonies. The silence was worse than any war cry; it was the silence of death. "Maintain formation, team," I whispered over the comms. My Helldivers moved like ghosts, their weapons ready, their sensors active. This wasn't the direct brutality of the Kree, but an insidious threat lurking in the shadows.
Suddenly, Aegis alerted: "Detecting rapid movement. Multiple infected signatures. Type: Runners. Approaching from the Southwest position."
Almost immediately, blurred shadows emerged from the alleys. They were humans, or what was left of them, with spasmodic movements and bloodshot eyes. Their speed was terrifying, their guttural screams filled with blind rage.
"Suppressive fire! Target: center mass! Don't let them flank us!" Li Wei ordered, his Helldiver rifle opening fire, bringing down a Runner with a precise burst that sent it sprawling into a puddle of black blood. The Helldivers responded with brutal efficiency, their automatic weapons mowing down the infected with pinpoint accuracy. The Elite Soldiers, though less experienced, held the line, firing their plasma rifles.
The combat was swift and bloody. The horde of Runners was decimated, their bodies falling lifeless to the ground. But not without cost. One Elite Soldier was scratched by a Runner before being downed. The nearest Helldiver medic quickly attended to him, but the wound was already tinged an sickly green. The speed of the infection was alarming.
The Search for the Cure and the Echo of a Promise
"Commander, aerial trackers have detected a heat signature consistent with a moving human group about 10 kilometers North," Aegis reported. "Their movement pattern indicates they are organized survivors. Possible connection to the mission."
Li Wei nodded. That would be his first contact in this world. "Secure the perimeter. Reconnaissance Helldivers, advance. I will go with them. We need to make peaceful contact, if possible."
As they moved through the city, Li Wei observed the desolation. Buildings converted into nests of giant fungi, their walls covered in reddish filaments and spores. A constant reminder of life's fragility.
First-Person Account (through Li Wei): The air grew heavier, with the pungent odor of Cordyceps spores. My sensors alerted me to a concentration of Clickers in a nearby building. Their guttural clicks echoed in the silence, a skin-crawling sound. We couldn't use firearms in an enclosed space. "Knives!" I ordered. My Helldivers moved with lethal precision, their combat knives slashing the Clickers' necks before they could react. This silent combat was a dance of death and survival, a reminder that in this world, every mistake was fatal.
Finally, they reached the survivors' location. It was a small group, armed with rudimentary weapons, moving with a caution that betrayed years of fear. Li Wei observed them through his binoculars. Among them, he distinguished a young woman with dark hair and a somber expression. And an older man, weary but with a steely gaze. Ellie and Joel.
Li Wei knew their names from Aegis's files. He knew their story. And he knew Ellie was the key to the cure. The promise he had made to Momo, the pact of three hearts, resonated in his mind. He would not only ensure humanity's survival but would seek that cure. So that no one else had to suffer the despair this world had known.
"Commander, a new Quirk signature has been detected. Type: Unknown. Potentially hostile. It's very weak but active," Aegis suddenly alerted, with a hint of surprise in its voice.
Li Wei frowned. A Quirk in The Last of Us world. That was an anomaly he hadn't anticipated. And the signature was weak, unstable. Could it be...?
As Li Wei prepared for contact, in his home universe, the Lin family remained embroiled in scandal. Li Wei's sudden disappearance and reappearance with incomprehensible force had been difficult to cover up. Chen Mingxia, for her part, had already begun to move her networks, weaving an intricate web of information and support for Li Wei. The Earth of the living was connecting, in unexpected ways, with the hell of the dead.