I am the Emperor of Humanity across the Multiverse

"Why does that town look like it's straight out of the Middle Ages?" Soap's confused voice came through the comms.

"An alien planet with a medieval theme. At least Earth doesn't have wolves like the one we just saw," Ghost corrected him.

"…"

Xiaoqiang remained crouched behind a tree, habitually silent, as he used his helmet's screen to observe the distant town several kilometers away.

From their vantage point, it did indeed appear, as Soap mentioned, to have a strong medieval aesthetic. The town wasn't large, likely home to no more than a thousand people, with a small castle at its center.

Zooming in with the screen, Xiaoqiang could clearly see townspeople working in the fields outside the walls. Their clothing was simple, and their body shapes and movements were indistinguishable from humans. However, the clean streets stood in stark contrast to what one would expect from a medieval European town, especially given that the planet's gravity and atmosphere indicated it wasn't another version of Earth.

The town's guards, responsible for maintaining order, wore brown leather armor and silver helmets. They held spears about one and a half meters long, with short swords or axes strapped to their waists. At first glance, they seemed to be using traditional melee weapons.

However, Xiaoqiang noticed that the spear tips occasionally flickered with a faint green glow, and the helmets and leather armor were covered by a nearly invisible energy field. In addition, there were crossbowmen and musket-armed soldiers patrolling the castle walls.

Magic and technology?

Under his helmet, Xiaoqiang's expression showed a trace of surprise. The strange situation in the town, coupled with the green-leaf wolf they had encountered earlier, was beyond his understanding.

Soap and Ghost had noticed these anomalies as well. They quickly shared the footage they had captured.

To avoid detection, especially if the town had any magic-related surveillance equipment, the three decided to retreat to the space gate, planting numerous silent sentry devices shaped like metal cubes along the way.

Meanwhile.

Back in the Prime Universe, at the ruins base's command center by the central console…

"…"

Samuel Young stood with his hands behind his back, a slight frown on his face.

With the wired communications base station now operational, he could see the recon team's real-time footage, including the capture of the green-leaf wolf and the medieval-style human town.

However, Samuel couldn't yet determine if Universe-07 was connected to any game or movie franchise he had encountered before crossing over.

The Lord of the Rings? 

Game of Thrones? 

Or perhaps, an entirely new, unknown world?

Any of these were possible.

Standing beside him were his sons, Dorn and Vulkan, who were watching the strange phenomena of Universe-07 on the holographic screen with great interest. Despite their curiosity, the two young Primarchs remained silent, seemingly afraid of disturbing their father, though their facial expressions betrayed their excitement.

Seeing that his sons were being considerate and required no guidance, Samuel chose not to say anything either. He raised his hand, brought up a holographic keyboard, and issued orders to several departments.

For instance, the engineering department would begin constructing a forward base on the other side of the gate once the recon team confirmed it was safe. The Emergency Combat Response Soldiers (AECS) would handle security.

The logistics department was already mobilizing supplies and ammunition, while the various armed divisions were deploying available personnel to the ruins base for standby.

Atlas executed Samuel's orders perfectly. Additionally, he issued more detailed instructions to the Investigation Division.

After all, everything about Universe-07 was unknown. They needed elite investigators to gather intelligence, figure out which factions were enemies or potential allies, and determine if the world had any unique resources.

—

Eight hours after the seventh space gate had opened, back in New Akra City in the Prime Universe…

Even in the middle of the night, the streets remained bustling with traffic and pedestrians.

As a city that never sleeps, it was the perfect time for tourists to experience the local culture and entertainment. However, the areas around hospitals and care centers were relatively quiet, as night-shift police patrolled to prevent loud disturbances by unsuspecting tourists or intoxicated individuals.

Occasionally, ambulances with silent flashing lights and aerial vehicles would zip through the streets, transporting those in need of urgent care.

Outside the main entrance of the Atlas Central Hospital, a rather special patient had just been discharged.

The man wore a brown jacket and dark gray work pants, his signature middle-parted hair framing his face. In his right hand, he pulled a large black suitcase.

This man was none other than Leon S. Kennedy, an elite investigator for the Atlas Investigation Division.

Normally, with his genetically enhanced physique, Leon rarely got sick. However, even he couldn't avoid a serious traffic accident…

But he wasn't injured. In fact, he wasn't even a patient.

Like many other elite investigators who were currently free, Leon had received orders to deploy to Universe-07. However, on his way from his suburban home to the bustling city of Akra, his car had been hit by a truck and flipped over.

He was unharmed, but the car was totaled.

The incident occurred when an unmanned patrol drone detected the truck speeding and running red lights. It attempted to intervene, but the truck driver tried to escape, and Leon was unfortunately caught in the ensuing crash.

In reality, traffic accidents in Akra were rare. The city boasted one of the lowest accident rates globally, making it one of the safest cities for travel in the Prime Universe.

Yet, Leon had managed to get caught in a low-probability event.

To make matters worse, his direct supervisor, Ada Wong, had ordered him to undergo a full body scan at the hospital, delaying his progress significantly.

"Sigh…"

Thinking about how his colleagues had already arrived at the ruins base while he was only just leaving the hospital, Leon couldn't help but sigh.

Leaving through the hospital's main doors, he walked to the side of the street and pulled out his civilian phone to call for a taxi, heading to the Atlas branch office in the city center.

After finally navigating all the delays, Leon eventually arrived at the ruins base.

He handed over the weapons and equipment in his special luggage to the logistics department, then made his way to the employee dormitory area, where Mike Monardi had been waiting for him.

"Hey! What took you so long?" Mike rushed forward and gave Leon a bear hug.

"Sigh… don't ask. My car got wrecked," Leon shook his head helplessly.

"Your car? Wait, didn't Wong say you had some trouble? Did you get into an accident?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Leon began recounting the day's events.

As they talked, the two walked through the underground passageway lined with supermarkets, bars, and restaurants, eventually reaching the dormitory designated for armed personnel.

In the dormitory lobby:

"Hahaha!" Mike burst into laughter after hearing Leon's story. Slapping Leon on the shoulder, he said, "I knew your luck was a little weird! Come on, stop looking so down. It's just a car, not like you got hurt. Let's get your stuff sorted, and I'll buy you a drink to chase away the bad luck. How about it?"

"Thanks, Mike." Leon's mood began to improve.

He was naturally an optimistic person, and with the company's insurance department handling the aftermath, there wasn't much to worry about. At most, his insurance premiums would go up next year—not a big deal given his current salary.

After dropping his luggage off in the temporary single dormitory, Leon followed Mike back to the living area, where they found a company-owned bar to have a few drinks and chat.

The two had worked together on many reconnaissance missions and investigations, and they were good friends. The main difference was that Mike was already married with kids, while Leon was still single.

As for why they had time to relax, it was because the forward base was still under construction, and they needed to wait at the ruins base until everything was operational before heading into Universe-07 with the main force.

Even though it was the middle of the night, it wasn't just Leon and his friends who were awake. Samuel, as the owner of Atlas, was also still fully alert.

Of course, Samuel only needed a few minutes of rest to achieve the same effect as hours of sleep for a regular person.

However…

"Snore… snore…"

Dorn and Vulkan were sprawled out on the carpet, snoring loudly, their breathing even louder than the ticking of an old-fashioned clock.

Perhaps due to their growing bodies, the Primarchs maintained typical teenage sleep patterns, falling into deep slumbers once they were asleep.

"…"

Samuel shook his head with a light smile as he stood up from his desk. He picked up the toys and game consoles scattered around, then grabbed two spare blankets from the closet to cover his sons, hoping they'd sleep more comfortably.

Dorn and Vulkan had intended to wait for him to finish his work, but that plan had clearly been a bit "naive."

Although Samuel wasn't always busy, and occasionally took time off to take his sons to the mall or see a movie, he didn't have much free time now as they were exploring an entirely new universe.

Returning to his desk, Samuel noticed that one of the holographic screens was flashing with a new email notification.

Opening it, he found the latest report from the Biology Division:

"Upload Time: Prime Universe 2000/03/28/00:44.

Anomaly: Unknown Wolf-Like Creature.

Description:

Six hours ago, the Biology Division personnel arrived in Universe-07 and began preliminary analysis and testing of the captured creature.

Initial scans indicate that its physiological structure is similar to known canines, but its leaf-like fur possesses

 plant-like characteristics.

Blood tests reveal that the creature's cells contain organelles resembling chloroplasts, along with chlorophyll, photosynthetic membranes, synthase, and other cellular components and molecules.

This suggests that the creature can generate energy through photosynthesis and synthesize organic materials to sustain its growth, development, and metabolism.

On Earth, certain plankton species acquire chloroplasts by consuming plants, then store them in their cells for photosynthesis—a phenomenon known as Kleptoplasty.

However, this phenomenon is impossible in mammals.

Therefore, the Biology Division's preliminary analysis classifies this creature as an extraordinary species that defies the laws of the Prime Universe.

Furthermore, intelligence tests reveal that this creature possesses a high level of cognitive function, self-awareness, and an extraordinary ability to learn.

Once the Engineering Division completes the forward base, the Biology Division will conduct further research on this creature, ensuring its safety during the process.

Submitted by: Angela Ziegler Cage."

After reading the report, Samuel minimized the screen and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

The fusion of plant and animal traits, the violation of Prime Universe logic, and the creature's advanced cognitive abilities all pointed to the green-leaf wolf being a unique product of a magical world.

However, he couldn't yet determine whether the "magic" of Universe-07 was related to psionics.

If it wasn't, then it was a self-contained magic system. 

If it was, then there were many possibilities.

After all, in Warhammer 40k, there were planets with similar sword-and-magic worlds.

However, Samuel considered it highly unlikely that the seventh space gate led to the Warhammer universe. At most, it could be a parallel Earth-like planet with its own magical system, which might have attracted the attention of warp entities.

Before long, Samuel let go of these thoughts. Without investigators infiltrating and gathering information, any speculation was pointless. Refocusing his attention, Samuel resumed coordinating operations, ensuring everything was in place for the upcoming mission.

___________________

Read Ahead

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