Starforce Warriors-Chapter 542: Gods Of Subspace

The Death Prison, the Nether God Fortress.

Night enveloped the land. The fortress's black silhouette loomed like a massive, crouching beast in the shadows. It resembled an ancient terror biding its time. Piercing, blood-curdling screams echoed frequently from the depths of the fortress, creating a chilling symphony of death that sent shivers down one’s spine.

This was the most terrifying place in the Jiepeng Empire. It was the dwelling place of the God of Death. Lives came to an end within these walls at every moment.

The Nether God Fortress was divided into four distinct areas: the outer zone, the middle zone, the inner zone, and the underground zone. The outer, middle, and inner zones imprisoned criminals of varying degrees of guilt and danger, from the least to the most severe. However, the underground zone was a realm of eternal damnation, designated specifically for prisoners from Great Xia. No one who entered the underground zone had ever walked out alive.

Additionally, the underground area housed a secret facility, a forbidden laboratory known as the Land of Creation. Within this laboratory, unspeakable and inhumane experiments explicitly outlawed by the Star Council were conducted.

The raw materials for these experiments were prisoners brought here from Great Xia, cruelly referred to as Maruta. These individuals were treated like expendable supplies as they were subjected to unimaginable physical and psychological torment.

Earlier today, the underground zone of the Nether God Fortress had received a new batch of prisoners; sixteen in total. They were all covert operatives from the Great Xia Dragon Group who had been captured while operating within the borders of Jiepeng.

After being tasked with the mission to rescue Tan Zhenwei and Zhou Rulong, the Great Xia Dragon Group had conducted a series of intensive nationwide maneuvers over the past ten days. These movements had significantly increased their exposure risk. When the Jiepeng Temple and the Inquisition joined forces, the search and capture operations had intensified, inevitably leading to the exposure and the subsequent capture of Dragon Group members.

Among those captured was the Doctor. The Urawa Base City had eventually succumbed to the relentless searches conducted by the Inquisition. The Doctor had deliberately exposed himself to shield Poison Wolf and others, including Chong Chong, who had not yet been fully modified by the Orochi-01 project. He had distracted the Inquisition’s Realm of Traces team, buying time for his team before finally being captured after a prolonged pursuit.

Inside the dimly lit prison, the cell door to the Doctor’s solitary confinement was opened. Four Jiepeng warriors, clad in Death God Nano Power Armor, entered and dragged him out. Since his inner qi was completely sealed, the Doctor was powerless to resist. They led him through a long, downward-spiraling corridor until they reached the fabled Land of Creation.

The Doctor had heard rumors of this forbidden laboratory thirteen years ago when he first arrived in Jiepeng. Today, he finally saw it for himself.

A massive black gate that resembled a floodgate slowly creaked open. Pale green light spilled out, illuminating the path ahead. As they stepped through the gate, a strange metallic corridor lay before them. Wall-mounted lamps gave off soft green light, filling the air with an odd, musty smell of decay and antiquity.

The Doctor noticed peculiar carvings on the metallic walls. The designs were unlike any artistic style found in Jiepeng. They depicted celestial bodies, constellations, and objects resembling spacecraft...

This feels like the interior of a spaceship.

The Doctor’s mind was with questions. They continued forward along the metallic corridor as heavy metal gates opened in front of them. Suddenly, the Doctor’s gaze sharpened and his body trembled slightly. Shock flashed through his eyes, quickly giving way to seething rage. The monstrous cruelty of the Jiepeng people. They had truly committed such heinous atrocities.

In the spacious metal chamber before him stood towering cylindrical containers, each filled with a liquid resembling nutrient fluid. The naked bodies of Great Xia experts were suspended within the liquid, their states of life or death uncertain.

The truly horrifying sight was the grotesque alterations to their bodies. Almost every one of them had undergone bizarre grafting procedures, from arms replaced with bear claws, heads fused with those of wild boar star beasts, torsos swapped for serpent-like abdomens, or limbs replaced with deer legs.

The grafting techniques were disturbingly advanced. The altered bodies appeared so natural that it seemed like they had been born that way. Yet, even with such grotesque perfection, these experiments were strictly forbidden across the planet. Using living humans as test subjects for such abominable procedures was an act of pure evil.

The Doctor saw a young girl, no older than six or seven, who had been forcibly transformed into a grotesque hybrid of human, beast, and bird. He recognized her immediately. She was the daughter of Fei Suo, the former leader of the Great Xia Dragon Group.

A surge of uncontrollable fury overwhelmed the Doctor as he violently fought off his captors. His defiance was met with a surge of electric shock. His limbs went numb as the current coursed through his body, and he lost consciousness. The lifeless Doctor was dragged further into the depths of the forbidden laboratory.

When he regained consciousness, the Doctor found himself in a vast underground chamber filled with hundreds of individuals clad in white laboratory coats. They were gathered before a colossal, enigmatic machine, busy preparing for some sort of initiation ceremony.

A dozen or so figures who appeared to be in charge stood in front of a display panel embedded in the midsection of the massive machine. They conversed casually, their expressions relaxed and jovial. But four or five didn’t wear lab coats but the starry uniforms of mid-ranking officers from the Inquisition.

The Doctor also noticed that the other ten members of the Great Xia Dragon Group who had been captured with him were now present. They were lined up against the wall alongside him, bound and helpless.

"Welcome, brave warriors of Great Xia." A man in a white coat said with a smile as he approached.

This was Mitsui Masao, the head of the laboratory. Having finished a discussion with Roger, the senior inspector of the Inquisition's Realm of Traces, he now addressed the captives with a chilling air of control.

"First, I must thank you for your invaluable support of the Jiepeng Empire's most groundbreaking biological experiment. You see, in just a moment, you will serve as the primary energy source for the activation program. Through this machine, which we call Eve, we will bring to life the perfect creations stored in the bio-chambers outside."

He gestured toward the towering cylindrical containers visible through the glass partitions of the laboratory.

"Surely you've seen them already," he continued, his voice calm but laced with a cruel edge. "Those so-called perfect creations were once your fellow countrymen."

"Before their consciousness faded entirely, each one endured over a hundred live surgeries. They suffered torment so agonizing that even demons would lose their minds. It was only through such relentless procedures that they have achieved their current state of perfection."

"I must admit, the warriors of the Great Xia Dragon Group possess a mental fortitude that commands respect. That is precisely why you were selected as ideal experimental materials. Your contribution will help me complete the empire's greatest experiment. Through your sacrifice, the gods will awaken from within those shells and descend upon this world."

"You ten are the final step in the program. Thank you for your service," he concluded, his voice eerily calm.

Mitsui Masao mockingly bowed. He resembled a serpent mimicking human courtesy, every move dripping with calculated malice.

The members of the Dragon Group erupted in fury, hurling curses at him as they united in rage.

"You will pay for your actions." The Doctor growled in a low, menacing tone. "Great Xia will never let beasts like you get away with this."

Mitsui Masao chuckled in response.

"Words are always the most powerless things in this world," he said smugly. "Once my experiment succeeds, and the gods of the subspace awaken through the shells of those experimental masterpieces, Earth will become nothing more than their breeding ground. Great Xia will be the first to be annihilated. That, dear warriors, will be my ultimate response to your beloved Great Xia."

"The gods of subspace?" Suddenly, one of the four Death God power-armor experts escorting the Doctor spoke. His voice carried an unabashed curiosity as he asked, "What exactly are they?"

Mitsui Masao froze momentarily, caught off guard by the question. A second later, his expression darkened with fury.

Who had permitted this subordinate to speak?

A mere escort soldier dared to break protocol in such a critical setting. Violating the laboratory's strict discipline was utterly intolerable.

As Mitsui Masao glared at him, the Death God warrior slowly removed the helmet of his power armor, revealing his true face.

The Doctor’s eyes lit up with recognition. He knew this man. In that moment, an indescribable wave of joy surged through him.