<h4>Chapter 200 The Progenitor</h4>


    The encounter was quickly rted to Graves and themand center.


    Graves cringed at the dialogue spoken by the supposed progenitor. "Is that how people with genocidal tendencies talk these days?" he muttered, half-amused and half-exasperated. "Eagle, Specter-2 has made visual contact with an individual whom we believed to be the progenitor," he ryed back to themand center.


    Richard, monitoring the situation from themand center, didn''t respond promptly. Instead, he stared at the monitor, gazing at the progenitor. So that''s the man who has caused this apocalypse? The voice doesn''t sound gruff or anything that hinted his middle to old age. Rather, it sounded like it was spoken by a man in his teenage years. And the way he introduced himself also made him cringe...


    "Specter-1 Actual, this is your operation, you call the shots. But if I were you, I would alert all stations and have theme to the location of Specter-2."


    Graves nodded in agreement with Richard''s suggestion. "That''s exactly what I''m going to do," he replied firmly. He turned to hismunications officer, Specter-5. "Alert all stations. We need backup here but tell them to approach discreetly. We don''t want to spook our friend just yet."


    Upon hearing those orders from Graves, the Specters that were not in the location of Specter-2 and the squad he brought with him, moved quickly to join forces.


    Meanwhile, at the encounter location, the progenitor didn''t move, rather, he was scanning them with his scrutinizing eyes. A hum escaped his lips.


    "This is odd…" He muttered in Mandarin.


    "Sir…progenitor appears to be speaking Mandarin," Specter-2 reported.


    "Copy that, Eagle, be advised, the progenitor is speaking Mandarin. My men and I couldn''t understand it. Perhaps you can give us some help over here."


    Richard turned his gaze to Sara. Sara, sensing Richard''s gaze, turned to look at him.


    "Sara…is there software in our system that allows us to interpret and trante foreignnguages, particrly Mandarin?" Richard asked,


    Sara nodded, her fingers already dancing across the keyboard. "We have an advancednguage processing software that can do more than just trante," she exined. "It can analyze lip movements and facial expressions to interpret spoken words, even if we can''t hear them clearly. It''s part of ourtest AI-drivenmunication enhancement tools."


    "Since when did we have that?"


    "Since you summoned me?" Sara answered simply.


    She quickly set up the necessary parameters, focusing on the live feed from Specter-2''s position. The software, sophisticated in its design, used abination of visual cues and partial audio inputs to construct a probable dialogue.


    "We might not get a perfect trantion, but it should give us a good idea of what he''s saying," Sara continued, her eyes fixed on the monitor as the software began its analysis.


    The screen disyed a split view: on one side, the live feed of the progenitor, and on the other, the software''s interpretation of his lip movements.


    Sara said, "I''m going to rewind the footage to the time the progenitor spoke," as she reyed the footage of the progenitor. The software analyzed his lip movements, and Mandarin characters began to appear on the screen, followed by their English trantion.


    Sara read aloud the Mandarin in Pinyin which she then tranted into English as "That''s odd..."


    Richard and Graves exchanged a nce, trying to decipher the meaning behind these words. "What could he find odd?" Graves pondered.


    "Perhaps this is the perfect time to establish first contact? How about speaking to him…but the problem is none of our forces can speak Mandarin. So let''s try our luck if the progenitor understands basic English phrases. Start by asking who he is," Richard suggested.


    Graves quickly ryed the new strategy to Specter-2. "Try to establishmunication. Ask for his name, but keep it simple and direct. Let''s see if he responds to English."


    Specter-2 cautiously stepped forward, maintaining a safe distance from the progenitor. He raised his voice, ensuring rity and firmness, "Who are you? What is your name?"


    The progenitor, still shrouded in the shadows of the ruined building, tilted his head slightly, seemingly intrigued by the attempt atmunication. His gaze, intense and calcting, remained fixed on Specter-2.


    For a tense moment, there was silence. Then, in a voice tinged with both amusement and menace, the progenitor replied. "Lin Feng, but names in this ruined world are just echoes of a forgotten past," the progenitor, now identified as Lin Feng, responded in clear English


    Graves, listening in, quickly processed this new information. "Lin Feng..." he mused, "Eagle, cross-reference that name with any avable databases. We need to know if he''s on record."


    Before Richard could speak, Sara interjected. "We can''t do that. He might be from China and there''s no way we can ess their systems, assuming they are still running after months of neglect…But the fact that he casually spoke out his name, it seems that he is not even worried."


    "Which is why I''m getting a bad feeling about this. It''s the type of guy that could casually steamroll his way out of here."


    As they were talking, Lin Feng spoke again.


    "I find it odd and fascinating that your squad…is wearing highly advanced tech…and that there is no health bar atop your head…"


    Upon hearing that, Richard''s eyes widened. "Wait, what did he just say? No health bar?"


    "This is my first time really…to see someone except my creations have a health bar. This only meant one thing…that I''m not really the special man in this world. You''re summoned aren''t you?"


    Richard''s heart had beaten quickly as he listened attentively to the progenitor. Their hypothesis about the progenitor was confirmed to be true. He was like Richard, possessing the ability to summon things, but instead of weapons, they were apocalyptic creatures.


    "This is truly a fascinating revtion!" the progenitor eximed, spreading his arms. "I knew it…ckwatch! You truly are the only one that can stand in my way of conquering this world! Whoever is it that summoned you, tell him that I would love to meet him. Can he hear me? Can he hear me!"


    "Tell him that I can," Richard instructed Graves.


    Graves then ryed the instruction to Specter-2.


    "He said he can hear you…"


    "That''s great to hear then!" Lin Feng said gleefully. "Now…enough with this charade…"


    Suddenly, a red mist enveloped Lin Feng, obscuring him out from the view. Secondster, his appearance changed. He was garbed in armor that seemed to be made of a dark, metallic substance, with sharp edges and flowing lines that suggested both organic and mechanical origins. His helmet obscured his face, save for two glowing points where the eyes would be, giving him an ominous, spectral presence. The armor extended down his body in segmented tes, resembling an exoskeleton, culminating in gauntlets that ended in w-like fingers. A long, curved de-like weapon was attached to one arm, hinting at a fusion of body and armament.


    The Delta Forces readied themselves for the confrontation.