Having finished dealing with matters at Viceroy Darren's place, Benjamin returned to the temple site.
Beneath the goddess's fleshy sac, the chassis of three truck beds were already in place.
Because they needed to dig a section at a time and then stop to insert supports, they could only dig from two directions at most.
Although they had enough manpower, working from multiple directions simultaneously could easily cause a collapse.
Therefore, progress had slowed considerably, and it was estimated that it would take another 20 hours before they could actually attempt to move the sac.
Benjamin, while observing the progress in the tent, was on guard against accidents, and at the same time, he picked up a brand-new confidential file and compared it with the fragmented information found by those gangsters earlier.
"The Embrace of the Goddess of Prosperity" stated that a thousand years ago, after Hastar stole her gold, the Goddess of Prosperity was deeply saddened by the struggle between her many divine children and Hastar.
So, she scattered her remaining wealth across the banks of the Ganges, distributing food and seeds equally to everyone, and then left behind a prophecy:
"I can satisfy the needs of the world, but I cannot satisfy its greed. Desire will overwhelm humanity."
After speaking, the Goddess of Prosperity opened her arms to embrace the boundless earth, her body becoming ethereal, and she vanished completely from the world.
Five hundred years later, the gods, for unknown reasons, gradually fell into a slumber deep within the Ganges.
Another confidential file records a mysterious creature incident that occurred in the Ganges near Utalangoteri in 1917.
Local armed forces, patrolling the Ganges in their warships, discovered a creature with a snake's head, a human body, and spider legs.
This creature attacked one of their ships first.
It moved nimbly, emitted a groan-like cry that could bewitch people, and its limbs could easily pierce through the ship's hull.
Two ships sank, 47 crew members died, and they exhausted all their shells before finally blowing up the monster.
Its blood turned the river green.
The captain ordered the body to be retrieved, intending to sell it to a research institute in the United States to compensate for the loss.
However, less than half a day after being placed in the freezer, the body emitted an unbearable stench of decay, permeating the entire cabin.
Upon opening the freezer, the captain found only a pool of green liquid inside, rapidly evaporating like gasoline.
By the time they returned to port, the freezer was empty.
This incident was recorded as classified.
Because within two days of returning to port, all the crew members who had inhaled the stench began to turn green and decompose.
Doctors examined them and found that their bodily functions were normal.
In the end, all 92 crew members died of decomposition in less than three days.
This matter is really strange and unexplainable.
However, everyone's description of this incident before their death is completely consistent and incredibly detailed, which is why this matter was recorded.
It is said that the local faithful, after learning what had happened, smashed the houses of all the sailors' families, prayed for three whole months, and more than three hundred believers starved to death from fasting.
They claimed they had angered the incarnation of the Son of God, Managaha, and needed to beg for the gods' forgiveness.
The documents also recorded numerous accounts from the past hundred years of people reporting sightings of strange creatures in the Ganges, as well as numerous reports of ships being destroyed by mysterious creatures and sailors disappearing.
Comparing the contents of the two documents, Benjamin formed a guess.
Now the bait was ready, everything was in place, and all that remained was for the opportune moment to arrive.
At the temple site, the engineers were working.
One soldier quietly asked the person next to him:
"Hey, did you see that ring of tanks outside? Do you think this is really a biological experiment?"
Another soldier, applying flour, looked around and whispered back:
"Shh, to be honest, everyone should have heard the roaring sounds coming from inside."
"Everyone's just pretending not to know. Think about it, what kind of place is this? A temple!"
A soldier helping with measurements chimed in quietly.
"Right, right, what's being suppressed under the temple is definitely a demon. The commander's going to be an exorcist."
"We have to be careful. I have a feeling if we're careless and something goes wrong, and those tanks will definitely open fire. We need to be on our guard."
After a few whispered discussions among them, those who had a guilty conscience quickly got back to work, but their movements were even more cautious.
An eerie and tense atmosphere permeated the entire ruins.
For the past 20 hours, Benjamin has either been refining plans in the command center or personally directing operations on-site to stabilize morale.
During this period, Viceroy Darren also visited the Hastar Temple site. He had always been distrustful of Benjamin, but after seeing that huge meatball with his own eyes, he didn't say anything more and turned around to leave.
"Report: The biological test subject has been completely transferred to the chassis. The mining trucks are in place. Shall we begin the relocation attempt?"
"Begin."
Noel received permission and began directing the operation.
Dozens of steel cables were used to pull two giant mining trucks, each 16 meters long and 7 meters wide.
The vehicles moved slowly, their tires carving half-meter-deep trenches into the road.
The steel cable slowly tightened, making a muffled sound like firecrackers.
Four bulldozers with their cabs converted into fenders pushed slowly behind the biological test subject to prevent it from slipping.
Under the watchful eyes of 2,356 soldiers from the engineer regiment and tank brigade, the test subject was slowly dragged out of the sinkhole and onto level ground.
Raindrops pattered on the experimental subject's covering cloth, then slid down the edges.
"Success!"
"Great...!"
"Mission accomplished!"
...
The entire camp erupted in waves of cheers and applause, the soldiers shouting with joy.
This bizarre ball of flesh, surrounded by tanks poised to fire at any moment, had kept everyone on edge all day.
Now that the plan had succeeded, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Commander, what's next?"
Noel grinned and asked.
"Wait!"
"Set up camp here and wait three days. There will be an operation."
Benjamin considered it for a moment and decided to wait until the seventh day to attempt it. By then, nearing the completion of the survival mission, the return mission would be a safety net.
*
*
Three days later, 30 kilometers west of Tumbbad Village, on the banks of the Ganges, 3:46 PM.
Benjamin was sitting in a helicopter, circling the Ganges, surveying the terrain.
Over the past three days, he had consulted numerous classified files.
The Indian files were mostly about faith and prayer, things that held no relevance for Benjamin; he only trusted himself.
"What's with these people guarding the riverbank?"
Benjamin frowned. He had ordered the evacuation of all residents along the river yesterday, along with compensation for lost work time.
"They left after we gave them compensation, but then they came back, bringing more relatives and neighbors to collect their compensation."
"As per your instructions, the nearby jails are temporarily full. These people are lying on the ground, stubbornly refusing to leave; they come back as soon as they're thrown out."
The staff officer said somewhat helplessly.
"Greed! Never mind, it's alright."
"Later, their greed will be filled with artillery fire!"
After confirming everything was arranged, Benjamin had the pilot land and issued an order.