American Comics Universe: I, the Containment Object Revealed at the Start

Aaron: "Forget it, I don't like that kind of ugly stuff."

Thanatos: "I feel the same way."

Manigoldo: "It's rare that you guys can say something that sounds decent."

"Next, predict the appearance of the next containment object—the time has come, bird."

After the sound on the screen ended, a photo appeared showing a particularly eerie creature.

A roughly humanoid entity with many bird-like features, most notably its beak. Its body is generally slender and elongated, with amorphous limbs and no clearly defined fingers. Its entire body, including the beak, is covered by a thick, tough layer of skin.

The Time Has Come Bird is a humanoid, bird-like monster with an irregularly shaped body, lacking the skeletal structure of a normal creature. Its cervical vertebrae are unconnected, seemingly capable of independent movement. The Time Has Come Bird continuously rotates its vertebrae one by one, from back to front, ending at its head, in a rhythmic pattern. Each movement is accompanied by a clicking or cracking sound. The Time Has Come Bird only ceases this neck movement when preparing to attack.

[It has been observed that the bird will stalk its victim for a considerable period before attacking, sometimes for more than 10 months. It will kill the victim with its own appendages, blunt force traumating and tearing the body. Afterward, it will eat the carcass; an average-sized adult can sustain it for about 3 months.]

The Hour Bird is considered the protagonist of several folk tales in its country of origin, Germany. Evidence of the Hour Bird dates back to 1538, with written and visual art depictions of it found from that era. Several German children's songs are also believed to feature the Hour Bird.

[While the Time Has Come Birds continue to exist within the containment facility, new incidents and sightings continue to occur in their region of origin. It can be concluded that the Time Has Come Birds are a single species, found throughout the world.]

["Next, we'll play a recording about the bird whose time has come."]

["In Freiburg, Germany, there is a resident named Charles who claims he is being followed every day and can hear strange, rhythmic clicking sounds all the time."]

At first, Charles thought he was just hallucinating from exhaustion and didn't pay much attention. But this phenomenon occurred every day, and not just every day, but constantly!

"No matter where Charles went, he would hear that rhythmic clicking sound and sense that someone was following him."

"This went on day after day, hour after hour, pushing Charles to the brink of collapse. He immediately called the police to explain his situation, but after investigating Charles's surroundings, the police found no one following him, leading them to suspect that Charles might be experiencing mental health issues."

"So Charles went to get his mental health checked, but he didn't have a mental illness. The doctor could only prescribe sleeping pills and tell Charles to rest and not overthink things."

"However, this did not improve Charles's condition; on the contrary, it made it worse, almost driving him to the brink of collapse and disrupting his normal life."

"After receiving this report about Charles, the Containment Society's agents felt that something was amiss, because the Containment Society had a member who could rhythmically conceal himself, stalk others, and then hunt them down—the 'Time Has Come Bird'."

[Then the video switches to a cage where the bird, bound tightly by specially made chains, is unable to move as the appointed time arrives.]

"When the containment team discovered this 'Time-Ended Bird' was eating a person, they tried every means to capture it. According to research, it possesses the same stealth ability as the Sleep Killer, and also likes to stalk its prey for a period of time, then use the rotation of its bones to create rhythmic sounds to stimulate the prey's nerves, torturing the prey to the point of collapse before hunting it down."

"After we caught the 'Time Has Arrived' bird, we conducted a thorough search, but we didn't find any other 'Time Has Arrived' birds, leading us to mistakenly believe that there was only one."

"However, judging from Charles's situation, the time has passed and there may still be birds that haven't been discovered, so a specialized task force was immediately dispatched to investigate this matter."

"Strangely enough, the birds started looking in one direction, which happens to be the direction of Freiburg, even though it was time. Perhaps it's just a coincidence."

"After the Containment Society's agents made contact with Charles, they immediately launched an investigation into his surroundings. According to Charles, he can still hear that voice."

"But even with the most advanced stealth detection equipment, the agents couldn't find a single bird within a ten-kilometer radius that had reached its hour."

"This puzzled the agents greatly. Charles was clearly being followed by the Time-Ending Bird, so why was there no trace of it? Could it be that Charles has really lost his mind, or is he lying?"

"But the containment organization has already arranged for experts to examine Charles. He has no mental problems and he wasn't lying, so what's going on?"

"To unravel this mystery, the Containment Society's agents have no choice but to stay with Charles at all times, hoping to solve it as soon as possible."

"A week later, an incredible change occurred, and it was then that the containment council realized the time had come for the bird to possess even more terrifying abilities."

Chapter 299 Strange Death

"The agents of the Containment Association, after making contact with Charles, protected his safety at all times and monitored his surroundings around the clock."

"But even with the most advanced equipment for detecting cloaked creatures, we still couldn't find the Time Bird or anything else lurking around Charles."

"All we can do is continue to protect Charles and hopefully find a way to figure out what's going on."

["One night, the anomaly finally occurred. Late at night, Charles had just finished get off work and was on his way home when he suddenly told the agents that he could no longer hear the rhythmic clicking sound, and asked them if that meant everything was alright."]

This puzzled the agents greatly. Before they could respond, Charles suddenly became extremely terrified, pointing in a direction with intense fear and muttering incessantly.

"Monster, monster, what is that?!"

Charlie stared in terror at the scene, repeatedly muttering the word "monster" as he backed away.

"Calm down! What kind of monster is that?!"

"An agent immediately inquired about Charles's appearance as the monster."

[“It’s like a plucked bird, very tall and strong, ahhhhh!!!”]

[As Charles described this part, he screamed and immediately ran backward, as if being chased by something.]

This immediately left the agents bewildered, and they could only give chase. They had already scanned the surrounding area with their equipment, but there was nothing there at all.

So what exactly did Charles see?

With these questions in mind, the agents of the containment organization quickly caught up with Charles, only to find him lying on the ground, beaten and groaning, coughing up blood.

[Not only that, Charles's body was being torn apart by something unknown; flesh was being ripped off, and even his hands and feet were being pulled forcefully.]

"Fire!"

Seeing this, the Containment Society agents still couldn't believe that something was actually attacking Charles, so they fired without hesitation towards the top of Charles's direction, hoping to hit something.

Strangely, no matter how the Containment Society's agents fired, they didn't hit anything. The bullets were only about half a meter above Charles, who was still being torn apart and beaten by something, unable to move.

This is very strange to us. Could it be that the other side is some kind of ghost, immune to bullets?

【"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"】

[Just then, Charles let out a chilling scream. His upper body was being brutally torn apart; his intestines, stomach, kidneys, and other organs were being pulled out and severed.]

This scene is extremely disgusting; it makes you want to vomit.

[Then Charles's upper body was dragged away, and flesh was being ripped off his body.]

Upon seeing this, the agents of the Containment Society immediately opened fire on Charles's upper body, but they missed completely.

[Initially determined to be the work of a ghost, an agent took out a radio pulse transmitter and fired a beam of energy that struck Charles's upper body.]

However, even weapons designed to subdue ghosts were ineffective; they couldn't blast anything that could harm Charles.

The agents of the Containment Society could only watch helplessly as Charles died, his upper body dragged away.

"This tragedy forced the higher-ups of the Containment Association to take this strange phenomenon seriously, believing that something even more sinister was at play. Therefore, they dispatched more members to investigate the truth."

"Later, the containment organization discovered something strange: when Charles died, the bird was already feeding at the appointed time, even though no one had fed it at that time. Furthermore, according to the video playback, the bird had been making some vigorous movements before the appointed time."

"However, since the time had come and the bird was tightly bound by specially made iron chains, it was unable to make any clear movements. So the rescue organization had someone conduct a special study, and after reviewing the video playback, they concluded that the bird was making violent movements such as beating itself when the time came."

"This puzzled us greatly. Why would a bird do these things when it's already time for its flight and there's no food? Is it because it's bored?"

"And the key point is that Charles died just as it was making these movements, and he was indeed being beaten at the time. Why would the bird make a beating gesture precisely when the time had come? Is it just a coincidence?"

"These coincidences led the shelter to have a bad feeling, so they resumed their research on the 'Time Has Come' bird. After a long period of observation, the shelter made a shocking discovery."

"The time has come, and the bird doesn't need to hunt itself. It can use astral projection, sending a portion of its spirit out to find prey and hunt. When this spiritual clone eats, it sends the food back to its main body."

"Charles saw the spirit form of the Time-Come-Arriving Bird. As for why only he could see it, it was probably intentional on the part of the Time-Come-Arriving Bird. This is why the Containment Society agents couldn't find the Time-Come-Arriving Bird near Charles; it wasn't invisibility, but rather an unseen spirit form."

"After this research was completed, the containment organization realized the seriousness of the situation. This means that even if the Time-End Bird is kept under tight surveillance, it cannot be prevented from harming humans."

"To solve the problem once and for all, the containment council directly ordered the sensory system to stop detecting when the time has come."

Although the time had come and the bird's bones and skin were tough enough to withstand bullets from light weapons, Egg was still killed by a powerful sniper rifle that pierced its head.

After eliminating the Time-Ending Bird, the containment organization considered the threat posed by it to be over and departed.

"However, when similar victims emerged later, along with eyewitness testimonies of the 'Time Has Come' bird, the shelter realized that there was more than one 'Time Has Come' bird."

"The time has come. Birds are a race, but they are extremely secretive. It's not just about hiding; they don't even need their physical forms to come out."

Chapter 300 Hunting Bus

"The time has come for the bird to separate its spiritual form to hunt, and there are no distance restrictions. This means that the physical body can stay in a deep forest or even a cave forever, relying entirely on the spiritual form for activity."

"Furthermore, according to our analysis, once the time has come, the bird only needs to eat once and can then go three months without eating or hunting."

"The vast time span, coupled with their near-absence, led us to mistakenly believe that only one bird had reached its appointed time. In reality, countless birds, whose appointed time has ended, exist across various locations, and we have no idea where they are hiding."

"Having realized this, the agents of the containment organization had no choice but to travel the world to investigate, trying every possible way to find the hidden birds and eliminate them."

"By the way, the time has come. The reason the bird is called that is because its hunting process involves first locking onto its prey, then tracking it while constantly rotating every bone in its body, making a rhythmic clicking sound. When the sound stops, the prey is dead."

"It's like the cuckoo statues on some clocks; when the time comes, it jumps out to announce the hour. The sound of the bird's bones is the countdown to the prey's death, hence the name 'The Time Has Come Bird.'"

That concludes the information about the bird whose time has come. After reading it, you can't help but feel a sense of reflection.

Strange: "What an incredible monster! It can even let its spirit leave its body to hunt. That makes it impossible to detect by physical means. Is this also a form of spirit projection?"

Gu Yi: "It's different from when our soul leaves our body. If our soul leaves our body, our body can't move. But now that the time has come, the body can still move, and the body takes the lead in the actions of the spirit. It's a very interesting skill."

Robin: "This skill is practically born for assassination. With this move, you can kill anyone without them noticing, and they won't be able to find out anything about you!"

Suneo: "What a terrifying monster! I really don't want to encounter something like that."

Naruto: "Yeah, it's disgusting to encounter an enemy that you can't see or touch at all, but can still get into."

Zoro: "This is really annoying! They're attacking me, but I just can't get a touch on them!"

Sengoku: "Unless we can find the original body, it's a waste of time."

Thanos: "If it were me, it would be easy to solve. My Mind Stone is designed for mental attacks and can directly target the spiritual body!"

Gu Yi: "I have to admit he's right. If there are ways to harm the spirit, then the physical body can be harmed as well. Injury to the spirit can cause great harm to the physical body."

Strange: "Is this the same kind of attack method used against ghosts?"

Gu Yi: "It's a little different. I'll teach you when I have time."

Strange: "Thank you, Master."

Dan Moroboshi: "If that's the case, then psychic powers can also harm spiritual entities."

Daigo: "Telekinesis? It seems like everyone knows it. I need to study it."

Sun Wukong: "Telekinesis? I don't know that stuff. Only Piccolo knows it. I'll ask Piccolo to handle it then."

Piccolo: "So you'll beg me after all?"

Sun Wukong: "There's nothing we can do about it."

Jiraiya: "I wonder if illusions can deal with so-called spiritual entities."

Naruto: "That's troublesome for me, I don't know any genjutsu at all!"