Chapter 1633
Chapter 1633 - 1629: The Noose
1,274 words
•
7 min read
[Disaster Record: Major Extraordinary Pandemic, Code D671, Civilian Names: Dual-Head Disease, Fishman’s Curse, Sea Poison, Kyoto Fish Disease.]
[First Discovery Location: Summer 2005, Kyoto, spread throughout the island within three months...]
[Infection Targets: The disease is transmitted through body fluids, parasites, and parasitized individuals, currently limited to the Fishman Clan, and actively attacks the Octopus Race, but Free Fish People are also susceptible. There have been several occurrences of human infestation, after examination, it was confirmed that they are believers of the Octopus, having received the Octopus’s power...]
[Infection Symptoms: Upon acquiring a ’Seed’, the recipient will gradually incubate ’another Self Cognition’ within three natural hours, and consume a substantial amount of food during this process to compensate for the needs. When another ’Soul’ becomes customary, the newly matured self will likely take over the body actively and imitate the Original Owner to continue its life, but retains the instinct to spread the disease...]
[Infection Manifestation: The Fishman’s body manifests various limbs and parts, including fingers, eyeballs, Tentacles, teeth, mouths, etc., and gradually assembles a new stable structure...]
[Advanced Infection Symptoms: Once a certain number of infections has been reached within a certain area, or when the infected feel they are in danger of being eradicated, the infection will enter a Fusion phase. They will merge their minds and bodies, evolving into a mature form of the disease, and eliminate threats...]
[Disease Rating and Handling Suggestions: The disease is currently incurable, and since the main infected subjects are Exotic Realm Invaders, authorities have not prioritized it as a major research objective.]
𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
[PS. All sailors and Mercenaries, please do not carry the pathogen of this disease at will. Although it is harmless to humans at this stage and can directly harm the Octopus Sea Tribe, experts warn that the virus is always in a state of Mutation and activity, and those who misuse the virus will ultimately be harmed by it...]
Aside from that last part that almost sounds like an advertisement "warning," this report is quite accurate after all...
"After all, it was written by a Creator..."
Lu Ping’an sighed, he never expected that this report on the disaster would actually specifically require him to write it.
It was a kind of consolation, hinting "we already know," but also a warning, "don’t mess up, or you’ll be responsible for the consequences."
Lu Ping’an pondered, but still decided to add it in.
[Infection Exceptional Targets: Although the disease locks onto the genetic template of the Octopus Tribe, if Life actively abandons the flesh and willingly undergoes Fusion at the will level, it allows that Life to mutate and merge with the virus, becoming a new contagion and causing extensive harm to surrounding Fishman lives. According to reliable intelligence, an eighth-tier Quasi-God abandoned their flesh to become a pathogen, which directly caused the virus to spread over 300 kilometers of urban area and along the river, contaminating seventeen cities of various sizes. Its mutated variants, in a frenzy, killed two Rule-level beings and seriously injured a Quasi-God, forcing them to return to their homeland to recuperate...]
In some sense, this thing works pretty well as a last resort,
Lu Ping’an shook his head and still wrote some things down.
[Special Situation Handling Suggestions: The virus is incurable under normal circumstances, but if one could reach an agreement with the ’other self’, they could achieve stable life for a period. If human beings are infected, they can seek assistance from the Peace Research Lab, a subsidiary of the Rebirth Commerce. This institution has made significant achievements in the research of this kind of disease.]
This is like making trouble for oneself, but also patching things up.
Writing up to this point is already pretty sufficient... The mere achievement of seriously injuring a Quasi-God is enough to dispel most doubts and unease, as tangible accomplishments calm most suspicions and anxieties.
Lu Ping’an never imagined that his "self" after mutation would be so fierce, battling a Quasi-God head-on for a week, not only turning that area into a hell on earth but also infecting all the surrounding Fishmen, forcefully staging a God Slaying campaign reminiscent of ants overwhelming an elephant.
Looking at the outcome, that thing ultimately failed.... Too many Souls fused together, and as the disease progressed to its later stages, it naturally lost its sanity.
However, it managed to feed on a part of the Quasi-God, directly causing almost permanent severe injuries to that Quasi-God, also proving the potential of this ability.
Nevertheless, the "close the door, let Lu Ping’an handle it" tactics were subsequently banned by the higher-ups, not to be used unless absolutely necessary... After all, the post-battle condition of that area was too tragic; randomly creating another eighth-tier infection source on the battlefield might be waiting to see if the enemy is finished, but that War Zone would definitely be done for.
It is now two weeks after the battle, and Lu Ping’an is still writing reports within his own fleet.
This battle was a failure from the start... Sakura Island had fallen before the arrival of the Third Fleet, the "home base" that was to be defended before the tower defense game arrived was gone, what was left was to see how much loss could be recovered.
The fleet has already stationed in the distant seas, and scattered rescue operations by speedboats and fast ships are still ongoing, but the number of survivors pulled back is decreasing.
As for Lu Ping’an, he was forcibly ordered to stay on the flagship.... In the Extraordinary World where there are no absolute secrets, Lu Ping’an’s head is of extremely high value on the opposing side, even Deities have offered the price of a Demigod for him.
The rear command is not worried about Lu Ping’an dying, but rather that his appearance on the frontline would most likely drive the enemy mad, directly destabilizing the entire battlefield.
The plague is spreading, with no significant impact visible in the short term... The Fishmen are already miserable enough, with various diseases already counting down their time, adding one more death sentence doesn’t show much of an effect.
But unlike other marine "poisons", the fact that Awakening Disease can spread widely on land, it is destined to continually drag down the Fishmen.
There are already quite a few sane infected that have Replaced their Originals and infiltrated the Fishman ranks... Their instinctual craving for the warmth of their own kind also brings destruction to their own clan.
In some sense, being "restricted in movement", Lu Ping’an himself has actually relaxed a lot and has devoted more energy to his own affairs.
He has thoroughly researched that pile of "Kusanagi Sword" replicas. From the results, it’s quite subtle; the sword is indeed good and can increase the damage to Life with Water or Serpent Attributes, but they are essentially meaningless to Decree-Level items.
Then, perhaps to appease Lu Ping’an, the higher-ups actually sent over a batch of spoils of war.
Among them, there’s the version of the Kusanagi Sword that Lu Ping’an has been longing for... Although still replicas, this time they are indeed Rule-Level items.
That means, they can be absorbed by the Courtyard, becoming part of Lu Ping’an’s own Power.
This is not an exception, in fact, all the Warships are unwilling to return, whether it’s materials, money, or Extraordinary benefits, they have all made a fortune.
Quite naturally, after reaching a certain level, Lu Ping’an also naturally got a significant share at the distribution meeting.
— End of Chapter 1633 —