49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 323: Chapter 300: The Fourth Stage of Parasitism

Pinglu City, Quarantine Zone 3.

As a high-priority area, the every move of the spore addicts was meticulously recorded and reported on a regular basis.

Zhang Minglu had previously brought Dragon Soul here to observe in person, concluding that those who had gone long periods without eating had already entered the third stage of spore parasitism.

Now, several days later, an urgent message reached the Strategy Research Room.

An outbreak of violence had occurred in the quarantine zone.

Inside the quarantine zone, which had been converted from a stadium, chaos reigned.

A large number of the practitioners were huddled in a corner, leaving the central area clear, their faces filled with terror as they watched the crowd brawling within it.

Several dozen practitioners were attacking the quarantine zone staff.

The spores had deeply unlocked their potential, making each of them stronger and faster, and they had already knocked several staff members to the ground.

The person in charge immediately called for outside help. An armed team that had been deployed nearby quickly came to support, using their superior firepower to swiftly suppress the situation.

Upon receiving the news, Zhang Minglu rushed over with Dragon Soul at once. By the time they arrived, the suppression was already over. The dozens of troublemaking practitioners had been tied up securely.

"What happened?" he asked, immediately finding the person in charge of the quarantine zone. "Why did they turn violent?"

Until now, those influenced by the spores and addicted to their practice, while fanatical, had shown no violent tendencies toward others.

On the contrary, due to their "life-cherishing" trait, these practitioners did everything they could to avoid conflict, so as not to place themselves in danger.

This much was evident from the majority of people huddled in the corners of the stadium, far from the central battlefield.

"These people have practiced themselves crazy!" the person in charge said, his face dark. "There was no warning at all. They just suddenly started shouting and attacked. Many of our staff were completely unprepared. The casualties are not light!"

Zhang Minglu frowned. "What were they shouting?"

"Go ask them yourself, Dr. Zhang. Even tied up, these bastards are still running their mouths!"

Zhang Minglu and Dragon Soul immediately went over to the group of bound individuals.

Their eyes were wide and their teeth were gritted. Despite never having met, they glared at Zhang Minglu and Dragon Soul as if looking at their mortal enemies, the murderers of their own fathers.

This look of pure hatred, even murderous intent, was unbelievable to them both, and a heavy feeling settled over them.

Before Zhang Minglu could even speak, the prisoners began shouting all at once.

Though their voices and volumes differed, the content of their shouts was shockingly uniform.

"Why won’t you join our great family! You heretics!"

Join our great family...

Zhang Minglu and Dragon Soul exchanged a look.

Spore addicts collectively received messages from a suspected Alien Intelligence, one of which was, "Join our great family." An analyst from the Strategy Research Room had explained this piece of intelligence in a meeting long ago.

It was just that no one had expected that, not content with joining themselves, they would turn violent on others for not joining as well.

Hearing this, Zhang Minglu tried asking a few questions.

"You resort to violence for this reason? Don’t you realize your actions are a serious violation of the law?"

"Have you forgotten? You originally claimed the purpose of your practice was to use the spores to strengthen yourselves. Why are you now forcing others to follow your way of thinking?"

"Do you still have any self-awareness? Can you recognize that your reasoning doesn’t justify your use of violence in the slightest?"

Zhang Minglu’s questions were met only with irrelevant answers, such as "Join our great family."

He shook his head at Dragon Soul. "It seems these ’Pioneers’ have already entered the fourth stage."

Manifestations of the fourth stage of spore parasitism: Self-awareness is suspected to be under severe interference, and extreme aggression is displayed toward those not addicted to the spores.

Dragon Soul said, "Doctor, those who have entered the fourth stage are now a threat to others."

"That’s right."

Zhang Minglu found the person in charge and had him isolate all who had shown aggression, placing them under close observation for any further changes.

He had a faint feeling that the fourth stage was not the final one. ’But what could come after violence? Could they really undergo significant physiological transformations and become something like monsters?’

However, since this stage was already marked by aggression, all quarantine zones everywhere would have to heighten their security.

The two left Quarantine Zone 3 and headed back to the base.

Zhang Minglu’s mood was heavy. He said to Dragon Soul, "Have you noticed? The first ones to enter the fourth stage of parasitism are all ordinary people."

"Yes," Dragon Soul said. "Ascenders seem to have a certain Resistance, which slows the rate of parasitism."

"Psychic Power provides Ascenders with comprehensive physical enhancement. For the same level of parasitism, while the deterioration is slower than in ordinary people, it still happens... If Ascender Infected widely enter the fourth stage and develop violent tendencies in the future, suppressing and controlling them will not be so simple."

"Do you have any ideas, Doctor?"

"I believe prevention is always less costly than a cure. After we get back to the base, we must conduct a thorough screening to at least ensure we don’t have this problem internally."

Zhang Minglu paused and said, "When you get back, check the recent dietary records of every Ascender at the base. If anyone has suddenly started eating less or not eating at all, tell me immediately when I return."

"Yes, sir. Aren’t you coming back to the base with me, Doctor?"

"No. I need to make a trip to the academy to speak with Shi Jingyi."

...

In a small conference room at the academy.

Shi Jingyi had agreed after hearing from the dean that Zhang Minglu from the Strategy Research Room wanted to talk with her.

When they met, Shi Jingyi asked, "Dr. Zhang, are you here to ask me about Guan Tong’s situation?"

She knew Zhang Minglu was the person in charge of the official Ascenders.

He was responsible for arranging matters such as the selection, training, and team formation of the official Ascenders.

Therefore, she assumed his visit was also related to Guan Tong.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Minglu shook his head and denied it. "No. I’m here about the Alien Spores."

"The Alien Spores?"

"Yes. I know that you, Lecturer Jingyi, unlike the other lecturers, haven’t been rigidly defending against the spores, but have instead been using them in a more natural way, correct?"

Shi Jingyi nodded. "You could say that."

In her own training these past few days, she had indeed felt the boost the spores provided. But she was a far cry from becoming addicted to that power.

"I wonder, has Lecturer Jingyi received any messages from the Alien Civilization?"

"I have indeed seen some fragmented images," Shi Jingyi said. "But they dissipate the moment they appear, because when I practice, I am completely focused. If my mind wanders, I immediately pull my attention back."

Zhang Minglu thought to himself, ’Shi Jingyi can dispel the information from the spores through her own concentration. That’s not something an ordinary person could do... Ordinary people have a hard enough time just entering a meditative state.’

"Dr. Zhang, if you’re hoping to draw on my experience, I’m afraid it won’t be much use. In fact, I’m currently troubled by the situation with some of my own students."

"Students?" Zhang Minglu looked surprised. "There are students at the academy who are addicted to the spores?"

"Yes."

"That’s very dangerous! When the spore parasitism reaches the advanced stages, the host will exhibit violent tendencies and could harm other students!"

"Violent tendencies?" Shi Jingyi’s eyes sharpened. "Then we must indeed prepare. I wonder, how does the government plan to handle this?"

"At this stage, we can only isolate those in advanced stages of parasitism, but that only treats the symptom, not the cause... I came to you this time, Lecturer Jingyi, hoping to hear if you had any suggestions. After all, the ’Psychic Power Flow’ you developed is incredible. Not only did it provide a higher-level application for Psychic Power, but it also helped the official Ascenders break through the limits of the Mind Lock."

Shi Jingyi shook her head slightly. "Although I have been researching new ways to use Psychic Power recently, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about the spores’ influence. I’m sorry I can’t be of help to you, Dr. Zhang."

"Is that so... I see. Well, I wonder if your friend, Guan Tong, might have any insights on this matter? He is, after all, one of the Ascenders at the very forefront of this era."

"..."

Shi Jingyi could see it now. Zhang Minglu hadn’t just come for her advice; he was also hoping to use her as a channel to get information from Guan Tong.

"We haven’t been in contact recently. But if he really had a method for countering spore addiction that could be widely used by the public, I don’t think his personality is one to keep it to himself.

Zhang Minglu nodded, then asked curiously, "I wonder, what new form of Psychic Power usage is Lecturer Jingyi researching? Is it a secret?"

"It’s not really a secret," Shi Jingyi said openly. "It’s a form of combat that uses Psychic Power, outputting it in a fixed pattern. If I were to name it, I would probably call it ’Mind Martial Technique’."

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