49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 332: Chapter 309: End of the Rule, Parasite Rampage

January 1st, New Year’s Day, arrived as expected.

The moment the clock struck 9:00, the Fire Thief’s voice rang out, right on schedule.

However, the message people heard could vary.

[Congratulations on passing the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule.]

[Your reward has been sent to your Storage Chest.]

[The Fifteenth Apocalypse Rule will be released in fifteen days.]

After hearing the Fire Thief’s message, Zhang Minglu didn’t check the reward in his Storage Chest. Instead, he stared at the advanced-stage Parasites who had been gathered on the soccer field.

At that moment, both sides of the soccer field were lined with heavily armed soldiers.

The threat posed by the dark muzzles of their guns was unmistakable.

Behind the soldiers, the Research Division’s special task force was also on standby.

If these individuals showed signs of monstrous transformation the moment the rule ended, then purification would be necessary.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

[The rule has ended.]

[You have failed this rule’s challenge. The penalty has been enacted.]

[The Fifteenth Apocalypse Rule will be released in fifteen days.]

This message resounded in the minds of everyone on the soccer field.

Strangely, most of them remained calm, as if they hadn’t heard a thing.

"Excellent! No monstrous transformations!"

On the high platform, the director of the quarantine zone was ecstatic as he looked down at the field.

"Could it be they weren’t fully infected? Did they actually pass the rule?"

Zhang Minglu, standing beside him, immediately shut him down. "Impossible."

He knew for a fact that these were all advanced-stage Parasites. Many of them had even been infected since the very first day of the rule.

If even they could pass, then who in the world could possibly fail?

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"We already passed! Why are you pointing guns at us!"

"We protest! We demand to be released immediately! This is unlawful imprisonment!"

The crowd on the field suddenly erupted in shouts, their faces filled with indignation as they protested their detainment and the threat of firearms.

Seeing this, the armed soldiers exchanged uncertain glances.

These people looked fine. They hadn’t turned into the Parasite monsters everyone had expected. They were still human.

"In any case, the rule is over, and they haven’t shown any aggression," the quarantine zone director said. "It’s getting hard to justify keeping them detained. Dr. Zhang, shouldn’t we let them go?"

Zhang Minglu didn’t answer. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he stared at the crowd.

As his gaze swept over them, he keenly noticed some individuals exchanging subtle glances, communicating with their eyes.

Others tried too hard to appear different, standing off to the side by themselves, but their isolation seemed awkward and deliberate.

This unsettling atmosphere, combined with their behavior during the previous stages of infection and the mention of a "Survival Treasure Chest" in the rule’s rewards... all of it fused into a terrifying thought that leaped into Zhang Minglu’s mind.

"No, something’s wrong!"

"There’s something wrong with these people... something very wrong!"

Zhang Minglu’s voice trembled. He immediately pulled out his phone and contacted Gao Liangwei at the countermeasures lab.

"Mr. Gao! Listen to me! Under no circumstances can you let any quarantine zone release the advanced-stage Parasites they’ve been holding!"

Gao Liangwei’s voice was grave. "What have you discovered?"

"These people are already ’dead’! They’re still alive, but their consciousness is gone! The spores! The Alien Spores must have replaced their consciousness!"

Zhang Minglu was certain the Fire Thief didn’t make mistakes.

If the Fire Thief had included a "Survival Treasure Chest" as a reward for passing, and there was no other explanation, then the penalty for failure had to be death!

And the previous stages of infection... from self-preservation, to flocking together, then eating less, and finally violence... it was the complete process of the spores taking over the host’s body.

First, they preserve the host’s body. Then, they use the flocking instinct to accelerate the parasitic process... By that stage, the spores are already deeply rooted within the host.

The next step is to weaken the host’s own strength, and eating and sleeping less is the most direct way to do that. Finally, they use guided hallucinations and violence to completely shatter the host’s self-control!

"If I’m not mistaken... these people—no, these Parasites—may look the same, but their minds have been completely replaced by a monstrous consciousness. And they very likely possess the original host’s memories! The end of the rule doesn’t mean the end of their existence. On the contrary, it’s made them even more dangerous than before!"

The more Zhang Minglu spoke, the more his own fear grew.

Gao Liangwei had fallen silent on the other end of the line, but his heavy breathing betrayed the weight of the revelation.

"They’ve learned to disguise themselves! If we let them leave the quarantine zone and blend into the population, finding them again will be next to impossible. That’s why we can’t let them out, no matter what!"

"...I understand. Dr. Zhang, your discovery is critical. I’ll immediately notify every quarantine zone in the country and relay this information to the other nations."

The call ended. Before Zhang Minglu could even lower his phone, he heard Dragon Soul’s serious voice.

"Doctor, be careful. It looks like they’re ready to fight to the death."

Zhang Minglu looked up at his words, and his heart seized.

The crowd on the soccer field, which had been a cacophony of shouts and protests moments ago, had fallen completely silent.

All of them were staring intently at the platform, having clearly identified Zhang Minglu and the others as the administrators of the quarantine zone.

The dead silence from hundreds of people, even in broad daylight, was enough to send a chill down any sane person’s spine.

The quarantine zone director’s voice trembled. "Dr. Zhang, what do we..."

Before he could finish, the Parasites on the field suddenly roared in unison.

"Spread!"

"Spread!"

"Spread!"

Shouting, they charged madly toward the platform, their agile, powerful movements like a pack of wild beasts.

"Quick! Stop them!"

"Fire!"

Although they still looked human, they now felt like monsters. The soldiers didn’t hesitate to pull their triggers. Yet, many of the Parasites who were hit only faltered for a moment before continuing their charge!

This struck fear into the hearts of many soldiers. Just then, Zhang Minglu’s voice boomed across the field through a megaphone; he had taken command.

"These Parasites have been thoroughly transformed by the spores, unlocking their full physical potential! Regular soldiers, fall back immediately! Task Force, move in!"

The task force he had brought, composed of several dozen elite Ascenders, now faced hundreds of beast-like people. Though their hearts were pounding, the order had been given, and they had no choice but to brace themselves and charge forward.

Normally, an elite Ascender could take on a hundred ordinary people without breaking a sweat. It was just like the academy student, Shen Yun, who had killed or wounded numerous ordinary people with a single move at Cangying Ridge.

But the situation was different now.

Just as Zhang Minglu had said, the spores had unlocked the absolute physical limits of these hundreds of Parasites. Even if they were once ordinary people, they had now become something like "perfected humans," their combat strength massively enhanced.

Furthermore, the terrifying momentum of several hundred people charging fearlessly put immense pressure on the task force, leading to a host of errors.

One elite Ascender, facing several madly charging Parasites, was so terrified that his hands trembled and he dropped his weapon. The next moment, he was beaten, bitten, and torn limb from limb.

Dragon Soul could no longer stand by and watch. If he didn’t join the fray, the task force would be decimated, even if they managed to suppress the hundreds of Parasites.

"Doctor, I’m going to help them."

"Good! Dragon Soul, go quickly!"

Zhang Minglu said quickly. He didn’t want the task force he’d brought to be wiped out in its very first real battle.

The state of the battle couldn’t help but remind him of how Guan Tong had always stressed the importance of real combat experience back at the academy.

’Guan Tong was right. Real combat experience is so important. These elite Ascenders look good in training, but the moment they face a truly ferocious enemy, they’re too prone to making mistakes under pressure...’

Zhang Minglu shook his head again.

’No, now isn’t the time to be thinking about that. The biggest problem right now is how to deal with the threat these Parasites pose!’

’And... what exactly did they mean when they shouted "Spread"? The rule is over, so how could the spores possibly continue to spread?!’

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