Chapter 115: Save the Saviour(21)
Huang’s sudden arrival made the already somewhat tense atmosphere even more intense. Everyone exchanged glances and then quickly followed Huang Researcher to the underground research facility.
At this moment, almost all the researchers in the underground lab were gathered outside a glass research wall. When Old Meng and Ren Zhu arrived, these researchers voluntarily made way, but their expressions were somewhat difficult to describe. Once Old Meng and Ren Zhu took their positions, the black-clad researcher controlling the console near the glass wall began to explain the situation.
“Old Meng, we obtained this black stone eight days ago. That night, Ah Huang worked overnight to create this remotely controlled isolation mechanical research device using the existing research equipment. We began studying this stone. However, strange things occurred during the research.”
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the black-clad researcher, who pushed up his glasses and continued, “Due to the catastrophic accidents that have occurred before, we assigned two people to watch the situation inside the research facility during our research. We were afraid of any further accidents. Afterward, we felt incredibly foresighted because within these eight days, three accidents happened.”
“First, Xiao Bai’s assistant was influenced and attempted to secretly open the glass wall to enter the research room. Fortunately, he was stopped. But during the interruption, he displayed clear signs of agitation and irrational aggressive behavior. When asked about his feelings at the time, he said it was as if his mind was suddenly controlled, as though a voice in his head was telling him to go inside. Since then, we suspected that there might be some kind of life form on this stone that we are unaware of.”
“Later, there were two similar incidents, each escalating in intensity. The third time, the researcher influenced by it even used his psychic power to attack when others tried to stop him, nearly causing the deaths of two people.”
The elite black-clad researcher sneered, “Even if we hadn’t discovered anything, just observing the abnormal behavior of these three researchers indicated that something was wrong with this stone. But we didn’t just stop there; we actually detected quite a lot.”
“My experimental methods are too complicated for you to understand. I’ll skip those details. I’ll just tell you the results: through our research, we have confirmed that there is a life form inside this black stone. This life form has never appeared on Earth before, and it matures and is triggered under specific conditions. When those conditions aren’t met, it looks just like a harmless pebble. But in fact, even before its birth, it possesses strong abilities. These abilities seem like some kind of mental suggestion, but in reality, they’re just ultrasonic waves that humans can’t hear but their bodies can sense. That’s why it appears as if they are suddenly being misled. However, this is just one of the inherent abilities of these insectoid creatures, making their hatching and hunting more convenient. Once they hatch, they should replace human or zombie brains and become a new race in the guise of humans. Have you all watched those movies about alien worms? The thing inside this stone should be something similar to those alien worms.”
After the black-clad researcher finished speaking, those who heard his words visibly shuddered. Comparatively, becoming a zombie was more acceptable than having your brain consumed by someone else and turning into something else. For a moment, everyone’s guard was up, and they felt disgust toward the small stone inside the glass wall, which was gradually turning redder.
As if sensing danger, the stone suddenly began to vibrate at a high frequency. Everyone could see that it was vibrating, but the researcher responsible for monitoring its condition turned pale and said, “Boss, the vibration frequency of this thing is approaching its critical threshold. If it triggers strong resonance, even our bulletproof glass might not hold up!”
Hearing this, the black-clad researcher’s eyes turned cold and stern, “Activate the research video recording. Alternate between extreme cold and extreme heat attacks. We must break that shell before it matures and see what this extraterrestrial visitor really looks like.”
Following the orders of the black-clad researcher, two special material nozzles appeared beside the black stone. Flames and crushed ice alternately sprayed out from these nozzles. Watching the stone go from hot red to being frozen into a block of ice and then break after being heated again, the onlookers couldn’t help but silently remind themselves that no matter what, they must show respect for these scientific lunatics. These guys were the ultimate beasts hiding under those white lab coats. Once they took off their lab coats, they could definitely dominate the world.
Clearly, even an experienced extraterrestrial worm couldn’t withstand prolonged, extreme temperature attacks. The visibly red outer shell of the stone shattered after being frozen once again.
After the incredibly strong and seemingly unbreakable stone shell fell, what appeared in front of everyone was an exceptionally strange-looking, pink insect. This creature had eight legs, with the first two resembling the large blades of a mantis. It had a slender tail with a hooked end at the back. However, these were not the most unsettling aspects. The most distinctive feature was its head, which bore a striking resemblance to a human head, but of the kind that hadn’t developed properly: slender red eyes, a nose with only two holes, and a mouth split open. It appeared incredibly dangerous and very much like the description of a “scheming villain” in certain contexts.
Onlookers: “…” It was so ugly that it was unbearable to look at.
This human-faced worm seemed to sense the discrimination from the crowd. It screamed and rushed toward the glass wall with terrifying speed.
Bang! A loud sound echoed as the highly defensive glass wall, which wasn’t much larger than a palm, cracked into a spiderweb-like pattern from the impact of the small insect. Coupled with its immensely ferocious and ugly appearance, the onlookers outside the glass wall instinctively retreated several steps, fearing that the worm might suddenly break through and do something.
Old Meng took a deep breath. “Xiao Hei, make sure to keep it contained and study its weaknesses and attack methods. This is extremely important for humanity. However, if you find that you can’t control it due to any reason, you have my permission to destroy it.”
“Open satellite communication here. I need to inform all the major bases.”
The appearance of this new enemy brought a somber mood to the crowd, but it also ignited anger and determination to fight back against the invaders. Humans were strange creatures; when facing a virus, they couldn’t help but feel despair and helplessness. But once the adversary became worms with comparable intelligence that invaded with hostility, all the despair and helplessness turned into anger and action.
“… This is what I want to tell everyone. We now have a living example in front of us. According to the information from our ability user team, these extraterrestrial worms have hatched 30% of their population, while 60% are still dormant. I hope everyone will pay more attention to the details during the battle against zombies. It would be best if you could identify and eliminate these alien worms that have hatched and exhibit strange behavior. If not, please be cautious and well-protected. Don’t become bait for these extraterrestrial worms unwittingly.”
This news shocked the major bases around the world. If it weren’t for the extraterrestrial worm still vigorously pounding against the glass wall in front of them, they wouldn’t have believed that the world-ending scenario caused by a virus had turned into an invasion by extraterrestrial worms. However, once they realized this, the leaders of each major base quickly issued instructions on how to deal with the extraterrestrial worms. The leaders who survived until now weren’t fools. In the face of this significant event related to the survival of humanity, the conflicts between countries had become trivial. Therefore, the communication and resource sharing between different bases were quickly established, aiming to identify the weaknesses and attack methods of the extraterrestrial worms in the shortest possible time.
However, apart from this, the leaders of each base had realized a very serious issue.
“Old Meng, you mentioned that these worms have a worm queen and worm commanders? Let’s put aside the commanders and the unhatched worm eggs for now. Catching the queen first is the key. We must find the worm queen and kill her. Having a worm queen and not having one are completely different levels and standards for these worms. Anyone who’s seen Animal Kingdom knows this.”
Listening to the words of his old rival from the American base, Old Meng’s expression also turned serious. “You’re right. In any case, we must locate and kill the worm queen before she hatches. However, we currently don’t have the specific location of the worm queen. We can only dispatch an ability user team to search for her. The immediate task is to produce a detection device that can sense meteor fluctuations and presence. However, until specific conditions are met, these extraterrestrial meteorites are indistinguishable from ordinary Earth stones. Not to mention locating the heavily guarded worm queen.”
As a result, the satellite videos of various bases were linked together. Currently, the top researchers from each base were gathered, staring at the satellite video and listening to the information provided by the three researchers, Hei, Bai, and Huang, about the characteristics of these extraterrestrial worms. They brainstormed and collided ideas on how to create a detection device in the shortest possible time.
“Ah, before that, we have a rather inconvenient research result that can help determine whether the stones we find are worm eggs or not.” Researcher Bai pondered for a moment and then brought up the condition. “It seems that human blood is very suitable for their nourishment. That’s why the researchers were accidentally controlled and cut their palms. So, if any team finds a peculiar stone that attracts zombies, just drop a drop of human blood on it and see if it gets absorbed and if a faint red hue appears. That will confirm whether it’s an extraterrestrial worm egg or not.”
“The problem with this method is that it’s very wasteful of blood and carries some risk. It’s better to bring the suspected stones back and then conduct experiments. However, nearly hatched worm eggs will attract zombies. They let zombies consume them, making their incubation within the zombies’ brains safer. So, if someone picks up a stone that’s particularly attractive to zombies, it’s highly likely that it’s a worm egg.”
The researchers quickly recorded and intensified their studies.
Then, within one night, these world-class minds managed to create a simple tool to detect the worm eggs. This tool seemed quite amusing—it was a long metal pole with a thin plastic tube tied to it, along with a circular metal piece. The plastic tube was filled with the blood of espers, and the two ends were fitted with special caps that prevented the liquid from flowing out while allowing the scent of blood to evaporate.
People could hold up the metal rod and sweep it over the ground. If…When there are about-to-hatch extraterrestrial worm eggs present, they are attracted and vibrated by blood, emitting their unique sound waves. These sound waves can’t be heard by humans through their ears, but they undeniably exist and can influence human behavior, making humans detect them and contribute their blood. Therefore, on this simplified detector, a technological component has been incorporated: the circular metal piece serves as an ultrasonic wave amplifier. When the worm eggs emit sound, this sound is influenced by the circular metal piece to become a sharp sound that can be heard by human ears. The circular metal piece is connected to a specialized decibel meter. Whenever it receives sound, it will be displayed on a small electronic screen at the part of the metal rod where a person holds it. This way, the about-to-hatch worm eggs can be detected.
So, on the early morning of the second day, everyone in the original city base was assembled at the Old Center Square. Old Meng and the leaders of five other bases stood in the center of the square, each holding the simplified worm detector. Their expressions were serious and focused, as if they were about to undertake a monumental task.
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