Chapter 1177: Chapter 176: Apocalypse
Hoo—
The air suddenly stirred, and a figure flashed out of the void. The moment he landed, he vigilantly scanned his surroundings.
This was an exceptionally bustling modern city district.
The flat and spacious roads, towering skyscrapers, a multitude of dazzling neon light ads, throngs of pedestrians and bustling vehicles—commerce and prosperity pervaded every corner.
This is Times Square in Manhattan, New York, known as the "crossroads of the world."
The suddenly appearing figure was a Caucasian man with black hair, about thirty years old, dressed in a sharp suit and trousers, with a white shirt underneath,
His appearance was rugged and handsome, with a high-bridge nose, lips thin as if carved by a knife, and slightly melancholic deep green eyes, resembling a male model pulled straight from a fashion magazine cover or a runway show.
Of course, he wasn’t a celebrity; he is an agent of the Supernatural Accident Place under the FBI, named AIM.
In the real world, he is named Jacob Griffin, hailing from a banker family in New York. He received an excellent education from a young age, studied psychology at an Ivy League university, and was later recruited into the FBI’s criminal investigation department, joining the Advanced Hostage Rescue Team as a negotiation expert.
It can be said that AIM was undeniably elite before the arrival of the Slaughter Game.
And when the Slaughter Game was launched, he became a player at the first opportunity.
Using his past experience as an FBI agent, he successfully survived the high-mortality beginner period and smoothly advanced all the way.
Before the portal contest began, he ranked twenty-ninth on the global combat power list, second only to David within the FBI.
Even though AIM wasn’t too lucky in the portal contest, running into the demon commander of the Magic Sunflower world shortly after the start and exiting early, without securing more portals for the FBI,
this did not affect his personal strength; he remains one of the players at the top of the Earth’s food chain...
Bam!
AIM suddenly clenched his fist, creating a sound of compressed air, his expression extremely grave and deep.
The mechanical cold voice of the Sky Arena echoed in his ears.
Solo deathmatch,
Contestant, Authentic Supermarket and Clinic...
AIM certainly knew who that was, Li Rising, a former excellent student of the Experimental Middle School of Yin City, owner of the Immaculate Furnace Shop in Game Square, slayer of demon commanders, the mastermind behind the portal contest, nearly singlehandedly destroyed half of Yin City as a Titan Demigod, a natural disaster-level existence acknowledged by all guild organizations...
Before the portal contest, all organizations and guilds believed Li Rising was a player specializing in script task strategies, mastering several logistical skills,
though his personal strength was decent, he was far from being in the top echelons.
However, it was proven later that they were all wrong.
Through various behind-the-scenes machinations, Li Rising won one of the highest-level rewards in the portal contest and surfaced with real strength that left everyone stunned.
All of Li Rising’s information flashed through AIM’s mind,
the Supernatural Accident Place under the FBI had its channels, not only possessing detailed battle reports and analyses of the past Yin City battle, but also Li Rising’s performance in the Sibi King mutation incident post-Yin City battle,
as well as recent records of Li Rising in the deep-sea Giant Beast script world.
Almost impossible to defeat.
A clear and accurate answer arose in AIM’s mind.
The higher in the Slaughter Game player hierarchy, the more self-aware they become.
Li Rising, in Titan Demigod state, is truly formidable, possessing city-level destructive power, let alone his skills capable of super long-distance instant teleportation, and exceptionally well-rounded, energy levels rivaling psychic abilities...
AIM’s mind continued to work, as if the passage of time around him had slowed significantly.
Every player needs to complete ten matches in the preliminary phase of the Destiny Battle, with advancement to the finals based on their performance in these ten matches.
Today is the second match; logically, with AIM ranking twenty-ninth in combat power before the portal contest, he stands a great chance of advancing,
even if he surrendered now, he could make up his score in the remaining eight matches—the FBI and Li Rising have no personal ties; there’s no way the other side would friendly spar, stopping when necessary, playing score-boosting games,
surrendering now might even be a good option—since there’s no trace of Li Rising around for the moment.
Just as AIM’s brain rapidly calculated, debating whether to surrender directly to minimize losses,
the continued mechanical sounds of the Sky Arena instead made his eyes suddenly light up.
[Current mode: Solo Deathmatch with Limited Condition]
[Limited Condition Mode means the Sky Arena issues different task requirements to both players. The first to complete or score higher than the opponent within the specified time frame will be considered the winner.]
Limited deathmatch!
AIM’s spirit lifted; this means there is room for maneuver.
As a high-ranking officer in the Supernatural Accident Place, he had seen numerous Slaughter Game task cases,
among which the limited deathmatch is a relatively special one.
Aside from being able to win directly by killing the opponent, players can compare their progress in executing special tasks to secure victory in a roundabout way.
For example, players might compete to see who can whip up a tastier dish.
Or they might wander in an abandoned haunted hospital, seeing who can stay in the haunted hospital longer without fleeing prematurely.
Or the classic scenario, one side defends a location, protecting hostages,
while the other side tries every means to kidnap or kill the hostages.
The limited deathmatch not only provides a new method to win but also increases the survival rate of players weaker in individual strength against powerful Transcendents.
Specially talented players, like those with exceptional intelligence or specialized in logistics or charisma, often hope for limited deathmatch tasks as it better utilizes their strengths.
AIM calmed down, temporarily setting aside the idea of surrendering and quitting.
"There’s maybe still a chance..."
AIM silently thought to himself, but the next second, he was shocked to the core.
[Mission Brief: Your opponent’s mission target is ’kill as many planet residents as possible,’ and your target is to ’protect as many planet residents as possible.’ If more than 500 million planet residents die due to the activities of both sides within 18 hours, you will lose.]
[Your opponent will be teleported into the current world in 3 hours; you can set up during this period.]
[Good luck.]
"Hiss—"
The handsome AIM gasped sharply, disregarding his image.
Has the Slaughter Game gone insane?!
To use ’billion’ levels of planet residents as mission criteria?
Or am I insane?!
AIM’s mind was racing with thoughts, but in the next moment, the professional discipline of a high-level player forced him to calm down.
Calm down, think.
AIM pressed his lips tightly, no, the conditions of the task proposed by the slaughter game weren’t completely unreasonable,
because limited death matches often occur between two players with significantly disparate individual skills, and he and that Li Rising fit the scenario perfectly,
and the three hours of preparation and setup time seemed relatively reasonable as well.
But this task goal...
AIM furrowed his brow sharply, and at this moment, the divine thoughts he had released received a response.
Something is wrong here.
He looked around; this is the famous Times Square in New York, a place AIM often visited before becoming a player.
The Nasdaq Stock Market’s advertising screen, the center Broadway of the American Opera House... everything seemed normal, except for the passersby, who appeared so peculiar.
Amid the crowd, whether it was well-dressed men and women, artists in bizarre outfits, or the shabby homeless,
their eyes were all bright red, with foreheads generally high and lacking hair.
Simultaneously, their movements appeared slightly unnatural, unlike normal life, as if they were... acting in a role.
AIM immediately made a decision; he opened his palm,
a group of passersby about to cross the street immediately walked over, while the surrounding crowd, under the influence of transcendental power, ignored this strange phenomenon.
AIM looked at the group of pedestrians standing in front of him, his brow furrowed, raised his hand, pressed it against the forehead of one, silently releasing the advanced detection skill called [Information Extraction].
This skill is a special legacy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; it can scan the physical condition of ordinary people, read their memories, and even gather information about events that have occurred around them.
For example, casting this skill on a chef in an American restaurant could tell you what dishes he recently cooked, which customers he likes or dislikes, his personal views on the restaurant owner, his concerns about the American election, and his understanding of American society’s functioning.
[Information Extraction] helps Federal Bureau of Investigation agents quickly gather sufficient background on the world in script missions, including modern ones.
"..."
AIM silently withdrew his palm, stretching it to the second person in the crowd, then the third, and the fourth.
Soon, he acquired all the information he wanted.
At this moment, the intelligent beings residing on this planet are not humans.
They are a special species called brain-eating worms.
Forty years ago, an American Scientific Expedition Team working in Siberia excavated a mammoth carcass that had been frozen for millions of years from the ice and brought it back to the American University.
During this process, the container holding the frozen mammoth carcass malfunctioned; as the carcass warmed, it also awakened the ancient parasites hidden in the remains.
This species, known as the brain-eating worm, is a multicellular organism, much smaller than fleas and lice, capable of spreading through contact. When they come into contact with the human body, they stealthily enter the human brain through the organs such as the mouth, nose, and ears,
proliferating, hollowing out, and even replacing the human brain.
No one knows how these ancient brain-eating worms accomplish these feats, but what’s clear is that humans parasitized by the worms show no outward differences, and their everyday behavior remains completely normal,
and the proliferation and spread rate of the ancient brain-eating worms far exceed imagination,
handshakes, hugs, drinking water, sneezes, blood transfusions, birds, mice...
all modes of contact can serve as platforms for the spread of the ancient brain-eating worms.
Even more terrifying, the ancient brain-eating worms seem to possess a form of collective intelligence,
they understand the existence of modern medicine, strategically parasitizing the medical personnel within a region, including those with medical knowledge, the staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, then politicians and bureaucrats, and finally ordinary people...
The group of ancient brain-eating worms quietly and stealthily spread and disseminated,
during which some ordinary people who faintly noticed the abnormality, like journalists or bureaucrats, were either eradicated or assimilated by the ever-present brain-eating worm hosts.
Soon, the ancient brain-eating worms permeated the world, assimilating and eroding the vast majority of the population,
a minimal number of remaining people finally reacted, attempting to pick up weapons and resist.
However, it was too late; the brain-eating worm group, having fully controlled societal order, suppressed the rebellion of pure humans, completely sweeping away this race.
To this day, only the brain-eating worm species remain on Earth,
their eyes blood-red, growing to resemble insects more and more, even modifying human reproductive methods, becoming oviparous, capable of hatching eggs in hundreds or thousands per birth.
They call themselves "new insectoids," enjoying all the conveniences of human civilization, and continue climbing the human technology tree, developing their science.
According to some new insectoid scholars, the brain-eating worm species likely came from beyond the stars—a yet unknown alien civilization, which crafted genetic seeds of their kind into projectile missiles, loaded them into rockets, and launched them toward millions of planets.
When encountering an intelligent civilization, these genetic seeds hatch, parasitizing the intelligent civilization to expand the insectoid population in the galaxy.
Just like in the movie titled "Alien."
AIM somberly finished reviewing the materials, feeling a slight pang of sorrow—the sorrow for the world where pure humans were completely replaced by new insectoids,
but mostly, it was shock and concern.
The new insectoids, no matter what, are not humans anymore; they are mere parasitic entities munching on human civilization and enjoying the conveniences it provides.
This means a much worse scenario.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation set up an entire database for Li Rising; according to the think tank’s assessment, he displays significant moral deviation.
He will protect the weak and will not look down on ordinary people merely because he possesses transcendental power, nor will he treat them as insignificant dust,
he will even respect ordinary people in some script missions—such behaviour is considered moral within the slaughter game player community.
However, on the other hand, he also holds contempt for certain earthly morals, showing obvious disdain.
Cynical, disdainful of authority, proud and arrogant,
this mindset rapidly deteriorates when faced with evil,
becoming unbounded; it seems like wickedness while actually cold and indifferent.
In certain situations, Li Rising is cruel and ruthless.
AIM silently withdrew his hand from the new insectoid’s forehead, took in the familiar New York cityscape, glimpsed the clock on the giant advertisement screen, and took a deep breath.
Countdown: two hours and fifty minutes.
This time, the end of the world is really coming.
