Chapter 180: Chapter 179: Contacting the Infected
Watching their actions, Shen Feng couldn’t help but frown.
’The bureaucrats of Japan really are a bunch of useless cowards who do nothing but pass the buck...’
He could see it from the earlier Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant incident. To this day, they were still continuously dumping radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
Shen Feng had originally thought that his grave warning, and even the video of the viral outbreak he sent them, would be enough to put Japan on high alert and lead them to implement some strict controls.
’It seems I really overestimated them.’
Not only were there no effective control measures, but the infected zone had actually expanded from the Kanagawa Region to the Tokyo Region!
This made things drastically more serious.
By now, everyone on the plane could see clearly. The people running toward them were split into two groups. At the front were a few terrified individuals, screaming as they ran.
They were a diverse group, including both Japanese and people from Europe and America—tourists who had just gotten off their flights, it seemed.
Behind them were dozens of smiling Japanese people. Many of them wore flight crew uniforms, clearly airport staff.
They were holding knives, wrenches, and other similar objects, and they too were shouting:
"Please wait, we mean you no harm."
"This is merely a small courtesy."
As they spoke, they tackled a few of the slower runners to the ground. Their knives and wrenches rose and fell, and in an instant, several mangled, bloody bodies lay on the tarmac.
Then, with satisfied smiles, they all put their palms together and said in unison, "Time to dig in!"
They used their knives to carve off pieces of the corpses and began stuffing them into their mouths, chewing ravenously!
This hair-raising scene immediately sent the passengers on the plane into fits of screaming. For a moment, no one dared to get off!
Many quickly made the connection to the news they had seen before:
"It’s... it’s the Evil Spirit Virus!"
"Oh my god! What the news said was actually true! Why didn’t the Japanese ever issue a warning?!"
"Quick, record this and post it online!"
"Cannibals! They... they’re eating people! UGH..."
The passengers were now scared out of their wits. Some began pounding desperately on the cockpit door.
"Take off again! We want to go back! We want to go back to Hua Country!"
Shen Feng sighed. He had already connected to the airport’s network, and his Consciousness Antennae began to search for any activity within Japan.
What he didn’t expect was that even with things having reached this point, the Japanese cabinet and government were still sending messages to the outside world claiming everything was fine!
The plague outbreak was described as merely "a slightly serious epidemic," and they expressed confidence that "the disease control department will be able to do their job well," and so on.
’This is all far too abnormal...’ Shen Feng frowned.
’Could the Japanese government itself have known what was really going on?’
’But things have already progressed this far. So what if they knew?’
’It’s completely irreversible now!’
Just then, the cockpit door opened. The captain, his face also filled with terror, said to the crowd:
"Ladies and gentlemen, please... please try not to panic. I’m contacting the control tower to ask for more details..."
What was most bizarre was that even with those people openly murdering and assaulting others outside, no police or authorities had appeared. In fact, planes were still continuously landing, as if everything was perfectly normal.
"...This is Narita Airport. The weather is great today, so please feel free to land. Welcome to Japan, and we wish you a wonderful day... Due to air traffic control, we cannot arrange any departures at this time. Please wait patiently..."
The voice from the tower came through, but it completely ignored the captain’s words. Instead, it signaled for all flights to land safely.
Shen Feng understood in an instant. Narita Airport had already fallen. The control tower had been taken over by those infected with the virus, turning it into a giant trap to lure in fresh food.
On the runway not far from the plane, the dozens of people had already devoured the few victims down to their skeletons, just like a school of piranhas.
Then, they wiped their faces and hands clean with their clothes, put on cheerful expressions, and started running toward the plane!
Screams immediately erupted on the plane. Although there was no boarding ladder next to the aircraft, no one knew if these terrifying creatures would just climb up.
"Close the door! Close the door!"
"What the hell are these people?!"
"Call the police! Call them now!"
Shen Feng sighed and said to the captain, "This place has become an infected zone. Take off and return home immediately. Don’t worry about air traffic control; it’s all fake. The priority is to survive. The longer we wait, the more certain our deaths become."
The captain had recovered from his initial panic by this point. He realized Shen Feng was right and quickly announced to the passengers:
"Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats immediately! We are preparing for an immediate return flight!"
As the cabin door began to slowly close, Shen Feng nodded, then leaped out and landed on the ground below.
This scene caused another round of gasps from inside the plane. ’Jumping from that height, he’ll break his legs! Is that kid tired of living!?’
But no one had time to worry about him now. They couldn’t let all these people stay behind to die with him. The plane’s engines roared to life again, and the massive aircraft began to turn and taxi down the runway.
Several planes that had been quicker on the uptake were already taking off and heading into the distance. The plane Shen Feng had just been on also began to taxi for takeoff.
Everyone on board looked at the young man who had just jumped from the plane, their faces full of confusion, wondering why he would choose to stay in this land of death.
Shen Feng turned his head. The crowd holding knives and other weapons was not far from him now.
Something stirred in the backpack behind him. A mercury-like Nanomechanical Cluster surged out, forming a sealed protective suit over his body. It was capable of blocking nano-scale viruses and biomolecules, filtering the air without compromising its airtight seal.
From the outside, Shen Feng now looked like someone wearing an ordinary biohazard suit, standing there quietly, waiting for the Japanese to arrive.
The group moved extremely fast, their speed comparable to Bolt. Seeing the plane fly away, they first let out cries of disappointment before quickly surrounding Shen Feng.
Only now could Shen Feng finally observe these infected individuals up close.
Most of them looked no different from ordinary people, though perhaps a bit healthier and friendlier.
A few, however, had clearly visible black veins and densely bloodshot eyes.
They also maintained their "sanity" but seemed more frenzied.
Evidently, the latter group had been infected for much longer.
Although he had made some preliminary judgments about the "Evil Spirit" Virus, he had never been this close to an infected person before. Shen Feng was now somewhat curious.
’Can their pathological symptoms be reversed?’
’Or can they no longer even be considered human?’
"SLURP... Hello, are you a tourist visiting Japan? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yamaki Yuichi, an aircrew member at Narita Airport. On behalf of Japan, I welcome you... SLURP..."
The man in the lead, who wore a uniform, spoke with a broad smile, his hands holding the knife hidden behind his back as if he were afraid of scaring Shen Feng.
Although the others were also drooling, they quickly introduced themselves as well. Most of them were airport staff, and they still maintained a polite demeanor toward a foreign traveler, as if afraid of bringing shame to Japan.
However, the infected whose black veins and bloodshot eyes were most prominent spoke somewhat unclearly. They couldn’t even introduce themselves properly, seemingly suffering from memory loss.
Shen Feng couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, having discovered a new trait.
’Prolonged infection may lead to memory loss and logical confusion.’
Yamaki Yuichi spoke again:
"Excuse me, guest, where have you come from? Would you need us to tell you about the situation in Tokyo? If you need any help, please don’t hesitate to ask. SLURP..."
His words were sincere and his attitude proper; it didn’t seem like an act at all.
If it weren’t for the gulping and drooling, he would have been a model Japanese citizen.
Very polite.
But by now, the other infected individuals around them seemed unable to hold back any longer.
The meat they had just eaten was digesting rapidly, making them feel hungry again.
Shen Feng smiled faintly and said:
"Come on. Eat me."
"Oh, oh! A request from our guest!"
"What a hospitable person! SLURP..."
"We can’t disappoint our guest’s kindness! SLURP..."
Hearing Shen Feng’s words, the group of infected instantly went into a frenzy. The last remnants of their reason and logic shattered, and they lunged at him like wild beasts!
With the guest’s permission, they no longer needed to go to the trouble of pretending to be gentlemen. They didn’t have to worry about being impolite anymore!
Shen Feng snorted. A mass from the Nanomechanical Cluster suddenly shot out of his backpack, instantly forming dozens of metallic tentacles, like a mechanical octopus, that stabbed toward the infected!
"SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH..."
A series of sounds like sharp blades piercing flesh rang out. A hole was punctured in each of the infected, and blood immediately gushed out, already turned blackish-red by their high body temperatures.
The mechanical tentacles pulled out from their bodies, dripping with blood.
Shen Feng observed the infected closely and immediately noticed that they weren’t grievously wounded or falling. They merely looked at their wounds with puzzled expressions, as if they hadn’t felt a thing, and lunged at him again!
Shen Feng clicked his tongue.
’These things really are like zombies. After being infected, they lose their sense of pain and can withstand massive trauma.’
’Clearly, this is caused by the virus.’
’I just wonder if they’re also like zombies in that destroying the brain will stop them.’
The mechanical tentacles behind him danced again, suddenly stabbing outward like the spines of a sea urchin.
The brains of half the infected present were pierced and scrambled. Several others were either decapitated, sliced in half, or had their skulls and brains split open.
The infected whose brains had been destroyed immediately fell to the ground, completely silent.
As for the few who were decapitated, their bodies were still, but their eyes were still blinking.
Those who had been cut in half continued to crawl tenaciously toward Shen Feng with their upper bodies, including Yamaki Yuichi.
There was no fear in the eyes of these infected, only greed!
A greed for flesh and blood!
’This is getting a little tricky...’
Shen Feng frowned.
’They can retain partial sanity, even learn to disguise themselves, and they’re hard to kill and extremely infectious. Who am I supposed to reason with about something like this...?’
Thinking this, he casually snatched the sharp knife from Yamaki Yuichi’s hand and said, "I’ll be borrowing this, thanks."
Then, with a solemn expression, he bent down and began to study the exposed brain of one of the infected right there on the spot.
The sharp blade peeled back the thin membrane on the brain’s surface, gently slicing open the cerebral cortex to probe inside.
"Jingwei, strictly record all observed images and data. Compare and analyze them against a healthy brain."
Shen Feng said, casually smashing open Yamaki Yuichi’s cranial cavity at the same time.
’The answer... should be in here.’