Chapter 181: Chapter 180: Fallen
The moment Shen Feng peeled back the membrane to reveal the brain, he saw that Yamaki Yuichi’s was already significantly different from a normal human’s.
Aside from the expected folds and grooves, Yamaki Yuichi’s brain now had numerous pitted and uneven areas.
Cutting it open with his blade revealed small holes.
Like a block of Swiss cheese.
The densely packed holes seemed to have appeared recently, but they were clearly growing larger.
Brain spongification.
Based on Shen Feng’s current medical knowledge, this strongly resembled Kuru Disease, which is caused by a Prion Virus.
In human history, the Eastern Highlands Indigenous Tribes of Papua New Guinea had a custom of eating the organs of their deceased relatives.
This horrific custom allowed the Prion Virus to spread through the digestive tract, infecting person after person.
Kuru Disease has a long incubation period, ranging from four to thirty years. Its onset is insidious. In the prodromal stage, patients only feel headaches and joint pain, followed by ataxia, tremors, and involuntary movements, including chorea and myoclonus. In the late stages of the disease, progressive dementia and neurological abnormalities appear.
The clinical features of this disease are tremors and ataxia followed by dementia. Most patients die within three to six months of onset.
The word "kuru" in the local language means "to tremble with fear."
In the late stages of Kuru Disease, patients lose their memory and cannot recognize family and friends. Sometimes, they will involuntarily burst into inexplicable laughter, which is why Kuru Disease was also once known as the "laughing sickness."
Upon autopsy, the brains of the afflicted all showed spongiform characteristics.
The prion disease that spreads in animals is called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. The disease spreads among animals due to the use of improperly processed animal offal as feed.
However, the difference was that Kuru Disease and mad cow disease were brain lesions and infections caused by consuming one’s own species.
But now, it seemed the those infected with the Evil Spirit Virus had it reversed.
They consumed their own kind *because* they were infected with the virus...
’Furthermore, Prion Virus-related diseases are typically transmitted through ingestion, iatrogenic means, or heredity. I’ve never heard of one being airborne.’
Shen Feng then dissected the brains of several more infected individuals, his expression growing progressively grim.
The degree of spongification in the infected’s brains varied. Those with black veins appearing on the surface of their bodies were in the most severe condition.
Their brains already looked like frozen tofu.
The brains showed varying degrees of atrophy, with large amounts of amyloid and mushy structures appearing. Each brain seemed to be transforming in the same way.
This transformation was irreversible.
In other words, once infected with this virus, unless one could find a way to halt the deterioration in a very short time, they would completely transform into a non-human entity.
Shen Feng had considered this possibility before, but he hadn’t expected the progression to be so rapid.
’It was as if someone was personally drilling holes in the infected’s brains...’
"Jingwei, take pictures of the samples here and upload them to the game space... Select the Stone Statue Apocalypse."
Shen Feng said.
He then felt the silicon-based framework behind his eyes being controlled by Jingwei, which began to record the visual information here.
As Jingwei recorded the information, it reminded him:
"Shen Feng, I suggest you hurry up. It seems like more and more of the infected are gathering..."
Shen Feng turned his head and saw that the situation had changed again.
Tens of thousands of people were swarming from the direction of the airport terminal, rushing toward the planes that had just landed.
Among them, quite a few were even driving shuttle buses!
Shen Feng even suspected that if the military were infected, they would likely start shooting to hunt their prey directly!
In the distance, a set of air stairs was brought to a flight that had recently landed. The people on the plane, not noticing anything unusual, immediately opened the cabin door.
A group of passengers appeared at the doorway with puzzled expressions, looking down at the crowd of smiling Japanese people at the bottom of the stairs.
Before they could even ask a question, the Japanese had already eagerly scrambled up the stairs and rushed into the cabin.
What followed was a burst of terrified screams and agonizing cries. Blood splattered across the windows!
Meanwhile, several planes without air stairs were besieged by service lifts, and some of the infected began climbing up them.
The infected’s conditions varied. Some still maintained a polite, insincere, fake smile, while others had become as furious and violent as zombies from a movie!
’Of course, the reason they became like this was perhaps related to their certainty that no one here would survive.’
’With no surviving witnesses, they wouldn’t lose face.’
’In other words, if you think being seen is embarrassing, just kill the person who saw you.’
At that moment, dozens of infected were also sprinting toward Shen Feng’s position. Although he had used his Nanomechanical Cluster to create a sealed hazmat suit for himself, the infected could clearly distinguish who was one of them.
’I can’t stay here any longer.’
Besides, the equipment here was insufficient. To study the virus information further, he had to find a hospital or medical institution and use their precision equipment.
With this in mind, Shen Feng ran directly toward the oncoming infected.
’I don’t know what Tokyo has become. Maybe the infection is still primarily confined to transportation hubs like the airport.’
’The worst-case scenario is that the entire Tokyo Region has become an epidemic zone.’
’Trying to get around an epidemic zone on foot would be extremely difficult.’
His target was the shuttle bus driven by the infected.
Shen Feng had already switched to his combat form. At the same time, his Nanomechanical Cluster continuously assimilated the ground, replicating more Nanomechanical Insects to thicken the hazmat suit on his body.
Although he had injected the Antiviral Serum, he didn’t know if the stuff actually worked. Shen Feng couldn’t afford to be careless now.
’I’m down to my last half-a-biological-brain. If it gets infected and turned into frozen tofu, who could I even complain to?’
Seeing Shen Feng actually running toward them, the infected all revealed joyful expressions, and the shuttle bus slowed down a bit.
Just then, Shen Feng suddenly leaped up like a cannonball, heading straight for the shuttle bus. With a BOOM, he smashed through the bus’s windshield and stomped the driver’s head into pulp!
He tossed the driver’s corpse out, and before the infected outside could react, Shen Feng was already in the driver’s seat, slamming on the gas and speeding toward the edge of the airport!
Meanwhile, the infected inside the shuttle bus came to their senses. Forgetting all pretense of politeness, they lunged at Shen Feng.
Without even turning his head, the Nanomechanical Cluster behind Shen Feng once again coalesced into sharp metal spikes that shot toward the infected.
PFFT! PFFT! PFFT... With the sound of sharp points piercing flesh, the infected were all stabbed through their eye sockets and collapsed to the floor.
"ROAR—" A frantic roar suddenly erupted from a corner of the bus. A metal spike Shen Feng was extending shuddered violently. Then, the silver-gray Nanomechanical Cluster burst in an arc of electricity, turning into a blackish-brown powder that drifted to the floor.
’An electromagnetic pulse!’
Shen Feng’s eyes widened. He instantly shot out dozens of metal spikes, turning the roaring infected into a porcupine and blowing its head apart!
Only after finishing all this did he have a moment to look at the corpse in the rearview mirror. His entire back was soaked with cold sweat.
This was an infected individual whose entire body was covered in black veins, its blood-red eyes looking as if they were about to drip blood.
It had clearly been infected for a long time.
Shen Feng was one hundred percent certain that the creature’s roar had just emitted an electromagnetic pulse!
Although it wasn’t very powerful, only covering a one-to-two-meter radius around itself, it was a genuine electromagnetic pulse. It had instantly destroyed a portion of Shen Feng’s Nanomechanical Cluster—the metal spike!
’What the hell is going on!?’
’These infected can actually launch electromagnetic pulse attacks?’
’When I was dissecting those brains just now, I didn’t see any mechanical structures at all...’
By now, the shuttle bus had reached the edge of the airport. A chain-link fence lay ahead.
Shen Feng slammed on the gas. With a BOOM, the shuttle bus smashed through the fence and plunged into a thicket. After CRACKING and SNAPPING through some small trees and bushes, it finally broke out of Narita Airport and onto the highway.
As far as the eye could see, the highway was a scene of utter chaos. Cars were stopped haphazardly all over the road, and people were running for their lives.
Some were clearly infected, hunting their prey. They wore their signature smiles, while the people fleeing before them let out miserable screams.
Several cars were burning, spewing thick smoke. Gathered around the fires were infected individuals holding human limbs, drooling with anticipation as they barbecued!
Tokyo was falling!
’The infection speed of this thing is just too fast...’
Shen Feng’s brow furrowed. He suddenly accelerated, ramming a small car out of the way and crushing several infected who tried to block his path, heading for the nearest large hospital he had just located.
At the same time, he split off a portion of his Consciousness Antennae to enter cyberspace through the still-functioning local network, sending a summons to all members of the Salvation Army.
The cataclysm has begun. Enter the Stone Statue Apocalypse mission scenario immediately!