Chapter 183: Chapter 182: Eastern Capital Hell
The Commander is in the Tokyo Epidemic Zone!
Hearing Shen Feng’s words, many of the Salvation Army Warriors instantly looked shocked, and some even shot to their feet.
"How could you put yourself in danger!"
"You are the last line of defense for human civilization. If anything happens to you..."
"Please reconsider, Commander!"
"Please leave the epidemic zone immediately!"
"..."
When they had first encountered the "True Apocalypse Game," they hadn’t felt much of a connection to its mysterious developer, Shen Feng. He was just a powerful, enigmatic figure. But now, they had long since accepted him as their Commander in their hearts.
Often, when they lay awake at night contemplating the future of human civilization, they would even find themselves secretly grateful for the existence of a powerful figure like Shen Feng to guide their steps.
And now, hearing his words, many became extremely anxious, wishing they could instantly take his place.
The Legion Commander’s face darkened as well, and he said loudly:
"Commander, your actions are extremely irresponsible! Your very existence is a responsibility to all of human civilization—how can you be so reckless? Please tell us your location immediately. I will request that the Hua Country military extract you at any cost! No, I will lead the team myself!"
Many of the players had already guessed from the Legion Commander’s consistent military bearing and formidable strategic and tactical skills that he was likely a high-ranking member of the Hua Country military. His words now confirmed it.
But at a time like this, the Legion Commander clearly couldn’t be bothered with such things.
Seeing the players’ passionate outcry, Shen Feng felt a warmth in his heart and continued:
"Please, rest assured. I am in no danger. The epidemic zone has now entered a deep infection stage. Someone has to go deep inside to find the source of it all. This is something only I can do. As for you..."
His tone shifted as he spoke:
"...You must cooperate with me immediately to cordon off and quarantine all epidemic zones on a global scale, and at the same time, work with me to find a way to fight the Evil Spirit Virus... This is not a request. It is an order!"
Everyone was now on their feet. Hearing Shen Feng’s words, they were filled with a mix of emotions as they responded in unison:
"Yes, sir!"
During the previous Gray Tide apocalypse mission, despite the extreme danger, they were ultimately told that the Commander had silently averted the crisis. At the time, many had felt a little regretful that they couldn’t fight alongside the Commander. They never expected that moment would arrive so soon!
Shen Feng nodded and said:
"Very good. First, I’ll give a brief introduction to the Evil Spirit Virus. The most difficult thing to guard against is that while the infected suffer a severe loss of logic, they can still hide themselves during the initial stages of infection, and then go on to rapidly create more infected."
"The control towers of major airports in the Tokyo Region are now constantly broadcasting decoy signals to lure new flights into landing, turning them into prey. It’s highly likely the entire Xia Pass area is the same. I’ve intercepted many reports of the epidemic from low and mid-level officials to the Japanese government, but they have all been ignored. At the same time, a large number of infected are ’debunking’ the real epidemic online, confusing the public. This is also why the Tokyo Epidemic Zone remains in such chaos."
"Furthermore, this virus did not break out from a single source, but from multiple sources simultaneously. That man who was eating people on the plane was infected near Ota Street in Kanagawa. There should be several other similar sources of infection, which is another reason why the Tokyo Region fell so quickly."
"The virus is also airborne, spreading through aerosols, and the viral load required for infection is extremely small. In addition, the incubation period varies from person to person. The shortest recorded time to onset is two minutes, while some carriers of the virus have yet to show any symptoms..."
Hearing Shen Feng’s words, the group finally understood what was really happening in Japan.
This was the worst-case scenario.
The country had lost its core. Its entire central government had been practically wiped out. It was on the verge of complete collapse...
Ito Sanroku’s face was deathly pale. As if struck by a heavy blow, he swayed and muttered:
"What do we do... what do we do... Is Japan... Is Japan doomed...?"
Although he was a respected doctor and might have ways of dealing with viruses, he was completely helpless in the face of such a chaotic political situation.
Just then, a player who had the appearance of an ordinary man from Europe or America suddenly stood up and said to Shen Feng:
"Commander! I beg you to save Japan! I... I need your help! I need everyone’s help!"
Shen Feng seemed completely unsurprised. He said:
"You need video evidence from Xia Pass and proof that the entire cabinet is infected? I can give it to you."
The player nodded excitedly, then suddenly deactivated his virtual disguise, revealing the face of an ordinary-looking, middle-aged Japanese man. He looked around at the others and said:
"Things have come to this, so there’s no need for me to hide anymore. Everyone, I am Yoshikawa Hiroshi, Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. I was on an inspection tour in Kyushu these past two days, which is how I escaped this disaster. If... if the entire cabinet has perished, then I am the last remaining cabinet member... I will become the acting prime minister, declare a national state of emergency, and order the Self-defense Force and the Eagle Country forces stationed in Japan to quarantine the Tokyo and Kanagawa epidemic zones. If any of you here have similar authority, I hope you can provide support for my country’s epidemic prevention efforts. I beg of you!"
With that, Yoshikawa Hiroshi walked out from his seat, came before Shen Feng, and prostrated himself, kneeling and begging.
Even though it was a virtual reality world, his tears fell to the floor, wetting a small patch.
As a Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries who had never had much of a presence, he had never imagined a day would come when he would have to shoulder all the responsibility.
And his family was still in Tokyo!
Shen Feng nodded and said:
"I will continue to coordinate global epidemic prevention efforts and find a vaccine for the virus as soon as possible—not just for Japan, but for the entire world. Go back to the real world and deploy your prevention measures immediately. I will send the evidence of the cabinet’s fall to your mobile device and will also push the Eagle Army stationed in Japan and the Self-defense Force to cooperate."
The people infected with the Evil Spirit Virus are skilled at deception and retain a high level of intelligence. If all of Japan falls, then the entire world is finished.
To say nothing of other possibilities, these frenzied infected could simply pretend to be refugees and send large numbers of their own to other countries.
And this is only the initial stage of the Evil Spirit Virus infection, yet infected individuals capable of releasing electromagnetic pulses have already appeared. Who knows what other terrifying mutations will emerge later?
Having received Shen Feng’s promise, Yoshikawa Hiroshi was moved to tears of gratitude. He composed himself, stood up, gave Shen Feng another deep bow, and then his figure rapidly faded as he logged out of virtual reality.
At the same time, dozens of other players present also logged out of the game. They were clearly also high-ranking officials from Japan, likely the senior officers of the Eagle Country forces stationed in Japan and the Japanese Self-defense Force that Shen Feng had mentioned.
Shen Feng then continued:
"Besides Japan, the other outbreak point that requires close attention is the New York Region in Eagle Country. Judging from the false epidemic information currently being released by the Eagle Country CDC, the entire Eagle Country CDC has been extensively infected. After all, they were the first ones to have close contact with the infected. At the same time, a highly infectious individual, Hatanaka Takuya, flew from Haneda Airport to New York Airport. Both airports have become epidemic zones, and the passengers on that flight must be isolated immediately."
Many players, including Nick, nodded at the same time.
Everything that was happening in Japan terrified them. No one knew what the situation was really like inside Eagle Country.
If the epidemic had already broken out on a large scale, it would be too late!
"Alright, the medical experts will stay. The rest of you can go and get started on your arrangements. I don’t want to hear any excuses about not being able to handle your own governments. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have chosen you... If you encounter any unexpected situations, you can come back and report to me immediately..."
Shen Feng paused, looked up at the remaining players, and said, "Go."
The players present all saluted Shen Feng, and then their figures vanished as they logged out of the virtual reality world.
The epidemic was raging. They had to act as quickly as possible in the real world!
In the blink of an eye, only about a hundred players remained, led by Li Tongchen and others. They were all leading experts from the medical community. Shen Feng waved his hand, and a holographic image of a brain appeared in the Virtual Space.
The surface of this brain was pitted and uneven, with many amyloid plaques and atheromatous areas. It was clearly not a healthy brain.
At the same time, the scene suddenly changed, transforming into a dissection room in this very building, surrounded by various pieces of testing equipment.
This was the advantage of a virtual reality world—the ability to change scenes at will was incredibly convenient.
Now, in front of each of the hundred-plus medical experts was an identical diseased brain, with a scalpel and other medical instruments placed beside their hands.
Many immediately picked up scalpels and began to carefully dissect the brain, observing its pathological changes.
Shen Feng said:
"As you can all see, this is a proportionately replicated diseased brain. Many holes have already appeared inside, and there are signs of protein tissue amyloidosis..."
"Kuru Disease?" Li Tongchen asked with a frown.
The other doctors beside him also recalled a demon of the virology world—the Prion Virus.
To be precise, the Prion Virus is actually a proteinaceous infectious particle, also known as an infectious protein. Besides Kuru Disease, it can also cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease, transmissible mink encephalopathy, feline spongiform encephalopathy, and so on.
Everyone present was an elite in their field; they almost immediately thought of the Prion Virus.
"Correct." Shen Feng nodded. "It’s very similar, yet also vastly different. Everyone, this time, I don’t have a vaccine either. I hope we can all work together with one heart to find a way to inhibit the Evil Spirit Virus. As for lab materials, I can create a one hundred percent perfect replication for you in the virtual reality world, but you will also need to find samples in the real world."
Yuval, an Israeli virology expert and another one of the thirteen Disciples, nodded and said:
"Thank you, Commander, but... brain models alone are not enough. We need a precise model of the virus..."
In the real world, Shen Feng had already driven a shuttle bus to smash through the gates of a hospital, running over several infected who were blocking the way.
Not far away, a dozen or so infected had already spotted him and were rushing over.
Leaping from the vehicle, he took a Shotgun from a dead police officer’s body, checked the magazine, and casually blew an infected’s head off. Shen Feng then said calmly:
"You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already found the testing equipment. I will transmit the detailed sample data to you."
With that said, he raised the barrel again and blew a large hole in another infected’s body.
He leaped onto the roof of the vehicle and looked back the way he had come.
He saw that the entire Tokyo city area was now blanketed in thick smoke, filled with the sounds of slaughter and screams.
Like a scene from Hell.