Chapter 187: Chapter 186: Plague Control
~
The thermal scans showed multiple hostages in the hall, held by armed individuals. They had to strike before the perpetrators could react, catching them completely off guard.
CRASH! The glass doors to the hall were instantly breached, and over twenty SWAT officers charged in with their guns raised.
"Drop your weapons!"
"Get down!"
Jerry roared. Amid a choking smell, one of the gunmen raised his hands and got on the ground, though he seemed to be making a slurping sound.
Jerry didn’t have time to dwell on it. He moved forward, approaching the dozens of medical staff in white coats who were tied together, and said:
"Don’t be afraid! We’re the police. We’re here to rescue you!"
At the same time, the sounds of flashbangs and breaking windows came from upstairs. Clearly, Team Two was also making its move.
Soon, a voice from Team Two came over the comms:
"Only one Terrorist, he’s been subdued. Over!"
Jerry couldn’t help but find it strange. ’Only two criminals with two guns in the entire building, guarding over a hundred CDC staff members?’
’What kind of pathetic attack is this?’
But he didn’t have time to overthink it. He advanced with his rifle, confirming the identity of one of the men as a director at the National Center for Disease Control.
"*Slurp...* Cough, cough... Thank you for coming, officer. We’re so grateful! Your arrival has saved us... *slurp...*" The director’s face was beaming with a brilliant smile.
The other dozens of staff members were the same, though many seemed sick, coughing constantly. All of them wore transparent masks that looked like simple gas masks.
Jerry nodded. Although he found their smiles a bit too radiant, he didn’t think much of it and ordered his men to untie the hostages and lead them out.
Several officers began untying the hostages one by one.
Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted upstairs, followed by screams over the comms:
"AH—They have knives! Watch out! The throat!"
"My eyes!"
"Don’t shoot, watch out for the other hostages!"
"Don’t move! Everybody down!"
Jerry’s brow furrowed. "What’s going on!? What happened!?" he demanded.
’Are there other criminals hiding upstairs!?’
The voice of Team Two’s leader came over the comms. "Chief, two of the hostages suddenly attacked our guys with knives! Two of our brothers are injured. One lost an eye, the other got his throat slit, but it’s not life-threatening. The attackers have been killed on the spot!"
Jerry felt more and more that something was wrong. ’Why would hostages attack the SWAT team? Are they Terrorists in disguise?’
He looked at the CDC director in front of him. The man was still grinning, licking his lips as if he hadn’t heard the gunfire and screams from upstairs at all.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on? Did criminals infiltrate the CDC?" Jerry raised his rifle and pointed it at the director, asking coldly.
’He was no bleeding heart!’
"Sorry, I guess someone just couldn’t hold back... *slurp...*" The director slurped and said with a smile, "It’s because you all are just so..."
Jerry knew then that something was completely off about this director. He asked grimly:
"So what!?"
The director smiled and said, "So delicious... and so stupid..."
The man’s answer was chaotic and confusing. Jerry was about to order his men to take everyone away and leave this godforsaken place when he suddenly smelled a strange odor. His head grew heavy, and he felt as if he had fallen into water and was sinking deeper and deeper.
The officers around him swayed on their feet, struggling to keep their eyes open.
’It’s an anesthetic!’
The CDC director kicked a few glass bottles that had been opened nearby. A nearly dried liquid remained inside. He chuckled, "The anesthetic is a little slow... it’s an inhalant, after all... *slurp...* Your commissioner should be feasting right now. I hope you’re just as tasty... *slurp...*"
With that, he lunged at Jerry, yanked the gun from his hands, tossed it aside, and slammed him to the ground.
Jerry was powerless, trembling as he spoke:
"This is... it’s the Evil Spirit Virus!"
He had seen the reports on TV about the so-called Evil Spirit Virus, but he hadn’t taken them seriously. After all, something like that had always seemed so far removed from his life.
But now, he suddenly understood exactly what he was up against!
’Clearly, the commissioner who gave them the mission was infected, too!’
’This whole place was a horrifying trap!’
’It was terrifying that these infected people knew how to use cunning and deception!’
The director pulled off his simple gas mask, apparently no longer concerned about the lingering anesthetic, and opened his mouth to bite down on Jerry.
Just then, another set of footsteps sounded from the entrance. Gas canisters were suddenly fired in, landing on the floor and releasing their contents.
The infected director froze, then looked toward the entrance and suddenly smiled. "Flesh... so much flesh..."
BANG! A single gunshot rang out. The infected director’s head was instantly pierced by a bullet, the top of his skull blown off by the sheer force. Blood sprayed all over Jerry’s face.
Jerry struggled to turn his head toward the entrance and saw a group of fully armed figures in multiple layers of heavy protective gear, advancing into the hall behind riot shields. They looked like a troop of Big Bears.
He quickly shouted:
"The CDC hostages are all infected! Be careful! We’re the New York Police Department’s special operations team!"
He then heard the lead "Big Bear" ask his companion:
"They’re from the New York Police Department. What do we do? They should all be infected by now..."
He heard the one who seemed to be the leader say:
"The infection is irreversible. Terminate all infected on site."
"Understood!"
Jerry’s pupils contracted. He suddenly realized something, but it was too late!
Gunfire erupted. A storm of bullets rained down, turning everyone present—whether they were the infected from the CDC or the infected SWAT officers—into swiss cheese.
Intense gunfire also erupted on the second floor, mixed with the curses and dying screams of the SWAT officers.
Soon, the lead "Big Bear" raised a hand, and the gunfire abruptly stopped.
There were no more screams. Everyone who had been there was now as dead as they could possibly be.
"Sharpshooter team, aim for the head. One more round in each to be certain. Incinerator team, follow up. Burn the bodies on site."
A sharpshooter team composed of the best marksmen immediately stepped forward and delivered confirmation shots to the corpses.
Then two figures carrying military-grade flamethrowers appeared. They pressed the triggers, bathing the bodies before them in fire.
"Lock down the CDC building. No one gets in... Let’s go. On to the next outbreak site."
The leader spoke, then turned and left, climbing into one of the armored vehicles parked in a row outside the CDC building.
The remaining people in heavy protective suits looked at each other, their feelings a tangled mess.
They came from various departments—local police, State Police, the Eagle Country Army, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and more—all elites scrambled together in a very short time.
Every single one of them was exceptionally capable.
When they were first informed of this sudden "epidemic prevention" mission, they had been somewhat reluctant.
But after arriving here under military orders, they discovered that the person leading them was none other than Nick, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency!
’For such a heavyweight figure to come here personally, and just for epidemic prevention? And to order the immediate execution of living SWAT officers without a second thought... Is the Evil Spirit Virus really that powerful?’
Although they had their misgivings, no one said a word. They just faithfully carried out their orders.
The convoy quickly moved on, heading toward the next suspected outbreak site.
Across Eagle Country, thousands of such teams were now in rapid motion, using big data analysis to track down everyone who had come into contact with the infected.
Though the numbers were staggering—tens of thousands of people in total—it was still considered within a manageable range under the operation of the nation’s powerful emergency response system.
These special operations teams were temporarily granted the highest level of authority, able to decide matters of life and death in an instant.
As for the media and public oversight, they were now under tight control to ensure no problems arose.
After all, once they understood the horror of the Evil Spirit Virus, the corporate tycoons who controlled the media mouthpieces were just as afraid of death as anyone else.
These warriors, armed to the teeth and wrapped up like mummies in their gear, stormed into office buildings that had become slaughterhouses to execute the fully infected; they burst into residential homes, riddling a husband about to hunt his own wife and children—along with his family—with bullets; they infiltrated heavily guarded mob hideouts, using the opportunity to eradicate entire criminal organizations; they locked down several companies on Wall Street, liquidating the entire staff of certain firms.
Some infected individuals, showing different degrees of mutation, were captured, placed in sealed containers, and sent to top virology labs within Eagle Country for research.
Anyone who noticed something was wrong and posted about it online was paid a visit by the FBI within minutes for a "warning."
Although there were some minor disturbances, the situation was barely being kept under control.
After all, compared to East Japan, which had completely lost control, the situation in Eagle Country was far better.
Of course, a country like Hua Country, which had an immediate emergency response and quarantined all passengers from outbreak zones, had basically no problems at all.
Everyone was isolated individually. The moment any sign of illness appeared, on-site termination procedures were initiated immediately.
Meanwhile, flights worldwide had been suspended, and ferries were also subject to quarantine procedures upon arrival.
After the Petrification Disease pandemic, human civilization had once again entered a state of unity.
At least, on the surface.
After briefly surveying the global situation through the network and confirming there were no major immediate issues, Shen Feng retracted his Consciousness Antennae. His conscious self returned to the virus lab in that Tokyo hospital.
The component analysis of the Antiviral Serum was still underway. Although the addition of those medical elites had sped things up considerably, it would still take at least another day.
Looking at the real-time monitoring of the virus’s spread in the outbreak zones, Shen Feng stood up. He prepared to leave things here to Jingwei while he went out to search for the source of the virus himself.
Just then, with a CLICK, the room was plunged into darkness.
The power was out.