Chapter 188: Chapter 187: You Can’t See Me
Shen Feng was surprised that Tokyo’s power grid had managed to hold out this long after the outbreak.
’But who cut the power?’
’The infected?’
’The quarantine forces who’ve established a defensive perimeter?’
’Or was it just a system malfunction?’
Shen Feng then discovered that the internet in the Tokyo area had also been shut down. This was clearly intentional.
But regardless of who did it, it didn’t really matter now.
The relevant data had already been uploaded to the Virtual Space, and the comparative analysis of the Antiviral Serum’s components could also be done there.
This hospital was of no more use to Shen Feng.
CLICK... The lights flickered back on. It was the hospital’s emergency backup power system kicking in.
"Jingwei, I’m leaving this place to you. I’m heading to Kanagawa to find the virus’s origin and see if I can get my hands on the initial strain."
Although the Evil Spirit Virus outbreak hadn’t been going on for long, many mutated strains had already appeared. To develop a truly effective serum, the original virus was absolutely essential.
A Nanomechanical Robot under Jingwei’s control turned its head to Shen Feng and said:
"No problem. This hospital happens to have a base station. Even though the regional network is down, it makes no difference to us... Say, have you ever considered making a portable base station to carry around? Or how about I help you modify that silicon-based framework in your chest? It’d make getting online so much easier. The radiation is a bit intense, though—liable to kill your sperm and make you sterile. But I know a Professor Zhang at a men’s health clinic who has a folk remedy, guaranteed to produce a boy..."
Shen Feng quickly waved his hand, cutting Jingwei off. ’What is all this nonsense? This is a critical moment for overcoming the epidemic. Can you be serious for once?’
"Alright, alright, you carry on. I’m going to check things out. I have a feeling the person behind all this has other plans; it’s not as simple as just wanting to destroy the world..."
Shen Feng paused, found a sterile bag to put the heavily infected individual’s brain in, and said,
"I’m taking this brain with me. Notify me immediately if anything comes up."
Jingwei’s unit turned its head. "Hang on."
A rumbling of footsteps followed, and a spider-like Nanomechanical Robot burst through the window, a base station and a long, folded antenna strapped to its back.
"This is the base station your big sis modified for you. It’s powered by a lithium battery pack and can beam a signal straight to a satellite, bringing East Japan’s crappy network into the 5G era ahead of schedule. Take it with you. Otherwise, my Consciousness Antennae won’t be able to reach over here. My main body is still inside you, after all... Oh, and are you sure you don’t want to reconsider that human base station upgrade? The sperm-killing thing isn’t a big deal. Kids who grow up in harsh, irradiated environments have stronger immune systems..."
’I don’t know who she learned it from, but she’s getting more and more mouthy...’
Shen Feng couldn’t be bothered to deal with her. He grabbed the mobile base station and the brain, then leaped straight out the window, landing on the ground with a BOOM before heading toward Kanagawa.
His destination was one of the original epicenters of the Evil Spirit Virus outbreak: the Ota Elderly Care Home!
As he looked around, he saw the situation on the streets had grown even worse.
After former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Yoshikawa Hiroshi became acting prime minister, he immediately delivered a televised address to all of East Japan. He mobilized the military to control the infected zones, establishing quarantine perimeters to seal them off.
At the same time, he urged any surviving civilians within the zones to stay indoors, hide, and await rescue by the military.
Of course, there was no telling how many people were actually still alive.
By now, the ever-expanding infected zone had split East Japan’s entire Honshu Island in two. The zone was massive; its northern border reached the Fukushima Region, while its southern defense line was established in the Nagoya Region.
At this point, the remnants of the East Japan government had nothing left to hide and made the quarantine status map public.
Upon seeing the location of the defense line, many civilians concluded that the government was abandoning them.
This was especially true for those who recalled plague-themed movies; many began to speculate about the government "nuking Tokyo," leading to extreme panic and chaos.
Unwilling to just sit and wait for death, many people recklessly left their hiding spots to try and escape the quarantine zone. But they were spotted by the infected in the streets, which led to frenzied pursuits and bloodcurdling screams.
But even hiding at home didn’t guarantee safety.
Not only could their own loved ones suddenly turn after being infected, but the smarter infected would even go door-to-door, hunting for uninfected people to feed on.
The craving for flesh and blood made these crazed, irrational infected smarter and more savage.
Surprisingly, there weren’t many vehicles on the streets at this point.
When the outbreak was first announced, most of the remaining survivors’ first instinct was to flee by car. But the infected could also drive, either giving chase or posing as refugees. As a result, there were far fewer vehicles left in downtown Tokyo.
However, at several major intersections on Tokyo’s outskirts, massive pileups of abandoned vehicles blocked the roads, stopped in their tracks by infected who had gotten there first to set up an ambush.
What followed was a frenzied slaughter.
Shen Feng couldn’t deal with any of that right now, nor did he have the time.
After all, most of those "survivors" were already infected; it was only a matter of time before they turned.
Damaged vehicles dotted the road, most of them stained with blood and surrounded by dismembered human limbs.
Clearly, hiding in a car like in the Biohazard movies was impossible.
The intelligent infected would immediately smash the windows and drag out anyone inside to devour them completely.
Whether by luck or because this area had already been picked clean, there were no infected on Shen Feng’s current street.
He found a relatively clean SUV, used his Nanomechanical Cluster to jump-start it with an electrical current, and hacked its smart control system. He then started driving toward Kanagawa.
He had only made it halfway down the street when a dozen figures appeared up ahead, sprinting right for him!
Among them were several young women from East Japan in short skirts and revealing outfits, their faces bearing eager smiles.
Shen Feng’s brow furrowed. He floored it, aiming to run them down.
He could tell from the dark veins on their faces and their eerie smiles that they were all infected!
’I’ve seen people drive through zombies in movies all the time and always wanted to try it. Hitting these infected should be even more thrilling.’
The engine roared, and in an instant, the SUV was upon them.
Just then, the infected at the front let out a screech. An invisible electromagnetic pulse shot out, and the charging SUV’s dashboard erupted in sparks. The engine died instantly!
The vehicle’s momentum carried it forward, running over a few of the infected before it ground to a halt.
Shen Feng frowned. ’This damn EMP is so annoying.’
’Can’t even drive a car in peace!’
The infected were already swarming the vehicle, their faces contorted with greed, eager to devour Shen Feng’s flesh.
But the moment they touched the car, its white body flashed to silver-gray. Masses of the Nanomechanical Cluster surged up their arms, rapidly consuming them. In the blink of an eye, the bodies of most of the infected had been devoured, leaving them as humanoid metal sculptures frozen with expressions of confusion and bewilderment!
The SUV’s body had now been completely consumed by the Nanomechanical Cluster. A small Gray Tide had formed around Shen Feng, swirling about him like a frozen tornado.
"Meat... Eat meat! I want... to eat meat!" The last remaining infected—the one that could release electromagnetic pulses—was trapped in a cage formed by the Gray Tide, able to do nothing but roar in fury.
Looking at the infected who had been consumed and turned into metal sculptures, Shen Feng nodded slightly.
Until now, he hadn’t dared to use the Nanomechanical Cluster to directly consume the bodies of the infected. This was mainly because the Evil Spirit Virus they contained was too terrifying—it was so small that even the Nanomechanical Cluster couldn’t completely eliminate it.
If the Nanomechanical Cluster became contaminated with the Evil Spirit Virus and he happened to use it on his own body, he could end up infecting himself.
The terrifying image of himself infected with the Evil Spirit Virus, turned into a Corpse Ghost, made Shen Feng shudder.
He’d once read the Marvel "Zombie Cosmos" comics, which depicted the horrifying scenario of superheroes being infected by a zombie virus and becoming Ogres. There weren’t enough humans in the world to satisfy their hunger.
’If I also got infected with the Evil Spirit Virus... Gray Tide plus Evil Spirit... human civilization would be completely screwed.’
’Perhaps that’s exactly what the person hiding behind the Evil Spirit Virus is hoping for?’
Fortunately, just a few minutes ago, Shen Feng had a sudden realization: he could use the consumption process to turn the infected directly into metal sculptures, thereby sealing the virus within their bodies.
’It was a mental blind spot.’
Looking at the small Gray Tide swirling around him like waves of sand, Shen Feng was overcome by a fit of eighth-grader syndrome. He controlled the Gray Tide to form a man-sized gourd on his back, simulated a messy hairstyle, and then formed a glittering silver kanji for ’Love’ on his forehead with the nanites, muttering, "Sasuke! Naruto!"
"’Eat... eat you... hehehe... eat you...’ the last infected cackled."
Shen Feng frowned. He took the heavily infected brain from the bag, cradling it in a thick layer of the Nanomechanical Cluster. Then, he extended a thin mechanical tentacle and connected it to the brain’s nervous system.
"’Eat, eat, eat, eat... let me eat, let me eat, let me eat...’ the restrained infected struggled, drool pooling on the ground beneath it."
Shen Feng held up the dark brown brain of the heavily infected individual. The mechanical tentacle released a weak electrical current, simulating bio-signals to stimulate it.
Instantly, a strange electrical wave emanated from it, as if the brain were still alive.
The next moment, the bound infected suddenly stopped its cackling and roaring. Its expression grew dull as it muttered, "Eat... eat..."
Then it abruptly clamped its mouth shut. Its gaze swept past Shen Feng and scanned in other directions, as if searching for more appetizing prey—uninfected humans.
It was no longer paying attention to Shen Feng.
Or rather, it now saw Shen Feng as one of its own, not as food.
’Huh. Interesting!’
Shen Feng’s eyes lit up. The Nanomechanical Cluster around him squirmed, enveloping the brain and forming it into the shape of a head.
Then, Shen Feng took the metal head—now containing the heavily infected brain—in both hands and, as if putting on a hat, placed it on top of his own head.