Chapter 210: Chapter 206: An Unprecedented Massacre
Shen Feng felt a profound sense of despair when he realized the final key was a specific chemical formula.
The calculations and experiments involved were simply impossible to complete within forty-eight hours.
There was simply too little time left for human civilization.
Even with power that was, in a sense, almost like a Divine Spirit’s, it was still just ’the power of a mortal’ when faced with those indescribable, unnamable existences that completely defied human imagination.
Whether or not he had turned Yamaguchi Sora into a brain in a vat to get the virus analysis, it seemed everything was already beyond saving from the very beginning.
He still had to make the most difficult choice.
Beside him, Jingwei’s beautiful avatar wore a solemn expression. She picked up a hot towel, handed it to Shen Feng, and said:
"Shen Feng, thirty minutes left."
Shen Feng nodded as he took the hot towel. "I know."
’One shouldn’t give up until the very last second.’
He placed the hot towel on his face. As the nerves and blood vessels around his eyes relaxed, a profound sense of exhaustion washed over him.
He hadn’t rested for two straight days and nights, all while using his Consciousness Antennae at high intensity. His energy was completely drained.
But this was absolutely not the time to sleep.
Shen Feng drank a glass of water, took a deep breath, and put the Virtual Reality Headset back on, entering the Virtual Reality Space.
In the virus lab at the Capital’s CDC within the Stone Statue Apocalypse, the assembled medical elites let out a collective sigh of relief when Shen Feng appeared. They immediately threw themselves back into their research.
They didn’t doubt for a second that the Commander had the ability to kill the eight hundred million infected, but they were utterly unwilling to let it come to that.
As doctors with benevolent hearts, even losing a single life during their daily work was enough to plunge them into despair and anguish.
They couldn’t begin to imagine the kind of pain a Savior like the Commander would endure by personally killing eight hundred million people.
An act like that would absolutely destroy the Commander!
Li Tongchen took a deep breath, his eyes wide as he gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. He continued to run experiments on new chemical compounds.
This final compound sounded simple in theory, but researching it was another matter entirely.
The sheer number of permutations would take even current supercomputers years to compute. And medical research wasn’t just a matter of simple combinations; it required viral testing, clinical trials, and so much more...
Time. They needed damn time!
Humanity needed time!
The countdown in the adjacent Virtual Space was like a death knell, each tick of the second hand echoing in their hearts.
Shen Feng also continued his research, refusing to stop even though he knew it was futile.
’Until the final second, no one has the right to give up hope.’
’Including myself!’
The same was true for all the medical elites present, and for all the researchers across the globe equipped to study the Evil Spirit Virus.
They were racing against time, racing against death itself, determined to fight with everything they had until the very last second!
Besides continuing their research, many of the Salvation Army’s doctors began to consider something else.
If they were to ultimately fail, and the Commander truly had to kill those eight hundred million people, how could they provide him with the mental support to keep him from being crushed by the act, or from falling into the Abyss?
The Commander had given them so much; now it was their turn to repay him.
But it was only then that they realized, with dawning despair, that they had no clue who the Commander was.
They had no idea who this mysterious game developer was, where he came from, how he had appeared, or what kind of impact this would have on him.
CLICK...
The second hand reached the twelve o’clock position again.
Five minutes left.
Just five more sweeps of the hand, and one of the worst-case scenarios would come to pass.
Li Tongchen took a deep breath, set down his equipment, and walked up to Shen Feng’s avatar in the Virtual Reality Space. He spoke, enunciating each word clearly:
"Commander, if I were in your position, I would do the same. I consider your actions my own."
Shen Feng’s virtual avatar looked up, meeting the gaze of the old doctor who had completely dropped his facade. In that instant, he understood.
’He was trying to lessen my guilt.’
Shen Feng nodded. Just as he was about to speak, the Israeli virologist Yuval also hurried over to him and said gravely:
"Commander, if your hands must be stained with blood, then our hands are stained as well. If you must bear this responsibility, then it is a burden we should bear first. If you need me to kill, I will cut a man’s throat with my own scalpel."
Four minutes.
"Commander, if you need me to do anything, just say the word."
"Commander, the Salvation Army stands with you! What you do, we do!"
"To me, you are the incarnation of humanity’s will! Everything you do is a manifestation of that will!"
"Commander..."
Many of the doctors had stopped their work, calling out to Shen Feng.
As doctors, they understood all too well the psychological impact of killing eight hundred million people.
Not even the Commander could bear such a terrifying and overwhelming sense of guilt.
It was because they could sense the Commander’s deep responsibility for human civilization that they understood how intensely he would feel the guilt.
They wanted to share this heavy burden with their Commander!
Three minutes.
Shen Feng smiled faintly. The heavy weight on his heart had lightened considerably. He said:
"Everyone, I understand. Thank you... It’s not the last second yet. We shouldn’t be so quick to give up. Please, continue with your research."
The crowd nodded. They forced their frantic thoughts into order and, once again, immersed themselves in their research with single-minded focus.
Two minutes.
Shen Feng had regained his composure. He temporarily let his Silicon-Based Brain take over most of his thought processes to maintain absolute rationality.
In these final moments, continuing to research the Evil Spirit Virus was little more than a psychological comfort; it held no practical significance.
One minute.
Everyone raised their heads in unison, looking at the Commander’s form, which was shrouded in mist. A thousand thoughts raced through their minds.
They knew the final moment was upon them.
Shen Feng looked up as well. He glanced at the crowd, preparing to leave the Virtual Reality Space, return to the real world, and execute the containment protocol.
Among the potentially infected he was about to eliminate were many soldiers of the Salvation Army.
It was all about to begin.
A massacre on a scale unprecedented in human history.
All for the sake of hope.
Twenty seconds.
Shen Feng took off his Virtual Reality Headset. He extended his Consciousness Antennae, preparing to sink into cyberspace, send the signal, and awaken the Gray Tide network dormant across the globe.
Ten seconds.
Suddenly, a weak, unexpected signal flashed, appearing to transmit something to Shen Feng’s Virtual Reality Headset.
Shen Feng frowned but ignored it, his consciousness continuing its descent.
’It’s about to begin.’
Just then, Jingwei’s voice suddenly echoed in his consciousness:
"Shen Feng! Quick! Look! It’s... it’s a structural formula! A chemical formula that just appeared out of nowhere! A formula for the compound! Humanity is saved! I don’t have to spend the rest of my life with a depressive!"