Chapter 411: The Out-of-Control Third Scarlet Experiment |
From its initial establishment to now, the Human Consortium has been reduced to only nine member states.
These nine countries, divided by strength, essentially form a pattern of two superpowers, one major power, and six minor powers.
The two superpowers are naturally Beixing Country and the Suroma Empire. The one major power is the Xisiya Duchy, and the remaining six are all minor powers.
There are also significant differences in strength among these six minor powers. For example, the Sakura Prayer Country used to have a relatively strong national power, but its spine was broken after the nationwide relocation following the earthquake rule. After the rulers led by the Yuzawa Family were purged, it completely weakened.
Now, this country only retains two cities, and its armed forces are reduced to just the Peace Office that maintains street order. Basically, being able to manage itself is considered good enough.
Now, regarding the upcoming third exploration experiment of Scarlet Terra, following Suroma and Beixing, it should logically be the turn of the "one major power," Xisiya, based on the order of national strength. However, the Human Consortium actually selected Luruiguo.
As one of the six minor powers, Luruiguo is actually the strongest in terms of comprehensive national strength among these six countries.
Previously, the proposal for the super-city construction plan raised by the six minor powers at the Human Consortium meeting was led by Luruiguo.
Although this country's technological level is not very high, its citizens are united, and it has a large population. It did not suffer significant damage during the previous Doomsday Rules.
It is precisely because of this confidence that Luruiguo proactively proposed to conduct the third joint exploration experiment within its own borders and put forward the suggestion of using some special patients as test subjects.
Xisiya had no objections to this, because Yelanka had just cleared out Lijeka's remaining forces and was currently busy further consolidating the domestic situation, not wanting to disperse her energy.
At this moment, in the Luruiguo testing center, the experiment was being prepared in full swing.
Suroman expert Finch looked at the astronomical telescope placed in the room with a strange expression.
Even though he had previously heard from the Luruiguo side that the experiment would be conducted indoors with a skylight, allowing test subjects to observe Scarlet Terra with an astronomical telescope, seeing it in person still felt odd.
He asked the person in charge of the experiment from Luruiguo: "What's the difference between letting test subjects observe with the naked eye and using an astronomical telescope? Both will trigger Scarlet Fear anyway, and the latter will only be more troublesome, right?"
The person in charge of the experiment for Luruiguo was a man in his forties. He was also the Deputy Chief of Luruiguo, named Melens, with the distinct brown-black skin and green pupils of a Luruiguo person.
Melens said: "We in Luruiguo have a proverb: 'You see clearly only when you look closely.' Observing Scarlet Terra directly with an astronomical telescope might yield a more detailed experience."
Finch was somewhat disdainful of this statement. He turned his head to look at the expert from Beixing: "Do you think so too?"
"Since Director Melens is doing it this way, it must mean there's some sense to it."
"Hmph, what sense could there be? We in Suroma also have a proverb: 'Being too close prevents you from seeing the whole picture.'"
No one responded to Finch's words. This bearded skeptic's personality was undoubtedly annoying to many.
At this moment, the test subjects prepared by Luruiguo entered the room.
Some of the test subjects were clearly not normal at first glance; several could be seen from their demeanor to have mental issues.
The experts all knew that these people were the ones Luruiguo referred to as "those who cannot perceive fear due to mental or physiological illnesses."
In the past, these people were patients, but now they have the opportunity to become heroes—this could be seen from the gleam in the eyes of two or three of them; they seemed proud to participate in the test.
Finch stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching coldly. He didn't think bringing in some patients would be of any use. Just as he said before, the fear brought by the rules is irrational fear, not so easy to solve.
But there were also many who opposed him, arguing that during the first Doomsday Rule period, some people managed to stay awake for 72 hours by relying on stimulants and other medical drugs. If such "unorthodox methods" worked then, perhaps they might work now.
Luruiguo prepared a total of twenty test subjects, more than the previous two times. Half of them were patients, and the other half were High Mind Power Individuals.
Once everything was ready and the time arrived, Melens announced the start of the experiment.
The covers on the astronomical telescopes were removed simultaneously. Through the high-magnification lenses, the test subjects stared directly, taking in the eerie red light emitted by Scarlet Terra.
"Ah, ahhh!"
Someone screamed after just three or four seconds—a High Mind Power Ascendant test subject.
This greatly surprised everyone, because based on previous experiences, Ascendants with high Mind Power could usually endure for a not-insignificant period.
"Quick, get him out!"
Seeing white foam already spilling from the corner of that person's mouth, Melens immediately instructed the staff to remove him.
And with the first one, the second and third soon appeared.
At this point, Finch unconsciously lowered his arms, his expression serious.
He had already realized Melens might be right: Observing Scarlet Terra with an astronomical telescope drastically shortened the onset time of Scarlet Fear compared to observing with the naked eye!
Not only the High Mind Power Ascendants, but several patients previously diagnosed as "incapable of fear" also began showing symptoms.
They were affected much more severely than the Ascendants. Two of them died on the spot from shock without making a sound. Another had a heart attack, clutching his chest and collapsing to the ground; another had an epileptic seizure, convulsing all over.
"Quick! Take them to the emergency room!"
Melens hurriedly gave orders. The other experts focused more on the screens displaying brainwave readings.
One extremely steady brainwave line segment attracted everyone's attention.
"Whose EEG is this? It seems completely unaffected by Scarlet Fear!"
"Incredible, how is that possible!"
"Looking at the data, it's even more stable than that parasitized form from Beixing before..."
Melens also noticed this outstanding data, showing surprise: "This is the brainwave data for Subject 11..."
"This is a patient? Isn't it?" Finch quickly asked, "What illness?"
Melens looked towards Subject 11's location. Sitting in front of the astronomical telescope there was a woman in her early twenties. The half of her face visible below the telescope's eyepiece showed no expression.
"She... she had her prefrontal lobe removed."
Everyone felt a chill upon hearing this.
Lobotomy surgery is not advanced; on the contrary, it is a very classical surgery.
This surgery was originally developed by humans to treat mental illness. Because many mentally ill patients were unpredictable, with the possibility of suddenly harming others, causing fear among many normal people, so for the safety of the majority, this category of people had to be dealt with.
Initially, people simply locked up the mentally ill, concentrated them in places like asylums, and did not allow contact with normal people.
Later, doctors discovered that after removing the patient's prefrontal lobe, many lunatics and manic patients would become quiet, not noisy or disruptive, so this surgery began to be used to treat the mentally ill.
But later, people found that the price of quietness was that people lost emotions, and their intelligence and memory also greatly declined.
Some acute mental patients could still study, work, and live like normal people when they were normal, only becoming mentally disturbed during episodes. After a lobotomy, they seemed to become emotionless idiots, never able to return to a normal state.
Unsurprisingly, this surgery was not legal for long before being banned. Therefore, seeing a lobotomized person now is truly rare.
"No wonder the reading is so stable..." an expert murmured, "But the problem is, even though she won't feel fear, she also can't help us explore that Source of Fear!"
You can't have your cake and eat it too. A lobotomy can eliminate fear, but it is accompanied by a significant reduction in intelligence, making it impossible to understand and execute tasks.
Although this woman was now sitting in front of the astronomical telescope, looking at Scarlet Terra—she might not even have the consciousness to explore the "Source of Fear," so it would still be useless.
"No!" Melens loudly interjected at this moment, "She's different. Her intelligence hasn't dropped that low. I spoke with her many times before selecting her; she can understand this mission!"
"That's impossi—"
"Ahh!" The woman suddenly cried out twice, raising her hand and waving it in circles twice.
"This is the pre-arranged signal for a discovery!" Melens' eyes lit up with joy. He took two quick steps over, pressed her shoulders, and asked, "What did you see? You—"
Melens stared into the woman's pupils, froze for a few seconds, then his expression suddenly twisted. He violently slammed his head against the nearby astronomical telescope, and blood immediately stained the lens red.
"Deputy Chief!"
"What happened?!"
"It's Scarlet Fear! The person in charge has been affected by Scarlet Fear!"
The sudden affliction of the experiment director, Melens, caught everyone present completely off guard, causing immediate and immense chaos.
No one knew what was happening. Melens wasn't even looking at Scarlet Terra, so why was he affected?
Several of his assistants all rushed over to help Melens up, but they soon also fell into fear. Some screamed, some stiffened completely, and one threw a punch at the person next to him.
Not just these assistants, but many experts also suddenly and without warning were struck, experiencing fear episodes.
This massive, unforeseen chaos terrified every normal person in the room. Experts from various Human Consortium countries fled towards the room's exit, with only a few remaining calm.
These few were smart people who had already discerned that the source of transmission was the lobotomized woman.
"Don't look at that woman's eyes! She is the transmission source of Scarlet Fear!"
"Quick, restrain her, cover her eyes!"
While shouting, the few also took out their own Mind Power items to attack the woman.
The woman was not an Ascendant, just an ordinary person, and was immediately struck down.
The few swarmed over to pin her down, using a coat to bind her head, completely covering her eyes.
At this moment, more Ascendants from Luruiguo rushed into the room, immediately halted the experiment, and took control of the scene.
...
Several minutes later, the greatly alarmed crowd relocated to a meeting room.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy. No one could have imagined the experiment would spiral out of control, with even Melens, the experiment director, falling victim.
Not long after, another expert from Luruiguo pushed the door open and entered, his face ashen. He said, "The person in charge... Deputy Chief Melens... he seems to have gone mad. We used sedatives and mental stability items, but none had any effect. Not just him, the other affected individuals have either already died or have fallen into madness, beyond recovery."
"......"
Everyone fell silent for a moment. This was already a massive-level experiment accident.
"...I think we should discuss the cause," the Beixing expert broke the silence first. "Why did that lobotomized woman become a transmission source for Scarlet Fear? This makes no sense at all."
This question was something everyone was confused about and a situation that had never occurred before.
And it was an extremely terrifying situation.
If humans themselves could become transmission sources, wouldn't even hiding in a room be unsafe?
"It might be related to her inability to feel fear!" Finch frowned. "I have a hypothesis, listen everyone! That woman, I think she might have actually completed the task Melens assigned to her."
Everyone was stunned. Someone whispered, "You mean—"
"She can't feel fear, so she wouldn't be affected by the images generated by the brain, thus she quickly made contact with that red halo. Yes, that thing we named the 'Source of Fear'!"
The Xisiya expert said with horror, "So you're saying, after a human makes contact with the 'Source of Fear,' the contactee themselves becomes a transmission source for Scarlet Fear?!"
"How could that be... The hidden information from the rule said there was an unknown hidden within the Scarlet power, so..."
"Who said the hidden unknown must be something good?" Finch cursed with a dark face. "Not every treasure map points to treasure; it might point to a trap and death!"
"This..."
Everyone looked at each other, seeing confusion on each other's faces.
If the result of the Human Consortium spending so much effort planning several experiments was this, wouldn't all that hard work just bring punishment instead?
The Beixing expert pondered for a moment and said, "We can't make a judgment yet. I think we need to have some communication with that woman. Director Melens previously said she still retained a certain level of intelligence and could understand the task he assigned. Perhaps we can ask something from her. And even if it is as Dr. Finch says, we haven't gained nothing."
"What do you mean?" someone expressed confusion. "Does a transmission source have any positive value?"
Finch suddenly said with a sinister tone, "It wouldn't be bad as a weapon."
"......"
A young scholar excitedly said, "That seems true! If we put this woman on the Black Flag... no, no, parasitized forms aren't much affected by Scarlet Fear. Put her in Fahe! She would definitely make those Cultists succumb. It really could be used as a weapon!"
After he finished speaking, he found no one chiming in.
Clearly, everyone felt that even using it against enemies was somewhat insane.
"We have decided to first conduct a closed interrogation of that woman," the Luruiguo expert said. "Let's see if we can obtain some useful information... As for using her as a weapon, that is not within our consideration."