Chapter 412: Distress Call and Sparring |
Inside Section Chief Gao Liangwei's office at the Countermeasures Research Office.
Li Meng, Zhang Minglu, and Space Agency Director Chen Shi were all present.
Chen Shi placed his phone on the table, pressed play, and a crackling audio clip began to play.
"Help... save me... I'm on the Dream Boat..."
The audio was very short, clearly a voice pleading for help.
Except for Chen Shi, the other three showed expressions of shock upon hearing the words "Dream Boat."
"The Dream Boat? You mean our Beixing's Dream Boat One manned rocket?" Zhang Minglu asked.
Chen Shi nodded. "Correct."
When Beixing and Suroma's space agencies held their briefing, everyone learned that after the failure of the first space migration plan, only the "Empire Pioneer" had returned a few surviving astronauts to Tianshui Star.
"Based on voiceprint analysis, this distress call belongs to Robert, the team leader of the Empire Pioneer. However, according to inquiries with the few astronauts who returned, Robert should have perished like the others."
"But he's still alive now and sending a distress signal." Gao Liangwei's face showed contemplation.
"This matter doesn't feel right." Li Meng analyzed. "Our previous judgment was that the 'Scarlet Fear' power from this rule had appeared on Terra even before the rule was announced. Those astronauts suffered massive casualties precisely because they were exposed to this power in advance. If this Robert was also invaded by the Scarlet Fear, there's no reason he could regain normal consciousness."
This rule has been active for half a month, and humanity has made quite a few research breakthroughs.
Some Ascendants with high Mind Power upper limits and fast reaction speeds can indeed manage self-rescue—even if they accidentally look directly at Scarlet Terra, as long as they block the connection before their consciousness is completely lost in fear, they can survive.
It's similar to when the suspected parasitized forms used games to spread the Scarlet Fear; some quick-reacting players averted their eyes or smashed their screens the moment they saw the high-definition images and weren't too badly affected.
But those astronauts were unaware. They were attacked completely ignorant of the Scarlet Fear, so how would they know how to protect themselves?
Now, Robert suddenly regains consciousness and can even send a distress signal. It seems highly suspicious no matter how you look at it.
At that moment, Zhang Minglu's eyes widened as he realized something.
"Could it be... could it be that Robert has become a transmission vector?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Li Meng and Gao Liangwei both turned solemn, while only Chen Shi looked confused.
"Transmission vector? What do you mean?"
"Director Chen, you don't know yet." Gao Liangwei explained. "The third Scarlet Fear exploration experiment concluded last night. The Human Consortium obtained a chilling result from that experiment... once a human comes into contact with that 'unknown' Source of Fear, they may become a carrier capable of transmitting the Scarlet Fear, able to spread the fear through eye contact with others."
"What?!" Chen Shi was shocked, finding it hard to believe.
After boldly proposing his hypothesis, Zhang Minglu frowned and muttered, "But, that doesn't seem right. If Robert could remain unaffected by the Scarlet Fear, why would he have fallen into a stress state from excessive fear before? This is different from the situation with that test subject who had their brain lobe removed..."
"The Space Agency believes we must attempt a rescue." Chen Shi said. "And we can't just abandon the 'Dream Boat One' either. If Robert has become a transmission vector, as long as the rescue team wears specialized equipment to avoid making eye contact with Robert, shouldn't that prevent infection?"
"It seems that way, but the risk is still very high." Li Meng cautioned. "Don't forget, the Dream Boat One is currently in Terra's orbit. Sending a rescue team there now for close contact with Scarlet Terra is far too dangerous. If we must send a team, it's best to wait until after this rule ends."
Zhang Minglu voiced his agreement. "I think so too. The resources on the Dream Boat One should definitely be enough for Robert to survive alone for a year or more. There's no need to rush sending people to rescue him. After the rule ends, once we have more intelligence about the Source of Fear, we can go then."
Gao Liangwei didn't speak, just nodded and looked at Chen Shi.
Chen Shi thought for a moment and said, "Your suggestions are very reasonable. We will discuss this with the Suroma Space Agency and form a joint rescue team after the rule ends."
With that, he picked up his phone and stood up. "I'll head back now. We'll be in touch later."
After Chen Shi left, only the three of them remained in the room, each looking somewhat exhausted.
All three had heavy workloads, operating non-stop every day with almost no rest time.
"By the way, Section Chief Li, I reviewed your squad's combat footage and have prepared the items you requested." Zhang Minglu said.
"Thank you."
Gao Liangwei asked, "How are the relationships within the team?"
"Pretty good, quite harmonious." Li Meng said. "Guan Tong, Chen Na, and Silver Fox are quite familiar with each other. Bai Xuewu is also very familiar with Chen Na, though her attitude towards Guan Tong is just average. As for Yang Ran, even though he only knew Bai Xuewu before, the kid is naturally sociable. After learning Guan Tong's identity, he also accepts the latter as captain... As for Wenren Yizhi, there's no helping it. Due to her physical condition, her interactions with the others are purely superficial nods of acquaintance, with no deeper communication."
Zhang Minglu gave a bitter smile. "Xiao Bai suffered at Guan Tong's hands on Holy Grail Island, so her attitude towards him is definitely average. As for Wenren Yizhi... sigh, the cost of her ability is just like that. Nothing can be done."
Gao Liangwei also knew about Wenren Yizhi's situation, though certainly not as much as Zhang Minglu. He asked, "Is the cost of her ability simply being unable to stand up?"
Zhang Minglu first nodded, then shook his head. "That cost is an 'optional choice.' She actually doesn't have to choose it. But for her, playing Go is her greatest pleasure, and she's willing to pay the price for it."
Gao Liangwei and Li Meng didn't fully understand. Zhang Minglu added, "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics. I only know her chessboard item has many abilities, one of which is 'Contest.' Based on what she mentioned to me, once this ability is activated, it absorbs her life force. Perhaps being unable to stand and walk is a manifestation of that life force depletion."
"Absorbing life force..."
Li Meng recalled Wenren Yizhi's appearance. The latter indeed gave off a sense of frail vitality.
"Is that okay?" he couldn't help but ask. "In the long term..."
"When she agreed to join the Countermeasures Research Office, her condition was non-interference, so we can't really say anything." Zhang Minglu said. "Besides, her ability is quite special, allowing her to assist others over ultra-long distances."
Li Meng nodded. As long as one holds her black and white chess pieces, they can borrow her power regardless of distance. That was indeed impressive.
"Let the team spend a week building cohesion." Gao Liangwei said. "The Human Consortium has already decided to execute the assassination mission against the Fire Thief Worship Cult next week."
"Next week, huh."
"The Human Consortium unanimously believes we can't give those cultists any more time, otherwise they'll only carry out more terrorist attacks."
...
Deep within a valley outside Pinglu City.
Two people were engaged in fierce combat in the forest.
Guan Tong manipulated numerous Shadow Blades, slashing at his opponent from all directions, but they were dispersed by a layer of Energy Shield before making contact.
"Hah!"
Shi Jingyi let out a light shout, tapped the ground with her foot, and charged in front of Guan Tong, throwing a punch towards his abdomen.
Her fist seemed to burn with flame, but the flame was a bluish-white color, radiating a surging, powerful aura.
The Shadow formed a thick layer of Shadow Armor on Guan Tong. When Shi Jingyi's fist struck, the bluish-white "flame" instantly spread across his entire body, devouring the pitch-black Shadow Armor in an instant.
Guan Tong's eyes flickered with surprise. He activated Body Swap to exchange positions with the Shadow high above, simultaneously dispelling the burning Shadow Armor and opening his Shadow Domain.
Within the pitch-black darkness, he continuously sent Shadow Blades slashing towards Shi Jingyi. However, the latter seemed completely unaffected by the darkness, easily dispersing his attacks and using Repelling Pole Step to rapidly close in on his true body.
During their sparring, Guan Tong naturally wouldn't use an attack like "Small Space," just as Shi Jingyi wouldn't use the extremely lethal Vessel-Bursting Tremor Fist. Both stopped at the appropriate point.
Thus, when Shi Jingyi's fist pressed against Guan Tong's chest, both stopped.
Guan Tong deactivated the Shadow Domain and asked curiously, "Can you see in pure darkness? How did you know where I would attack from and the location of my true body?"
Shi Jingyi smiled. "I can't see you, but I can sense your Mind Power fluctuations. That way, even with my eyes closed, I know where you are."
"..."
Guan Tong was momentarily speechless. While he could also sense Mind Power fluctuations, he had to be at close range to do so.
Being able to sense others' Mind Power fluctuations from such an extreme distance like Shi Jingyi... probably only she could manage that.
This indicated her observation and application of Mind Power as an energy form had reached an almost unbelievable level.
"And what about the flame on your fist just now?" Guan Tong was also curious about that. "That flame... I remember it's the effect of 'Condensation and Sublimation,' right? Can it also be used for attack?"
"Mhm. It can rapidly spread upon contact with the target. You felt it, right? If you hadn't dispelled your Shadow Armor defense in time, it would have burned through your entire body."
"I definitely felt it... I think your application of Mind Power energy is nearing the realm of unity between heaven and man." Guan Tong expressed genuine admiration. "Others would probably need five or ten years to even begin to catch up."
Guan Tong himself had originally wanted to "learn from others' strong points to offset his own weaknesses," focusing on developing his own [Wordless Book] while also learning Shi Jingyi's set of energy applications.
At the beginning, it was fine. Things like body acupoints and Mind Power Flow, he could still grasp.
But later, as Shi Jingyi continuously evolved and developed advanced applications like Mind Power Martial Arts, Condensation and Sublimation refinement, and Mind Power fluctuation perception, he found he couldn't keep up.
To this day, he hasn't learned a single Mind Power Martial Art technique. This isn't just due to insufficient effort; the deeper he delved into the learning, the more he felt the immense difficulty and frustration caused by the talent gap.
"That's right." Shi Jingyi didn't feign modesty. "Martial arts training heavily depends on talent. Back at the Martial Arts School, even with hands-on teaching, students with good talent could grasp key concepts in a week or a month, while those with poor talent might take half a year or a year and still not master them."
"...It seems I don't have much talent in martial arts training."
Shi Jingyi stated objectively, "You do have talent, just not at the genius level."
After saying that, she couldn't help but chuckle. "But you have your own path to walk. No need to dwell on this issue."
"Mhm."
Guan Tong also knew that the [Wordless Book] was his foundation. There was no need to be unhappy about not being a martial arts genius.
"Let's rest for a bit, then have another round later. I feel there are still areas for optimization."
"Okay."
During this period, whenever they had free time, the two would spar and help each other train.
Guan Tong didn't know what Shi Jingyi felt, but he believed he gained invaluable insights every time.
Because his combat style leaned towards "battlefield control." Although he occasionally used Body Swap + Small Space for close-quarters kills, most of the time he fought by manipulating the Shadow.
This controlling combat style wasn't afraid of numerous enemies or enemies with varied tricks. What it feared most were those simple, brutal "fundamental-type" powerful enemies.
The so-called fundamental type pushed a single attribute to the extreme, especially combining speed with lethality or strength, which posed quite a challenge for Guan Tong.
Lucifer was a typical example. Relying on his wings' extreme speed and cutting power, he could easily break through the Shadow's restrictions and pose a serious threat to Guan Tong's true body.
And Shi Jingyi actually belonged to this type of combat style as well.
She almost never purchased or used Mind Power items, relying solely on treating Mind Power as energy combined with the various martial arts techniques she had cultivated. This pure fighting method easily forced Guan Tong into a passive position, allowing him to gain considerable combat experience from each sparring session.
The two sat down to rest under the shade of a tree. Shi Jingyi leaned her head against the tree trunk, squinting as she watched the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, giving off a very relaxed feeling.
Seeing the faint smile on her lips, Guan Tong felt a slight stir in his heart. Although he had never mentioned it, he could sense that he always felt relatively relaxed whenever he spent time with Shi Jingyi. And the feeling of being able to relax was an experience worth its weight in gold in this era.
He felt this was related to Shi Jingyi's personality. Faced with an unreasonable, terrifying disaster like the Doomsday Rules, she never seemed to complain. She wasn't like certain pessimists who lamented their fate daily, nor like certain nihilists who muddled through each day in a daze.
She simply did what she needed to do every day: teaching and martial arts training. This seemed simple, but in this era, it was extremely rare because it required an extremely stable mental core. And if a person could calmly accept everything that happened, good or bad, it indeed made others feel very at ease in their presence.
After sitting for a while, Guan Tong asked, "After that incident with Lu Cheng, nothing else unusual has happened, right?"
"No. What about you? Have the parasitized forms targeted you with anything since then?" Shi Jingyi looked at him.
"No, but they definitely won't give up. There will surely be other actions in the future... So I plan to take the initiative and go to the Black Flag Country after returning from Fahe this time. Otherwise, constantly having to be on guard against these guys is mentally exhausting."
"Guan Tong, do you think the leader of the parasitized forms, that Prophet, is really human? Why would the power behind the parasitized forms choose to communicate with a human rather than a parasitized form?"
"I don't know. But I believe once we find that guy, we might be able to ask something."
"Mhm. I'm rested. Another spar?"
"Let's go. This time, I'll switch weapons." Guan Tong took out the Silver Hunt from his storage ring.
Seeing this gun, Shi Jingyi recalled, "I remember this is the gun you used against the living dead in Yunhua City... Compared to back then, it seems to have undergone quite a few changes."
"Mhm, I've enhanced it several times since then. Its power has increased significantly. Try to see if you can defend against it."