The Natives of This World Are Fierce
Chapter 49 - 48: Humanity Is Afraid
The drenching from that torrential downpour, combined with his superhuman Perception and the feedback from his surroundings, gave him confidence that he hadn’t left any traces.
With his other arrangements in place, his time in the United States should be relatively peaceful.
It was his first time abroad. While he wasn’t here specifically for a vacation, it didn’t feel right to just rush in and out. Besides, he wanted to see if those four Quasi-Knights could provide any useful intelligence.
At the very least, he could find out if the United States had made any preparations on a national level.
Regardless of whether they were fully prepared or completely oblivious, Qin Xiaoxia had a plan. The best-case scenario was that they had already noticed some of the world’s anomalies but only had a shallow understanding. They would be in a state of crisis over the world’s changes, fumbling about without knowing how to respond.
For the time being, the next few days were relatively leisurely for Qin Xiaoxia.
He planned to do some sightseeing nearby and see if there was anything fun to do. But after looking around, he couldn’t find a single thing that interested him.
Chinatown?
’Completely pointless. Why would I go there when I’ll be heading home soon anyway?’
Little Tokyo?
’Why the hell would I come all the way to America just to see a Japanese street? How bored would I have to be?’
Disneyland?
’Passed on that immediately. No reason at all, just simply not interested.’
An Urban Park?
’Great. Coming all the way to another country just to stroll through a park. That’s really something.’
In the end, out of sheer boredom, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou decided to see how authentic KFC and local Chinese food tasted compared to what they had back home.
The results were a huge disappointment.
In Doudou’s words:
"I can understand why Chinese food isn’t as good abroad as it is back home, but I can’t understand why this fried chicken is worse in its country of origin than it is in ours!"
Too lazy to explain, Qin Xiaoxia’s only reply was:
"If it’s so bad, why are you still eating it? Are you trying to eat until you burst?!"
It was a mystery what Doudou’s stomach was made of. That tiny frame seemed to house a bottomless pit.
Although he’d never specifically tested Doudou’s eating capacity, he had yet to see Doudou leave behind any food he bought.
Qin Xiaoxia, however, conveniently ignored his own terrifying and ever-increasing appetite.
...
In stark contrast to Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou’s leisurely pace, another group was completely swamped.
On the afternoon of the second day after the mine collapse, Norton had just gotten off the plane. He ignored his and his department’s exhaustion from a full night of travel and immediately took a dedicated vehicle sent by the local Department of Homeland Security, heading for the suburb where Old Ode’s Family lived.
The group, having not rested well all night, was mentally exhausted. But as they approached the scrapyard, they immediately grew excited.
The area had already been taken over by the Department of Homeland Security, with the Los Angeles Police Department providing support. Inside, there were also personnel from the Center for Disease Control.
These individuals had already been given strict confidentiality orders.
Everyone on the inside knew that a special department had been dispatched from on high to take charge of the case, and they were all waiting quietly.
Although sci-fi blockbusters were full of movies and shows about special government departments, this was the first time they had ever encountered such a situation in real life, so they were also a little nervous.
Little did they know, the special department they were so eagerly anticipating was just as nervous.
Norton’s vehicle slowly approached, and they could already see the heavily guarded area ahead through the windows.
"Alright everyone, stay sharp. This case is the most recent ’Anomalous Event’ we’ve encountered, and it’s currently within a controllable scope."
"According to analysis of reliable intelligence, the source of this anomaly has already been eliminated."
"However, we can’t let down our guard. Do you all remember last year’s multinational joint expedition in Siberia?"
Hearing Norton bring this up again, the entire group instantly broke out in goosebumps.
It had been during the icy winter in Siberia. A total of five countries, including the United States, had organized a team of experts, scholars, and a protective detail of Soldiers.
Together, they entered a miraculous place discovered through an online video: an oasis in the middle of an ice field.
But that expedition left behind a terrifying, top-secret file.
At first, although they were on guard because of certain details in the video, everyone was filled with a sense of wonder.
The experts, particularly the botanists, were ecstatic, claiming that much of the vegetation represented a landmark discovery for botany on Earth.
But soon, a subtle, silent terror began to creep into the team.
At some unknown point, some kind of parasitic fungal spores had taken root on the feet of several team members.
People began to disappear one after another.
What was more terrifying was that, with the exception of a few battle-hardened Officers, no one else seemed to care.
The Corpse Flower Beneath the Pile of Skeletons.
This was the name the survivors later gave to the giant flower they saw just before they escaped.
Of the five-nation joint team, which numbered over a hundred people including security personnel, less than half managed to escape.
Of those, half were infested with the parasite. Five of them, who failed to have the parasitic plants completely removed, became true "vegetables" within forty-eight hours.
Outwardly, they didn’t look much different, but they were special patients whose movements were sluggish and whose faces were gaunt.
The attending physician’s conclusion was that not even surgery could save these "patients," as the roots had already infested numerous vital internal organs, and even their cranial nerves were beginning to wither.
Was that the end of it?
No!
When three of the nurses responsible for their care were also "infected," the severity of the problem escalated by several orders of magnitude.
This wasn’t some B-horror movie where people act foolishly.
The nursing staff had all been wearing full hazmat suits; no one knew how they had been infected.
The incident caused an uproar.
Given the extreme danger, which the botanists unanimously stressed, and after several days of deliberation, the Russian military finally dispatched thirty bomber sorties to level that Ice and Snow Desolation.
Yes, it was simple and brutal.
Humanity was terrified!
We are the masters of Earth, aren’t we?!
Humanity was truly terrified!
Our dominance, our rule over this world, had lasted for so many years.
The more you have, the more you fear losing it!
Humanity was terrified!
In all those old sci-fi movies, you always see certain individuals or even groups foolishly courting disaster.
But when an event that exceeded all contingency plans actually occurred in reality...
There was only one outcome.
Eradicate it completely, at any cost!
...
At the time, the 19th Organizational Department was still a small, marginalized division. It was only after that incident that the department’s status rose dramatically.
The most detailed information they had access to was from that "Corpse Flower Incident," and they had personally seen the incinerated remains of the "vegetables."
Thus, they knew full well the dangers involved.
As far as they knew, all five nations that had participated in the expedition had begun making preparations of some kind, to varying degrees.
"But today’s case is different!"
A trace of excitement colored Norton’s tone.
"This downpour! And this mine collapse! Neither was a coincidence!"
Everyone understood. The value of this case lay in the unknown third party that stood between the anomalous entity and themselves.
Their heart rates remained high.
Norton led his subordinates and saw the crystallized corpses in person.
The local CDC had erected a plastic quarantine tent, and the bodies were laid out inside.
Seven bodies, still translucent under the soft lights. People were already taking tissue samples and cutting away crystal fragments for analysis.
The department members were all experts in their respective fields. They immediately stepped forward to take over and inspect the analysis work.
Norton, meanwhile, took a few people and headed directly down into the mine.
After more than a dozen hours of work, a small space had been cleared out within the collapse.
Norton stood in the center of what was once the underground mine floor, his heart pounding with excitement, just like the other department members with him.
It was clear at a glance: there were signs of a fight!
Fist prints! Was it human?!
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Regarding the book title, I discussed a few options with my editor and then changed it to this one...
Sigh, book titles are so exhausting.
If I try to change it again right away, they’ll probably get annoyed with me, right?!