Abyssal Wanderer.

Jim and Bai Rao discussed it for a while longer and finally concluded that the plan to use the Apollo virus to treat Dionysus virus infected people was not reliable.

The reason is simple: the failure rate is too high, and the potential risks are too great.

"It's fair to say that this thing works as a logic of viral evolution. But compared to treating infected people with another uncontrollable virus, I feel that the Olympian Order would probably prefer to use a more direct approach."

As Bai Rao spoke, he made a gesture of pointing a gun at his own head.

"Maybe they're already prepared."

Jim, knowing that "Great Thunder" had long been fully charged, said quietly.

However, although he felt that using the Apollo virus directly to treat the disease was somewhat unreliable, he still thought it was a direction worth considering—after all, both the Apollo virus and the Dionysus virus were actually products of Janus's modified technology.

Specifically, it refers to the iridophone region and the Pegasus region.

This can also be seen in Eri's memories—whether it's the Dionysus or Apollo virus, Eri uses the version she deciphered herself. As a result, it's hard to say whether the high failure rate of converting patients or the suspected Nyx possession phenomenon is related to the version of the virus.

If I could get my hands on the original versions of both, maybe I could find a solution...

While Jim was still pondering, Bai Rao walked to Hui Li, who had fallen into a coma, and looked at Jim, asking:

When will she wake up?

Jim shook his head.

He wasn't entirely sure about this either.

What's more troublesome is that, due to the nature of the strong empathy circuit, the other party should have seen a lot of my memories before—it's just unknown whether they only saw my memories or experienced Jiang Zhou's memories along with them.

If it's the latter... well, it doesn't seem to make much difference, since the other party seems to have known about the connection between Jiang Zhou all along.

I just don't know whether I came to this conclusion by my own reasoning or if Nyx somehow possessed me.

All I can say is that both are quite frightening...

"Then handcuff her and hand her over to the Olympus Order's professional team for research and processing. Maybe they can find something from these two virus-infected individuals."

As Bai Rao spoke, he raised his chin and directed the zombie agent, who had been implanted with a virtual personality, to take out handcuffs and cuff Hui Li's hands behind her back. Then he hoisted the girl onto his shoulder.

Jim didn't object to this arrangement. He simply walked over to Huili, reached into her pocket as he remembered, and rummaged around for a while before finally pulling out a small blue bottle.

Bai Rao also curiously came over.

"This is..."

Jim nodded, carefully holding the bottle up to the light:

"Yes, this is the original solution of the Sun God Virus. Those zombies under her command were probably mass-produced using this stuff."

Looking at the small glass bottle that was exactly the same as Huili remembered, Jim said with a hint of fear:
"Luckily, we didn't break her when we knocked her down, otherwise we might have been infected too..."

"That shouldn't be the case."

Bai Rao stared at the bottle, seemingly lost in thought.

"why?"

Jim was a little curious.

"The Apollo virus at Theseus Path Depth 5 needs to be injected directly into the spinal cord to take effect; otherwise, it will be immediately eliminated by the body's immune system. This seems to be a deliberate design to prevent a single injection of the virus from turning the entire resettlement area into zombies."

Data streams flashed in Yi's eyes, and Bai Rao explained it this way.

Jim said "Oh," and then carefully put away the bottle of virus stock solution—although Bai Rao said that, he still couldn't be sure whether the virus had been modified in terms of infectivity and toxicity.

Better safe than sorry.

Seeing Jim's cautious demeanor, Bai Rao seemed to find it amusing and said:
"I'm telling you, you're underestimating the immunity of modern people. No one who survived the Great Impact and the several corporate wars, those times when biological weapons were flying everywhere, was a pushover. Unless a super pathogen was specifically bred in the sewers of the resettlement area to create countless generations of super pathogens, ordinary foreign pathogens would have a hard time getting past the broad-spectrum vaccines of the residents of the resettlement area."

sewer……

Super pathogens...

These two words instantly reminded him of the dead animal realm and the incubator in the safe house.

Yes, if we want the Sun God Virus to spread on a large scale in the resettlement area, we need to use a super pathogen that is raised locally in the resettlement area.

Is this the purpose of animals going to the sewers to collect microorganisms and sources of infection?
Could those superbugs be used as carriers to "wrap" the Apollo virus and spread rapidly?

Does Six Paths Theseus want me to use the Apollo virus as a means to resolve the crisis, or does he want to research a way to block the spread of the Apollo virus in reverse?

"Let's go. Now that Wang Ying has been rescued and Hui Li has been captured, we should go to the medical center to help suppress that memetic entity."

Bai Rao urged from the side.

"Wait a moment."

Jim quickly replied.

Bai Rao turned his head and looked at him with a serious expression.

"Is there anything more important or urgent than this? Do you know how much time we've already wasted on your matter?"

Although the information obtained from Eri Hayashibara was also very important...

After she finished speaking, she seemed somewhat guilty and added a sentence in a low voice, then continued sternly:
"But let's put this aside! Since the risks of the Apollo virus plan are too great, we should help suppress that memetic entity as soon as possible and wait for the assistance of that advanced Orpheus Path Coordinator!"

After being subjected to such a barrage of criticism, Jim's lips twitched, and he suppressed the urge to retort:
“I have a safe house in the apartment next door, I’m going there to pick up some important things. If you can’t even wait that long, you can go to the medical center first, I’ll be right there.”

Bai Rao rolled his eyes at him and said:

"It's just a flying car. If I drive it away, are you going to come running back later?"

After saying that, she turned around and left the room.

The zombies, whose virtual personalities she had implanted, obediently followed behind her.

Wang Ying, who was standing to the side, finally found a chance to interject.

"You two seem to have a good relationship. Do you know each other before?"

She joked.

Jim could only give a wry smile, then patted her on the shoulder and replied irrelevantly:
"Anyway, I'm glad you're alright."

Bai Rao's voice came from the corridor.

"Stop chatting and hurry up!"

…………

To Jim's surprise, Bai Rao didn't choose to wait for him in the flying car, but instead wanted to go to his safe house together.

This, however, made him anticipate an extremely awkward situation.

Because the Silent Realm was activated and he couldn't connect to the internet to verify the Mandala, and his original hand had been replaced not long ago, Jim could only manually enter a series of backup passwords.

At that moment, as he entered the password, he was thinking about how he should explain it next.

Wait a minute, when she opens the door she'll find Ji Mu inside—this place that claims to be a safe house actually hides an underage girl, who knows how she'll tease her.

Jim glanced back unconsciously—Bai Rao was watching him verify the door opening with her arms crossed. Behind her, like door gods, stood two resurrected corpses, one on each side, with the still unconscious Hui Li carried on the shoulder of the larger one on the right.

She had already given orders to the other resurrected corpses to wait below, but because she really didn't dare let Huili out of their sight, she brought her along to the safe house as well.

"Huh... was that an earthquake?"

Just as Jim was about to finish entering the password, Bai Rao suddenly spoke.

Upon hearing her say that, Jim noticed it too.

Although it was very slight, it seemed as if this floor was... no, the entire resettlement area was shaking slightly and rhythmically.

It was far away, heavy... It seemed like something big was approaching the resettlement area.

Despite his confusion and curiosity, Jim didn't slow down at all. With the last digit entered, the door to the safe house opened.

The moment the door was opened, a whooshing sound came straight at Jim's face.

"Heave-ho!" "Slap!"

His prosthetic arm rose and firmly grasped the metal baseball bat—the threat was so weak that Night Marrow didn't even have a further stress response.

"Mr. Jim! What brings you back?!"

"I'm so happy!" said Kiki, holding a metal baseball bat, after he saw who the "intruder" was.

"I just came back to pick up some things."

Feeling the two piercing gazes on his back, Jim forced a smile.

"Ah, a safe house."

"Sure, Jimmy, we've only known each other for a few days."

Bai Rao and Wang Ying's voices echoed behind him at the same time, and he refrained from turning around.

"It's that incubator, right?"

On the other side, Ji Mu seemed to be born with a lack of common sense. She completely ignored the two kind-looking people outside the door, grabbed Jim's hand, and pulled him into the room.

"I was just about to contact you about this; the analysis in the incubator was completed half an hour ago..."

Right at this moment!
The resurrected corpse standing to Bai Rao's left rear raised its gun without warning, pointing it directly at the back of her head, and then...

"Snapped!"

Gunshots rang out.

Even though Jim's reaction speed was faster than his thinking, he couldn't outrun time.

The moment the gunshot rang out, he was powerless to stop it.

only……

After Jim turned around and saw the situation clearly, he discovered that the gunshot had actually come from Wang Ying!
The resurrected corpse, who silently raised its gun and intended to ambush Bai Rao, seemed not to have expected that Wang Ying would be faster than it.

No, it's not that she's faster, but rather...

"You've already fooled me once, do you really think I'll trust you again?"

Wang Ying decisively shot the resurrected corpse in the head, as if she had vented her anger.

Even when Bai Rao, a Level 4 Adjuster, told her that these zombies had been implanted with virtual personalities and were completely under her control, she did not lower her guard in the slightest.

She had been kidnapped in a police car before by a zombie disguised as a colleague, and she wouldn't let that happen again.

Wang Ying never believed in any authority, promises, or incitement... She only trusted her own judgment and her own will.

Almost simultaneously, the resurrected corpse to the right rear threw down Eri from his shoulder and also drew his gun.

Wang Ying immediately turned her gun and aimed it at the man's head, and then...

"boom!"

Wang Ying was still no match for them in speed; her earlier success was merely due to her initial advantage. Once the battle truly began, she would only be able to take a beating—the resurrected corpse kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing into the corridor wall.

The resurrected corpse aimed its gun at Bai Rao's head.

Then, Jim, who rushed up to him, twisted his hand off from his grip on the gun.

Wang Ying's actions bought him enough time.

"Implanted personalities won't work on them!"

Seeing that the other party was still struggling, Jim directly punched the head of the resurrected corpse and sent it flying, then shouted loudly.

"There are four more downstairs!"

At this moment, Bai Rao realized what had happened and immediately said.

The other four zombies with virtual personalities implanted in them are still downstairs; they can't just be left like this...

"There's no need to chase them anymore. They won't be stupid enough to fight you head-on."

A voice came from the hallway floor; it was Hui Li who had finally woken up.

Her face was covered in tears, but her expression remained perfectly calm.

"Did you command those resurrected zombies to kill her?!"

Jim angrily grabbed Huili and glared at her, yelling at her.

Bai Rao... She had absolutely no wariness of the zombie with the implanted virtual personality. If Wang Ying hadn't reacted quickly just now, her head might have really been shot many times at point-blank range.

The Narcissus Path Adjuster is not very good at protecting its head. Even with the standard weapons of the Sheriff's Department, being shot at point-blank range in the head can be fatal.

"I?"

Huili shook her head.

"Of course not, that's their own judgment... They are like me, successful carriers of both viruses. Ms. Hanel's virtual personality implantation ability is ineffective against them, just as it is ineffective against me."

She said so.

Her words froze Jim and Bai Rao in their tracks, while Wang Ying, who was limping over, looked puzzled.

"Hanell? Who's that?"

She clutched her stomach and kept gasping for breath.

Huili's expression instantly became fascinating. She tilted her head to look at Jim, and then said in a malicious tone:

"Don't tell me you didn't realize it. I only know a little about your past and I was able to guess it."

"what……"

Jim looked around, but avoided looking at the "White Raft" to the side.

“Oh, I see! Mr. Jim didn’t know how to face Miss Haenel, so he kept playing along with her… What a rare sight! I never knew Mr. Jim could be shy.”

Huili said with a grin, "If my hands weren't cuffed behind my back, I might have started clapping."

"When was it discovered?"

Bai Rao… no, Eloiz Hanel’s calm voice came from behind him.

"I had my suspicions for a long time, but I only became vaguely certain when you took me to complete the Deep 3 adjustment and modification. I only truly became certain when you were willing to come with me to save people."

After thinking for a long time, Jim sighed, realizing he couldn't continue pretending to be stupid.

"I almost died in front of you again."

As always, her remarks lacked emotional intelligence.

"I'm talking to you..."

But in the end, her words angered Jim so much that he ignored his other complex emotions and turned to look at her directly.

Jim's overly rapid reflexes allowed him to see...

Bai Rao's head floated up gently like a balloon, and blood gushed from her neck like a fountain.

Her smile froze on her face.

The culprit behind all of this was the monster that broke through the corridor window and rushed in just a second ago.

His body was enormous, covered in wriggling biomass and an exoskeleton, and his right hand was connected to a huge black bone blade—the very blade he had used to cleanly sever Bai Rao's head.

At that moment, he was looking at Jim with a Cheshire Cat-like grin on his face.

"finally found you……"

The visitor was none other than the pharmacist. (End of Chapter)