Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 281 The First Stage of Parasitism
"So, the first stage of host addiction and spore parasitism has already occurred."

During a meeting in the Countermeasures Research Office, Gao Liangwei asked a question to the analyst who came to give a data report.

“Yes,” the analyst said. “Based on the situation in various places, starting this afternoon, a large number of people have begun to show cognitive changes. The most significant characteristic is that they have become extremely afraid of death, refusing to stay in any dangerous environment or engage in any dangerous behavior.”

"Moreover, without exception, these people all have an optimistic and open attitude towards the spores. It can be judged that they abandoned their vigilance as soon as the rules were announced and completely accepted the spores' modification of their bodies."

Someone in the meeting room asked curiously, "Why is valuing life a common manifestation of the first stage of parasitism?"

"Does a parasite want its host to die?" Zhang Minglu asked before the analyst could speak.

The person who asked the question suddenly realized, "Ah... I see. If the host dies, the parasitic spores will naturally lose their nutrients and die as well."

“Yes,” the analyst said. “We believe that spores possess a certain level of intelligence, or perhaps biological instinct. Therefore, the first stage after a host becomes addicted should be the stage where spores parasitize and begin to influence the host’s cognition.”

Gao Liangwei asked, "Is there any possibility of a reversal at this stage?"

The analyst said, "It's probably very difficult. We tried routine isolation, psychological counseling, and even some forced cognitive calibration experiments... but all of them failed."

"However," the analyst added, "some of the experimenters haven't completely succumbed and are still showing signs of psychological struggle. And without exception, these people are all those who have transcended."

No one was surprised to hear this.

The physical abilities of those who have transcended are superior to those of ordinary people in all aspects, including the mental and psychological aspects.

According to analysts, such people are only a minority.

Most people who have transcended their current state, once they enter the "cherishing life" stage, will fall into the same trap as ordinary people.

“The situation is very troublesome now.” Zhang Minglu said with a grave expression. “Even though the authorities have been spreading propaganda, a large number of people are still psychologically accepting the spores. What’s more troublesome is that even if they are prohibited from going out, they can still ‘practice’ indoors.”

Someone couldn't help but curse: "Damn it, who came up with this 'Cosmic Divine Spore Technique'? It's swindled so many people!"

"What I'm more curious about is that so many people actually believe something that's so obviously absurd..."

"This is a case of willing victims taking the bait. There are probably many people who know it's fake, but they're just deceiving themselves and afraid to face reality..."

The analyst then said, "Unfortunately, you are wrong. According to our hypnotic questioning experiments, some practitioners have indeed received unusual cosmic information."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Gao Liangwei was quite surprised: "They really received a message from an extraterrestrial civilization?"

"Yes. We initially thought it was a hallucination or a form of psychological suggestion. But the experimental results showed that several people who had never met or communicated with the alien civilizations they described received similar messages... and their descriptions of the alien civilizations were highly similar."

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

The analyst's words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"So, what does the alien civilization they received look like?" After a moment, Gao Liangwei broke the silence.

The analyst paused, then continued, "According to their descriptions, they saw many magnificent palace buildings. There were also indistinct alien intelligent beings speaking to them in a friendly and gentle voice. Besides the conversation about accepting the spores, they kept repeating one phrase..."

Everyone stared intently at the analyst, eager to know what that statement meant.

“‘Join our family,’” the analyst said. “Almost everyone who received the message heard it clearly.”

……

In the special investigation area of ​​the Antu City Public Security Bureau, the words "11.28 Major Explosion Case" are clearly visible on the large screen.

Yoshino, who was in charge of the investigation, and many other investigators in the team were gathered here.

“It’s been almost a week since the bombing, and the director has only given us two weeks. I think everyone here is well aware of how urgent the time is.”

Yoshino switched screens, displaying some personnel data.

“Based on the DNA comparison results, these are all the people we could collect who were present at the scene. Most of them are victims, except for this one.” Yoshino zoomed in on a photo, and the investigators below whispered among themselves upon seeing the name.

"The name should be pronounced 'Wu Wang', right?"

"Are they from the North Star?"

"Quiet," Yoshino continued. "This person's DNA was detected from the steel balls found at the scene, and after investigation, those steel balls were determined to be explosive media."

"Because both Yingqi and Beixing are members of the Human Alliance, Beixing agreed to help us compare data from the genetic database and sent the person's information over after finding the results."

"With the photo and name, the investigation went much more smoothly. We quickly learned from other sources that this person was a seller on the dark web who sold videos related to explosions. Based on the combined intelligence, we could determine that he had the ability to detonate metal objects."

The investigators were all shocked when they heard this.

"Using metal as an explosive? They actually have that kind of ability."

"Then why would he blow himself up? Could it be that his abilities went out of control?"

“He probably wanted to die together with the enemy,” the female investigator with the ability to profile said with a unique opinion. “Because my profile showed that he made a hugging motion.”

Yoshino agreed, saying, "I think so too. Go wanted to die with the enemy, so he detonated the super bomb."

"What a lunatic..."

"Commander Yoshino, what is the identity of that enemy?"

Yoshino shook his head: "Unfortunately, there was no DNA left by that person at the scene, so we cannot conduct a comparison search."

"No DNA... Is it because we were at the epicenter of the explosion, so everything was destroyed?"

“No, my gut feeling is that this person is probably not dead.” Yoshino looked at the female investigator. “You think so too, Suzuki?”

"Yes, Commander Yoshino."

The other investigators found it unbelievable; could anyone really survive such a massive explosion?

Yoshino continued, "Can you profile that person?"

Suzuki frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I tried to use my ability to profile that person a few times, but I only got a blurry figure in my mind, without any useful features."

"This is troublesome." Yoshino's face was grim. "We've been searching the whole city for the past few days without any results. If we can't find this person, we will face utter defeat."

Everyone fell silent. In this situation, with no clues in the vast sea of ​​people, even a brilliant detective would be helpless.

"How about starting with social connections?" a veteran detective suggested. "Check if Wu has any enemies in the past; that might be a solution. But we only have a week left, which is definitely not enough time to do this."

“That’s a good suggestion,” Yoshino decided. “How about this, Suzuki, you and I will go to Banzhen and ask the director for more time in person. The rest of you will start your investigation by examining Go’s social connections.”

"Yes!"

After the meeting, Yoshino kept Suzuki behind.

He rubbed his temples, his tone tentative: "Suzuki, if it really doesn't work out, you might need to make some sacrifices."

Suzuki was taken aback: "Commander Yoshino, what do you mean by that?"

"Don't misunderstand. I mean, the spores in this set of rules... supposedly they can enhance personal abilities. If we really can't find anyone, we should be prepared to do what our superiors say to live up to their trust."

"...You mean I should actively accept the spores and try to improve my profiling abilities to find Wu Wang's enemy?"

"Only as a last resort."

"……I see."

(End of this chapter)