118: Chapter 118 Mutant Movements and the Sound Wave Solution

In the afternoon, Lei Zhen called Chen Fan, saying that because their special forces team had experience clearing mutants in the Northwest Gobi Desert, they had also been reassigned here. He also asked Chen Fan if he had any Guardian robots he could borrow, so Chen Fan arranged for five to be sent out that afternoon.

At two in the morning, the Fanxing Technology factory was brightly lit.

Chen Fan stood before a massive holographic screen, which was divided into dozens of surveillance feeds—the streets of Songjiang Industrial Park, the tent areas of temporary isolation points, the corridors outside hospital emergency rooms... In every frame, people in hazmat suits were busy, and "Guardian-II" robots were performing disinfection or sentry duties.

Su Qingyue walked over carrying a cup of coffee and placed it by Chen Fan's hand. "The third batch of disinfectant has all arrived at the infected areas. News came from Academician Wang's side that the first batch of one hundred thousand vaccine doses has been bottled and is undergoing final quality inspection."

Chen Fan took the coffee, his gaze never leaving the screen. "Number of infections?"

"As of half an hour ago, the cumulative confirmed cases in Shanghai have exceeded five thousand two hundred." Su Qingyue pulled up the real-time data curve. "The good news is that the growth rate is starting to slow down—dropping from an initial fifty new cases per hour to twenty per hour now. Our isolation and disinfection measures are working."

"It's not enough." Chen Fan shook his head. "How long is the incubation period of the omega virus? Are there other transmission routes besides air contact? We don't know any of this. Just one loophole could trigger a secondary outbreak."

He pulled up a global pandemic map. Red dots representing infected areas were already spread across six continents, spreading like a plague.

"Alpha Capital is moving faster than us." Chen Fan pointed to the data for Nova Bio on the screen. "They've already obtained emergency use authorization in twenty-seven countries worldwide, and the first batch of vaccines is being airlifted. As for the price... it's three thousand five hundred dollars per dose, up another five hundred from before."

"Looting a burning house," Su Qingyue gritted her teeth.

"More than that." Chen Fan pulled up another piece of intelligence. "Communications intercepted by Xiao Zhi show that while Alpha Capital provides vaccines to some countries, they've attached 'political conditions'—demanding the opening of key industry markets, signing technology transfer agreements, and even requiring them to take sides in certain international affairs."

Typical disaster diplomacy. Using life-saving supplies as political bargaining chips.

"Alpha Capital is already striking back." Chen Fan pointed toward the Department of Health. "Today's attack is proof. Since the war has begun, we'll fight until they can't fight anymore."

"When all the contract factories officially start mass production, that's when Alpha Capital's illusions will be shattered," Chen Fan said with a determined look.

[Emergency Bulletin: A large-scale riot of infected individuals has occurred in Sector B of Songjiang Industrial Park! The number exceeds eighty, and they are charging the military isolation line! The Guardian robot defense line has been breached in three places! Requesting backup!]

On the screen, one surveillance feed shook violently. In the night, dozens of humanoid figures could be seen frantically charging the isolation wall made of sandbags and barbed wire. Those figures moved in a distorted manner, but their strength was astonishing; they could tear through barbed wire with their bare hands and knock over sandbags with their bodies.

Even more terrifying was that they seemed to be coordinating—one group charged from the front, another flanked from the sides, and a few had even climbed onto nearby building roofs, preparing to break through from above.

"These infected... they have tactical thinking." Su Qingyue gasped.

Chen Fan pulled up the footage and zoomed in. Behind the rioting infected, on the roof of a relatively intact abandoned factory, stood a lone figure.

Unlike the other infected, this figure stood straight with arms crossed, seemingly... observing the battlefield.

As the image zoomed in, Chen Fan saw the person's face clearly—a young male face with skin starting to show spots of decay, but his eyes were exceptionally clear, even carrying a cold rationality. In the center of his forehead was a faint triangular mark, glowing weakly in the night vision footage.

"A Commander," Chen Fan murmured.

Chen Fan immediately called Lei Zhen, who had already arrived at the scene.

"Captain Lei, the omega virus may have preserved or reshaped some high-level neurological functions." Chen Fan's speaking speed increased. "That person on the roof is likely commanding the infected below. Captain Lei, you must prioritize controlling or eliminating him, otherwise these infected will fight like an army."

"Understood." Lei Zhen's voice became solemn. "I'll send a drone over."

On the screen, a military drone streaked across the night sky, its infrared locking onto the target on the roof. But just a moment before the missile was launched, the infected person suddenly looked up, staring precisely in the direction of the drone, and then—

He jumped down.

He wasn't running away; he jumped directly into the crowd of infected, vanishing among the chaotic figures.

"Target lost." Lei Zhen cursed. "This thing's perception capabilities exceed expectations."

Chen Fan stared at the screen, his mind racing. The omega virus was more complex than he had imagined—it wasn't just modifying the host's body, it seemed to be constructing some kind of new neural network, allowing the infected to share information and act in coordination.

This was no longer a simple infectious disease. This was... an ecological-level swarm intelligence experiment.

"Captain Lei, adjust your tactics," Chen Fan said. "Don't try to pinpoint individual targets; switch to area suppression. I'll have the Guardian robots release high-frequency sound waves to interfere with their information transmission. You take the opportunity to conduct a blanket strike with anesthetic rounds."

"Sonic weapons? Your robots have that feature?"

"Added in the Gen 2." Chen Fan had no time to explain. "Activating in thirty seconds."

He switched to the Guardian's control interface and quickly entered commands. More than thirty robots scattered around Sector B raised their "heads" simultaneously, and an invisible sound wave began to spread.

The infected on the screen suddenly fell into chaos. The originally orderly charge formation began to collapse; some clutched their heads and knelt, some spun in place, and some began attacking their own kind.

"It's working!" Lei Zhen's voice came through. "They're losing coordination! Special forces, move out!"

Fully armed special forces members rushed out from behind armored vehicles, anesthetic rounds raining down on the chaotic group of infected. One by one, the infected were hit, struggling for a few seconds before collapsing.

The battle ended within fifteen minutes. All eighty-three infected were brought under control; twelve of them had developed severe mutations, losing their basic human form, and were killed on the spot.

But the Commander on the roof... was gone.

"Clear the battlefield and tally the casualties." Lei Zhen's voice sounded exhausted. "Chen Fan, your robots and disinfectant were a huge help. If we hadn't established the isolation zone in advance, these things might have already stormed into the residential areas."

"This is just the beginning," Chen Fan said. "Captain Lei, I need you to do something for me."

"Speak."

"Take all the data from today's battle—the behavior patterns of the infected, the degree of mutation, their reaction to sonic weapons—and send it all to me in an encrypted file. Also, I want to dissect the body of a Level 2 Mutant."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. "That's against regulations..."

"The omega virus is evolving," Chen Fan interrupted. "If we don't figure out its operating mechanism as soon as possible, next time it might not be eighty infected, but eight hundred or eight thousand. And..." He paused. "I suspect someone is guiding this evolution behind the scenes."

"Do you have evidence?"

"Not for now. But don't you find it strange? The virus broke out simultaneously at multiple points globally, the mutation speed far exceeds natural evolution, and the infected are showing abnormal tactical coordination... This looks too much like a carefully designed test."

Lei Zhen took a deep breath. "I'll submit an application to my superiors. Tomorrow morning, the body will be delivered to the designated location."}],"new_glossary_terms":[{"zh":"Songjiang Industrial Park","en":"Songjiang Industrial Park","entity_type":"location","gender":"neutral"},{"zh":"Guardians-Ⅱtype","en":"Guardian-II","entity_type":"item","gender":"neutral"},{"zh":"Shanghai","en":"Shanghai","entity_type":"location","gender":"neutral"},{"zh":"Bdistrict","en":"Sector B","entity_type":"location","gender":"neutral"},{"zh":"Commander","en":"Commander","entity_type":"person","gender":"male"},{"zh":"Secondary variant","en":"Level 2 Mutant","entity_type":"creature","gender":"neutral"}]}