219: Chapter 219 The Eve of Extinction

Looking at this filth.

Fear surged into Broca's heart. Could it be that he would also turn into Marku's horrific form?

No, impossible. It must just be a coincidence, Broca desperately comforted himself. He hadn't even touched Marku or the others, so how could he be infected?

Broca glanced at his own hands. Under the light, his skin was still its normal dark hue—a healthy color from the sun.

Broca secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He must be overthinking it. But looking at the food on the table, he lost all appetite. After telling his parents he was fine, he left the area.

Returning to his room, Broca rummaged through his things and found a medicine bottle containing a few pills for gastrointestinal discomfort, bought during a previous illness.

At least it's medicine. Taking it can't hurt.

Everything will definitely be fine.

Holding onto this mindset, after swallowing the pills, Broca lay down on his bed and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Broca was awakened by the sound of vomiting from next door—his parents' room. The sound was muffled and agonizing, as if they were trying to vomit their very insides out.

Hearing this sound, the image of Marku's family falling ill flooded back into Broca's mind. Broca felt like he was suffocating.

He hurriedly got up and ran to his parents' room.

Broca saw them sitting on the edge of the bed, faces pale. On the floor were two pools of foul-smelling filth.

"Father! Mother! What's wrong with you?" Broca rushed to their side, his voice trembling with fear.

Broca's father retched a few times and said, "Probably just ate something bad. It's nothing. We'll be fine after some sleep."

How could this be 'nothing'?

This was too similar to what he had seen during the day. If they didn't do something, white patches would surely appear on their bodies too.

Suddenly remembering something, Broca sharply looked at his own hand, only to discover that those ashen-white patches had already appeared on the back of it.

In an instant, the world spun.

Staggering, Broca walked out of his home. He needed to find help. The village at night was no longer as peaceful as before. Broca discovered that over twenty households he passed had sounds of vomiting, and others, like him, were rushing out of their homes in a panic.

Old Lup was the only doctor in the village. His house was in the center of Taruru Village. Like the others, Broca's first destination was there—their only hope.

By now, there were already about ten people at the door. Some, like Broca, already had glaring ashen-white patches on their exposed skin. But no matter how they knocked, there was no response from Old Lup inside.

"Old Lup! Open the door!"

"Doctor, save my child!"

"..."

It wasn't until someone kicked the door open that they discovered Old Lup had turned into a hard, rigid piece of stone. His appearance was as if cursed from hell itself.

Screams of terror erupted.

"Quick, let's find the village chief. He must have a solution..."

When daylight brightened again, the once-bustling Taruru Village had become desolate.

The villagers realized with horror that a terrifying stone plague had spread among them. The stone statues casually fallen on the road were the best evidence.

This caused panic among everyone.

Most villagers covered their mouths and noses with cloth strips, stopped moving about, sealed their doors and windows tightly, doing their utmost to prevent the stone plague from entering their homes.

All that remained was prayer.

Some also fled the dangerous village overnight, deciding to head to relatives' homes or larger towns, believing those places to be safe.

—

Third-Party Technology, atop the Civilization Spire.

When Xu Anqing entered, she saw Lin Fang deep in thought, occasionally jotting something down.

"Boss, you wanted to see me?"

Seeing Lin Fang, Xu Anqing beamed. Thanks to having received the complete version of the gene optimization serum, years had passed, yet Xu Anqing still maintained her youthful, beautiful appearance, though her demeanor had become sharper.

Xu Anqing understood what lay behind Third-Party Technology. Precisely because of this, she was somewhat puzzled about what matter could make Lin Fang wear such a grave expression.

"Anqing, take a look at this document first."

Lin Fang handed her a report from the desk—the base's analysis of the Medusa Virus.

Xu Anqing took it and began reading carefully. The contents of the report made her more and more alarmed the further she read. How could such a terrifying, bizarre virus exist in the world?

"It has already spread in several small island nations in the Pacific Ocean. In less than half a month, this virus will land on the mainlands of the major continents. Even we must be cautious."

"In about two days, the major powers will announce this matter."

Hearing this, Xu Anqing keenly grasped Lin Fang's meaning. "Boss, you want to get ahead of them, publicly announcing that we discovered this virus first?"

A gleam flashed in Lin Fang's eyes. "Exactly. This is an excellent opportunity for our company to firmly establish itself. I'll prepare a simplified version of the data for you. I need you to take this information to the World Health Organization and report the virus data in the name of Third-Party Technology."

"Our company already has sufficient authority in the biopharmaceutical field. We do have that much say."

Lin Fang chuckled lightly and continued, "Simultaneously, arrange to bribe some media outlets. After exposing this virus, shape Third-Party Technology into the leading figure in combating this virus. That way, when we later produce the inhibitor, it will be perfectly logical..."

Even if it only treats the symptoms and not the root cause, at least it provides some mobility, right?

Xu Anqing's expression turned serious. "Boss, I will definitely handle this matter well."

After Lin Fang gave a few more instructions,

he had Xu Anqing leave the building. She boarded a Third-Party Technology private jet headed for the WHO.

That same night, at 21:00 Central Continent time.

This was the time when nightlife was just beginning. Many were considering whether to go out shopping or to a bar for karaoke. There were also users of the journey consciousness helmets who, after eating and drinking their fill, were preparing to go wreak havoc on Titan. Especially those players who had painstakingly saved enough star coins to exchange for a humanoid body—they practically wished they could live in the game all day.

Perhaps just as they put on their helmets, before even entering the game, a yellow safety warning popped up in the top left corner of the desktop.

By now, the number of consciousness helmet users in the Central Continent had already surpassed one million. So, the moment the warning appeared, some instinctively clicked on it, curious about its contents.

The contents were horrifying.

The opened interface wasn't a game announcement, but a seriously styled emergency news bulletin bearing the Third-Party Technology logo and the WHO emblem. It shockingly claimed that a virus capable of petrifying people had emerged in coastal island nations.

This was a virus transmissible through the air, with a danger level far exceeding that of the Black Death of old. At this moment, human civilization stood on the eve of extinction...