238: Chapter 238 Meme Pollution

"But aren't memes harmless?"

Lin Fang was puzzled. Take memes like "two and a half years" and "playing basketball" that circulate so widely—he hadn't seen anyone die from those jokes.

If they were truly harmful, the casualties would be immeasurable.

"Boss, you're right. Most of the cultural memes we encounter daily and spread spontaneously—like internet jokes, catchphrases, and conceptual trends—are indeed harmless. Or rather, their impact is limited to social psychology and behavioral imitation; they don't directly interfere with physical reality or erode the foundation of an individual's conscious existence."

"Before the accident, I thought so too. But now, I feel they aren't true memes, or perhaps our understanding of memes is far too shallow."

Mite said with a bitter smile, "Boss, none of us understood the true power of memes."

"Information can also be harmful to the human body. Just like this white face, this meme possesses the ability to interfere with reality. It has a massive impact on both the mental and physical levels of a person. It ignores rules and can force its spread. It's an informational virus—a virus that looks like a supernatural phenomenon. It can also be called Meme Contamination."

Seeing Lin Fang in thought, Mite continued his report.

"Boss, in this accident, everyone who was petrified did the same thing: they saw the eyes on the face open."

Lin Fang's eyes flickered. "Those eyes are the carrier for this face meme?"

"Exactly."

Mite said solemnly, "The infected person's line of sight is the transmission channel, and the brain is the target. Once infected by this meme, it not only transforms healthy human genes into the Medusa Virus but also generates a bizarre Conscious Illusion in our brains. If one dies within this illusion, brain death occurs in reality as well, and it's irreversible."

"If you hadn't displayed such divine power to suppress that meme, Boss, we all would have died from Meme Contamination."

"Is the meme still there?" Lin Fang asked.

"It's still there," Mite sighed heavily. "We've also discovered the trigger for this meme. Within a 50-meter range, if anyone harbors strong hostility or the thought of 'erasing' it, the meme will be triggered. It will open its eyes and infect everyone looking at it."

"It only closes its eyes after everyone infected by it has died."

Lin Fang recalled the scene from that day. In that case, was it his command that caused the meme outbreak?

"It's not your fault, Boss,"

Mite seemed to see through Lin Fang's thoughts and immediately added, "Our understanding of it was zero. Its trigger conditions are completely beyond conventional logic. Even if you hadn't given that order, we would have done the same thing later anyway."

"The problem now is what we should do with it. Something this dangerous... I suggest destroying it."

"How do you plan to destroy it?" Lin Fang countered.

Mite perked up and said, "Using Clone Soldiers. We found that Clone Soldiers without their own consciousness are immune to this meme. It doesn't seem to sense their presence. That's why the clone units were able to burn and blast it in the Maw of the Abyss without any reaction."

I see...

Logically, Lin Fang should keep a respectful distance from such things. Destruction was a good choice, just as his order had been at the time.

But after getting a general understanding of the meme's characteristics, Lin Fang felt a bit reluctant to let it go.

If he could turn it to his own use, its utility would be immense. It could even be used as a weapon—conventional weapons wouldn't even compare.

No war, no slaughter—it could wipe out life silently. It was truly a rare divine tool.

Lin Fang voiced his considerations. Mite was shocked to hear them. "Boss, aren't you afraid of it backfiring?"

"Then let me ask you: if others have such a weapon and we don't, how do we respond?"

Lin Fang continued, "In my view, existence implies rationality. Memes are also a form of technology. It's like a primitive human seeing a musket for the first time and thinking it's sorcery, whereas to us, a musket is just the application of chemical energy and mechanical structure."

"Right now, we can't understand it. But if we destroy it out of fear, it's equivalent to voluntarily giving up the chance to understand this technology."

Mite was speechless. He had to admit that Lin Fang's logic was sound. In the face of an unknown threat, retreating and destroying wouldn't bring safety; only understanding and control were the way forward.

Seeing that he didn't argue further, Lin Fang knew he had accepted this direction.

"Then, it's settled."

Lin Fang made the final decision. "I will establish a new department dedicated to researching Meme Technology. Mite, you will be the acting head of this department. The goal is to conduct in-depth research on the Pale Face and establish a file for it."

Mite: ?

Wasn't he a biologist? Why was he suddenly researching mysterious things like Meme Technology? But clearly, Lin Fang had no intention of replacing him, so Mite could only accept the task, telling himself it was a sign of being highly valued.

"Boss, I understand." Mite took a deep breath and turned to leave the office.

Lin Fang continued to flip through the data on the meme called the Pale Face. On the stone, its eyes were tightly shut, and it had somewhat feminine features.

Lin Fang couldn't help but recall his encounter in the Conscious Illusion.

Was this face Kasumi Ishiki? The heroine of the thorn king of the ancient city? The movie's ending didn't reveal the future of that world, so Lin Fang naturally didn't know what she had gone through to become a meme parasitic on a meteorite.

—

After coming out, Mite also began to get busy.

Something as dangerous as a meme naturally couldn't be kept at Blackwatch's main base. Mite had a specialized squad of Clone Soldiers move the strange face-stone to a deeply reinforced underground facility far from the main base.

This would be the primary research site for Meme Technology from now on.

Once settled, Mite began to establish the company's first meme file within its top-secret documents.

[Meme: Pale Face]

[Origin: February 1, 2026, 125 kilometers underground in the Maw of the Abyss on the alien plane of Andi Star. Discoverer: Clone Units]

[Description: The Pale Face is a form of Meme Contamination manifesting as a visual cognitive hazard. Its primary carrier is a pale humanoid face embedded in a meteorite matrix, approximately 1.2m long and 0.8m wide. This meme possesses the ability to cause petrification and brain death. Its specific capabilities manifest as ███, and its activation method is ███

Warning! Do not look at the Meme Contamination once activated.]

[Other transmission methods: ...]