490: Chapter 490 The Invisible Enemy

The commotion in the base was suppressed in less than ten minutes.

Several red-eyed soldiers were all pinned down, their hands and feet tightly bound, sitting in rows against the wall. Some had already regained consciousness, while others were still dazed.

The faces of those who had woken up were written with one big word: bewildered.

"What did I... do just now?"

"You rushed at the Central Command with your rifle and almost emptied a magazine into Group Leader Su."

The sentry's face turned completely pale, his lips trembling for a long time without being able to say a single word.

Su Mingyuan stood at the entrance of the Central Command, glancing at the seven people sitting on the ground. Their gazes had all returned to normal, their pupils were no longer red, and they looked no different from people who had just woken up early in the morning.

If not for the rope marks on their hands from struggling when they were disarmed, anyone who saw them would think they were completely normal people.

"Group Leader Su."

Chen Rong's mecha landed beside the Central Command, the cockpit popped open, and he jumped down, his eyes sweeping over Su Mingyuan first.

"I'm fine," Su Mingyuan waved his hand. "A few ordinary soldiers who haven't even successfully completed Drawing Qi into the Body can't make any trouble."

Chen Rong didn't answer, and the expression on his face didn't relax either.

He turned his head to glance at the people sitting by the wall, his gaze carrying an indescribable flavor.

"These people are controlled by something, a bit like the parasites we encountered the second time we came to the Zerg World."

"Parasites? Can you be sure it's the Gu Mother's doing?"

"Who else could it be besides her?" Chen Rong's voice was suppressed very low.

Su Mingyuan lowered his head to look at the water stains splashed on his uniform, which were spilled from the kettle when the orderly pounced forward just now.

He didn't speak, walked up to the orderly who had regained consciousness, and squatted down.

"What is your name?"

"R-Report Group Leader Su, my name is Li Ming. I'm from the logistics squad of the Third Forward Base."

"Do you still remember what happened just now?"

Li Ming's lips moved several times, and his eye sockets turned red.

"I remember a little bit. My brain suddenly buzzed, and then I was no longer myself. My body was moving, but my brain felt like it was locked up by someone, unable to stop even if I wanted to. I just watched my own hand grab towards your neck, and I was anxious to death inside, but I just couldn't control it."

As he spoke, his voice grew hoarse.

"Group Leader Su, I didn't mean to."

Su Mingyuan patted his shoulder and stood up.

"I know."

He turned around and said to Chen Rong:

"Call Tao Zhe over and conduct a detailed inspection of all these people."

"He's already on the way." Chen Rong pointed behind him, "I called Dr. Tao as soon as I landed."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tao Zhe trotted over, followed by four researchers carrying equipment boxes, the boxes dragging a string of screeching sounds on the ground.

"The people are here." Su Mingyuan stepped aside. "Check all seven controlled people thoroughly to see what is on their bodies."

Tao Zhe glanced at those people by the wall, wasted no words, squatted down, and started working.

The portable spectrum analyzer was set up, and the spiritual power probes were attached to the skin.

The first scan found nothing.

Tao Zhe frowned slightly.

"Switch to high-frequency mode."

The second time, it was still clean.

"Switch to ultra-narrowband spiritual power sensing mode, and crank the sensitivity to maximum."

The researcher adjusted the parameters for a long time, and the equipment emitted a low hum.

The third time.

Tao Zhe stared at the screen, his eyeballs motionless.

"Found it."

He turned the tablet over and pointed to a faint, almost invisible bright spot on the screen.

"Right here, below the brainstem, at the junction of the spinal cord and medulla oblongata. A... bug."

Su Mingyuan leaned over to take a look.

That bright spot on the screen was smaller than a sesame seed. If the equipment's sensitivity wasn't cranked to the limit, it wouldn't have been discovered at all.

"What about the size?"

"Estimated to be less than 0.3 millimeters." Tao Zhe pulled up the data and tapped the screen a few times, "And look at this signal characteristic. In a dormant state, it hardly generates any energy interaction with the human body, just like a dead cell."

He paused, his voice becoming heavier.

"Routine physical examinations can't detect it, whether it's CT or MRI. Its density is almost identical to normal tissue, making it impossible to distinguish. Only at the very moment when it is actively activated by the Gu Mother and given instructions will it produce an extremely weak spiritual power fluctuation, but this fluctuation lasts for no more than a fraction of a second, and the signal strength is so low that our routine testing simply cannot capture it."

Su Mingyuan's expression sank bit by bit.

"In other words, if it weren't for Chen Rong and Lin Wan's Divine Sense far surpassing ordinary people, even if these bugs were activated, we wouldn't have discovered them."

Tao Zhe nodded.

"If it were ordinary Tier 3 or Tier 4 Martial Artists, it would be missed a hundred percent. Even a Tier 5 Great Grandmaster would be pushing it. The concealment level of this parasite has already exceeded our existing detection limits."

Beside the Central Command, it was quiet for several seconds.

Zhang Dabiao had been listening from behind for a long time, and now he stopped shouting. The smile on his face had long since faded, and he bared his teeth, sucking in cold air.

"Then everyone of us who has been in contact with the Zerg World before, is it possible they've been implanted with this thing?"

No one answered his question.

Because everyone thought of the answer.

Su Mingyuan stood there, staring at the seven people sitting on the ground, his brain turning rapidly.

Seven people.

These were exposed today.

What about those that weren't exposed?

From the opening of the portal to the Zerg World two years ago until now, the total number of personnel entering and exiting the Zerg World to execute missions has exceeded eight million people.

Later, many people rotated back to the Main World.

Some went to other posts in the Tianmen Base, some were transferred to Dawn City, and some even transferred to rear research institutions.

More than eight million people, scattered in every corner of the world.

Any one of them could have such a dud hidden in their body.

Whenever the Gu Mother wants to press the switch, she presses it.

Thinking of this, Su Mingyuan felt a chill down his spine.

This is not a matter of fighting a war; this is a matter of having a knife held against your neck.

As long as the Gu Mother doesn't die, this knife will never be taken away.

"Tao Zhe."

"Here."

"Two things. First, you will lead a special screening team and immediately begin researching more precise testing methods, starting with the samples from these seven people to see if you can find any characteristic markers. At the same time, report to Elder Qin, notify the list of all personnel who have been to the Zerg World, and make preparations for screening."

"Understood."

Su Mingyuan turned around and looked at Chen Rong and Lin Wan.

"Second thing. The entire army presses forward, all mecha formations push ahead, double the reconnaissance range of the drones, and dig the Gu Mother out from underground for me."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck the ground, resounding with strength.

"Whether it's parasites or elite Swarm, they all grew from her vine. If the vine isn't cut, the melons will never finish picking."

Chen Rong didn't say another word, turned around, and walked toward the mecha, his footsteps fast and heavy.

Lin Wan followed behind.

"Also," Su Mingyuan called out to Zhang Dabiao, "double the guard force around the headquarters. Verify the identity of everyone approaching within fifty meters of the Central Command one by one."