Chapter 351 - 326: Withdrawal and Launch

Chapter 351: Chapter 326: Withdrawal and Launch

In a small meeting room at the Banzhen City Public Security Headquarters.

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi arrived as scheduled, and Suzuki was there to meet with them.

What took them both by surprise was that after they entered and Suzuki had closed the door, she dropped to her knees before them.

"What are you doing?" Guan Tong asked.

Still kneeling, Suzuki kept her head down, her voice trembling with panic. "I... I want to ask you to save me. I don’t know what to do anymore..."

"Get up first and tell us what’s going on."

Suzuki didn’t get up. She raised her head and said, "I... I’m a spore addict. The spores disappeared when the rule ended, but the addiction is still here."

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi exchanged a glance.

They had suspected Suzuki might have this problem, but they never expected her to admit it so openly.

However, it was still impossible to tell whether she was telling the truth about being a mere spore addict, or if she was a Parasite putting on an act.

The phenomenon Suzuki described—the spores being gone but the addiction remaining—was indeed widespread.

This condition was common among those who had become addicted to the spores before the rule ended but hadn’t yet turned into Parasites. Countless people had posted about their experiences online.

Currently, the North Star’s approach was to place them in centralized quarantine and provide assisted withdrawal treatment.

After all, many types of addictive substances existed in the human world long before the Apocalypse Rules appeared.

Nations around the world already had established systems for treating addiction, so it was perfectly reasonable to adapt them for spore addicts.

"In that case, you should go to a rehab facility for isolated withdrawal treatment," Guan Tong said. "Shangyuan and I can’t help you with something like this."

A look of fear crossed Suzuki’s face. "I... I’m scared of places like that."

Just then, Shangyuan Zi said to Guan Tong, "Sakura Prayer’s rehab facilities have a terrible track record. They’ve been exposed in the past."

Guan Tong thought for a moment, then helped Suzuki to her feet.

"Alright, how about this? I’ll contact someone and find you a safe, reputable rehab facility in the North Star," he said, pausing for a moment. "Every once in a while, either I or Shangyuan will visit you to make sure there aren’t any problems."

"Really?!" Suzuki was overjoyed. "That would be wonderful! Thank you so much..."

"Don’t mention it. You’ve been a huge help to us. Without your Profile, we wouldn’t have learned so quickly that Mizusawa Chun had moved his lab onto a ship."

Guan Tong always made a point of repaying kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance.

Without Suzuki’s help, time would have dragged on, and Mizusawa Chun would have only become more difficult to handle. For that reason, he was willing to help her in any way he could.

Ten minutes later, after settling the arrangements, Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi left the Public Security Headquarters.

On the way back, Shangyuan Zi asked, "Do you think she was telling the truth?"

"I don’t know," Guan Tong said. "If she is a Parasite, what would be her motive for doing this? In any case, I’ll explain the situation to my contacts in the North Star and have them keep an eye on her."

"...Can spore addicts really overcome their addiction?"

Shangyuan Zi’s question was one Guan Tong shared.

An addiction to spores was certainly harder to overcome than a typical one.

But regardless, the authorities had to intervene.

If they didn’t, it would be tantamount to pushing these addicts toward the Parasites.

...

On January 11, the Human Federation officially issued a statement classifying the Parasites’ declaration of the "Seri Divine Kingdom" within the territory of the Black Banner Country as an "act of malicious alien colonization."

Immediately following this classification came a public blockade and a declaration of war.

Effective the day the statement was issued, the relevant regions of the Black Banner Country would be placed under a total blockade, and no individual or group would be permitted to travel there for any reason whatsoever.

At the same time, the Human Federation would form a coalition army, led by the North Star, Soloma, and Sisiya. Their objective was singular: to eliminate the Seri Divine Kingdom and all its Parasites.

The declaration received widespread support from people all over the world.

Even dissenters dared not voice their opposition under the circumstances.

With every country now vigorously cracking down on Parasites within its borders, anyone who went against the grain to speak in their defense would immediately fall under suspicion.

In addition to forming the coalition army, the Human Federation also announced another major event that countless people had been eagerly awaiting.

This was the launch of two manned rockets.

The launches of Dream Ship One and the Imperial Pioneers, originally scheduled for last December, had been postponed due to the rules and were now set for January 12—tomorrow.

Many who were following the event had speculated that it might be postponed again due to the situation with the Seri Divine Kingdom. But now, the Human Federation announced the launch plan would proceed as scheduled; the two rockets would launch on time tomorrow, and the event would be broadcast live worldwide.

This was a rare and welcome piece of uplifting news.

Even though their destination, Terra Star, was not an easily habitable planet for humans, this was, after all, the first step toward space colonization.

If the rockets launched successfully and reached Terra Star, and if the astronauts on board could complete their mission of surviving on the planet for a time, it would mean humanity had made a breakthrough, taking that crucial first step from zero to one.

In fact, ever since the Apocalypse Rules began, many people had been reflecting on the matter of space colonization.

Given the level of technology on Celestial Water Star, if humanity had been united, they could have started these attempts and begun accumulating experience ten, twenty, or even thirty years earlier.

Had they done so, humanity might not be in such a passive position in the face of the current apocalyptic crisis.

But while everyone had heard the old adage about preparing for danger in times of peace, how many actually lived by it as a personal creed?

Forget ordinary people; even among the world’s billionaires, only a minority were truly passionate about space colonization and biotechnology. Most were still preoccupied with how to make more money and acquire more power.

「January 12.」

The launch of the two manned rockets was broadcast live across the globe, just as scheduled.

Filled with hope for the future, countless people watched the broadcast through every available channel.

The moment they successfully ignited and lifted off, cheers erupted all across the globe.

For some who had fallen into depression and despair because of the Apocalypse Rules, the sight of the ascending rockets rekindled their very will to live.

They all wanted to live longer, hoping that perhaps one day, they too would have the chance to board a starship and travel to an alien world.

This wasn’t just a pipe dream in the eyes of many. A consensus had formed that during the era of the Apocalypse Rules, survival-oriented technology would inevitably experience explosive growth, and colony ships were undoubtedly the most iconic example of such modern technology.

Whether or not this consensus reflected reality, as long as people believed it, they found renewed motivation to survive.

Over the next two days, January 13 and 14, people remained immersed in the excitement of the rocket launch, eagerly awaiting their arrival at Terra Star and the good news that would surely follow.

Meanwhile, intelligence surfaced online that the Human Federation’s coalition army had finished assembling and was now just waiting for the new rule to be announced on the 15th.

If the new rule didn’t interfere with warfare, the campaign against the Seri Divine Kingdom would begin immediately.

If the new rule did have an impact, they would have no choice but to hold back their forces and wait until the rule ended and the interval period began.

Furthermore, many people were uncertain whether the fourteenth rule had been a survival-type. If it was, the probability of the fifteenth rule being a non-survival type would be higher.

If it wasn’t...

’It had better count!’ countless people thought. ’We need a break!’

And so, amid a whirlwind of anticipation, nervousness, anxiety, and fear, time finally came to the 15th—the day the fifteenth of the Apocalypse Rules was to be announced.