Chapter 464 - 412: A Call for Help and Sparring

Chapter 464: Chapter 412: A Call for Help and Sparring

Inside Gao Liangwei’s office at the Strategy Research Room.

Li Meng, Zhang Minglu, and the Director of the Aerospace Agency, Chen Shi, were all present.

Chen Shi placed his phone on the table and pressed play. A staticky audio clip began to sound out.

"Help... save me... I’m on the Dream Boat..."

The audio was short, but it was clearly a cry for help.

Aside from Chen Shi, the other three men looked shocked when they heard the two words "Dream Boat."

"Dream Boat? Are you talking about North Star’s Dream Ship One manned rocket?" Zhang Minglu asked.

Chen Shi nodded. "That’s right."

After the joint press conference between the North Star and Soloma Aerospace Agencies, everyone knew that after the first space colonization mission failed, only the Imperial Pioneers had returned to Celestial Water Star with a few surviving astronauts.

As for Dream Ship One, it was left abandoned in orbit around Terra Star. Since no one could figure out what had happened to the astronauts, it was impossible to send a team to recover it.

"According to voiceprint analysis, the voice in this distress call belongs to Robert, the captain of the Imperial Pioneers. But based on our interviews with the few astronauts who made it back, Robert should have perished along with the others."

"But now he’s alive, and sending a distress signal," Gao Liangwei said, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Something isn’t right about this," Li Meng analyzed. "Our previous assessment was that the ’Crimson Fear’ power from the current rule had already appeared on Terra Star before the rule was even announced. The astronauts suffered mass casualties precisely because they were exposed to this power prematurely. If this Robert was also invaded by the Crimson Fear, there’s no reason he should have been able to regain his normal consciousness."

This rule had been in effect for half a month, and humanity had already made considerable progress in studying it.

Some Ascenders with high Psychic Power ceilings and fast reaction speeds were indeed capable of saving themselves—even if they accidentally looked directly at Crimson Terra, they could survive as long as they cut off the connection in time, before their consciousness was completely lost in fear.

It was similar to when the Parasites were suspected of spreading the Crimson Fear through a video game; some quick-thinking players who looked away or smashed their screens the instant they saw the high-definition image were not significantly affected.

But the astronauts had been unaware of any of this. They were assaulted while completely ignorant of the Crimson Fear, so how could they have known how to protect themselves?

Now, Robert had suddenly regained consciousness and was even able to send a distress signal. No matter how you looked at it, something was suspicious.

Just then, Zhang Minglu’s eyes widened as he realized something.

"Could it be... could Robert have become a transmission vector?!"

At these words, both Li Meng and Gao Liangwei grew grim. Only Chen Shi was confused.

"A transmission vector? What do you mean?"

"Director Chen, you’re not aware yet," Gao Liangwei explained. "The third experiment exploring the Crimson Fear just concluded last night. The Human Federation discovered a horrifying result from it... That ’unknown’ Source of Fear... if a human comes into contact with it, they can become a carrier capable of spreading the Crimson Fear. They can transmit the fear through eye contact with others."

"What?!" Chen Shi exclaimed in disbelief.

After boldly proposing his hypothesis, Zhang Minglu frowned and muttered, "But that’s not right either. If Robert is now immune to the Crimson Fear, how could he have fallen into a stress-induced state of extreme fear before? This is different from the case of that test subject who had his brain lobe removed..."

"The Aerospace Agency believes he must be rescued," Chen Shi said. "And we can’t just abandon Dream Ship One, either. If Robert has become a transmission vector, couldn’t a rescue team take precautions just by wearing special equipment to avoid eye contact with him?"

"It would seem so, but the risk is still very high," Li Meng cautioned. "Don’t forget, Dream Ship One is currently in orbit around Terra Star. Sending a rescue team there now for close-range exposure to Crimson Terra is far too dangerous. If we’re going to send a team, it would be best to wait until after this current rule ends."

Zhang Minglu chimed in, "I agree. The resources on Dream Ship One are surely enough for Robert to survive on his own for a year or so. There’s no need to rush a rescue. It won’t be too late to go after the rule ends and we’ve gathered more intelligence on the Source of Fear."

Gao Liangwei didn’t speak, merely nodding as he looked at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi thought for a moment. "Your advice is very reasonable. We will discuss it with the Soloma Space Agency and form a joint rescue team after the rule ends."

With that, he took back his phone and stood up. "I’ll head back for now. I’ll be in touch."

After Chen Shi left, only the three of them remained in the room, each looking somewhat weary.

The three of them were swamped with work, running on fumes day after day with almost no time to rest.

"By the way, Section Chief Li, I watched the combat footage of your team and have the items you requested ready," Zhang Minglu said.

"Thanks."

Gao Liangwei asked, "How are the relationships within the team?"

"Not bad. They’re quite harmonious," Li Meng said. "Guan Tong, Chen Na, and Silver Fox know each other well. Bai Xuewu is also very familiar with Chen Na, though her attitude toward Guan Tong is lukewarm. As for Yang Ran, he only knew Bai Xuewu before, but he’s a natural at getting to know people. Once he found out Guan Tong’s identity, he accepted him as the captain... Wenren Yizhi is the exception. Because of her physical condition, her relationship with the others is just a simple nodding acquaintance. There’s no deep interaction."

Zhang Minglu gave a bitter smile. "Bai had a bad run-in with Guan Tong on Holy Grail Island, so of course her attitude toward him is going to be lukewarm. As for Wenren Yizhi... sigh. The price of her ability is just what it is. Nothing to be done."

Gao Liangwei also knew about Wenren Yizhi’s situation, but certainly not as much as Zhang Minglu. He asked, "Is the price of her ability that she can’t stand up?"