Chapter 482 - 423: "Homegrown Psychic Power" Is Cheaper

Chapter 482: Chapter 423: "Homegrown Psychic Power" Is Cheaper

On the evening of March 23rd, at the Human Federation’s joint forces base on the Black Banner Country front line.

Soldiers from various nations were gathered in the base’s large barracks, sitting in small groups, chatting and laughing.

The perimeter of the base was densely patrolled by a security matrix of drones, maintaining constant vigilance.

The front-line commander wouldn’t normally be this cautious, but previous Human Federation research on Crimson Terra had revealed that because the Parasites’ brain neurons had been altered by spores, they were extremely insensitive to fear.

This raised the possibility that the Parasites could leverage this power to counterattack humanity, which is why the front-line commander was on high alert, deploying numerous reconnaissance and defensive installations around the joint forces base.

"I finally get to rotate back next week. I can hardly believe it myself, but after being stuck out here in the middle of nowhere every day, I’m actually starting to miss life in the shelter."

"Yeah. The shelter had food, drinks, fun... Way better than this shithole."

"You’re so lucky. I’ve still got another month before I can rotate back."

"It’s all because of those son-of-a-bitch Parasites. They’ve all scurried off into the deep mountains like rats, refusing to come out. Otherwise, with our firepower, we would’ve wiped them all out ages ago!"

"I heard Soloma has some really powerful war machines, called ’Annihilators’ or something... How come they don’t send a few of those over here?"

"I’ve heard those big bots are super destructive, but they’re probably not a good fit for this kind of mountainous terrain."

As the soldiers were chatting out of boredom, a private sidled up to them with a grin. "Let me show you guys something interesting."

The soldiers didn’t recognize him and exchanged glances. One of them asked, "What is it?"

The private pulled a few photographs from his pocket and held them up for the group to see. On them were high-definition images of Crimson Terra.

"What the—!"

"You’re a Parasite?!"

"Look away! Quick!"

"AHHHH!"

They never expected a soldier in their own uniform to be a hidden Parasite. Caught completely off guard, they were instantly affected.

Except for one man who reacted quickly enough to avert his gaze, the rest were all hit by the Crimson Fear and descended into frenzied terror.

This was not an isolated incident. At the same time, hidden Parasites launched surprise attacks all over the base, either by showing soldiers photographs that induced Crimson Fear or by detonating Psychic Power Bombs.

Crucially, these bombs weren’t meant to kill people, but to destroy buildings.

When a roof was breached or a building collapsed, people were forced to run outside. But it was the middle of the night, and the orb of Crimson Terra hung high in the sky, placing anyone caught in the open in mortal danger.

The front-line Commander was still in the operations room discussing strategy with several officers when the screams and explosions outside made him realize instantly that the enemy was attacking.

The Commander calmly checked his instruments and saw that the defensive perimeter formed by the drone matrix had not been breached. This meant the chaos was caused by internal infiltrators and had to be quelled immediately.

"All squad leaders, listen up! Take your teams and eliminate any exposed Parasites immediately!"

The Commander had just given the order over the radio when a sea of red dots suddenly lit up the screen, surrounding the base.

"They’re—they’re all enemies!" another officer in the operations room cried out. "Where did so many of them come from all of a sudden?!"

"The infiltrators inside are making their move in coordination with the sudden appearance of massive numbers of Parasites outside! This must be a counteroffensive the Prophet has been planning for a long time!" another officer said frantically. "Commander! We must—"

The Commander acted decisively, opening a base-wide communication channel. "The Parasites have launched a large-scale counteroffensive! All units, hold your positions! Eliminate any hostiles that appear—"

THOOM!

Before the Commander could finish, a tremendous crash sounded from the roof, and a shower of masonry and debris rained down.

"Look out!"

"Get clear!"

Several officers pulled the Commander aside just as a burly figure leaped down from the hole in the roof.

The hulking man ripped off his black robe, revealing a suit stretched tight over bulging muscles. Seeing the discarded robe, the Commander’s pupils shrank. "You’re not a Parasite... you’re a Cultist!"

"Bishop. Khan." The man in the suit clenched his fists, his face expressionless. "Heresy. Doom."

...

After completing their mission, Guan Tong and the others didn’t stay long in Soloma City, taking a private jet back to North Star at noon on the 24th.

Upon their return, Li Meng let them rest for a few hours before gathering everyone in the evening for a debriefing.

In addition to all the squad members, Zhang Minglu and the director, Gao Liangwei, were also present at the meeting.

"First off, the squad’s mission was to eliminate the high-ranking members of the Fire Worship Cult, led by the Pope. Judging by the results—only a hundred or so Cultists and two Bishops dead—the mission was a failure." Li Meng paused, his tone shifting. "However, there is no doubt that Soloma is the one to bear responsibility for this failure."

The Strategy Research Room had already been synced up with the relevant intel. Zhang Minglu said, "Based on our analysis, Soloma’s intention was most likely to have their own team, led by Adam, find the Pope first. Their objective was probably to either persuade him to surrender or to capture him alive."

"Capture him alive?" Yang Ran looked confused. "But why?"

Zhang Minglu glanced at him. "Power."

Silver Fox immediately understood. "Doctor, you mean Soloma wants to get its hands on that Mind Control power."

"We can’t be certain without proof, but we believe it’s highly likely," Zhang Minglu explained. "Intelligence we’ve collected in the past shows that many people in Fahe Country who were staunchly opposed to the Fire Worship Cult suddenly reversed their stance overnight, becoming its most devout followers. This must have been due to Mind Control."