49 Apocalypse Rules

Black Banner Country.

The moment the rules ended, massive chaos erupted throughout the nation.

Tens upon tens of thousands of people—no, tens upon tens of thousands of Parasites—gathered to attack the minority who had passed the rules.

The seeds of this disaster were sown the moment Black Banner Country’s top leadership chose to let the deeply infected go unchecked rather than manage them centrally.

Now, those seeds had sprouted and grown into a towering tree with terrifying speed.

The official forces were powerless to stop it, as many government personnel had also become Parasites. They, in turn, used their hosts’ identities to sow even greater chaos with ease.

Some of the highest-ranking officials had already fled to other countries, leaving the mess behind.

The few who remained uninfected were plunged into the deepest despair.

They couldn’t tell if a person was a Parasite, but the Parasites could distinguish between their own kind and Heresy.

This made it impossible for those who had passed the rules to even pretend to be Parasites and blend in.

An unspeakable disaster erupted in the nation. Before the day was even over, the Parasites had become the new masters of Black Banner Country.

The other member states of the Human Federation were utterly shocked and immediately convened an emergency remote meeting.

On the large screen, the face of every representative commissioner showed deep unease.

The commissioner from Black Banner Country was absent, unable to attend the meeting.

All the commissioners knew that Black Banner Country would no longer have a seat in the Human Federation. From the moment its leadership chose to flee, the nation was doomed to watch its own demise.

"Only a small number of people from Black Banner Country escaped to us in Soloma," Mary said. "According to their intelligence, Black Banner Country is now under the control of the Parasite collective."

"This is absolutely horrifying..."

"Don’t tell me the tens of millions of people in Black Banner Country have all become Parasites?!"

"It likely hasn’t reached that point," Mary explained. "According to those who fled to us, there are still quite a few non-Parasites within the country. They’re just besieged by the Parasites and have no way to escape."

"Hmph. To speak so casually of abandoning your own country and people to flee... that’s the style of Black Banner Country’s leadership, all right," the commissioner from Sisiya Country couldn’t help but curse.

"The key issue now is how to rescue the survivors," Gao Liangwei said.

"If the Human Federation takes no action, the remaining non-Parasites in Black Banner Country will surely be eliminated. And what’s more terrifying than elimination is that they, too, will be converted into Parasites, further strengthening the collective."

Gao Liangwei’s words were reasonable, but every commissioner’s expression was heavy as they remained silent.

Mary said, "Chairman Gao, none of the Human Federation’s member states have solved their own Parasite problems yet. Some are only slightly better off than Black Banner Country and still face the risk of collapse. Under these circumstances, we simply don’t have the strength to aid Black Banner Country."

"I know." Gao Liangwei looked at Mary. "That’s why I propose that our two nations, North Star and Soloma, take action."

Hearing this, the other commissioners nodded in agreement.

At present, the only nations capable of controlling their domestic situations while also having the spare capacity to aid others were North Star and Soloma.

Both were major technological and military powers. With their advanced modern arsenals alone, they could carry out large-scale bombing and extermination campaigns against the Parasite swarms.

Furthermore, Soloma had the advantage of its Intelligent Robots, which could be mass-produced for armed operations to reduce human casualties.

North Star’s advantage lay in having the largest surviving population, which meant it also had the highest number of Ascenders. They could form large Ascender legions, creating a formidable fighting force.

Gao Liangwei saw Mary hesitating and knew she was thinking there was nothing to be gained from this, making her reluctant to agree.

Especially since some of Black Banner Country’s top figures had already transferred their assets—along with large quantities of Sublimation Coins and other items—to Soloma, it meant there were few "resources" left in the country itself.

"If you feel there’s no profit in it, perhaps you should think about the Black Banner People who are still alive," said Gao Liangwei.

"Anyone who can hold on to their sense of self in that environment, who hasn’t just gone with the flow and been parasitized by the spores, must be an Ascender with unshakable willpower. People like that are valuable talents, warriors. To let them perish, isolated and helpless—wouldn’t that be a terrible waste?"

Mary’s eyes lit up at his words. She had forgotten about that.

Those Ascenders from Black Banner Country who were still holding out were, indeed, a valuable "resource" in their own right.

"Even if Chairman Gao hadn’t mentioned it, I would have," Mary declared. "We will never abandon warriors who are still in the fight. After this meeting, I will persuade the Senate and His Majesty the King to dispatch troops to Black Banner Country and save them!"

The representatives from the other, smaller nations forced smiles. They knew they might need the same kind of help in the future.

"That’s wonderful."

"Now the survivors in Black Banner Country have a chance."

"But... is there really any hope left for humanity?" one commissioner asked, his face etched with despair. "Fahe and Black Banner Country were once two of the world’s great powers. Now, the citizens of one have all become disciples of the Fire Worship Cult, and the other has been completely overrun by Parasites..."

The room fell silent.

After the remote meeting, Gao Liangwei rubbed his temples and called for Zhang Minglu.

Zhang Minglu appeared, his eyes ringed with black and his expression haggard. He looked like he hadn’t rested in a very long time.

"Chairman, you were looking for me."

"What’s the status of the maneuver teams’ casualties? Have you compiled the numbers?"

"Overall casualties are over fifty percent," Zhang Minglu sighed. "The team I took to Quarantine Zone 3 fared a bit better; Dragon Soul made a move and stabilized our morale. But the situation in the other zones wasn’t so good."

North Star’s large population was an advantage, but it also meant it had a large number of Parasites.

Although Zhang Minglu had contacted Gao Liangwei with a warning the moment he discovered the hosts’ consciousnesses were being extinguished and replaced by the spores, problems had still erupted in many of the quarantine zones.

In some cases, Parasites suddenly went on a rampage, attacking and causing massive casualties.

In others, Parasites chose to hide, blending in with groups of non-Parasites and successfully leaving the quarantine zones.

The latter case was a far bigger headache for the authorities than the former.

The Parasites possessed their hosts’ memories and intelligence, and they looked no different from ordinary people. Letting them mix into human society was like a drop of water falling into the ocean—how could anyone possibly screen them out?

"The most urgent task is to find a way to detect the Parasites as quickly as possible," Zhang Minglu said. "Chairman, you have to push the research departments harder. Their efficiency is critical!"

"I know." Gao Liangwei nodded. "All the research departments are working at full capacity. I’ve called you here because I have a new mission that requires you to mobilize some personnel and maneuver teams."

"A new mission?"

"Black Banner Country has fallen completely. The Parasites have taken over, but a small number of uninfected civilians and Ascenders are still fighting back. Without outside help, their annihilation is only a matter of time."

"You’re saying... we’re going to rescue them?"

"Yes. If all goes as planned, we will conduct a joint operation with Soloma, primarily using military units for a large-scale firepower strike. Your Ascender squads and maneuver teams will go to Black Banner Country as battlefield support."

"Understood." Zhang Minglu agreed without hesitation. "To be honest, this is the perfect opportunity for them to hone their skills in actual combat. Judging by their performance in this crisis, training and sparring alone aren’t enough."

"It sounds like you already have people in mind?"

"Yes. I plan to dispatch a squad led by Bai Xuewu, along with four of the research lab’s maneuver teams—two hundred people in total—to provide battlefield support."

Gao Liangwei nodded, then asked after a moment of thought, "What’s the progress with Shadow?"

"Silver Fox informed me not long ago that based on their field investigation, they believe the Mizusawa Clan’s laboratory has been moved onto a ship. Our intelligence department is currently conducting a satellite search."

"It seems the progress is good."

"Yes. If we and Shadow can successfully complete this joint operation, I think it will be easier to pursue deeper cooperation in the future."