BXBX NOVEL Chapter 91 - Screwworms
“Professor Wei Yuan, what are your research findings?” Long Duo was already asking eagerly.
Professor Wei Yuan raised his head and glanced at Long Duo and the Invincible Fist Sage, but his expression was very calm. Of course he knew the Invincible Fist Sage’s identity, but he was only a scholar and wasn’t as excited as martial artists.
Professor Wei Yuan’s eyes were bloodshot as he replied in a hoarse voice, “Lord Fist Sage, Chief Commander, we have finally lived up to expectations during this period of time and found some results regarding the parasitic dire beasts.”
“The parasitic dire beasts that appeared this time have very strong cellular activities in their bodies, and their cells can divide constantly. The cells that divide can even develop into a complete life form under suitable conditions, that is, parasitism! However, there won’t be many cells with such complete biogenetic characteristics. Therefore, they need to parasitize certain cells in living beings in a specific way.”
“We’ve already confirmed that this method. They spread and parasitize hosts through their blood. Thus, as long as we’re not injured, those dire beasts cannot parasitize
us.”
Long Duo and Lin Feng both understood. It’s no wonder that out of so many martial artists who retreated from the Dragon Mountain Base, only some of the people were parasitized, while the others were not.
It turned out that the dire beasts parasitized hosts through blood. In other words, only those who were injured could be taken advantage of. Those dire beasts could not parasitize martial artists who were not injured.
Professor Wei Yuan paused for a moment and continued, “We also discovered that the stronger the genes, the harder it is for dire beasts to parasitize. It might even be impossible for them to parasitize. For example, dire beasts can’t parasitize experts who broke the genetic lock.”
This made sense. The 16 inhuman experts had fought with the demons for such a long time. Some out of them would definitely be injured, but none of them were parasitized. It seemed that as long as one broke the genetic lock, they would be “immune” to the parasitism.
Now that the cause of parasitism and method of dissemination were clear, the Invincible Fist Sage asked slowly, “Have you guys figured out how to differentiate if someone is parasitized?”
“We already have some rough ideas. The parasitism of these dire beasts has a incubation period of around a week, and it might be shorter for some. We will immediately produce some testing devices. As long as the parasitized is in the incubation period, we will definitely be able to find out.”
“And the solution?” Long Duo asked in a low voice. If someone was parasitized, even if it was detected during the incubation period, could they only wait for death in quarantine?
“There’s a way. We studied the blood of the dire beasts and found that its blood is lethal to the parasitic seed. As long as we develop this drug, we can resolve the parasitic problem completely.”
Hearing how Professor Wei Yuan speaking so much in one sitting and even come up with a solution, Long Duo finally heaved a sigh of relief.
The Invincible Fist Sage also nodded in satisfaction and said, “Very good. Produce the detection devices and drugs as soon as possible. The parasitic dire beasts are already slowly spreading throughout the world.”
“We will do our best.”
“By the way, did you guys come up with a name for this dire beast? This dire beast crisis is considered a major event. The losses it caused are significant. Furthermore, the source has yet to be found. Those that came were all ordinary demons.”
“Name? Our research institute calls it the Screwworm.”
“Screwworm? All right. Let’s call these dire beasts Screwworms. I’ll be leaving now to discuss with the other Sages about whether we should continue pursuing them deep into the Outland. These Screwworms are not simple…”
With that said, the Invincible Fist Sage left the research institute. He transformed into a fireball again and shot into the sky, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the Invincible Fist Sage leave just like that, Long Duo could only shake his head and smile helplessly. With the Invincible Fist Sage gone, he would have to clean up this mess in Dragonlith City.
However, they were finally safe. Although the production of detection devices were still incomplete, and the drugs to eliminate the parasitic seeds had yet to be developed, at least the threat of the parasitic Screwworms had been resolved.
Dragonlith City continued to be under martial law. Those who should be quarantined still had to be quarantined. As long as Dragonlith City was not in chaos, the losses from the Screwworm crisis could be controlled. This was undoubtedly the best outcome.
“Professor Wei, you haven’t rested for a few days. Go downstairs and rest for a while. The testing devices and drugs won’t be successfully developed in a day or two. Your health is the most important thing.”
Long Duo ignored Professor Wei Yuan’s objections and ordered people to forcefully take Professor Wei Yuan out of the laboratory. If Professor Wei Yuan were to continue staying in the laboratory, he might die suddenly from exhaustion. That would be a terrible outcome.
Lin Feng and Long Duo also left the laboratory, but they did not go to the living room. Instead, they went to a quiet room, with only Lin Feng and Long Duo.
After the two of them sat down, Long Duo sized Lin Feng up carefully and could not help but exclaim, “Lin Feng, you’ve made a great contribution this time. No matter which faction you decide to go to in the end, with your contributions, it won’t be a problem for you to apply for a Hero of Humanity Medal.”
Lin Feng, on the other hand, was confused. He had no idea what Long Duo was talking about. Hence, Lin Feng asked carefully, “Chief Commander, what do you mean by the Hero of Humanity Medal?”
“You don’t know?” Long Duo was rather taken aback.
“I don’t know.”
“Didn’t Lord Fist Sage introduce it to you just now when you were following him?”
“No. Dean only told me some things about cultivation. As for specific general knowledge questions, he asked me to consult the Chief Commander.”
Long Duo smiled weakly, feeling that this Invincible Fist Sage was really “absent-minded”. Lin Feng was such a genius, and he did not know to strike while the iron was hot and rope Lin Feng in.
But on careful thought, perhaps a great existence at the level of the Invincible Fist Sage wouldn’t care about a mere Metamorphic Realm martial artist who had just broken the genetic lock. It didn’t matter how outstanding Lin Feng’s performance was.
“All right, since you broke the genetic lock under my command, I’ll be your guide. Although these are all common knowledge, remember them carefully.
“Normally, after a martial artist breaks the genetic lock, they will reach the Metamorphic Realm. The outside world calls them inhuman, but you should know that we are actually in the Metamorphic Realm. All the factions in the world have a common agreement regarding Metamorphic Realm martial artists, which is the Inhuman Agreement. Basically 99% of Metamorphic Realm martial artists have signed the Inhuman Agreement. There are many details, so I won’t explain them one by one. When the time comes, you will naturally be provided with an Inhuman Agreement.
“My main introduction is that after you reach the Metamorphic Realm, you will have a chance to choose again. No matter what faction you belonged to in the past, once you break the genetic lock, you can choose again from all the factions in the world. These factions roughly include the government faction, military faction, consortium faction, the Freelance Cultivators Union, and the academic faction, making a total of five major factions.
“Out of these five major factions, you must make a choice. And theoretically speaking, the five major factions can openly compete for a new martial artist in the Metamorphic Realm. To put it simply, you’re in high demand right now, and the target of competition to rope in among the various major factions.” At this point, Long Duo could not help but smile when he saw Lin Feng’s confused gaze. Back then, he had his own moments of confusion as well. This was what all of them had experienced. Sometimes, having too many choices could be a real pain.