Defense Communication is a special communication tool developed by Happiness City.

It looks like a large mobile phone, with stable and extremely sturdy materials. It has some of the functions of a modern smartphone and can be used as defensive equipment in critical times, able to withstand impacts of around 400 joules three times consecutively.

And most importantly, Defense Communication is free!

Any resident who has been in Happiness City for over 60 days can register and collect it at a designated location.

Of course, the reason for such generosity is that once Defense Communication leaves the boundaries of Happiness City, it immediately becomes useless—not only can it not make calls, but all internal functions are locked.

Even communication between the Buffer Zone, Inner City, and Industrial Zone in Happiness City requires special permission, which is scarce and mainly allocated for public account communication.

Even Liu Bi, a Fourth-stage Inspector, needs to call back to the inspection station to apply for permission for special circumstances.

"The special maternal source that infected He Fei had already spread to the nearby guards at the time of his death."

"What?"

Cheng Ye's heart suddenly sank, and he instinctively reached for the handgun on his bedside.

But when he turned his head and saw the brand-new security door, his tension eased slightly.

"Brother B, aren't you in the Industrial Zone? How do you know..."

"Precisely because of this, the problem is even bigger."

Liu Bi's voice was hoarse like sandpaper, "The unknown infection source that infected He Fei has already been named by the research institute, codenamed 'Stand-In Starfish'. It's a hydrophilic system infection source of an animal class with extremely bizarre and terrifying abilities, currently detected to be transmitted through bodily fluids and contact!"

"Ah, contact?"

Cheng Ye was violently shaken inside.

In the Inspector's manual, contact-type infection sources are considered the most terrifying.

If not detected and handled immediately, the virus spreads like wildfire.

Many Shelter Cities have collapsed overnight because of the rampant devastation caused by such infected bodies!

"That's right." Liu Bi hurriedly, "The Industrial Zone identified the same infection source in the afternoon, and upon investigation, it was found that the infected bodies in the Industrial Zone had only brief contact with the infected bodies in the Buffer Zone. The Cross Legion immediately sealed off the workers who had contact with these infected bodies."

"After induced testing, although only three out of nineteen were infected, among the workers they contacted, new infected bodies were also discovered..."

"The Industrial Zone is now under lockdown, with a comprehensive mass screening underway. But since it already spread to this side, you should understand what's happening in the Buffer Zone right now..."

Of course, he understands.

Exponential transmission permits the possibility of the entire city being filled with infected bodies being unremarkable.

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, his eyes falling on his injured leg and the unopened box of nutrient paste at the foot of his bed.

"Then... can it be held?"

"Yes!"

Surprisingly, Liu Bi gave a resolute answer, "The more transmissible the infection source, the stricter the outbreak conditions. It can be cleared before the outbreak. Currently, it's determined that when the humidity around the infected body exceeds 98%, the Stand-In Starfish will activate, and it will take more than 30 minutes in this state to enter the Second-Phase outbreak. If the humidity is below the threshold, it will continue latent transmission."

"Theoretically, if the host lives in an arid area, the infected body might never trigger throughout its lifecycle."

"And in the area around Chuan City, there will be no rain for the next three days. This is the key to life and death!"

"The Infection Source Research Institute is working non-stop to research a way to eliminate and kill the 'Stand-In Starfish'. Based on previous efficiency, results will be out by tomorrow night or the morning after, and citywide deployment will begin."

At this point, Liu Bi's tone suddenly became heavy, "But you must remember, too many Shelter Cities have done their utmost in prevention and control, with preparation time exceeding thirty days, yet no Shelter City has been able to completely extinguish the infection source."

"Do not take chances, the outbreak is inevitable, and the timing is... the next rainfall!"

Rainfall?

Cheng Ye quickly switched to the weather module on Defense Communication, unsurprisingly, the weather module had already been shut down.

"Can't predict the next rainfall?"

"We can't, we don't have meteorological satellites, cloud data is all transmitted from Firewood Shelter City. This year's atmospheric chaos is extreme; we can only confirm there will be no rain in the next three days, but after that, rain could come at any time."

Rain at any time?

Now, Cheng Ye only has two options: either immediately pack and escape into the Wilderness, or stay and resist with Happiness City to the end.

However, without prior preparation, where could he run to? Possibly directly into the lair of the infected bodies!

Damn it, after this ordeal, it's essential to establish a refuge outside the city.

"If an outbreak occurs, how to respond?"

Cheng Ye did not hesitate and immediately asked.

The moment the words fell, he distinctly heard a sigh from the other end of the phone, filled with age and lament.

"Brother B?"

"Communications between the Industrial Zone and Buffer Zone are not possible, especially at such special times, but do you know why I can call you back on this line?"

"Hmm?"

"Ding Yishan called me; he wants me to come back and protect you!"

?

Both ends of the line fell into an eerie silence simultaneously.

Ding Yishan?

In an instant, Cheng Ye thought of three or four possibilities, but he didn't expect the answer to be those three words.

"Why?"

"You're asking me?"

Liu Bi said it as if it was a matter of course.

The voice transmitted through the phone, and a classic meme suddenly appeared in Cheng Ye's mind.

'You go and get rid of Monk Tang and his disciples.jpg'

Asking Brother B at the faraway hydropower station about such matters seems... indeed... a bit much to ask?

"Can you come back?"

"Hmm... for that, wait a moment, I'll check the situation."

On the other end of the microphone, inside the communications room at the highest point of the hydroelectric plant.

Liu Bi first glanced at the eight soldiers guarding the door, then leaned out to look down.

In Zone B of the Industrial Area, no less than a hundred heavy armored infantry fighting vehicles were patrolling back and forth, headlights crisscrossing to form a tightly knit web of lockdown lights.

In the distance, more than twenty tanks painted bright yellow were stationed at key passageways, their cannons uniformly aimed at entrance and exit paths to prevent any infected body from trying to sabotage the hydroelectric plant.

Looking up, swarms of drones darted about like locusts, red lights flashing underneath them, each equipped with powerful tranquilizer weapons capable of knocking out a full-grown black bear within five seconds.

Further off, there seemed to be a dozen helicopters shuttling back and forth, their spotlight beams like silver chains from the sky, casting moving light trails across the ground.

"Cheng Ye?"

"Brother B, I'm here."

"I seem to be a little stuck here."

Liu Bi lowered his voice, "The defense over at the hydroelectric plant is a 'tiny bit' tight. How about I ask if they can send you over here to me?"

Damn!

Brother B really is a genius!

Why didn't I think of that?

However, before Cheng Ye could inquire about the possibility, the next second, a stranger's voice came through the other end of the microphone,

"Inspector Liu, although we'd love to pretend we didn't hear anything, your voice is also a 'tiny bit' loud. We… well, we are not deaf."

The man emphasized the words "a tiny bit."

"I'm sorry, we've received orders from the Inner City. The hydroelectric plant has entered S-level alert status. Now, whether it's you or the person you're speaking with, if either appears in the lockdown area of the hydroelectric plant, you'll be eliminated on sight."

"Not even with a checkpoint certificate?" Liu Bi asked, unwilling to give up.

"Even if Station Chief Ding were to come, see those twenty-eight Rhino Tanks parked at the passage? I heard one shot wouldn't be painless!"

"Oh, and by the way, the eighteen Phantom helicopters on patrol are all equipped with A-3 type 30mm chain guns, this thing is definitely a transcendence tool."

Silence fell again on both ends of the line.

After a moment.

"Brother B?"

Cheng Ye swallowed, "What do you mean by twenty-eight Rhino Tanks? Eighteen Phantom helicopters?"

"Is it that 'tiny bit' I understand?"

"Uh..."

Liu Bi hesitated for a bit, then suddenly shifted the topic as if he'd lost his memory, "Don't worry about those things. The hydroelectric plant is, after all, our Happiness City's most important facility. The main issue now is… what about you?"

"What about Sister Luo?"

"Home is very safe, and being in the suburbs with few people, as long as you don't go outside, the Starfish infected bodies..."

At this point, Liu Bi suddenly remembered, "No, I forgot to tell you the characteristics of the Stand-In Starfish!"

"What I'm about to say is very important. I've written down the key points summarized from the Industrial Area on paper, I'll read them out to you, press the record button."

"Okay!"

Cheng Ye perked up and quickly pressed the function button on the side of his Defense Communication device.

"The infected bodies of Stand-In Starfish are also divided into three phases: Phase one is parasitic, Phase two is outbreak, and Phase three is fusion."

"I've mentioned the parasitic phase, with no obvious symptoms; only an increase in surrounding humidity can determine its presence, forming a faint starfish mark on the forehead."

"In the outbreak phase, the mark rapidly worsens into a tumor form. Human consciousness gets sealed into the tumor while the body is controlled by the infection source, showing: an extreme craving for food, with greatly increased aggressiveness and bloodthirstiness."

Craving for food?

Starfish are carnivorous; if there's an outbreak, what could qualify as meat?

Cheng Ye couldn't help but glance towards the direction of the big cafeteria, but the scale of double ponytail farming likely wouldn't feed tens of thousands of Starfish infected bodies, right?

"Due to transmission through bodily fluids and contact infection, craving for meat, and increased aggressiveness, its outbreak phase behavior patterns are similar to S-1 series zombies."

"During the fusion phase, the Stand-In Starfish provides the host with extremely high defensive power and digestive recovery ability. Current defensive test results show it can completely resist impacts below 300j; digestive recovery ability results indicate: if the host has less than 7 fatal injuries, consuming about 50kg of meat can fully recover. More than 7 fatal injuries result in death."

300j?

A typical police handgun shoots 9mm rounds with kinetic energy of about 300-400.

The Wild Bull Fighting Handgun has kinetic energy of around 570.

It seems this contact-infecting body isn't very strong. Like the Barrett was only in the outbreak phase, and it withstood a whole magazine without a problem, the strength of the Stand-In Starfish in the fusion phase doesn't even match the explosion stage of the Rotting Vine.

Cheng Ye slightly relaxed, then couldn't help but marvel at the strength of the Happiness City system.

If it were an ordinary settlement or Shelter City, facing such a previously unknown infected body, how could they gather so many key data points in less than a day?

"You borrowed 100 Contribution Points before—haven't used them all yet, have you?"

"Hmm?"

Cheng Ye was a bit stunned, then immediately reacted and whispered, "I haven't had time to use them. I've been busy these past few days reinforcing the door, changing it to an anti-theft one."

"That's good, I was just about to remind you to change the door!"

Liu Bi spoke urgently, "To avoid panic, the news will be sealed off for the next three days. The station also won't provide defensive equipment; all supplies need to be purchased on your own, of course, reimbursement can be claimed later. For anything under third phase, the limit is 150 Contribution Points, so don't hesitate to spend the money."

"It's late now; tomorrow morning, immediately go to Turbulence Equipment Store at Giant Wall to order equipment. Report the code phrase: East Mountain Rebounds, it's our Eastern People's Inspector emergency code. Remember these few items:

"First, a set of protective clothing that fits you and can block the contact transmission of Stand-In Starfish."

"Second, a special backpack-type isolation box, which can contain infection sources to prevent secondary infection."

"Third, a long gun, either a rifle or a shotgun, you choose!"

"Additionally..." At this point, Liu Bi paused and lowered his voice so much that Cheng Ye had to lean in to hear, even with the speakerphone on,

"Your dad left a military armored vehicle, runs on fuel, which I hid in an abandoned underground garage at the factory workers' housing complex. It's equipped with two heavy machine guns with automatic fire control and enough supplies for nearly half a year of living. Remember, only use it if the Buffer Zone is completely lost, otherwise, you're considered a defector, and you can never return to Happiness City!"

"After you leave the city, Sister Luo knows where it's safe. She'll take you to a hiding spot I've arranged in the ruins, stay hidden… until this disaster ends!"

...

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