Fang Xin took out his zhilian device, and his expression changed slightly after seeing the latest news.
Everyone from Battalion Commander and above in the Ninth Division had received the message.
An experiment conducted by a self-proclaimed civilian organization had malfunctioned.
A virus in the laboratory had been released.
That virus had already begun to spread in a small city in the southeast.
After local officials discovered it, they immediately activated a high-level alert.
At first, they tried to suppress the matter and resolve it themselves.
However, as time went on, the situation gradually worsened and could no longer be contained; the virus had already begun to spread towards surrounding cities, and the authorities immediately reported the news to their superiors.
Fang Xin looked at the virus; anyone contaminated by it would mutate, lose their sanity, and frantically devour each other; what was most outrageous was that this thing could even evolve.
As the parasitic hosts of the virus devoured each other, the intelligence of the host bodies would gradually approach that of normal humans.
Fang Xin watched several videos that had been sent.
In the video, there was a mutated, obese middle-aged man; his body was plump and white, like a giant maggot wriggling on the ground, leaving a trail of mucus as he crawled; when attacking, the middle-aged man's face would split into four Petals and open, like a carnivorous plant, devouring the target alive.
Fang Xin zoomed in on the video and saw that on the slightly transparent belly of the plump middle-aged man, faint, terrified faces could be seen—all people who had been devoured by this obese middle-aged man.
Besides that, there were also centipede-like humans, head-to-tail, adding a segment with each person they devoured, a sight that made one's hair stand on end.
This virus did not only target humans; it had similar effects on animals; Fang Xin saw a mosquito over a meter in size in another video.
Mosquitoes are annoying enough as it is, but this one was so large; one strike from its huge proboscis could directly drain an adult human.
Currently, the Sky Shield Bureau branch in that area had deployed all its personnel, but the damage was quite severe; not only Sky Shield Bureau personnel, but also the church and many local organizations had taken action.
However, the way the virus spread was like a snowball, growing larger and larger; several central cities had already fallen, and stopping it would require immense effort.
Tai Shi Bo lived up to his nickname of 'Little God of Slaughter'; after receiving this news, he offered a strategy to his superiors, which could be summarized in two words.
Slaughter the city.
In those completely fallen cities, there were almost no clear-headed normal people, and mutated parasitic hosts were constantly escaping; each person who ran to other places could infect a large area, spreading exponentially, and the speed of control was far slower than the speed of spread.
And what was most fatal was that this virus infected Awakened even faster than ordinary people.
After the Ninth Division received the news.
Sikong Zhao, the chubby old man who fished more than Fang Xin, personally took command, preparing to lead people to the core area of the virus outbreak.
Fang Xin's battalion was also among those going.
Upon receiving this news, Sikong Zhao sent messages to all departments of the Sky Shield Bureau headquarters; Battalion Commanders and above in the Ninth Division, and team leaders and above in other divisions, were to gather urgently for an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.
Fang Xin sat in the conference room; since joining, he felt like there were endless meetings every day.
After urgent discussions, each division allocated its jurisdiction over cities, indirectly adopting Tai Shi Bo's suggestion: to implement destructive strikes on core areas, save other areas if possible, kill if not, and absolutely not allow any virus carrier to leave the infected zone; if any division let an infected person escape, the highest commander of that division would be immediately replaced and never promoted.
After the meeting, departments boarded planes in batches and headed towards the infected zone.
This battle was a joint operation; the Ninth Division had relatively fewer personnel, so others would be assigned to the Ninth Division's command.
Fang Xin glanced at the personnel allocation list and raised an eyebrow.
It was actually the Sky Shield Bureau's Seventh Division.
And the team leader partnering with Fang Xin was an old acquaintance, Sheng Tianqi.
They had met at the aquarium; Fang Xin knew Xiao Wutong and Allie, who were under Sheng Tianqi.
In Taitong City, the plane landed on a helipad atop a tall building.
Fang Xin led his team down from the plane.
Standing on the tall building, looking down, one could see mutated parasitic hosts roaring and moving through the streets every now and then; those mutated parasitic hosts would madly roar and devour anything weaker than themselves.
After devouring, the parasitic host's body would begin to transform, glowing with different colors.
These parasitic hosts showed no humanity whatsoever; it seemed as if only the most primitive biological instinct of the law of the jungle was loaded into each parasitic host's mind.
Fang Xin gestured, indicating for each squad to act according to their previously assigned areas.
He glanced at his zhilian device; Team Leader Sheng Tianqi from the Seventh Division had already arrived.
Although Sheng Tianqi was a team leader, in this operation, Fang Xin was the supreme commander of this joint task force.
Fang Xin flicked his Panlong Spear, and it flew out; on his legs, qi condensed into dragon scales, his legs bent and then sprang.
The ground beneath his feet exploded, and Fang Xin leaped up like a giant grasshopper, landing steadily on the Panlong Spear, which had flown dozens of meters away; with a light tap of his toe on the Panlong Spear, his body floated out again, reappearing on the rooftop of a building a hundred meters away.
The Panlong Spear's momentum did not dissipate, flying behind Fang Xin; its spearhead grazed the edge of the building's rooftop, spinning in mid-air; Fang Xin casually raised his hand, and the Panlong Spear flew precisely towards his palm, disappearing into his spatial ring.
This smooth combo left his teammates stunned; Shi Tailang mumbled, "Who said Strength-based Mangfu can't be flashy! There are only Awakened who can't be flashy, not talents that can't be flashy!"
Fang Xin swept past several buildings; on the ground, a small team from the Seventh Division was attacking mutated parasitic hosts, trying to rescue uninfected normal people from a building.
Amidst the fierce battle, Fang Xin descended from the sky, directly crushing the strongest mutated parasitic host.
The battle quickly ended; upon seeing Fang Xin, one person in the team froze, "Fang Xin?"
Fang Xin looked and realized it was his old classmate Qin Junhao; he had often used Qin Junhao's name to do bad things in the past, so he naturally wouldn't easily forget Qin Junhao.
The two hadn't seen each other in a long time, and Qin Junhao was surprised by Fang Xin's descent from the sky.
Qin Junhao looked at Fang Xin's Ninth Division uniform with some envy.
"Fang Xin, you must be a team leader in the Ninth Division now, right? Your rank is on par with our Battalion Commander! Your Ninth Division's special privilege is indeed good!" Qin Junhao's words carried a hint of sourness.
"It's alright!" Fang Xin responded perfunctorily.
Qin Junhao puffed out his chest, "I'm a team leader now too, buddy! As long as I make a big contribution this time, getting promoted to Battalion Commander is a sure thing. Hey? Fang Xin, I heard promotions are tough in your Ninth Division; it must take a long time for your team leader position to go up, right?"
"It's passable!"
Qin Junhao told Fang Xin with three parts sincerity and seven parts politeness, "Fang Xin, if you really can't hack it, transfer to another division. You might have a slight advantage there. I heard many people in the Ninth Division do that. You don't have any background either, so pave your own way early. You can't waste time in a dead-end position for a tiny profit; you have to think about your future! If you really can't, come to the Seventh Division. I've smoothed things over here, and if you come, we can help each other out. Otherwise, in the Ninth Division, you simply can't compete with those second-generation rich kids!"
Fang Xin was about to speak when Sheng Tianqi approached.
Qin Junhao quickly saluted, "Team Leader!"
Seeing Fang Xin not moving, Qin Junhao nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "Fang Xin, salute your superior!"
Clap!
Sheng Tianqi stood at attention and saluted Fang Xin.
"Seventh Division Team Leader Sheng Tianqi, salutes the commander!"
