Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 352 Infiltration and Reunion

"Load it onto the truck."

At the coalition front-line base, at the officer's command, soldiers loaded the captured parasites into transport vehicles.

Once the vehicle is full, the operator presses a button, and the jet device installed inside the vehicle begins to operate, slowly spraying a special anesthetic spray from the nozzle.

Its purpose is to put the parasites inside the vehicle into a state of sedation. When the vehicle arrives at the transfer station, an additional layer of protection is added by injecting each parasite with a powerful sedative to ensure that they do not wake up upon landing.

The purpose of doing this is, of course, to prevent the conscious parasites from rebelling once they arrive at the landing site.

Even if they are powerless to resist, just making a lot of noise can cause a lot of trouble.

Just like in the previous question, the nearly 30,000 parasites that were devoured by the alien intelligence... If they had been conscious at the time and were all shouting and yelling, it's unimaginable how chaotic the scene would have become.

If many of them also claim that they are actually human and were forcibly brought here as parasites, it will also affect the mentality of the soldiers on site.

Regardless of the reason, the best outcome is for the parasite to be devoured as food while unconscious.

"Hurry up, everyone! The higher-ups are really pushing us!"

"Is the gap in Sisya that big?"

"If they're asking so many questions, they must be short of food."

"There are probably quite a few parasites on the Sisian mainland as well, why don't they capture some at the top instead of just waiting for us to transport them here."

"There's no way to tell. You go and arrest someone, and they say they're human. What do you do then? Pretend they're a parasite and arrest them?"

The Allied soldiers discussed things as they worked.

"But isn't it the same here? Everyone who gets on the bus claims to be human."

"The difference is huge. After the parasites on the Black Flag side declared the establishment of the country, the Human Federation held a meeting and defined the nature of the people here as parasites—at least ordinary people are."

"What if ordinary people are mistakenly arrested?"

"They can only accept their bad luck. What else can they do? It's their Black Flag Country that fell first, not other member states of the Commonwealth of Nations." The veteran snorted heavily.

"You're so naive, kid. Haven't you been online these past few days? There are tons of analyses online. Everyone knows that once the question-and-answer function of extraterrestrial intelligence is figured out, the Human Federation will inevitably need a stable source of food that can also avoid a humanitarian crisis."

Just then, the parasites declared occupation of this Black Flag Country and even established some kind of 'Seri Divine Kingdom.' This is like a godsend; the Human Consortium will definitely use this as a source of supplies… Didn't our allied forces suddenly intensify their offensive after that live stream?"

"Okay, it seems that's really true!"

The young soldier suddenly realized.

"So, you..."

"Let's chat after we finish our work!"

The officer's voice came from behind, and the soldiers immediately shut their mouths.

At that moment, the officer's communicator rang, and after answering it, a new order was transmitted.

"Why add another drug resistance test to the parasites before loading them onto the truck?" the officer asked, puzzled. "Commander, why is that?"

"This is the latest order from the Human Union, in case there are parasites that might feign unconsciousness and cause trouble once they land."

"But won't they administer a sedative halfway through? How can you fake being unconscious with such a strong drug? And adding an extra step would require a lot of manpower and resources."

"That's not something we need to worry about. Just follow orders."

"Yes!"

In another containment area of ​​the frontline base, the Ascended Ones who had fought against the parasites on Black Flag Country's homeland were all staying there.

Although they were resistance fighters, the commanders at the front-line bases found it difficult to determine how to deal with them because it was impossible to ascertain whether they were infected with parasites.

Leaving them unattended is definitely not an option. There are quite a few of these people, and they are all advanced individuals; prolonged detention will inevitably lead to resistance.

However, it wouldn't be appropriate to include them in the Allied Forces' Ascended Combat Group, as there might be risks involved.

The commander ultimately decided to adopt a method of selecting evidence of resistance.

Those Ascended individuals who have real video records of their heroic battles against the parasites should be selected as relatively credible rebels.

After the order was given, some of the footage captured by combat recorders carried by coalition soldiers showed Ascended individuals actually fighting the parasites.

These individuals will be formed into a separate combat team, distinct from the Alliance's own Ascended combat teams.

When Lu Cheng learned that he had been assigned to the resistance fighting group, he took a deep breath and his eyes turned gloomy.

"The prophet's calculations were brilliant; the self-inflicted injury strategy worked. By arranging some cannon fodder parasites in advance, and then using the combat footage of killing those parasites, I gained the trust of the Allied officers... at least some of their trust."

The fact that they were not included in the Alliance's own Ascended combat group and did not act with Adam, Snow White, and others shows that the commander still cannot fully trust them.

"But once I get past this hurdle, I shouldn't be suspected for now. I need to gather enough valuable intelligence as soon as possible to gain the Prophet's favor..."

Lu Cheng clenched his fist secretly. This was the task the prophet had given him, and also the pledge he had to make.

He didn't want to exist as cannon fodder and tools like other humans who became parasites.

He wanted to make sure that even if he became a parasite later, he would remain at a high level, just like the Prophet... He even vaguely guessed that the Prophet must have been an extremely powerful Ascendant before he transformed into a parasite.

This is precisely why, after being modified by the spores and greatly enhanced, he was able to become a prophet. Even in his previous conversation with the prophet, he seemed to subtly hint that his consciousness had not been replaced by the spores…

This was the greatest temptation for him! Lu Cheng knew he was severely addicted to the spores and had killed many people along the way, making it impossible for him to turn back. His fate seemed to be to continue absorbing more spores, and when he broke through the critical point of transformation, his consciousness would be replaced by the spores, and he would become a parasite.

He had already accepted his fate, but the appearance of the prophet gave him a glimmer of hope—if he could become a being like that, would he still retain his self-awareness after the transformation?
This glimmer of hope spurred him to make up his mind to complete the mission the prophet had given him: to infiltrate the coalition base and gather intelligence.

Having passed the test using video footage, he can now operate in unclassified areas of the frontline base, which will greatly help him complete his mission.

He soon discovered that the parasites that were originally going to be loaded onto trucks and transported to Cissia were now lining up to enter a house, doing something unknown.

As soon as he walked over, he was stopped by the soldiers on duty around him. The soldiers did not allow unauthorized personnel to enter.

We cannot allow ourselves to be suspected because of recklessness...

Lu Cheng left immediately, intending to slowly look for opportunities to spy on him.

……

Landing site.

Troop carriers arrived one after another, and more elite soldiers joined the defense.

This arrangement, like adding another drug resistance test to the parasite, is related to Guan Tong.

After communicating with Shangyuan Zi, Guan Tong concluded that the previous actions of the Fire Thief Cult members were just a pretext to divert the attention of the Human Union and Sisia.

He believed that the enemy's real objective was not to launch a frontal assault on the defense line, but to exploit the parasites being transported to the landing site.

In other words, it's like openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass.

After he explained his speculation to Stochastic and Yelena, they both agreed and reacted immediately.

Yelena informed the Joint Command that the parasites transported from the front lines needed further inspection. More soldiers were subsequently brought in to reinforce the on-site defenses.

At this moment, after one of the troop carriers stopped, Sigachin turned to Guan Tong, who was standing to the side.

"Your companion is in this vehicle."

"Ah."

Guan Tong walked over, and soon a fully armed soldier got out of the vehicle and walked up to him.

She slightly raised her glasses, and the familiar vertical pupils beneath them belonged to Shang Yuanzi.

Guan Tong initially wanted her to wait for him in the nearest city, but after their conversation, he changed his mind. With Ye Lianka's consent, he asked her to come to the landing site.

Judging from all the signs so far, the Cult of the Fire Thief seems to be secretly colluding with the parasitic group, and the two sides may be plotting some conspiracy to use extraterrestrial intelligent beings to harm humanity.

Just in case, Guan Tong still called Shang Yuanzi to stay with him, so that if any unexpected situation occurred, she would be more reliable.

"Alright, come with me."

"Ah."

Shang Yuanzi put down her glasses and went with Guan Tong to Si Gaoqin's side.

“This is your companion.” Skochin looked at Shang Yuanzi. “If you had informed the Sisya authorities immediately after overhearing those cultists’ conversation last night, perhaps we could have dealt with them earlier, and those people wouldn’t have been incited to their deaths today.”

Shang Yuanzi remained silent, but Guan Tong said, "There's no need to say that. No one can predict the future, and if your outer defenses were calm enough, they wouldn't have panicked and started firing indiscriminately just because of a few cultists and their guns, causing more casualties."

Si Gaoqin was slightly taken aback, not expecting Guan Tong to refute her like that.

“…Very good. I hope your companion will follow the rules as well as you and not wander around here.”

After finishing her sentence, Si Gaoqin stormed off. Guan Tong shrugged at Yuan Zi and said, "Don't take her words to heart."

“I don’t have it.” Shangyuan Zi looked at the center of the field. “So, this is it.”

Upon arriving at the scene, it was the first time she had ever seen the alien intelligent entity in person.

"What was it like seeing it live?"

"I feel a little sick."

"It's disgusting, that's for sure. This thing doesn't fit human aesthetics at all."

Shangyuan Zi withdrew her gaze and asked, "Aside from asking questions, don't humans intend to conduct any more research on it?"

"It seems many people are trying to decipher its language, but I don't think it's very meaningful. However, Sgorchin—the one from earlier—told me that the conjoined twins have decided that the next question will involve placing a telekinetic camera inside food."

"Mind Lens? What's that?"

"I'm not sure either. It seems they're trying to film the process of this alien intelligent entity devouring food from the inside, in an attempt to analyze its body structure. They've tried placing miniature cameras on food before, but they couldn't transmit any images. It seems this alien intelligent entity has some kind of interference function inside its body."

"I understand. Mind-powered items are special and are not affected by electromagnetic interference or similar effects."

"Yes. It's probably not easy for the Human Alliance to find these kinds of props."

When will the next question be asked?

"I estimate it will be within two or three days, once the next batch of enough parasites arrives." Guan Tong paused, "Once the conjoined ones have finished asking their next question, I should be able to ask mine as well."

　Thank you to all the readers for your votes, comments, and donations! I will also be updating three times a day for the next two days, totaling 10,000 words, to make up for the missed update from yesterday.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)