Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 421 A Crisis of One Million Lives
No one expected the Fire Thief Cult to act so quickly, launching a counterattack even before the day of the beheading had passed.

Relevant personnel urgently gathered in the operations room to discuss countermeasures. In addition to some officers and high-ranking officials from Solmar, the leaders of the action teams from various countries were also present.

Even though the previous decapitation operation did not go smoothly and various countries had some doubts about Soroma, the external contradictions were ultimately greater than the internal contradictions, and worshipping the Fire Stealer was the goal of uniting against external forces.

Soro sent a lieutenant general to chair the meeting. The lieutenant general immediately asserted, "This attack was not a spur-of-the-moment counterattack; it must have been a pre-planned scheme by the cultists!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing with the consensus.

A last-minute decision would never be this efficient.

Li Meng began, "I heard that those cultists used the power of 'Scarlet Fear' to break through your country's border defenses? How exactly did they do that? Weren't those cultists affected at all?"

The reason why Soroma and even the Associated Peoples were unprepared for this was because the followers of the Fire Stealer Cult were all human. Since they were human, the power of Scarlet Fear should have worked on them as well.

The lieutenant general said in a deep voice, "After eliminating the impossible, what remains is the truth. The truth is that those wearing black robes are not necessarily cultists."

Another team leader was shocked upon hearing this: "Does the lieutenant general mean that a large number of parasites are wearing black robes and posing as cult members?!"

The lieutenant general nodded emphatically: "That's right. Considering the long-standing collusion between the Fire Thief Cult and the Parasites, such a thing is not impossible."

"This……"

Although everyone was shocked, upon calm reflection, they realized that it made sense.

If member states of the Confederation of Peoples can form coalitions and alliances, why can't the enemies of the Confederation of Peoples also do the same?

Even if there are contradictions between the Fire-Stealers Cult and the Parasites, the most rational decision when facing the Human Alliance is to unite and resist them.

“I can understand why cultists would do this, but why would a parasite agree to it?” someone asked, utterly perplexed. “Aren’t these creatures controlled by alien spores instinctively trying to convert more of their own kind? Isn’t their cooperation with humans going against their instincts?”

“Our understanding of the parasites is not very deep, especially since their leader, ‘The Prophet,’ has demonstrated considerable wisdom in the fight against the Allied Forces. It’s not impossible that he might employ a strategy of allying with some humans,” the lieutenant general said. “Our immediate priority is to kill them outside the city and prevent them from entering this densely populated city!”

The city they were currently in was Soroma, a densely populated metropolis with a population of nearly one million. If those parasites, suspected of posing as cult members, were to infiltrate the city and spread scarlet terror, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"To eliminate them, wouldn't it be enough to deploy the intelligent war machines you've developed?" the Sisya team leader said. "Those intelligent machines aren't human; they won't be affected by Scarlet Fear, will they?"

"According to reports from the front lines, the enemy deliberately brought some long-range signal jamming devices with them for this operation. Moreover, even if the machines are not affected, the people behind them will be! Although the war machines have automatic target acquisition and attack modules, human engineers will inevitably have to make some remote adjustments. During this process, they will also be harmed if they see a picture of Scarlet Terra."

"With your Soromagnetic technology, can't you make AI automatically block related images?"

"It's possible, but those guys are covered in screens and photos. Whether you block them directly or reduce the screen resolution, it will affect the war machine's combat efficiency."

Another officer aggressively suggested, "Lieutenant General, let's just request a saturation bombing campaign with missiles and rockets to clear the area!"

Others agreed, stating that long-range bombing could be achieved simply by inputting precise coordinates, completely circumventing the Scarlet Fear.

"Emergency communication request—!"

A notification suddenly popped up on the large screen in the room, followed by images of some Soroman soldiers.

In the video, a junior officer shouts, "Lieutenant General! The defenses have collapsed! The soldiers are completely unable to engage the enemy. Many have been terrified by the images of Scarlet Terra. The enemy's vanguard has now crossed the lines and will soon reach your city!"

The junior officer had just finished his report when the video feed shook and then cut off.

The lieutenant general's face was grim: "If the third line of defense is breached so quickly, then the enemy will be at the city gates in at most another half hour."

The expressions on everyone's faces varied. At the enemy's current speed, using missiles would undoubtedly affect them as well.

A storm is brewing; a decision must be made as soon as possible: stay or leave.

If anyone wants to leave, everyone in the operations room can leave—those present are either high-ranking officials or elite leaders from various countries, and can evacuate immediately or use teleportation items to leave.

But how can the city's nearly one million inhabitants escape? A large-scale evacuation is too late, and distributing a precious teleportation item to each person is simply wishful thinking.

Faced with this predicament, the lieutenant general was caught in a dilemma. At this moment, a communication screen appeared on the big screen.

An elderly man with a full head of white hair and wearing a white coat appeared.

The lieutenant general's face lit up with joy upon seeing the old man: "Dr. Heisenberg!"

Others who saw the old man on the screen recognized him, while others did not.

Li Meng pushed up his glasses. After joining the Countermeasures Research Office, he had access to a lot of classified information, including information about Soroma, which included "Dr. Heisen" in the list of important figures.

The intelligence report described Heisenberg as a polymath in the field of intelligent machinery. The development and manufacturing processes for Soroma's far-reaching intelligent robots and intelligent war machines were all created by Dr. Heisenberg.

"Lieutenant General, I know about the situation on your end," Dr. Heisen's aged voice rang out. "You can deploy the 'Annihilators' to deal with the enemy."

The "Annihilator" was the intelligent war weapon that Thoroma used to thwart the Firebringer Cult, and it was extremely powerful.

"But Dr. Heisenberg, there's a problem with remote guidance..."

“That is indeed crucial,” Dr. Heisenberg interrupted. “Remote engineers are affected by Scarlet Fear, so the ‘Destroyer’ needs on-site guidance.”

"On-site guidance?!"

"I will temporarily transfer authority to you. Lieutenant General, you will be responsible for finding some personnel to go to the front lines and guide the 'Annihilators' to eliminate the cult army. Because the enemy is deliberately jamming signals, ordinary intelligent robots cannot undertake the guidance task; it must be done by real people."

"If we send a real person to guide them, won't the people who go still be affected by scarlet phobia?"

“That’s not my concern,” Dr. Heisen said coldly. “I suggest that you, Lieutenant General, send some high-level psychic ascendants to guide them. They are more resistant to the Scarlet Fear, and they just need to hold out until the ‘Annihilator’ eliminates the enemy.”

After Dr. Heissen finished speaking, he ended the communication, and the black screen showed only the lieutenant general's gloomy face.

Live-action guidance for the "annihilators"... a spiritually elevated individual...

The lieutenant general turned around and looked at the leaders of the various countries in the action team.

"Everyone..."

"Stop!" A member of the small country who was both the team leader and a member suddenly stood up. "I will absolutely not go to the site to guide them. This is suicidal!"

Although the others didn't speak, their expressions clearly showed they shared the same thought.

The results of the previous rule experiments conducted by the Human Alliance have been made public to some extent. It is well known that, compared to ordinary people, those with high psychic abilities can only endure the Scarlet Fear for a few more moments; there is no essential difference. They will still be driven mad or killed by that force. Simply resisting the irrational fear brought about by the rules is extremely difficult, let alone facing attacks and harassment from cultists on the battlefield, while also guiding the "Annihilators" in combat... This is simply a pipe dream.

"I know this is difficult, but the situation is critical. The entire city, with nearly a million inhabitants, needs your help!"

"Why not bring over more spiritual power ascendants from other cities?" Li Meng asked. "If we use teleportation items, there's enough time."

"We will send people over, but due to the betrayal in the previous operation, we need to vet some of the Ascended to ensure their backgrounds and loyalty. And you all, and the Ascended you brought, have proven during the operation that there are absolutely no loyalty issues!"

The lieutenant general was referring to Peter, of course. How this undercover bishop managed to pass the vetting process and join the ranks was still unclear due to the short timeframe. This led to a crisis of trust among the Soromagnetic leadership regarding other Ascended individuals within their own country, making them hesitant to readily appoint them to important positions.

"...This kind of thing must be discussed with our country's top leaders."

“Yes. And as the team leader, I can’t make decisions for the team members,” said Sisya, the team leader. “Even if the higher-ups agree to these unplanned missions, it depends on whether the team members are willing to carry them out.”

……

Outside the operations conference room, Guan Tong and other members of the action team were waiting for the meeting to end.

"It seems pretty serious?" Yang Ran looked at the conference room door. "It's been almost an hour and it's still not over."

"I also think something's not quite right." Silver Fox stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe our mission isn't over yet, Xue Wu, what do you think?"

Bai Xuewu shook her head: "I don't know. What about you?"

She asked Guan Tong, who replied, "I don't know either."

At that moment, the office door opened, and the leaders of the various countries walked out with gloomy expressions.

Li Meng approached Guan Tong and the others, and facing their questioning gazes, briefly explained the situation of the meeting.

"What?!" Yang Ran exclaimed after he finished speaking, "Going to the scene to guide someone is no different from suicide!"

Silver Fox, who usually loves to joke, now had an extremely serious expression: "This is indeed too dangerous."

Li Meng said, "That's why I didn't agree, and I believe the top officials, including the senior leaders, wouldn't agree either. You are all elites with unlimited potential for the country; you can't do such a thing. The cost of losing you would be higher than the fall of this city."

Yang Ran scratched his head and said, "The city falling... isn't so bad. Don't scold me yet. Think about it, if those cultists are parasites in disguise, isn't the parasites' goal to transform humans into their kind? Even if they occupy this city, they won't kill people indiscriminately, right? Sororo can just launch a large-scale military campaign to take the city back!"

The group was taken aback, not expecting Yang Ran to have such an angle.

However, the next moment, Bai Xuewu denied it.

“No,” she said. “The parasites not killing people… that’s a thing of the past. The coalition has been fighting the parasites in Black Flag Country for months and has discovered that the parasites have changed their tactics and have begun to consciously eliminate humans who cannot be transformed or cannot be transformed unconditionally.”

She looked at Yang Ran: "You said that Sororo would be taken back quickly after the city falls. If you can think of that, the parasites can naturally think of that too. So, when the parasites determine that there is not enough time to convert the people in the city, they will raise their swords to reduce future obstacles."

Yang Ran was dumbfounded and speechless.

The others looked solemn; they knew Bai Xuewu was not lying.

Because she had been fighting on the front lines in the Black Flag Kingdom, no one present knew more about parasites than her!

"If that happens... if this city falls, nearly a million people will..." Chen Na's face turned pale; the consequences were undoubtedly terrifying to her.

"...It may be a huge tragedy, but there's nothing we can do about it," Li Meng said.

Bai Xuewu suddenly said, "I'll guide it. With the mecha's mobility, as long as the visual module is turned off, it won't be affected by the Crimson Fear."

Upon hearing this, the others looked at her in surprise.

"How can you move if the vision module is turned off?" Li Meng immediately objected, "No way!"

“…I…I can help.” Chen Na said softly, “My [Perception Domain] isn’t 'seeing,' so it won’t be affected. If needed…I can be Sister Bai’s 'eyes.'”

Bai Xuewu pursed her lips, patted Chen Na's shoulder with some emotion, and gave her a thankful look.

"you……"

Li Meng was surprised that the two of them would make such a choice, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Silver Fox sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I guess I have no choice but to stay. As the eldest sister, I can't lose to my younger brothers and sisters."

"Then I'll help too!" Yang Ran mustered up her courage and declared, "Everyone has made their decision, I definitely can't fall behind!"

Guan Tong was the only one who hadn't spoken up, and everyone looked at him, the team leader.

“In that case, what else is there to say?” Guan Tong said. “I will have Shadow shut down ‘sight’ among the five senses and use touch and hearing to determine the enemy’s location and assist in guiding him.”

"Guan Tong, what's wrong with you too?" Li Meng thought Guan Tong would rationally refuse the team members.

“I think that with the help of Xiaona’s [Perception Domain], we do have a chance to guide and save nearly a million people in the city.” Guan Tong paused. “And I really want to kill those parasites.”

The group was taken aback upon hearing this.

They didn't think much of the first half of the sentence, but the second half made them realize that Guan Tong seemed to have a deep grudge against the parasite.

"Come on, Xiaona. Time is tight, we need to practice our teamwork first." Bai Xuewu grabbed Chen Na's hand and quickly walked outside.

She needs to act under Chen Na's guidance using the [Perception Domain] while the mech's vision module is turned off. This sounds easy, but it's actually not that simple.

Yang Ran went along as well, while Silver Fox noticed that Li Meng had something to say and stayed behind for the time being.

When only Silver Fox and Guan Tong remained on the team, Li Meng said, "Bai Xuewu and Chen Na are both quite young and prone to impulsiveness and emotional decisions. But Silver Fox and Guan Tong, you have more experience. Are you really sure you want to take this risk?"

Silver Fox said frankly, "Section Chief Li, I do think Chen Na's abilities can indeed be helpful, but I also think the risks are very high. I chose to stay simply because I don't want to abandon my teammates. Even if this decision is wrong, I will share the consequences with my teammates."

Li Meng: "And what about you, Guan Tong? I want to know what you're thinking. I can tell that after you found out those cultists were actually parasites in disguise, you seemed a bit impulsive. This makes me think that you chose to stay because you have some other grudge against them. Am I wrong?"

“That’s right,” Guan Tong admitted. “They tried to harm the people around me, so I decided to wipe them off this planet completely… But putting aside personal grudges, my shadow and shadow domain, combined with Xiao Na’s perception, can indeed produce amazing results in a visual combat environment. It concerns the lives of millions of people, so it’s always better to give up if there’s a chance to save them.”

After a few seconds of silence, Li Meng took a deep breath: "I understand... I will report to Director Gao. But I also have a requirement: you must be prepared for both scenarios, and ensure you have the ability to evacuate at any time should the situation turn against you!"

(End of this chapter)