Until he disappeared from “Qi Chengyan’s” line of sight, Meng Chongyun maintained that utterly fearless expression.
But once he was out of the monitoring range, he rested for a full quarter of an hour before undergoing decontamination again and heading to the main control room.
“Commander-in-Chief.”
“Sir!”
Shi Zhixin, who was standing nearby, keenly noticed that Meng Chongyun’s complexion wasn’t as rosy as before, but he didn’t say a word.
“Commander.”
Everyone in the main control room was brimming with excitement.
The Federation had a military commander with a 3S-level mental power, someone who could take on the “Alpha Golden Crown” all by himself!
And they had all heard what the commander said just now:
“One day, the people of the Federation will no longer live under the threat of the Zerg.”
That was the highest aspiration of their lives!
“You’ve all worked hard.”
Unobtrusively extending his mental power to envelop the room,
“Serve the people!”
After confirming that no one here had been parasitized, Meng Chongyun’s expression finally relaxed a bit.
“Have the four people from the First Military District who were flagged during the internal review been brought in?”
“Yes.”
Wen Nanfeng, the head of the Quarantine Control Center, replied immediately.
“All four of the parasitized individuals are A-rank. The rest of the personnel have been re-screened with a higher-level scanner.
The exploration mission on the new star has been suspended for now. Everyone, including Commander Jiang Ya, is in quarantine for observation. We will report immediately if any anomalies arise.”
“Mm. Our opponent is the Alpha Golden Crown; we need to be extra cautious.
Inform the lower levels to extend the quarantine period and continuously monitor the personnel’s status. Don’t let any irregularity slip by.”
After speaking, Meng Chongyun looked up at the commanders on the other side, who were still using their mental power to restrain “Qi Chengyan.”
“The thirty commanders here are all from the First Military District, correct?”
“Reporting, Commander—yes!”
“Good. Next, transfer 150 more high-mental-power commanders from the ten military districts to ensure three shifts, with sixty people per shift.”
He had immediately doubled the number of people suppressing “Qi Chengyan”!
No one raised any objections, because just moments ago, even with thirty of them, they hadn’t detected any sign of the enemy using mental power to interfere with the commander…
Wen Nanfeng stepped forward.
“Commander, you mentioned earlier that he would treat the parasitized soldiers…”
Meng Chongyun first glanced at the monitoring data displayed on various machines in front of him.
“They all became this way for the Federation. As long as there’s hope, we cannot abandon anyone.
…Start with the soldiers who have been parasitized the longest and are the most critical. Only send in one at a time.
There’s no need to bring them right in front of him; at most, they can enter the third isolation zone.
Increase the guards at the electromagnetic door. Use only machines for all transport. No staff or soldiers should have direct contact with him. Install more firepower units inside the isolation chamber…”
His instructions were meticulous and thorough. After a brief discussion with the dean of the Science Academy, Meng Chongyun pursed his lips and added,
“Even if scans show that the parasites in their brains have completely disappeared after his treatment, do not release those personnel from the quarantine center just yet.
First, make full comparisons of mental power and physical data with the soldiers I secretly treated before. Starting next month, I’ll come once or twice per month. Only after I’ve confirmed…”
Ever since the Science Academy discovered that mental power could kill some Zerg, Meng Chongyun had contacted Xue Jie, wanting to take the field himself.
In theory, even an S-rank soldier couldn’t help others eliminate Zerg in their brains.
Fortunately, after trying, he found that his mental power was somewhat useful. But maybe his technique wasn’t right? Even he couldn’t completely remove them.
In the end, one seed Zerg would always remain, deeply rooted in the most dangerous area of the brain. If he pushed too hard, it would burrow even deeper…
Keeping it from affecting human consciousness temporarily was already the limit of what Meng Chongyun could do.
Now that the Alpha Golden Crown was under his control, if he could use it to extract the seed Zerg from the soldiers’ brains, things would be much simpler!
Throughout this process, the Quarantine Control Center and the Science Academy could monitor everything from start to finish.
First, to prevent the creature from pulling any tricks.
Second, to conduct more research in hopes that one day, with Federation technology or mental power, they could fully replicate the process.
“Commander, it just used mental interference on you? But the machines found nothing…”
Shi Zhixin finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
Meng Chongyun looked at the surveillance screen, where the young man kept his head lowered.
“Because it wasn’t attacking… it was mental contamination.”
“Contamination?”
Shi Zhixin’s brows were tightly knitted together. One problem after another kept cropping up?
The mecha sealing issues weren’t fully resolved yet, and now there was mental contamination?
“It’s a form of mental pollution… somewhat like illusion weaving. It’s a unique attack method of the Alpha Golden Crown race.
I learned this from my former superior.
But since the contamination range is extremely difficult to monitor, and the Federation hadn’t caught a live Alpha Golden Crown in over a hundred years, I can only describe it based on what I just felt.
Even though our commanders’ suppression and the five layers of isolation barriers have weakened its mental contamination significantly, as I said—except for the parasitized personnel, don’t let any human go in.”
“Would someone contaminated lose their mind gradually, just like the parasitized ones?”
“There have been no prior studies or reports on this. All we know is that sometimes it causes people to make choices beyond their control…
We know very little about the Alpha Golden Crown, so I hope you can study it as much as possible while ensuring safety.”
“Understood.”
“Will do!”
“Alright, let’s go check on the other soldiers.”
“I’ll lead the way.”
“Let me take you, Commander.”
Xue Jie, the dean of the Federation Science Academy, stepped forward and said to Wen Nanfeng,
“Xiao Shi is right here. You can discuss with him how to set up the sealed chambers, tools, and weapons.”
Wen Nanfeng glanced at the Commander, who gave a slight nod from behind.
“Alright… Sorry to trouble you, President Xue.”
“No trouble at all.”
To Xue Jie, this place felt like a second office—after all, most of the research samples on Zerg came from here, so she was familiar with every corridor.
“Commander, I don’t recommend such a radical approach. Also, you can no longer use your mental power to help the parasitized soldiers. Your body can’t withstand such a heavy load of consumption…”
Meng Chongyun understood what she meant.
“Xue Jie… with great power comes great responsibility.”
“Commander, right now, you can only use S-rank mental power at most to avoid further strain. Overusing it today will inevitably leave aftereffects…”
“The Federation has produced no S-rank or above commanders or soldiers in recent years… This is our only chance.”
“In that case, Commander, I have a proposal…”
