Chapter 2637: Chapter 1774: Infection (Found an Alternative to Hamburger and Cola)

Star Ocean Online——Special Mission "Mechanical Resonance"

Player Mission Report

[DAY 1 12:35]

We triggered a special mission, which requires us to investigate a certain Mechanic Religion’s location. According to reliable evidence, the base has already fallen into corruption. What we need to do is to thoroughly investigate what happened at that base, and then completely destroy it.

Trust me, this is definitely another one of Cunning Deception’s tricks. Those oil men never learn. That’s why the ones who die in sci-fi horror movies are always scientists. And every time, we are left cleaning up the mess for these bastards. Can we file a report and declare the Mechanic Religion as heretic? That way we won’t have to consider every time whether to execute an oil man on the spot when we see one.

[DAY 1 17:20]

We investigated the base, and the situation......was a bit beyond our expectations. This group of oil men doesn’t seem to have changed much. Well, not exactly—their fanaticism for the Mechanical God is alarming, although it’s not surprising given that Mechanic Religion worships the God of All Machines. The existence of the God of All Machines is debatable, though.

But that’s not important. We’ve found these oil men have undergone unimaginable transformations—Flesh is Weak Mechanical Ascension, right? So can we eliminate them now? Still can’t? Do we really have to wait for evidence? I think killing first and looking for it later works just the same.

[DAY 2 08:12]

Finally took action. I can assure you, I wasn’t the one who started it. I just wanted to see what was beneath those oil men’s masks. But these bastards reacted as if I had touched their buttocks and attacked me. Fine by me, I don’t have to pretend anymore. Show the health bar then, everyone go in and take out these bastards!

Okay, now the entire base is in lockdown, so we have to fight our way in. But honestly, what are these guys? At first, I thought they were overly modified oil men. But after taking them down and carefully inspecting their bodies, they’re actually completely robots! Not a trace of flesh, covered entirely in machinery and gears!

What are these things? The Evil Intelligence? Have the oil men here fallen to the point of creating The Evil Intelligence? No matter, let’s keep moving forward. We’ll find out by killing!

[DAY 10 14:42]

Really strange. We’ve come this far and haven’t encountered a single living person. Everything here is robotic, not just the oil men—even the caregivers, slaves, and mecha servants are mechanical inside. Did these oil men discover some STC for manufacturing The Evil Intelligence here? This is intriguing—this mission must be interesting.

By the way, the system indicates I’ve developed some abnormal condition, but I’ve checked thoroughly and still can’t identify what it is. Posted about it, but nobody has any leads.

[DAY 15 21:20]

My body and my servants’ are starting to feel less agile, a bit stiff. Could we have contracted the Corrupted Foil’s virus? But I’ve already taken the Potion to remove DEBUFF, yet it hasn’t helped. What is this abnormal condition? Lower Agility is annoying, although it’s fortunate these guys aren’t tough. I expect we should reach their lair quickly, finish the mission early, and return the STC—maybe even make some profit.

[DAY 23 15:13]

Damn it, what’s this crap?

I can’t even walk properly now. Last night I slept, and when I woke up, my insides didn’t feel like they belonged to me. I can hear ticking sounds in my ears, like gears and clockwork working. And under my skin, it feels as if everything has turned into metal......How is this possible?

My follower has developed these symptoms too. I took one down, and after inspecting its corpse, well, there was no flesh inside, no organs either—just gears and clockwork packed densely everywhere!

The Evil God doesn’t possess such power! Could the God of All Machines really exist? That’s impossible......but how then do we explain this?

Really unlucky, this mission failure is inevitable, but luckily I’ve documented the mission particulars. Going back for a review......Forget it, suicide to exit the game.

[Note: Mission failed, no rewards]

[Note 2: This broken dev team did this on purpose, damn it, it’s another major mission branch! How did my hand slip and trigger it?]

[Note 3: Managed to communicate with players over there to finally understand what’s happening, damn it it’s ■■■■ (spoiler, data deleted), don’t be brave if you can’t handle it, better to run early and issue an extinction order—that’s the way!]

[Note 4: Thankfully I’m not in that world, or else, at this state, anyone in that universe would be doomed!]

Appendices

[■■■—■■■]

[This is a virus with no treatment options and a 100% infection rate. It can infect all living creatures and spread via touch or bodily fluid contact.]

[■■■ alters the biochemical mechanisms of biological tissues, causing organic material to recombine into some kind of organic metal. An infected person’s body gradually transforms into a composite system of gears and clockwork, which takes over its biological functions. For instance, the heart is replaced by gears and thin conduits, joints become transmission network structures, and eyes turn into primitive hand-cranked cameras.]

[Infected areas display a metallic texture mainly constructed from brass, steel, and other materials when observed with the naked eye; there are also basic materials like leather, rubber, glass, wood, etc. All components are made entirely of biological material and even retain the infected person’s DNA.]

[Since this disease is hard to detect early and is highly contagious, issuing an extinction order is the best approach.]

[PS: Based on the intelligence provided, ■■■ is a derivative of ■■■■, and currently, regular players have no means to combat such a level of existence.]

[Special attention: Absolutely prevent ■■■ infected from appearing near ■■■■!]

"Bang!"

The man before him didn’t even have time to resist, as Duanmu Huai punched him against the wall, his body splitting open, blood spurting out. Besides blood, one could also see bizarrely twisted metal structures all throughout his body, his ribs resembling steel bars, and his heart like the spring coil of a music box. Sometimes, when Duanmu Huai punched him, parts would clang outward from inside.

This is much beyond mere transformation!

"What, what exactly is this?"

Standing beside Duanmu Huai, Hei Chuan Chi Yin paled at the sight. This was even more shocking than witnessing a human’s death; these people seemed almost like robots wearing human skin, feeling very strange and awkward.

"It’s a virus."

"A virus?"

"Indeed."

Duanmu Huai nodded.

"Once infected with this virus, it will transform people from inside out into machines. They haven’t fully transformed... but it seems they’re almost there."

"Huh? Won’t we be infected too?"

Upon hearing ’virus,’ Hei Chuan Chi Yin immediately grew uneasy, looking around, while Ogis stared at her, then remained silent for a moment. Then, Ogis leaped down from Duanmu Huai’s shoulder, coming in front of Hei Chuan Chi Yin and placed both hands on her shoulders, suddenly raising her head!

Soon after, Hei Chuan Chi Yin saw Ogis’s face turning into a puppet’s face right before her eyes!

"Wow! Miss Ogis has been infected!"

"Stop fooling around!"

Watching Hei Chuan Chi Yin scream, Duanmu Huai grabbed Ogis, lifting her up.

"Ogis is originally a puppet; she was just scaring you."

"Uh... huh? Miss Ogis is a puppet?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai, Hei Chuan Chi Yin was puzzled for a moment, staring at Ogis again, who had returned to her usual appearance. But Hei Chuan Chi Yin clearly remembered seeing lines resembling a puppet’s joint lines on Ogis’s face just now...

"..."

Noticing Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s gaze, Ogis expressionlessly gestured a V, then turned away, ignoring her.

Alright, she was surely teasing me.

Hei Chuan Chi Yin breathed a sigh of relief, putting aside the curiosity about why she was teased, and asked uneasily.

"Then, could we be infected?"

"There’s no need to worry about that, as long as you’re by my side or wearing the Tribunal’s emblem, it won’t affect us."

The God of Destruction is also one of the strongest divine positions, and this power not only excels in attack, but is equally effective in defense. With the protection of the God of Destruction’s divine power, other divine powers will instantly disintegrate upon contact. This eerie infectious virus is clearly driven by divine power, so for Duanmu Huai, even if he were to swing around naked here, he wouldn’t be infected by this virus.

Just then, Roster stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, right there... damn it, what the hell is that?"

Roster halted, stunned to see ahead — and who could blame him? Up ahead, at a place resembling a city square, a High Tower stood tall!

A High Tower made of gears, springs, and machinery!

It looked extremely unsightly, resembling a pile of junk casually stacked together, yet its massive body was bulkily imposing, looking less like a tower and more like a large heap of metal trash. Moreover, this heap was trembling slightly, with gears frantically spinning on it, it appeared to be a machine that could move!?

And around this machine, thousands surrounded it, kneeling, murmuring as if praying!

"Oh my god, what the hell is happening?"

Roster couldn’t believe his eyes.

"What’s going on? How could it become like this?"

Duanmu Huai did not answer, nor did he need to.

Because soon, Roster witnessed firsthand what would haunt his nightmares for life!