Enforcer Manual
Chapter 214: Bug Swarm Consciousness_1

Chapter 214: Chapter 214: Bug Swarm Consciousness_1

"Theoretically, both the ’Devourers’ and the Horn Bug are products of mutation,"

Medea said.

Precisely because of this, when she realized that someone could control the Horn Bug, she began to search for the whereabouts of this individual. "This research from the very beginning was focused on the study of parasites. In 2156, the company’s exploration team discovered a village occupied by the infected. There were no survivors in the village; they had all been dominated by the parasitic worms, turning into walking corpses.

"But during the extermination process, the researchers of the exploration team made a new discovery. After being parasitized, the villagers’ physical strength increased greatly, and they also gained a strong self-healing ability. The standard weapons carried by the exploration team could not cause effective casualties among them. In the end, after enough samples had been collected, they had no choice but to blow up the entire village."

It was that very exploration operation in 2156 that kicked off the entire ’Devourer’ research program.

"The company’s initial conception was to use the characteristics of parasites to enhance the human body. The researchers referred to the subjects of the experiments as super soldiers."

"I can guess what happened next."

Song Lan interrupted her, "Later, a slip occurred in the experiment. The ’Devourers’ escaped from their culture dishes, infecting the entire laboratory, resulting in the death of everyone there. Those who were infected also all turned into mindless monsters."

This was practically a template for biochemical virus themed plots.

As a fan of zombie movies, he had seen at least more than eight movies using this template just in the year 2166.

However, compared to the year 2020 he was familiar with, with the level of technology in 2166, it really seemed possible to research a virus that could infect people and turn them into zombies.

"Indeed, that is how the company’s report described it."

Medea did not deny it; in fact, when she let the ’Devourer’ parasitize her own body, she had thought the same. But only after assimilating with the ’Devourer’ did she truly understand the disaster that had swept through the entire laboratory.

"It wasn’t an accident, but a deliberately triggered incident. The Horn Bug that you control is the best example. In fact, the social structure of most mutated creatures works in the same way."

"Horn Bug?"

"A King Bug will be born within the Bug Swarm. The existence of the King Bug is equivalent to the brain of the entire tribe; other members of the tribe all share this same brain. The ’Devourers’ are the same, and we call this the Bug Swarm Consciousness."

In fact, her team had proposed the theory of Bug Swarm Consciousness years ago.

Within this social framework, controlling the King Bug equated to controlling the entire tribe.

In a sense, the cohesiveness of mutated creatures far exceeded that of humans. Under the influence of the Bug Swarm Consciousness, there would be no infighting within the tribe. They would follow the orders given by the King Bug, unhesitatingly sacrificing their lives if necessary.

In Medea’s view, the Bug Swarm Consciousness was the best reference for the future development of the United Government’s army.

Eliminate individual thinking and share a single brain to fight for a common goal. A troop influenced by Bug Swarm Consciousness would be much stronger than any current system.

It was just that, as her team further researched the Bug Swarm Consciousness, the accident happened.

"All individuals infected and parasitized by the ’Devourers’ will connect to the Queen’s Nest’s consciousness and act under the influence of the Bug Swarm Consciousness. The Queen’s Nest is equivalent to the King Bug in the Horn Bug tribe."

As she spoke, Medea looked towards the end of the river of blood.

All matter infected by the parasites eventually converged towards the darkness at that end.

Even she, in these two years, did not dare to step into the Queen’s Nest.

The closer she was to the Queen’s Nest, the deeper its influence on her. If the α-blocker failed, she would return to the embrace of the Queen’s Nest without any resistance, becoming one of the ’Bug Swarm’.

"In order to clear the ’Devourers’ that had gotten out of control, the company had once deployed a tactical nuclear strike. Reports from the front line said that the ’Devourers’ had been eliminated, but that was not the case; they survived through some means."

Medea didn’t dare to think too carefully about it.

Because it had been two years since the laboratory accident, and it was hard for her to imagine how many people the "Devourer" had infected during this time.

And the research report indicated that the Queen’s Nest not only possessed intelligence but also had a formidable learning ability.

"The infected don’t necessarily show any abnormalities. Before the commands of the Queen’s Nest, he might seem like a normal person. I suspect that the researcher who released the ’Devourer’ from its container might have been parasitized during the early stages of the experiment,"

"If you put it that way, I understand now,"

Song Lan looked towards the darkness at the end of the river of blood, where the Queen’s Nest, now beginning to take shape, sat in that darkness.

Medea had always been trying to block its spread outward, but if something happened to Medea, or if she couldn’t resist the call of the Queen’s Nest, then the "Devourer," suppressed for two years, would proliferate rapidly. Perhaps in just a few days, the whole District 17 would become its breeding ground.

If things continued at this rate, by the time the United Government became aware of the situation, they would probably only be able to solve the problem by cleansing the earth’s surface with nuclear bombs.

Even by Medea’s account, not even tactical nukes could fully exterminate the "Devourer."

But if one were to look at the problem from an optimistic perspective, wasn’t what lay before him an undeveloped Bug Tribe base?

If handled correctly, not only could the "Devourer" revive Su Li and control his actions, but they could also occupy a wild base for free.

Song Lan believed that with his own social skills, he should be able to become fast friends with the "Devourer."

"Alright, let me meet the Queen’s Nest."

He rolled up his sleeves but before he could take a step, Medea grabbed his ankle.

Having lived in the underground sewer for so long, she seemed to have grown accustomed to moving on all fours.

She took out an injection and said, "This is an alpha blocker; the Queen’s Nest can severely affect human consciousness."

"No need,"

Song Lan waved his hand, always believing that sincerity was the most important thing in making friends.

Medea hesitated, but seeing that Song Lan was determined, she didn’t say anything more and followed behind him, though keeping a distance of nearly ten meters.

The way was unobstructed, and after his previous experience with the Barrosa Group branch, the flesh and blood tissue around him no longer affected him.

Eyes sprouting from the walls of flesh watched Song Lan, observing as he moved deeper into the underground sewer.

The depths of the sewer were completely corroded, and at the end of the road there was a bottomless pit with all flesh sprouts converging towards it, the blood poured down like a waterfall.

"Excuse me, is anyone home?"

Song Lan faced the pit and shouted into it.

His echo reverberated in the tunnel for a long time, and about ten seconds later, there was a noticeable tremor underfoot as several tentacles crawled out, followed by a loud bang, as a giant worm emerged headfirst from the pit.

The last time the Barrosa Group saw a flesh tree, today they saw a worm.

The commonality was that both were so huge they could trigger anyone’s fear of massive creatures.

However, facing the giant worm towering above him, Song Lan didn’t retreat. After making eye contact with the worm for a moment, he extended his right hand in friendship, "It’s not every day we get to meet each other, how about we become friends?"