Chapter 1 The First Sign of Phase Two

The first phase of the Alienation Disaster was characterized by uncoordinated global riots, symbolizing the Alienation Prime’s initial control over its abilities. The first sign of entering the second phase was the simultaneous outbreak among all infected individuals. Compared to the first phase, the Alienation Prime could now influence not only ordinary people, but also some elite warriors or slightly weaker Superhumans, making them objects of its control. The most obvious characteristic was that the infected group’s actions were no longer random, but purposeful.

The purposefulness of the infected group was a manifestation of the Alienation Prime’s consciousness. Unlike the chaos of the first phase, the mass exodus of refugees at this point, with its surprisingly unified action, was being manipulated by the Alienation Prime.

"The Alienation Prime’s goal is traceable. Commanding these refugees to flee is likely to prevent these infected individuals from being gathered together. It also realizes that someone is helping the infected break free from its control, so it wants the infected to stay as far away from gathering places as possible. To it, every infected person is a 'sensory body'," Han Xiao frowned. Similar things had happened in his previous life, and although there was no official explanation, players had various discussions and speculations. He could now roughly guess what the Alienation Prime was thinking.

The only problem was that the second phase had erupted much earlier than in his previous life's timeline.

"There may be a random element, but it could also be a butterfly effect," Han Xiao mused secretly. Because of his meddling, many events had developed very differently from his previous life's storyline. This was not the first time he had encountered this situation. After a slight surprise, he quickly regained his composure—panicking was out of the question; he was as steady as could be.

Although it was unexpected, it wasn't enough to throw him into chaos.

Quickly walking out of the conference room, the commotion outside was growing louder. Han Xiao immediately mobilized all the mercenaries, including the players. The immediate priority was to control all the infected. With the Alienation Disaster entering the second phase, the intensity of the abilities had increased. Originally, one dose of inhibitor would have been effective, but now it required at least three. Naturally, there weren't enough potions, so the only option was to forcefully subdue these tens of millions of refugees.

The shelters and Godora also quickly took action. Players triggered multiple missions at once and quickly moved, their main quest progress plummeting. They dared not delay.

With tens of millions of refugees, the shelter's available manpower was limited in comparison. Even with the addition of the players, there were only about a million people, but most of them were Superhumans. Subduing dozens of times their number in ordinary people, although troublesome, wasn't difficult.

The outermost refugees fled in all directions, like an expanding circle. The standby spaceships quickly launched, flying in circles from the inside out, firing rings of white concussive waves at the crowds below.

嗡嗡嗡—

As the rings swept through the crowd, swathes of refugees fell like harvested wheat, all stunned.

Since he knew that the Alienation Disaster would have a phase of mass outbreaks, Han Xiao had long arranged countermeasures. He equipped all the spaceships with large-area concussion cannons. The power was very weak; against C-grade Superhumans, they might not even cause half a second of dizziness, making them only good for comic relief in battle. However, they were perfect for dealing with ordinary people, stunning them without causing fatal injuries.

It was precisely because he had prepared methods that Han Xiao didn't care how many refugees the shelter took in. Even if they all broke out at the same time, he could greatly reduce the losses. On the contrary, gathering them together made it easier to deal with.

Several spaceships continuously stunned the refugees from the inside out, cooperating with the players to quickly clear the interior of the shelter. Then, they dealt with the refugees outside. The outermost refugees had run the farthest, but there was no way to start stunning the refugees from the periphery, because the unconscious people would be trampled to death by the crowds behind them.

咔咔—

A mechanical hand unfolded, carrying Han Xiao as he flew onto the city wall, overlooking the commotion outside. As far as the eye could see, the dark mass of humanity rose and fell like waves, surging into the distance, stirring up dust that filled the sky—a spectacular sight.

Taking out his communicator to connect with the other spaceships located in the Six Nations, the screens showed almost the same scene. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't just the shelter; the Six Nations were also experiencing the same situation.

"The Alienation Disaster's progress has accelerated, which means the pressure for disaster relief is greater. Even if DarkStar doesn't attack, Planet Aquamarine's situation isn't optimistic. It's probably the first Alienation Prime in all the disaster-stricken planets to reach the second phase... but with my help, Planet Aquamarine's shelters and the Six Nations all have countermeasures, which is much better than in the previous storyline."

Han Xiao calculated in his mind that if the Alienation Prime had no obvious consciousness before and was mainly chaotic, from the second phase onward, they would be facing an opponent with a clear goal, making it even more difficult to deal with. Moreover, once it entered the second phase, the Alienation Prime would rapidly grow from then on.

"Fortunately, it won't take too long. It's about this time. Then I can hand over the Prime in my possession. As long as Godora uses it to quickly develop an antidote and weapons targeting the Prime, the Alienation Disaster will be resolved," Han Xiao's eyes flashed.

…

The sun dipped below the horizon, the red glow of the evening painting the sky.

The commotion in the shelter gradually subsided. After several hours of effort, most of the refugees had finally been subdued. The farthest had run dozens of kilometers, tirelessly, and fortunately, the shelter was located in the Goustan Wastelands, a flat expanse with no hiding places, making it impossible to escape the spaceships' search.

Within a radius of dozens of kilometers, scattered groups of refugees lay sparsely, a spectacular sight. Some players were following the shelter's mission instructions to find some shelter guards and inject them with triple doses of the inhibitor, increasing their own manpower. Others were cleaning up the mess, tying up the refugees scattered across the wasteland and carrying them back.

"What are the losses?"

On the city wall, Bennet looked grave as he asked his deputy, who shook his head, indicating that the statistics were not yet available.

"The shelter's losses are the smallest. The Six Nations are still working hard to quell the unrest, and they're almost done," Han Xiao casually interjected.

"At least it's not the worst-case scenario," Bennet sighed in relief.

Han Xiao shook his head. "The Alienation Disaster has grown, and we'll face an even more tense situation. Not to mention the increasingly tight supply of inhibitors, the fact that the Alienation Prime is consciously controlling the infected is the biggest danger. Since we've forcibly detained so many 'sensory bodies' in its eyes, it's likely to control the beast hordes to attack the shelters or the Six Nations, or to make the infected become destructive and attack our facilities from within."

Hearing this, Bennet's expression became even heavier, secretly feeling apprehensive. He was not one to belittle himself, but he knew very well that without Han Xiao, relying solely on Planet Aquamarine's civilization, it would be impossible to contain such a disaster.

"What are you going to do?"

"Do nothing," Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "My mercenaries are bored to death; beast tides are not a problem. As for the other problems, let's wait and see. But on your side, you need to adapt to the new situation as soon as possible."

"I understand," Bennet nodded.

The Alienation Prime might be hidden underground or in the ocean, and there were no recorded wavelengths in the radar database, making it difficult to locate, which was practically like finding a needle in a haystack. Moreover, due to the Alienation Prime's characteristics, it was difficult to deal with without a targeted antidote. It absorbed energy, and most attacks could be transformed into nourishment for growth. Ordinary attacks couldn't harm it, and it could also quickly split apart, making it difficult to capture.

Currently, Han Xiao didn't want to personally deal with the Alienation Prime—it was too disgusting and didn't align with his personal interests. Apart from wanting to give Godora a headache and making it easier for him to reap the benefits, there was another factor—the Alienation Disaster was a temporary shield. If the Alienation Disaster on Planet Aquamarine was resolved by him, he wasn't sure about DarkStar's actions; they might no longer need to hold back on non-disaster planets, and the enemy might directly come to destroy Planet Aquamarine.

He wasn't afraid himself; he could leave at any time. But Planet Aquamarine couldn't be packed into a pocket and taken away—only the three Universal Civilizations, or Super A Grades with special abilities, had that kind of ability.

Regaining his thoughts, Han Xiao summoned the various mercenary group leaders, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "According to my estimates, in the next few days, there will likely be large-scale beast attacks. You guys take your men to patrol the surrounding area. Once you discover any signs of animal gatherings, eliminate them in advance. Don't let the beast tides approach the shelter."

The expressions on everyone's faces varied. After being idle for so many days, they finally had something to do.

The happiest was Hannon, who carried his giant axe and said in a muffled voice, "Hannon likes hunting."

Han Xiao thought for a moment, "Right, this time, you can also take the newly joined Espers out for some training. Don't let them get bored in the shelter."

Most of the players had been staying in the shelter. Although it wasn't mandatory, the repetitive disaster relief tasks every day could be a bit tedious. Apart from the Daily Selection which had already become a regular activity, there weren't many opportunities for combat. And the players who had already joined the Black Star Mercenary Group naturally couldn't participate in the selection and had even fewer opportunities to fight, which they must find depressing, making the game experience extremely poor.

During the second phase of the Alienation Disaster, beast tide attacks would be more frequent, which was a good opportunity for the mercenary group players to go out, grind levels, and let them have some fun. It would also allow them to break in the mercenary group which had expanded hundreds of times in size.

Moreover… if they didn't fight monsters, the players wouldn't urgently need equipment.

…

Somewhere on Planet Aquamarine.

A black shadow sat cross-legged in a cave, motionless like a statue. After a long time, its pure white eyes slightly rotated.

"Imprison... my... senses, annoying..."

The simulation spoke to itself, its voice intermittent. It had only obtained its current body a few days ago and was not yet accustomed to speaking.

Having its own body, the Alienation Prime felt freedom. Although it could share the senses of the infected, and even control their actions to some extent, only the simulated body could be absolutely controlled by it.

Just now, the Alienation Prime had completed its evolution—although it itself was not aware of it, it just vaguely felt that its perception of "senses" was clearer.

Every infected individual was a "sense" in the eyes of the Alienation Prime, just like the limbs of an ordinary person, which it regarded as part of itself. In its early stages, when it was unable to move, it learned about the world through these "senses".

And now, it clearly sensed that many "senses" were being confined in several locations. Just now, it wanted to command these "senses" to scatter, to not gather together, but through the senses of the infected, it saw the refugees being suppressed by Han Xiao and others, and thus understood the situation.

—These people are enemies; they are hurting my senses!

In the Alienation Prime's mind, there was no concept of good or evil, or moral standards, nor did it have most common-sense concepts. It only had the instincts of a living being, and could even be considered simple-minded.

In its view, people suppressing the refugees was equivalent to trying to control its senses, just like a person being unable to move because their limbs were tightly grasped by others. These "senses" were being forcibly gathered together, as if wanting to prevent it from moving, from perceiving the world.

Moreover, some "senses" were being injected with some kind of liquid, and it lost its connection with those infected individuals, equivalent to blinding its eyes and deafening its ears.

So, it was very unhappy.

Instinct told it that if it was attacked, it had to retaliate.