Chapter 473

Chapter 473: Contingency Plan 3

"Mainly some matters concerning factory production. As front-line workers, especially at this critical moment, you must be quite exhausted.

There isn’t much I can do, but I can at least offer you a pay raise and hope this crisis passes swiftly."

After seeing off the outstanding personnel from other organizations, only a few dozen people remained in the auditorium.

Arthur gestured for them to relax while exchanging a few casual words, discreetly pressing the terminal on his finger behind his back.

"Please step outside for a moment."

Arthur glanced at the security personnel in the auditorium:

"The following conversation is somewhat confidential."

The soldiers and superpowered individuals responsible for security promptly withdrew, each silently speculating about who might face repercussions after the meeting.

However, as the doors closed, the last to leave, Yan Ming, wore a serious expression.

Only then did he glance at the terminal in his hand and read the message Arthur had sent:

"There are suspicious individuals around the auditorium; apprehend them immediately."

His expression instantly turned icy, and the blood in his veins surged, as if ready to burst forth.

Turning to the smiling superpowered individuals and security personnel, Yan Ming issued a command using prearranged hand signals, and the group quickly split into four teams, jogging out of the auditorium.

Inside, Arthur continued to engage in idle chatter with the workers, signaling a few to leave every few minutes.

After about fifteen minutes, only Ain and a handful of others remained before him.

"It’s your turn now."

Ain maintained his cheerful and bright demeanor, smiling at Arthur:

"It’s an honor to speak with you, Mr. Speaker."

Arthur returned the smile, his gaze playful as he met Ain’s eyes:

"The honor is mine. So, how should I address you? Clotho? Lachesis, or Atropos?"

Unable to move.

The moment the word "Clotho" left Arthur’s lips, a few puppets instinctively wanted to leap into action—whether to attack or flee, anything would be better than sitting there motionless.

But they couldn’t move.

An invisible force restrained their bodies, and their muscles seemed to be slowly atrophying; both externally and internally, something called life force was rapidly draining away.

Seeing the situation unfold, Ain and the others wore eerily similar expressions:

"Lachesis sends his regards, mighty human master."

He lowered his head slightly, as if bowing, but Arthur knew his neck muscles had already lost their strength.

"You’ve made significant progress since our last encounter."

Feigning calmness, Arthur tried to buy Yan Ming more time during the hunt. He brought up a small matter, attempting to provoke the will of the mycelium, which had absorbed many of humanity’s strengths and weaknesses:

"Those sub-consciousnesses you separated and stuffed into Dummy bodies—tsk tsk, how pitiful. I asked them many questions, but they seemed quite unwilling to respond.

"I know you’ve done similar things to humans, so… you should understand my subsequent actions, right?"

"That’s no longer important, sir. I already know what I want.

Instead of angering me, I look forward to our next meeting."

Ain’s words came out slurred, his tongue having lost its strength.

The five bodies collapsed almost simultaneously, as if they had suddenly died, catching the onlookers completely off guard.

With the death of these bodies, the auditorium once again fell into silence.

"Sigh."

Arthur sighed deeply in the now-empty auditorium, the sound coming from his heart.

Mycelium life had evolved once more, and this time it was an evolution that had broken the previous balance.

The principle of spore erosion relying on the shield and mental erosion relying on population density had completely become imbalanced.

Arthur, or rather Lin Qingliu, had certainly prepared and planned for this, but when the moment arrived, he still felt a bit tense.

He rolled up his sleeves and looked at the special terminal integrated with four members of the first team, accessing the energy system that once belonged to the control of the "Disaster Core."

At the same time, Arthur softly summoned "Infinite Scroll," which was always online:

"How much energy is needed to maintain ‘Holy Shield’ and ‘Starfall’ at full power for six months?"

Although it was the spaceship’s defense and attack system, Lin Qingliu was accustomed to referring to it by its code name.

This time, "Infinite Scroll" took a moment to respond:

"Ten percent."

"What if we shrink ‘Holy Shield’ to cover only the inner city?"

"Seven percent."

"Infinite Scroll" provided a standard answer.

"There’s one more thing—can you tell the difference between the infected?"

"Regrettably, I cannot. I cannot detect mental replacements; I hope you understand."

"I certainly understand, it’s just…"

Arthur momentarily found himself at a loss for words. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times, and without realizing it, his appearance transformed back into Lin Qingliu. Eventually, as if making a firm decision, he said:

"Prepare to initiate contingency plan number three."

He found a chair and sat down again, then turned the terminal to initiate emergency communication.

All the【Believers】 connected to the communication within five seconds. Until now, Arthur had never used this function, so everyone knew that something significant had happened.

Without any preamble or casual conversation, Lin Qingliu, now back in Arthur’s form, delivered the command in his magnetic voice:

"Yan Ming, stop the pursuit and return to the training grounds immediately. I want all members of the Extinction Legion in combat mode within two hours."

"Understood."

Yan Ming, who had already captured two suspicious individuals, was unaware of what had happened but immediately broke away from his team, handing the two suspects over to his teammates.

"Zhuang Mian, return to the Clean-up Team. The Highest Permission Level of the Clean-up Team is now transferred to you. Take them and bring all the personnel from the research institute branches in the outer city into the inner city."

"Understood."

Zhuang Mian, with a serious expression, quickly removed her tactical equipment and headed to her destination.

"Shi Jin, the Public Security Team authority is now yours. Take them and bring back all working individuals from the outer city; you have experience in this area, so make it quick."

"Received!"

A brief reply echoed back, and several kilometers away at the training grounds, the descent speed of hundreds of metallic orbs suddenly increased, crashing down onto the ground.

The girl at the center of the training grounds had already vanished like the wind.

"El, take your people to evacuate the schools and civilian areas. Take everyone without letting them worry about their belongings."

"Alright… I understand."

El, who was attending class as a transfer student, felt surprised, but the recent command had already drawn all eyes in the classroom toward him.

With no time to explain, El’s figure flashed and disappeared from view, leaving behind a gasp of astonishment.