Chapter 59: The Terrifying Trap!

Shen Yu had never intended to let these people conduct the investigation from the very beginning, nor did he intend to let anyone from this world do so.

He had not requested any reinforcements of soldiers either.

Because doing so would entirely mean using human lives to gamble on a slim chance of progress.

It was just like the period before Shen Yu had met the other Shen Yus, when the Eastern Country fought against the eye-worms.

Perhaps, when a true crisis arrived, life and courage would still be needed to write the final hymn of human civilization.

But right now, there was no such need, or rather, doing everything possible to change this situation was what Shen Yu had to do.

Looking at the soldiers in front of him, Shen Yu spoke again:

"Just a few hours ago, an old general held my hand and said that our soldiers do not lack courage, nor are they afraid of sacrifice, but we cannot let them fight an invincible enemy and sacrifice themselves in vain.

I agree with those words entirely.

I believe you possess the courage to rush into a battlefield destined for defeat, but beyond courage, what we need even more is victory!

This kind of victory cannot truly be brought to us by allies. What we can truly obtain from our allies is not a force that replaces you, but a force that arms you so that the enemy is no longer invincible.

Do you understand what I mean?"

In Shen Yu's mind, under circumstances where early-stage technological equipment was insufficient and martial arts techniques and resources were incomplete, if anyone was to be armed first by the power from other worlds, it would undoubtedly be these people right before him.

This was the reason he said these things today.

To give them some hope and motivation.

The effect was obvious.

Although they still remained silent, everyone could feel that the atmosphere among them had completely changed.

Until Song Yao reacted first, turned around, and shouted, "Do you understand what the Chief said?"

"Understood!"

The sound in that instant burst across the plaza like an indomitable wave.

The momentum was slightly less tragic than before, but far more inspiring.

Shen Yu did not say much more. He activated the projection once again to monitor the investigation progress ahead.

At this moment, Interstellar Shen Yu spoke up: "Even in my civilization, automated robots and AI cannot replace the vital role of humans on the battlefield. The apocalypse is humanity's apocalypse, and victory can only be achieved by humans."

Just this simple sentence gave the soldiers even more confidence.

Their efforts and courage, awareness and strength, were by no means in vain.

However, at this very moment, Shen Yu's expression grew solemn.

He looked around and said, "Gather around. Keep this strictly confidential from non-combat personnel for now."

As his words fell, Song Yao immediately turned and trotted away.

He was also considered non-combat personnel.

The remaining soldiers quickly gathered around, forming a simple human circle. The engineering troops slightly closer by immediately walked away.

The reason Shen Yu did this was because the situation detected by the detection devices was indeed rather horrifying.

This was the place closest to the enemy. Although he trusted the psychological resilience of these engineering troops, unnecessary panic and commotion should be avoided if possible.

After all the soldiers clearly saw the contents on the three-dimensional projection, their pupils suddenly contracted.

Clearly, they were all shocked.

On the three-dimensional projection, all the plants still looked like plants, and all the animals and insects appeared completely unchanged. However, right beneath their unaltered outermost layers, the inside was entirely different!

The projection marked these areas in a scarlet color.

They were countless root-like or nerve-like structures, pervading every tree, every blade of grass, every single leaf, every flower, every animal, and every insect!

Even ants!

No matter how small, dense networks existed within all of them.

They clung tightly to bones, blood vessels, and flesh!

Some were very thin, while others were quite thick.

Inside some trees, they could no longer be called roots, having instead grown into vines.

They seemed to have put on a "fake skin" for themselves. After encroaching upon all living creatures, they remained completely silent as if nothing had happened at all.

This turned the entire forest into a terrifying trap!

It seemed as though countless enemies were hidden behind an appearance of complete normality!

"Strong camouflage characteristics." Interstellar Shen Yu's expression also turned serious. "The enemies on our side also possess biological weapons with such parasitism, camouflage, and delayed activation, but they are not this strong. Look, the density of some parasitic components is even consistent with the density of the original tissue. If our detection devices weren't powerful enough, I'm afraid we wouldn't have discovered it either."

His words meant that with the current technology of the home planet, this level of mimicry was indeed difficult to detect.

Shen Yu immediately thought of those personnel who had entered to investigate.

"Ming Shu." He immediately connected with his secretary and sent the footage over, "Report this situation upward. Anyone who has entered that forest, including the people they have come into contact with, must be strictly quarantined and controlled immediately!"

What Shen Yu worried about most right now was whether this thing was contagious.

If it truly was, it would be far more terrifying than zombie bacteria!

After all, this thing appeared extremely covert.

"It has already been reported, and actions are being taken." Ji Mingshu quickly brought back some good news, "All personnel who previously entered the forest have had their ranges of movement restricted to a certain degree, and preventative measures against unknown viruses have already been implemented."

"That's good." Shen Yu's slightly tense heart relaxed a little.

That made sense. Given the known diversity and mystery of the monsters, it was impossible not to take preventive measures against parasitic or viral threats.

When facing the unknown, caution was the only quality that could save lives.

"The situation might not be as bad as we think. I deduce that its infectivity is not very strong, or there are certain limitations," Interstellar Shen Yu said at this point. "Otherwise, there would be no need to invade the city in an explosive manner; it could have silently parasitized the entire world directly."

"You're right." Shen Yu nodded, evidently realizing this as well.

However, when he looked again at the projection sent by the detection device, anxiety still lingered in his heart.

Too many.

The number of these unknown parasitic plants was simply too great.

Looking out as far as the eye could see, almost all plants and all life forms had failed to escape.

Recalling the prophetic visions he had seen earlier,

he feared that Longhua City was merely the first city to be attacked nine days later, not the only one.

When that time came, overwhelming enemies would tear off their outer skins and stop disguising themselves; how could they possibly target only a single city?

"First, collect some individual specimens, contain them, and bring them back," Shen Yu said, and then issued an order to the detection device.

Gather samples of insects, animals, and plants.

However, the unexpected happened.