On September 1st, without any warning, Chen Yao, Liu Mei, and Wu Jun suddenly began bleeding from all seven orifices, their internal organs rapidly deteriorating, and they died on the spot. Only you survived.
Upon witnessing the sudden deaths of Chen Yao, Liu Mei, and Wu Jun, you felt some fear initially, but quickly calmed down and began to analyze the cause.
In your view, this type of death was likely caused by a virus. After investigating, you discovered that the deaths of the three were indeed caused by a virus.
Furthermore, not only Chen Yao, Liu Mei, and Wu Jun, but even the animals suddenly dropped dead, all of them infected by the virus.
You suspected that this might be the work of the anomalies; perhaps they released the virus with the intention of eliminating you all, or even eradicating humanity entirely.
Additionally, you also had some suspicions that Wu Jun's golden finger might have played a role, triggering this negative possibility, causing all creatures to become infected with the virus and die instantly on September 1st.
As for why you were unaffected, it was because you possessed the Green Talent: Immunity to All Poisons effect. Interestingly, even though your cultivation was sealed, your innate talent started to come into play again. Although it was just a green-tier talent, it offered decent resistance to viruses.
However, you also suspected that this talent had not reached the level of transcending ordinary abilities, which is why it wasn't suppressed by the anomalies' abilities. Otherwise, even golden fingers would have been affected, let alone talents generated by the Life Simulator.
Though these talents were good, the golden talent, Teleportation, was influenced even within the Forbidden Zone of the upper realm, let alone competing with the anomalies.
"Looks like the anomalies have made their move. But is this really the anomalies' ability? I feel like it might be the result of Wu Jun's golden finger being influenced by the anomalies, increasing the probability of negative outcomes," you pondered as you read the simulated text.
"Anyway, whether it's one possibility or the other, it seems we won't reach a conclusion in this simulation. We need to discuss this with Wu Jun and continue gathering information," you sighed, dismissing the thoughts from your mind and focusing on the screen.
In the following days, you lived a solitary existence in this world. As time passed, many bodies began to decompose, and even though you had fled to the countryside, it was of no use.
Due to the sudden mass deaths of all animals, the ecosystem was disrupted and became chaotic.
You didn't pay much attention to all of this but instead waited for the anomalies to strike again and eliminate you. However, something unexpected happened. Just three months later, the effect of your Green Talent: Immunity to All Poisons was no longer able to fend off the virus. Evidently, the virulence of the virus had been continuously increasing, surpassing the limits of your talent.
The virus rapidly infected you, causing you to bleed from all seven orifices, and your internal organs failed. Your life came to an end.
Because of your death, the simulation ended.
The text simulation halted at this point, and various images appeared in your mind, depicting scenes where you succumbed to the virus.
"Although viruses can naturally mutate continuously, the speed of this virus mutation is too fast. It only took three months to exceed the tolerance range of the talent's effect," you said with a hint of frustration.
Originally, you thought you might be able to wait for the anomalies to make their next move, but unexpectedly, you succumbed to the virus.
While you were silently contemplating, your consciousness suddenly flickered, your vision changed, and you returned to the real world, opening your eyes.
"This is a bit troublesome," you said, looking at Wu Jun and the others, your brows furrowing. You then recounted the simulated content.
"This..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Mei fell silent.
"Could it be because of my ability?" Wu Jun also thought of this possibility and looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Whether it is or not, we'll find out in the next simulation," Wang Ping commented while shaking his head.
"Chen Yao, can you add points in this world?" Wang Ping suddenly remembered this and asked Chen Yao.
"My divine source is all in the inner world and is suppressed by the anomalies' abilities, so I can't access it. Besides, I didn't allocate any points specifically to intelligence, so this could be a real problem," Chen Yao replied with a wry smile.
"I see," Wang Ping sighed. Although he wasn't surprised by this result, he was still somewhat disappointed.
"Sorry, it looks like I might be a burden," Chen Yao said, feeling guilty.
"Not necessarily a burden. Everyone can contribute in their own way, even if your golden finger can't be used," Wang Ping reassured Chen Yao.
"Wang Ge, how many free simulation attempts do you have left?" Wu Jun interjected with a question.
"I have more than enough free simulations left," Wang Ping replied calmly. He rarely took on missions and often used paid simulations in the upper realm. As a result, he had accumulated over a hundred free simulation attempts.
"That's good," Wu Jun breathed a sigh of relief. This time, the anomalies were clearly too dangerous, and even twenty or thirty simulations might not be enough to solve the problem. If Wang Ping had insufficient free simulation attempts, it would have been a real issue.
"As for the cause of our deaths, do any of you have any speculations?" Wang Ping asked, looking at the three of them.
"None," Wu Jun shook his head.
"Most likely, it's one of the two possibilities you mentioned, Wang Ge. While it's not impossible that the virus naturally originated, considering that all the animals died simultaneously, I can't think of any naturally occurring virus that could cause all animals to die simultaneously," Chen Yao added thoughtfully.
Chen Yao hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Clearly, it's either due to Wu Jun's unreasonable ability or it's the result of anomalies' deliberate manipulation, setting the virus to trigger at a specific time."
"Chen Yao's addition of details is quite good. This being said, if it's the anomalies at work, then I can suspect one thing. That is, the anomalies might not be on Bluewater Star but could be using advanced technology from an extraterrestrial civilization to manipulate Bluewater Star," Wang Ping nodded and continued.
"Wang Ge, are you suggesting that Bluewater Star's technology might not be advanced enough to control a virus and set a specific time for a collective outbreak?" Liu Mei inquired with a thoughtful expression.
"That's right," Wang Ping nodded.
"Wang Ge, if that's the case, then doesn't it mean that Bluewater Star might have attracted the attention of an extraterrestrial civilization? They might have even sent spaceships to the solar system?" Wu Jun, not lacking in insight, voiced his concerns.
"If it's not due to your ability, then it's highly likely that Bluewater Star has already attracted the attention of an extraterrestrial civilization, and they might have already arrived using some means," Wang Ping replied, sighing as he looked out the window at the sun.
"In that case, we might be at risk of exposure. Of course, we've kept a low profile, and if they look down on the humans of Bluewater Star, they might have just poisoned us and watched us perish. They may not have discovered the existence of individuals like us," Wang Ping reassured them.
Wu Jun, Liu Mei, and Chen Yao listened to Wang Ping's words with a sense of unease.
They were ordinary people now, and if they had already been discovered, they might follow in the footsteps of the senior travelers of the Second-Generation Chat Group.
Thinking about this outcome, their moods sank to the lowest depths.
However, Wang Ping continued, "But you don't need to worry too much. The current situation is not that bad yet. Even if the virus is related to the anomalies, there's a high chance they haven't noticed us. Otherwise, we wouldn't have survived this long in the simulations."
"Furthermore, I'll say something blunt. It may not even be the anomalies' doing because this anomaly is no longer the small fry we dealt with initially. His goal cannot simply be to eliminate the humans on Bluewater Star. This kind of big boss anomaly most likely aims to destroy the entire universe and seize everything in it."
"That makes sense," the three of them nodded, regaining their composure.
"I'll continue with the simulations. Hopefully, we can gather some useful information," Wang Ping said, sighing in relief before closing his eyes.
"System, I want to initiate a free simulation."
"Ding, Life Simulator activated, free simulation begins."
The system's voice sounded, and Wang Ping's consciousness flickered as he entered the immersive simulation state.
Then, the familiar text appeared on the screen.
[On the first day, after discussion, you decided to remain passive and not interfere with anything, just like in the previous simulation where you charmed all of humanity as a popular idol. You had no other ideas.]
[The only thing you can do is wait and see if, after not intervening in the plot's development, this time's plot development will be the same as in the previous simulation.]
[In the blink of an eye, half a year passed, and it was once again September 1st. Then, the anomaly occurred once again, and all of humanity and other animals suddenly bled from all seven orifices, with their internal organs failing, and they died instantly. The entire Bluewater Star once again became a dead planet, with only you and the plants surviving.]
[Seeing this scene, you fell silent, knowing that the appearance of the virus was clearly not related to Wu Jun's golden finger but was destined to happen. However, in this simulation, you still couldn't get an answer. You couldn't determine whether this was the deliberate work of the anomalies or if it was an extraterrestrial civilization targeting Bluewater Star with poison.]
[In the blink of an eye, three more months passed, and you, like in the previous simulation, died due to the outbreak of the virus.]
[Because of your death, this simulation ends here.]
The text simulation stopped here, and Wang Ping's mind was filled with various images. Finally, he exited the immersive simulation state.
"It wasn't caused by Wu Jun's ability," Wang Ping looked at everyone and stated.
"That's a relief," Wu Jun sighed in relief, fearing he might have been responsible for his teammates' deaths.
"However, it means that it was the work of the anomalies or an extraterrestrial civilization. If possible, I hope it's the anomalies," Wang Ping said after recounting the simulation's content.
"We all hope so. But with the current lack of information, we can only continue our investigation," Liu Mei sighed.
"It's been a long time since we've had so many rapid deaths while executing group missions, conducting simulations consecutively," Wang Ping noted, reflecting on the situation.
"Yeah. But this isn't a good thing," Chen Yao said with a wry smile.
Rubbing his forehead, Wang Ping said, "Indeed, it's not a good thing, but there's nothing we can do to change it. Anyway, I'll continue with the simulations."
Then, he closed his eyes and said in his mind, "System, I want to initiate a free simulation."
"Ding, the Life Simulator is activated, and the free simulation begins."
The system's voice resounded, and Wang Ping's consciousness flickered as he once again entered the immersive simulation.
Then, the screen lit up, and text appeared.
[On the first day, you discussed a strategy once again. After the discussion, you felt that continuing as before would lead to the same outcome. Therefore, you needed to introduce enough variables into the upcoming events.]
[You believed that these variables could come from using Wu Jun's golden finger again or through Liu Mei's methods, establishing shelters in advance for refuge, to see if you could save some of humanity. At the same time, you added more variables to test whether you had already been infected by the virus at this point or if the virus had not yet appeared.]
[After the discussion, you decided not to use Wu Jun's uncertain golden finger for now and opted to create various variables artificially.]
[Thanks to Liu Mei's golden finger, you easily accomplished these tasks, using the authority of the Three Kings to establish many closed ecological shelters that were isolated from the outside world and could operate in a closed loop.]
[Simultaneously, many human elites entered these shelters. Then, all clues about these shelters were deleted.]
[Furthermore, the human elites and participants from Jianhu, who were aware of these events, were mesmerized by Liu Mei's abilities, leading them to self-hypnotically forget everything.]
[As time passed, in the blink of an eye, almost half a year had gone by, and you arrived once again on September 1st.]
[As this day arrived, just like in your memory, humans and animals outside on Bluewater Star suddenly died. However, you humans who were hiding in the closed shelters were unharmed. To be precise, all the shelters around the world remained unaffected.]
[This meant that before you entered the shelters, the virus had not yet appeared on Bluewater Star. This was a relieving piece of news.]
[But even more reassuring news awaited you. The experimental subjects in your experiment also experienced a different change.]
[Under your arrangement, after April 1st, in the early hours, an experiment subject from a closed shelter that had begun contact with the outside world exhibited signs of sudden death on September 1st. However, the experimental subjects from other shelters that had not come into contact with the outside world did not die.]
[This situation led to a conclusion. The virus probably appeared on Bluewater Star around May 1st. However, the virus didn't spread immediately upon its appearance; it had a process of transmission.]
[This transmission process might involve airborne transmission, waterborne transmission, human-to-human transmission, or possibly all of these methods. In the end, after nearly four months of transmission, the virus had spread throughout Bluewater Star, infecting all animals and triggering a terrifying outbreak on September 1st.]
[This experimental result made you both happy and worried. Although in the real world, there were still two more months before the virus would appear, two months were quite brief, and you needed to find a solution. Otherwise, this would indeed be a death sentence.]
[If the virus was only the appetizer, the true danger lay in the extraterrestrial civilization that released the virus.]
[However, you also thought of one thing. That was, what kind of extraterrestrial civilization existed in this world, and what were the survival rules of this universe? If it was like the world of Wang Shuqi, then it was manageable as there was room for manipulation.]
[After all, the goal of that extraterrestrial civilization was to find habitable planets for sale, and there was room for manipulation. Liu Mei had a good chance to charm the aliens.]
[What worried you the most was a certain cosmology you remembered, similar to the Dark Forest Theory. If it was like the Dark Forest, then it was truly troublesome, and the difficulty of overcoming it would multiply.]
[However, while you had some worries, you knew that worrying wouldn't solve the problem. Therefore, you began to assemble scientists for research, aiming to develop a vaccine to combat this terrifying virus.]
[However, something unfortunate happened. Even before the outbreak, those medical experts couldn't figure out who was infected by the virus. Now, after the virus outbreak, they finally found the virus but realized it was entirely incurable.]
[The top figures in the medical field, including virologists and biochemists, all came to a consensus. That was, this virus was beyond the current medical and technological capabilities of humanity.]
[Not to mention the MR virus, which was an extraterrestrial virus, even the native viruses on Bluewater Star had hardly been conquered by humans. In human history, the viruses that had been completely overcome were mainly due to mutual inhibition between viruses, which happened to be discovered by humans and then conquered.]
[In addition, conquering viruses and fighting against viruses mainly relied on the human body's own immune system.]
[Hearing this answer, you fell silent. You had heard about this knowledge on Earth before your time travel, but you didn't expect to hear it again on this planet similar to Earth.]
[Indeed, fields like virology and genetics were too profound and challenging to delve into. In this regard, humanity was like naive children who knew of its existence but couldn't study its essence.]
[After thinking it over, you let these scientists continue researching the MR virus. Meanwhile, you also started having scientists research genetic remedies or energy fluids.]
[You thought that if relying on the body's own immune system to fight against the virus was necessary, you could find a way to quickly boost the physical strength of the entire population.]
[However, using the cultivation method of the fantastical world, like the Body Tempering Grand Realm, was useless. This had been proven in the previous virus outbreak, and you needed a stronger physique.]
[Since the cultivation system was ineffective, you turned to technological means to enhance human strength. Such enhancements might not be susceptible to the anomalies' abilities.]
[After all, in the realm of technology, genetic remedies that enhanced human genetic strength, or even broke the genetic locks, resulting in the transformation of a person's physique and intelligence, was a perfectly normal thing. This belonged to the evolutionary path of technology and was likely less affected by the anomalies.]
[In addition, you thought of the route of mechanical ascension. As the saying goes, "Flesh is weak, but machines are strong." This was a classic saying in science fiction.]
[Of course, you didn't consider the idea of undergoing mechanical ascension in reality, but in the simulation, it could help advance the plot. Therefore, you could consider doing it to deal with the anomalies.]
"Gene serum, I remember that Zeng Lingdong once checked in with gene serum. We can bring it for reference and let the scientists study it. In addition, there's Wang Shuqi's world with energy liquid and the spaceship."
Wang Ping looked at the simulated text, his eyes flickering as he thought to himself.
If they were to develop technology normally, it would undoubtedly be very troublesome, especially given the current situation where time was extremely limited. However, if they could utilize external forces, that would be a different story.
By using the gene serum Zeng Lingdong had checked in with and the spaceship and technology data captured by Wang Shuqi's world, there was a chance to quickly turn the humans in this world into genetically enhanced individuals, and at the same time, elevate human technology to the interstellar age.
Of course, this method felt like rushing things and might have some impact on the future of humanity.
"Time is running out, and we can't worry about that now. Let's solve the current problem first," Wang Ping muttered to himself and continued to gaze at the screen.
"Sixty years have passed in the blink of an eye. During these sixty years, there were no other crises, and it seemed that the extraterrestrial civilization thought that humanity had become extinct and did not continue to target the life on Bluewater Planet."
"This is the only thing worth rejoicing about. However, you still can't leave the shelter. After all, the outside world is still full of the virus, and going out means certain death. Unfortunately, in these sixty years, scientists have been trying to develop gene serums and virus vaccines, but due to the technological gap and the lack of a suitable research environment, there hasn't been much progress."
"In addition, during these sixty years, the aging of scientists has become a problem. There are not enough outstanding young researchers to replace them in the shelter."
"Even the elderly scientists, and even you, have aged significantly after sixty years. If it weren't for your slightly stronger physical condition, you might have already died of old age at the age of eighty."
"This has made you quite melancholic. Your life had been so exciting when you were on Earth, from being an ordinary person to unexpectedly joining a chat group, experiencing an extraordinary eight or nine years, and becoming a formidable existence beyond ordinary humans."
"But now, in this world, you have reverted to being an ordinary person, hiding in the shelter just to survive, growing old, and eventually dying."
"As you felt melancholic about all this, Wu Jun also thought about using his Goldfinger one last time. Over the years, Wu Jun had been wanting to use his Goldfinger to see if he could trigger a miracle."
"But you have been stopping him. After all, once Wu Jun uses the unpredictable abilities of his Goldfinger, it will introduce variables that could interfere with your next simulation. Therefore, even if you all grow old and die, you absolutely cannot use the Goldfinger's abilities for one last gamble."
"You once again stopped Wu Jun, making him somewhat helpless. Obviously, after so many years, Wu Jun still listens to your advice."
"Just as you were drowning your sorrows in alcohol, something unexpected happened again. In space, a massive meteorite was approaching Bluewater Planet, eventually breaking through the planet's atmosphere and crashing onto its surface."
"For a moment, the energy shockwaves from the impact of the meteorite caused the entire planet to tremble. The ecosystem of Bluewater Planet suffered a terrifying blow, and even those hiding in the shelter were affected, ultimately perishing in the chain reaction caused by the meteorite impact."
"Due to your death, this simulation ends."
As the simulated text came to an end, Wang Ping's mind was filled with various images, and he found himself in space once again. From his perspective, a massive meteorite was hurtling toward Bluewater Planet, and the resulting energy created a seismic event that shook the entire planet.
"Just a meteorite impact like this, such a scene, would have been small for my former self. Now that I've become an ordinary person, it seems so spectacular and awe-inspiring when viewed from space," Wang Ping mused as he watched the scene.
Before he could dwell on it further, his consciousness flickered, and he exited the immersive simulation, returning to the real world.
"This simulation was somewhat better this time, and we gathered quite a bit of information, but..."
Wang Ping looked at Wu Jun and the others, shaking his head as he recounted the situation.
"We still have two months, which is fortunate."
Wu Jun was quite relieved. Although being infected two months later wasn't a reason to celebrate, it was better than being infected right away.
"While it's safe for now, the virus remains unresolved, and we can't just keep hiding. Besides, what's the deal with that meteorite? Was it an accident, or are we being targeted again?"
Wang Ping shook his head, expressing his concerns.
"This..."
Upon hearing Wang Ping's words, Wu Jun fell silent.
Liu Mei and Chen Yao furrowed their brows, feeling frustrated.
It seemed that one crisis had just followed another. They hadn't even solved the virus problem, and now a massive meteorite impact had occurred.
Regardless of whether it was natural or intentional, it was aimed at exterminating humanity.
The situation was despairing, and there seemed to be no hope of a breakthrough.
No wonder the chat group had been labeled as extremely difficult with a high level of danger.
Without Wang Ge here, how would they have cleared it?
Just thinking about it made them feel suffocated and desperate.
It was no wonder that the second-generation chat group's predecessors who had traveled through had been wiped out mercilessly.
This peculiar setting, which suppressed superhuman abilities, forcibly turned others into ordinary people, was truly much more challenging to deal with than other anomalies.
"But let's not worry too much. Even if there was no meteorite impact, we would still grow old and die."
Wang Ping looked at the three silent individuals and tried to comfort them.
"It's not the most joyful thing, though."
Wu Jun, Liu Mei, and Chen Yao smiled bitterly.
"Well, let's not dwell on that. We need to ask for help from the group. We need the gene serum and technology data. With these, we should be able to break through."
Wang Ping patted Wu Jun's shoulder and said with a smile.
"Yes, we can ask for help from the chat group!"
Hearing this, Wu Jun's eyes brightened.
"Unfortunately, there are no members in the chat group who have traveled to a high-tech world, nor have any of them obtained a corresponding Goldfinger. Otherwise, it would be much simpler."
Liu Mei lamented.
"I wonder if Qu Zhong's purification ability would be of any use."
After thinking for a while, Chen Yao spoke up.
"Purifying curses and similar negative effects, I'm not sure if the virus falls into that category."
Wang Ping also thought of Qu Zhong and pondered.
"But we can give it a try."
Afterward, Wang Ping directly opened the chat group and explained the situation, hoping that Zeng Lingdong and Wang Shuqi could help. He also tagged Qu Zhong, hoping he could come over.
Zeng Lingdong (89): "Wang Ge, regarding the gene serum, I've checked in with a better one. Maybe it can help you
guys."
Wang Shuqi (74): "Wang Ge, no problem. After all, you initially captured the spaceship and some technology from the extraterrestrial civilization. It's only fair to trade them now."
(End of this chapter)