Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 261 - 180: The Eve_2

Chapter 261: Chapter 180: The Eve_2

Four days later, the Gear Hotel will be left with nothing but a group of fully transformed mechanical creatures.

"Is there any chance the Flesh Curse can be cured?"

Earth Wolf Twelve lit a cigar, the smell of nicotine helping him focus a bit more.

In the meeting room were all the mechanical doctors he could gather, who had crashed with the fallen flying vehicle and eventually had to seek help at the Gear Hotel.

After posing the question, Earth Wolf Twelve cursed inwardly.

The situation was just like those zombie movies he had seen, and he was playing the role of those useless superiors in the movies, asking equally useless questions.

The doctors’ answer was as expected, "No, we can only delay it, but the prerequisite is that the patient no longer actively uses mechanical energy, nor do they get affected by external energy sources."

Those mutated insects were the external energy sources.

According to the theory of the mechanical doctors, these fully transformed beings would inject their internal mechanical energy into the "aberrants" to facilitate assimilative evolution, which is also why non-Mechanical Star people were susceptible to the infection.

Moreover, the intensity of this plague was unprecedented, and among the nobility of Mechanical Star, there were cases of transformation without any interference from external sources of energy.

"So, how did you treat those infected before?"

Earth Wolf Twelve’s question made the mechanical doctors look at each other, hesitant and seeming to hold back words.

"Speak!"

"When Dr. Ling Long was still around, she would quarantine them and alleviate their symptoms by extracting mechanical energy. Some patients stabilized emotionally after having their mechanical energy drawn out and no longer exhibited aggressiveness," a timid, older doctor said.

"Dr. Ling Long? Where is she now?"

"She... She was executed by the Queen."

"Damn it!"

Earth Wolf Twelve cursed loudly; he had just heard a glimmer of hope, and before he could even feel relieved, that hope was extinguished.

"Theoretically, the Flesh Curse is a result of the influence of mechanical energy, and if we could completely extract the internal mechanical energy, the ailment could be eliminated or even cured," the doctor continued.

"Then why don’t you do that?"

"Because it’s too difficult for the people of Mechanical Star, as our bodies have been more or less transformed, and we have been inseparable from mechanical energy since the moment we were born."

Even when Ling Long was alive, her treatment theory had not been widely applied.

Almost all patients had given up on treatment.

Rather than being stripped of all mechanical energy and becoming ordinary humans, they preferred to be completely assimilated by the Flesh Curse.

The people of Mechanical Star, especially the nobles, couldn’t bear to live as "mortals."

"What about after that? What did you do later?"

The doctors fell silent once again.

After what felt like an eternity, the older doctor spoke up again, not daring to meet Earth Wolf Twelve’s gaze, "The Queen ordered the execution of everyone with the Flesh Curse, nobles included."

The doctors always felt this might be the very reason why the Queen later became deranged—as after using the power of the "Golden Hourglass," she too started showing symptoms of the Flesh Curse.

The Queen knew better than anyone that there was no cure for the Flesh Curse, the only one who had a glimmer of hope, Ling Long, had been executed decades ago.

The reason why the Queen didn’t fully transform like the other infected was because her mechanical energy was stronger than anyone else’s, seemingly delaying the transformation process to some extent.

But even the queen couldn’t completely conquer the Flesh Curse. Someone found her entirely sandified body embedded in the blood-red crystals, like a statue, in the great hall.

Earth Wolf Twelve gazed at the revolver on the table, lost in prolonged thought.

Eliminate the source of infection.

Reason told him that this was the only way to slow the progression of the Flesh Curse.

But that was merely a delay. Even the Queen of Mechanical Star, who had implemented this policy, had not recovered from the ailment.

If Mechanical Star was destined to "Cocoon," it would be nothing but a meaningless death struggle. Apart from condemning oneself to a few more deaths, it was of no help at all.

Earth Wolf Twelve would unhesitatingly use his gun to take down any opponent on the battlefield, but to turn on a group of terminally ill patients was not the way of the Interstellar Cowboys, especially when it seemed more like a compromise made out of fear.

He felt ashamed.

In any zombie-themed movie he had ever seen, where there was even a slim hope, the decision-makers would not hesitate to sacrifice the majority to gain that glimmer of hope.

Before Earth Wolf Twelve could make up his mind, another piece of dire news arrived.

Transformation had occurred in the Critical Quarantine Zone, and the situation was out of control.

Those completely transformed by the Flesh Curse saw their Strength, Agility, and Vitality greatly enhanced, and they could continue to attack even if their bodies were severed into two parts.

The only way to put them to rest was to blow their heads off, just like dealing with zombies.

"Seal the passages, don’t waste manpower," Earth Wolf Twelve ordered.

Meanwhile, Owl ran swiftly past the gate that was about to be sealed. He thought he must be crazy because behind the gate was the Critical Quarantine Zone, the first to undergo transformation.

In his hands, he held only a tablet and a camera.

Screams were incessant. He lifted his camera and captured a scene of this earthly purgatory.

The patients gradually stopped struggling after being tackled and soon joined in on tackling others.

Only one thought remained in Owl’s mind.

Perhaps no one could escape from Mechanical Star, but at least, someone could record the scenes of the night before "Cocooning." When someone from the future got his camera, they would know what had happened at Gear Hotel.

He stood still, capturing this madness with his lens.

Until all the roars and commotion ceased, and the eyes of everyone in the quarantine were fixed on him.

The gate behind him had long been closed.

Owl, holding his camera, faced all the Transformers advancing towards him.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. To die amid such despair and fear, this was a more fitting end for a frontline reporter.

The Transformers surrounded him, their faces in the lens stiff and expressionless like mechanical masks. They all uttered the same phrase with flat, synthesized electronic voices.

"The aberrant must be healed."

Owl placed the camera on a trolley beside him, spread his arms, closed his eyes, and embraced the approaching crowd.

The darkness seemed exceptionally long, as if he’d spent a dozen minutes enveloped in it.

Then, a different voice pierced the darkness.

—"Barrier."