Chapter 14: The Infected

Upon seeing Chen Meiyue appear at the door, Chu Cheng's initial reaction was, "Uh-oh, could it be that his midnight remote-controlled escapades in the world of eccentric second-generation wealthy individuals with unusual fetishes have been exposed?"

But upon further reflection, he thought that it was unlikely. After all, the idea of a gaming otaku remotely controlling a superhero in a different world and going out on adventures was too abstract for most people's thought processes to conceive.

A more plausible explanation was that the other party had come to investigate the sudden incident at the school yesterday.

However, he would soon discover that he was partly right but not entirely.

"Would you like to come in and sit down?"

Chu Cheng politely asked, swallowing the second half of his sentence, "My house is quite spacious."

"No, thanks. I'm here for work," Chen Meiyue chuckled. "I'll come over to your place and have a good sit-down another day when I'm on vacation, but not today."

"Oh, I see."

"Our team just finished something and we're heading back to headquarters. We happened to pass by here," Chen Meiyue explained. "The higher-ups said there's something they need to talk to you about, so they sent us to pick you up and take you to headquarters. Are you available now?"

Did their superiors specifically ask for him?

That was a bit unexpected. Chu Cheng wondered if it was really necessary for the leadership to get involved if they were just conducting an investigation. Did he have anything particularly special about him?

"Okay," Chu Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "Let me change clothes first."

He went back to his room to change and soon went downstairs with Chen Meiyue. The black sedan was already parked at the bottom of the building, and the bald-headed investigator, Luo Yajun, from yesterday was leaning against the car, smoking a cigarette.

When he saw Chu Cheng, he grinned.

"Nice to see you again," he offered Chu Cheng a cigarette. "Want one?"

"Thank you, but I don't smoke," Chu Cheng declined, waving his hand.

"Haha, no need to be polite. We might have more chances to interact in the future."

"Thanks, but I really don't smoke."

Chu Cheng declined once again, while inwardly wondering if there was a hidden meaning behind his words.

But despite his questioning, neither Luo Yajun nor Chen Meiyue seemed inclined to explain. They just smiled and then opened the car door, motioning for him to get in.

The innocent logistics girl, Tang Li, was also in the car. She still held a tablet computer in her small hands and politely greeted Chu Cheng when he got in.

To be fair, Tang Li was quite beautiful, easily qualifying as the school's beauty queen.

However, as they say, there's no pain without comparison. But it wasn't about her looks, after all, beauty is subjective, and it's hard to determine who the impartial judges are.

The problem was that Chen Meiyue was an E-ranked powerhouse, while Tang Li, at best, could be considered an A-ranked peak or a half-step into B-rank. There was a considerable gap, several ranks apart.

Once Chu Cheng settled in the back seat, the car started moving.

Luo Yajun hummed a tune while sitting in the passenger seat, and Tang Li earnestly waved her stylus on the tablet, doodling and writing. Chen Meiyue, on the other hand, propped up her snow-white, otherworldly long legs as she flipped through some documents.

Wait a minute, who was driving the car, then?

It was only now that Chu Cheng noticed the young man driving the car. He had messy black hair and a pale complexion, as if suffering from malnutrition. The dark circles under his eyes made Chu Cheng suddenly wonder if it was a bad idea to ride with this person.

The man seemed to notice Chu Cheng's gaze and lifted his eyelids as a form of greeting. "Jinpei Kitagawa," he said.

An unusual name?

Of course, that's just what Chu Cheng thought. In this world without national boundaries, it wasn't strange to come across names that resembled those from different countries in the original world.

However, after muttering that brief introduction, the young man fell silent and continued to focus on driving.

"Let me give you a crash course in some basic knowledge," Chen Meiyue said, tossing aside the stack of documents and taking a seat across from Chu Cheng.

"I'm sure you're still curious about what happened at your school yesterday," she said. "To tell you the truth, your classmates were infected."

"Infected?" Chu Cheng was taken aback. "Is it some kind of virus?"

"It's not what people typically understand as a virus," Chen Meiyue shook her head. "No one knows the exact origin, but from a certain day onwards, this world suddenly entered a state of chaos."

An unknown ancient entity is awakening and infecting humanity through various mediums and in forms that are almost impossible to defend against.

Initially, the human psyche is often the first to be affected. That's why we have a specialized monitoring system in place to assess the infected individuals accordingly.

Individuals with an infection level below 10% can still be considered within the normal range, but they tend to be more sensitive, irritable, or prone to depression. Their emotions fluctuate greatly, and they may engage in impulsive behavior.

When the infection level reaches 10% to 50%, noticeable abnormalities can be observed. They may become extremely mechanical, numb, or even exhibit signs of madness. Infected individuals in this range may lose consciousness, display strong aggression, and have an instinct to infect others.

In the range of 50% to 99% infection level, the aforementioned conditions worsen as the infection progresses. The infected individual's physical potential is maximized, pushing the limits of human capabilities in all aspects. At this level, infected individuals may also possess formidable vitality, although it varies from person to person.

"We have witnessed some rather extreme cases where individuals, despite suffering severe decapitation, emerged unscathed."

Chen Meiyue's statement immediately reminded Chu Cheng of the scene he witnessed last night during his first foray into the game, when the man named Ed casually decapitated himself with a knife.

So, was that individual a highly infected person nearing 100% infection level?

However, the ancient entity awakening and the manifestation of its influence on both the mind and body sparked peculiar associations in Chu Cheng's mind.

"From the initial stages of contamination, the SAN value plummets. Once the SAN value reaches a certain point, individuals may go insane. When they reach a sufficient level of madness, the mental state may even manifest physical changes that defy scientific explanation."

"Infection levels below 50% can still be salvaged. The lower the coefficient, the less impact it has and the easier it is to restore," Chen Meiyue explained. "For example, your classmates from yesterday, though infected, had a coefficient of no more than 40%, so they are not in any danger."

Chu Cheng's train of thought led him to a question. After contemplating for a moment, he asked, "What happens when the infection level reaches 100%?"

"Of course, there is." Chen Meiyue nodded, acknowledging Chu Cheng's perceptiveness. "People who reach an infection level of 100% are extremely rare. And reaching 100% also marks a significant turning point."

She paused for a moment, emphasizing her words with a profound tone.

"A turning point that transcends the concept of 'humanity'."