The Pit of Xinchang

"Complete control... those four words are terrifying. If he encounters a slightly more powerful shelter, he'll be invincible!""But this talent has its drawbacks—there can only be one infected source... For a survivor with an A-rank talent like Chen Xun, he's really just a small fish.""If I had this talent, I would definitely find an SS-rank talent holder to serve as the source, I wouldn't even settle for an S-rank."Mike muttered to himself. Suddenly, he used his skill on Chen Xun again, further verifying if any new hidden information had appeared.The good news was, no new hidden information showed up on Chen Xun.The bad news, however, came when Mike realized something during his repeated checkups."Wait!""Has Chen Dafen been infected?"Mike quickly directed his skills at Chen Dafen, who was currently leading the assault on a destroyed shelter. As his survival points drained, Chen Dafen's data surfaced.To be sure, Mike used his skills multiple times. Eventually, he uncovered the hidden infection effect on Chen Dafen's data.Chen Dafen only had two hidden pieces of information: one was from the Parasitic effect, and the other was Soul Plague - Sub-body."Damn!"Mike's expression darkened. "Chen Dafen's been infected too? How long has he been in contact with Liu Wenbo? Such a short time, and he's already infected!"Mike took a deep breath, his brow furrowing. He silently linked to several viewpoints of Xinchang's talent units, further investigating those who had interacted with Liu Wenbo.Although this consumed his survival points, it was necessary for gathering more precise intelligence.In the end, Mike confirmed it.Several units, including Qin Dashan, had been infected!Only a few soldiers who hadn't interacted with Liu Wenbo were lucky enough to avoid it."Some of them only met Liu Wenbo briefly, and they got infected too?""Damn, this plague is too strong! Could it be... the whole of Xinchang is infected?"A terrifying thought began to take shape in Mike's mind.His eyes widened as he realized this speculation wasn't far-fetched.Looking back at Liu Wenbo's initial outbreak timeline, it had been more than half a month since he became the commander. During that time, Liu Wenbo had undoubtedly come into contact with many local survivors in Xinchang. Most of the city's strong survivors had interacted with him.No matter the reason for the interactions, anyone who came into contact with him would have been infected!Mike linked to Qin Dashan's viewpoint, who was involved with rescue efforts and in deep investigation with Xinchang's local armed forces, where he had met multiple powerful locals.Using his skills, Mike quickly scanned a few of them and confirmed they were all infected."Quite the grand scheme...""A single mechanism affecting the entire city, with half of the strong survivors in the city as potential puppets!"Mike's frown deepened. Xinchang's situation was even murkier than he had imagined.An unknown mastermind, hidden somewhere, seemed to have nearly taken full control of the city.Whenever they wanted, they could replace the infected source, constantly manipulating Xinchang's situation toward unity, while pulling the strings from the shadows."Xinchang is still in chaos... perhaps it's all intentional, drawing more external forces' attention to the city.""They're greedy! They want to find a better infected source!"Mike took a deep breath. The good news was that Chen Xun wasn't the mastermind, just a part of the mechanism.The bad news was that the mastermind had been very fortunate—starting with Liu Wenbo, the commander, as the initial infected source."Is it possible," Mike thought deeply, "that this person has other means besides the Soul Plague, like controlling who becomes the initial infected source?"Mike pondered the possibility, feeling it was quite likely.But considering it further didn't help. Liu Wenbo was already a known factor. Mike couldn't make any moves against him.After all, the Soul Plague's effects clearly stated: if any other beings had remote contact with the infected source, they would also be infected.Though the probability was low, it was still a possibility."This skill can't be used on Liu Wenbo.""Wait, what about observing Liu Wenbo through someone else's viewpoint? Does that count as remote contact?"Mike felt uneasy and quickly tested it by using his skill on himself a few times.He discovered a few hidden effects related to his existing mechanisms like Parasitic, Good Luck, and Vassal's Covenant."Not infected, thank goodness."Mike exhaled in relief. Not daring to relax, he quickly contacted Jiang Xiaoci and informed her of his latest findings. He also used the skill on her to check her status.The result was positive—Jiang Xiaoci hadn't been infected.This greatly reduced the pressure on Mike. If Jiang Xiaoci had been infected, it would mean the mastermind could use the "let the source die repeatedly" strategy to increase the chances of Mike becoming the new source.After hearing Mike's updated intel, Jiang Xiaoci fell silent for a moment, as if deep in thought.Around ten minutes later, she spoke."Sir, based on the current situation, the Soul Plague infection likely requires a medium.""This medium could be air, sight, smell, sound, or something else... but it doesn't have a long-range infection ability. It can't infect through multiple layers of medium.""This is why we haven't been infected. From this perspective... the ancient god may not be as powerful as I initially thought."Jiang Xiaoci smiled lightly.Mike sighed. "You can still laugh? Even though we haven't been infected, the situation is far from ideal. Most of our high-level personnel are infected, and they could become the new source.""If we let them return, the city could fall if any of them turn into the source.""But if we don't let them return, we're practically handing the mastermind a group of ready-made sub-bodies."Mike was deeply troubled. He hadn't realized how deeply he had fallen into the trap of Xinchang.This wasn't Mike being careless. After all, who could have predicted something like the Soul Plague? These bizarre mechanisms were almost impossible to defend against."Indeed, sir," Jiang Xiaoci said gently. "But the situation now is far clearer than yesterday.""The unknown is the most terrifying enemy. No matter how strong an enemy is, once you understand it, you can find its flaws."Mike quickly asked, "So, what's the flaw?"