Emergency State

After Li Wei pushed Key's energy to 81%, continuing to consume ordinary infected no longer had any effect. Only small amounts of ultraviolet exposure and Hunters could still charge Key.

He left the Infected Zone because a large number of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, accompanied by joint Blackwatch and federal forces, had suddenly entered it. The area where he could move had been squeezed down to almost nothing, forcing him to leave.

Clinging to the edge of a window on some building, Li Wei watched the hail of gunfire below and the crushing advance of steel behemoths. It felt like he was watching a war blockbuster, except the scene before him was far more raw and unembellished.

The visual impact was even greater. It was the kind of scene movie effects could hardly reproduce. The thunderous rumble of tanks rolling across the ground was deafening, and every cannon blast shook the surrounding buildings.

For some unknown reason, the military had begun a large-scale purge of the Infected Zone. They looked determined to wipe out every infected, perhaps because they had received some sort of order.

It definitely could not have been because the protest groups had forced the people behind the scenes to compromise. Unless the situation had reached an irreversible point and the protests had escalated into riots, peaceful demonstrations with a little vandalism would still hurt the protesting mobs the most.

America's wealthy had ample reserves of money. They would never have to worry about whether they could afford food, but the poor would.

Without organizers or support behind them, those protests would not last long. At most, they would disappear within a month under the pressure of making a living.

Based on that reasoning, Li Wei did not believe the military was making such a massive move because of the protests.

After watching for a while longer, he turned and left the building. Avoiding the armored units on the streets, he prepared to enter the safe zone and gather some information.

After climbing over a side wall and leaving the Infected Zone, he found noticeably fewer pedestrians on the streets. Most of those around were Blackwatch soldiers. Without alerting anyone, Li Wei returned to the apartment he had been hiding in for the past few days.

Yet the apartment building seemed as if it had been emptied out. It was deathly quiet, carrying an unsettling, hair-raising chill.

On the third floor, Li Wei found the door to Room 401 wide open. The person who played guitar had vanished. The small room was empty and cluttered, and unless it had been robbed, the only explanation was that its owner had encountered some emergency and moved away.

Li Wei went in to take a look. It was clearly a girl's room. Many things had not yet been packed away, and the wardrobe had been rummaged through into a mess. There were no signs that infected had broken in.

Suddenly, his ears twitched as he caught faint sounds. Li Wei left Room 401 and continued down the corridor. Halfway there, he stopped outside Room 409 and listened for a while. It sounded like a radio.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door. Once the sound faded, the radio seemed to be switched off.

Li Wei knocked again, and this time a response came from inside.

"I told you I won't move! Don't think you can make me leave my home unless you want this old woman dead!"

Uh...

Li Wei's expression turned slightly strange. He called out loudly, "Ma'am, I'm not here to make you move. I'm from Room 422. We met this morning. Could I ask you something?"

The voice inside fell silent for a moment, as though considering Li Wei's question.

A moment later, shuffling footsteps sounded. With a click, the door opened. The wooden door was pulled open only a crack, with the security chain still latched behind it.

A wrinkled face appeared behind the door. A pair of cloudy eyes peered out. Seeing Li Wei standing outside in a sharp suit, the old woman still looked puzzled. "Who are you?"

"It's me. I greeted you when I left this morning, remember? Do you know where everyone in this apartment building went?" Li Wei was not impatient. Many elderly people were like this. He bent down and shouted his question so she could hear him.

"Damn it!" The old woman seemed startled by Li Wei. Her head recoiled, and one hand appeared to clutch her chest. "I'm not deaf yet, you old hag! Are you trying to scare me to death? The moment I see a suit, I think of those bastards who want me to move out. Damn it!"

Li Wei fell silent for a moment before lowering his voice. "Ma'am, did someone come and ask everyone to move?"

Once she learned that Li Wei was not with the federal government, the old woman relaxed considerably and told him what had happened after he left.

Not long after Li Wei had gone out, government officials came and told everyone there to relocate temporarily, moving them all to the western district of the city.

The reason given was that the virus might spread, sterilization measures were about to begin, and the danger could affect this area, so everyone had to move to the western district.

Li Wei only believed part of it. After saying goodbye to the old woman, he returned to Room 422, turned on the television, found the local news, and looked for more information.

The news anchor, grave in both expression and manner, announced that Manhattan had entered its highest state of emergency. The military was preparing to take over the city, all civilians would be evacuated from Manhattan in the near future, and nuclear weapons might be used if necessary to destroy Manhattan's urban area.

An aerial image of the USS Ronald Reagan appeared on screen. The USS Ronald Reagan, carrying nuclear warheads, intimidated all the opportunistic rioters.

After the federal government gave a clear response, all protest groups in Manhattan had disappeared. All of New York was waiting to see how the federal government would handle the incident.

From this scattered information, only some of which could be trusted, Li Wei received an ominous signal. The situation might have already slipped beyond the control of the people behind the scenes. Otherwise, they could not possibly be so aggressive about using nuclear weapons.

After turning off the television, he looked at the wall clock and found that it was already three in the morning. The artillery fire outside continued, while the old woman in Room 409 kept cursing and yelling that the military would not let her rest.

Alex had arranged to meet him at seven in the morning, but he should probably find A-God first and learn what was happening.

It had been nearly ten years since he last played Prototype. Aside from some broad plot points, he had forgotten all the details.

Knowing that nuclear weapons might descend on Manhattan, Li Wei could no longer remain calm. He could not withstand a nuclear bomb now.

Even a small missile had been a struggle. If he really encountered a nuclear bomb, he would be vaporized.

He smashed straight through the window and glided away, entering the Infected Zone once more. The air grew thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Li Wei leaped between buildings. After approaching the combat zone, he activated stealth mode and began lurking in the shadows of the devastated buildings.

When he saw a helicopter pass overhead, he took a running start and jumped from a window. His body slammed into the side of the helicopter, and his arms immediately adhered to its flank.

With a loud thud, the helicopter tilted slightly from the sudden impact. Fortunately, the pilot was experienced enough to steady it after pulling the controls several times.

Then the terrified pilot and copilot inside turned their heads and met the gaze of Li Wei, who was sprawled beside the cabin window and grinning viciously at them.

"Hehehe~ Boys!" Li Wei smiled brightly and reached out, tearing open the helicopter's cabin door and flinging it away. He grabbed the pilot by the neck, and with a squeeze, scarlet flesh flew from his body and grew over his left hand. In an instant, it had consumed the pilot.

"Requesting backup! Eagle 6 is under atta—ugh!!!" The copilot shouted desperately for help over the public channel and began unfastening his seat belt, but in the next moment, Li Wei clamped his neck shut, leaving him unable to speak.

"Everything's normal. False alarm~!"

Li Wei's body slowly crawled up the scarlet flesh tendrils. His face, even the clothes on his body, transformed into the pilot's appearance in the next second. Even his voice became identical, while a wicked curve spread across his lips.