State of Emergency

After Li Wei pushed the Key's energy to 81%, continuing to consume ordinary infected had no effect; only a small amount of ultraviolet exposure and Hunters could still charge the Key.

He left the infection zone, though in reality, it was because a large number of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, accompanied by a joint force of Blackwatch and federal troops, suddenly surged into the area, shrinking his range of movement to almost nothing.

Clinging to the window of a building, gazing at the hail of bullets and the crushing weight of steel behemoths below, Li Wei felt as if he were watching a war movie, only the scene before him was far more raw and unadorned.

The visual impact was even greater; it was a sight difficult to replicate with movie special effects. The deafening roar of the tanks—the overlords of the land—as they rumbled forward, and the thunderous boom of their cannons, made the surrounding buildings tremble.

For reasons unknown, the military had begun a large-scale clearing of the infection zone, displaying an intensity that suggested they intended to wipe out every single infected creature, perhaps acting under specific orders.

It was absolutely impossible that the protesters had forced the hands of those behind the scenes, unless the situation had reached an irreversible point where the protests turned into riots; otherwise, peaceful protests combined with minor vandalism would only result in the greatest losses for the rioting mobs themselves.

The wealthy in America had ample reserves of capital and would never worry about having nothing to eat, but the poor would.

These protests, lacking behind-the-scenes organizers and aid, could not last long; they would disappear within a month at most due to the pressure of survival.

Following this logic, Li Wei did not believe the military's massive mobilization was a response to the protests.

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

After climbing over a wall to exit the infection zone, the number of pedestrians on the streets had noticeably decreased, replaced mostly by Blackwatch soldiers. Without alerting anyone, Li Wei returned to the rental apartment where he had been hiding for the past few days.

However, the apartment building felt as if it had been emptied out; it was deathly quiet, giving off a chilling, eerie sensation.

Upon reaching the third floor, Li Wei saw that the door to room 401 was wide open. The person who played the guitar was gone, and the small room was empty and chaotic. If it hadn't been visited by a thief, then the owner must have moved out due to some emergency.

Li Wei walked in to take a look; it was clearly a young woman's room. Many items hadn't even been packed, the wardrobe had been ransacked, but there were no signs of an infected intrusion.

Suddenly, his ears twitched as he caught a faint sound. Li Wei left 401 and turned to continue deeper into the corridor. Halfway there, he stopped at room 409, tilted his head to listen for a moment; it sounded like a radio.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door. Once the sound died down, the radio seemed to have been switched off.

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

"I told you I'm not moving! Don't even think about getting me out of this house, unless you want my old life!"

Uh...

Li Wei's expression turned slightly odd, and he called out in a clear voice, "Ma'am, I'm not here to make you move. I'm from room 422, we saw each other this morning. Could I ask you something?"

The voice inside fell silent for a moment, as if ruminating on Li Wei's question.

A moment later, the sound of shuffling footsteps approached, and the door was opened with a click. The wooden door was pulled open a crack, but it was still held by a security chain.

A face full of wrinkles appeared behind the door, and a pair of cloudy eyes peered out. Seeing Li Wei standing at the door, dressed in a crisp suit, the old woman looked somewhat confused. "You are?"

"It's me. I greeted you when I went out this morning, remember? Do you know where everyone in this apartment went?" Li Wei didn't show any impatience; many elderly people were like this. He leaned down and shouted his question loudly, hoping the old woman could hear him.

"Damn it!" The old woman seemed startled by Li Wei, her head recoiling as her hand clutched her chest. "I'm not deaf, you old hag! Do you want to scare me to death? Seeing a suit just reminds me of those bastards who want me to move, damn it!"

Li Wei was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice slightly and asked, "Ma'am, did someone come to tell everyone to move out?"

Realizing that Li Wei was not with the federal government, the old woman's guard dropped significantly, and she recounted what had happened after Li Wei left.

It turned out that shortly after Li Wei left, government officials had arrived to tell the residents to move out temporarily, instructing them to relocate to the city's West District.

The reason given was that there was a risk of the virus spreading and that sterilization measures were about to be carried out, so the danger might reach this area; thus, they had to move to the West District.

Li Wei only believed part of it. After bidding the old woman farewell, he returned to 422, turned on the television, and found the local news, hoping to verify some information.

The news anchor's expressions and gestures were grave as they announced that Manhattan had entered a state of maximum emergency. The military was preparing to take over the city, all citizens would be evacuated from Manhattan in the near future, and if necessary, nuclear weapons might be used to destroy the Manhattan urban area.

An image of the USS Ronald Reagan appeared in a high-altitude view; the carrier, loaded with nuclear warheads, intimidated all the mobs looking to stir up trouble.

Once the federal government provided a clear response, all the protests in Manhattan vanished. The entirety of New York was watching quietly to see how the federal government would handle the incident.

From these scattered pieces of information, which he could only partially trust, Li Wei received a bad signal: the situation might have already spiraled out of the control of those behind the scenes; otherwise, they wouldn't be so aggressive as to use nuclear weapons.

He turned off the TV and looked at the wall clock, finding it was already three in the morning. The sound of artillery fire outside continued, and the old woman in 409 was still grumbling, shouting about how the military wouldn't let her get any sleep.

His agreed-upon time with Alex was 7:00 AM, but he needed to find him and understand what was going on now.

It had been nearly ten years since he last played Prototype, and aside from the general plot, he had forgotten the details.

Knowing that a nuclear bomb might descend upon Manhattan, Li Wei felt uneasy; he couldn't withstand a nuke.

A single small missile was already pushing it; if he really encountered a nuclear bomb, he would be vaporized.

Smashing through the window to glide away, Li Wei re-entered the infection zone. The air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and blood.

Li Wei leaped between buildings, and after approaching the combat zone, he activated stealth mode, beginning to lurk in the shadows of the devastated buildings.

Seeing a helicopter pass by, he took a running start, jumped out of a window, and slammed into the side of the chopper, his arms adhering directly to the fuselage.

With a loud thud, the helicopter tilted from the sudden impact, but fortunately, the pilot was experienced enough to stabilize it after a few tugs on the joystick.

Then, the terrified pilot and co-pilot turned their heads to lock eyes with Li Wei, who was grinning at them from the side of the cabin door.

"Hehehe~ boys!" Li Wei reached out with a friendly smile, tore the cabin door right off its hinges, tossed it aside, and reached in to grab the pilot by the throat. With a squeeze, scarlet flesh sprouted from his left hand, and in an instant, the pilot was consumed.

"Requesting support! Eagle 6 is under att... ugh!!!" The co-pilot shouted into the public channel while frantically trying to unbuckle his seatbelt, but the next moment, his throat was gripped tightly by Li Wei, silencing him.

"Everything is normal, false alarm~!"

Scarlet flesh crawled slowly over Li Wei's body, and in the next second, his face and clothing transformed into those of the pilot. Even his voice became identical, and a wicked curve spread across his lips.