Human-Made

But to everyone's surprise, in just a few days, the number of infected had reached a terrifying twenty thousand. Similar cases had even appeared in several cities around Clear Spirit City.

For a time, several cities were thrown into panic, and the populace descended into chaos.

At last, the severity of the epidemic and its terrifying infectiousness hit the military high command like a heavy bomb, drawing their full attention.

The military leaders knew all too well that for a tourist city with such a massive flow of people as Clear Spirit City, there was no way to guarantee that none of the tourists who had already left were infected.

If the epidemic was not brought under timely and effective control, it would spread like wildfire, threatening the safety of more than a dozen surrounding cities.

Thus, they urgently convened a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

After an intense discussion, they decided to gather healing-type Soul Masters from various regions to form a powerful rescue team and send them to support Clear Spirit City. They also notified all regions to strictly screen outsiders for the virus.

For a time, healing-type Soul Masters from all over answered the call and converged on Clear Spirit City from every direction.

Every Soul Master carried a sincere heart devoted to saving lives and healing the wounded. Bringing their own unique healing abilities, they embarked on this challenging journey.

Xie Jiayun, stationed with the Western Legion, had likewise received transfer orders and rushed to Clear Spirit City.

Clear Spirit City, quarantine camp

The enormous temporary quarantine camp was shrouded in ghastly white soul-tool light. The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant and an indescribable stench—a mixture of decay and some metallic, bloody tang.

Inside the largest medical tent at the center of the camp, the atmosphere was so oppressive it seemed almost frozen solid. This place should have been where hope for resolving the epidemic lay, yet at this moment, it resembled a morgue more than a laboratory.

An unknown number of renowned healing-type Soul Masters and experts had gathered here. They formed a circle, every one of them wearing a heavy soul-tool protective mask. Through the specially made lenses, all that could be seen were pairs of eyes filled with alarm, even a trace of fear.

They stared fixedly at the three horrifying corpses on the hospital beds in the center of the tent.

These masters, ordinarily either highly respected or exceptionally skilled and accustomed to all kinds of difficult and rare illnesses, now seemed as though they had been struck by an immobilizing spell. Even their breathing was exceedingly soft, as if they feared disturbing something.

Ever since the three corpses had gone mad at noon, the purple-black blotches on their bodies had begun spreading rapidly. They continued until they covered their entire bodies, killing the patients. Then their bodies had been frenziedly corroded. During the day, they had still retained human shapes, but by nightfall, they had become utterly unrecognizable!

The skin and muscle tissue on the corpses now looked as though they had been thoroughly corroded by a powerful acid. Vast areas had ulcerated and liquefied, exposing stark white bones, which themselves were covered in honeycomb-like corrosion holes.

The once purple-black blotches had completely covered the bodies. Their color had deepened until they were nearly ink-black, and like some viscous, constantly writhing substance, they slowly "flowed" across the corpses' surfaces, emitting faint soul power fluctuations that made hearts tremble.

This was absolutely not an effect that natural death or any known illness could produce. It was more like some curse from hell, greedily devouring the remains of the dead.

The commander on site was Major General Le Jun of the Angel Family from the Southern Legion. This soldier, famed for his calmness and iron-blooded resolve, now wore an expression as grave as cast iron.

He wore a crisp general's uniform, and the golden Angel Family emblem on it glinted beneath the lights. Yet even that authority could not suppress the aura of death permeating the tent.

Standing beside Xie Jiayun, his sharp gaze swept over the three horrifying corpses before turning to this colleague, who remained relatively calm even in such desperate circumstances. He asked in a low voice, "Colonel Xie, what are your thoughts?"

His voice was kept low, yet in the deathly silent tent, it was exceptionally clear. Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Xie Jiayun.

Because time had been short, many leading healing experts had yet to arrive. At present, Xie Jiayun was the healing-type Soul Master in the camp with the highest cultivation and the strongest healing ability.

Though he was only a colonel, his healing ability was no weaker than that of a healing-type Titled Douluo. Combined with the experience and reputation he had built across various regions over the past few months, Le Jun and the other experts now treated him as their lead and placed great importance on his opinion.

Xie Jiayun fell silent for several seconds, as if organizing his words, or perhaps recalling the details of his treatment during the day.

He slowly opened his mouth. His voice was somewhat muffled through the mask, yet it carried an unquestionable gravity. "This plague... is the most terrifying one I've seen in more than ten years." Those words were like a boulder dropped into still water, making the already tense atmosphere even tighter.

"We've already calculated it." He pointed at the corpses. "From infection to onset to becoming like this, it took only three days. Three days..."

He repeated that despairing number. "That leaves us far too little time! The treatment window is practically nonexistent. Once a patient develops obvious symptoms, their deterioration far exceeds imagination. But..."

Le Jun's brows furrowed even more tightly. He keenly caught the turn in Xie Jiayun's words and asked urgently, "But what?"

Everyone's hearts rose into their throats, hoping that this powerful healing-type Soul Master might offer even a sliver of a turning point or clue.

Xie Jiayun's gaze fell once more upon the corpses flowing with ink-black matter.

"But..." He paused, and his voice took on an unprecedented gravity and doubt. "When I was treating patients earlier, I discovered a strange phenomenon. All patients who died within three days shared one thing in common—they were all Soul Masters.

"Logically speaking, regardless of cultivation level, a Soul Master's physical constitution and resistance should always surpass those of ordinary people. Yet now, they are dying before the ordinary people infected in the same batch. That is extremely strange.

"For that reason, I repeatedly examined the source of their soul power and the core of their lesions. Both had already been eroded completely.

"The 'virus' in this epidemic, rather than being a virus bred by nature, is more like an... exceedingly tyrannical 'poison'!"

"Poison?!" Le Jun and the experts were all stunned. This judgment was completely different from their previous understanding.

"That's right." Xie Jiayun's voice was decisive. "Its method of action, its corrosiveness toward the source of soul power, and its stubbornness in ignoring conventional treatments all fit the characteristics of a potent poison more closely. And moreover..."

He emphasized his words, his gaze sweeping across everyone present. "It differs from every natural poison we know!"

He raised his hand and pointed to the ink-black substance writhing like a living creature across the corpses' surfaces. "Look at its corrosiveness. Look at its abnormal reaction to soul power fluctuations.

"Natural poisons, even the venom of the most poisonous soul beasts, possess relatively 'natural' energy forms and follow certain laws. But this thing..."

A faint yet pure strand of healing soul power seemed to gather at Xie Jiayun's fingertips as he cautiously brought it near the corpse's surface. The ink-black substance immediately churned violently as though startled, even attempting to corrode that strand of soul power.

He swiftly withdrew his finger. His voice became even lower, carrying the chill of unveiling the truth. "It seems more like... a poison that has undergone secondary processing by a Soul Master!

"Its 'hunger' for soul power and life force feels as though it was designed and altered by human hands! Like... a meticulously forged soul-tool weapon!"

"Human processing?!" Major General Le Jun's expression changed instantly, and a sharp killing intent flashed through his eyes.

A chorus of gasps rang out around them. The experts' expressions shifted from alarm to horror.

If this was not a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity... then the implications and threat behind it would be even more terrifying than the plague itself!