Chapter 152: Chapter 133: Silent Bloodshed
Translator: 549690339
“First, let’s casually chat with some people and see what the situation is like. Just observing with our eyes won’t be enough.”
Harrison Clark took the lead and walked forward.
Nora Camp followed.
With a population of thirty thousand, it was like a small community on Earth, where information could spread quickly.
So now almost everyone knew that Harrison Clark had become the decision-maker on this spaceship.
Almost everyone recognized Harrison Clark, and as soon as the two appeared, they were immediately noticed.
People enthusiastically approached them to chat and socialize.
These people were skilled at changing their expressions, one moment maintaining their previous demeanor and the next adjusting their facial muscles in a very short period of time, much like the face-changing art in Sichuan Opera.
They didn’t find anything wrong with it.
Harrison Clark and Nora Camp did not show any signs of discomfort, their posture resembling that of leaders inspecting grassroots work.
But when the two left the living area and returned to the small conference room behind the command cabin, their moods became heavy.
Indeed, the situation had become critical.
On the surface, everything seemed orderly, but it was all just a false illusion.
Danger was lurking everywhere.
The overall atmosphere was eerie, dark, and tense, much like a tightly wound music string. It seemed as if it could produce a pleasant sound, but in reality, it could easily snap if slightly touched.
No one could predict in what form or direction it would snap.
Harrison Clark and Nora Camp discussed their basic plan of action.
“Precautions need to be put in place, announce that the spaceship is going into a state of war, cut off the communication between the living area and other areas, confiscate all weapons and store them in the warehouse. The password for the warehouse is only to be known by me. From now on, I will wear the Azure Star full-time in case of emergencies.”
Nora Camp, adding to Harrison Clark’s plan, said: “When we were researching before, Martha believed that our distance from the Invader Barrier is directly related to passengers’ reactions.”
“The closer we get to the barrier, the more pronounced this phenomenon becomes?”
“Yes, we just don’t know when the qualitative change will happen. Should we slow down our approach to the barrier and observe for a little while longer?” Harrison Clark thought for a moment, “No, there are priorities in everything. I must have an answer, and it doesn’t matter how many people die for it. After all… everyone will eventually die.”
Nora Camp understood his meaning, “By the way, Martha sent you a research report earlier. It was a project completed by her colleagues at the Yellowstone Research Institute.”
“What report?”
“It’s about my chess pieces.”
“I see.”
Returning to his office, Harrison Clark brought up his personal Al and opened the report, reading it with interest.
He didn’t have high expectations for this report.
As he expected, although Martha Owen had used her personal connections and the World Government’s attention to this matter, the Yellowstone Research Institute had mobilized quite a lot of research resources to conduct a comprehensive analysis of Nora Camp’s chess pieces and board.
The methods of analysis were diverse, employing both physical, chemical, and biological methods.
Physical decomposition, breaking it into dust.
Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to analyze the composition.
Radiation testing.
High-energy particle accelerators were used to continuously bombard it.
It was bombarded with focused particle beams.
All available chemicals were tested for reactions.
Plants and animals were used to absorb it, and changes were observed.
Through this series of tests, the Yellowstone Research Institute had obtained a large amount of data.
However, it was unfortunate that all this data was useless and could not reveal any anomalies in the chess pieces.
All analysis results indicated that the chess pieces and board were nothing more than ordinary artifacts.
The Yellowstone Research Institute even traced the source back to the workshop that had manufactured the chess pieces.
A centuries-old workshop with a long heritage.
The Yellowstone Research Institute then took other chess pieces and boards from the workshop and repeated the tests several times, but the results were the same.
Still, no abnormalities were found, nor did they witness the alarming explosion described by Harrison Clark.
At the end of the report was a conclusion signed by Martha Owen.
“Despite all research results indicating that there are no anomalies in the chess pieces and board, we can only infer the principle from the results based on the assumption that what Harrison Clark said is true and comprehensively analyze all calculation data. I speculate the following theory: within the pieces hides some form of ultrafine particles with mass levels equal to or below the gluon level. These particles can release energy in an instant or act as a catalyst for matter conversion, turning matter into antimatter and forming an antimatter bomb. Its technological level should be the next or the next after the Quark stage, or maybe the gap is immeasurable, representing a stage of mass-energy conversion that humans still cannot understand. This is my personal speculation and has no authoritative reference.”
After reading the report, Harrison Clark put it down and fell into deep thought. His intuition told him that Martha Owen’s speculation was likely correct.
But even if the speculation was correct, it would have no significance in changing the status quo.
No one knows the specific methods of the invaders.
The technological gap between the invaders and the Earthlings is too vast to comprehend.
It was like a god-killing or Buddha-killing giant robot suddenly appearing on the battlefield of cold weapons, leaving even the most brilliant ancient generals confused in the face of its power.
With such a tepid report, the military would not take any significant action, nor would the numerous captains and leaders willingly surrender their own personal hobby-carrying items.
Harrison Clark was once again filled with a sense of powerlessness.
Whether it was the chess pieces or the Mind Infiltration method, these were tactics beyond his own or even the human comprehension of his time.
Human beings are still destined to perish repeatedly, but he still couldn’t see the real enemy, let alone understand their methods of attack.
More tragically, these methods seemed to be only appetizers for the invaders.
Humans didn’t even have the qualifications to experience the invaders’ true methods, which was indeed quite depressing and desperate.
Harrison Clark was reminded of Sergey.
He couldn’t help but envy the other’s madness and obsession.
If only he had that kind of spirit.
He felt a bit unworthy of his responsibilities because he was too easily depressed.
While he was lost in thought, a communication rang, and a message was sent by Nora Camp.
“Come to the bar in the living area quickly. There’s a problem.”
Harrison Clark immediately stood up.
He first asked, “Is it someone resisting during the weapon confiscation process?”
“No, the weapons were just confiscated, but there are more and more people fighting in the bar to compete for mating rights and they won’t stop until one of them is dead.”
Harrison Clark rushed to the door, puzzled, “Mating rights? Didn’t we get rid of these primitive desires a long time ago?”
“It’s because they believe that more advanced genes will surely produce more outstanding offspring. Some people want to show off their power by flaunting their fighting skills. This kind of thinking has always existed, but it’s never been as extreme as it is now.”
“Got it, I understand. You focus on protecting yourself first; I’ll be right there.” “I’m fine. Everyone knows that I’m carrying your offspring. Your genes are the universally acknowledged best, so they fight while making sure to avoid me.” “You can’t let your guard down.”
“Understood.”
Harrison Clark soon arrived at the living area.
Everything seemed well-organized and orderly, just as before.
Worried about Nora Camp’s safety, he activated Azure Star at full power, turned into a fierce wind, and rushed headfirst into the bar.
The noise of him breaking down the door attracted everyone’s attention.
“Mr. Clark, you’re here?”
The bartender greeted him with a smile.
Harrison Clark looked around, puzzled, but saw no chaos. Those who were drinking continued drinking, and those who were chatting continued chatting. The only chaos was actually himself.
As he was trying to make sense of things, Nora Camp rushed through the crowd toward him.
Harrison Clark said, “Everything seems fine?”
“Come over here.” Nora Camp pulled Harrison Clark through the bar, passed a ten-meter-long aisle, and brought him to a booth.
There were several young men and women sitting in the booth, and two unconscious men were lying on the floor.
The two men had blood coming from the corners of their mouths, their faces bruised and battered.
One of them had a broken arm, twisted at an odd angle.
Bloodstains were scattered on the floor.
Several other booths nearby had similar situations.
Everyone else continued with their activities calmly, while many people lay on the floor, as if this was all normal.
Harrison Clark asked, “What happened to these people?”
Nora Camp said, “I knocked them out. If I hadn’t stopped them, they would only stop fighting once one of them is dead.”
Harrison Clark pointed to the bystanders and asked, “What about them?”
“Mr. Clark, it’s none of our business. The security officers should take care of it.”
A girl sitting in a nearby booth replied with a smile.
Harrison Clark asked, “Aren’t you nervous, or do you have any other feelings about it?”
The people shook their heads, indicating they didn’t understand what he meant.
Harrison Clark began to understand the situation.
When two robots fight fiercely with gears and oil flying everywhere, would the other robots have any emotional fluctuations?
Of course not.
As they were speaking, several security officers arrived to clean up the scene.
Just as the security officers were passing through the aisle, two men from another booth started fighting again.
Their fighting style was strange.
No growling, shouting, or hysterical screaming.
They fought each other silently, with one punch followed by one kick, entangled with each other.
The security officers ignored them and didn’t even turn their heads, treating them like air.
Harrison Clark grabbed one of the security officers, “What are you doing? Why didn’t you stop the fight?”
The security officer immediately answered, “Yes, Mr. Clark!”
The officer, with his colleague, swiftly rushed over, subdued the two fighters, and separated them.
But they didn’t calm down; they kept struggling and tried to charge at each other.
Harrison Clark asked the other guests, “Why didn’t you stop them?”
A bar patron hesitated, “Mr. Clark, is this an order?”
“Not an order, a question.”
“If they’re doing the right thing, why should I stop them?”
Harrison Clark was speechless.
He didn’t know how to respond.
He asked the two men who were still trying to fight, “Why are you fighting so quietly? Wouldn’t shouting make you feel better?”
Both men replied in unison.
“Mr. Clark, shouting would waste our energy unnecessarily.”
The two men continued trying to move forward and hurt their opponent while they spoke.
Harrison Clark roared at the security officers, “Stop standing around! Take them away! Do you really only follow instructions one step at a time?”
The security officers complied.
Nora Camp patted Harrison Clark’s back, “You see? That’s the situation here. If you don’t issue new instructions for the security officers, these four people will continue this struggle until they’re exhausted.”
Harrison Clark nodded.
Indeed, that was a horrifying situation.
“Not good! The experiment with Martha Owen!”
Harrison Clark suddenly remembered and rushed toward the medical cabin without delay.
Upon arrival, the situation seemed stable, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
Martha Owen and the other researchers also underwent some changes. However, before they changed, Harrison Clark had already given them the highest-level instructions – to prioritize the project above all else.
Now that they were more mechanized, they could immerse themselves in the project without distraction.
Needham Brown’s voice rang out: “Don’t worry, I’m watching over them. I’ll make sure they’re too busy to have any other ideas. The project seems to be progressing faster, and we might have a real chance to analyze the contents of that sound.”
Harrison Clark nodded, “That’s good..”