Chapter 196: Chapter 158: Self-Combustion 1
Translator: 549690339 —
In the spring of 2523, a more brutal war broke out again. With the help of the new, insurmountable “high walls” built by the combination of flames and giant shields, no more humanity fell victim to infection.
The sacrifices had become bloodstained marks disappearing into the long river of history.
The survivors continued to stumble forward, inheriting the will of the dead and bearing the responsibility of continuing the struggle against catastrophe.
In short, humanity completely stabilized its position and then began to counter-attack.
New disinfectants were developed.
New isolation suits made of new materials were developed.
Nuclear fusion energy modules became smaller and more portable, able to be mounted on individual motorcycles.
They pushed forward inch by inch, slowly pushing the isolated territories occupied by bacteria towards the distant coastline.
Those who were infected with the virus and barely cured put on semi-mechanical bodies and joined the construction team.
Humanity’s defense line began to advance at a rate of several kilometers, or even tens of kilometers.
Although some people would always fall silently along the way, those who came after would inevitably pick up their equipment and inherit their will.
The red areas representing the quarantine zones on the map began to shrink inch by inch.
The green safe zones belonging to humanity began to increase bit by bit.
Three years passed.
In the winter of 2525,
Eurasia, the American continent, and the African continent declared “liberation” one after another.
Only Australia remained.
At the beginning of the disaster, the relatively sparsely populated Australia could not organize effective resistance.
For humans, it had become a dead, silent territory, a complete paradise for flora and fauna.
After a brief respite, in the spring of 2526, humanity, after a short period of recovery, sent the first vanguard of 100,000 people in a huge flying fleet to launch a final offensive against the S bacteria.
The decisive battle was imminent.
Billions of people stood, sat, held hands, or stood shoulder to shoulder in front of projectors, televisions, or bowed their heads together over their phones.
The screen showed the scene of the vanguard slowly landing in Australia.
First, engineering ships used flame jetting to clear and drive away the rats and other animals hiding below the ground.
Whether rats or other animals, they fled in panic under the high heat of over a thousand degrees.
After more than three hours of continuous roasting, all ground animals had fled.
Of course, the famously agile rats were no exception.
Next, the engineering ships extended their cantilever arms and began to construct the high-heat isolation belt and magnetic field shield through external operations.
A day passed, and the vanguard established the first base belonging to humanity on the dead land of the Australian continent.
Medical ships took over the position from the engineering ships and began to spray highly efficient antibacterial disinfectant aerosol that had just been developed a half-month earlier into the air.
Super bacteria had been evolving, many tried and true disinfection methods gradually lost their effectiveness.
Its drug resistance had become better and better, its protein shell more stable and harder to destroy, and it had become more concealed after entering the human body.
The size of the S bacteria hadn’t changed much, but its DNA structure was becoming more and more complex.
However, humanity hadn’t stood still, and they were also moving forward.
The new aerosol worked well, and ten minutes later, the ship-borne probes start collecting air samples from the external environment.
Another twenty minutes passed, and the Petri dish showed no traces of S bacteria, indicating that the concentration of S bacteria in this area had dropped to zero.
The cleaning operation was a huge success.
A layer of organic matter powder that releases “foul smell” hated by all mammals was sprinkled on the ground surface.
After waiting for half a day and using high-resolution thermal imaging to confirm that there were no more warm-blooded mammals in the area.
It was stable.
From then on, a green area representing a safe zone appeared on the edge of the Australian continent on the world map, covering almost a square kilometer.
Humanity had established a bridgehead on the last stronghold of the S bacteria Australia, to sound the horn of resistance.
The engineering ships went into action again, opening their cargo hatches and began depositing materials on the ground.
These materials would be gradually used by people driving construction machinery and could build a second layer of safety on the ground.
Next, people would begin to construct various functional buildings within the safety barrier, turning this place into a base with multiple functions such as research, living, medical treatment, and production.
Those engineering personnel who were not wearing isolation suits descended the suspension ladder.
All mammals had been driven away, and with the protection of the magnetic field shield, no external animals could approach for the time being, making it impossible for this area to have S bacteria.
A young man with a boastful demeanor smirked, “If the S bacteria had a brain and saw us standing so swaggering in its stronghold, it would be infuriated to the point of exploding its lungs, right?”
Shut your filthy mouth, don’t talk nonsense about anything unlucky! Get to work!”
The experienced middle-aged man scolded him harshly.
The young man stuck his tongue out, looking like he wouldn’t retaliate.
Although the atmosphere was still tense, everything was moving forward methodically.
No one expected immediate success, and everyone was prepared for a long-term struggle.
Humanity believed that the ultimate victory would belong to them.
All seemed to progress smoothly.
Another twenty minutes passed, and the peace was suddenly broken.
The alarms of medical ships, engineering ships, and personnel transport ships erupted simultaneously.
Those without isolation suits turned pale, staring at each other in silence..
