Chapter 383: Extraterrestrial Objects

The next day, just after dawn, when the fog had not yet completely dissipated, Yan Zijin brought his men to the gate of Gu Nanyu's factory again.

It can be seen that the anxiety he expressed yesterday was not empty talk.

Gu Nanyu and Chen Wanning sent Qiao Yu and the others to the door, their expressions showing a hint of worry.

The main reason was that Qiao Yu firmly rejected Gu Nanyu's suggestion to send a team to accompany them, and insisted that they go on their own.

"Ayu, do you really not need me to go?" Chen Wanning frowned and asked again in a low voice.

Yan Zijin brought a whole fleet of cars this time, and a rough estimate is that there were eight or nine cars.

In addition to people, there were also various weapons and equipment in the car. It could almost be said that all the family assets were taken out.

If the place he was going to wasn't extremely dangerous, why would he make such a big fuss?

"Really, no need! Sister Chen." Qiao Yu chuckled and replied, "We've been researching alien nests for quite some time, and we've gotten some basic knowledge, but you don't know much. If you go in and we can't take care of you, it would be terrible if something goes wrong. Just help Third Brother guard the factory and wait for us to come back!"

As Qiao Yu spoke, she glanced at Gu Nanyu calmly, and sure enough, she saw that Gu Nanyu was staring at her and Chen Wanning.

And the brows that were originally slightly frowned because of Chen Wanning's words gradually relaxed after hearing Qiao Yu's answer.

Qiao Yu curled his lips silently.

Sister Chen, I really don't dare take you with me. What if Third Brother hears you're going and insists on coming with us? Then the risk of our group being wiped out will skyrocket.

--

"By the way, Qingchuan, what major breakthroughs have Professor Kang and Professor Shen made in their research?"

Qiao Yu leaned against Jiang Zhan's side, looking at Yu Qingchuan with some doubt in his eyes.

After many months, the few of them finally sat together in the RV again.

It was just because Yu Qingchuan was in a bad mood, so Cheng Sinian took the initiative to take over the driver's job this time.

Yu Qingchuan's eyes were a little out of focus, as if he was in a daze. After hearing Qiao Yu's question, he paused for a few seconds, but he quickly came to his senses and whispered, "Oh...it's about those drugs and crystals that control people's minds."

"Professor Kang and Professor Shen have successfully developed an antidote. Manman has regained consciousness, but she's still in a coma due to the side effects of the drug. Professor Kang said she should wake up soon."

Speaking of Manman, Qiao Yu couldn't help but think of Xiang Heng.

I don't know what's going on with Xiang Heng and Hua Yue now...

Qiao Yu lowered his eyelashes and forced himself to divert his thoughts.

Thinking about this now will do nothing but increase my anxiety.

They are already on the way to rescue, and the only thing they can do now is to believe that Hua Yue and Xiang Heng must still be alive!

"What about the crystal?" Qiao Yu continued to ask: "What did Professor Kang and Professor Shen find?"

Before Yu Qingchuan could speak, Cheng Sinian, who was driving in front, turned his head and said loudly, "I heard from the old man yesterday that they found a cell-like life form inside the crystal. It seems to be a microorganism that can parasitize alien species."

Professor Kang and Professor Shen were sent back to the base overnight, but before leaving, Professor Kang had a long talk with Cheng Sinian.

"Yes." Yu Qingchuan nodded. "You could even say that all the surviving humans in the apocalypse now have this parasite in their bodies."

"It's just that the human body has different abilities to absorb radiation energy, which is why there are differences between aliens, aliens, and ordinary survivors."

"Radiation absorption ability?" Qiao Yu frowned slightly.

"That's right." Yu Qingchuan nodded again. "Do you remember the massive geomagnetic storm on the First Omen Day before the apocalypse?"

"Of course." Qiao Yu pursed her lips. "That magnetic storm plunged the entire world into darkness with power outages."

"Yes, but according to Professor Kang and Professor Shen's simulation scenario research, that magnetic storm is very likely a form of protection provided by the Earth."

"What do you mean? Are you saying... this parasite might be of alien origin?"

"Yes. Professor Kang and Professor Shen did speculate that. According to their research, there's currently no relevant biological genetic structure on Earth. However, they did find similar material structures in the meteorite that caused the G City earthquake before the geomagnetic storm, and in the red rain that descended at the beginning of the apocalypse."

"Then what about the radiation you just mentioned?"

"This was also discovered by Professor Kang and Professor Shen," Yu Qingchuan continued, explaining, "According to their research and speculation, the radiation from the geomagnetic storm of the First Triple Sun, as well as the microorganisms from the red rain at the beginning of the apocalypse, will react with genes in the human body."

"However, although this microbe is a single entity, it consists of two parts: a shell and the microbe itself. The shell is what we often call the crystal core. It is harmless to the human body and can even provide us with energy. But the microbe inside the core is a real invader. And when the microbe is not parasitizing the human body, this 'invader' is huddled within the shell of the crystal core."

"Once these microorganisms are freed from the protection of the crystal core shell, they become extremely vulnerable. In this state, they are easily harmed by radiation. This is also the most fundamental issue in distinguishing between aliens, alien species, and ordinary survivors."

"Then when will this microorganism break away from the crystal nucleus?" Luo Zhenzhen tilted her head and asked in confusion.

"This microorganism has two vulnerable periods: one is when it first becomes parasitic, and the other is when it just breaks away from the crystal nucleus."

"Well... to put it simply, when the human body absorbs a lot of radiation energy, the microbes will be killed just after they parasitize the crystal core and before they can escape, becoming ordinary survivors. When the human body's ability to absorb radiation is poor, the microbes can successfully parasitize the crystal core and are not killed when they escape, and they will be transformed into aliens. And when the human body absorbs less radiation energy in the early stages, the microbes can successfully parasitize the crystal core, but when they escape, the host body changes or the body's defense mechanism activates, increasing radiation absorption. The microbes that escaped the crystal core are killed, leaving only the crystal core, and the person becomes an alien."

"And if this microbe finds a host and successfully parasitizes it, then after it breaks free, its outer shell will become the microbe's nest within the human body—the crystal nucleus—and its body will continue to split and produce other microbes with new shells."

"But because this person already has a nest inside them, the new microbes have no choice but to find the next host. This is why humans can be infected, but aliens can't easily be infected."