Lies are not so easy to tell unless they are lies mixed with the truth, or when they are half true and half false, they will not be easily exposed.
Han Ling chuckled and said:
“Yesterday we played along with him for so long, and he only told three truths in total.”
The first sentence states that the female insect will return to normal after two weeks.
Two weeks is a crucial timeframe, as aurora life will complete its invasion around that time.
The second sentence states that old Flo was indeed infected yesterday.
The third sentence states, "They come from the universe."
After saying this, Han Ling looked to the side and asked:
"Parsen, how do you introduce yourself when facing other races in the universe?"
Completely bewildered, Parsons was called on and quickly replied:
"My name is Parsons, I come from the Zerg Star Region, and I am a corporate manager, the president of Lingtian Company. Our company has a total of 23,000 employees..."
Parson gave a long and tedious introduction, as if he were giving a presentation about Lingtian Company.
But all three people present grasped the key point.
Parsons said he came from the Zerg star system.
However, the person in charge of the aurora life always claims that it comes from the universe.
Marshal Lu Da, a man of great experience and knowledge, frowned and asked:
"Are they homeless?"
Although there are many resources in the universe, you still need the strength to acquire them.
For the Zerg, resources can be explored.
However, for other races, the universe is full of dangers, and plundering the resources of neighboring planets is more convenient and safer than self-exploration.
All plundered races, after losing their home planet, become cosmic wanderers.
They drift through the universe, occasionally finding a place to land, but these are always uninhabitable planets. Once they have collected all the planet's resources, they leave.
Han Ling nodded:
"Yes, that's what Roderick and I guessed."
Whether the Aurora life forms are invading the Zerg bodies, we only need to verify one thing to know if it's true.
"What is it?" Marshal Lu Da asked.
"Memory. Now we need to verify whether the Zerg have any memories from before when they were replaced."
After Han Ling finished speaking, she glanced at Parsons beside her:
"What you need to do in a moment is very important, and that is to awaken your brother Pat's memories."
Parsons, who had been staring at Han Ling with starry eyes, finally realized what Han Ling meant by what he had just said.
Parsons asked, dumbfounded:
"Boss, do you mean that my brother's body might have been possessed by another race?"
Han Ling rolled her eyes at him, exasperated.
"Yes, I even doubt if he's your real brother. How can you still be laughing at a time like this!"
Parsons' lips trembled, and a wave of sorrow washed over him:
"Boss, it's my brother, will he be alright?"
Seeing Parsons's fluctuating emotions, which seemed like he was having a seizure, Marshal Lu Da instinctively felt that this man was unreliable.
Therefore, Marshal Lu Da asked:
"Your Excellency Han Ling, if family verification is required, we can also invite some of the patients' family members over."
Han Ling shook his head and said:
“No need, Parson is enough. He’s nearby and won’t waste time. Besides, how can a bug cub tell its parents a secret? Secrets are only between peers. Let’s go, let’s go find his brother Pat first.”
The group chatted as they walked, crossing the empty second floor and heading straight for the third floor.
As soon as the third-floor door opened, Han Ling saw that the endless hall was filled with female insects.
These are the patients arrested last night—more than 200,000 patients, densely packed into the three-story hall.
Rows of simple cots. The female insects were either lying down or sitting, and without exception, their feet were shackled with electronic chains.
The once quiet hall became noisy after Han Ling and his group appeared.
—Marshal Lu Da, you've arrived!
—Marshal Lu Da, we've been watching from here all along.
Scattered sounds arose. Marshal Lu Da explained:
"The list seems to be inaccurate. Some of the female insects were captured by mistake. They are very clear-headed, but for safety reasons, I am still keeping them here and employing them to temporarily guard the sick female insects to prevent them from getting injured."
Han Ling glanced at those people and used his spiritual tendrils to probe them. He discovered that a small portion of the female insects in the hall were indeed uninfected.
At this moment, Parsons suddenly spoke up:
"Boss, my brother's over there!"
Parson pointed into the distance. From the moment he entered, he had been searching for his brother Pat's location. In a very short time, he smelled Pat's familiar scent.
Han Ling nodded: "Let's go first."
Upon hearing Han Ling's words, Pat walked forward anxiously.
After passing more than a dozen rows of cots, they finally found Pat lying on one of them.
At this moment, Pat's eyes were vacant and his expression was blank. He was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, seemingly undisturbed by the outside world.
Parsons reached the bedside, quickly knelt down, and shoved Pat twice:
"Pat, how are you feeling right now?"
Pat, who had been somewhat dazed, suddenly brightened up upon hearing the voice. He slowly turned his head, and the moment he saw Parsons, he clearly uttered two words: "Brother, brother."
Although he spoke slowly, his pronunciation was clear. Everyone present heard him call out "brother".
Parsons initially thought he would not receive any response at all.
When Pat spoke, Parson was startled. He quickly turned around, looked at Han Ling, and asked hesitantly, "Boss? What should I do now?"
Han Ling pondered for a moment and said:
"Let's start asking questions, beginning with your most recent itinerary."
Work backwards, asking each question you can think of one by one to see if he was also infected with the novel coronavirus, leading to memory loss.
As soon as the word "virus" appeared, Parsons knew how to ask the question.
Parsons turned his head to look at the bed and asked:
“I’ve given you a total of 20 million credits in the last few months. Do you remember where you spent them?”
Pat nodded slowly and said in a deliberate manner:
"I remember I went to the reproductive center and applied for a date with the male insect. The date was scheduled for a year from now, when Aphrodite opens. I can go on the date then."
Parsons, who was squatting by the bed, clearly knew about this and continued to press for details:
"Where would you have most wanted me to go a year ago?"
"At that time, my biggest hope was that my older brother could go to the First Exploration Legion after graduation."
"Two years ago, you had just been admitted to military academy, and you failed one course at the end of the semester. Which course was it?"
"I scored 49 points on the intermediate mecha repair exam, 11 points short of passing."
"What did you do three years ago that made me beat you up?"
Pat, who had been able to answer haltingly, suddenly choked up. He closed his eyes, remained silent for a long while, then rubbed his head, his expression turning pained, and said:
"My head hurts, I feel like I've lost some memories, I don't remember anything, I'm sick, right?"
Upon hearing this, Parsons, who had been squatting on the ground, suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice:
"Yes, you're sick. You've been infected with an unknown virus, but don't worry, your brother will save you."
After saying that, Parsons turned to look at Han Ling.
From an angle that Pat couldn't see, Parson had a gloomy face and an angry expression. This was definitely not his brother!
Three years ago, when he was a freshman in college, he earned the title of "gaming noob" because of his vertigo problem. He was ridiculed and became famous in school competitions.
After learning about this, Pat, the younger brother, stole his father's credits, took two or three interstellar flights, and traveled alone from a remote planet to the capital. All he wanted was to beat up the netizens who had insulted his brother.
Unfortunately, Pat ended up getting beaten up by his brother Parsons.
When Pat was beaten, he cried so hard that snot was coming out of his nose, but he still cried and shouted in protest:
"He insulted you, so I'll beat him up! Waaah, I'll kill him, I'll break his legs!"
Such an important matter, even if they lose their memory, the two brothers will not forget.
This matter is definitely much more important than a small final exam.
Seeing Parsons' expression, Han Ling smiled and said to Pat on the hospital bed:
"Alright, you rest here for now. This new virus has affected your memory, and it will take some time for you to recover. We'll come see you again tomorrow."
After saying that, Han Ling led everyone out in a hurry, leaving the third-floor hall.
Upon reaching the second-floor platform, the spacious hall offered everyone a chance to catch their breath and relax.
Parsons tugged at his collar impatiently, his tone indignant: "Boss, that guy just now wasn't my brother."
Marshal Lu Da also looked serious. From beginning to end, there was no virus at all. These aurora creatures are used to lying. Give them a lever and they'll take it.
Roderick, who had been observing from the sidelines, spoke up:
"Marshal Lu Da should know now that this is not a virus, but a parasite. The Aurora Lifeforms are parasitizing the Zerg, and over time, they will slowly acquire all the memories of the female Zerg."
If you still don't believe me, I have another piece of evidence to prove it.
According to Lingtian Company's investigation, all the female insects that were invaded belonged to middle- to high-income groups. The selection was not based on genetic hierarchy, but rather on personal income. This indicates that the Aurora Lifeforms were actively selecting their prey.
Marshal Lu Da nodded:
"Now I believe it. Although I can't see the changes in the spiritual plane, I believe what you say."
But now, how do we solve this problem?
Can the female parasites recover?
Roderick pondered for a moment and said:
"To find a solution, we need to go to the cutting-edge laboratory and ask the researchers there."
Currently, we still cannot detect any physical aurora life.
The mental stripping from the mental dimension is something only Lord Han Ling can do, but the risks are extremely high.
If Lord Han Ling operates improperly, the female insect's spirit will be destroyed, leaving only a lifeless body.
The probability of this error is 80%.
Han Ling nodded and explained:
“Roderick is right, we discussed the matter of mental energy stripping before.”
Roderick and I are soulmates; our spiritual energies are perfectly aligned, so my actions will not harm Roderick.
But you are different. I cannot sense your mental energy fluctuations, which will cause you serious harm without my noticing.
Upon hearing this, Marshal Lu Da replied without hesitation:
“Then let’s go to the Advanced Labs now and see what the researchers have to say. Roderick should have been to the Advanced Labs before, so you can lead the way.”
After deciding what to do next, the group went down the stairs and headed towards the lobby on the first floor.
Walking down the street, Parsons asked in a low voice:
"Boss, where do I go next?"
Han Ling turned her head, looked at him with a puzzled expression, and said:
"Go back the way you came, the matter is settled. If you want to have a get-together, we can discuss the time after this matter is resolved."
Parsons touched his nose and said sheepishly:
"I came in my own spaceship, but boss, I just sent it back. How about I come with you?"
Parsons had this idea all along: to spend more time with Han Ling, his idol.
That's why he had the aircraft take the students back to school ahead of time.
However, Marshal Lu Da felt this kid was unreliable and reminded him from the side:
"The Third Protection Legion headquarters has public transportation; you can take public transportation back. There's a flying vehicle every 3 minutes; just wait at the intersection."
"Huh?" Parson exclaimed in confusion, completely dumbfounded.
Just as Parsons was about to compromise and return to school, Roderick, who was standing next to him, suddenly said:
"Let Parsons come with us. Lingtian Company recently issued a bounty notice, and it seems that Aurora Life has already set its sights on Lingtian's employees."
Next, they will specifically target Lingtian employees.
The invasion of aurora life is silent and impossible to prevent. We don't know how many aurora life forms are left, so we need to be extremely vigilant.
Having Parsons nearby is an effective means of protection.
For the entire Lingtian Company, Parsons is like a central hub.
Once Parsons loses consciousness, the information network established by Han Ling and the communication system of Lingtian Company will both be paralyzed.
Han Ling pondered for a moment, then said to Parson, "Let's go, we'll go together. Wherever you go from here on out, don't tell anyone."
Parsons patted his chest and guaranteed:
"Don't worry, boss, I'm absolutely reliable. I won't let a word out!"
The group exited the headquarters of the Third Protective Legion.
He then boarded Marshal Lu Da's flying machine and flew into the sky.
They wasted no time and set the aircraft to maximum speed.
Their destination was an underground cutting-edge laboratory.
On the aircraft, Roderick explained to Han Ling:
"The scientists in the underground cutting-edge laboratory are neighbors with the Cicada Clan. One side believes in science, and the other side believes in theology."
Therefore, they have always maintained an irreconcilable relationship. On one side's territory, they try to avoid mentioning the other side's name.
Wearing a long trench coat, Parsons stood quietly to the side, trying to minimize his presence, listening intently. He knew nothing of what Roderick was saying. These were all secrets of the capital planet; he had studied there for four years and had never encountered anything like them.
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