Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 682: Section 677 - Searching for Parasitic Host

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Chen Fei did not give all the five thousand infrared thermal imaging goggles, which had undergone a firmware update, to the "Hundred-Legs Gang" but kept three hundred of them. Some were distributed to the people in the hotel including the bodyguard team around the boss, adding an extra security checkpoint for entering and exiting the hotel, to prevent the parasitic species from taking advantage of any vulnerability again.

After all, there's a saying that one can't be a thief every day but also can't spend every day keeping watch for thieves. Even a tiger needs its nap, and even an ironclad man can't always be in a state of high alert.

The remaining four thousand seven hundred infrared thermal imaging goggles, along with the operational funds acquired from the big shot Louis Landon, were finally given to the gang members. It's not ethical to freeload off someone else's labor. Although the gang members are headstrong and lawless, as long as enough money is offered, they'll risk their lives to get the job done, which is exactly what Chen Fei wanted.

He needed people who could work and didn't care whether they were riffraff or hoodlums, as long as they weren't the type to take money without doing the work, the kind even the Black Community wouldn't accept.

A sum of money equivalent to Chen Xiao'er's entire fortune was just pocket change for the big shot, and Chen Fei didn't even think to skim a little off the top, maybe a meaningless cost that wouldn't fit with the principles of economics.

Nearly five thousand pairs of goggles with infrared thermal imaging functionality and special recognition capabilities began to roam within and outside Nandu City, a much better strategy than one person fighting alone, aimlessly bumping around like a headless fly.

Chen Fei didn't return to the Dimensional Gate Management Substation but stayed in the upscale business hotel waiting for news on the progress of the "Hundred-Legs Gang."

On one hand, he found it too troublesome to run back and forth, as there would be fights, big and small, both going to and returning from the place.

On the other hand, the war in Nandu City had reached a stalemate. In the end, the Rebel Army had no way to take the Dimensional Gate Management Substation. Not only had they failed to make any progress in their prolonged assault, they'd even suffered the loss of four Main Force Lightwing Ships (downed) plus a mature Metallic Giant Dragon (driven off), with countless losses of ground forces.

Having failed to seize victory in one fell swoop, the situation had once again changed, and there was no longer much value in continuing the attack, either from the strategic significance to the overall war on the Zilu Continent or the tactical implications for Nandu City itself. Continuing would only lead to more casualties and material losses.

The limited military strength of the Rebel Army had as its primary strategic goal the swift defeat of the Dynasty Army forces across the entire continent, quickly achieving control over Zilu's civil administration, military, and economy, and fully unleashing its war potential. Only thus could they acquire the means to contend with the Silan Dynasty's rebellion-suppression forces. Otherwise, all their previous achievements would be wasted, and the great cause would be difficult to accomplish.

In fact, the Rebel Army of the Zilu Continent was following the old path of the Silan Dynasty, aiming for global conquest starting with the continental base. They couldn't afford to remain fixated on the Ground Portal Gate Management Substation in the suburbs of Nandu City.

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It was precisely because the Rebel Army in Nandu City was surrounding but not attacking the Ground Portal Gate Management Substation and because of their passive combat stance that the Defensive Command Center had approved Chen Fei's request to return to the upscale business hotel.

The brief interlude without warfare was just the right time to deal with the parasitic "Sagali" species. Between fighting the Rebel Army and dealing with extraterrestrial races, and still sparing time to continue searching for the key members of the "Water Bear" organization, Chen Fei was extraordinarily busy.

Fortunately, the artificial intelligence AI "Adam" excelled at handling such parallel tasks, arranging Chen Fei's limited time neatly, allowing for efficient management of various matters. Otherwise, without this help, he would be overwhelmed and half as effective unless Zhuge Liang were reborn.

On the first day that the infrared thermal imaging goggles were distributed, Chen Fei did not receive any useful intelligence. Although there were many suspicious pieces of information, most were chaotic false alarms. After all, not only were there still some detail issues with the distinction calculation model, but the infrared thermal imaging hardware modules were also civilian-grade and not particularly precise.

Perhaps it was not only a temporary failure to discover new parasitic hosts but also an inability to locate the elusive Royal Breed itself, all linked to the Rebel Army's continued radio communications jamming. Information transmission efficiency had been reduced to the minimum, relying only on wired networks and manpower to deliver the latest intelligence to the upscale business hotel. It was not as easy as before the rebellion, when a phone call could effortlessly connect to any location on Cangqiong Star, or even Blue Star.

However, Chen Fei was still able to establish a temporary laser communication channel using multiple drones, with a maximum range of about 80 kilometers. The Rebel Army's no-fly zone capabilities beyond the Dimensional Gate Management Substation were insufficient, allowing his drones to often operate unimpeded.

Of course, the Rebel Army's lack of air supremacy was partly due to Chen Fei himself.

In a sense, the air control over the entire area of Nandu City was almost entirely in Chen Xiao'er's hands.

Besides being used to set up laser communication relays, most of Chen Fei's drones were tasked with verifying the various pieces of information relayed by the "Hundred-Legs Gang." These were Chen Fei's true "eyes."

The reconnaissance equipment carried by the drones, both in functionality and resolution, far exceeded the civilian infrared thermal imaging goggles and could easily identify the location of parasitic species within human bodies from 5 kilometers away.

So far, nearly all mutated parasitic spawns had taken residence in the chest or abdominal region of human hosts. After all, human bodies are only so large, with limited chest and abdominal space, hardly suitable for extraterrestrial race parasitism; humans are typically regarded as food for other hosts. That is why it's rare for the Royal Breed to choose evolution into the Ninth Rank branch "Fission Mutation."

The "Hundred-Legs Gang" members, now equipped with infrared thermal imaging goggles and wandering in and out of Nandu City, kept scanning people and reporting any suspicious individuals they identified. Meanwhile, they knew nothing else—after all, having been paid, they just carried out their tasks without asking too many questions, in line with Jianghu's rules.

In fact, it's better for them not to know the truth—the more they know, the closer they are to danger.

Other gangs, witnessing the whole "Hundred-Legs Gang" behave in such a strange manner, with everyone donning the goggles, were alarmed and confused, thinking these were some kind of secret weapons, and avoided them like the plague.

"Fucking hell," those "Hundred-Legs Gang" bastards actually dared to pursue relentlessly. How-Dare-Fuck-You!

Honestly, the other gangs were panicking too!

They didn't want to mess with a bunch of lunatics who were seemingly on the wrong meds, especially since if you don't kill a madman on the spot, the madman can kill you without facing jail time.

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The following afternoon, the drones flying chaotically everywhere finally confirmed a parasitic host.

Even Chen Fei had not anticipated that the "Hundred Legs Sect" core host they had just caught was not an isolated case. Apart from Jiaming Town, which was 150 kilometers away and entirely infested with parasites, the Royal Breed's original body had also infiltrated the district of Nandu City.

This was not good news. If left unaddressed, the number of hosts for the mutated parasitic spawn would increase exponentially until the situation spiraled out of control.

Armed with the complete complement of 12 combat mechs supplied by the Dimensional Gate Management Substation, they set out once again fully equipped. Although they did not locate the Royal Breed's original body, with cases like these mutated parasitic spawn, they had to eliminate each one they discovered. They couldn't afford to look the other way, a mandate repeatedly emphasized by the bigwig, Louis Landon.

Louis Landon's hatred for the extraterrestrial race "Sagali" was almost bone-deep. For any operation against the parasitic species, he was ready to provide money, people, and equipment. He didn't even skimp on the "Dragon Slayer Missile," a tactical-level weapon that was clearly restricted.

That being said, the channels through which Chen Xiao'er obtained the "Dragon Slayer Missiles" were indeed numerous. If others were willing to give, he was certainly willing to use them.

The newly discovered parasitic host was a male warehouse manager at a large logistics hub in the suburbs. He had a wife and children, and his family appeared to be living harmoniously, with no one around them noticing anything amiss.

Perhaps due to being not far from the original body or possibly receiving more attention from it, this parasitic host's autonomy was quite active. To put it accurately, he was quite the actor, the deception impeccable.

The family was sitting at the dinner table, sharing a carefully prepared meal. The war had caused some disruption in the flow of resources, but being close to the logistics center had its perks, and the staff benefits were not greatly affected.

Amidst laughter and conversation, suddenly, a series of chaotic loud noises erupted as six fully armed combat mechs either crashed through windows or broke down doors and stormed into the dining room. Four of the mechs immediately dragged the wife and her two children into another room, isolating them from the husband.

The horrified wife and her children let out piercing screams.

"Silence!"

The railgun combat rifles were waved around carelessly, and then...

"Ah!~" ×3

The screams persisted.

The man who had been posing as the warehouse manager at the logistics center showed neither surprise nor panic on his face, as if unrelated to him, and said in a detached voice, "How did you find me?"

"Of course, we 'saw' you. Stop wasting words, surrender or resist, choose one!"

The drone relayed Chen Fei's voice to the scene.

However, before he had finished speaking, the two mechs watching the parasitic host and the other two that emerged from the room unexpectedly took action simultaneously.

Bang bang bang bang!

Capture nets came flying from different directions, enveloping most of the space around the parasitic host.

If they could capture alive, they would, if not, they would kill on the spot.

Whoosh!

The dining table, laden with dishes, was overturned, sending dishes and soup towards the approaching capture nets. The parasitic host didn't hesitate to choose resistance, and clearly, the parasitic spawn hidden within his torso had underestimated Chen Fei's credibility.

Eradicating the extraterrestrial threat "Sagali" that endangered the people of Cangqiong was everyone's responsibility—forget about the code of Jianghu.

The artificial intelligence AI "Adam" was even more clueless about what Jianghu rules meant; if it could act, it would never chitchat.

The entire flying dining table knocked the capture nets aside, but at that moment, several thin needles trailing long wires shot forward, embedding into the parasitic host.

The parasitic host staggered slightly, followed by the sound of rapid crackling. His body trembled violently, affecting even the parasitic spawn within him.

One of the results of the dissection experiments by the Ground Portal Gate Management Substation revealed that electric shocks had a special effect on parasitic hosts. High-frequency, high-voltage pulse shocks that could cause muscle rigidity might even instantly kill the parasitic spawn.