Chapter 485: The Curse of a Fallen Nation
by xennovel“Nation-Toppling…”
Those three words hit Lu Xin like a ton of bricks.
By now, Lu Xin was far from a newcomer in the field of special pollution cleanup, so he naturally understood the classification.
Typically, ability users in High-wall City who only handle sporadic incidents of special pollution encounter events rated no higher than Levels 1, 2, 3, or 4 — roughly corresponding to the DCBA scales of ability users…
But just as an ability can turn chaotic when it reaches S-level, so too can special pollution.
An S-level ability user represents the unsolvable, the unknown.
Pollution beyond Level 4 typically signals a threat so immense it defies conventional data and measurement.
Thus, several grim terms have emerged.
City-Destroying Level.
Nation-Toppling Level.
……
These designations carry an immediate and weighty implication.
City-Destroying Level refers to a type of special pollution that, if left unchecked, can engulf an entire High-wall City in a short time.
Nation-Toppling Level, on the other hand, is used for pollution capable of toppling an entire country.
Of course, such special pollution isn’t always measured by its raw power to obliterate a city or country; special pollution always manifests in complex, multifaceted ways.
For instance, City-Destroying Level can describe a sudden outbreak of pollution so fierce that it decimates a city, unstoppable in its force.
It can also refer to a mysterious pollution that spreads uncontrollably, defying any means of prevention.
Different methods, but the threat remains equivalent — thus, the same rating applies.
It was precisely because he saw the definition ‘Nation-Toppling Level’ that Lu Xin paused, a doubtful thought stirring within him.
A ‘nation’ is a concept; even in the Pre-Civilization Era, countries varied greatly in size.
Thus, Nation-Toppling Level usually denotes a disaster with limitless potential for expansion, whose threat can’t be predicted or measured.
It is a level beyond the reach of any military force.
What kind of pollution has the Sea Country encountered for Qinggang to label it so?
……
……
“The detailed report is at the back. Mr. Lone Soldier, you can take a look,”
Han Bing explained softly, “Because the security for this experiment is paramount and Mr. Lone Soldier is our greatest assurance, the entire experimental process and the data on our forthcoming target are all here for your reference…”
Lu Xin nodded slightly and flipped past the first page to see the incident report below.
Sea Country Special Pollution Incident: The Curse of the Mermaid
Threat Level: Nation-Toppling Level
Mission Description: This pollution incident occurred before an S-level ability user from Sea Country attacked Qinggang. After an unprovoked strike on Qinggang, a vanguard team was dispatched in retaliation. Upon arriving in Sea Country, the team discovered a major pollution incident: aside from women, children, the elderly, and the weak, all men between 18 and 45 had succumbed to madness, even exhibiting various signs of mutation.
Please note: ‘Affected’ refers to all men in Sea Country aged between 18 and 55.
……
……
“Does ‘all’ really mean every single one?”
After reading this mission description, Lu Xin was visibly taken aback.
Could such pollution be completely free from geographical or numerical limits?
As he turned the page, he found another report — this one brought back by the first group to contact Sea Country. It detailed how, upon arriving, they had delineated their relationship with the Old Fleet Captain and reported everything honestly.
Sea Country had been struck by a peculiar curse.
A Song.
Historical records show that three years ago, a man in Sea Country first began hearing a strange melody.
The song, emanating from the vast ocean, was investigated by those who heard it. It had no fixed lyrics or consistent melody — merely a gentle, feminine hum, yet possessing the most exquisite tone in the world.
Hearing this song filled a person with joy and invigoration.
Initially, many in Sea Country saw it as a divine blessing — a wonder among countless oceanic legends. But over time, this ‘blessing’ took on a sinister twist. The men who heard the song would first become abnormally energetic, then eventually fall into periodic bouts of emptiness and numbness.
The cycle repeated, dragging them deeper into despair.
They forgot how to labor, gradually losing sensitivity to external stimuli, their days consumed by waiting for the song to return.
The Sea Country Main Fleet Command wasn’t naive; they dispatched an investigative team during the song’s earliest manifestations. Yet, neither mental detection devices nor ultra-sensitive sound instruments could verify its existence. In other words, this song was likely nothing more than auditory hallucinations in these men’s minds.
Hallucinations over the ocean are normal, but a mass occurrence among many men is highly unusual.
More terrifying still, the phenomenon was spreading rapidly. The Main Fleet Command of Sea Country had conducted several operations: isolating men who experienced hallucinations, providing psychological counseling, or even subjecting them to severe torture.
But it was all in vain; more and more men began to hear the song, and it soon spread across the entire Sea Country.
The Old Fleet Captain even dispatched S-level ability user Shen Ming. Yet after his investigation, the despondent ability user grimly admitted that he had no idea where the song originated or how to stop it — aside from the fact that even he could hear it, albeit with minimal polluting effects on him…
Thus, Sea Country sank into utter despair.
Every man in Sea Country aged between 18 and 55 was losing his vitality.
They watched, powerless, as if witnessing a giant slowly collapse, unable to do anything.
This elusive melody was strikingly similar to the mythical song of a mermaid luring sailors.
So, this pollution came to be known as ‘The Curse of the Mermaid’.
Unable to resolve the issue and too scared to seek outside help themselves,
First, they feared that such widespread and terrifying pollution would alert other High-wall Cities.
Second, this deadly pollution signified the complete loss of a country’s life force.
Even if a High-wall City extended a helping hand and managed to cure it, Sea Country would almost certainly be devoured in the aftermath.
In this desperate situation, the Old Fleet Captain of Sea Country mustered his remaining strength and prepared to launch an assault on Qinggang.
If successful, Sea Country would take over Qinggang, using its technological prowess to cure the pollution.
At worst, they could at least relocate Sea Country away from the sea — perhaps, once far from the ocean, the pollution might vanish.
If the assault failed, the mess left behind in Sea Country would be handed over to Qinggang, a result the Old Fleet Captain found acceptable.
After all, Qinggang was his carefully chosen asset.
……
……
Sea Country’s assault is now a thing of the past.
But it was only now that Lu Xin fully grasped the sequence of events leading up to that attack.
He asked in mild astonishment, “So they were in such deep trouble… What is the situation now?”
Han Bing replied, “After the assault, Qinggang began to receive and investigate Sea Country. The unaffected women, children, and elderly have already been evacuated and settled in a temporary Satellite City built to the southeast of the Main City.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xin recalled that during his several trips between the Main City and the Second Satellite City, he had noticed a massive base being constructed.
He hadn’t expected it to be meant for housing the elderly, women, and children from Sea Country.
He had thought it was intended for farming…
“As for the polluted men of Sea Country, there’s nothing we can do about them for now…”
Han Bing continued, “Their pollution is too severe and mysterious. Qinggang cannot risk any contamination by mixing them with its own people. So even the investigation is being handled by Professor Bai leading an expert team to Sea Country. It’s the reason why, during our conflict with the Technology Church, Professor Bai returned late.”
“Huh?”
Lu Xin was taken aback and couldn’t help but remark, “For a place this dangerous, Professor Bai really dares to go – impressive…”
“The investigation team is predominantly female, and Professor Bai is already fifty-six…”
Han Bing explained, “That’s why he believes he’s still relatively safe.”
“…”
Lu Xin was at a loss for words. What if the investigation report left by Sea Country wasn’t accurate?
But knowing Professor Bai’s expertise and cautious nature, he felt he needn’t worry too much.
So he asked earnestly, “What are the investigation results now?”
Han Bing replied seriously, “They are largely consistent with the report from Sea Country…”
“Sea Country’s situation is extremely dire. It’s clear that a terrible pollution is present. However, even Professor Bai’s expert team has detected no obvious anomalies. The only certainty is that the song simply doesn’t exist in reality — there are no mermaids or other magical creatures, nor any identifiable pollution sources in the surrounding waters…”
“That song exists only in the minds of Sea Country’s men…”
“Experiments — whether by removing them from the sea, providing professional psychological counseling, or even erasing certain memories — have failed to completely eliminate the song from their minds.”
“That’s why Professor Bai conceived combining the first phase of the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan experiments with the cleanup of Sea Country’s pollution.”
“Only within a specific field can the strongest will erase that song directly.”
“And only by harnessing the power of the Mental Overlord to erect a firewall in their minds can this intangible pollution be resisted.”
……
At this point, Han Bing looked up, meeting Lu Xin’s gaze intently, and said, “In other words, Mr. Lone Soldier…”
“Our experiment now represents Sea Country’s last hope.”
Lu Xin nodded slowly.
Pollution capable of driving an entire nation to this state sounds truly terrifying…