Grace Brooks nodded and repeated, “Just like an ordinary source of contamination, it radiates to its surroundings, affecting the people nearby, causing them to develop the same symptoms. It’s similar to a plague, except this kind of contamination is more mysterious and more terrifying.”

“You entered one such coffee shop today. Before today, it had already contaminated fifty-two people!”

“……”

“If…”

Brian Carter was a bit frightened by this number. He tried to digest Grace Brooks’s words and gestured with his hand:

“What happens to those who are contaminated?”

“They get sick!”

Grace Brooks answered very simply, as if she had already answered this question too many times, making her sound a bit mechanical:

“Ordinary contamination causes physical illness, while mental contamination causes mental illness!”

“The consequences of getting sick vary. Some people develop severe depression and can’t bear it, so they commit suicide!”

“Some lose their sanity and go on a rampage, attacking those around them!”

“Some lose the ability to communicate with anyone around them…”

“And some develop a strong urge to harm themselves…”

“……”

“In short, a contamination source gives rise to a contagious mental illness!”

Chapter 6: Psychic Mutants

“Mental illnesses can be contagious too?”

Brian Carter listened to Grace Brooks’s words and thought of his own condition, his emotions suddenly fluctuating.

“That’s right. That’s where the definition of ‘contamination’ comes from.”

“Depending on the source, the symptoms of contamination differ, but every case is terrifying and tricky. On the surface, they may look no different from ordinary people, but inside, they’ve already undergone irreversible changes. More importantly, unlike the lunatics outside the walls, they live among us. You never know when they’ll erupt and infect those around them.”

Grace Brooks nodded and explained slowly, “Just like the people you saw in that coffee shop earlier.”

“The psychic monster in the corner coffee shop—its initial mutation time is unknown. By the time we discovered it, fifteen people had already been infected by it, developed extreme depression, and chosen suicide. It was precisely because of these suicides that we noticed the existence of this monster. But when we found it, thirty-seven people had already been deeply infected.”

“These thirty-seven people are the severely contaminated. If you gave them a physical exam, you’d find all their vital signs normal, but if you did a psychological assessment, you’d see they’d suffered irreversible damage. They’re still alive, but in reality, they’re completely different from normal people. So all we can do is seal off this block to prevent them from contaminating others.”

Brian Carter listened, slightly shocked: “So what happens to these people in the end…”

“Death!”

Grace Brooks said softly, “If it’s only a shallow infection, they’ll fall into depression. Sometimes they can even sense something’s wrong themselves. Although the mortality rate is still high at this level, there’s at least a chance for a cure. But those people who had deep contact with the monster have completely lost their sense of self, so there’s no possibility or need for treatment at all…”

“In the plan, they’re all targets for elimination!”

“……”

Brian Carter couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “Even killing the monster isn’t enough?”

“Eliminating the contamination source doesn’t mean the contaminated are immediately cured.”

Grace Brooks paused slightly and looked at Brian Carter: “The psychic monster is just the source of contamination. All the other contaminated people or things are also dangerous. The one you killed in the subway station before was the original body of that contamination source. After it died, those deeply infected people scattered in all directions. As long as even one escapes, there’s still a chance it could develop into a new contamination source.”

“At that point, the contamination still exists, which means the psychic monster isn’t truly dead!”

Grace Brooks said this and smiled, “But don’t worry, the surrounding residents have already been evacuated, and we’ve deployed a large number of armed forces to guard every main road. Not a single deeply infected person escaped. Compared to the psychic monster itself, their power is much weaker. They can still be killed by ordinary firearms and aren’t as contagious.”

“……”

Only then did Brian Carter understand why, after the coffee shop employee died, the other “customers” suddenly tried to escape.

Could it be that the psychic monster, realizing its inevitable death, tried to let the other infected escape to prepare for its rebirth?

If that’s the case, why didn’t it just leave one infected person outside to help it be reborn at any time?

“A level-one psychic monster isn’t that intelligent.”

Grace Brooks seemed to know what he wanted to ask and explained with a smile, “They only instinctively infect others, and the deeply infected instinctively gather around it, acting as a whole under its control. Only when the main body is killed do they regain some self-awareness due to the loss of its influence, but by then, it’s often too late.”

“So that’s how it is!”