Chapter 335: The Age of Catastrophes
In Cato and Anne's understanding, when humans are infected with Titan cells and develop into cancer, their bodies expand uncontrollably.
Until the late stage of cancer, the over-reproduction of Titan cells will burst the host's body!
This process of enlargement is considered irreversible.
Until this moment, a living counterexample stood before them.
This mysterious young man opposite clearly already showed the giant characteristics of cancerous cells, so how could he shrink?
Cato and Anne were filled with questions.
Alan put on his cloak and asked the first question:
"Cato, Annie, tell me what's wrong with this world."
"Uh... this question cannot be explained in just one or two sentences."
Cato managed a forced smile.
"Could you please tell me first, what should I call you?"
Alan groaned and said slowly: "A year ago, when I came here, my memory was already incomplete, and I even forgot my name."
“I don’t know who I am, or how I got here, but I clearly realize that I came to this world with a sacred and great mission.”
"My name is not important. What is important is that I will walk in this wasteland and save the suffering people."
"For convenience, you may call me 'the prophet'."
Alan had a serious expression on his face, his tone was solemn, and his charlatan temperament was just right, which stunned the two young men.
"So... you are God's messenger, the Messiah?"
Annie asked cautiously.
"According to your religious customs, this is not a bad understanding."
Alan said calmly.
"Well, Prophet, to facilitate communication, can we first connect to the Internet and add each other as friends in the address book?"
"This way, I can telepathically package and send you the breaking news after the catastrophe."
"Internet?" Alan frowned. "What network do you mean?"
"Of course it's the Titan Network! To be exact, it's the secluded network built based on the Titan Network and the Freedom Protocol. We have already left the metropolis, and we can't continue to use the cursed Solomon Network and endure the perverted Solomon Protocol!"
Alan was speechless for a moment.
He could understand each word Anne said, but the combination of words became incomprehensible.
Anne noticed that he looked confused, so she asked tentatively:
"You don't... know what the Titan Network is?"
"I understand the literal meaning of this word, but I don't know how to connect to the Internet." Alan shrugged and spread his hands.
"It's very simple. You just need to use your mind to control the Titan cells in your brain, emit mental waves, establish a mental connection with me, accept my guidance, and you can enter the cyberspace and apply for real-name registration."
"Cato and I both have the authority to approve registrations."
"Although we don't know you well enough, I believe that you are not a pawn of Solomon Corporation. I can skip the identity verification and help you register a network ID."
"After registration, as long as you stay focused on meditation, you can connect to the secluded network at any time and get a simple operating interface. We call it the Titan System."
"Titan systems, including several panels."
"For example, the status panel can check one's physical and mental data, superpowers, health status, especially the spread rate of Titan cells, and whether there is a risk of cancer."
“Information panels, including publicly searchable databases, public forums, and encrypted databases and forums that require special authorization to access.”
"There is also a communication panel. By adding your friend's network ID, you can communicate with your friend remotely at any time."
The more Alan listened, the more surprised he became.
The “Titan Network” that Anne describes sounds like it would function like the original Internet.
However, the Titan Network does not require network cables, nor does it rely on electromagnetic waves to transmit data. Instead, it connects to the Internet through the spiritual waves emitted by the human soul.
Even the network terminal and operating system only exist in the user's brain, which is called the "Titan System".
This reminded Allen of his Taotie system.
I have to suspect that the moment I merged with the origin of the Original Titan, some of my memories of my previous life were extracted, and combined with the memory fragments left by the Original Titan in the origin space, this bizarre wasteland punk worldview was born!
"Prophet? Prophet? Are you okay?"
Seeing that he was in a daze for a long time, Cato couldn't help but call out.
Alan came back to his senses and shook his head calmly.
"Don't worry. I was meditating just now and vaguely felt a hint of divine inspiration... Anyway, there are no Titan cells in my body. Can I connect to your network by telepathy in other ways?"
"How is this possible?!"
Cato raised his voice and shook his head.
"No one living in this wasteland can avoid being infected by Titan cells!"
"The infected either lose their sanity or spontaneously awaken their telepathy..."
Cato suddenly thought of a possibility and his eyes widened:
"Wait a minute...are you crazy?"
If an infected person hadn't gone mad, how could he have lost the memory of the first half of his life and call himself a savior? !
Alan sighed and explained patiently:
"I'm not crazy, and I'm really not infected with Titan cells. Believe it or not."
Anne and Cato looked at each other, still skeptical.
"Prophet! If you are telling the truth, then you may have the legendary special physique that is immune to Titan cell infection and be a natural person!" Annie guessed.
The so-called "natural persons", Alan could guess without asking, referred to humans who were not infected with Titan cells.
It is conceivable that in this wasteland filled with germs, infected people are everywhere, but natural humans are extremely rare.
"But this way, it is impossible to explain where your super powers come from?"
Cato questioned.
"After all, only those infected with Titan cells can evolve super powers!"
"Superpowers...you mean my stone giant form?"
Alan smiled and shook his head.
"That has nothing to do with Titan cells. It's a kind of atavistic transformation."
"Atavism...?"
This time it was Cato and Annie's turn to be confused.
"Well... you can regard it as a manifestation of divine power."
Allen increasingly felt that playing the role of a charlatan could provide him with many conveniences.
"This is not an ability that only belongs to me. Anyone who is chosen by me and is willing to follow me on the road to saving the world will also have the opportunity to obtain divine power."
"Believe me, there is no need to be infected with Titan cells, and there is no need to live in fear of illness and death. Through devout faith, humans can still gain the power to change their destiny!"
Cato and Anne were silent for a long time.
His face revealed an inner shock that was difficult to conceal.
"Prophet... to obtain the power you speak of, who should we trust? Your God... or yourself?"
There was a strange light in Anne's eyes.
"All the same."
Alan's face was solemn and he slowly raised his right hand.
Point your index, middle, and ring fingers toward the sky.
Anne realized the true meaning of the "Holy Trinity" from this simple gesture, and a look of enlightenment appeared in her eyes.
…
Two days later.
The engine filled with crystal cores drove the open-top motor vehicle, roaring away from the ruins of Kang Town.
Cato was still driving.
Anne sat next to him, turning her head to glance at the back row from time to time.
Cato looked at his partner helplessly and reminded her in a low voice:
"The prophet is meditating. You'd better not disturb him."
"If I were you, I would seek divine revelation from him at night."
Anne could tell he was teasing her and her face flushed.
"Stop talking nonsense! I was looking back at Phoenix. Aren't you curious? How can the Titan Rooster become so small?"
Of course Cato knew she was hiding something, so he just smiled and didn't expose her.
Alan heard the two people whispering and turned to look at Phoenix who was lying on the seat next to him.
Titan Rooster, who was experiencing a car ride for the first time, looked around with wide eyes, full of curiosity about the scenery passing by outside the window.
Given the Phoenix's size, it would be difficult to squeeze it into a Jeep.
However, with the help of the "prayer technique", it was a piece of cake for Alan to temporarily transform it into the size of an ordinary rooster.
Alan retracted his gaze and leaned back in the back seat, closing his eyes and resting, while his brain was working at high speed.
Cato and Annie had told him a lot about the world during the two days they were in town.
Some of the events are related to Allen's memories of his previous life, but if you trace them back, you will find a lot of magical details.
Alan had to admire the Original Titan's imagination.
Using fragmentary memory fragments, adding tiny details, and making full use of the topic, a hodgepodge with unique flavor is created!
According to this timeline of a modified Earth, 23 years ago, a meteorite code-named "Titan" fell into the western Pacific Ocean.
The multinational corporation Duson Group salvaged meteorite fragments and launched a series of research.
The person in charge of the project, Dr. Solomon, is said to be the son-in-law of the chairman of the consortium.
With funding from his father-in-law, the Solomon Institute was established.
Working with his old classmate Professor Butler, he extracted cell tissues of alien organisms from meteorite fragments.
This is the original sample of "Titan Cell".
A decade of research has yielded a series of surprising conclusions.
Almost all animals and plants on Earth can be parasitized, assimilated, and transformed into Titan creatures by Titan cells.
During the transformation process, the body or spirit of the organism will be strengthened to varying degrees.
Becoming incredibly strong, incredibly agile, or awakening supernatural abilities like telepathy.
However, while Titan cells promote biological evolution, they also bring a deadly curse.
If not restrained, the Titan cells in an organism will spread wildly like cancer cells.
Severely infected with Titan cells enter the cancerous stage, become huge and crazy, lose their humanity, and are left with only an insatiable appetite and violent impulses.
After comparing a large number of samples, the research team led by Dr. Solomon and Professor Butler came up with an empirical rule:
Once the proportion of Titan cells in the infected person's body weight exceeds the warning line of 10%, the cancer cannot be reversed!
The Titan cells in the body of a cancerous person continue to spread and expand in size until they spread throughout the body, ushering in death.
The body of the deceased will most likely self-explode, spewing a large number of Titan cells out of the body. Like dandelion seeds, they will be scattered by the wind, looking for the next host to parasitize.
…
Cato and Annie's description of Titan cells reminded Alan of the Warlock bloodline.
In the warlock world, the purity of extraordinary blood in the human body does not exceed 10%.
More than 10% are born without it and are not considered human.
A subsequent breakthrough of 10% often means becoming possessed.
From this perspective, those infected with Titan cells are actually warlocks in a broad sense.
However, the extraordinary bloodline that Titan cells give to the infected is a dangerous double-edged sword.
If it is not restrained, it will eventually slide into self-destruction.
…
Thirteen years ago, an accident occurred at the Solomon Institute.
An experimental subject code-named "Titan Primitive" lost control, broke through the protective equipment, and destroyed things crazily.
When it was finally subdued, the institute had been devastated.
One hundred and forty-four scientific researchers fell into a coma.
No one knew what the Titan Primarch had done to them.
From that day on, the victims never regained consciousness and all became vegetables.
With its huge financial resources and political influence, Duson managed to cover up the truth of the accident.
However, a large number of Titan cells have escaped from the ruins of the research institute.
In just two weeks, it spread to countries around the world.
The situation thus slid into an abyss out of control.
The rapidly spreading epidemic finally led to a doomsday catastrophe.
Within a year, almost all of humanity was infected with Titan cells.
At that time, there was no effective means to curb cancer, and most of the infected people died within two years.
The survivors fled the epidemic area and went into exile, and social order completely collapsed.
The whole world fell into chaos of burning, killing and looting...
From then on, human society entered the "Age of Catastrophes".
In just over a decade, the global population has dropped by 99%.
At the same time, Dr. Solomon found an opportunity to make a fortune in the catastrophe.
Based on his research results, Dr. Solomon announced the first generation of cancer inhibitors.
Using this life-saving drug, a large number of infected people with awakened super powers were controlled .
Soon after, Dr. Solomon replaced his father-in-law as the helmsman of the Duson Group.
It is said that Dr. Solomon married the eldest daughter of the Dusen Group and became a son-in-law in order to obtain research funds.
Now that he holds power, he no longer needs to be humble. He simply kicks away the women who get in the way and reorganizes the board of directors in a drastic manner.
Thus, Duson Company became Salomon Company.
The metropolis where the company's headquarters is located, despite the disaster, still retains basic livelihood facilities and has become a refuge for many disaster victims.
Solomon Corporation replaced the government and the police system with mercenaries, firmly controlling this wasteland city and the millions of residents living in the city.
To this day, there are still hundreds of such shelters built on the ruins of cities around the world.
Or, like the Metropolis, they accept the high-pressure rule of the chaebols and can barely maintain social order.
Or even worse, it has become a battlefield of gangs and even warlords fighting each other.
Outside the shelter, the vast uninhabited areas and the ruins of towns from the old times are occupied by all kinds of bizarre Titan beasts.
The ruins of Kang Town, where Allen lived in seclusion for a whole year, is a not-so-special example.
