Chapter 106: Extermination of the Infected, 1
The heavy industry district of the Caracas Step was originally managed in a way where various crime organizations divided the factories, parts, and areas among themselves.
Although the district was operated by crime organizations, the central administration turned a blind eye.
No, it wasn’t just neglect—it even secretly provided support.
Simply put, the Ark Central Administration had aligned itself with the crime organizations of Caracas.
Could it be that the central administration was producing drugs in collaboration with these crime syndicates?
How filthy and corrupt the upper echelons were.
While they ignored and scorned the lower realm, they covertly supported the industrial zones in the lower realm because they needed drugs!
An average Ark citizen might think that way without being far off the mark.
However, anyone deeply entrenched in the industrial zones of the Caracas Step would know the central administration’s intentions lay elsewhere.
The central administration essentially subcontracted certain responsibilities to the crime organizations.
Though the central administration is ruthless in maintaining order in the Ark, it did not deploy forces to seize or destroy the equipment and facilities of the industrial zones in Caracas because the lower realm lacked essential industries, including agriculture and livestock.
The most polluted place in the Ark had no environment for farming or dairy, nor did it have a proper foundational industry.
Fundamentally, the central administration considered the lower realm beneath the sluice gates to be nothing more than a liability or a disgrace to the Ark, but it couldn’t simply incinerate the criminals’ den completely.
The population in the lower realm even exceeded that of the Kowloon residential area.
They couldn’t exterminate such a massive population or abandon them to starve or dry out.
For whatever reason, the Ark is humanity’s final bastion, so it has to provide for those it deems human.
For this reason, a transactional relationship formed between the central administration and the crime organizations occupying the industrial zones in the Caracas Step.
The administration’s demands were simple.
They could use the Caracas Multi-Purpose Heavy Industry Zone as they pleased.
The central administration would support them.
It would supply fertilizers, raw materials, all types of processed goods, trade rights, and even lower realm trade permissions.
They could even overlook some degree of drug or illegal substance production or other activities that violated Ark law.
In return, the organizations were required to produce basic goods, including processed items and food supplies, to sustain the lives of the lower realm residents.
The crime organizations, which had once drooled over the heavy industry district, now found themselves with the backing of the Ark administration.
Of course, this backing was more akin to a principal-contractor relationship than a true alliance.
Regardless, the organizations with stakes in the Caracas industrial zones grew increasingly influential under the central administration’s tacit approval, and the lives of the lower realm residents marginally improved.
Even among the crime organizations, examples of groups dominating the lower realm and accumulating absurd amounts of capital emerged in droves.
Naturally, some short-sighted crime organizations began entertaining dangerous thoughts.
“We’ll become independent from the central administration!”
“Those upper-class pigs can’t control us!”
“Why should we use these expensive multi-purpose production machines to make unprofitable artificial meat patties? Forget that—we’re switching everything to fentanyl production!”
From time to time, moves to betray the central administration were observed.
Some organizations ceased producing essential goods for the lower realm and operated their facilities as military factories, manufacturing weapons, illegal prosthetics, or combat drones for their own use.
But the Ark administration does not tolerate rebellion against the central authority under any circumstances.
Even Mega Corp Ernest Rail faced total execution of all its executives when evidence of rebellion surfaced; what fate would a mere lower-realm crime syndicate face if it dared defy the administration?
It was all too obvious.
For this reason, the Caracas heavy industry district was occasionally raided by first-class Overseers who secretly visited the lower realm, leaving the organizations plundered and their leaders replaced.
Ultimately, only organizations that moderately compromised, contented themselves with reality, and prospered in their own way survived in the lower realm.
Over time, ownership changed hands repeatedly, with organizations trading stakes and withdrawing, until 87 groups currently controlled segments of the Caracas industrial zones.
As time passed, the ecosystem of the lower realm stabilized somewhat.
Though the people of the lower realm continued to resent and envy the upper echelons and central administration, calling them pigs, the distribution of food, necessities, and products by the crime organizations ensured that millions no longer died of starvation as they had in the past.
The central administration, too, refrained from interfering as long as production levels were sufficient to sustain the lower realm’s population, even if drugs or weapons were being manufactured for inter-organizational conflict.
But then a problem arose.
A Blood Contamination Zone appeared in the lower realm.
The people of the lower realm were well aware of the dangers of blood contamination.
Blood contamination initially showed no symptoms, allowing infected individuals to spread it rapidly before transforming into creatures resembling progenitors in the terminal stages.
Typically, when a Blood Contamination Zone appeared, the lower realm residents reported it to the Ark’s Barrier Agency or the administration.
In other districts, the affected area might be burned to contain the contamination, but this time, the Blood Contamination Zone appeared in the Caracas heavy industry district.
“We’re all dead.”
By now, they were in advanced stages of blood contamination.
At this stage, they could only quell their burning thirst and hunger by consuming human flesh and blood, effectively turning into monsters—public enemies of the Ark.
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it…!”
A young boss ground his teeth, tearing at his hair.
The 87 crime organizations rooted in the Caracas heavy industry district realized far too late that they were all infected.
Most had already replaced parts of their bodies with hard, sharp blood, and some had secretly fled the district to prey on residents of neighboring zones.
Instances of blood replacement exceeding 70%, approaching the terminal stages of infection, began to surface sporadically.
“When the Overseers arrive… it’s over for all of us.”
“The Central Administration will kill us all.”
The danger of blood contamination meant that all infected individuals naturally had to be exterminated.
The Caracas heavy industry district, along with the contamination zone, would have to be incinerated and rebuilt.
Whether the Central Administration would bother rebuilding the lower realm’s industrial zone was uncertain, but the death of the 87 organizations was guaranteed.
“Sanpirous! Your group was closest to the contamination zone, weren’t you? Why didn’t you report it!?”
“How were we supposed to know?”
“A red swamp like that could be anywhere! We thought it was just industrial waste…!”
From the start, calling these people loyal Ark citizens would have been a stretch.
Even if they noticed signs of contamination or discovered a contamination zone, none of them would have thought to report it early.
Using the Central Administration’s distance as an excuse, they procrastinated and escaped into denial.
Ultimately, it was far beyond the point of treatment or cure—the entire industrial zone had transformed into a blood contamination zone, requiring purification of not only the infected individuals but also the very ground.
“Let’s keep quiet.”
At that moment, someone spoke up.
Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well stay silent.
They decided to tell no one.
“Only we know about this…”
“Those pigs in the Central Administration see us as nothing but disposable tools anyway.”
“So, what, we live as monsters now?”
“They say the infection turns you into a vampire eventually…”
“Hey, think of it as an opportunity. A vampire organization capable of threatening the Ark—that’s what we’re building.”
“…Maybe this is a chance to gain independence from those Central Administration bastards.”
“All we need to do is keep our mouths shut.”
“…But what about the bloodlust?”
“The lower realm are overflowing with humans. Even in the Caracas Step alone, there are 1.2 billion people crammed into this tiny area.”
“A few missing here and there… Honestly, it’s not even a problem, is it?”
“Besides, I’ve always hated how those Central Administration pigs treated us like their underlings.”
And so, they decided to keep quiet while continuing to meet deadlines for supplying food and necessities to avoid raising suspicion from the Central Administration.
By day, they operated the factories or devoured outsiders who unknowingly ventured into the industrial zone.
By night, they secretly raided nearby residential zones, drinking the blood of citizens to satiate their hunger.
For those born as criminals, there was no hesitation about guilt for murder or cannibalistic urges toward fellow humans.
They naturally formed alliances, and as the blood contamination spread, every member of the 87 crime organizations in the Caracas heavy industry district transformed into vampires.
They had become monsters—public enemies of the Ark—deserving of nothing but death.
“Hahaha! We should’ve done this sooner!”
“We were so worried for nothing! This is so convenient and powerful…!”
“I can feel incredible strength!”
“Aaaah—this is liberating!”
“The blood of children tastes the best!”
Having embraced their nature as vampires, their descent into depravity progressed rapidly.
Taking orders from the Central Administration like subcontractors no longer sat well with them.
They had formed these organizations to take what they wanted.
The fate of impoverished lower-realm residents was none of their concern.
They hadn’t realized how satisfying and liberating it was to exploit and steal the lives of others.
Unleashing their primal instincts and desires, they reveled in immediate pleasures, unable to stop their laughter.
As their contamination deepened and they shed their humanity, their strength only grew.
They no longer needed knives or guns, and injuries meant little to their blood-solidified bodies.
Draining the blood of others even granted them new powers and abilities they had never possessed before.
There was no longer any reason to hesitate.
The 87 organizations of the Caracas heavy industry district and all their members began indiscriminately hunting and devouring innocent people and unattached vagrants.
The district gradually emptied, forcing them to invade other zones and attack homes to find victims.
But they didn’t mind.
They wanted this moment to last forever.
Each day, they threw frenzied parties fueled by the blood and flesh of others.
The infected, drunk on the ecstasy of blood, cackled madly.
-Thwack!
“Gah!”
But this, they hadn’t foreseen.
A vampire was supposed to be the one who takes.
Why… Why were they the ones being taken from now?
“Mmm, delicious~”
Why had they fallen back to being the ones robbed of everything?
One infected individual screamed silently in their mind, but they couldn’t even let out a cry as mechanical tendrils and mantis-like blades pierced their mouth.
A vampire is supposed to be the one who takes.
A being that feeds on blood.
An existence that seizes the blood of others to sustain itself.
Thus, being consumed by someone else is, instinctively, the most horrifying and terrible death imaginable to such beings.
Thud!
Crack!
【Eighteen down so far.】
Alice had always been sensitive to energy.
Though she no longer had to worry about collapsing like before, thanks to obtaining Gaia’s vitality, how could she resist a feast spread before her eyes?
Moreover, Alice couldn’t even experience the sensation of being “full.”
There was no way she’d miss out on these sweet fruit juices.
Blood itself was a concentrated source of mana and the essence of life, making it laughable to let it go to waste.
“Ahh…!”
It was sweet and electrifying.
The bodies of those infected by blood contamination were nothing but insignificant morsels to Alice, so she hesitated not in reaching out.
【Human, it appears that the entire Caracas Heavy Industries complex has either been transformed into a blood contamination zone or overrun by infected individuals.】
At Theresa’s words, Alice raised the corners of her mouth.
Those infected with blood contamination turned into creatures resembling vampires, beings that the Overseer must eliminate without exception.
If these were innocent and pitiable poor people, accidentally infected due to some disaster or mishap, Alice might have felt a twinge of unease.
But fortunately, it seemed these creatures had willingly become monsters.
After all, under normal circumstances, there should still be homeless or impoverished individuals within the industrial complex, yet not a single person was to be found.
This meant that the criminal organizations occupying the complex had unhesitatingly consumed the impoverished residents who once lived there.
Furthermore, despite the large-scale spread of blood contamination, no reports were filed, solidifying their intent.
Even if there were deeper, more poignant stories behind this, the reasons already mentioned justified the immediate execution of the infected.
“Hehe…!”
Laughter slipped out before she knew it.
How could she not laugh?
Taking lives should always be the last resort…
‘Ah, these aren’t humans.’
Alice realized why she felt so lighthearted.
They had been humans but had abandoned their humanity of their own accord.
Thus, her conscience was at ease.
There was no need for hesitation; she could kill them without guilt.
-Crack!
Alice’s spine creaked, and hundreds of mechanical tendrils burst out.
At the ends of the tendrils, sharp needle-like injectors jutted out, and Alice grinned as she drove the tendrils into the wall and ascended to a higher part of the industrial complex.
“Haa…”
Reaching a place that should have been used as a conductor chimney, Alice drove her tendrils in further.
The conductor building.
A massive power plant supplying all the current to a section of the industrial complex.
Through Alice’s tendrils, enormous electricity began flowing into her body, and she tasted the unique flavor of Caracas Step’s drugs and acrid fumes within the current.
The taste was filthy and unpleasant, but it was enough to fill her.
The overwhelming current that exceeded her internal capacity began sparking across Alice’s body and tendrils.
At some point, three dolls and Marlang clung close to Alice like assistants.
“As a Third-Class Overseer, I hereby make this declaration.”
-Zzzt!
Alice’s voice echoed high into the sky, and at the same time, the current she had absorbed burst forth, creating massive electrical waves.
The waves extended beyond the industrial zones, reaching far-off places, and Marlang felt a tingling sensation on their skin from the current exploding in midair.
“Third-Class Overseer Alice.”
“Blood Contamination Zone discovered in the Caracas Step’s heavy industry district.”
“Intentional concealment of the contamination zone, cannibalism, vampirism, and violations of major Ark laws have been detected.”
Alice proclaimed this in a cold, detached tone, like a completely different person embodying the role of an Overseer.
Though Alice had been a Third-Class Overseer for less than a week, she was synced with the information provided by Theresa, enabling her to act with precision.
“For the aforementioned reasons, I will execute all infected individuals.”
“The execution methods will include consumption, dismemberment, incineration, and evaporation.”
“If you have any inquiries, please visit the Kowloon Barrier Agency after the execution is complete.”
Alice smirked and glanced downward.
Her voice, carried on the massive electric waves, spread across the entire industrial district, a region the size of Seoul.
Naturally, all the infected individuals heard Alice’s declaration and descended into panic.
Some were alarmed at the arrival of a Third-Class Overseer.
However, many others gathered, thinking that it was worth fighting since she wasn’t a First-Class Overseer.
From afar, clumps of bloodthirsty figures began to converge, radiating killing intent.
‘Good. Declaring myself as a Third-Class Overseer on purpose worked—they’re not even running away.’
A typical Third-Class Overseer wouldn’t be able to handle the sheer number of infected individuals in a blood contamination zone alone.
However, Alice had long surpassed the level of a Third-Class Overseer.
Alice glanced at the dolls and Marlang.
When their eyes met, they all grinned.
Words weren’t necessary.
From now on, it was time for some fun.
For Marlang, it was an opportunity to indulge in a real hunting game for the first time in ages.
For the dolls, it was the fulfillment of their purpose: executing their master’s commands alongside her.
And for Alice, it was the anticipation of savoring something sweet and tangy, like a juicy fruit smoothie, that made her smile.
Spotting a massive blood-clump in the distance, Alice began to gather electricity.
She had absorbed so much current from the conductive buildings that her body could no longer store it.
All that remained was to unleash it.
It would make for a fitting declaration of war.
【Internal electronic synapse discharge prepared】
【Discharge initiated: 1 billion volts】
Alice formed her fingers into the shape of a gun.
She playfully aimed her finger at the distant blood-clumps—those who had once been human but willingly abandoned their humanity.
【Fire】
In that instant, an enormous current, capable of powering dozens of industrial districts and facilities, was unleashed in a blinding flash.