Infinite Armory: Modern Weapon and Demonic Interface – [Nation-Building LITRPG]

Bell awoke feeling slightly unwell, unsure if it was the weather or another cause. The previous day had been fine, but today, he experienced weakness throughout his body, akin to lifting the corpse of a dragon. As he stood up and looked in the bathroom mirror, he noticed his pale complexion and sensed a fever coming on. A sense of foreboding settled over him.

"Better get to the hospital soon," he uttered.

Leaving his apartment in disarray, with the military jacket hastily thrown on, Bell focused on the hospital as he stepped outside. The sight of a long line of people waiting, and a health check-up table set up outside the hospital, heightened his concern. What alarmed him even more were the doctors adorned in CRBN gears.

"ALL CITIZENS ARE ADVISED TO STAY INSIDE THEIR HOUSE OR APARTMENT. THIS IS THE ORDER FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELL-BEING! THANK YOU."

It was a dire sign. Bell fervently wished it wasn't the virus, though everything he felt seemed reminiscent of that disease. The only thing he hadn't observed in himself was the presence of blood, which typically appeared two or three weeks after the initial symptoms – at least, that's what his previous health minister had explained.

Bell's smartphone vibrated, and he answered the call to hear a desperate plea from Lisa.

"Bell, we are overwhelmed! Does Regional Analyst Agency report a biological or chemical weapon attack?" Lisa urgently asked.

"I have heard nothing as of now."

As Bell held his phone, the caller ID flashed 'Regional Analyst Agency,' sending a shiver down his spine. Answering the call with a sense of foreboding, he braced himself for what the RAA might reveal.

"Hello, Bell speaking."

The voice on the other end was frantic but professional. "Bell, this is RAA. We have an urgent situation. Reports are coming in of a possible biological threat in the city."

Bell's mind raced. The CRBN gear at the hospital, the health check-up tables, the public warning to stay indoors – it all started to form a terrifying picture. He quickly replied, "I'm on my way. Keep me updated on any new information."

Ending the call, he turned back to Lisa. "Lisa, I've just been briefed by RAA. There's a suspected biological threat in the city. I need to go now. But tell me, what's happening at the hospital?"

Lisa's voice trembled with urgency. "It's chaos here, Bell. We have too many patients and not enough staff. Symptoms are severe and spreading fast. We're doing our best, but we're not equipped for something like this. Does the plague spread this fast? Even eyewitnesses never reported it spreading and becoming symptomatic this fast."

"That's what I'm wondering about," Bell said, feeling a rush of determination. "Hang in there, Lisa. I'll see what I can do from my end. Stay safe."

"Safe?" A cough was heard from the other side. "Hahaha, good joke. See you later, Bell."

As Bell hurried towards the command building, his thoughts swirled with a mix of fear and resolve. The city teetered on the brink of a crisis, and he found himself at the epicenter. The next few hours would determine the fate of countless lives, and his decisions were pivotal.

Upon reaching the command building, soldiers were distributing CRBN gear to everyone in military uniform. As he approached the entrance, a soldier handed Bell a complete set of CRBN gear. The severity of the situation seemed worse than anticipated. Bell quickly donned the gear, including the gas mask. Was this an attempt to protect those unaffected by the crisis?

After being sprayed with a solution, he entered the command building, greeted by a post-apocalyptic scene with numerous soldiers clad in CRBN gear. Heading towards the RAA's office, he found a hub of activity, with people engrossed in their laptops and radios.

“All freshly summoned agents shouldn’t be in the vicinity of the base, that’s a direct order!” Lukas shouted into the radio.

"Something’s wrong, isn’t it?" Bell inquired, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs.

"Wrong is an understatement, but well, we’re still waiting for the full report and confirmation from the medical team. They’ll provide it shortly," Lukas added.

"Good. Hey, how are the people in other places?"

"Neither Eldrin nor his villages reported any disease. The facility reported some symptomatic individuals. The hunter team that Tomas led also reported no symptoms; they've all been forbidden to enter the base. But if I may suspect, this must be the virus," Lukas said.

"Yeah, I think so."

Bell's worst fear had materialized before his eyes. The plague had broken out on his base, but how? Every refugee entering the place underwent rigorous screening to ensure they didn't harbor any symptoms. The medical team went to great lengths to prevent any disease outbreaks originating from the base. Something was profoundly wrong. If they were under attack by biological weapons, how did it happen?

"Any suspects?" Bell inquired.

David responded, "The southern coalition, but since I only arrived yesterday, I am not so sure myself. The possibilities are endless, sir, and hardly traceable too, since they only need one person to be infected."

"But that doesn’t make sense. If one person got infected, then it would take time for it to spread, and by the time many people are infected, patient zero should be easy to identify due to the nature of the symptom progression, right?" Bell mused.

"It’s a possibility, but it could also mean that this virus has a delayed onset," Gerhard added. "You don’t ask for a PCR test on an apparently healthy person, yes?"

"So you are telling me this is a different virus."

"Possibly. We may have a bioengineer on the enemy’s side," David added. "The key to stopping this disease is to find the bioengineer or develop medicine using our facility."

"We can use The Facility," Bell suggested. "Their equipment is primarily for developing military hardware, but it wouldn't hurt to allocate some budget for additional machines. I'll tell Amelia and her staff to evacuate."

"That's the right way. We still have a lot of EP anyways, right, Bell?" Lukas added.

"Correct. Contact Amelia now, ask her to summon soldiers with high skills for the outbreak team, coordinate with Lisa by phone, and evacuate the site. RAA, your task is to discover how this disease spreads, work in tandem with the medical staff. Is that alright for you?"

"No problem, sir, I'm feeling rather well," David added.

"David, you've only been here since yesterday."

"Hahaha, just trying to lighten up the mood, sir, nothing more."

Bell waited in the bustling RAA office, his mind racing with the urgency of the situation. The air was thick with tension, punctuated by the rapid typing of keyboards and the crackling of radio communications. It seemed that Amelia wasn’t aware of the outbreak at all, given her prolonged isolation in recent weeks.

As he scanned the room, his gaze landed on a group of analysts huddled around a large screen, their expressions grave. Approaching them, his CRBN gear rustling with each step, Bell inquired, "What have we got?" attempting to keep his voice steady.

A young woman with sharp eyes turned to him. "Sir, we've been monitoring the spread of the infection. The rate of transmission is unlike anything we've seen before. It's fast, and it's aggressive," she paused, her voice laced with worry.

"And? Do you find anything else?" Bell pressed.

"Not yet, sir. But we're working on it. We're cross-referencing the infection hotspots with recent arrivals and movements within the base. If there's a pattern, we'll find it. Still, our priority is to either find patient zero or determine the source of this virus," the analyst assured him.

Gerhard intervened, “Do you think what I’m thinking, sir?”

"What?"

“This is the plague you keep mentioning before,” Lukas added.

“Exactly,” Gerhard replied.

“You got a report of the bleeding fever yet?”

“Just came in,” Gerhard added.

"Shit," Bell sighed.

Observing the base below through the window, soldiers moved with purpose, their faces hidden behind masks, creating a surreal scene reminiscent of a dystopian novel. Once a symbol of security and order, the base now resembled a fortress under siege. Soldiers ensured everyone stayed inside, attempting to contain the disease, but Bell had a bad feeling about it.

Returning to the present, Bell instructed Gerhard, his voice firm despite the unease churning inside him. "Keep me updated on every development. We need to stay one step ahead of this, no matter what."