Chapter 49: The Corpse Has Dried Up

Chapter 49: The Corpses Have Dried Up

"No way?"

"The cause of the apocalypse shouldn't be this ridiculous, surely it can't be related to people gaining weight!"

Perhaps it was because someone right in front of him had recently joined the slightly overweight crowd.

Plus, there really had been a noticeable increase in the number of overweight people lately.

The timing of the new novel's appearance was just too coincidental.

Sheng Qingquan couldn't help but think this way. He couldn't help but consider it.

"Could it be that Mu Lei was so scared by that incident of three people sleeping together—'your crush is so great, I can be too'—that he decided to eat himself fat to avoid such situations?"

"That would be too much of a sacrifice."

"Besides, if that were the case, he wouldn't have been so engrossed in reading the gym's flyer just now."

Hearing Sheng Qingquan's initial speculation, Mu Lei didn't even have time to respond to the teasing.

He instinctively thought about the possible causes of the new apocalypse.

If obesity were related to the apocalypse...

Could Earth be treated as a farm?

Mu Lei had read plenty of novels. He knew all the tropes.

Especially the signs of accelerated weight gain, which clearly indicated forced fattening.

Mu Lei looked at his slightly rounder face reflected in the elevator mirror.

For a moment, he felt as if he were seeing the pigs in pig farms, the plump ducks and geese in poultry farms.

To make pigs gain more weight, farm managers strictly control their exercise.

And to make ducks and geese eat more and grow faster, to obtain fatter ducks and goose livers, farm workers even force-feed them by stuffing feed down their throats.

There are many similar practices.

From this perspective, their situation seemed no different from that of farmed animals.

Could the other party's goal be to covet their flesh?

Mu Lei raised his hand, looking at his slightly chubby arm, and a sense of crisis surged within him.

He didn't want this arm to end up on someone's dining table, being devoured in large chunks, only for the diner to complain about the lack of meat and the bones being too hard.

Wait, by the time they were harvested, he might already be too fat to move.

Imagining himself twice, even three times his size, or a blob of fat wriggling on the ground, Mu Lei shivered.

He actually cared quite a bit about his appearance. He always kept himself clean and tidy.

This kind of death was something he simply couldn't accept.

What Mu Lei thought was exactly what Sheng Qingquan was also thinking.

If weight gain is a sign of the apocalypse, Sheng Qingquan's first reaction is this—to produce more succulent meat, the people of Tianlanxing are being artificially fattened.

After getting out of the elevator and returning home, in a safe environment, Sheng Qingquan immediately opened the novel and read it carefully.

"It's not just my imagination—more people are getting fat."

"The first chapter mentions that the number of obese people is increasing! Fitness gyms are packed, and new stores are opening every day. Many in this industry are raking in profits. Weight-loss drug ads are everywhere, and sales are skyrocketing. Business owners are grinning from ear to ear."

Now, even the staff are starting to suspect that humans are being fattened for meat.

With all this fuss, it's hard to believe a company would orchestrate such a conspiracy just to sell weight-loss drugs.

Before, people hadn’t noticed the growing number of overweight people on the streets. Including themselves, their family and friends also seemed to be getting heavier.

But no one had thought much about it.

Isn’t it normal to pack on a few pounds after the holidays? Every year after New Year’s, weight gain and loss trends dominate social media.

After this celebration, everyone put on weight, and no one thought much of it.

Nowadays, with life improving, overeating and obesity are just part of the norm. Especially for the new Tianlanxing people.

Many joke that it’s surprising the new Tianlanxing people are only now starting to gain weight. They admire their self-control.

"If I’d endured a famine lasting anywhere from one to three years, with my loved ones starving to death and me barely clinging to life, finally landing in a world where I can eat as much as I want, whenever I want..."

Someone put themselves in that situation and couldn't help but say, "Not even a year—if it were me, I’d balloon into a big fatty in just a month."

"If I had even a bit less fat on me, I’d feel unsafe."

"Being able to eat and survive, every bite would feel like a blessing. If I were in that position, I could easily become addicted to food." Many people chimed in.

So what if there are more overweight people around? It’s completely normal.

Besides, fat people eat so heartily. When dining out, seeing others eat so heartily makes your own appetite grow, and you end up eating more. Over time, gaining weight yourself doesn’t seem surprising.

Older people gaining weight? They’re getting older—being able to eat is a blessing; not being able to eat is worrying.

Middle-aged spread is a fate no one can avoid!

Young people gaining weight? It’s normal. After the growth period, metabolism slows down, but eating habits haven’t changed yet. It’s inevitable—you’ll adapt eventually. This applies to singles; if you have a partner, gaining weight together is called happiness fat!

As for children gaining weight? Kids being a bit chubby is fine—they’ll grow out of it.

Babies? Even more so—chubby babies are cute. If they don’t have a bit of baby fat, you might suspect malnutrition.

If you want to find a reason, anyone can find an excuse.

Especially when the person gaining weight is oneself or close family and friends.

Who would have thought this could be a crisis?

If Sheng Qingquan hadn’t read about the weight gain in the novel, he wouldn’t have been so sure.

"Good news: after reading ten chapters, there’s still no sign of a mastermind. It seems unlikely that anyone is deliberately raising humans for meat."

"Bad news: after ten chapters, the characters in the book keep getting fatter and fatter."

"From slightly overweight, to truly fat, to extremely obese, even quickly reaching the level of obesity that was once only seen in record-breaking news stories."

"Mountains of fat began to appear."

Sheng Qingquan imagined himself becoming like that and felt a wave of darkness before his eyes.

"It's not just unattractive; it's a serious health hazard. All health indicators are off the charts. Previously, people might have just been overworked from staying up late and had irregular diets leading to poor health. Now, it's worse—hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and so on, all sorts of health issues are cropping up."

"Hospitals are packed, and even the doctors and nurses have become obese, making it hard for them to work properly."

The staff thought about it and couldn't help but shudder.

In such a situation, not just doctors and nurses, but ordinary people as well. It's hard to move around; who can keep going to work?

Even if they wanted to, their bodies wouldn't let them.

But if no one goes to work, wouldn't society grind to a halt?

How long would the nation's stockpiled food last? How long would the supplies last?

Doomsday is clearly approaching.

As for social order, it wouldn't get too out of hand.

Because everyone is too fat to cause any trouble.

But how is that any different from waiting for death?

It might even be a more degrading death.

"Not to mention, rapid obesity causes the skin to stretch too much, and many people's skin is splitting open."

"By the time everyone realizes something is wrong, it's already too late to do anything. They've tried every method but still couldn't lose weight."

"Cupping for weight loss, diet pills, massage for weight loss—none of it works. Exercise and dieting are even less effective."

"The latter two seem very dependable. Many people have lost weight this way before."

"There are precedents, making people think that following these methods would surely work."

"But the overwhelming appetite makes it impossible for people to successfully diet."

"Eating just a little less makes the stomach burn, and hunger overpowers reason. Although it hasn't reached the point of eating anything in sight, it does lead to binge eating. Eating one less bite requires a big spoonful more to make up for it."

"By the time they come to their senses, they've already eaten more than the normal amount of food."

"It's like eating one egg in the morning, one egg at noon, and several whole chickens at night."

"In any case, they haven't lost weight. They've only gotten fatter."

"Perfect reverse weight loss!"

Alright, we understand, dieting is not advisable.

Everyone secretly took mental notes. According to this, there's not even a chance for rebound after dieting to lose weight.

They never actually lost any weight.

"As for exercise. The speed of gaining weight is too fast, turning into heavyweights in just a few days. Losing weight through exercise at a heavyweight is inherently very difficult."

"On top of that, this isn't normal weight gain."

"For many people, the rate of weight loss from exercise can't keep up with how fast they gain weight daily. And because their weight is so high, even a small amount of exercise can overwhelm the body before any fat is lost."

"Exercise, once considered the healthiest way to lose weight, has now become the most grueling."

Just as the staff was wondering what 'most grueling' meant, they heard Sheng Qingquan's eerily calm voice.

"Many people with perseverance and determination—because they are too persistent—end up losing their lives while exercising."

"In the past, exercise used to just strain bones and joints, but now it's directly fatal."

"The most bizarre thing is that people who were extremely obese would shrivel into skeletons at the moment of death, like mummies."

"When the first death case appeared, people could still console themselves by assuming it might be due to other illnesses."

"But as more cases appeared, many people witnessed firsthand or through videos how individuals, once large and plump, shriveled into skeletons in an instant after collapsing. Their skin wrinkled like old cloth clinging to bones."

"The most terrifying part is that this shriveling process doesn’t occur after death—it happens, and then the person dies."

"Every person who died screamed and wailed in agony, rolling on the ground, desperately scratching at their own bodies."

"It was a gruesome sight."

Just hearing about it made everyone's blood run cold. Everyone was horrified, touching their bulging waistlines, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

They thought dying from obesity was bad enough, but this death was far more horrifying.

They absolutely did not want to die like that.

It was even more terrifying than the most painful death curse in martial arts novels. Who would have thought that something like a death curse not only exists in reality but is also an upgraded version?

"After seeing this, who wouldn’t be haunted by nightmares?"

"People who had spent their lives trying to lose weight finally achieved their thinnest adult form—at the moment of death."

"What they had desperately sought in life was granted in the most horrifying way after death."

"It’s the darkest form of irony."

"Since then, people have become wary of losing weight through exercise. The once booming gyms rapidly shut down."

"As for weight loss drugs, they are utterly ineffective and even come with side effects."

No one expected that living people could be brought down by obesity.

Terrified as they were, the staff couldn’t help but start thinking.

Could this abnormal obesity described in the book be solved with treatment devices or medical pods?

After all, Tianlan Star isn’t what it used to be.

Although medical pods cannot yet be replicated, the progress in treatment devices is quite encouraging.

They know more than the average person and are aware that Tianlan Star can now manufacture its own treatment devices.

However, these devices fall short in every way, and many conditions treatable by Cat Star’s devices are beyond the reach of Tianlan Star’s.

The types of injuries and illnesses it can treat are limited, and the cost is prohibitively high. It doesn't have much potential for widespread adoption.

This is the situation with the first-generation treatment device, and the authorities are now striving to develop the second generation, aiming to eliminate most of the first generation's shortcomings.

However, as far as they are aware, obesity falls within the scope of what the first-generation treatment device can treat.

If this kind of obesity can be treated by the first-generation treatment device, maybe people wouldn't have to worry so much?

At least people wouldn't have to fear a gruesome death.

Just as the staff relayed the message back for researchers to conduct experiments, they suddenly realized something.

That is, even if it's feasible, given the current scarcity of treatment devices, not to mention the cost, just the manufacturing difficulty makes it hard to produce enough treatment devices to meet the needs of all humanity in a short time.

Thus, the treatment devices can only preserve a select few, and more people would not be able to be saved.

This is definitely not what they had in mind.

As the staff were pondering this, bad news arrived.

Ten minutes later, the researchers had an update.

They selected different obese volunteers.

They used the first-generation treatment device, the Cat Star treatment device, and medical pods for treatment. In the end, only one volunteer was truly cured.

The body sizes of the others showed no change at all.

And according to the instruments and the cured volunteer's own account, he had simple obesity.

He was originally fat, not someone who had recently gained weight.

That is to say, the recent inexplicable obesity cannot be cured with the current level of technology on Blue Star. Even cheating doesn't work.

At this point, everyone's faces turned even more grim.

Not even the chance to preserve a select few was given to humanity.

What on earth is going on?

What on earth is going on? This is also the question in Sheng Qingquan's mind.

He read over twenty chapters in one go, watching humanity slide step by step into the abyss.

Once fallen in, there's no climbing back out.

Sheng Qingquan couldn't hold back anymore and started skipping chapters, flipping directly to the back to find the reason.

"Wasn't it to raise humans for meat?!"

What surprised Sheng Qingquan even more.

"It's actually parasitism?"

"The people of Blue Star are collectively parasitized by a kind of organism."

"This organism can parasitize through skin contact."

"It's summer, and people are already dressed lightly, with limbs exposed, which is normal. This gives that thing a chance. And even those who are more conservative or afraid of the cold, no matter how tightly they dress, won't cover their necks, heads, and faces."

"Even if you wear a mask and a sun hat when going out, there are still openings. Besides, it's impossible to be so heavily protected at home."

"Even if you do this at home, in the hot weather, people still need to take a shower, right?"

"As a result, many people were unknowingly parasitized."

"Even though it's not about consuming flesh, how is this parasitism any different from raising humans for meat? Both involve consuming humans, just in a different way."

Parasitism?!

The staff quickly called the researchers. Hadn’t they noticed this issue when using the treatment device and medical pod earlier?

Or is this parasitism so advanced that even the treatment device and medical pod can’t detect it?

Just as everyone was desperately hoping the situation wouldn’t be so dire.

Once again, the researchers delivered bad news.

"None of them work. The test results appear normal—or rather, abnormal, but the cause can’t be identified."

"It consistently indicates abnormal obesity. But the source of this abnormality can’t be detected, nor can it be treated."

The faint glimmer of hope was completely snuffed out.

With the last hope gone, we could only consider other options.

But such a solution isn’t easy to come by.

"Once parasitism takes hold, it’s nearly impossible to detect any abnormalities. The creature’s size is unique. Not only is it tiny, but it’s also invisible to the naked eye and undetectable by ordinary instruments. It’s essentially an invisible killer."

"Only after death does its body become visible to the naked eye and detectable by instruments."

"If not for this, everyone on Tianlan Star would have died of obesity without a clue."

"These creatures chose humans as hosts because, during their migration, they realized humans make ideal hosts. Whether it’s body temperature or human physiology, humans provide the perfect environment for their species to thrive. After infecting humans, they grow stronger and healthier, producing more robust offspring."

"So the species halted their migration, deciding to stay and develop here for a while."

Seeing this, Sheng Qingquan suddenly realized—could the reason the people of Tianlan Star are getting fat be...

"The reason why the people of Tianlan Star are getting fat is because the parasites are wildly reproducing and growing inside their bodies."

"It’s not fat making them appear overweight—it’s the growing number of parasites."

"As for why they initially ate normally but later consumed more and more, there’s an explanation."

"At first, the number of parasites was small, and the nutrients in the human body could meet their daily needs. When those creatures reproduced and grew, the human body began to lack nutrients."

"Nutritional deficiencies drive constant hunger, making dieting impossible. You may not want to eat, but the parasites in your body demand it. The lack of energy itself also creates a desire to eat. This is due to the human survival instinct."

"Excessive exercise can be fatal—partly because a heavy body isn’t suited for intense activity. Another, and the main reason, is that prolonged exercise makes the parasites inside the body uncomfortable."

"Realizing that the host won’t give up exercise, and since there are hosts everywhere at this time, it’s not hard to find another. The parasites simply sucked hard and then directly switched to a new host."

"The pain before human death is being 'sucked' hard all at once, beneficial components are stripped away, leaving only an empty shell. But from this behavior, one can also see a sense of punishment."

"Refusing to be a good host and insisting on resisting, huh? This is what happens when you struggle."

"From everyone's subsequent reactions, the parasites' act of setting an example was extremely successful. The effect was so strong that no one dared to act recklessly."

Sheng Qingquan could fully grasp the malevolence of the parasites.

"They must be intelligent!"

"Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so cunning."

The plain, straightforward description still vividly displayed the malice of the parasites. It made it clear that humans absolutely cannot coexist peacefully with them.

They clearly had no intention of coexisting peacefully with humans!

They even have intelligence!

The staff were shocked, then quickly realized Sheng Qingquan was right. This was highly likely the case.

"After discovering the parasitic nature, the authorities realized they had been researching in the wrong direction and began shifting their focus to deworming drugs and bactericidal agents."

"Mainly because exercise as a solution is completely unfeasible."

"Not to mention that the parasites would change hosts, even if they didn’t kill the host, the host couldn’t handle such intense exercise."

"Intense exercise does make the parasites uncomfortable, but before relying on this to kill the parasites, the person would collapse first."

"However, this also inspired scientists to explore this angle, studying the principles to see if parasites could be killed within the limits of human endurance."

Hearing this, everyone felt a spark of hope.

The research direction sounds promising—it should solve the problem, right?

But just as they thought so, the next moment, people realized this was the apocalypse, and the situation remained grim.

"Whether it's deworming drugs, bactericidal agents, or other researched targeted methods, none have been effective."

"Some people couldn’t stand the obesity, couldn't endure the torment, and went mad, gulping down pesticides, trying to take the parasites down with them."

"However, the pesticides, usually effective against insects and weeds, achieved nothing this time."

"It can't be said that there was no gain."

"The person who drank the pesticide died, but the parasites remained unharmed. Instead, the humans near the parasites gained weight."

"Who can endure this?"

"Someone tried high-temperature therapy—saunas, hot springs—and even fainted in the heat, but the parasites were fine."

"Low temperatures don't work either. Even staying in a cold storage, freezing oneself to shivers and severe colds, after going out, the amount of food consumed didn’t decrease. The parasites were thriving more than anyone."

"All kinds of methods have been tried. Scientific, unscientific, almost every method has been attempted by someone, but no one has successfully killed the parasites."

Not only were the humans in the plot despairing, but the informed listeners were also in despair.

The planet Tianlan has overcome so many calamities, it won't fall here, will it?

Just as everyone was somewhat disheartened.

Sheng Qingquan saw a new chapter.

"Luckily, heaven always leaves a way out!"

"Is there a way out?!"

When Sheng Qingquan saw this sentence at the start of the new chapter, his eyes lit up, and he let out a sigh of relief.

The downcast faces of the others also brightened slightly.

There's no way humanity can just perish like this!

So, what's the plan? Everyone couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.