Chapter 132: The Smiles That Begin to Infect

Bang!

A gunshot cracked open in the cramped control room of the Yokosuka military base, shaking people's eardrums to the point of pain.

The drone operator, who had just been chatting merrily with his comrades, pressed the cold pistol to his temple and pulled the trigger.

A huge, rigid Weird smile hung on his face.

Fresh blood and brain matter, like splashed paint, spattered the walls beside him.

The other comrades who heard the sound turned their heads, completely stunned.

They watched the operator's body collapse to the ground with a thud, like a cut‑off log.

The terror in the operator's eyes had not yet fully faded.

However, only a few seconds later.

Dozens of faces began to twitch uncontrollably.

The corners of their mouths slowly rose.

One.

Two.

Three......

All at once, every comrade who had witnessed his entire death displayed the same rigid Weird smile on their faces.

That smile, like a Mask, instantly covered all their emotions.

"What's happening?!"

In the base's monitoring room, the commander watched through the cameras and witnessed this Weird and bloody scene in the control room.

He was terrified to the brink, roaring the order: "Abnormal situation detected in sector C-13, quarantine the area! All personnel, assume combat status!"

Meanwhile.

On the screen, the soldiers who wore Weird smiles had already begun to act.

They were no longer the well‑trained soldiers they usually were, but seemed to have become a group of puppets on strings.

A soldier, smiling, raised his rifle and slammed the butt of the gun hard onto a nearby comrade's head.

"Dong!"

A muffled thud sounded, and blood splattered everywhere.

Another soldier, smiling, detached a grenade from his waist, pulled the safety pin, and then, under his comrade's terrified gaze, shoved the white‑smoking grenade into his own open mouth.

"Boom!"

A huge blast erupted, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

The flames illuminated the control room like a furnace of hell.

The soldiers who came to investigate the sound were stunned by the horrific sight and had not yet reacted.

They saw the still‑alive, smiling colleagues, head tilted, showing that Weird smile, walking toward them.

What began as a walk turned into a run.

Finally.

In the Corridor, a soldier was violently pinned to the ground by a smiling comrade.

He struggled desperately, but to no avail; the other's strength was absurdly overwhelming.

"What are you doing, let go of me! Let go of me!"

His roar had no effect; the other had no intention of releasing him.

Until, under that smiling face's gaze, he slowly began to show the same smile.

Then, smiling, he snapped his own neck.

Inside the command center.

The officer who had earlier ordered the launch of a cloudburst bomb was receiving commendation via video conference from Dongdao Prime Minister Xiao Yesi.

An arrogant victor's smile hung on Xiao Yesi's face.

"General, you have rendered a great service to Dongdao; you are our hero!"

A trace of weary yet proud smile also appeared on the officer's face.

"His Excellency the Prime Minister, this is the duty we soldiers must fulfill!"

At that moment.

A communications officer beside the officer suddenly went rigid.

The expression on his face began to twitch uncontrollably.

The corners of his mouth slowly rose.

A huge, rigid Weird smile blossomed on his face.

The communications officer grabbed the steel pen on the desk and, with a sudden, forceful motion, drove it into his own eye socket!

"Ah—!"

A short, desperate scream rang out.

Fresh blood, like a fountain, splashed across the officer's face.

The warm liquid, mixed with a heavy scent of blood, jolted him awake instantly.

The officer whirled around sharply.

He discovered in horror that in the entire command hall, more than half of the staff who had previously seen Lingmu Jianer's image on the screen now wore the same smile.

They were like awakened puppet troops, with terrifying smiles on their faces and stiff movements.

Some, smiling, grabbed the heavy keyboard beside them and slammed it hard onto their own heads.

Others, smiling, slit their own wrists, letting the blood gush out.

Some people, smiling, used their Nail to start digging out their own eyeballs.

Those not infected by the smile let out terrified screams.

They fled in all directions, but were tightly grabbed by those "smiling coworkers".

A female technician, who usually had a secret crush on the male coworker in the adjacent workstation.

At this moment, that female coworker was smiling and twisted his neck.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of breaking bones was especially piercing amid the chaos.

The other end of the communication video.

Prime Minister Xiao Yesi personally witnessed the grim state of the command center.

The arrogant smile on his face instantly froze.

In its place was boundless fear.

"General! What's going on?!"

Xiao Yesi's voice carried a hint of tremor.

Military Officer also panicked, drawing his sidearm from his waist.

He attempted to shoot those "Infected" who had massacred coworkers.

However, he sadly discovered that his hand also began to disobey him.

The corner of his mouth was uncontrollably slowly splitting open.

"No...... no!"

Military Officer, with his remaining sanity, let out a frantic roar.

Seeing that he was about to uncontrollably aim his own face at the Prime Minister on the other end of the video.

A flash of sorrow and resolve crossed his eyes as he reached out and pressed the communication termination key.

The next moment, his gun barrel was aimed at his own chin.

"Boom!"

Amid the gunfire, the communication was cut off.

The screen went completely black.

Within Dongdao, those who had not seen the "Smile Demon" video were infected via the Weird smile by those on the road who had seen the video.

Then they went on to infect others.

Moreover, the news and live broadcasts reporting all this would become new channels of infection, infecting those watching them.

——Those going out were directly infected by the people around them.

Those staying at home would also be infected by the images online.

The whole of Dongdao quickly fell into chaos.

Panic, like a wildfire, burned through every corner.

On the streets, vehicles lost control, collided, and flames shot up into the sky.

People screamed, fleeing in all directions.

But as they ran, someone would suddenly stop.

Then they slowly turned around.

On their face appeared the same stiff smile.

And all of this was merely the beginning.

ps:

Some viewers earlier suggested that this Weird was not scary enough, not strong enough, unworthy of being Nation-Destruction Level.

Don't worry, it's just the beginning; there will be darker things later.