Ch.156156. Meme

‘What are those things doing now…?’

At the same time.

As I observed the field test of the newly developed Meme weapon in the psychic domain, I frowned and shifted my gaze after witnessing those two exchanging words and actions that practically worshipped me.

It’s not that I dislike being worshipped, considering I operate a Hive Cult, but rather I’m dissatisfied with how they continue to portray me as female despite my repeated emphasis on being genderless.

Seriously, if the majority believes a perspective to be true, I—who grow by absorbing human emotions—might actually become a female entity due to that influence.

But separate from this issue, I could confidently say that the new Meme weapon demonstrated excellent performance.

It could penetrate even high-level brains—those protected by various procedures and psychiatric/psychic methods.

※ ※ ※

A Meme weapon is a type of weapon that uses Psychic Meme phenomena, disguised as information, to cause mental abnormalities in targets.

Though it sounds grandiose, it’s essentially a concept that changes the transmission medium of conventional psychic attacks to the internet, networks, or visual perception. A simple example would be a hypnosis app.

I first developed this around 3450 CE and have since evolved and utilized Meme weapons through various methods.

Initially, they were merely advanced versions of wide-area hypnosis apps, but over time, technological advancements made Meme weapons one of my most powerful tools.

A prime example is a Meme weapon created by adding memory distortion psychics to a virus-like spreading Psychic Meme. When deployed, it exerts physical influence by erasing not just memories but even records of specific targets, which was previously used to erase nanomachine technology.

Since this is also a form of psychic power, it can easily exert various physical influences. The Meme weapon used on 777-3 and 777-1, field agents of Order 777, is a representative case.

D-72, the 72nd creation in the D(emon) series of Meme weapons designed to instill Hive Mind worship tendencies in users, uniquely applies the body mutation function that began with D-36.

To enhance the power of Meme weapons, which become more effective when based on human concepts, prejudices, or legends, D-72 differs from previous series by actually transforming the infected into demon-like beings.

In reality, it’s more like a psychic life form resembling demons from human collective imagination possessing and merging with the body.

Anyway, thanks to these characteristics, beings infected with D-72 gradually transform into demon-like forms while simultaneously gaining metamorphic psychic powers that allow them to conceal these changes.

This transformation affects not only the physical body but also the mind, destroying the ego and replacing it with a Hive Mind-worshipping mindset while developing a distinctly “demonic” ego and personality.

The manifestation varies depending on which demon feedback they receive. For example, 777-3 was overlaid with the appearance of a demon from a fantasy novel popular 2,000 years ago. In another case, a human grew bat wings and became lustful after being influenced by a succubus or incubus.

Of course, the latter transformation was so different that it was later classified separately as D-72S, but that’s irrelevant now. Let’s delve deeper into the inner workings of D-72.

Following the tradition of the D series and the broader Alphabet series, infection can only be transmitted to others through the infected’s will, meaning the infection spreads slowly but surely between humans in a controllable manner.

Therefore, I selected one of the infected agents I had already planted throughout the Order and infected 777-3 months before the mission began, making them my loyal servant.

Of course, being an agent on par with high-level monsters with transcendent powers, they showed signs of resistance when left alone.

So I had to intervene directly with 777-3, completely shattering their mind by revealing my true form, which forced me to modify my plans for active use of the Meme weapon.

Especially since there was an incident where a Meme was accidentally leaked, causing words referring to me across all timelines to change into female nouns.

※ ※ ※

Meanwhile, as the Hive Mind was focusing on improving the Meme…

“…Survival rate?”

“Out of 180 deployed, only four survived…sir.”

The Director of Order 1, the headquarters overseeing all Order branches, was holding his head—covered with various implants—in despair as he received the mission report.

He felt guilty for sending his subordinates and juniors into danger without adequate preparation because the higher-ups had panicked, and he lamented those incompetent officials who had uprooted the Order’s foundation. And—

“Is this all we gained?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The desperate reality that the price of 176 high-level agents’ deaths was merely the upper body of a new monster and a single rifle-class personal weapon.

The Director, once the Order’s strongest agent, genuinely hated the Federal Congress for sending agents to their deaths without proper preparation out of fear.

But despite his hatred… what could he do when all his elite agents had vanished at once?

If at least some agents had remained, there might have been a possibility of attempting a coup, but currently, the entire Order had only 41 high-level agents left including retired personnel, and just 13 excluding them.

Unable to do anything, he waved his hand to instruct his subordinates to transfer the spoils, but who would have known?

“…What?”

That the Congress would try to frame him to hide their own mistakes.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Although this attempt was thwarted when one of their members exposed the plan during the hearing preparation stage, the experience made him unwilling to pledge loyalty to the Federation any longer.

So as the Order Director, unable to move in any direction, finally decided to retire and was gradually putting his affairs in order…

“D-Director?”

“What is it, Chief of Staff?”

“Um… two field agents from Order 777 have requested an audience. What should I do?”

Two of the four survivors from that shameful and humiliating hasty operation had requested an audience with the Director who was preparing to end his career at the Order.

Unable to predict why they would want to see him, the Director was puzzled but eventually assumed they wanted to vent their frustrations, so he granted their request.

If he were to die at the hands of agents he had sent to their deaths, perhaps some of his terrible guilt would disappear.

His assumption was almost entirely correct.

While 777-1 used psychic abilities to form a barrier isolating the Director’s office from the outside, 777-3, who was actually 777-2, walked steadily toward him as he sat in his office chair, smiling meaningfully.

The only difference was—

“W-wait! That appearance, what is that…!”

“Shhhhh♡. Knowing will hurt you~♡.”

From the beginning, those two were not the Order 777 agents he knew, but had transformed into terrifying entities.

While 777-1, now in the form of a dragon-like demon, watched, 777-2, whose limbs had twisted into those of a horrific monster, grabbed the Director’s head with both hands and stared into his eyes.

And suddenly, her eye color changed to amber—

[AAAAARRRRGGGHHH—!!!!]

Upon seeing what lurked behind those transformed eyes, he began to scream psychically as if his soul was being torn apart.

Amid the sound of tens, hundreds of trillions of tentacles writhing and hundreds of trillions of mouths gnawing at incomprehensible things, a light that shook heaven and earth in human form was imprinted on his mind.

Though he merely observed the appearance one-sidedly, information far beyond what his soul could process filled it completely, then overflowed, shattering his soul.

The Director of Order 1 was essentially dead at this point, his soul destroyed by information overload.

“—Hmm.”

“Welcome, Hive Mind.”

And into the Director’s empty body, a part of the Hive Mind was transmitted in the form of information, taking the place of the shattered soul. This marked the moment when the Order, previously under indirect influence, began to be directly controlled by the Hive Mind’s hand.