Chapter 567 Torturing the Sloth
[Sloth abuse has appeared in various forms of non-live media, including film, television, magazines, and in some cases, personally recorded videos or images.]

[Tortured sloths are often in the background of the media. In one incident in North Carolina, tortured sloths appeared on local television, resulting in the relocation of over 4000 people to Site-116.]

[The image's anomalous properties only persist if it contains red and green colors. Therefore, people with septachromats or other types of color blindness are not affected by the Torture Sloth.]

[The Torture Sloth is believed to have memetic properties, with effects that increase with the number of subjects affected. The frequency of Torture Sloth appearances increases with the number of surviving victims. Following the implementation of Protocol-XXJ9, the number of manifestation reports has dropped significantly.]

[Protocol-XXJ9 is monitoring and scanning all online visual media through network screener A03G32 to confirm whether there are any sloths and alert the recovery team after detection.]

【Team members are assigned to monitor the internet and television broadcasts for any Torture Sloths. If found, a recovery team will be dispatched immediately. 】【Any personnel exposed to Torture Sloths for more than 5 seconds are to be administered Class-C amnestics and temporarily transferred to Site-116. Due to the nature of Torture Sloths, it is recommended that researchers with Beta-colorblindness1 be assigned to Torture Sloths. 】

[Tests have shown that the sloth does not affect most people who view it, including those with color blindness. Approximately 40% or less of those exposed are actually affected. This percentage is also directly affected by the number of people who are still alive who are affected by the sloth.]

[After being affected by the sloth, victims seem to move based solely on muscle memory, and their reaction times become slower. They become passive and submissive, willing to respond to basic questions and follow instructions, but lacking in emotion.]

[Although appearing conscious, the victim cannot control their actions in any way during this period.]

[After entering the 150-second lucid phase, the victim always becomes extremely agitated and frightened.]

[Victims may behave irrationally during lucid periods. Those affected report having complete memories of the period without cognitive function, but are unable to reason about or influence their actions in any way. Upon initial awareness of regaining cognitive ability, most express fear of being in this state permanently.]

[In multiple cases, affected individuals have reported observing the sloth as their bodies moved on their own accord. Perception of reality seems to be lost during this time. Subjects are considered unstable while regaining consciousness, and are to be handled for treatment and not touched at any time.]

[Individuals relocated to Site-116 have shown an affinity for sadistic sloths. Art, literature, and sculptures are often found in the corners of these subjects' rooms. It is assumed that the subjects created these items while unconscious. Subjects will trade these items during their free time. All such items are to be removed and incinerated, and their creators and any other subjects found imitating sadistic sloths are to be terminated.]

[The staff of the shelter have been studying the sloth for a long time, trying to figure out how it appeared in video media, how it spreads, and whether it actually exists in reality. ]

[Unfortunately, the shelter has been researching for several years but still can't figure out the origin of the tortured sloth. They can only passively monitor all video software, websites and media on the Internet. Once they find the presence of a tortured sloth, they will be forced to delete the video, which has caused a lot of trouble.]

【But compared with the expansion of the scope of victims, these are minor matters. 】

[As for whether people who are tortured by sloths can be cured, this is probably unknown. ]

When seeing this, everyone couldn't help but comment.

Mordo: This is a curse! This is something of a curse! It's actually being spread through a video!

Tony Stark: I think it's more like a virus.

Rod: Tony, computer viruses can't spread to humans.

Tony Stark: That's hard to say. Who knows what the computer virus in that universe is like? Maybe it can really invade humans. Bruce Wayne: This is a very dangerous thing. In this technologically advanced era, the Internet is everywhere, and the streets are full of people watching short videos. This means that this thing can spread to billions of people! It will cause a huge crisis!
Doraemon: Ah, that's a bit strange. If it's really that terrible, why are there only a few thousand victims?
Tsuyoshi Moroboshi: This video says that there is a probability, and the spread is determined by the victims. In other words, the younger the victim, the lower the probability of infection and the frequency of transmission.

Diana: I think this tormenting sloth must be a demon from some other dimension. It replenishes its own strength in this way, and will show up when it has a certain number of victims.

Ancient One: I thought so too.

Mei Terumi: Although I don't understand what the media and the Internet are, I'm afraid they are of no use in our world. After all, we don't have such things.

Karp: The only video we watch here is Den Den Mushi, so I'm afraid the impact will be very low.

Piccolo: That's a problem. If this thing really appears, how can we contain it? Monitor all the videos?
Tony Stark: I'm afraid this is the only way.

While everyone was talking, the video was still playing.

[The following will show the treatment process of a patient who abuses sloths. People with poor mental health are advised to avoid it.]

The screen then switched to a video of a table with a doctor sitting on the left. He looked older and was wearing a white coat. His name tag on his chest read Dr. Chung.

There is a patient sitting on the right.

There were several security guards holding assault rifles standing in the room.

【Dr. Chung: Hello David, if you can answer a few questions, it will be more helpful for us to treat you. Are you ready? 】

【Patient-0866: I-I don't know. Come on.】

【Dr. Chung: Since time is limited, can you tell us about your specific experience... during the uncontrolled period? 】

[Patient-0866: Okay, okay… well, I guess it's like this. It's like, you're sitting in a car, and your hands and feet are tied up and you can't move. You-you can't feel your body. The worst part is that you can't hold a thought for more than five seconds. It's hell.]

[Patient-0866 takes a deep breath and stretches.]

【Dr. Chung: Are you okay? We can continue tomorrow. 】

[Patient-0866: It's okay. It's... I just wanted to enjoy a little more control over myself. When you're stuck there, in your own head... you just want to scream. But you can't. You try for hours and hours. Move your hands, your feet, make sounds. Nothing works. You can't even control your breathing. And then, there were hallucinations. That sloth. I just...]

(End of this chapter)