Chapter 144 Current Situation

After the existence of "zombies" was confirmed, several well-known scientists from across the country were transferred to the research institute, including Professor Zhang Zheng, who was on a business trip from another city.

Prior to this, Song Heng's team members had already recorded basic data and information about the zombies, and had also conducted a strip search on the zombies.

Number 001 Li xx and number 002 Jiang xx were the first people to turn into zombies. After their clothes were removed, black wounds could be seen on their legs, from which black or green veins spread out, with the color becoming darker the closer to the wound.

They both contracted a virus from a wound, but it remains to be verified what animal or other substance caused the bite.

As Lin Xi had guessed, Dr. Xu Ruigan, number 003, had relatively evenly distributed dark green veins on his body, with no obvious wounds.

Lin Xi stated, "I saw Dr. Xu Ruigan on the mornings of May 18th, 19th, and 20th. He appeared perfectly normal until 9 a.m. on the 20th when he began to show abnormalities. Dr. Xu Ruigan was infected by ingesting the virus orally, which suggests the possibility of the virus being deliberately introduced. Relevant departments need to trace the source of the virus."

The thought of this possibility has instilled a sense of dread in everyone, in addition to a rigorous approach to zombie research.

If someone poisons the food, there is a high possibility that a second poisoning could occur during this period.

However, the task of tracing the source of the virus does not fall under the research institutes. After the situation is reported, the disease control and prevention departments and the National Health Commission will conduct investigations and issue relevant warnings.

When Lin Xi saw the word "warning," her eyebrows twitched for no apparent reason.

Assuming the virus was intentionally poisoned, the poisoner must have known the plan had failed and the infected samples had already entered the research institute. What would he do when he saw the warning issued by the National Health Commission?

To be restrained or to take a gamble?

In the previous life, while Lin Xijin was in detention awaiting trial, Lu did not actively contact the research institute. However, two or three weeks had already passed since the actual testing and research began. There were no infected individuals available for research, and the difficulty of studying virus samples alone was higher than it is now, and the process of obtaining information was also slower.

The large-scale outbreak of the virus appears to have occurred after research institutes began conducting studies on it.

Can the source of infection and the poisoner be identified in such a short time? Was the poisoner an individual or a group?

Lin Xi finished her six hours of sleep and had just received breakfast from the research institute: a sandwich, a boiled egg, and a bottle of fresh milk.

Perhaps due to lack of sleep, Lin Xi had a poor appetite, or perhaps due to too much mental stress. She looked at the nutritionally balanced breakfast and found it hard to swallow. She then took out her phone to check messages.

There were many unread messages in the group chat on my phone, named "Burning! Doomsday Terminator," all of which were between Xiang Xin and Liang Hui.

Scrolling to the very top, there were still people concerned about Lin Xi's situation after she joined the research institute; Lin Xi hadn't had time to check her phone or reply yesterday.

After a day, seeing that things had calmed down, Xiang Xin and Liang Hui assumed that they were safe now that the source of the zombies had been captured, and that further research would be the responsibility of the research institute.

They exchanged greetings in the group chat intermittently, but Lin Xi and Lu Wei were unable to reply promptly due to work commitments, so the two began to chat idly.

Two outgoing and humorous people can have a lot to talk about, and their group chat already has 999+ members.

Until Lu did not speak: "For irrelevant content, you can add me as a friend and chat privately."

The group chat finally quieted down.

Lin Xi: How's it going outside?

Xiang Xin was the first to reply: All is well.

As expected.

Xiang Xin: What about you? Brother Lu said you most likely signed a confidentiality agreement, and if it's inconvenient to talk about it, then forget it.

The secrecy was intended to prevent zombie-related information from causing social unrest and misleading information from interfering with epidemic prevention and control. However, since the members of this group knew about the zombies' existence before they appeared, there was no need to keep it a secret.

Lin Xi: Many scientists have come. They just isolated the virus and are working on it. They also need to do gene comparison... In short, it will take time.

This process cannot be accelerated by having more people; even with the assistance of high-tech machines, the time required for virus cultivation cannot be skipped.

The virus tracing at Hongwen Hospital is underway. Although it is a public place with many people, the scope of the investigation has been narrowed down to these three people, which has greatly reduced the difficulty. I heard that we are about to make progress.

Xiang Xin: San San, I'm so bored.

Liang Hui: Me too.

Xiang Xin: You're becoming more and more like Xiong Er (a character from Journey to the West).

Liang Hui: If Xiong Da hadn't said the crisis wasn't over yet, I would have gone out for sashimi today.

Xiang Xin: The National Health Commission and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a notice telling everyone not to eat raw food recently, and that food and water should be boiled before consumption.

The virus is not resistant to high temperatures; it can be killed once the temperature reaches 80 degrees Celsius. This was discovered and reported by the research institute a long time ago.

Lin Xi glanced at her breakfast. The boiled eggs and sandwiches were freshly made in the cafeteria. People in the research institute took turns resting and eating breakfast. When Lin Xi's group finished resting and received their breakfast, it was already lukewarm. However, the milk was fresh from the refrigerator.

She gripped the milk bottle; the cold touch made her suddenly uncomfortable and her heart skipped a beat.

But the colleagues around him were eating heartily, and some had already finished and were returning their trays.

The hand holding the glass bottle loosened its grip.

Lin Xi thought that she must have been too nervous and hadn't rested well. A group of people had already finished breakfast and gone in to change shifts. This was the research institute, a heavily guarded research institute.

Lin Xi: Is there any other notification?

Xiang Xin: [Image]

Xiang Xin: They also said not to gather in crowded places.

Liang Hui: Today is Saturday, and the streets are packed with people.

The streets were packed with people.

The streets were packed with people...

The unease she had just suppressed suddenly surged when she saw these words. She hadn't rested well to begin with, and the tension on an empty stomach made her gag even more.

Her colleague, who was sitting not far away, first instinctively moved away, then leaned closer to ask, "Xiao Lin, are you alright?"

Lin Xi looked up and saw that the person was Cheng Ling, and there were also people around casting curious and questioning glances.

She was originally just an intern under Song Heng at this research institute, but recently she joined the zombie research project team and was favored by Song Heng, thus leaving some impression on everyone.

They looked at Lin Xi, and Lin Xi looked at them too. They looked at their faces, and at their milk.

Most of the milk bottles were opened, and some had already been finished.

A commotion suddenly broke out outside the cafeteria, followed by screams, drawing curious glances from those inside.

A male voice shouted, "Zombies! Zombies have escaped!!"

"Clang!" The fresh milk in Lin Xi's hand fell to the ground, glass shards shattered everywhere, and white liquid spread across the floor tiles.

She clenched her fists, pulled out the dagger she carried from her pocket, and headed towards the noisy area outside.

Upon hearing the shout, the people in the cafeteria all stood up; some wanted to investigate, while others prepared to flee.

The dagger trembled in Lin Xi's hand. She couldn't tell whether the people in the cafeteria had mutated or not, and the idea that the milk was problematic was just her guess.

Perhaps the zombies outside escaped from the laboratory.

Would it? Is it even possible? Given the known dangers of zombies, would the lab make such a basic mistake?

Zombies have appeared outside, and the living people here...

As Lin Xi ran towards the area where zombies were said to have appeared, he shouted belatedly, "Anyone who drank the milk earlier, go take some anti-inflammatory medicine right now!!"