Chapter 4 New World Hotel 2
A middle-aged man attempted suicide to collect insurance money, and the driver's desperate attempt to avoid him resulted in a more serious traffic accident. The whole incident was so convoluted and bizarre that it drew widespread condemnation online.
"It's terrible to be uncultured."
"Those who wanted to die didn't, and those who didn't want to die died in a car accident. God is truly blind."
"commit a sin!"
Amidst the shouts and curses, Yunxin gradually adapted to the new work rhythm.
That day, she had just arrived at the hotel and changed into her work clothes when Tong Jia suddenly appeared and pulled her towards the stairwell.
Yun Xin obediently followed, and only asked when they reached a secluded spot, "What's wrong?"
Tong Jia seemed a little nervous. She looked around to make sure it was just the two of them before lowering her voice and asking, "After giving your statement at the police station that day, did you feel like something was off?"
"No," Yun Xin shook her head.
Hearing this, Tong Jia was very disappointed. Undeterred, she asked again, "Really not? Think about it again."
"Everything is the same as usual," Yun Xin replied affirmatively.
"Ha—" Tong Jia's expression changed, and finally she couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Are you alright?" Yun Xin asked with concern.
Tong Jia mumbled, "I encountered some things... a bit strange."
"What's strange about it?" Yunxin asked.
Tong Jia really wanted to talk to someone, so she carefully said, "Last weekend, my friend went to run a marathon and invited me to join him."
She said that it's not about finishing the race, but about participating.
"I figured it's a rare good day anyway, so it's good to go out and get some exercise. If something happens in the future, it's always better to be able to run fast than not be able to run at all."
"As a result, I finished the race in one go! I reached the finish line at the same time as my friend!"
Tong Jia looked like she'd seen a ghost. "This is so strange. My friend loves sports and often exercises outdoors. I'm too lazy to go out on my days off, and I've never beaten her before. How did I manage to catch up with her in terms of physical fitness?"
"Perhaps she ran slower than usual?" Yun Xin offered a reasonable guess.
“Impossible,” Tong Jia said decisively. “Marathons are timed. Because I was right behind her, she achieved her best time ever!”
There were some things Tong Jia kept from her. She ran faster and longer than usual, which was one thing, but after finishing the run, she actually felt much more relaxed than when she usually gave up halfway.
The two arrived at the finish line at the same time, so it's clear that she's the one with the problem.
Yunxin then asked, "Has anything unusual happened recently?"
Tong Jia rubbed her forehead. "The most unusual thing I've experienced recently is that I almost got hit by a car."
"After surviving such an ordeal, did your physical abilities suddenly increase dramatically?" Yun Xin pondered. "I've never heard of that before."
"I've only ever heard of people unleashing their potential when they encounter accidents, becoming incredibly strong or running exceptionally fast."
"But once we were out of danger, we could never do it again."
"But I went for a run this morning and I was still running like the wind!" Tong Jia exclaimed in frustration. "It's been several days since the car accident! How come I'm still not back to normal?!"
Instead of being happy about her improved running speed, she started to worry.
What was happening before her eyes was beyond her comprehension. She wouldn't even want the physical enhancement given to her for free; she just wanted to return to her original state.
"You're asking me? I don't know either," Yunxin said.
Tong Jia persisted, "You really didn't notice anything unusual?"
"No," Yun Xin replied with absolute certainty.
After thinking for a moment, Tong Jia guessed, "The manager said you're strong. Could it be that you were originally strong, and actually became even stronger after the car accident, but you didn't realize it?"
Yunxin was stunned.
Tong Jia then added, "Perhaps you were already a fast runner, so the improvement isn't obvious?"
At this point, she looked at Yunxin expectantly, "After the car accident, did you run a marathon? Why don't you give it a try?"
While they were still in a daze, they heard men talking and footsteps approaching from not far away.
"I told you not to mess with it, but you wouldn't listen."
The other person retorted, "How was I supposed to know it was so fierce!"
The person in front said, "Now it's even worse; if you get caught, you have to get a rabies vaccine."
The other person replied, "Why fight! It's just a minor injury. A rinse and some medicine will do the trick."
Hearing someone approach, Tong Jia stopped talking. She quickly composed herself, adopting the professional demeanor of a working woman, and calmly asked, "What's going on?"
The two people talking were two waiters, one named Wang Ze and the other named Zhao Zechen.
Upon seeing Tong Jia, Wang Ze's heart skipped a beat. He stammered, "It's nothing. We went to throw out the trash and saw a cat lying in a corner of the parking lot, looking like it was dead. So I went over to check on it."
"You were just looking? You went up and kicked him." Zhao Zechen exposed him, "The cat was in pain and bit your ankle."
"I advised you to give up and chase the stray cat away, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on catching it and teaching it a lesson. After all that trouble, you didn't catch the cat, and I got caught too!"
Zhao Zechen almost broke down at this point, "Do you know how expensive rabies vaccines are?!"
For Zhao Zechen, it was a complete misfortune. His colleague ignored his advice and insisted on provoking the cat, resulting in him getting injured as well.
Wang Ze had tried to brush it off, but he was caught red-handed and immediately felt embarrassed. He said coldly, "Alright, you're a grown man, calm down. Getting scratched by a cat is no big deal. Do you really need to go all the way to get a shot? Just rinse it with water."
"Guess why doctors recommend getting a rabies vaccine if you get scratched by a stray cat?" Zhao Zechen asked and answered himself, "Because some people have been scratched or bitten by cats and didn't pay attention to it, and eventually died from rabies."
"Don't try to fool me!" Wang Ze said unhappily. "You only have a relatively high chance of getting rabies if you're bitten by a stray dog! The chance of getting rabies if you're bitten by a cat is as low as winning the lottery."
"Who would risk their life?" Zhao Zechen said angrily. "If they died, could you afford to pay for it?"
"What does it have to do with me if the cat scratches you?" Wang Ze dismissed the matter completely.
"If you hadn't kicked and scratched the cat, would the cat have retaliated against me as if I were one of you?" Zhao Zechen didn't intend for Wang Ze to pay for the medical expenses, but seeing the other party's attitude, he inexplicably became angry.
“Then you have to blame the cat.” Wang Ze refused to admit that he was wrong.
After hearing what happened, Tong Jia said, "The rabies vaccine should still be given if needed."
Seeing that Wang Ze was about to object, she looked up and said, "How about I ask the boss for you if we can keep an employee who was bitten by a cat but didn't get a rabies vaccine?"
Wang Ze's expression changed. He quickly changed his mind, "Go! Go after get off work!"
To avoid further conflict, he quickly left.
"What kind of mess is this?" Zhao Zechen was increasingly speechless. "I just graduated. After my monthly salary is deposited, I have to pay off the rent and then my student loan. The money left is barely enough to eat, and I still have to squeeze out some money to get a rabies vaccine."
Yunxin chimed in with a word of advice, "Money can be earned back, there's no need to save money in a place like this."
"I understand," Zhao Zechen said with a wry smile.
Watching from the side, Tong Jia suddenly had a new idea—could it be that Yun Xin's improvement wasn't physical, but rather that she had gained a superpower-like sixth sense?
"Table 3, braised goose in an iron pot," the head chef called out.
"Coming," Yun Xin replied, then picked up the iron pot and went to table number 3. It must be said that she walked with a steady, quick gait.
"Look at her, and then look at you." The head chef watched Yun Xin leave with admiration, then glared at his apprentices with disappointment. "That little girl can easily lift the wok, and you guys complain about being tired after tossing the wok for a while? Is that acceptable?"
The apprentices all protested, "This iron pot is really heavy."
"The pot is already heavy, the goose is fatty, there are many side dishes, and it's full of broth. If I toss it any longer, my hands will be ruined."
“It’s not that we’re incompetent, it’s just that Yunxin does it too easily. I’ve observed her carefully a few times, and every time she just picks up the iron pot, walks out, puts it on the table, and that’s it. How can we possibly do that?”
The head chef glared at him and said fiercely, "You can't compete with their talent, and you're unwilling to work hard. They're born with superhuman strength; can't you just go to the gym and train more to catch up?"
The apprentices complained incessantly, "We're so busy every day that we're exhausted. When we get home, all we want to do is lie in bed and sleep. How can we have time to go to the gym?"
"Solutions, all of them are just sophistry." The head chef was furious and picked up a soup ladle to hit each of them on the head.
The apprentices fled in terror.
Tong Jia was on her way to report to her boss when she ran into Wang Ze and casually asked, "Have you had your rabies vaccine?"
Wang Ze cursed his bad luck inwardly, but put on a smile on his face, "It's done, it's done, don't worry."
Tong Jia nodded upon hearing this and went back to her work.
Wang Ze ran to the deserted rooftop, took out his cigarette case, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. "Damn it, a purchasing agent, he really thinks he's something."
"Whether other people get rabies vaccines or not is none of your business. Mind your own business! Anyone would think you're the boss's wife!"
"I'm not going to fight, what can you do to me?"
As he spoke, he glanced down at the bite mark on his ankle. The wound had already begun to heal and looked perfectly normal; he felt no discomfort whatsoever.
"Rabies protein costs one or two thousand, and a single vaccine shot costs one or two hundred. Only a fool would waste money like that!" Wang Ze chuckled, feeling much better.
Before we knew it, three weeks had passed.
That day, Zhao Zechen went to throw out the trash alone. On his way back, he saw Wang Ze wearing a mask and frowned. "What are you doing?"
Since the cat-kicking incident, his opinion of Wang Ze has worsened considerably, and the two haven't spoken to each other for a long time.
In Zhao Zechen's view, Wang Ze's behavior was suspicious, and he even wore a mask, which clearly indicated that he wanted to do something bad.
"I have a headache and a low-grade fever. I just went to the pharmacy to buy medicine." Wang Ze looked very weak and coughed twice as he spoke.
Seeing this, Zhao Zechen didn't say anything more.
After Wang Ze finished speaking, he lowered his head and hurriedly left.
Staff dormitory.
Wang Ze rudely opened the medicine box, swallowed the pills, and took them with water.
"It's nothing, I just have a low-grade fever, these are all symptoms of a fever." He kept muttering to himself, as if to comfort himself or to convince himself.
That being said, Wang Ze couldn't help but recall his conversation with the pharmacy clerk.
He casually asked, "If you get bitten by a stray cat and don't get vaccinated, what are the symptoms of rabies?"
The shop assistant told him, "There are no symptoms during the incubation period, and the disease usually develops after 20 days. In the early stage, there is low-grade fever, headache, lethargy, irritability, fear and anxiety, and insomnia. In the middle stage, the wound is itchy and numb. In the final stage, there is fear of water, wind and light."
Wang Ze's hand trembled as he took the medicine. "How do you distinguish between a normal low-grade fever and rabies?"
"Check if you've been scratched or bitten by stray animals recently. If you have, you need to be careful," the shop assistant explained. "If the skin isn't broken, it's fine. But if the skin is broken and bleeding, it's generally recommended to go to the hospital for a rabies vaccination."
"What will happen if I don't get the rabies vaccine in time?" Wang Ze asked urgently.
The shop assistant sensed something and cautiously replied, "It's good that you're not infected. If you are, the mortality rate for rabies is 100%."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ze's heart tightened.
"However, in recent years the government has been consciously controlling it, and the transmission rate of rabies has been decreasing year by year." The shop assistant comforted him, "As long as you don't carry the rabies virus, you won't get rabies even if you are bitten by a dog."
"You don't necessarily get rabies from a dog bite, let alone a cat bite? It's impossible to be that unlucky." After recalling the incident, Wang Ze in the dormitory inexplicably regained his confidence. "I just didn't pay attention. I had a low-grade fever, but I was fine after taking the medicine."
(End of this chapter)
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