The thing that Fang Qingdai was most worried about still happened.
Two groups of the trapped beasts have shown symptoms of viral infection.
"Now the only option is to kill him, right?" Xiao Mao, who came with Fang Qingdai, offered the suggestion after learning what had happened.
He knew Fang Qingdai too well; making her make this decision would be incredibly painful for her. Just as Fang Qingdai would use her own feelings to protect Xiao Mao's heart, Xiao Mao would also want to make the decision that Fang Qingdai was unwilling to make.
Seeing Xiao Mao grip the knife tightly, Fang Qingdai frowned slightly and raised her hand to stop him: "Wait a minute."
After observing for a while, she asked Xiao Mao uncertainly, "Take a look, is it only small mutated animals like mutated rats and mutated rabbits that have shown symptoms of infection, while other larger mutated beasts don't seem to be reacting?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mao observed carefully, but after a moment he shook his head: "Look at that mutated wasteland wolf over there, it has also shown symptoms of infection."
Fang Qingdai looked over and saw that the mutated wasteland wolf was indeed vomiting blood and its mental state was also listless, so she felt somewhat disappointed.
She thought the large alien beasts were strong enough to survive, but now it seems the virus is still raging. If the large alien beasts are released, it might cause a large-scale infection in the wasteland.
Fang Qingdai sighed and was about to call Xiao Mao to start cleaning when she heard Xiao Mao suddenly exclaim "Eh!"
"Sis, look, aren't there some remains of fur and debris next to that mutated waste wolf?"
Fang Qingdai instantly spread her mental energy over the area and, after careful examination, discovered that it was indeed a remains of fur, including the corners of the Steppenwolf's mouth, where hairs were still soaked in blood.
The fur looked like that of a mutated rabbit.
"You mean, Steppenwolf got infected with the virus because he ate a rabbit that was infected with the virus?"
Xiao Mao nodded: "I think the chances are very high."
Fang Qingdai stared at the herd of beasts in thought, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.
She carefully observed the state of the herd and realized that there were actually not many animals that had completely awakened from the mind control.
Steppenwolf is one example. Fang Qingdai believes it's because canines have higher intelligence, so they can break free from mental control in a shorter time.
Once awake, the mutated animals know they are hungry and will hunt for food. Small mutated animals like rabbits are the best food for Steppenwolves, but these small mutated animals are too weak to withstand the virus and are mostly infected.
Steppenwolves' own antibodies resisted infection through contact and respiration, but ultimately could not resist ingestion.
Fang Qingdai acted quickly. She separated the small animals with barriers, and then separated the conscious large animals from the unconscious ones, and then continued to observe them.
She was completely relieved after confirming that the large animals that had not preyed on the small mutant animals showed no signs of viral infection.
In this way, only the infected animals need to be removed, thus avoiding large-scale slaughter.
But just as she was about to make a move, Fang Qingdai remembered something else.
She isolated all the mutated animals infected with the virus in her space, and then began to capture desert cattle from the herd of beasts to draw their blood.
After three busy days, Fang Qingdai collected more than two thousand animals infected with the virus before releasing the animals that were confirmed to be uninfected. Then she returned to the base with the blood from the desert yellow cattle.
"Sister, why did you bring those animals infected with the virus back?"
Fang Qingdai handed the blood to Elder Li before slowly speaking: "The antidote needs test subjects."
Xiao Mao smiled and shook his head.
He knew that there was no need for so many test subjects. Ultimately, it was because his sister couldn't bear the thought of mass slaughter, so she was hoping that once the antidote was developed, it might be able to save those animals.
After obtaining the crucial materials, Mr. Li led his team in working overtime to develop the antidote, and finally announced two days later that the antidote had been successfully developed!
When he found Fang Qingdai, he was somewhat worried: "Base Chief, I understand your desire to save those animals, but unfortunately, those mutated animals are still not as good as humans. After receiving the same detoxification drug, although the animals cleared the virus, their main activity level was much lower."
"To put it simply, even if the animals are cured, they will be much weaker than before. They definitely won't be able to survive if they are released back into the wilderness. Releasing them will only lead to their death."
Unlike humans, who have long lifespans and relatively stable living environments, they can recover slowly after illness.
Animals have short lifespans, and they need to survive in the wild, so they can't get through the weakened period after an illness.
Upon hearing this, Fang Qingdai's eyes lit up!
She asked Mr. Li, "Then, theoretically, can these animals with reduced activity levels be artificially bred?"
When their activity level is low and they are weak, they are not as frenzied and aggressive as before, making them much easier to raise in captivity.
The base had previously tried keeping animals in captivity, but the results were not ideal. The animals were too agitated, and even if they did not harm humans, they would exhibit self-harming behaviors such as banging their heads against walls.
Raising an animal from a kitten to adulthood is extremely difficult.
Old Li's eyes lit up when he heard the suggestion.
After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "Then we can try using these animals as seeds, try to preserve their weakened state, and try to breed them artificially. Maybe we can cultivate a species suitable for human captivity."
Fang Qingdai nodded: "That's exactly what I mean!"
If aquaculture can be achieved, combined with farming, the oasis base will truly be completely self-sufficient.
Old Li had just finished one phase of work when he was assigned new tasks. The old man pushed his wheelchair around as fast as he could, making the wheelchair seem like it was being propelled by a whirlwind.
Fang Qingdai then took the medicine to find Mao Ling.
With the medicine, the Oasis Base weathered the virus crisis without serious incident, but this time, the Oasis Base still lost more than a hundred people.
Half of them were people with superpowers, which dealt a heavy blow to the Oasis Base, which was already short of people with superpowers.
To help the superpowered individuals recover from their illnesses as quickly as possible, Fang Qingdai distributed another batch of energy liquid.
Not long after, Xiao Nuo rushed in.
"Base Commander, something terrible has happened!"
Fang Qingdai's forehead twitched: "Calm down, let's talk about this properly!"
Xiao Nuo was so anxious that her face turned red, and even the usually strong child's eyes were filled with tears: "My sister accidentally drank a sip of my energy liquid, and now she has a high fever. The hospital is not fully reopened yet, so I can't get in. I can only come to you for help!"
Fang Qingdai immediately thought of how her younger sister Qingluan looked when she activated her superpower!
She suddenly stood up: "Take me to see your sister!"
The two rushed to Xiao Nuo's house, which was next to Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu's house. Xiao Nuo's younger sister, Xiao Yuan, had been adopted by Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu, but Xiao Nuo was too old to integrate into other people's families, so she chose to live alone next door.
Upon seeing Fang Qingdai, Aunt Lu was almost in tears: "What should we do, Qingdai? This child has such a high fever!"
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