☆ Infection, seeking medication
Just as Ye Xi was about to smash the car stereo, unable to bear the torment of the music any longer, she finally saw three figures ahead. Relieved, Ye Xi almost ruthlessly turned off the music. But then she heard Nikolai still humming beside her. Her lips twitched, and Ye Xi slapped him on the back of the head. As he turned around, Ye Xi put on her gentlest, most virtuous smile and said in a voice so soft it could be sickeningly sweet, "Could you please listen to the car for a moment?"
Nikolai shuddered violently, immediately turning his head and slamming on the brakes, the white ambulance coming to a smooth stop in front of the three. "Alice, Carlos, get in. There are only three seats, but we should be able to squeeze in..." Ye Xi opened the door, about to call them in, but seeing their expressions, her smile froze. Alice and Carlos were about to help someone with a leg injury into the ambulance when Ye Xi slammed the door shut. "Nikolai, you stay in the ambulance, I'm going down," Ye Xi instructed Nikolai, then opened the door again, this time getting out herself.
Nikolai wasn't stupid. Although he didn't quite understand Ye Xi's specific meaning, he knew from her seemingly nonchalant tone that now was not the time to ask questions.
Clearly, they had been through a fierce battle; Alice and Carlos's clothes were torn to varying degrees. Nikolai couldn't tell, but that didn't mean Ye Xi couldn't—orange! That was a condition caused by T-virus infection! Ye Xi knew Alice's strength, and Carlos wasn't so easily approached by zombies, so only… Ye Xi silently shifted her gaze to the soldiers who, although covered in blood, were clearly not infected with the T-virus. If someone hadn't deliberately sabotaged them, how could they have ended up like this? Without antibodies, what were they doing causing trouble?
"Ye Xi, what's wrong with you..." Carlos and Alice exchanged a glance, then gave Ye Xi a meaningful look. They knew what kind of person they were holding, but they didn't expect Ye Xi to turn on them so quickly. They were planning to lure him back to interrogate him and find out something.
Ye Xi ignored the wink Carlos gave her and simply smiled gently at the pale-faced soldier, saying, "You should know what's going on when you see this car, right? And you should also understand why Carlos and Alice kept you here. However, I don't think it's necessary anymore. I think after all this time, you should have figured out some effective antibodies, you just lack human trials, right?"
The man with the leg injury was startled and could no longer pretend to be injured. But before he could draw his gun to fight back, Ye Xi's figure flashed in front of him at a speed that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Then, a sharp pain came from his arm, and Ye Xi injected the black and red liquid in the syringe into his body with a gentle smile.
“Zombie blood.” Ye Xi gestured to the terrified man with the syringe still bearing traces of blood. “Didn’t you need test subjects? I’m kindly providing you with one now~~~” Ye Xi smiled, her smile deepening under his increasingly frightened gaze. “If you still cling to that sliver of survival, contact the other two; perhaps it’s not too late. But if you still want to uphold your human dignity, then shoot yourself, this way.”
Ye Xi tapped his temple, then pulled Alice and Carlos by the hand to the back door of the ambulance, shoved them into the vehicle without a word, tossed the remaining ten sensors onto the truck, and finally followed. Whether he fired or not was none of Ye Xi's concern. "Um, Ye Xi, don't you think what you did just now was more..." Alice hesitated, searching for words, but seemed unable to find a suitable description after a long pause.
"Inhuman? Hmph, come to the truth, we're no longer human, Alice." Ye Xi rolled her eyes, turned on the interior light, and carefully examined the drugs inside. If they were preparing an experiment on a panacea, it meant they had already developed a rather crude antibody, and this operation should have been prepared just in case.
The carriage was filled with bottles and jars. If it were the liberal arts student Ye Xi from before, she would have been overwhelmed by all these miscellaneous and similar-looking drugs. But things were different now. At least she had a three-year adaptation period to digest those memories and terrifying academic knowledge, so she could tell what was in those bottles and jars with just a glance.
"How long have you been infected?" Nikolai was telling Alice and Carlos what had just happened when Ye Xi suddenly interrupted. One of them was his most trusted partner, and the other was one of the victims; it was only right that he tell them about the threat they faced.
Alice and Carlos's expressions changed; they hadn't expected Ye Xi to be so blunt. Nikolai's face stiffened upon hearing this. He slammed on the brakes, turned around, and unconsciously raised his voice: "Infection? Carlos, you haven't told me yet!" As a comrade-in-arms who had shared life and death with him, Nikolai couldn't believe that Carlos hadn't been honest with him.
"Well... it's been about half an hour... Nikola, why didn't you give me a chance to speak earlier? Tsk, looks like I'm destined to be with the T-virus, but this time I might not be so lucky," Carlos said half-jokingly. With his Native American ancestry, he naturally had a frivolous face that was hard to believe, and coupled with his relaxed tone, an unsuspecting person would probably think the problem wasn't serious.
"I'm sorry, Nikolai, if only I hadn't fainted then..." Alice lowered her head, a hint of self-reproach in her voice. In Alice's eyes, she was fully capable of protecting Carlos. However, she had fainted due to the weakness caused by using her ability, leaving the entire burden to Carlos. If she hadn't used her ability then, perhaps Carlos wouldn't have been bitten by the zombie...
Carlos understood what Alice was thinking and worried that this matter would make her feel guilty forever. He patted Alice on the back: "Hey, don't talk like that. This is not like you at all, Alice. Besides, if you hadn't used your ability back then, how could we have wiped out so many zombies? This wound was from when I was saving that soldier and I was bitten by a zombie. It has nothing to do with you. Don't try to take responsibility for me with this."
"Damn burden!" Nikolai slammed his fist on the steering wheel. His companion was in his hands again, and he was powerless to stop him. This made Nikolai extremely uncomfortable. "What do we do now? Are we going to have to rescue another little princess and reward her with antibodies?!"
"Don't panic, stay calm and clear-headed." Compared to Alice's self-blame and Nikolai's anger, Ye Xi remained calm despite her furrowed brows. "...Half an hour..." she pondered, then her eyes lit up. "Oh, so that's where it is." Ye Xi took out a sealed glass tube containing a turquoise liquid from a metal box, then shifted her gaze to Alice, whose face was filled with guilt. "Alice, how are you feeling now?" Ye Xi stared at the wounds on Alice's body; the original orange had turned pale yellow. Had the special antibodies in her body healed the T-virus?
Alice seemed to suddenly remember Ye Xi's ability with her eyes. A hint of warmth flashed in her previously dim but beautiful green eyes. Looking at the glass tube in Ye Xi's hand, Alice gently shook her head. "I think it's very good." Her somewhat androgynous voice was slightly magnetic. "Carlos, the T-virus is destined for you, and the antibody is also very destined for you."
Carlos and Nicola also focused their attention on the glass tube in Ye Xi's hand. "Haha, it seems like I get lucky when I meet you guys. If it were before, I should have bought a lottery ticket and bought you guys a drink after winning. It's a pity there's no such thing now." Carlos said with a grin, then reached out to Ye Xi, only to have his hand slapped away by her. "What's the rush?" Ye Xi used a new syringe to draw out the liquid and put it into a test tube, while giving Carlos a sidelong glance. "Half an hour is still a long time. I need to see what effect this liquid, which is so different in color from the standard blue semi-finished antibody I know, has. Don't doubt my professional knowledge. I don't want you to not only fail to cure me but also become a powerful monster who has lost his mind. I can't afford to mess with that."
Carlos paused for a moment, then laughed again: "You know what, Ye Xi, you're only like you were three years ago now. Before, you were such a zombie-like, lifeless person that I was really worried about you. I even thought you were being controlled by Umbrella."
Ye Xi paused, clearly realizing that maintaining an expressionless, aloof demeanor and avoiding crowds wasn't her true nature. Prolonged contact with people had made her less susceptible to the subtle influence of the O virus, and her true self was gradually being revealed. Perhaps Ye Xi herself hadn't realized that three years of lonely, bloody life could easily make someone cold, but subconsciously, she didn't want to lose her true self. She steadfastly guarded a pure land within herself, a land she herself hadn't even seen, cautiously and tremblingly, yet no one could shake it.
Ye Xi took a deep breath to calm her inner turmoil: "Nikolai, find the road quickly. I need a relatively stable environment to conduct the experiment." After speaking, Ye Xi refocused her attention on the research.
To be honest, this was Ye Xi's first time conducting a chemistry experiment outside of the Raccoon City Hive. Although she was a bit rusty, her slightly stiff hands didn't hesitate at all. Despite the fact that three years had passed, Ye Xi, who was exceptionally sensitive to chemicals, still clearly remembered the antibody's formula and ingredients, including the products of each step.
Besides essential medications, the ambulance was also equipped with other chemical instruments and reagents. It seemed that, apart from Lyon, one of the remaining two people was likely a researcher. Ye Xi thought for a moment, then sped up, understanding the antibody's composition in about ten minutes. The power of a nation should not be underestimated. Although this antibody differed from the standard antibody, the differences were minor, such as the amount of certain ingredients added or the heating temperature. Ye Xi was confident she could transform this flawed product into a standard one, or even a perfect one!
After finding the missing medications, Ye Xi immediately dropped what she was doing and frantically rummaged through the medicine cabinet, but only found three types. She couldn't find the remaining two. "Damn it..." Ye Xi glanced at Carlos, whose legs were darkening, and quickly pulled out a piece of paper. She used her mouth to hold the pen cap and wrote down the remaining two medications, even listing the finished products made from or containing them.
“I need these, not necessarily all of them, but I’ll try my best to find them.” Ye Xi handed the paper to Alice. “Alice, please make a few more copies for me. After we meet up with the main group, we can distribute these to them. Their help should increase our chances of success. Most motels have pharmacies attached. Now, I need to figure out a way to prolong the duration of the T-virus outbreak.”
As she spoke, Ye Xi buried herself again among a pile of chemical instruments. For the first time, the fervor for experimentation she once held within her recollections rekindled. Although time was pressing, this challenge to her professional field filled her with an uncontrollable excitement. 'Perhaps you could try creating another O virus, another me.' Just as Ye Xi was contemplating becoming a mad scientist, a calm voice rang out.
Having you is enough to make me suffer, and if another one comes along, who knows what Wesker will do? Maybe with a pure O virus, Wesker will steal the medicine and kill me to silence me. Ye Xi's lips twitched, but she couldn't speak, only silently cursing A-Quan's whimsical ideas.
↑Maybe it's a chicken that's been touched, girl~~~
"Get lost, stop messing around! This is misleading!"
"This is it." Ye Xi looked at the viscous, bright green liquid in the test tube, and a smile finally appeared on her usually serious, delicate face. She walked up to Carlos and handed him the test tube: "This doesn't need an injection, you can just drink it. As for the taste, it shouldn't smell too bad, right?"
Carlos pursed his lips, staring at the bizarre liquid in front of him. It did smell odorless, but... why did it suddenly swell up with a bright green bubble?! This stuff looks even more disgusting than the bitter melon juice he'd ever drunk! "Dear... dear friend Ye Xi, have you ever... made this kind of fantastical thing for others to drink before?" Carlos frowned deeply; this liquid, resembling a bright green creature floating in a stinking ditch, looked utterly bizarre.
Ye Xi kept every facial muscle in its original position, staring intently into Carlos's brown eyes, and said seriously, "This is the first time, but you have to believe in my abilities." As she spoke, she nodded, trying to increase the credibility of her words.
Carlos, trembling like a dying old man, extended his thumb and forefinger to take the test tube, then, with an expression of sacrificing himself for his country, gulped down the liquid. After a long, frozen moment, Carlos blinked, looked at Ye Xi who was suppressing a laugh, and suddenly realized: "What the fuck! Ye Xi, you're messing with me!"
"I already told you it shouldn't taste too bad." Ye Xi shrugged innocently. She genuinely didn't know what it tasted like, but she was sure it wouldn't be awful. Alice, who was copying, and Nikolai, who was working late, both chuckled and couldn't help but laugh. But you couldn't blame them; Carlos's conflicted expression just now was truly hilarious.
"This medicine can slow the spread of the virus throughout your body by 10%, so even if you hold out until noon tomorrow—no, it's past noon, so I should give you the antibodies today—you'll still be fully recovered." Ye Xi smiled and patted Carlos on the shoulder. "By the way, what exactly does this taste like?"
A glint of light flashed across Carlos's eyes. He pretended to savor the flavor carefully for a moment before slowly saying, "Cucumber flavor? No, wait, there's also a hint of chrysanthemum or something..."
Pfft... This revenge is way too obvious!
"Hey, you two, stop flirting with each other here. Look, the motel I wanted to meet is just ahead. I really don't know who got infected with the virus and has no sense of responsibility at all..." Nikolai muttered discontentedly, gesturing towards the road ahead.
Ahead, flickering lights appeared and disappeared in the darkness.
Author's Note: The Curse King told me that Bawang's phone turned into a Sony. I thought that was too cruel! Does he even allow people to go out? So the Curse King told me again that Bawang's phone fell into the sewer. I nodded in acceptance. However, those of you who have some Japanese items on you should be careful these days. Let's be rational, patriotic, and reject violence.
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