When Yang Jia returned to Phoenix City again, several months had passed.
During this period, there were no other major events in the gaming world, and the existence of the virus was still the top priority for everyone.
Research on the virus has been proceeding intensively, and a second-generation vaccine has been successfully developed and put into use. However, no one is happy because the third-generation virus has begun to break out soon after.
Under these circumstances, the atmosphere in the entire game world seemed extremely depressing. Yang Jia had traveled to so many places along the way that he felt this even more deeply.
Compared with the second-generation virus, the third-generation virus is more contagious and has a higher mortality rate. At the same time, there is the worst news - people who have used the first-generation vaccine can be immune to the second-generation virus, but can also be infected with the third-generation virus!
As the virus outbreak dragged on, the players and NPCs' emotions had begun to calm down. Life had to go on, after all. While the virus was troublesome, being able to resolve it with their own abilities was a deeply fulfilling experience.
Especially with the successful development of the first and second generation vaccines, it has given everyone unlimited confidence, and they believe that the virus can be completely eliminated sooner or later.
The initial panic caused by the virus outbreak had dissipated considerably. However, the news that vaccinated people could be reinfected has reignited panic. After all, this suggests the virus is endless and inescapable.
"But this isn't the worst." Bai Ting stood opposite Yang Jia and handed her the report with a serious expression, "Take a look at this."
Yang Jia took it and read it, then fell silent as well. This was the population distribution of the eleven cities under the Nirvana Guild. Since the outbreak, tens of thousands of people have died. While that might not seem like a lot compared to the overall population, the report also included a chart that showed the death toll increasing exponentially. Plotted as a curve, it formed a shocking, almost ninety-degree line.
This is because the players don't actually die, only the NPCs die.
If this trend continues, within a few months, only players will be left on this land.
In the short term, this might not seem like a big deal. However, players don't manage the game world at all. Most basic and essential jobs and industries are maintained by NPCs. Without NPCs, this world can no longer be called a world; collapse is only a matter of time.
Although we haven't exchanged data, this is the case with Nirvana, and it's likely similar elsewhere. At least the Spark Guild, which is now under Nirvana, is in a similar situation, if not worse. This is because the player ratio in the six cities controlled by Spark is lower than elsewhere.
We must find a way to curb this trend before then, but at the moment, no one can do anything about it.
Yang Jia lowered his head and thought for a moment, then decided to go and see the infected people first before considering anything else.
After Li Bai left, Qin Yan was in charge of all the affairs in the laboratory. However, he himself had no talent in this area, so he could only act as a coordinator, responsible for mobilizing and distributing materials. The specific virus vaccine research was the responsibility of biomedical researchers.
The man chosen by Li Bai was named Du Qing. Yang Jia had seen him before, and he looked gentle and refined. But when he saw him again after several months, Du Qing had lost a lot of weight and looked in poor condition. It was obvious that he had hardly rested during this period and had been working non-stop.
Yang Jia was accompanied by him and took a tour around the infected residential area. After returning to the laboratory, Du Qing told her about the real predicament they were facing.
The first and second generation vaccines were actually developed based on real-world research data, so the difficulty wasn't too great. After all, there were already proven results out there, and they were simply copied and adjusted accordingly.
However, the research data in the real world only goes so far. They are still working on a vaccine for the third-generation virus. In fact, this research is already outdated, because the fourth-generation virus has already broken out on Hope Star, and it is something that no one can do anything about.
It is precisely because the research work has always lagged behind the speed of the virus outbreak, so since the establishment of the lunar frozen base, it is said that the researchers were put into hibernation and can wake up after the vaccine research is successful. But in fact, only two second-generation virus infected people were able to wake up, and their physical condition was too bad. Although they used the vaccine after waking up, they still died of the disease within a few years.
As for the others, they all died quietly in their sleep and were sent into the automatic incineration system.
Currently, only the third and fourth generations of virus-infected individuals remain at the lunar base. And there are only a few third-generation virus-infected individuals left. If a vaccine isn't developed, it's unlikely they'll survive beyond this year.
It was for this reason that the game "Reality" was launched. After all, conducting simulation research in the game is faster, and there is no need to worry about the virus spreading to Earth and set up a base to conduct research.
But the researchers on Hope Star are only a minority after all. The vast majority of people can only look at the information and cannot get involved in the research at all.
Moreover, there are so many topics to be researched at the base on the star that it is impossible to focus all the energy on the virus, so the progress is naturally delayed again and again.
To this end, the governments of the three regions have sent a group of young biological geniuses who have received the latest education into the game, hoping that they can follow the path of their predecessors and forge new paths as soon as possible.
Even so, without the data support, the research progress in the game gradually slowed down, which was why Du Qing was so anxious. On the one hand, the death toll was gradually increasing, and on the other hand, the research progress was not going smoothly. The two combined made the situation very serious.
But in reality, reporting to Yang Jia was just a routine matter, and he didn't really expect her to come up with an effective solution. What really made Du Qing hesitate was another thing he wanted to say.
"Are you saying that there are players in the lab who are infected with the first and second generation viruses but haven't used the vaccine?" Yang Jia was puzzled after hearing what he said. "What's going on?"
"They are used as samples to observe the later changes of the virus," Du Qing said. "The development of the vaccine seems to be going smoothly, but that's not because we have a sufficient understanding of it. So after seeking the consent of these players, we retained them as samples."
Since he had the other party's consent, Yang Jia had nothing to say.
She had always suspected that there were government-appointed individuals among the research team—this was almost certain. Therefore, she hadn't considered intervening in the research, and had only ever provided support. As for this matter, Yang Jia believed they could achieve their desired outcome.
But she still emphasized, "Forget about the past, but I hope to see your reports on this kind of thing in the future."
Although this is just a game, since an organization has been established, it must operate according to the established rules, otherwise there will be chaos.
Du Qing nodded, and Yang Jia asked again, "What kind of incident are you talking about?"
"The first generation of infected people experienced inexplicable physical decline," Du Qing said. "I've heard of this kind of decline before. In the real world, the two surviving second-generation virus infections, the official news said that they died one after another after using the vaccine because their health was too poor, but in fact, this is not the case."
Hearing that there was a secret, Yang Jia was very surprised. "What is the truth?"
"Their bodies were originally normal. After taking the vaccine, they recovered quickly and even joined in virus research. But a few years later, their bodies began to fail. We couldn't find out what was wrong. We only knew that various organs in their bodies were degenerating and failing, and they died soon after." Du Qing said.
This kind of thing was obviously a secret. Yang Jia didn't ask him how he knew it, but just frowned and thought.
In other words, the so-called "vaccine" seems to cure the virus, but in fact it does not. It also hides other undetectable hidden dangers that can lead to physical failure.
This is really one problem after another.
"Got it. Don't spread this news for now." Yang Jia stared at his fingers for a while and said, "Regarding the vaccine, you guys should take care of it and try to control the situation. Don't worry about anything else. I will do my best to provide you with protection."
"Yes." Du Qing agreed and left.
Yang Jia sat there and pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out. Finally, he decided to complete the task given by the system.
She had clearly visited all the cities, but the atlas was not complete, so the mission was naturally unfinished. After careful research, Yang Jia discovered that she had missed a plant.
The illustrated guide doesn't show where it is, so you have to look for it.
The reason for this decision was that Yang Jia wasn't a medical student, or even a biology or chemistry student, so she wouldn't be able to help in the lab. This assignment seemed strange, and she had a feeling it might be related to her current predicament.
After comprehensive consideration, Yang Jia felt that the most likely location for the missed plant was Phoenix City. After all, the atlas here was collected during the initial exploration outside the city, and since then, many unforeseen events have occurred, it's not surprising that something might have been missed.
However, it was obviously not an easy task to aimlessly search for a plant outside the city. Yang Jia could only try slowly.
However, she never expected that at this critical juncture, she would encounter such a sudden change.
When Yang Jia woke up that morning, she felt a little groggy. She touched her forehead, and it was terribly hot. At first, she thought she'd caught a cold and had a fever from the previous night, but she soon sensed something was amiss. Comparing the characteristics of the newly discovered third-generation virus infection with her own, Yang Jia was stunned.
She was infected with the virus.
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