Chapter 142 Unknown Virus
The two "patients," who were disoriented and in poor condition, were secretly sent to the research institute with tarpaulins covering their faces.
The fate of Li XX's mother and Dr. Xu Ruigan has once again sparked controversy. The hospital insisted on releasing the two healthy individuals, while the research institute insisted on taking away and isolating those who had been in contact with the patient.
The hospital argued that rabies infection requires contact, and since neither Li XX's mother nor Xu Ruigan had any obvious wounds, they should be released.
Li XX's mother was in a state of extreme distress, screaming in terror that everyone should release her son. Seeing that her pleas were in vain, she could only ask to go to the research institute with her son.
Meanwhile, Dr. Xu Ruigan was in a state of agitation and anger, demanding that he be released.
Dean Hongwen and Song Heng were negotiating, while Lin Xi and Lu Wei, who was assisting in escorting the "patient," waited for the outcome.
“Li xx’s mother doesn’t look like an infected person,” Lu Wei said in a low voice.
Lin Xi: "Indeed. But Xu Ruigan is like an infected person who hasn't mutated yet during the incubation period."
The bulging veins on his neck, the bloodshot eyes, and his incoherent speech all suggested that he was about to break through the infection threshold.
But he's been in this state for a long time; he's been like this ever since Lin Xi first met him on September 30th.
Lu Wei: "When Dr. Xu Ruigan was killed in my previous life, the video footage showed that he had already undergone a mutation."
Lin Xi: "Based on the timing of Li xx's mutation, it is very likely that Li xx was the first to mutate into a zombie in his previous life. Xu Ruigan was treating him at the time and was attacked and infected, which accelerated his zombie mutation. Li xx's mother in his previous life may have been infected for the same reason, but she was killed before she mutated."
In this life, Lin Xi interrupted their treatment process and separated the three of them in advance.
Lin Xi looked at Xu Ruigan, who was still able to organize his thoughts logically: "His symptoms are like those of an infected person."
Lu Wei had seen many infected people and could roughly observe this point. He nodded: "The incubation period is relatively long."
After being attacked by zombies, the incubation period varies depending on the concentration of the virus and individual physical differences. It can be as short as less than 1 minute before mutation occurs, or as long as more than 6 hours.
Several people were packed up and loaded into the car. Seeing that Song Heng was about to get on the car as well, Lin Xi had to follow.
Before leaving, she reminded Lu Wei: "We will check Xu Ruigan's body for any wounds. If there are no wounds, his slow mutation process is very likely due to ingesting the virus."
Just like those people in Yunxiang who drank untreated water, the virus slowly invaded their bodies, causing symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and hematemesis. The virus slowly infected the body, and when it reached a certain concentration, it directly transformed into a zombie.
It takes time for an orally ingested virus to enter the bloodstream, a process that is often quite lengthy, lasting several days.
Even when the viral load in the body is low and has not yet begun to infect the brain nerves, it can be cured by taking anti-inflammatory medication.
In one of his previous lives, Lin Xi fell ill after drinking untreated water, but he survived by taking medication in his early years.
Lin Xi sensed something was wrong with Xu Ruigan the moment she saw him. Xu Ruigan is a doctor, so his awareness of his body's condition is higher than that of ordinary people. He would take measures to treat himself in the early stages of poisoning, rather than waiting for the virus to invade and enter the bloodstream a few days later.
Unless... he ingested a high concentration of the virus directly.
However, these are all speculations.
Before leaving, Lin Xi reminded him, "If he really did ingest the virus, we still need to investigate the source of the poisoning."
Almost every time the source of the zombie outbreak is briefly contained, the virus continues to break out on a large scale. The source of the virus has never been disclosed to the public, and the possibility of poisoning cannot be ruled out.
Lu Wei nodded to indicate that he understood. However, tracing the source and the virus was not the responsibility of the military; the research institute needed to release the results, and the hospital needed to cooperate with the police investigation. He could only facilitate the process, not take the lead.
Lin Xi waved to a hidden camera near the door, knowing that Xiang Xin could see it.
"I'm going to the research institute. Xiang Xin... if there's another outbreak, please look after me."
Although she had companions, they all stood firmly in different directions and positions, and there were always times when she had to fight alone.
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After Li xx and Jiang xx were brought into the research institute, they were not declared dead, but treated as patients.
They were strapped to specially made hospital beds, their faces contorted and grotesque.
Song Heng and several capable assistants changed into protective suits, including Lin Xi.
Since the research institute does not have nurses or caregivers, the most basic checks of vital signs must be done by the staff themselves.
Of course, Lin Xi knew it was all in vain, but she did it earnestly nonetheless.
This is the first step in researching zombies.
The moment the detector lit up, all the white-clad figures except Lin Xi showed surprise in their eyes:
There was no breathing, and the heart rate was almost flat.
My diastolic blood pressure is currently 39, and it is continuing to decrease.
The body temperature is currently 40 degrees Celsius.
The heartbeat and breathing indicate very weak vital signs; life is slipping away and emergency care is needed.
When ordinary people experience this symptom, they are usually already unconscious. However, Li xx and Jiang xx were tied to the bed, struggling vigorously with ferocious expressions and their tongues sticking out uncontrollably.
Lin Xi silently connected the instruments to Xu Ruigan, who was strapped to the stool.
Xu Ruigan's eyes turned even redder, and the veins in his neck bulged even more. He glared at Lin Xi: "What are you doing?! Let me go! I'm not sick!!"
Xu Ruigan's instruments showed:
Heart rate reached 150, body temperature was 42 degrees Celsius, and diastolic blood pressure soared to 90.
Something's definitely not right!
Lin Xi's judgment was correct; Xu Ruigan was infected. His immune system was currently engaged in a fierce battle with the virus, causing his body temperature to spike. It seemed he was nearing the threshold for mutation.
"Professor Song, what should we do now?" someone asked hesitantly, recovering from their shock.
Lin Xi had already quietly gone to get the needle to draw blood. Although these are nurses' responsibilities in clinical practice, blood sampling is often required in scientific research, and Lin Xi is familiar with this task.
When they were drawing blood from Xu Ruigan, he was already unable to speak. His tongue was twitching, his eyes were rolling back, and his body was trembling violently. One of the trainees even tried to stop Lin Xi's actions.
But everyone knows that the act of drawing blood alone wouldn't cause such a painful reaction.
As everyone was surprised, Lin Xi took a step back after collecting the sample, just in time to avoid Xu Ruigan's attempt to bite her.
She silently filled the test tubes and took a needle to draw blood from Li xx and Jiang xx.
It was difficult to draw blood from the two zombies. Lin Xi used a lot of force, and some turbid matter mixed with liquid blood was drawn into the syringe.
While filling the test tube, Lin Xi explained, "The blood is clotting, so the blood pressure and heartbeat will disappear later."
No one had ever seen anything like this before. Song Heng simply summarized, "This is an unknown virus that is even more terrifying than Ebola."
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