Chapter 149 The Poisoner's Target
When a person falls into a crisis of trust collapse, everyone around them becomes an object of suspicion.
Outside the laboratory, the military diligently cleared the bodies from the building and safeguarded the laboratory's security.
Inside the laboratory, under Song Heng's command, the group carried the feverish Patient No. 4 into the imaging examination room, where for the first time, humans witnessed the rapid deterioration of the brain under the instruments.
Of the five infected individuals, four had already mutated within just one morning.
The girl who consumed a small amount of milk tested weakly positive for the virus, but perhaps because of the low viral load and timely medication, her imaging scan showed no signs of brain infection, and she may be out of danger.
Song Heng excitedly inquired about the medication used earlier, but it turned out to be just some common antibiotics. These could only help fight off small amounts of the virus, but once the viral concentration was too high, like the No. 4 infected person from earlier, no matter how many antibiotics were administered, the virus would still mutate.
In the lab, some were engrossed in intense research, some were mourning their colleague who had just died, and others were anxiously making phone calls to their families.
Lu Wei's men arrived 40 minutes later, and Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief at the arrival of his ally.
According to Lu Wei, a large-scale zombie outbreak has also occurred outside. Since it is the weekend and there are many people strolling on the streets, if an individual mutates, the unprepared citizens around will find it difficult to react and escape in time.
This situation is similar to the initial zombie outbreak in South China, where a large-scale infection occurred in a short period of time due to the dense population.
The mutation of researchers occurred only when research institutes were precisely poisoned, while poisoning the public is much more difficult and costly.
However, not everyone needs to get infected in public places, such as enclosed subways and shopping malls. If just one or two people mutate, everyone around them will be infected in a short period of time.
The military and police stationed in Nanhua are doing everything they can to rescue people.
Lin Xi did not show disappointment or discouragement, but she knew that it was probably beyond saving.
The poisoning was deliberate and premeditated, intended to catch the victim off guard and prevent any rescue efforts.
"Have other provinces... also experienced outbreaks?" Lin Xi opened the social media platforms on his phone. Sure enough, the major platforms were unable to block these messages in time. In addition to Nanhua, other IPs uploaded zombie-related pictures and videos.
Some research institutes pleaded again: "The situation outside is already like this, can we go home and take care of our families first?"
Lin Xi: "It's already like this outside, it's very difficult for you to get home safely by yourself. Let your family members stay home in quarantine first, and all staff members here need to cooperate with the screening."
Seeing that Lin Xi was familiar with the military officers, and considering Lin Xi's previous performance in martial arts, Song Heng couldn't help but ask, "Little Lin, are you a spy?"
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A large number of armed forces were deployed to the city to assist residents in taking refuge. Lu Wei was left behind to clear the site and protect the safety of the remaining researchers. No one was allowed to leave without permission.
In the messy canteen, Lin Xi found the source of the virus: a batch of undistributed fresh milk was still left at the food serving window.
Lin Xi sent them for testing, and sure enough, the virus was detected. It was also from the milk that Song Heng obtained a virus sample that had not combined with the human body.
All staff members of the research institute, including cleaners, security personnel, and canteen staff, had the same breakfast, making it a high-risk area for infection. Almost all of those who ate breakfast, except for a small number who were allergic to dairy products or did not like to drink milk, were infected.
The garrison outside had a separate food supply chain and were not infected; they only suffered some casualties while clearing the zombies and rescuing the building.
Lu Wei brought military technicians with him. The research institute's own gatekeepers and security personnel had turned into zombies, but cracking the code was not difficult for the military technicians.
Everyone in the surveillance footage underwent identity verification and security checks; no suspicious individuals entered.
Lin Xi shook his head: "It can't be any other suspicious person. I think the person who poisoned the virus must be someone who works in biological pathogen research. They must know this virus very well, and it's very likely someone from the research institute."
The zombie virus is currently unknown to humankind, and the perpetrator is very likely a highly skilled scientist.
Lu Wei looked at the people coming and going in the videotape: "But there are quite a few researchers who left normally after get off work and those who were just turned into zombies and cleared away. It's difficult to check their identities one by one now."
Overnight, only the group of people in the laboratory remained in the building. There were also some survivors hiding in the enclosed space upstairs, but simple questioning and investigation revealed nothing.
Unlike typical institutions, the Nanhua Institute of Biological Research has a high-standard canteen. The canteen is not outsourced but is managed and operated by the institute itself.
However, the staff inside were all hired from outside, and now they have all turned into zombies and been cleared out, so there is no way to find out anything.
Chilled fresh milk is also delivered from outside. From production to packaging to distribution, it is kept at low temperatures, which is conducive to the survival of viruses. Many people are involved in these processes, and problems can occur at any link.
Lin Xi: "With the situation so chaotic outside, many people involved have died, and we can't trace the source anymore."
Lu Wei's expression was solemn, clearly indicating that he had also realized this.
"I originally thought there would be another month before a large-scale outbreak, and before that..."
He shook his head.
A vaccine won't be made anytime soon; at least neither of them, the two reborn individuals, had ever heard of a vaccine being developed before, which was precisely the direction Lin Xi was working towards.
Lin Xi: "Because 'they' want to obstruct our tracing of the source. I suddenly realized something."
Lu didn't look at her, waiting for what would happen next.
Lin Xi: "The time you and Liang Hui died early at Hongwen Hospital delayed the large-scale outbreak of zombies and bought some living space for Nanhua. About a month later, the zombies were cleared out. The relevant departments sent people to take virus samples and investigate, and shortly after that, the virus broke out on a large scale."
"In this life, we made preparations in advance and captured the zombie pathogen as soon as possible. I just heard yesterday that the virus investigation at Hongwen Hospital was about to have results, but today there was a large-scale outbreak."
Lu Wei seemed to be deep in thought: "In your previous life, you killed an infected person at Hongwen Hospital and were embroiled in a lawsuit. Forensic doctors are not responsible for identifying the virus and only look at fatal wounds. It wasn't until I contacted scientists to test the virus that people began to study the zombie virus. At that time, the zombies broke out on a large scale again."
Lin Xi nodded: "Once we start researching the virus, 'they' will launch a large-scale poisoning attack to disrupt our operations, causing a massive zombie outbreak, paralyzing the city, disrupting the virus tracing process, and even directly killing the researchers, so that the truth cannot be found. That is their goal."
Perhaps the poisoner initially intended to target Hongwen Hospital, a densely populated public place, but unexpectedly had his plan thwarted. In order to ensure that his plan was not disrupted, he carried out multiple poisonings a second time.
It doesn't even need many teammates. As long as the virus is put into food and water, it can survive for a period of time without being disinfected by high temperature.
Lin Xi: "It's difficult, but let's try to find out the source of the milk. Just in case... I mean, just in case..."
Lu Wei nodded.
Lin Xi didn't continue.
If they still have a chance to be reborn, they can start by catching the poisoner.
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