After returning upstairs, they fetched a large amount of ice and spread it across the hospital bed. Then they had Darkseeker lie down on it, using this method to lower its temperature.
They also retrieved a spare vaccine and injected it into the sedative hanging beside the bed. The sedative was fed little by little into Darkseeker's body through the IV drip.
After waiting two minutes and seeing no major changes in Darkseeker, Robert turned and suggested, "This stuff seems like it needs some time. I think we can go back upstairs and do something else!"
"Sure."
After Li Wei agreed, the two returned upstairs and did nothing in particular. Robert merely poured Li Wei a glass of water. Sitting in the living room, his gaze unfocused, he began talking about his experiences after the outbreak and pouring out the loneliness of the past three years.
Robert talked about many things: the corn he had planted in the park, and how he had placed numerous mannequins in a video store and given each of them a name.
Li Wei and Sam, the dog lying nearby, listened to Robert, occasionally chiming in with a word or two.
When Robert's throat had gone dry from talking and he paused to drink some water, Li Wei asked a question. "What are you planning to do if the vaccine research succeeds?"
Hearing that question, Robert nearly choked on his water. He set down the cup, wiped his mouth, and his gaze seemed to drift. "Something like that is too far away. There's no need to think about it for now."
He had spent three years researching the vaccine and conducted eighty-six human trials, all of which had ended in failure. Deep down, he had already lost hope in the vaccine research. He kept repeating