Methods of Fighting the Virus

At the sound of her voice, even though Wu Ming had been expecting it, he still instinctively shrank his neck.

It could not be helped. His mother was a textbook "Sichuan-Chongqing tyrannosaur," and after more than a decade of discipline, that reaction had been carved into his bones.

Fortunately, Qingzhu is a gentle girl. The thought flashed through Wu Ming's mind.

Coming back to his senses, he quickly put on a smile. "Mom, what's wrong? Why are you in such a bad mood today?"

He knew perfectly well what he was asking.

His mother, Shen Xinglan, had originally worked at a public hospital as an attending physician in the immunology department.

Two years ago, the R Virus swept across the world. The United Nations convened an emergency meeting and decided to establish the World Epidemic Prevention Department to deal with the outbreak.

At the time, Shushi also set up its Epidemic Prevention Division and transferred numerous medical experts from various hospitals, Shen Xinglan among them.

Over the next two years, the Epidemic Prevention Division successfully brought Shushi's outbreak under control. Thanks to her enormous contributions, his mother was directly promoted to division chief, taking charge of the city's entire Epidemic Prevention Division.

Now that the RR Virus had broken out, although it had not yet spread into the country, Wu Ming believed the Epidemic Prevention Division had to possess more information.

After all, during the epidemic, this department could communicate directly with the World Epidemic Prevention Department. Obtaining frontline epidemic data was absurdly easy.

That was why Wu Ming had deliberately misled Ruan Qingzhu. He knew this childhood friend of his would definitely inform her parents truthfully, who would then have Uncle Ruan and the others verify it with his mother.

He had been waiting for the call because he knew Shen Xinglan would certainly question him once she heard the news.

Sure enough, Shen Xinglan said irritably, "What else could it be? You haven't forgotten what you just said, have you? Ruan Zaixing has already called me!"

Her tone suddenly turned serious. "A-Ming, tell me honestly. Where did you hear those things you told Qingzhu?"

Wu Ming did not explain. Instead, he said, "Mom, since you're asking that, does it mean it's all true?"

"..." There was silence on the other end for several seconds before she finally said, "This matter is very complicated. You'd better not ask too much, and don't spread the news around."

"As for school, there's no need to suspend your studies. But I'll allow you to take an extended leave. Go back to school after this turmoil is over."

"What you need to do now is study hard and prepare for the college entrance examination half a year from now."

"The college entrance examination?"

"Will there even be a college entrance examination half a year from now?" Wu Ming's tone remained calm. "Mom, this outbreak is serious. I'm guessing the RR Virus mortality rate is more than ten percent, at least twenty percent or even higher."

"That means more than a billion people around the world will die. Our country alone may lose several hundred million residents. With something this huge happening, how could they organize college entrance examinations half a year from now? All schools will probably be shut down!"

Shen Xinglan's voice caught, and she said helplessly, "I don't care where you heard this, but this matter has an enormous impact. You'd better keep it all to yourself."

"Mom, don't worry. I'm already an adult. I know what I should do."

Wu Ming said blandly, "I didn't hear it from anywhere. News about the RR Virus has already made the headlines."

"As for the mortality rate... the footage only flashed by for a moment, but I paused it and counted. The number of corpses was clearly wrong. Even the hospital had run out of body bags. It definitely wasn't just the ten percent they announced."

"..." Shen Xinglan cursed inwardly. Those news outlets really dared to broadcast anything!

In truth, the domestic media could not be blamed for this, because foreign media had already published the news, and domestic outlets could only follow up.

As for why foreign countries dared to release such reports... naturally, it was because the true situation was even worse and could no longer be suppressed. If they did not report it, foreign citizens were ready to organize protests!

That was right. The true mortality rate of the RR Virus was naturally nowhere near ten percent. It had even exceeded Wu Ming's expectations, reaching a full forty percent, nearly half!

This was only the early stage of the outbreak, while the data given in the original novel had been compiled after the Grand Nirvana ended. Every country must have made efforts throughout the epidemic, which was how the mortality rate had been reduced to thirty percent.

That was why Shen Xinglan was so agitated. She feared Wu Ming would spread the news and trigger widespread panic.

"You only need to know these things yourself. Don't tell anyone else." That was all she could do to warn him. "Don't go out for the next few days. Stay home properly. I have things to do, so I'm hanging up."

Shen Xinglan did not dare continue the conversation. She feared the call might be monitored by certain departments and bring trouble upon her son.

Things were different now. She had just received word that the country was about to fully enter wartime management. Any factor threatening stability would be dealt with severely.

"Wait." Wu Ming hurriedly said, "Mom, I have something very important to say. It's about the RR Virus."

Shen Xinglan was about to refuse when an unfamiliar voice suddenly cut into the call. "Let him continue. In the current situation, any new idea could be worth a fortune."

"Don't worry. Your son can't hear my voice."

The inspection department! Shen Xinglan's heart tightened.

The voice continued, "Let him speak. I guarantee that even if he's wrong, nothing will happen, unless he spreads it everywhere."

"..." Shen Xinglan had no choice but to say, "A-Ming, what do you want to say?"

"I just have a guess, but I'm not sure yet." Wu Ming asked, "Mom, can you access the characteristics of infected patients' deaths? The World Epidemic Prevention Department should have shared data."

"This..." Shen Xinglan frowned. Of course she had that data, but it was all classified.

At that moment, the voice continued, "Tell him. If something goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."

"I'm Zhao Minghui from the Inspection Office, internal ID 9XXXX73. You can log into the Epidemic Prevention Division's internal network and verify it right now."

Shen Xinglan did not reply. She quickly opened the internal network and entered the ID number, and Zhao Minghui's information immediately appeared before her.

She then said directly, "Regarding the death characteristics of those infected with the RR Virus, the preliminary assessment by the Epidemic Prevention Department is as follows: dark red blotches covering the entire body, ulceration of multiple areas of subcutaneous tissue, and failure of every internal organ."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming thought, Just as expected, then asked, "Are there deeper autopsy results and a confirmed cause of death?"

"Not yet." Shen Xinglan shook her head. "That's all I know. If you've thought of something, say it. The Epidemic Prevention Division is swamped right now, so don't drag this out if it isn't important."

She still could not help herself and quietly hinted that her son should stop.

Yet Wu Ming seemed not to notice at all and said directly, "Mom, I have a guess."

"The death characteristics of these infected patients remind me of Acute Radiation Syndrome, also known as Radiation Sickness."

"The victims of past nuclear leaks died because their entire genomes collapsed. The red blotches, ulceration, and multiple organ failure seen in RR Virus patients are almost identical to Radiation Sickness."

"So I'm guessing they may not have died from an overactive immune response, but from the collapse of their entire genomes."

The other end of the phone went quiet for a moment.

Shen Xinglan instinctively refuted him. "Ridiculous. How can a virus and radiation be lumped together? They are fundamentally—"

She suddenly stopped, her brows knitting tighter and tighter.

Because she realized that Wu Ming's words matched every detail of the infected patients' symptoms. She tried to deny it, but could not find a single convincing reason.

But how was that possible?

What kind of virus could cause such a horrifying outcome, one previously seen only in radiation accidents?

Yet when she thought of the terrifying mortality rate of the RR Virus, that number alone had already overturned the entire understanding of modern medicine.

If Wu Ming's guess was true, it meant the whole world had been heading in the wrong direction from the very beginning.

The thought sent a chill down Shen Xinglan's spine.

She took a deep breath, her tone exceptionally grave. "I can't give you a conclusion on these guesses for now. They still need extensive clinical verification."

"But if your direction is correct... no, I have to report this immediately and have the Epidemic Prevention Department study the RR Virus again from the perspective of genomic collapse!"

As she spoke, she was about to hang up when Wu Ming hurriedly stopped her. "Wait, Mom, there's one more thing."

"If the essence of the RR Virus truly is a genetic problem, then how should it be prevented? Is boosting immunity useful?"

"Absolutely not!" Shen Xinglan's voice abruptly rose. "If these truly are genetic symptoms, then our previous response methods would be disastrously wrong."

"The immune system's role is to kill viruses. But if the virus fuses with cells, then the immune system's target becomes the cells themselves, accelerating genetic collapse and causing infected people to die faster!"

Wu Ming sucked in a cold breath.

It was fortunate he had asked one more question. Otherwise, according to his original plan, he had intended to use his golden finger to boost his body's immunity.

If he had truly done that, he would not only have failed to survive the disaster, but would have died even faster!

"Then what should I do?" Wu Ming asked cautiously. "Mom, I'm alone at home. I need to know some methods in case I really get infected, so I can save myself."

"Pah, pah! What nonsense are you talking about?"

Shen Xinglan hurriedly spat twice, then paused before saying, "There hasn't been much research into genetic diseases around the world. The only thing I can think of is starting with the body and fundamentally improving genetic stability."

"But that's difficult. It requires not only expensive medication, but also powerful medical equipment to maintain the body."

Wu Ming frowned slightly. Neither condition was something a student like him could easily achieve.

"Is there a simpler method? Even if it's less effective."

"Yes." Shen Xinglan said, "The simplest method is to increase cellular activity. That can also stabilize genes to a certain extent."

"And the medicine needed is very common. Just go to a pharmacy and buy some vitamin B4."

She explained, "The adenine in B4 is one of the raw materials for synthesizing DNA, and it can also participate in base repair. It helps maintain cellular activity."

"But the human body's absorption capacity is limited after all. Very little of the active ingredients in oral B4 can be used by cells. Increasing the dosage will not continue to improve its effects. Taking too much will only make your body excrete it."

"To put it bluntly, it's better than nothing. At most, it offers psychological comfort."

"Vitamin B4..." Wu Ming repeated softly.

He remembered it.

"Alright, hurry home. Don't go out these next few days." Shen Xinglan gave one final reminder. "I need to report this immediately."

"If the Epidemic Prevention Department can determine the virus's mechanism one day earlier, perhaps this chaos can end one day earlier, and the suffering in this world can be reduced a little."

With that, she hung up.

Only the busy tone remained in the receiver.

Wu Ming stood where he was and slipped his phone into his pocket. Instead of going straight home, he turned and walked toward a pharmacy by the roadside.

A moment later, he pushed open the door carrying a bag of medicine and headed straight back home.