106: Chapter 106: The Disinfectant's Amazing Effect

Fu Dong's face was still pale, but his spirits were better than before. His left arm's wound had been rinsed and bandaged with Amplified Disinfectant; the dark green signs of infection had receded, though the skin around the wound was still slightly blackened.

"That disinfectant of yours... it isn't something ordinary, is it?" Fu Dong turned his head to look at Chen Fan. "When you were rinsing it, I could feel something being 'burned away' inside the wound. It wasn't pain, but... a very strange burning sensation."

Chen Fan looked straight ahead and didn't answer directly: "It's good that it works."

Fu Dong looked at the water-droplet-shaped Xiao Zhi floating between them: "This Xiao Zhi... did you really develop it? Has civilian technology reached this level?"

"Artificial Intelligence and robotics from Fanxing Technology are part of my current business," Chen Fan said nonchalantly. "Xiao Zhi is a prototype, and its functions are not yet complete."

"Incomplete?" Fu Dong smiled. "You call the combat power that took out eight infected wolves in a few seconds incomplete?"

He paused, his voice lowering: "Chen Fan, tell me the truth, who are you exactly? Young and promising, starting from scratch... yet having this kind of skill and this kind of... equipment."

Chen Fan remained silent for a few seconds.

Outside the car window, the scenery of the Gobi Desert receded monotonously—yellowish sand and stones, withered camelthorn, and the undulating Yardang landforms in the distance like waves. The sky was a piercing azure, without a single cloud.

"Engineer Fu," Chen Fan finally spoke. "Do you believe in Awakening? Like, one day I suddenly had an epiphany and became smarter."

Fu Dong was stunned, then he thought of those infected wolves, Chen Fan's performance just now, and that miraculous bottle of disinfectant.

"After what happened today, I believe you regardless," he said slowly.

Chen Fan smiled and said nothing, beginning to change the subject.

"What was your expedition team's original mission in the Gobi Desert?"

"Routine geological exploration and meteorite sample collection," Fu Dong said. "The National Institute of Materials Research has a long-term project studying new materials that might be contained within special meteorites."

The convoy continued forward. More than an hour later, the outline of a cluster of buildings appeared on the horizon.

It wasn't a town, but a simple base enclosed by wire mesh and concrete walls. Watchtowers stood on the walls with armed sentries atop them. Roadblocks and checkpoints were set up at the gate, where several soldiers in desert camouflage were on duty.

"A Military Outpost Medical Station," Fu Dong explained. "This area hasn't been peaceful lately. The military set up several points for monitoring and to provide emergency medical support."

As the convoy approached the checkpoint, a soldier held up a stop sign.

Chen Fan rolled down the window. A young sergeant walked over, and just as he was about to speak, his gaze swept over Fu Dong in the passenger seat, then saw the obvious battle marks and wounded on the vehicles behind. His expression immediately turned serious.

"What happened?"

"Northwest Expedition Team of the National Institute of Materials Research. We were attacked by unknown creatures," Fu Dong said as he took out his ID. "Two dead and one injured; we need emergency medical assistance."

The sergeant took the ID and checked it carefully: "Everyone get out for inspection. Wounded are the priority for medical treatment."

The base wasn't large. In the center was a two-story concrete building, with several rows of temporary prefabricated houses and tents beside it. As the convoy drove in, medical staff were already running over pushing stretchers.

The wounded were quickly carried into the medical building.

"Your wound has been treated, but it's best to let a military doctor look at it too," Chen Fan said. "I'll wait for you here."

Fu Dong nodded and followed a nurse to have his wound treated.

The base covered an area about the size of two football fields, with walls four meters high topped with barbed wire. There were watchtowers at all four corners equipped with heavy machine guns. Several armored personnel carriers and military trucks were parked in the yard, and the silhouette of a helicopter was vaguely visible in a hangar.

It was heavily guarded.

A man in a white coat, about fifty years old, walked out of the medical building and headed straight for the mengshi off-road vehicle.

"Mr. Chen?" The man stood outside the car window, a professional smile on his face. "I am the head of this medical station, Zhao Mingyuan, a Major Medical Officer. Researcher Fu Dong has already explained the situation to us. We are very grateful for your assistance."

Chen Fan pushed the door open and got out to shake hands with Zhao Mingyuan. The other man's palm was dry and powerful, with calluses on the thumb web, unlike an ordinary doctor.

"It was nothing," Chen Fan said. "How are the wounded?"

"The three seriously injured have gone into surgery and are stable. The others with minor injuries are having their wounds treated." Zhao Mingyuan's gaze swept over Chen Fan's car, then glanced at Xiao Zhi hovering near Chen Fan's shoulder.

"Since Mr. Chen is here, why not come inside and sit for a while? The midday sun in the Gobi Desert is brutal, and it's too hot outside. Besides... regarding those 'wolves' you encountered, perhaps we can exchange some information," Zhao Mingyuan said.

Chen Fan looked at Zhao Mingyuan: "Does Doctor Zhao know what those were?"

Zhao Mingyuan's smile faded slightly: "Some abnormal creatures have appeared in this Gobi Desert recently. The military has received multiple reports. What Mr. Chen encountered should be one of them."

He made a gesture of invitation: "Shall we talk inside?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright."

He followed Zhao Mingyuan into the medical building. The first floor consisted of consultation and treatment rooms, where several injured expedition members were being bandaged. On the second floor, at the end of the corridor, was an office with a sign that read 'Station Chief's Office.'

The office was simple: a desk, two filing cabinets, and maps of the Gobi Desert area along with several medical charts hanging on the walls. Zhao Mingyuan invited Chen Fan to sit on the sofa and poured a glass of water for him.

"Mr. Chen, I won't beat around the bush." Zhao Mingyuan sat opposite him, his expression turning serious. "The creatures you eliminated today were originally wild animals of the Gobi Desert—wolves, foxes, even camels—but they were infected by some kind of... pathogen we don't yet fully understand, causing irreversible mutations."

As he spoke, he handed Chen Fan a file. The report was in a military internal format, marked as 'Classified.' It detailed the autopsy of an aberrant fox: abnormal cellular structure, DNA sequences with numerous meaningless insertions, and exogenous protein structures detected in the nervous system... The most critical line read: 'Infection source determined: Synthetic biochemical enzyme complex, components highly consistent with the experimental records of the Long Corporation's Northwest Lab "Biological Enhancement Project."'

"Long Corporation." Chen Fan put down the file.

"The disinfectant you used on Engineer Fu and the others today is very effective at inhibiting mutated bacteria. Could you provide some to our hospital?" Zhao Mingyuan looked at the wounds of the infected team members; the infections were all suppressed, working better than any medicine currently in their hospital, so he couldn't help but ask Chen Fan.

"That’s no problem, I can provide it," Chen Fan agreed decisively. "Send someone to the 'Desert Solitary Smoke' homestay tomorrow to pick it up."

"Great, thank you so much, Mr. Chen. You've been a huge help." Zhao Mingyuan was very happy. Ever since the omega virus began to spread, the problem of virus suppression had been a constant source of trouble for him.

Chen Fan left the office and ran into Fu Dong, who had finished being bandaged, as he was going downstairs.

"How was it?" Fu Dong asked. "What did Doctor Zhao want with you?"

"He asked me to provide them with some disinfectant," Chen Fan said. "I have to go now. You all should recover well."

Fu Dong hesitated to speak, but finally just patted Chen Fan's shoulder: "Be careful. Those things... aren't simple."

"I know."

After a simple lunch at noon, Chen Fan drove off and set out once again on the path to find meteorites.