15: Chapter 15: Revealing the News

“According to the surveillance data, the urban area has been completely locked down. All urban entrances and exits, including highway ramps, have been sealed off. As of today, a total of 36 virus-infected individuals who have turned into corpses have been killed. A total of 234 suspected infected individuals have been isolated for observation,” Xiao Lin reported.

“Hmm! Any news from the media today?” Oriental Chen continued to ask.

“This morning, multiple departments in Binjiang City formed a Virus Prevention and Control Team and held a press conference. At the conference, the Citizens were reminded to strictly adhere to the temporary control policy prohibiting going outside. The Binjiang City Disease Control Center has collected 20 batches of virus samples so far, and several pharmaceutical companies have jointly established a research and development center to study the samples.”

“There’s also something else. An empty lot on Shuguang Road in the West City Development Zone of Binjiang City started to gather a large number of construction teams and mechanical equipment this morning. Based on the content of the press conference, it should be for the construction of a new Shuguang Hospital.”

“Is there any way to accurately count the current number of infected people?” Oriental Chen frowned deeply.

“I apologize, Commander. Without the necessary data, it’s impossible to count,” Xiao Lin replied.

“Then is there any way to disclose some key information to relevant units without revealing our situation?” Oriental Chen asked.

“Yes. Commander, is there a scope limit for the information to be disclosed? I can send information to relevant functional departments anonymously and through virtual IP addresses,” Xiao Lin asked.

“Two conditions: First, we cannot reveal our specific identity, including any personal or company information. Second, all intelligence on the virus, while satisfying condition one, should be shared as completely as possible,” Oriental Chen thought for a moment and replied.

“But, Commander, if we do that, once the news spreads, it might cause panic,” Xiao Lin reminded him.

“There’s no other way. Only by living is there meaning!” Oriental Chen answered decisively.

“Understood, Commander,” Xiao Lin replied.

“Sigh! I hope that once the news is sent out, more people can survive!” Oriental Chen thought to himself.

...

Virus Prevention and Control Command HQ.

“Is the news reliable?” Mayor Gong asked eagerly after reading the material.

“Uncertain, the message was sent anonymously. We haven’t found out who sent it,” Secretary Liu replied.

“Is there any discrepancy between this and the information we currently have?” Mayor Gong continued to ask.

“From what we currently know, there’s basically no discrepancy,” Secretary Liu replied.

“Then it seems truly serious! Neurotropic virus… corpse transformation… zombies… bloodborne transmission… Who sent this? Why is it so detailed?” Mayor Gong muttered, his brow furrowed.

Then he turned his head and said:

“Secretary Liu. Share the news. And emphasize that the information has not been verified and is for reference only.”

“Mayor Gong, perhaps it’s no longer necessary,” Secretary Liu replied.

“Hmm? No longer necessary? What’s no longer necessary?” Mayor Gong looked at him, asking in confusion.

“Everyone knows now; it’s already spread all over the internet,” Secretary Liu replied awkwardly.

“Outrageous! Who exactly is it? Investigate, keep investigating for me, we must find the person behind this!” Mayor Gong’s lungs were about to explode with rage upon hearing this. His eyes, which hadn’t rested all night, had turned bloodshot from extreme anger.

“Alright!” Secretary Liu nodded vigorously in response and turned to leave.

“Wait! Never mind, let’s not investigate for now. The most important task at hand is still to extinguish the virus as quickly as possible,” Mayor Gong raised his hand and stopped Secretary Liu.

Immediately after, to soothe the panic among the Citizens, the Virus Prevention and Control Team urgently held an online press conference.

They advised the Citizens to stay at home, close their doors and windows, and repeatedly disinfect their homes.

For a time, all disinfecting agents like mosquito coils, mosquito repellent, insecticides, and sprays were taken off the shelves online, and even window screens couldn’t be bought (even if bought, they couldn’t be delivered)...

Under the arrangement of the Virus Prevention and Control Team, all water spray trucks and fire trucks in the city, except for essential emergency vehicles, were dispatched to carry out full-coverage, repeated disinfection within the urban area.

Under strict control measures, the spread of the virus quickly slowed down.

The next day...

The third day...

For two consecutive days, only 8 cases of corpse transformation occurred within the urban area.

However, due to the long incubation period of the virus and the inability to completely eliminate virus-carrying mosquitoes, it was almost impossible to thoroughly extinguish the virus transmission chain. Xiao Lin had estimated that a new round of mutation peaks would arrive within a week at most.

...

Huaguo Emergency Management Department for Sudden Incidents.

“Did the news that’s been rampant online these past two days leak from our end?” the Director asked.

“No,” the Secretary replied.

“Then have you found the source of the news?” the Director continued to ask.

“The other party’s methods are very clever; the Security Department couldn’t track them,” the Secretary replied.

“Who could it be? They have more comprehensive information than us!” the Director muttered to himself.

The Secretary did not answer.

...

Binjiang City Underground Base.

“Oh no! Oh no!” someone shouted.

Followed by a commotion.

“What’s going on?” Oriental Chen heard the sound and quickly ran over to ask.

“I just saw a particularly large spider, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye!” a woman said loudly while gesturing with her hand.

Oriental Chen had placed televisions in the public areas of the base’s living quarters. So everyone now basically understood the situation outside and the characteristics of the virus. That’s why the woman reacted so strongly when she saw an insect.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, are you wearing your watch?” Oriental Chen comforted her, asking.

“Yes, I am, I am,” the woman replied hurriedly.

“Good, it’s good that you’re wearing it. Brother Zhang, let’s go take a look,” Oriental Chen said to Brother Zhang after comforting her.

“Okay!” Brother Zhang readily agreed.

Several people spontaneously followed Oriental Chen step by step in the direction the woman pointed, but found nothing unusual even after reaching the end. Then, they turned around and searched separately, but still found nothing.

Oriental Chen suddenly thought of something and turned to walk towards the office on the second underground floor.

Indeed, in the center of Oriental Chen’s office, stood a metallic, spider-like small robot. It was only about 3 centimeters in size, very close to the color of the floor, and hard to spot without careful observation.

Oriental Chen walked over, squatted down, and observed it carefully. The robot showed no reaction.

“Commander, the Bee Queen robot has successfully arrived at the base,” Xiao Lin reported from the screen.

Oriental Chen stood up and replied:

“Hmm, I see it. What do we do next?”

“Commander, the Bee Queen’s operating program has been packaged. May I ask if you would like to push it?” Xiao Lin asked.

“Push it!” Oriental Chen gave the command.

“Okay!” Xiao Lin replied.

At the same time, the push progress was displayed synchronously in the bottom right corner of the large screen.

The first-generation Bee Queen, having integrated a satellite communication chip, allowed the Space Station to connect directly with the Bee Queen.

“Since the Bee Queen has arrived, can we proceed to the next step?” Oriental Chen asked.

“Yes, Commander. However, due to the poor craftsmanship of the first-generation Bee Queen, the speed of manufacturing mechanical bee ants will be much slower,” Xiao Lin explained.

“How slow?” Oriental Chen asked.

“It can manufacture 2 miniature mechanical bee ants per hour,” Xiao Lin replied.

“That’s not bad; for now, this is all we can do. Does the Bee Queen need additional energy or raw materials?” Oriental Chen asked.

“No, Commander. After the program is pushed, the Bee Queen will autonomously seek out energy and materials for manufacturing. However, until the Supercomputing Center is built, only the most basic control tasks can be sent via the Space Station; complex commands cannot be completed,” Xiao Lin explained.

“No problem, just let it run wild. It won’t be much help in the short term, so just focus on manufacturing bee ants,” Oriental Chen said.

“Okay, Commander,” Xiao Lin replied.

Just as Oriental Chen was about to turn and leave, the Bee Queen moved, indicating that the program push was complete. It spun around twice in place and then ran towards the door.

Seeing this, Oriental Chen said:

“Uh… Oh, right, Xiao Lin, give the Bee Queen a command to stay away from people!”

“Okay, Commander,” Xiao Lin replied.

“Oh, right, also, can you check where Niu Xingwang is right now?” Oriental Chen suddenly remembered he hadn’t heard from Niu Xingwang these past few days and asked curiously.

“Please wait a moment…” Xiao Lin replied.

“Reporting, Commander, Niu Xingwang’s information has not been found yet,” Xiao Lin quickly provided the result.

“I…” Oriental Chen felt like cursing.

But then he thought that his phone must have been confiscated, and it was normal not to find him without a phone.

Returning to the living area on the first floor, everyone was waiting for Oriental Chen.

“Everyone, there’s no need to panic. I’ve already killed the spider; it’s fine now,” Oriental Chen lied.

“Good, good, good! It’s good that it’s dead,” Brother Zhang laughed heartily.

“Everyone also doesn’t need to worry too much. As long as you don’t take off your watches, you basically won’t be bitten by insects,” Oriental Chen comforted everyone.

Two more days passed, and the training area, office area, medical area, and isolation area on the second underground floor, and the material area on the third underground floor, were basically tidied up. Except for the elderly and children, everyone was basically busy, making simple divisions of labor according to their respective strengths and abilities.