CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 24: MUTANT VIRUS

Xia Xue also noticed the content in the news broadcast at this moment. Although she rarely watches the news broadcast, her dad never misses it daily, often telling her about the hidden messages in the news. Normally, this kind of news wouldn’t catch Xia Xue’s attention. Even if she heard it, it would just pass by.

However, when she looked at Xiao Lin, who was previously half-lying on another sofa, he had sat up. The relaxed expression on his face was gone, replaced by a serious one, as if focusing on something.

"What did you see?" Xia Xue asked with a smile. To insiders, there’s a knack to understanding the news broadcast content; to outsiders, it’s just entertainment. The first ten minutes are about how busy the national leaders are, the next ten minutes about how much better the domestic people’s lives are getting, and the last ten minutes are about how people abroad live in misery. Xia Xue’s dad insisted on watching the news broadcast every day, and since childhood, Xia Xue has understood that it can reveal a lot of information, offering many opportunities to the observant.

But Xiao Lin doesn’t seem like someone from a wealthy family. His clothing taste isn’t impressive, and he drives a cheap QQ car, so what can he possibly notice?

"Hmm!" Xiao Lin nodded honestly.

"You really understand?" Xia Xue asked in surprise. The content isn’t just the fact that Jingliang Province has an outbreak of a virus that was cured a few years ago.

"I’m not an idiot, how could I not understand? Jingliang Province recently discovered a mutated strain of the HTC4 virus, and a team of experts and professors has been sent there to investigate the outbreak!" Xiao Lin said somewhat annoyed.

Xia Xue laughed, initially believing Xiao Lin truly understood the implications in the news. It turned out he just grasped the literal meaning. She chuckled, "It’s more than that. Based on my estimation, the situation in Jingliang Province isn’t optimistic, which is why it made the news broadcast. Besides urging disease control departments to activate emergency mechanisms, Jingliang Province has also sent out distress signals to other provinces and cities. The batch of experts might not be able to handle this mutated virus!"

Xiao Lin was quite surprised by Xia Xue’s explanation and looked at her with a bit of doubt, "Is it necessary to react like this?"

"Perhaps it’s even worse than I described. We’ll see. By tomorrow when we’re back at work, there will definitely be a notice in the department!" Xia Xue said confidently, "I hope the virus transmission this time can be controlled quickly like four years ago. This virus is quite fierce; I really hope it doesn’t spread to Yanjing!" The distance between Jingliang and Yanjing is two provinces. If it reaches Yanjing, it might trigger a nationwide outbreak.

"It shouldn’t spread that fast!" Xiao Lin hesitated in his response. He knew the most about this virus, but with the mutation, he wasn’t sure what it had become. He hoped it wouldn’t be too severe.

"Who knows, we just need to do our part!" Xia Xue shrugged.

After chatting for a while, they headed back to their rooms to focus on their own tasks. In his room, Xiao Lin checked his email, found nothing new, then looked online for information on the mutated HTC4 virus. He only found news about its discovery in Jingliang Province, with no other details available.

"Xia Xue is right, just focus on what’s in front of me!" Xiao Lin comforted himself. He then opened QQ and received private messages from three people: Lonely, Moon, and Pure Little Thug, who seemed to be in Yanjing according to their messages.

Xiao Lin knew a bit about Lonely and Moon. They were a couple who joined the guild last year around this time, both pretty skilled. They had won top positions in an online competition along with Xiao Lin and two others who got married and became less active after May. Lately, Xiao Lin was preoccupied with his own matters and didn’t keep up much with the married couple.

Opening the group chat casually, Xiao Lin found nothing interesting, mostly messages about forming teams. He skimmed them and closed the chat, replying individually to Lonely, Moon, and Pure Little Thug.

Just as Xiao Lin was planning to log off, Pure Little Thug’s icon lit up, sending a message: "Military Doctor, I’m eating with Lonely and Moon. Want to join us?"

"..." Xiao Lin was speechless. Then Moon sent a message: "Military Doctor, we’re with Pure Little Thug now. Want to meet up?"

If it weren’t for the virus news, Xiao Lin, who was free, might have gone out. But now, he wasn’t in the mood and replied, "Next time. I’m busy now, have fun!"

"Alright, take care then!" Moon replied.

Pure Little Thug’s response was a bit more direct, "Are you looking down on me or just don’t want to meet?"

Xiao Lin ignored Pure Little Thug, closed QQ, and accessed a highly confidential website. It contained extensive information on the HTC4 virus. Despite claiming it wasn’t his responsibility, he couldn’t help but worry and wanted to see what insights could be drawn from the existing data on its mutation and characteristics.

At around eleven o’clock, while Xiao Lin was still studying the HTC4 virus data, there was a knock at his door followed by Xia Xue’s voice: "Little man, I made some late-night snacks. Want some?"

In the past few hours, Xiao Lin had reviewed numerous pandemics, both big and small, with no clue about the mutated HTC4 virus. Hearing Xia Xue, he replied, "Okay!" and then headed towards the door.

Xia Xue had made a small pot of hairtail porridge, as delicious as always. Xiao Lin set aside his worries about the HTC4 virus for the moment. After eating the late-night snack with Xia Xue, she abruptly remembered something and told Xiao Lin, "By the way, when we go to work tomorrow, pretend like you don’t know me!"

"Why?" Xiao Lin asked, puzzled, as he sipped the porridge.

Xia Xue frowned, "Why ask why? Just remember, don’t say you know me. It’s for your own good!" Suddenly, Xia Xue’s mood also turned sour. She took a few quick sips of porridge and went back to her room.

"Hmm!" Xiao Lin could only nod helplessly.