Card Room

Chapter 196 – Doomsday Escape 02

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were on the fourth floor and could see the entire hall. At this time, the outpatient hall had become chaotic. The child with the bitten ear was crying while many nurses, security guards and patients were bitten by the crazy woman.

The crowd surrounded the mother and daughter and an agitated middle-aged woman yelled, “What’s the matter what you? Are you a bitch? Are you a mad dog?”

There was also a man who complained. “Fuck, my hand almost had a piece of flesh bitten off by her. What are her teeth made of? It is worse than a mad dog!”

The security captain opened with a calm face, “Everyone, don’t stand here and watch. Spread out!”

The nurses went to appease the crowd while the head nurse of the emergency department shouted, “Anyone who was bitten, please come to the treatment room for disinfection and bandaging immediately. Please cooperate!”

The hall might be a mess but the situation quickly stabilized under the actions of the security guards and head nurse. Several young and strong men escorted the other and daughter to the security room while all the bitten people were taken to the treatment room to have their wounds treated.

Such chaos sometimes occurred in the emergency department of the hospital. People who got drunk would come to the hospital in the middle of the night to see a doctor or bickering couples would come to the hospital and made a mess. These doctors and nurses were experienced. In the fact of a biting patient, they didn’t panic but first controlled the situation.

The onlookers soon dispersed but Xiao Lou saw this scene and couldn’t help feeling a bit of uneasiness.

Those who were bitten must’ve been infected.

He remembered the Zombie Town he had experienced in 2 of Spades. The virus carrier Liu Xiaoyuan attacked wildly and those attacked by him quickly became infected with the zombie virus. The virus spread overnight and the town soon became a human purgatory.

Xiao Lou remembered it very well. First of all, Liu Xiaoyuan was put in the morgue after dying and it was very different from the woman who suddenly went crazy. Secondly, the zombies of 2 of Spades had no consciousness and were slow to move. Xiao Lou used Remember Peach Blossom Spring to trick the zombies and could get an A-grade score.

The woman who just became sick was flexible and bit a dozen people in the outpatient hall in a few minutes. She wasn’t as clumsy as the zombies of 2 of Spades. Moreover, her daughter didn’t seem unconscious. She was smiling happily while eating a child’s ear.

Xiao Lou got the creeps when he thought of the little girl’s strange smile. What was going on? Were there conscious, rational zombies? Or was it not a zombie virus this time?

Xiao Lou didn’t have time to think as he quickly followed Yu Hanjiang to the escalator.

The two of them wanted to go downstairs and leave the hospital. As a result, the intern Xu Rongrong ran over in a hurry, panting as she said, “Professor Xiao, the director just called to have you go to a hospital meeting.”

Xiao Lou was surprised. “Meeting?”

Xu Rongrong explained, “It is an emergency meeting. The hospital leaders are all attending. You were told to go to the conference centre immediately.”

Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang, who frowned slightly and whispered, “Do you want to go?”

Xiao Lou thought carefully. “It might be an emergency meeting about this virus. I want to hear it. In addition, when I entered the secret room, I was told to follow instructions on the first day. If I don’t go, I might miss out on important clues and we might not be able to clear this instance perfectly.”

The hospital at this time was actually quite dangerous. There were already infected people and many more people would be infected in the future. If Xiao Lou went to the meeting, he might encounter an infected person on the way and be attacked.

Nevertheless, Xiao Lou’s thoughts were also correct. The emergency meeting must be related to the virus and some important clues can be obtained.

Naturally, Yu Hanjiang supported Xiao Lou’s decision. He nodded and without speaking, he pulled Xiao Lou into the next office.

Xu Rongrong looked at the handsome man in police uniform in a surprised manner and wondered, “Police Officer?”

Yu Hanjiang told her coldly, “I am investigating a case and have something to ask him.”

After entering the doctor’s office, Yu Hanjiang immediately locked the door and looked at Xiao Lou. “This secret room has no restrictions on the cards. First use Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings. If you are in trouble then I can feel it at any time.”

Xiao Lou nodded, summoned Qin Guan and used the skill to open the heart channel.

The moment Yu Hanjiang entered the secret room, he received a report from a student that he was being attacked by a classmate and had to go. By the time he and his colleague had come to the scene, the student who did the biting had fled while the bitten student had fallen to the ground with his arm covered and missing a piece of flesh.

There were two buildings behind the outpatient hall of the hospital. The administrative building on the right was eight stories high while the inspection building on the left was ten stories high.

Yu Hanjiang pushed open the office window and pointed to the eight storey building on the front right. “If I remember correctly, the top floor of the administrative building is the conference centre of the hospital. You are going there for the meeting later. Do you see the window?”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Yes.”

Yu Hanjiang whispered, “Once in the meeting, try to get as close to that window as possible. I will climb to the top of the inspection building to the left and set up a sniper rifle. The moment a mutated infected person attacks you, I will immediately cover your retreat.”

Xiao Lou raised his head to observe the hospital’s architectural terrain. The inspection building had a total of eight floors while the administrative building had eight floors. If Yu Hanjiang climbed up to the top of the 10 storey building and set up a sniper rifle, his view from high to low was wide. His shooting range would cover all the windows of the eighth floor. As long as Xiao Lou stayed by the window, any infected person who tried to attack him would be shot down by Yu Hanjiang instantly.

Xiao Lou felt relieved with Group Leader Yu to protect him.

Yu Hanjiang added. “If the situation is more dangerous than you think, jump out the window and I will immediately pull you to the top of the inspection building with the white silk. The distance of the two buildings is around 20 metres. The length of the white silk is enough to bring you over.”

Xiao Lou couldn’t help being shocked when he heard this. The administrative building had eight floors. If he jumped out from a window on the eighth floor, Yu Hanjiang would be pulling him with the white silk from another building. If Yu Hanjiang slipped, wouldn’t he fall and be turned into a meat pie?

Xiao Lou suggested, “Otherwise, should I use Remember Peach Blossom Spring for direct teleportation?”

“The Peach Blossom Spring only lasts for 30 minutes. Your meeting might not necessarily finish in 30 minutes.”

The two people were connected by the hearts and Yu Hanjiang noticed Xiao Lou’s worry. He pressed a hand to Xiao Lou’s shoulder and spoke softly, “Trust me, the white silk is long enough to directly pull you over.”’

Xiao Lou saw his deep eyes and no longer felt doubts. He simply nodded. “Okay, if there is an incident in the conference room and I can’t cope then I will directly jump out of the window.”

“Let’s go. Be vigilant.”

The two men came out of the office. Xu Rongrong had been waiting at the door and after seeing Xiao Lou, she said, “Professor Xiao, hurry open. The director called again and said that the meeting time is now 12:30. It is currently 12:20.”

Xiao Lou told her, “I know, I’ll head there straight away.”

He and Xu Rongrong headed down the stairs together while Yu Hanjiang followed Xiao Lou. Xu Rongrong was curious about it until the policeman followed them until a fork in the road, where he separated from them and headed to the inspection building. Xiao Lou explained with a smile, “The police officer is investigating a case.”

Xu Rongrong said, “Oh” without asking much. She continued to follow Xiao Lou to the administrative building.

The two of them got into the elevator and went upstairs. In the elevator, Xu Rongrong covered her mouth while coughing gently. Xiao Lou looked back at her and asked with concern, “How long have you had a cold? Have you taken medicine?”

Xu Rongrong smiled. “It’s been a week. I usually have good health and never take medicine for a cold. In any case, the natural course of a cold is one week. It will pass and regularly taking medicine will just destroy the body’s immunity.”

Xiao Lou thought about it. This intern called Xu Rongrong, she definitely wasn’t an insignificant passerby if she was arranged beside him. Perhaps she had some clues. Did her cold have anything to do with this infection?

Just then, there was the dinging of the elevator. It had reached the top floor.

Xiao Lou got out of the elevator and Xu Rongrong smiled at him. “Professor Xiao, it is a meeting for leaders so I won’t go in.”

She made a goodbye gesture to Xiao Lou, who politely said goodbye to her and headed into the room.

***

In the office, the hospital leaders and the directors of the departments had arrived.

Xiao Lou glanced at the window that Yu Hanjiang had mentioned. There were a few vacant spots over there. He walked over, stood by the window and looked up. He couldn’t see traces of anyone at the top of the building opposite but the heart channel told him that Yu Hanjiang was there and had set up his sniper’s rifle.

In his mind, Yu Hanjiang’s low voice rang out. “Just sit here. Rest assured, I can see everyone in the conference room. Once someone attacks you, I will deal with the trouble immediately.”

Xiao Lou nodded and turned to sit by the window.

The clock pointed to 12:30 and the grey-haired dean opened his mouth. “Okay, the professors and department heads have arrived. Let’s start the meeting.”

He took out a notebook full of notes and spoke with a heavy expression. “I anxiously called you over because I have bad news to tell you. There is an unknown influenza virus that is infecting the residents of our city. There was a severe patient with the flu in the respiratory department of the Second Hospital yesterday who suddenly ran out in the middle of the night and bit people. The patients, doctors on duty and nurses of the respiratory department were all affected by her bite. All those in the respiratory department died this morning. She is the only one alive.”

“At present, the Second Hospital has been forcibly quarantined. I have just received a notice from the Department of Health that all medical staff should take preventative measures. Our hospital must urgently set up an expert group to study the structure of this virus and develop an anti-virus vaccine as soon as possible.”

After listening to the dean’s words, all the doctors sucked in a breath.

An old professor couldn’t help asking, “Did the doctors and patients in the respiratory department of the Second Hospital all die overnight? The course of this disease progressed too quickly! What is the cause of death? Is there a conclusion?”

“An autopsy was conducted by a medical examiner and the cause of death was a brain hemorrhage,” the dean replied.

A male doctor next to him said, “I have been in the infectious diseases department for many years and I have never heard of a virus with such a rapid infection rate and high mortality rate. Death from a cerebral hemorrhage? Influenza viruses affect the respiratory tract. Even if they mutate, can they cause a cerebral hemorrhage?”

The doctors discussed it. “Is the transmission method through blood? Are they infected after being bitten?”

The dean frowned. “Based on the surveillance video, the doctors and nurses of the respiratory department were all bitten but it can’t be ruled out that it was spread by droplets. After all, they are on the first floor of the respiratory department and it is easy to be infected through air.”

The director of the emergency department said, “Oh, I heard from a colleague in the emergency department that a woman suddenly went crazy while getting an infusion. She bit a dozen patients and medical staff before being controlled by the security guard. Is she an infected person like the dean mentioned?”

The dean’s expression sharply changed. “What? Why didn’t you report such an important matter to me earlier?”

The director of the emergency department touched his nose with embarrassment. “It happened 10 minutes ago and I just knew about it...”

After hearing this news, everyone’s face became ugly.

The dean reacted quickly and snapped out orders. “Immediately call the emergency department and have all the medical staff and patients who weren’t discharged after being bitten isolated in the infectious diseases department!”

The director of the infectious diseases department frowned. “I don’t think it is necessarily a viral infection. We need to find a living infected person and check carefully to determine the case. Maybe it is bacterial, fungal or a parasite? Different infection types have different treatment plans. We need to know the pathogen clearly before we can consider the next step.”

Xiao Lou sat there and listened carefully. The director of the infectious diseases department was right. In fact, it was still unclear if the infectious pathogen was viral, bacterial, fungal or a parasite. There were four categories of infections and each type of treatment was different.

The spread of influenza viruses was through the air and it spread very rapidly. It was just that this time, the infected people had characteristics. They attacked the same kind, it was transmitted through blood and the cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage. It didn’t sound like a mutated flu virus at all.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the infected person had the flu? After all, winter time was indeed prone to large-scale influenza infections.

Just then, a doctor hurriedly knocked on the door. “Dean Lin, a CT scan of the head of the surviving patient in the Second Hospital was taken and the information has been passed on.”

The dean’s expression was overjoyed as he asked everyone to close the curtains. Then he opened the meeting room’s slide and logged into the database to view the video information.

Yu Hanjiang saw the curtains closing and instantly asked Xiao Lou, “What’s going on?”

Xiao Lou explained in his mind, “We are looking at the CT scan of an infected person’s head and need the curtains to be drawn. Don’t worry.”

Yu Hanjiang replied, “Be careful and tell me the moment something happens.”

The projection screen on the wall was lowered and the CT scan of the head of the infected person clearly appeared. Xiao Lou couldn’t help gasping when he saw the image and the doctors around him were also dumbfounded.

They saw countless white spots on the CT film of the infected person’s head. The entire brain tissue was occupied by a strange creature. Not a single bit of normal brain tissue could be seen in the patient’s head!

The director of the infectious diseases department almost shot up from his seat. He took a deep breath and declared seriously, “It should be a parasite.”

The dean’s face was extremely ugly. “The brain has been eaten up yet this person is still alive?”

The doctors around him also felt incredulous.

Xiao Lou clenched his fists. He was pulled to this meeting but he wasn’t an expert in this area. He didn’t need to speak. It was just that listening to everyone’s discussion, he gained a lot of important clues. It was indeed the right decision to come to the meeting. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known that the large-scale infection wasn’t a virus but an unknown parasite.

This parasite lived in the human brain and would quickly eat up normal brain tissue.

It didn’t affect the human’s actions because it occupied the control centre of the brain. It became the master of the body, controlling the human nerves like limb actions, expressions and language...

The infected person looked normal on the surface. There wasn’t much difference with other people but the core brain had long been replaced.

Although zombies were disgusting, they were slow to move and had no IQ. Xiao Lou had many attack and control cards in his hands and it would be easy to work together to beat the clumsy zombies. However, this time the infected person not only acted agilely but had a clever parasite in their heads!

This was the scariest thing.

After watching the film, the curtains were all opened and light was restored to the meeting room. The warm noon sunlight poured into the room but looking at this strange CT image, everyone only felt a hint of coldness.

After a moment’s silence, the director of the infectious diseases department said, “This news can’t be published or it will cause a panic among the people. The infected people must be isolated immediately. We need to take a sample of the parasite from the patient’s brain to see what type of creature it is and if it can be killed with medicine.”

Someone spoke in a deep voice. “The problem is that the parasite will eat human brain cells. From a medical point of view, those infected are already in a state of brain death. They are dead people but look alive because the bug is in control of their bodies. Even if we kill the parasite, we wouldn’t be able to save the patient.”

The group fell silent again.

Indeed, the brain was gone. Could those things that moved and talked still be called ‘human’?

The dean ordered decisively, “The infected people can’t be saved but we can find ways to prevent it so that fewer people are infected! An expert group will be urgently established. I will personally lead the team and isolate the infected people in the emergency department. At the same time, I will inform all employees of the hospital to wear isolation clothes and gloves starting from tomorrow. They have to take protective measures to prevent their skin from touching the wounds of patients!”

Every time a virus, bacteria, parasite or other infections were encountered, the hospital was the first hardest-hit area. The frontline medical staff were actually in quite a dangerous situation. These doctors might only be plot characters of 8 of Spades but Xiao Lou admired that they didn’t flinch. Many large-scale plagues and viruses had raged in the history of humanity and many paid a blood price for the development of vaccines.

The dean was very courageous to set up a team of experts and let the hospital act immediately.

The emergency meeting lasted half an hour before everything was arranged properly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the meeting room. The person near the door opened it and revealed Xu Rongrong standing at the door with a smile. “Dear hospital leaders, you didn’t eat at this big lunch meeting? I called takeout for everyone.” She was followed by several security guards who were carrying boxes of takeout.”

The people in the meeting room were surprised. Why did a young doctor suddenly come to the room to deliver meals?

The director of the surgery department smiled, “This is Dr Xu, who is a newcomer. She is kind enough to order food for everyone. Haha, is everyone hungry? It is better to eat first before finishing the work.”

Xu Rongrong walked in with a smile, letting the security guards place the takeaway on the table.

The director of the emergency department licked his lips and smiled. “Thank you, I’m really hungry.”

Just as everyone thought he was going to grab a box of takeaway to eat it, he suddenly grabbed the hand of the male doctor next to him and bit down on it!

Xiao Lou, “......”

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