It was an ordinary day, yet it felt as if a suffocating dark cloud hung heavy over multiple nations across the globe.
Over a month had passed since the day the Mad Mosquito Disease was first identified, and now, numerous countries worldwide had confirmed cases of the viral infection. A global panic surrounding the illness spread rapidly.
The individual to be honored with the distinction of "First Discoverer" happened to be Wang Zhuo.
Of course, he held little regard for such a title; even receiving a Nobel Prize in Medicine at this moment would feel less significant to him than seeing An Qi instantly restored to health.
However, although Wang Zhuo was the initial discoverer, An Qi was not the first patient to contract the Mad Mosquito Disease. According to World Health Organization investigations, the virus first appeared in a country named Haiti, which had since become the epicenter of the disease globally, where thousands upon thousands of patients died daily amid raging fevers.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, and South Korea had all reported fatalities sequentially. In impoverished nations across the Americas and Africa, outbreaks mirroring Haiti’s severity had erupted, with casualty figures impossible to tally.
By this time, winter had set in. In the frigid northern regions of China, mosquitoes had almost vanished, meaning daily life was largely unaffected. But in the warm, humid southern provinces, panic set in. Every item capable of repelling or killing mosquitoes had long since sold out. People, unable to find mosquito coils, were reduced to resorting to the internet, asking friends in northern cities to purchase them and ship them hundreds of miles via express delivery.
News of domestic patient deaths began to trickle in. The media and the central government viewed the situation with extreme gravity. While the epidemic in major cities remained under effective control, if it spread to underdeveloped, remote areas, there was a high probability of delayed detection, creating significant risks of widespread transmission.
The transmission route of the Mad Mosquito Disease was cross-infection between humans and mosquitoes—the mosquito carried blood contaminated with the virus. A bite carried a distinct possibility of infecting the recipient, and then another ordinary mosquito biting that infected human would transform into a fatal, virus-carrying insect.
Controlling the mosquito population, or isolating virus carriers, were both effective means of preventing the spread of the Mad Mosquito Disease.
Humanity had begun to flinch at the sight of a mosquito.
As the experiment neared its conclusion, an ecstatic, almost manic joy bloomed on Wang Zhuo’s face!
A casual chat with his beautiful secretary, Fu Xinran, had suddenly steered him toward an alternative line of thought. The concept of using poison to fight poison was already being practiced by others. But fighting affliction with affliction—that was a conceptual blind spot, forgotten by everyone else!
In the field of weight-loss medicine, there was a substance called a fat suppression acid, an object Wang Zhuo had deeply researched. He was intimately familiar with it, as if it were an old acquaintance.
But there was another substance, a leukocyte vitality suppression acid, that was completely unknown to the vast majority of medical professionals.
Compared to the commonly known leukocyte elastase inhibitors, this acid reduced the activity of white blood cells, putting them into a state of "laziness," yet without causing them harm; it would naturally lose efficacy after a period.
Perhaps other medical researchers had considered that this acid might play some role in treating the Mad Mosquito Disease, but they would absolutely have returned empty-handed. Only Wang Zhuo, who had observed the Mad Mosquito Disease virus for extended periods daily using his X-ray vision, knew that the virus possessed an extremely acute judgment mechanism for discerning infected versus healthy bodies! They had a simple and effective recognition method!
Only Wang Zhuo possessed X-ray vision, so only he could complete this research conveniently and efficiently. If this task were assigned to other medical scientists, it would require a systematic and massive research effort, needing to strive toward success with a clear objective, likely taking a considerable amount of time to achieve any result.
If they took a wrong turn mid-way, who knew how long it might drag on.
But for Wang Zhuo, it was simple. He reached his desired goal in just two days.
The leukocyte vitality suppression acid, diluted in glucose water, was slowly injected into the test tube containing blood infected with the Mad Mosquito Virus. The clear, transparent liquid created a fine ripple pattern in the crimson blood, slowly mingling together.
After waiting two minutes, Wang Zhuo peered into the test tube using his X-ray vision. As his sight plunged into the blood, traversing through the enlarging cells, it felt as if he had entered a marvelous journey of life.
Affected by the vitality suppression enzyme, the normally healthy and active white blood cells appeared sluggish, moving with apparent effort. The virus-infected white blood cells, however, were hyperactive and aggressive, creating a stark contrast.
Two white blood cells briefly drifted near each other. The excitable, infected cell tentatively probed the other. It immediately experienced an illusion: the target was neither a "kin" nor a healthy white blood cell susceptible to infection, but rather a white blood cell that had just lost its viral host and been abandoned.
Therefore, it neither split off a virus to infect the other nor abandoned its own host to transfer to the other cell.
The two cells remained undisturbed for a short while, the virus-laden cell awaiting its next target.
Wang Zhuo stared motionlessly at the test tube, not daring to breathe heavily, fearful that any vibration to the rack might cause him to miss the subsequent observation.
He felt as if he waited for a long time, but perhaps it was only the span of a blink. The other white blood cell finally moved "lazily."
It "slowly" opened itself up, embracing the virus-infected cell within its folds, enveloping, tightly wrapping, devouring!
The suppression acid reduced the activity of the white blood cells, yet it did not strip them of their right to perform their functions! The viral entities mistakenly perceived the activity-limited white blood cell as one abandoned by the virus and close to death, thus ignoring it. Instead, they were deceived and consequently swallowed!
The virus-lodged white blood cell was consumed by the sluggish but functionally correct white blood cell, gradually being squeezed and torn apart into fragments.
The virus did not escape either; it shattered into pieces.
The same battle erupted throughout the test tube. After surveying the scene, Wang Zhuo immediately withdrew his gaze, rushing to relieve his over-taxed ability.
Ten minutes later, he observed again with his X-ray vision.
Half an hour later, he recorded his findings while still observing. By this point, the battle had reached a turning point; the effect of the suppression enzyme was wearing off, and gradually, white blood cells regaining their vitality began to get infected.
Did it matter? Wang Zhuo smiled. Half an hour was sufficient. With continuous intravenous administration, the drug's effect could be sustained, causing all healthy white blood cells in the body to fight drunkenly, fooling the viral entities, and thus counterattacking decisively while preserving themselves!
December 8th. An unusual day.
Inside a row of DCU isolation wards separated by glass curtain walls, medical staff waited solemnly in each room.
The partition curtains in all rooms were fully drawn open. Looking across from one side, one could see the far end of the ward through layers of glass.
An Qi’s room was situated in the middle of these four rooms. Standing next to her was none other than Wang Zhuo.
Prolonged intravenous injections and transfusions had caused swelling in An Qi’s once delicate, lovely face. Combined with purpura resulting from a low platelet count, she was unrecognizable now.
She managed a faint smile toward Wang Zhuo, her cracked lips bloodless.
"This isn't an injection for euthanasia, you know," Wang Zhuo joked grimly, drawing the medication from a container with a syringe. "To cure your illness, I haven't been home for a month..." Wang Zhuo smiled and continued, "Having me as your master is truly the good fortune you earned in a past life."
The dried tears reappeared in the young girl's eyes. Her swollen skin obscured her listless eyes to just a sliver, and tears streamed down.
"Be good. You might feel very uncomfortable after the medication, but hold on. You'll be fine tomorrow," Wang Zhuo murmured, wiping her tears away. "Be strong. Get well quickly so you can play ball with your master."
Syringes were inserted into the IV bags in each room. The pale blue solution slowly flowed in, creating blue ripples in the pure, transparent saline, gradually diluting until fully mixed.
The suppression acid quickly entered the heart via the veins, circulating throughout the entire body via the bloodstream. Newly created healthy white blood cells from the bone marrow and those from artificial transfusions were immediately affected, becoming "lazy."
A battle of last resort began from that moment!
Wang Zhuo sat by An Qi's bedside, speaking to her as if she could respond. An Qi’s body was on the verge of collapse, her various organs facing failure; she could no longer speak to communicate with him.
Perhaps she could only hear what he was saying intermittently.
Wang Zhuo no longer felt tired; his body felt like it was floating in the clouds, a state of weightless delirium. He had to speak, because if he calmed down, he could fall asleep at any moment.
The medication's effect was ideal. An Qi developed a high fever in a short period—a normal reaction to medication caused by the intense combat between white blood cells.
Furthermore, the protected white blood cells not only consumed the virus-infected white blood cells but also attacked the platelet hosts and hemoglobin hosts. Although eradicating the infected white blood cells was the top priority in the initial stage of medication, the healthy white blood cells lacked the analytical ability to distinguish; they only fought based on instinct, engaging in indiscriminate warfare.
Life is truly marvelous. As this battle fiercely erupted, the virus-infected white blood cells seemed unaffected, continuing to wander through the bloodstream, ignoring the "playing-the-pig-to-eat-the-tiger" sluggish cells.
Wang Zhuo also paid no heed to the nurses performing physical cooling via enema on An Qi.
He observed An Qi's bodily responses continuously with his X-ray vision, ready to react immediately should any unknown complications arise. This resistive therapy hadn't even undergone testing on mice or rabbits; it was applied directly to an existing patient as soon as it was successfully formulated.
Defying medical convention? To hell with the rules! In extraordinary times, one takes extraordinary measures; one deals with the most pressing fire first. Tens of thousands of patients across the nation awaited treatment, and the epidemic was at the brink of outbreak, threatening to unleash catastrophic disaster upon human society at any moment!
For Wang Zhuo, An Qi didn't have many days left. If this batch of medicine truly had flaws, by the time the next viable plan was researched, she likely wouldn't have a body capable of withstanding treatment. Therefore, whether he hesitated or acted decisively, she had to take this risk; it was up to fate now!
Six hours after administration, An Qi’s fever broke. Seeing that the healthy white blood cells in her body had finally gained the upper hand, and that the conventional platelet and hemoglobin counts had marginally increased, Wang Zhuo closed his eyes with relief. He only felt a sudden lightness in his head, and then he knew nothing.