“Why are you back at this time?”
Seeing Xu Lin, Qin Sang was very surprised. Mainly because with the mutant parasite issue, Xu Lin should have been very busy, even if he was in the Information Group.
Xu Lin came in, sat down, and sighed. “Came back to check on you all. Then I have to go to the City Central Hospital.”
Qin Sang raised an eyebrow. “Why are they sending a keyboard jockey to the hospital?” It didn’t need to be said that it was related to the mutant parasites.
Xu Lin said, “It’s not just me. You have to come too.” His tone lightened a bit towards the end.
Qin Sang looked confused.
But Xu Lin had already pulled out a lunchbox from his space and started eating. Seeing this, Qin’s mother knew he hadn’t eaten. She quickly took out a pot of steaming watercress and pork shin soup from her own space and poured a bowl for Xu Lin.
“I made this a few days before the apocalypse. How good were those days!” Qin’s mother sighed as she spoke. Mainly, she was struggling to accept the unending waves of various insects.
Qin’s father walked over and gently patted his wife’s shoulder.
Qin Sang said, “Mom, life always finds a way. Look at those cockroach swarms at the beginning – didn’t we almost wipe them out? Then the mutant insects that appeared later, we killed them all too. Now it’s just that the number of mutant insects has increased. But our abilities are improving too! And we’ve already discovered mutant plants that can repel insects.”
Qin Sang truly felt that while the insect plague was terrifying, its severity was escalating step by step. It wasn’t like an opening wave of mutant insects instantly slaughtering everyone.
Although she had no evidence, Qin Sang felt that the current insect plague seemed like the consciousness of Planet Blue was training humanity. Otherwise, why would it happen in stages?
“That’s right, Qin Yi. The reason I came back this time is that I received orders to take Sang Sang to the city hospital to meet a leader.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Sang and her parents looked curiously at Xu Lin.
Xu Lin smiled slightly but didn’t say anything more. Everything would have to wait until after meeting the leader.
——
The City Central Hospital was a long-standing hospital in Huashan City. The outpatient building was a bit run-down, but the inpatient department consisted of three full five-story buildings.
“From what I’ve heard, the inpatient department is already full of parasite patients.”
In the car, Xu Lin gave Qin Sang a general overview of the purpose of their visit to the hospital.
“Director Qian is personally stationed there. I heard he was very interested in your report about the mutant mugwort. He originally wanted to call you to his office, but the parasite mutation caught everyone off guard.”
Hearing that the inpatient department was full of parasite patients made Qin Sang’s skin crawl. Not from fear, but from an indescribable feeling. As for a leader wanting to see her? Qin Sang wasn’t nervous. She was, after all, a woman who could kill a mutant roundworm without batting an eye.
Yes, ever since killing that slimy, writhing mutant roundworm, Qin Sang felt she would never see a more disgusting insect.
The hospital was incredibly chaotic.
That was Qin Sang’s first reaction after getting out of the car.
It was past three in the afternoon. The sun wasn’t as fierce, but it was still around 90 degrees. At this temperature, the exterior walls of many buildings were deteriorating. Ordinary people without gear simply couldn’t survive outside.
However, when Qin Sang and Xu Lin got out of the car, they didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable. Even though neither of them was wearing protective gear.
Yes, after adapting these past few days, both had noticed changes in their bodies.
“Captain Lin, I’ve brought Miss Qin Sang.”
As soon as they entered the hospital, they saw Captain Lin leading a team stationed in the outpatient building. The building was packed with people waiting in line to see a doctor. Many of these people were moaning and screaming in pain. Every now and then, a writhing mutant roundworm would burst out of someone’s belly.
Occasionally, someone would be unlucky enough to have a similar parasite burst out of their head.
Qin Sang couldn’t identify the species, but there was no doubt that this type of parasite was terrifyingly lethal.
On her way to the temporary command center, she witnessed with her own eyes a person’s head explode like a watermelon right in front of her. Then, a thin mutant parasite shot out.
Captain Lin, who was in charge of security, immediately sent someone to deal with it.
The official solution was brutally effective.
Someone would use a steel fork to pin the insect to the ground before it could react, and then another person would use a flamethrower to roast the mutant parasite directly.
“No wonder I smelled burning when I came in.”
“What burning smell?”
Just then, Qin Sang and Xu Lin entered the temporary command center, and the person inside heard their comment.
Qin Sang looked around the room, a repurposed doctor’s lounge. There were two middle-aged men inside. Their uniforms marked them as belonging to the Disaster Response Management Bureau. The one sitting in the center was presumably Director Qian, whom Xu Lin had mentioned.
“Xiao Xu, you got here quickly.”
Xu Lin said, “Director Qian, the mission is urgent, so we came straight over.”
“Good. I won’t stand on ceremony. You both saw the situation in the outpatient department, right?”
Xu Lin nodded.
Qin Sang nodded too. She didn’t speak, wanting to see what Director Qian wanted.
Clearly, he didn’t have time to beat around the bush either. He looked directly at Qin Sang. “Miss Qin Sang, sorry to call you here so suddenly. I wanted to clarify the process of how you discovered the mutant mugwort.”
Qin Sang wasn’t surprised by the question. She briefly explained the situation again.
Director Qian nodded slightly. “Alright, I won’t mince words. Across the five major safe zones, there are currently over fifty million people with parasite problems like the ones outside. And those are just the ones who made it to the hospitals.”
Qin Sang understood. This was a healthcare system overwhelmed. But even without the strain, pre-apocalypse medications wouldn’t work on mutant parasites.
Therefore, finding more useful mutant plants was crucial.
At the very least, she knew that mugwort could repel insects. Those parasite patients would surely benefit from taking mutant mugwort.
Director Qian saw what Qin Sang was thinking and nodded slightly. “That’s right. After learning about the existence of mutant mugwort, we’ve already arranged for people to search for it. But official manpower is limited. Ultimately, we need to mobilize the masses. As the first person to discover mutant mugwort, the authorities would like to invite you to lead a team to search the surrounding cities.”
The reason he brought this up was that Director Qian had noticed Qin Sang was very special. After she was targeted by Fang Ming repeatedly, Director Qian realized this comrade was important. The authorities had principles; they weren’t as unscrupulous as the forces behind Fang Ming.
And the mutant mugwort Qin Sang had discovered was very important. Director Qian thought he would ask her to search specifically for such plants.
He had a hunch that this comrade would definitely surprise him.
Qin Sang didn’t know Director Qian’s internal thoughts. But she was very interested in being asked to help search for mutant plants.
Mainly because mutant mugwort was so amazing, and the aloe plant at her home was also incredible. If she could find more mutant plants and secretly plant them in the fields within her space…
Just thinking about it made Qin Sang very happy.
——
“So, you’re leaving tomorrow?”
When Qin Sang got home and told her parents, they both shook their heads. “No way. The situation is too chaotic right now. It’s dangerous for you to leave the city alone.”
“Exactly, exactly.”
“If you insist on going, your father and I will go with you!”
“Exactly, exactly.”
Qin Sang watched her parents chime in together, covered her mouth, and laughed. Xu Lin, witnessing this, also smiled, feeling his suppressed mood lift.
“Of course I’m taking you with me! I’ve already arranged it with Director Qian. For each type of mutant plant, we can exchange it for an electric net launcher. On this trip, Mom and Dad, you’ll definitely each be able to have one.”
“Oh my, having one in each hand would be such a waste!” Qin’s mother complained, but her face was beaming with a smile. Mainly because the electric net launcher was so lethal; she had wanted one for a long time.
As for Qin’s father, he was already thinking of names for his electric net launcher. Even though the launcher wasn’t even in sight yet.
Xu Lin laughed out loud again. This time, the laughter was audible, and the gravity between his brows completely disappeared.
“You should smile more often. You’re starting to look like an old man.” Qin Sang noticed this and teased him directly.
“Alright, alright, alright!” Xu Lin said, then pulled a provincial map and a red marker pen from his space. He immediately started explaining to Qin Sang which areas would be more fruitful to explore.
“Ah, if I weren’t so tied up here, I’d really want to go with you!”
Hearing this, Qin’s mother raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Instead, she elbowed her husband.
Qin’s father, rubbing his elbow, looked utterly confused.
Qin Sang ignored her parents’ silent exchange and said directly, “Never mind that. Mom, bring out that bowl of mutant mugwort water for this guy.”
Before setting out, Qin Sang had left her parents a section of mutant mugwort leaf. The leaves had been collected from the riverside meadow. She had brought back three half-meter-long leaves total. She had also told Second Aunt to take some away. Otherwise, her cat and dog corps might well be parasitized by mutant parasites.
Xu Lin looked at the bowl of blackish liquid Qin’s mother brought and, without hesitation, downed it in one gulp. Then he frowned slightly.
Seeing this, Qin Sang laughed heartily. “Doesn’t it have a strange smell that hits the top of your head?”
Seeing her laughter, Xu Lin nodded helplessly. “A bit more bitter than bansha herbal tea, I guess.”
Since the apocalypse, they hadn’t really drunk much herbal tea. At first, they drank some heat-relief tea. But as two months passed, they had all adapted to the high temperatures. However, adaptation varied from person to person. Qin Sang noticed that people with spatial abilities adapted more easily, while ordinary people made slower progress.
The spatial ability seemed to be the key to improving human physique.
“I need to get back to work.” Xu Lin put the bowl down and glanced at the wall clock.
Qin Sang didn’t try to keep him; she knew he was busy.
Xu Lin smiled, waved goodbye to the family of three, and started to leave. But just as he opened the front door, he heard screams coming from downstairs.
Qin Sang said, “Let’s go, let’s check it out.”
So she and Xu Lin went downstairs together.
Downstairs, there were several people who had been complaining of stomach pain and had gone to the hospital. Now they were back. Every one of them looked pale, and two were clutching their stomachs.
“Brother Fa, what’s wrong with them…?”
Brother Fa was also confused. “Well, the sun went down, so we just brought them back from the community hospital. They said their cases weren’t serious, so they had to be sent back for now. They’ll go back when the community hospital has beds available.”
Qin Sang looked at these people, including Qu Meijing. She wasn’t clutching her stomach, but her expression was equally grim.
Feeling Qin Sang’s gaze, Qu Meijing gave her a bitter smile.
Qin Sang: …
Suddenly, Qu Meijing collapsed to the ground. Her entire body arched up, trembling like a drawn bow – a truly horrifying sight.
Qin Sang immediately sensed that the energy inside her body had become extremely chaotic. She used her mental energy to scan carefully and saw a truly astonishing scene.
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