Lao Wang was running like a madman, his heavy boots thudding against the concrete floor as he scrambled for distance.
This scene was a nightmare. Back when it was just red nematodes, they were a nuisance found everywhere in the soil, but these parasites were a different breed of horror. They went straight for the living warmth of the flesh. This frantic dispersal was actually the parasites' final, desperate method of reproduction and survival.
Lao Wang shouted over his shoulder, his voice cracked with panic. "Run! In a total crisis, the old parasites transfer every drop of their gathered nutrients to the new larvae. They do it to protect them and help them find a new host at any cost. If the host has the right genes, they can reproduce and thrive. If not, the larvae can still live for a day or two!"
In other words, when these creatures got desperate, they would bite anything with a pulse and crawl inside to hide from the light.
Soon, Song Bin was hit.
"Ah! Ah! Help me! Help! Kill these bugs!" he shrieked, his voice climbing to a hysterical pitch. "They are crawling into my flesh! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Nobody had told him the parasites possessed the strength to burrow straight through a human's skin. Weren't they supposed to be passive unless consumed? The thought of thousands of microscopic mouths chewing through his layers made him feel as though his guts were being ripped out from the inside. He rolled on the wet ground, snot and tears streaming down his face in the flickering light. Even though he wore a protective suit, the bugs had found tiny openings around his wrists and the storage straps of his gear. They burrowed into him like heat-seeking needles, and the scent of his blood only attracted more of the hopping larvae.
The sudden chaos drew the attention of every worker around the crematorium, making the situation even worse as people began to scatter in fear.
From a safe distance, Lao Wang muttered a string of curses under his breath. The parasite explosion and the subsequent random crawling had caused massive trouble for his shift. Even if they couldn't spread and reproduce in a host like Song Bin, handling the decontamination would be tricky. He shot a wary glance at Jing Shu. This young woman always seemed to stir up trouble wherever she went, but he didn't regret letting her in; he had just been craving a good smoke too much to care.
"Lao Zhang! Lao Zhang! Push that corpse into the fire first! Then call the R&D Epidemic Prevention Department team next door to treat the injured. Tell them to get the latest bug-killing medicine on them!" Lao Wang shouted from afar, his hands cupped around his mouth.
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow and quietly put away the spray canister she had been holding. So the Capital's R&D Epidemic Prevention Department had relocated right next to the death facility. It's sense. With the highest concentration of infection sources coming through these doors, it was the most convenient location for their grim research.
She adjusted her mask, her thoughts focused. She wanted to see how their modern medicines were holding up against the mutation. From what she knew, this capital competition focused on gathering massive amounts of medicinal resources to continue research and produce these specific kinds of drugs.
The professionals handling the crematorium situation moved with practiced, mechanical efficiency. Fully suited specialists soon pushed the disfigured corpse into the furnace, cleaned the surrounding area with chemical sprays, and wiped all traces of the sludge away. Nobody noticed that not a single parasite had managed to get near the girl standing just a few feet away from the thrashing Song Bin.
Suddenly, a large group of figures in white hazmat suits—looking like astronauts—flooded into the hall. The leader's hearty, booming laugh rang out through the visor of his helmet. "Lao Wang! I said you are a lifesaver! We were just about to sleep when you brought a pillow over for us. Who got bitten this time? We are just short on fresh research material without the B-genes. Come on, let's carry him off!"
Lao Wang hurried over, bowing low to the man. "Ah, Minister Zhao, you came down in person? What a coincidence, really. With you handling it, everything is perfect. I'm sorry for troubling you at this hour." He wiped the sweat from his brow, remembering the last time a parasite explosion happened and how he had been scolded for hours.
Song Bin lay on the ground screaming, completely ignoring any sense of etiquette as the pain intensified. The researchers didn't hesitate; they hoisted him up and carried him away toward the lab.
"Lao Wang, these two cigarettes are for you. You have been a big help today. Sneak this bag of fried rice to the deceased's family when you can, and I will have Song Bin confirm the details later," Jing Shu said as she followed the group.
"Ah, it's nothing! I will handle it, don't you worry!" Lao Wang grinned so wide his mouth wouldn't close. This deal was too good to be true. Those cigarettes were top-shelf brands; two of them could get him a temporary worker position for a relative, just enough to get his daughter-in-law a job so he could manage half a meal a day for the house.
After Jing Shu finished her business with the director, she followed the white-suited group to the temporary R&D lab next door. She chatted a little with Minister Zhao on the short walk, her tone calm and professional despite the screaming man they were carrying.
The temporary tin building was a simple, industrial structure, but thanks to the constant heat from the neighboring crematorium fires, it wasn't cold inside. Still, with dozens of researchers and staff crowded into the small space, nobody felt truly warm.
"The sample is here! Perfect timing. Minister Zhao was about to test the new batch on himself, but now we have someone already bitten," one voice said from the shadows of the lab.
"Even Minister Zhao came out personally? This must be urgent. But the parasite genes have all shared and upgraded to the fifth generation already. The research can't keep up with the rate of evolution."
"That's obvious, isn't it? That guy's grandson is clinging to life with Bodhi vines, just waiting for a cure. How can they not be anxious?"
"Not entirely. The consequences are serious if we don't act now."
"Shh, it's starting!"
Jing Shu's brow furrowed. Clinging to life with Bodhi vines? Wasn't that supposed to be a full cure for the infestation?
Song Bin was pushed onto a cold metal bed and stripped of his gear. Minister Zhao began drawing complex diagrams on the man's skin with a knife and a surgical pen. "Actually, if someone without the B-genes gets infested, the larvae usually die in a day or two. But this guy stood dumbly right next to the parasite explosion. Now tens of thousands of larvae are inside him. Look at these veins wriggling. In a few hours, they will reach the vital organs. If left alone, some organs might get eaten, and he could even suffer massive internal bleeding."
Hearing this clinical assessment, Song Bin trembled in absolute terror, his eyes darting around the room.
"Alright, inject the new drugs into his limbs and record every reaction. Clinical trial samples are important for the database," Minister Zhao ordered.
Song Bin gaped in disbelief, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Wait, they were treating him like a common experimental subject? He had just come to watch a corpse with Miss Jing!
Minister Zhao and a few other researchers then graded different areas of Song Bin's body from one to ten with their signal pens, marking the progress of the infestation. As the various drugs began to take effect in the different marked zones, Minister Zhao shook his head in disappointment. The results were clearly not ideal.
Jing Shu looked on, her mind working through the data. She felt even more puzzled by their struggle.
Then Song Bin suddenly grabbed his legs and screamed in fresh agony. His foot wounds began to visibly rot, the skin turning a sickly yellow before oozing a thick pus. A stream of dead, shriveled larvae followed the liquid out of his pores.
"Number one drug caused a strong reaction. It looks effective, but the side effects are far too harsh on the tissue," an assistant noted.
Minister Zhao personally cut into the pus and the damaged tissue for testing, then nodded slowly. "With this special energy source, it can kill eighty percent of the parasites and greatly slow the spread of the larvae. It can be used on moderate patients to reduce the immediate pressure. At the very least, it prevents the host from exploding."
Jing Shu finally spoke up, her voice clear in the crowded lab. "Minister Zhao, wasn't Bodhi supposed to cure the parasites entirely?"
Minister Zhao nodded, his shoulders slumped with fatigue. "Bodhi is the main ingredient we need. Combined with other specific herbs, it can eliminate eighty-five percent of the parasites and suppress their reproduction. But if it doesn't completely kill them, the effort is useless. Plus, the parasite source shares genes. Never mind; you wouldn't understand the complexity of the genetic chain."
He forced a weary smile. "The main problem is that Bodhi is nearly extinct in the wild, and our national stock is running out fast. This harsh drug is our only substitute for now."
Lieutenant Liu stepped forward to comfort him. "Minister, the capital's drug competition brought a ton of valuable herbs from the provinces. The big data showed one association also planted lots of Bodhi. We will be the official judges this afternoon, so we can check the quality ourselves. We won't accept any bad Bodhi for the reserves."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow at the revelation. Judges? She had run into the decision-makers before the competition had even officially started.
Minister Zhao let out a short laugh. At least that was good news for his grandson. He looked down at the sobbing Song Bin. "Kid, just hang on for a day or two. The side effects are intense." He didn't mention that the intensity was mainly because the medicine was far too expensive to waste on a single dose.