Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 93: Chapter 88: S-Virus Variant: The Lurker

In his previous life, Yu Dong and his team made it a habit to listen to the official broadcast on time every day.

Aside from survival tips, they also received information about the zombies and the locations of official settlements across the country.

But in his previous life, Yu Dong never heard anything about an official settlement in Yanhai City...

’Perhaps Qiao Yunliang here in Yanhai City hasn’t had time to report in yet, or the settlement is still in its early stages and can’t take in too many survivors.’

So he planned to keep listening.

Staying on top of the latest information was his duty as the team leader.

Especially at a critical time like this, the government’s only fixed daily channel broadcasting to the entire nation was packed with essential information.

That night, everyone gathered to listen to the broadcast.

"KRRRSHHH... CRACKLE..."

"This is the dedicated notification channel of the National Emergency Armed Defense and Control Center. We are about to begin today’s live broadcast..."

"All fellow survivors listening, please adjust your radio volume. Use headphones if possible to avoid attracting the attention of those infected with the S-virus..."

"The topic of this broadcast is a report on the ’S-Virus Variant—Lurker.’ We now turn to Academician Wang."

"Alright. A few days ago, I gave a talk on the basic principles of virology, mainly about how a large population of S-virus carriers has a high probability of triggering uncontrollable mutations. Over the past few days, I’ve received case reports of unusual infected individuals from across the country. Today, I will analyze one typical case and teach you all how to determine if an infected person near you is showing abnormal signs."

"We still haven’t figured out the origin of the S-virus, but everyone is already familiar with the basics of its transmission: bodily fluids. Scratching, biting, wound infection, and sexual activity... all can lead to the spread of the S-virus. Among these, biting, which directly injects a large amount of the zombie virus, causes the infected to mutate the fastest."

"But now, we have discovered a new set of cases in the Southern Black State Region... waterborne transmission."

"The S-virus has evolved a variant. The virus’s infectivity has been greatly reduced, but it can lie dormant in water and remain active for a long time. If someone accidentally drinks water containing this S-virus variant, they won’t mutate within minutes or hours like with fluid transmission. Instead, the virus will lie dormant for several days before they mutate."

"In the early stages, these carriers show no outward signs and appear just like normal people. In the middle stage, they’ll begin to feel unwell, with their immune systems in disarray, but they can still think and act normally. Once it progresses to the late stage and they turn into a zombie... they will cause catastrophic damage to their settlement. They are extremely dangerous!"

"We have named this variant the S-Virus Variant—Lurker."

"Currently, cases have only appeared in the Black Continent, but we cannot rule out the possibility of waterborne variants appearing in other areas. Therefore, all individual survivors and groups everywhere, you must ensure your water sources are clean. Do not casually drink raw water from rivers and lakes. Do not eat food that has been exposed to the open air. If you have the means, heat your water to a rolling boil before drinking."

"Fortunately, from what we’ve seen so far, this variant is immediately deactivated when the water temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius."

"Additionally, if any members show strange symptoms, please be sure to isolate them to prevent infection."

"If any region discovers similar special infected individuals or methods of infection, please be sure to report it to our center. This would be a major contribution to our national, and even global, epidemic prevention efforts."

"Our satellite phone contact number is... ******"

"If you do not have a satellite phone, while ensuring your own safety... please contact your local official forces."

"...."

"..."

The rest of the survival-related content was of little help to Yu Dong and his team. They had already made it through the most dangerous period.

But this latest piece of news was enough to shock Yu Dong.

"They haven’t even figured out where this S-virus came from, and there’s already a variant???"

Yu Dong hadn’t lived this long in his previous life, so he truly had no idea the S-virus could change like this.

"It’s way down south, a world away from us," Huang Zhiqiang said dismissively. "Zombies can’t take the high-speed rail, so it won’t spread here. If something happened up in the northeast, then we’d have to worry."

"Our water supply is pretty good, at least," Qiao Ping said. "It’s all clean rainwater. As long as we boil it, we should be fine."

Shen Xinyi added, "I think they’re mainly talking about survivors who live near rivers and lakes... If a zombie with this new variant was floating in there, and you took a sip... Still, with any water source now, it’s best to boil it no matter what. Otherwise, you could get all sorts of diseases."

The others chatted about it briefly, but ultimately felt it didn’t really affect them.

But Yu Dong saw things differently.

"If the S-virus can mutate to change its transmission method and incubation period, then what if another S-virus variant appears here? One where there’s no bite mark, no injury, but you’re already infected. That would be terrifying."

Everyone’s gathered around eating, and suddenly someone turns into a zombie... ’At that point, no amount of skill would matter,’ Yu Dong thought. ’We’d lose several people instantly.’

Huang Zhiqiang sighed. "So it’s best we don’t go out anymore. Just stay home where nothing can happen. We have food and drink; we can just wait for the army to wipe out the zombies."

"Yeah... that’s true. If the virus can keep mutating and changing its properties, then all the experience we’ve accumulated could suddenly become useless. It’s very dangerous. We’ll have to add a new rule to our apocalyptic dark forest law... If we find a new group of survivors, besides being wary of their hostile intentions, we also have to be careful about whether they’re carrying some kind of latent virus. We’d have to observe them for a period of time."

Just thinking about an S-virus that could lie dormant made Yu Dong’s skin crawl.

’The survivor groups in the Black Continent must have it so tough...’

...

「Day 17 of the Apocalypse.」

Zhao Wenjie was awake but extremely weak, suffering from a cough, fever, headache, tinnitus, and diarrhea. His body had suddenly become frail.

Yang Yi came over to ask for help again.

Yu Dong took Shen Xinyi to check on him again.

"It looks like some kind of infection caused by overexertion and a weakened immune system... Should we give him some medicine for the symptoms first?"

Shen Xinyi couldn’t really determine the root cause of the illness. After all, she was only a nurse. Being able to prescribe medicine for the symptoms already made her quite capable for a nurse.

Shen Xinyi looked at Yu Dong. The medicine belonged to the team and was all stored in Yu Dong’s house. Some of it consisted of refrigerated injectables, and using electricity every day to preserve these drugs made them extremely precious!

It was Yu Dong’s call whether to give him the medicine.

Zhao Wenjie was awake now. He hated himself for suddenly falling ill... Just a few days ago, he’d been full of vigor and raring to go, then yesterday, he’d suddenly collapsed.

Today he was lying in bed... his fate decided by others.

He looked at Yu Dong, his expression a mixture of worry and hope. He wanted to say something to appeal to him but felt too embarrassed.

But Yu Dong didn’t hesitate.

"Just give Wen Jie the medicine he needs, until he gets better."

"Okay. Yang Yi, come with me to Building One later to get the medicine. I’ll tell you how to administer it. Don’t let him do any work for the next few days. Make sure he gets plenty of rest."

"Oh," Yang Yi replied.

"Brother Dong, thank you!" Zhao Wenjie said weakly.

At that moment, his health was not in his own hands but completely in someone else’s. But Yu Dong didn’t let him dwell on it, nor did he take the opportunity to demand anything in return. He just agreed to give him the medicine that easily.

"Focus on getting better. There’s still a lot of construction work to do outside..."

Yu Dong nodded at Zhao Wenjie and left.

’This is what medicine is for.’

Yu Dong wouldn’t just watch someone die, especially not after Zhao Wenjie had completed the task of capturing the Master of Traps from Building Two alive.

Yu Dong had complicated feelings about him.

’On one hand, he’s genuinely reliable. On the other... he indulges Yang Yi to a fault.’

The first was why Yu Dong was helping him. The second was why he would never let him join the team.

In short, they were in an awkward relationship.

’Fortunately, this awkward relationship will only last a few months. It’ll be over once the army arrives.’

But after they went outside, Shen Xinyi suddenly pulled Yu Dong aside, leading him to a hidden corner.

"Captain, do you think it’s possible Zhao Wenjie was infected by the S-Virus Variant—the Lurker? I was just thinking about it, and his symptoms seem very similar."

A jolt of alarm shot through Yu Dong.

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