What is bound to come will eventually arrive.

Yes, after a cross-comparison of the outpost locations, local weather data, and the timestamps of the reports, Dai Jian discovered that all the outposts reporting the new "epidemic" were located in areas where local temperatures had dropped. Arranging the reports chronologically, this "epidemic" seemed to emerge progressively as a cold air mass moved southward. It was simply because there were numerous outposts while similar reports were few that nobody had bothered to summarize the underlying pattern.

Yet, this reasoning still did not hold up. If the new epidemic were triggered by falling temperatures, the earliest cases should have appeared in the three northeastern provinces rather than in provinces like Hebei and Shandong. Furthermore, low temperatures are known to reduce viral activity—this is a fundamental law of nature. No matter how defying of natural order an artificial virus might be, surely it could not violate this basic rule.

The group discussed the matter back and forth without reaching any conclusion. Ultimately, specialized fields required professionals. The three "spectator" responses arrived in a timely manner, but their contents were disappointing.

Zhao Ying indicated that she was powerless to help.

According to gossip, Academician Tu had recently become a father and was commuting back and forth between the Capital Territory Base and the Forward Base this week. As luck would have it, he was not currently at the Forward Base, and his return time remained uncertain. Zhao Ying could only promise that the moment she saw Academician Tu, she would immediately ask for his assistance.

Zhang Han, who was still acting as the "village chief" of the resort, also sent a reply. He indeed had scholars knowledgeable in virology on his side, as well as personnel with forensic backgrounds. In fact, Zhang Han himself was no layman when it came to viruses and dissection. He could even provide real-time guidance for the personnel at the Peninsula Outpost to perform an autopsy on old man Tian Si. The problem was that the outpost's existing equipment was completely inadequate for even a simple forensic examination; hacking at a corpse with a kitchen cleaver was dismemberment, not an autopsy! Moreover, the outpost's current satellite communication bandwidth could not support high-definition video calls. Without high-definition video support, Sheng Qingru would have to perform each step of the autopsy under Zhang Han's instructions, take a photograph, and transmit it to Zhang Han, who would then tell her how to make the next cut based on the image. Such efficiency was far too low, and a single mistake could cause them to miss the actual cause of the epidemic. Therefore, Zhang Han had simply gathered some autopsy materials and forensic common sense and sent them over for Sheng Qingru to reference so she could carry out the autopsy on her own and discuss any suspicious findings with him afterward.

Director Zheng was the last to reply. He stated that new suspected epidemic cases were reported every day, which was why those photos and messages had indeed been overlooked. Currently, manpower was being mobilized to investigate the matter. The Peninsula Outpost would soon be dispatched a batch of emergency medicines and medical supplies, expected to arrive by air drop tomorrow morning. At that time, signal fires would need to be lit to mark the drop zone.

Regarding the application for medical personnel, Director Zheng could only express that he was unable to help. The number of medical personnel available for deployment was currently limited and had to be prioritized for large outposts or military camps with larger populations. The Peninsula Outpost simply did not qualify for a medical detail given its current size, let alone a long-term stationing.

This sounded cold and heartless—it was the same old mathematical dilemma of whether to save a single individual or the entire world.

In the end, Wang Chen made the final decision. Since the existing conditions would not yield any answers even if old man Tian Si were hacked to pieces, and might instead risk spreading the epidemic, they would take the safe route: the corpse would be burned immediately, and epidemic prevention protocols would be enforced across the entire outpost. No one was permitted to spread rumors, and Wang Chen reiterated that gas masks must be worn at all times except during meals.

After the meeting was adjourned, the patrol personnel were dispatched to find people, and those assigned to burn the corpse went to fetch gasoline. Everyone set about their tasks, leaving only Fang Qiang and Ma Tian lingering until the very end without leaving. Wang Chen knew they had something to say and patiently waited until everyone else had cleared out. Strangely, Chen Chong also did not budge. Seeing that everyone else had left and only the four of them remained in the entire warehouse—with three of them staring at him in silence—Chen Chong hesitated for a few seconds before speaking first: "I... I want to contact my dad. I checked in with him before, and my dad said I should just stay put here safely. If any uncontrollable situation arises at the outpost, he should be able to send a helicopter over."

Through several encounters, Wang Chen's impression of Chen Chong had improved quite a bit. For a second-generation privileged youth to say such words was already rare, though he was still somewhat naive and viewed many things too simplistically. Send a helicopter? That was no different from breaking up the group. If they were going to disband, the sooner the better! This was not a remark spoken out of spite; calmly speaking, if they disbanded to seek their own survival before the new epidemic erupted and the news spread, uninfected individuals still had a chance of being accepted by other outposts by relying on the distributed weapons, equipment, and supplies. Once it was confirmed that a new epidemic had broken out at the Peninsula Outpost, even if Chen Chong's father were a provincial-level cadre, could he really be so domineering as to force other outposts to take in people suspected of being infected with the new epidemic? You must be joking—that was asking people to wager their own lives! To gamble that the people arriving on the helicopter would not become sources of contagion and drop dead from the illness! If Wang Chen were in such a position, he would undoubtedly launch a forty-millimeter grenade at the helicopter before it could land—making a clean break of it once and for all, ending all troubles with a single stroke!

Wang Chen did not respond to Chen Chong's words. It was Fang Qiang, finding it hard to watch and unwilling to let the well-intentioned enthusiasm of this dim-witted youth go cold, who briefly and succinctly explained the various potential consequences of the "helicopter evacuation plan." Chen Chong's face flushed red, and after muttering a few perfunctory responses, he left the warehouse.

Finally, only three people were left in the room.

"At least this guy can summon a helicopter; as for my old man, there's no hope there," Ma Tian remarked with a hint of emotion. After the trials and tribulations of recent times, the sharp contours of this sunny youth's face had become much more defined, exuding an air of heroism. Yet his tone remained as cynical as ever, inevitably tinged with misanthropy.

Fang Qiang was quite the opposite. Pampered by Joanna, his face had even grown somewhat round, though his complexion remained pale and weak, suggesting that his nocturnal efforts had been somewhat excessive and led to a deficiency of vital energy. Hearing Ma Tian's complaint, he only gave a faint, bitter smile and changed the subject: "The idea of living a quiet, isolated life here simply isn't going to work out. I reckon that even without this bizarre epidemic, something else is bound to pop up. Even if this epidemic is contained, speaking selfishly, the three of us must figure out a way to leave ourselves a fallback plan. Hey, don't you two look at your Brother Fang like that. I acknowledge you as brothers who share life and death, but Heaven destroys those who are not for themselves. To throw all three of us into the grave for the sake of the civilians outside and this outpost? I'm sorry, that's not going to happen!"

People are always divided by distance, intimacy, and social strata. Though Fang Qiang's words sounded harsh, the reasoning was solid. Take Wang Chen alone: for the sake of the hundred-odd people at the outpost, he had risked his life fighting nearly three hundred zombies with a military dagger. Hadn't he done enough? If he decided to wash his hands of it now and fly far away with Sheng Qingru, who could say he was wrong? The same logic applied equally to Fang Qiang and Ma Tian, differing only in the amount of effort contributed. Therefore, Wang Chen did not refute Fang Qiang's words and quietly awaited what came next.

Fang Qiang gave a dry cough and continued: "Given Ma Tian's and my physical conditioning, if we were really trapped in a horde of zombies, our survival would be a matter of luck. Chen, you're different. The armored vehicle is too conspicuous. I plan to secretly follow the approach of that kid Zhang Kaifeng and get a military off-road vehicle ready, equipped with the necessary weapons and supplies. If the situation at the outpost truly becomes unmanageable, Qingru and Xiaohua must leave with you. If circumstances permit, take Joanna along as well."

Wang Chen still did not reply. He looked at Ma Tian, who slowly and firmly nodded in agreement.