024 Laws of Nature

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“Senior, I never expected it would happen so soon…”

“So soon to follow in my footsteps, is that it? You’re worried I’ll relapse and start treating these experimental subjects like they’re not human, aren’t you?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I know this time it’s unavoidable. If we want these subjects to receive a large number of vaccine trials in a short time, this is the only way. It’s just… afterward…”

“All right, stop stammering. You’re worried about my reputation, aren’t you? My reputation is already ruined, sunk to the Mariana Trench, notorious for illegal human experiments, infamous for miles!”

“Um, Senior… could you not use that tone?”

“Can’t help it. Took the wrong pills this morning, two off. Not a big deal, just my mouth’s a bit out of control. But look, my hand is still steady when mixing reagents.”

“…Senior, perhaps it’s better to leave this kind of work to the graduate students. You can just supervise.”

“Forget it. If I don’t work, there’s nothing else for me to do. Go on, get busy. Ru Xi should be coming over soon.”

“Oh… but what you asked me to prepare… Isn’t this place a bit too informal?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Get out! You old bachelor, what do you know!” Tu Hongye, rarely losing his temper, cursed, fished out a deep blue pill from his breast pocket, and tossed it into his mouth.

In front of Tu Hongye, Chen Hanxin had none of the demeanor expected of an academician at the Academy of Sciences, resembling more an old child, or perhaps a scholar with a touch of innocence. He pushed open the lab door and left, just as Ru Xi was standing by the deactivation chamber, letting the air blow over her. He even winked at Ru Xi, unaffected by her returning two disinfectant balls, disappearing down the corridor, lost in his own world.

Ru Xi herself was in a tangled mood. In her early years, she had devoted herself to academia to escape rumors of being a mere beauty, a vase promoted by her looks, causing countless refined men and promising gentlemen to quietly despair. Seven years ago, she became Tu Hongye’s graduate student. At twenty-eight, she was already considered an old maid. Their shared work, shared topics, countless similarities quickly drew them into a passionate romance. In less than three years, their student-teacher relationship had progressed to the verge of marriage. Then Tu Hongye’s illegal experiments landed him in a psychiatric hospital, her beauty was ruined, and heartbroken, she applied for a high-level military research assignment, hiding away in a base, out of sight. Who would have thought, at thirty-five, still alone, utterly disillusioned with love, Ru Xi would encounter that bastard who haunted her dreams and soaked her pillow with tears!

What’s worse, this bastard pretended nothing had happened, not only forcefully kissed her but requested to have her assigned as his assistant! Suppressing her anger, Ru Xi entered the laboratory, about to report the physiological data of the pathogen-infected subjects, but Tu Hongye gestured for silence, clearly at a critical moment in reagent addition.

Watching the handsome man engrossed in his work, Ru Xi had to admit that after four years apart, he hadn’t aged at all, in fact gaining a few traces of mature masculine charm…

Unconsciously, Ru Xi became spellbound. At last, Tu Hongye finished the final vial, placed the entire petri dish in the incubator, removed his gloves, stretched his aching shoulders and neck, and said in a deep voice, “Speak.”

Whatever anger she had accumulated had already vanished without a trace. Cursing herself for being so weak, Ru Xi cleared her throat and reported, “After a week of physical training, the four subjects have met the requirements for the vaccine trial. Here are the specific test results.”

Tu Hongye took the tablet, glanced over the data without lifting his eyelids. “You said, for confidentiality, only military instructors could conduct their training—I agreed. Now, after a week, you bring me this?”

Before Ru Xi could answer, Tu Hongye tapped the lab touchscreen, sliding his finger across the screen as he continued, “Do you know why I asked you to deliver the data in person instead of sending it over the intranet? Because I want to make it clear face-to-face! My reagent activates their maximal physical potential in the shortest time at the cost of their lives. I admit it’s reckless with human life! But don’t ignore the determination and sacrifice of those who volunteered for injection! Because of your repeated objections, their physical improvement at the cost of their lives fell twenty percent short of expectations! They only reached the average level of national second-tier athletes!”

“You!”

“What about me? Am I wrong? Look, here’s the data from four years ago, here’s now. The comparison is obvious! Ru Xi, don’t mix feelings with work. That was our first rule after we became involved!”

Having been refuted repeatedly with logic, data, and results, Ru Xi’s face alternated between red and pale. She took deep breaths to suppress her rising anger. She knew Tu Hongye too well—unless you could defeat him with enough data, he’d never concede. But there was another way: a complete logical argument could also strike down his arrogance!

“I think you’re the one who’s mistaken! You keep talking about data, so let me ask: what was the mortality rate among subjects after one week of training four years ago? Not just mortality, but sudden death rate? Why aren’t you speaking? One hundred percent! Absolutely one hundred percent! The last subject even had his death sentence commuted for two years. He thought participating in the experiment would get him life instead, but you only kept him alive for six months! Multiple organ failure, not even a chance for rescue! Did you see the autopsy report? I did! Seventeen sites of rhabdomyolysis! His heart was bigger than a pomegranate! And what guarantee did you give these four? They wouldn’t live more than ten years, not drop dead within a year! Yes, your formula changed, and you’re confident you can activate maximal physical potential at the brink of death, achieving years’ worth of training in a short time. But then what? Watch them die? Look closely! Their current condition is just enough to withstand repeated vaccine trials. That’s enough! This way, they can survive the trials and maybe live even longer!”

“You’re right, I was wrong.”

“You never admit you’re wrong—wait, what did you say?”

“I said I was wrong.” Tu Hongye lifted his head with measured composure, smiled slightly, and walked toward her, an amused glint in his unusual eyes. “You’re still the Ru Xi of four years ago: cold on the surface, fiery inside, sharp-tongued but soft as tofu in body. I’m relieved.”

“What do you mean, soft as tofu… you, what are you doing! I warn you, I’m not… don’t come closer! Don’t come any closer…” Watching the face she’d longed for slowly approach, Ru Xi realized she had already, countless times in her dreams and imagination, endured his advances—and reveled in it.

This was what the anime world called a tsundere.

Of course, however hungry the wolf, he wouldn’t eat the lamb in the laboratory. Tu Hongye simply leaned close to Ru Xi’s ear and whispered,

“I swear, as long as you believe in me, one day, I’ll give you all the romance you desire, fulfill your every wish, give you the entire world.”

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Ru Xi’s face was already flushed, echoing unconsciously, “The whole world?”

“To a mother, her child is her entire world.”

“You… you scoundrel, always talking nonsense…”

“But you’ve agreed, so it’s not nonsense.”

“When did I agree… huh?” Ru Xi stared in a daze at the sparkling little stone Tu Hongye had somehow slipped onto her middle finger.

Or rather, dazed once again.

Some seek the sweetness of rekindled love, some mourn lost affection. While Tu Hongye, mixing business with pleasure, played the old bull in pursuit of the beautiful researcher, Wang Chen sat by Han Li’s hospital bed, gazing at the still unconscious woman whose looks could barely be called attractive, his expression full of helplessness.

Strictly speaking, Wang Chen hadn’t known Han Li long, nor had he formally confessed. Their most intimate contact was a kiss—hardly a deep bond. If it were love at first sight, it should have happened back at the railway terminal, not only after they arrived at the sanatorium. In truth, Wang Chen didn’t know himself; psychologically, this was called emotional anchoring. Han Li represented not just romance but Wang Chen’s last fragment of life in Harbin, the city he’d lived in for twenty years, full of memories, joy and sorrow. The destruction of the zombie pathogen had wiped out all familiar faces, giving Wang Chen a tremendous shock, focusing all his emotional needs onto Han Li, the last survivor.

Not to mention, Han Li had shown Wang Chen a touch of maternal comfort, a lethal weapon to a young man who had accepted he had nothing left, just transitioning from boyhood.

Now, this final emotional anchor lay in bed, kept alive by nutrient fluid. Wang Chen watched, a hundred emotions stirring, yet who could understand?

At some point two inspectors in hazmat suits appeared behind Wang Chen. One spoke softly, “Time’s up.”

Wang Chen didn’t respond. He bent down, gently kissed Han Li’s forehead, straightened, and left the ward.

Escorted by the two inspectors, Wang Chen arrived at the far end of the corridor, entered the medical room, and lay down in his designated chair. The nurse fastened his arms, found the vein, and inserted the needle. Before he could ask why the drip looked different this time, the man in the opposite chair spoke up, “They say the physical enhancement phase is over, so the medication’s changed. It’s some TLR immune cell booster, prepping for tomorrow’s immunization trial. If you’re scared, you could chant a calming mantra with Old Daoist.”

“No need. Nurse? Bring me a tablet, please.” Wang Chen, feeling down, didn’t want to provoke his eccentric ‘companion,’ so he requested a tablet to look up information on TLR immune cells.

The explanation online was clear. TLR proteins, known as Toll-like receptors in medicine, play a key role in human non-specific (innate) immunity. Acting as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, TLRs recognize conserved structures from microbes. Simply put, when bacteria or viruses breach physical barriers like skin or mucous membranes, TLRs identify them, activating the immune system to produce cells to combat these invaders.

In layman’s terms, TLRs are the immune system’s radar, the vaccine is like a photograph for recognizing the zombie pathogen, and adjuvants are the allies and ammunition. The treatment sequence is to first increase TLR immune cells in the body; even if they can’t recognize the zombie pathogen yet, when the vaccine arrives and immune cells identify the pathogen, together with adjuvants, they can eradicate it and achieve immunity and cure.

Immersed in this information, Wang Chen’s companion couldn’t keep quiet. This self-proclaimed last descendant of Maoshan, known as ‘End of the Line,’ was always rambling. Among the four, he was the most talkative, besides quoting Daoist scriptures, recounting his history: the last Maoshan heir, but due to missing texts, his corpse-stopping talismans were burned, his soul-breaking bell lost, even the master’s peach wood sword destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, leaving him powerless to subdue zombies. Ashamed, he resolved to test the ‘Dao’ of the new era with his own life and rid the world of evil.

Anyone with an IQ over eighty could tell ‘End of the Line’ was likely a delusional mental patient. After all, who else would volunteer for a vaccine trial with certain death within ten years?

The other two were more ‘normal,’ silent like Wang Chen. After a week’s training, they hadn’t exchanged a single word. If not for the inspectors calling their names, Wang Chen wouldn’t have known that the nearly two-meter-tall, muscular, menacing man—almost a criminal version of Hu Chun—had the refined name Liu Shuhuan.

The last subject was a woman in her thirties, Xiong Xiaolu. Wang Chen vaguely remembered her from a camp in Harbin—she had a rambunctious child who was impossible to ignore. Judging by her desolate, numb expression now, that troublesome child had likely met a tragic end.

Nothing is more pitiful than a dead heart.

Wang Chen felt much the same.

Except ‘End of the Line’ was simply too annoying.

“Nurse, turn on the TV. Give me the remote.” Liu Shuhuan’s temperament matched his appearance. Over the past week, he’d wanted to silence ‘End of the Line’ more than once, nearly twisting his neck during their fiercest clash. After both were subdued by tasers, even the most irritable could only endure, seeking peace however possible.

The news rolled every two hours, and everyone focused on reports about the epidemic zones.

“…BBC reports: As the epidemic comes under control, EU countries are debating whether to halt or slow emergency shutdowns of nuclear reactors to address widespread energy shortages caused by the zombie outbreak. Some reactor designers warn this is unwise, as most European reactors are over forty years old, with outdated structures and operation. Restarting reactors that are already shut down or shutting down would trigger safety concerns and violate several internationally recognized reactor safety protocols…”

“…Texas Governor recently announced another zombie outbreak in the state. Inspectors found a farmer hiding infected relatives in the barn. During the sweep, the farmer engaged in a firefight with inspectors, was shot in the lung, and died en route to hospital. Inspectors had no search warrant, sparking public outrage…”

“…Zombie cleanup outside epidemic zones is nearly complete. The first batch of special fencing has arrived at designated locations and will be installed within seventy-two hours. Seventeen highways and one hundred forty-five county roads will be closed. In twenty days, the epidemic zone will be fully sealed, forming a steel defense line two hundred kilometers long with one hundred seventy thousand troops, fully controlling Shanghai’s largest epidemic zone…”

“…Northeast Military District reports that zombie clearance outside Dehui is complete. Efforts are underway to clear the city, and in the coming days, the epidemic line will be pushed to the outskirts of Fuyu, with fencing along Songhua River tributaries. Evacuees south of Fuyu may soon return home…”

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Strange, why is the TV sound so muffled? Wait, the scene is blurry too. Why are my eyelids so heavy? My limbs feel numb. What’s happening? Am I fainting? No, that’s not… then… it should be black… why is it pink?

In his half-comatose state, Wang Chen had no idea how terrifying he looked.

“Doctor! What’s happening?! Doctor! He’s bleeding from every pore!” No matter how much Liu Shuhuan resembled a criminal, seeing another subject bleeding from every orifice, eyes half-shut and motionless in the medical chair, he couldn’t stay calm. Shouting, he yanked the needle from his own arm, stood up, and growled at the military doctor who rushed over, “Wasn’t the vaccine supposed to be injected tomorrow? Why is he dead now? What did you inject us with? Speak! If you don’t, I’ll make sure at least one of you dies today, two and I’ll count it as a profit!”

The military doctor, trained and far more mentally resilient than civilian doctors, ignored him, saying coldly, “Step aside, don’t interfere with our rescue!”

“Step aside, my foot!” Liu Shuhuan grabbed the doctor’s collar, about to choke him, when that familiar numbness rose in his back. A powerful jolt from a taser sent the nearly hundred-kilogram man crashing down!

The doctor, seeing Liu Shuhuan convulsing on the ground, didn’t even flinch, stepping over him to reach Wang Chen, feeling for his pulse only to find none. He flattened the chair, immediately starting CPR, shouting, “Prepare for emergency! 0.5 mg adrenaline! Check heart rate, get the defibrillator!”

“I know some medicine—may I help…”

“Take the other three out!”

“Doctor! Liu Shuhuan’s not doing well either!” The inspector guarding the room noticed Liu Shuhuan bleeding from every orifice, but didn’t panic—they’d been trained for emergencies. Two inspectors moved Liu Shuhuan onto a chair and reported.

One casualty might be coincidence; two is a disaster! Sweat instantly appeared on the duty doctor’s forehead. “Call the on-duty doctors now!”

When Tu Hongye, Chen Hanxin, and others arrived, the doctor had just finished resuscitation. Wang Chen and Liu Shuhuan lay on flat chairs, apparently ‘comatose.’

“What’s going on?” Tu Hongye frowned. The vaccine trial hadn’t even begun, yet the two strongest subjects had collapsed—this was completely abnormal!

“Their heart and breathing stopped briefly, but after resuscitation, they’re stable. Still, their situation is odd; pupil response, limb sensation, heart rate, and brain waves are normal, so they should be awake. Yet their consciousness hasn’t returned, they’re in a shallow coma, unresponsive to external stimuli. If not for normal brainwaves, I’d suspect brain death.”

“Before they collapsed, they were receiving intravenous TLR immune cell boosters?” Tu Hongye checked the rescue record.

“Yes, as required, only TLR was injected today.”

“Draw blood, collect oral epithelial cells. I’ll run tests immediately.”

“Yes!”

While Tu Hongye arranged sample collection, Chen Hanxin quickly reviewed the rescue procedure, especially lingering on the scene of Wang Chen bleeding from every orifice. He approached Tu Hongye and whispered, “Senior, with this kind of incident, I must report to the higher-ups. From the surveillance, it looks like upper respiratory hemorrhage—this isn’t good.”

“You think I don’t know it’s not good? Don’t panic, stay calm. Wait for the test results before doing anything.”

“But daily blood tests show no anomalies, liver function is normal, no sign of hepatic hemorrhage… They were being injected with…”

“I know! I said, wait for the test results! There are still two subjects unaffected!”

Tu Hongye struggled to contain his anger, though his piercing gaze betrayed him; few dared meet his eyes.

Previous tests had shown that the subjects’ immune systems had reached a delicate balance with the zombie pathogen. The immune system had lost its ability to recognize the pathogen, while the pathogen, much like hepatitis B virus, lurked in liver cells, spreading primarily through blood and bodily fluids.

This was a two-way process dictated by nature—the mode of transmission for a virulent disease determines which organs it infects; conversely, the earliest affected organs can suggest its method of transmission.

No wonder Chen Hanxin was uneasy and Tu Hongye barely contained his excitement.

The bleeding sites in both subjects were in the upper respiratory tract! That meant the zombie pathogen might have mutated, acquiring airborne transmission—even droplet transmission would be a major crisis!

PS: This chapter was written, deleted, rewritten, then trimmed by about five hundred words. Didn’t want it to be too dogmatic. Friends with expertise in pathology, please don’t laugh—I’m not a medical professional after all…

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