Lily had not slept a wink for two days. She watched the medicinal concoction intently as she drew a tiny bit and carefully fed a white mouse.When the little creature drank it all, she put down the dropper and put the mouse back into the observation cage. She bent over and studied it carefully. Having remained quiet, Dr. Morris asked, despite himself, “Are you sure it’ll work for the mouse?”Lily shook her head. “No.”Dr. Morris was surprised. “It’s because I’m not sure that I’m experimenting first. How could I use it on a human being without knowing what the result would be?” Straightening up, Lily glanced at him, then turned to feed the other white mice.She had familiarized herself with the virus, but it was cunning, and every person of different ages and constitutions would show different changes in their wrist pulse. Therefore, to be safe and accurate, she took the virus from each of them and put it into these laboratory mice.She also selected different strains of mice t
Dr. Morris was confused.‘Can I tell her I don’t quite get it?’“Are you saying we should do nothing and let it mutate?” He thought about it and asked.Lily shook her head. “What I am saying is that herbal medicine is meant to fortify damaged organs and mobilize the defense mechanism. Our bodies know how to protect themselves; that is why we can get well from a common cold after a few days without taking any medicine. That is our defense mechanism working to heal us.“However, this virus disrupts the mechanism. The medicine I’m researching would fix it so our bodies could fight and kill the virus.”She spoke earnestly, and Dr. Morris was dumbfounded. After a few seconds, his lips moved as he blurted out, “That’s a pipe dream!”‘It is! Would the patients still need us if there was a way to fix the defense mechanism and if our bodies could counteract the virus? Aren’t we researching medicine to fight the virus? Herbal medicine physicians are indeed unreliable. They’re full of s*hit
‘I can understand that, but what about Alex?’Although there were medical staff taking care of him and Greg was around, Lily was still worried as the outsiders had no idea how to deal with the virus. Fortunately, she could still use her phone.For everyone’s sake, she could only follow the rules and nod. “I got it. I won’t leave and will stay right here.”Dr. Blanc sighed. “I know I’m asking a lot from you and everyone else, but I hope you can all understand due to the unusual circumstances. I won’t be going home either.”Lily gave him a slight nod and was about to leave when she thought of something and turned around. “Dr. Blanc, how long is the incubation period?”“Based on what we know, it’s about seven days. However, since our data is not comprehensive with limited cases within the country, we’re unsure if it’ll be longer than seven days.”‘I see!’ In other words, she could not leave the place for at least seven days.Lily retired to her assigned bedroom and realized the pla
Anastasia was confused and had no idea why her father had changed so much, but she was sure it had something to do with Rhea. Since she had nowhere else to go and no one to talk to, Anastasia could only turn to Lily.Lily frowned. She was too focused on Alexander, so she did not think much of it when Anastasia first called her. Hearing Anastasia again now, she thought there was more than met the eye. Lily thought about it and asked, “Where are you now? What’s your exact location?”“I…” Anastasia looked around her and said, “I’m in front of a boba tea shop on Maplewood Street. Lily, I don’t know where to go. If I go home, my father will surely tell someone to lock me up. I…”“Stay where you are. I’ll get someone to fetch you,” Lily said quietly, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll settle you down first, and we’ll talk then, okay?”“Okay!” Anastasia answered obediently. “Thank you—”Before she could finish, Lily had already hung up.She did not need Anastasia to thank her, and it was rather dan
Lily poured herself a glass of water and got hold of herself after gulping half of it down. She took a deep breath, still haunted by the nightmare scenes. She understood that the virus would affect everyone even if it did not turn people into monsters.Take the situation in Burnkwen, for example. The pandemic was severe, and the governments there had implemented lockdowns in different areas to stop its spread but to no avail. Sometimes they don’t even know how it happened.‘We have detected and contained the cases early, but who knows if it’ll worsen? Furthermore, finding a cure is tough since everyone responds differently to the virus.’Lily no longer felt sleepy as she massaged her temples. Still, her heart sank as she thought about those tormented by the virus. She got dressed, left her room, and went to where the patients stayed.She did not go in and stood outside the seemingly stifling partitioned room, where she watched for a moment. The little girl was awake, sitting on the
It was a simple question, but it seemed too hard for her.“No, I only had my mommy...” The little girl’s voice was soft and yet wrenching. Lily took a deep breath and tried to smile more naturally. “How could you only have your mommy? You have me, and the doctors and nurses here all care about you a lot, okay?”Hearing this, a smile returned to Debbie’s face. “Okay!”As she nodded, two slow, noticeable trails of red liquid ran from her nose to her upper lip.Shocked, Lily snatched a tissue from a box to wipe them off. However, the girl showed no discomfort and stared at what she was doing with widened eyes.“Debbie, your nose’s bleeding!” Lily said this in alarm as she palmed the girl’s forehead with one hand and wiped the blood with another. However, the blood soon soaked the tissue paper. She took another one to stop the flow, but the same thing happened... …Over and over again…Lily pressed the nurse call button, and the medical staff soon came and were shocked to see
Having remained quiet on the side, Dr. Morris spoke, “The government started building the vaccination center a long time ago, and I think it should be operational by now. I heard the tender process had been completed, so I assume it will be very soon. They have also rounded up the specialists in that field, so I’m sure they’ll step up the prevention of the spread of the virus.”‘This is no doubt good news!’Lily grew calmer and asked, despite herself, “Have they already developed the vaccine? Is it reliable? Has it gone through clinical trials yet? Are there any data on its side effects and adverse reactions?”Dr. Blanc shook his head. “I’m not sure since it’s a different department. However, vaccines would have to go through several stages of clinical trials before they could be used. Anyway, I’m only telling you this so that you know everyone is working hard, and it’s not you alone.”“I know you’re eager to find the cure, but don’t get too anxious about it.” With a soft sigh, Dr.
“It shouldn’t be a big issue,” Dr. Blanc said. “How could it not be? Although we’ve taken safety measures, we still don’t know much about the virus, not to mention that it is highly mutable. If we don’t contain it well, it might spread and…”“This is a rather special case. When he was discovered, professionals around him took full safety measures, and I believe those in close contact with him did the same. However, for safety’s sake, we’ll bring them back to the center for individual observation.”“Professionals?” Lily caught these words and frowned. “Are you saying doctors have accompanied the patient?”Dr. Blanc remained quiet for a moment, then slowly said, “You could say so.”Seemingly exhausted, he leaned his head back and shut his eyes. Lily wanted to ask a few more questions, but seeing him so tired, she pursed her lips and thought better of it. Besides having many questions, she also had a vague sense of foreboding that grew stronger and stronger…The ambulance stoppe