Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 13: By Any Means

The military reacted very quickly, but they did not respond to America's questions. Instead, they quickly mobilized a group of American soldiers, armed with live ammunition, to firmly control the inside and outside of the terminal.

American soldiers don't tolerate anyone's faults.

The protective suits that did not receive any orders acted as if nothing had happened. Those who had something to do did their job, while those who were not busy pointed and made comments.

"We can't really fight, right?" Zhu Yiming asked worriedly.

Although our compatriots did not participate in the protest, they are also among those quarantined. Once a conflict occurs, will the US soldiers care whether you protest or not?
If a soldier fired a volley of bullets at us in a fit of rage, wouldn't he be killed unjustly?

"That shouldn't be the case, right?" Ou Yang said uncertainly.

He didn't know Lao Mi, but he had no doubt about Lao Mi's spirit of resistance.

If this were not an airport where guns are prohibited, but a community where every American has more than one gun, every American would have a rifle at this moment and demand that the US military respond in the name of freedom.

Unfortunately, without a gun, Lao Mi could only protest verbally.

Sometimes, he really felt that the Second Amendment was necessary in such a place.

America's protests did not stop, but became more and more intense. However, no matter how fierce the language and attitude were, no one actually launched an attack on the US military.

Protest is one thing, impact is another.

So, Lao Mi also knows his limits.

During this period, Ou Yang was always worried that an infected person would suddenly rush out of the crowd.

More than ten minutes later, the protest finally achieved a temporary victory, and the major who had disappeared for a long time stood in front of everyone again.

Ou Yang guessed that the military could not be as calm as it seemed on the surface, and the major must have contacted his superiors before.

The crowd cheered enthusiastically, but the major was in no hurry. He just stood there quietly, waiting until the crowd quieted down. Then he said slowly, "Okay, I have been ordered to answer your questions. You can ask any questions you have!"

The crowd erupted in chaos again, and after a while, a voice extinguished the noise: "We want to know the truth. What exactly is this virus? What exactly happened?"

"Yes, we want to know the truth!" A group of Americans agreed.

"What happened to the Municipal Hospital? Why is the airport closed?"

“Yes, why is the airport closed!”

"Did you know this a long time ago? Why didn't you control the medical staff in advance? Why did you let them run to the airport?"

"Yes, yes, why!"

As Lao Mi raised questions one after another, the atmosphere that had just cooled down became agitated again.
This is what Ou Yang and others wanted to know, and everyone pricked up their ears.

The major was as steady as an old dog, and only when he calmed down again did he purse his lips and say, "We know very little about the virus." Old Mi immediately got angry: "Then what do you know?"

"We know very little!" the major said gravely. "About two weeks ago, an ancient cave, sealed for who knows how many years, appeared beneath the melting glaciers of Alaska. After the news spread, about seven or eight spelunking teams rushed to Alaska, all hoping to be the first to explore the cave."

This talk was completely irrelevant, but everyone listened attentively.

The major was obviously prepared. He took out his tablet and opened a video for everyone to see.

On the screen was a short video posted on a certain video platform. Four young people, two men and two women, were excitedly discussing what they could find in an ancient cave.

"They are from Brown Bear City, I've seen their videos!" A voice came from the crowd.

The major did not show any footage of the other teams: "We still don't know what happened to them. We only know that all the expedition teams that entered the ice field have lost contact. It wasn't until a week later that the locals found one of them in the wild."

He swiped his finger, and a half-length portrait of a woman appeared on the tablet. She was wearing a pink down jacket, a beige pompom hat, and was smiling brightly.

"Her name is Emily, a member of the expedition team. She was found unconscious. After being rushed to the hospital and regaining consciousness, she developed unexplained breathing difficulties. The local hospital was unable to determine the cause. According to Emily's wishes, she flew back to Brown Bear City and was admitted to the city hospital for further treatment."

The major circled Emily's portrait and said, "And she is Patient Zero!"

The crowd was in an uproar again, everyone wanted to see what the culprit looked like, and some even pushed and shoved.

The major had to fire his gun several times before he could control the situation: "After being admitted to the hospital, the doctor conducted a comprehensive examination of Emily and found that her lungs were full of white fibers. Further research revealed that this was a fungus that had never appeared in any records. This fungus parasitized the lungs and produced a large number of white hyphae, causing her difficulty breathing."

Lao Mi immediately started whispering to each other. Zhu Yiming was also surprised: "Why did they bring up fungi? This is not a virus, right?"

"Aren't viruses just bacteria? Are fungi also a type of virus?" Aunt Guo asked in confusion.

"Auntie, these are not the same thing!"

Aunt Guo didn't believe it at all: "Aren't they all bacteria? What's the difference?"

Zhu Yiming was about to explain when the major's voice came back: "The Municipal Hospital isolated and cultured the fungus. The doctors believe it's not contagious. Emily received appropriate treatment, and her condition quickly improved. From what we know, she's conscious, speaking clearly, and behaving normally. There's nothing wrong with her."

At this point, the major's tone suddenly changed, becoming graver. "Until yesterday morning, Dr. Mayne from the Municipal Hospital started acting strangely. He was babbling incoherently, his words were incoherent, and his behavior was extremely arrogant. It was like he had become a completely different person... He's Emily's attending physician!"

"The hospital believed Dr. Mayne had accidentally come into contact with certain medications, and gave him a sedative for observation and treatment. However, the following night, several medical staff who had interacted with Emily began to behave erratically. Because it was nighttime and the staff were scattered, no one took it seriously. Until this morning, a large number of medical staff in the respiratory, emergency, and laboratory departments of the municipal hospital simultaneously exhibited unusual behavior."

"Upon receiving the news, the Ministry of Health took it very seriously and immediately launched an investigation. White fungus was found in the lungs of Dr. Mayne and other medical staff, confirming Emily as patient zero and deducing the virus's transmission chain... It's still unclear how many people were infected, but we know that the flight Emily was on and the city hospital were extremely dangerous."

"Furthermore, Emily was briefly exposed at the airport and had contact with staff. Experts believe that the city hospital is the most dangerous place, followed by the airport... So, Mi Gong ordered the police to seal off the hospital and airport. However, before the seal was completed, the entire Brown Bear City was in chaos, and the situation was in danger of getting out of control. Therefore, Mi Gong urgently ordered the military to seal off Brown Bear City and control the infection at all costs. Note that, at all costs!"

　It’s time to talk about the cause and effect, please read on!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)