Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 83 Spore Attraction
Ou Yang was very surprised: "You're not going back?"

"Not going back yet," Garrison said. "Patient Zero is the first patient to be completely bacteriologically infected. To understand what happens next, just getting a tissue sample isn't enough. We need to establish an observation point and continuously monitor Patient Zero's progress."

Ou Yang suddenly understood.

To put it simply, the research value of Patient Zero is much greater than expected. Now that the bacterium phenomenon has been discovered, we must continue the research.

Ou Yang felt that the corpses covered with mushrooms on the street were also a form of fungification.

The fungosis in the morgue must be related to the environment there. This phenomenon may not be reproduced in another place, so it is very necessary to establish an observation point here.

Otherwise, patient zero would have to be moved back to the laboratory.

Well, in a few days, maybe the whole lab will have to move here!
A dozen Lao Mi quickly split into two teams. The team members who were about to leave only left the magazines on their guns and all the remaining ammunition.

Then everyone boarded the armored vehicle and drove away from the municipal hospital in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Ouyang had already begun to imagine what Garrison and his team would encounter at night.

Are they repeated attacks by large numbers of infected people? Or are they sudden attacks by some organization?
It's not that he is a dark-minded person who can't stand others doing well, but the more he understands the situation in the urban area, the more he realizes how chaotic the current situation is.

As the sky gradually darkened, the abandoned vehicles on the street turned into dark shadows. Only in the areas illuminated by the headlights could their original appearance be seen.

Ou Yang always felt that there seemed to be a figure appearing in the darkness, but it was too dark to see clearly. It was not until an infected person rushed into the range illuminated by the car lights that he was sure that it was not his illusion.

The armored vehicle directly knocked down the infected people blocking the road, and rolled over them mercilessly with its wheels.

The car body weighing nearly twenty tons had almost no bumps.

Ou Yang was a little dazed, but the others didn't even bother to look at him.

Sanova noticed the change in Ouyang and asked softly, "Are you not used to it?"

Ou Yang didn't say anything, just nodded.

Sanova said, "You must know that although the zombies are not the only ones who inhabit the city at night, the central area is where the most infected people are. No one dares to wander around at night, and even if they do, they have other motives."

At this point, he paused and said earnestly: "No matter what time it is, you must prioritize your own safety before helping others."

Ou Yang smiled bitterly: "I understand the logic, but in my heart I just... well, just..." He suddenly couldn't find the right words to describe his feelings.

"No need to explain, I understand everything," Sanova said. "A rookie who has never been to the battlefield will always be a recruit."

Ou Yang knew he was being looked down upon, and he couldn't help but ask, "Have you ever been to a battlefield?"

“Yes, more than once,” Sanova said. “Luckily, I have a big heart and don’t have PTSD.”

Garrison is the commander of Team K, but in fact, Sanova is the brains of this team. He had noticed that Ouyang was in a bad mood a long time ago.

Ou Yang didn't understand: "What is PTSD?"

"Post-war syndrome, also known as post-war stress disorder, is a mental illness caused by war," Sanova said in a gloomy tone. "People with this condition dream of battlefields. Some can't trust those around them, and can't integrate into ordinary life. They always live in isolation, like a group of lonely ghosts. Others are as slow to react as robots that have lost power. Suicide and self-harm are not uncommon." The car shook, and he paused, but quickly continued: "Don't overthink it. Do what you think is right, and strive to persevere until the end of this epidemic... I heard that your soldiers rarely suffer from this kind of psychological problems, right?"

Ou Yang thought for a moment and said, "It seems so, but very little."

At this moment, he remembered the image of the veteran suffering from Alzheimer's disease who mistook the fallen mangosteen for a grenade.

How could such a venerable veteran suffer from a stress disorder? He should have lived to be a hundred years old!
"How long do you think the epidemic will last?" Ou Yang, not wanting to accidentally start a tirade, proactively changed the subject. "I've always thought the epidemic might last a long time, but the city wouldn't be closed for too long. But I don't think so now."

"Very good, you now understand your situation," Sanova said encouragingly. "I've always believed that this is a unique war, a war that no one has ever fought before. It's either you or me."

"Who are we fighting? The virus or the infected?"

"I have both, but I can't deal with the virus, I can only deal with the infected." Sanova punched Ouyang's shoulder lightly.
"You know, we're all so jealous of you," Joe suddenly chimed in. "Fungal immunity is amazing."

"Actually, it's not as good as you think." Ou Yang recalled his experience of being sold out by the American army. "By the way, did Team A complete the mission?"

“It’s done, sort of,” Sanova said. “We found the lab and took all the hard drives back, but the samples were already gone.”

"What about Group B?"

"A trip in vain."

"So, the experimental data has been found, and the tissue sample from Patient Zero has been obtained, but the remains haven't been found, and why the infected are flocking to the hospital is still unclear, right?"

"Yes!" Sanova nodded slightly.

Ou Yang organized his words and said, "I just had an idea. You can refer to it."

"what idea?"

"The spores contain hallucinogenic substances. When inhaled in small amounts, they can make people unconsciously seek out more spores. Did you know that?"

"I know. You mentioned it." Sanova suddenly thought of something. "Are you saying that the zombies were attracted to the hospital by the high concentration of spores?"

"Right!" Ou Yang said, "Anyone who's awake will inevitably be affected. Severely infected individuals who've lost consciousness will be even more severely affected, so they'll instinctively gather in areas with higher spore concentrations. But I think the effect is very small. So, when they inhale the spores, the feeding instinct overrides other instincts... That's roughly what it means."

"Wow, that's a very interesting inference. I'll tell the lab about your idea." Sanova's thoughts wandered, and he began to wonder, if it was really the spores that attracted the zombies, then could he actively spread the spores to attract the zombies within a certain range and then gather them together to destroy them.

Seems like a good tactic.

It is not difficult to produce a large number of spores. Collect mushrooms from the street and pile them up in a relatively closed space for a period of time. When the spore concentration is high enough, open the space to attract zombies.

In the end, all it takes is a fire or a bomb to solve the problem.

This epidemic has harmed too many innocent people. If all the zombies can be eliminated, the epidemic will surely end quickly.

(End of this chapter)