After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

9: am.

County hospital laboratory department.

The air was filled with an indescribable smell—the unique odor of the fecal sample after it had been settled.

Zhao Haifeng was hunched over the microscope, his eyes bloodshot and his hands trembling slightly. He had been in this position for three hours.

"Don't shake it." Ye Zhen stood beside her, holding a hot water bottle to maintain the optimal incubation temperature for the triangular flask. "The miracidia incubation method is the gold standard. As long as one is alive, that's irrefutable proof."

Zhao Haifeng swallowed and adjusted the focus.

Against the backdrop of murky liquid, a spindle-shaped shadow suddenly appeared in the field of vision. Covered in fine hairs, it moved in a straight line through the water like a tireless ghost.

This movement almost made Zhao Haifeng's heart stop.

"I...I see it!" Zhao Haifeng exclaimed, his voice cracking as he looked up. "It's alive! Moving!"

Ye Zhen leaned closer and glanced at it.

His expression was calm, even somewhat cold.

"The miracidia of Schistosoma japonicum are highly viable and occur in large numbers." She straightened up, took off her white coat, glanced at the pale dawn breaking outside the window, and said, "Dean Zhao, pack your things. It's time to go 'battle'."

……

10:00 AM, County Party Committee Meeting Room No. 3.

Smoke swirled around.

The smell of cheap cigarettes mixed with the bitterness of stale tea stung my eyes.

The long table was filled with people. The secretaries of the health bureau, the epidemic prevention station, and various communes sat upright, each with an enamel teacup in front of them.

To the left of the head of the table sat Deputy County Head Sun, who was in charge of education, culture, and health. He was in his early fifties, with a receding hairline, and his belly bulged the buttons of his Zhongshan suit tightly. His face carried the arrogance and impatience of someone who had held a high position for many years.

"Snapped!"

The two reports were slammed onto the table, sliding a considerable distance before nearly falling to the ground.

It was Ye Zhen's "Epidemiological Analysis Report on the High Incidence of Unexplained Liver Disease in Lanniwan Brigade, Dahe Commune, Qingyun County" compiled overnight, and Yan Hua's "Emergency Report on Schistosomiasis in Lanniwan".

"This is utter nonsense!"

Deputy County Head Sun tapped his fingers on the table, making a crisp "tap-tap" sound, spittle flying everywhere as he spoke. "Comrade Yan Hua, where has your political awareness gone? Huh? Ten years ago we announced the complete eradication of schistosomiasis—a great victory for the people! Now you dare to spout nonsense with just a few scraps of paper?"

Yan Hua sat there, his back ramrod straight.

"County Chief Sun, this is true." Yan Hua pointed to the report, "We found miracidia in the patients' feces in Lanni Bay! All thirty-six of the deceased were..."

"That's because of their poor hygiene!" Deputy County Head Sun rudely interrupted her, waving his hand dismissively. "That place, Lanniwan, is poor, dirty, and they drink untreated water. What's so surprising about them getting liver disease there? Don't try to create an impression by spreading alarmist rumors! If this gets out, it will tarnish Qingyun County's reputation and affect our year-end performance evaluation. Can you take responsibility for that?"

The meeting room was deathly silent.

No one spoke.

The head of the epidemic prevention station looked down at the tea leaves in his teacup as if they were flowers; several commune secretaries exchanged glances, none of them wanting to get into trouble at this critical juncture.

Ye Zhen sat on the corner seat, slowly twirling the fountain pen in her hand.

As she looked at this exposé of officialdom, a faint sneer curled at the corner of her lips.

There's nothing new under the sun. In some people's eyes, the hat on their head is always more important than their life on their feet.

"Seal the report," Deputy County Head Sun concluded, picking up his teacup and blowing on the floating leaves. "This matter is confined to this meeting room. Anyone who dares to go out and spread rumors, creating panic, don't blame me..."

"Deputy County Head Sun."

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out.

Ye Zhen stood up.

Deputy County Head Sun frowned: "Who are you? How did you get in?"

"I am Ye Zhen, the author of this report."

"Young comrade, this is an enlarged meeting of the county party committee, not a place for you to run wild!" Deputy County Head Sun slammed his teacup down. "Get out!"

Ye Zhen didn't move.

She didn't even look at Deputy County Head Sun, but walked to the huge map of Qingyun County's water conservancy distribution on the wall.

This action looks familiar.

Yan Hua's heart skipped a beat. That's exactly what this girl did yesterday in the archives.

"Deputy County Chief Sun, you just said that the people in Lanniwan got sick because they were dirty and drank untreated water." Ye Zhen turned around, and a pointer appeared in her hand at some point.

"Then I'd like to ask the leaders present here, where does the water you drink usually come from?"

Someone instinctively answered, "The waterworks."

"Yes, the waterworks." Ye Zhen slammed her pointer on a spot on the map. "The water intake point for the Qingyun County waterworks is located downstream of the Qingyun River, three kilometers from the county seat."

The pointer slid upwards along the blue river lines, going against the current, passing through Zhao Jiapu, passing through Li Jiacun, and finally stopping on that red depression.

"And Lanni Bay is located upstream of the Qingyun River."

Ye Zhen's voice was not loud, and she spoke slowly, but she enunciated each word clearly.

"That was a typical open epidemic area. The patients' excrement and sewage containing parasite eggs were discharged directly into the river without any treatment."

"It's the dry season now, the water flow is slow, and there's no large-scale spread."

Ye Zhen paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the teacups in front of everyone present like a searchlight.

"But during the spring flood season, the cercariae that have accumulated in the muddy bay all winter—the larvae that can burrow into people's skin and damage their livers—will be swept down with the floodwaters in a mighty torrent."

"Heading straight to the water intake point of the waterworks."

"Our county's water plant only has simple sedimentation and chlorine disinfection." Ye Zhen smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Unfortunately, these two methods cannot kill the cercariae of schistosomes."

"In other words..."

Ye Zhen walked up to Deputy County Chief Sun and her gaze fell on the large red enamel mug he was holding, which was printed with "Serve the People".

"Two weeks later, what's in the cups of all the leaders will be more than just tea."

"There's a good chance there are insect eggs!"

"Clang!"

Someone's hand trembled, and the teacup lid fell onto the table, rolling several times.

The previously casual atmosphere in the conference room instantly exploded.

Everyone's expression changed.

If the one who just died was a poor wretch from Muddy Bay, that was "data"; but now that I'm the one saying I want to drink insect water, that's an "accident"!

Some people instinctively pushed their teacups away as if they were hot grenades; others began to gag, as if insects were crawling in their throats.

Deputy County Head Sun's face turned from red to white, then from white to green. His hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air, unsure whether to drink or put it down.

"You...you're exaggerating!" he roared, his voice weak despite his bluster. "That water has been flowing for so many years, and no one in the city has gotten sick!"

"Because the egg density wasn't this high before," Ye Zhen retorted coldly. "Or, you can take a gamble. Risk your own liver, risk the lives of your entire family, on that lucky break."

"If County Chief Sun is willing to gamble, you can tear up this report right now."

"Tear it?"

As Deputy County Head Sun stared at the thin sheet of paper, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, forming a thin line along the edge of his Mediterranean-like face.

He dare not.

If something really goes wrong and tens of thousands of people in the county get infected, he wouldn't be able to get away with it even if he had ten heads!

Just then, Secretary Zhang of the County Party Committee, who had been sitting in the center of the main seat without saying a word, slowly stood up.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray with a soft thud.

"Deputy County Head Sun."

Secretary Zhang's voice was deep and carried an imposing, authoritative pressure.

Deputy County Head Sun trembled slightly: "Secretary..."

"Dr. Ye is right." Secretary Zhang didn't even glance at him, his gaze fixed on Ye Zhen, his eyes filled with appreciation and solemnity. "Human life is at stake. Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, we can't gamble."

He looked around, his tone suddenly becoming stern.

"I hereby announce the immediate establishment of the Qingyun County Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control Special Command Center. I will serve as the team leader, and Comrade Yan Hua will serve as the deputy team leader."

"The entire county's health system has entered a state of first-level combat readiness."

"Anyone who dares to slack off or do the bare minimum at this crucial juncture will have their hat removed and be sent to Muddy Bay to drink raw water!"

"Meeting adjourned! Let's get moving!"

At this command, everyone in the conference room seemed to have springs under their buttocks, and they all stood up at once.

The previous shirking of responsibility, arrogance, and indifference instantly transformed into a frantic flurry of activity driven by the will to survive.

Deputy County Head Sun slumped in his chair, his face ashen.

In the corridor.

Yan Hua leaned against the wall, let out a long sigh, and felt his back was covered in cold sweat.

She looked at Ye Zhen beside her, who seemed calm and collected, as if she had just gone to the market to buy some scallions, and her eyes were filled with complex emotions.

"Girl, your 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' tactic is really ruthless," Yan Hua said with a wry smile. "It puts the lives of all the officials in the county on their own, forcing them to work."

"That's not too harsh."

Ye Zhen straightened her cuffs and looked out the window.

There, the spring chill lingered, but the sun had already pierced through the clouds.

"Director Yan, the real battle is yet to come."

Ye Zhen's voice lowered.

"The diagnosis is confirmed, the project has been approved, and people are mobilized. But... where's the medicine?"

Yan Hua was stunned: "Medicine? Doesn't it contain praziquantel?"

"Is praziquantel a new drug, or a generic version whose import patent recently expired?" Ye Zhen frowned, this was her biggest worry. "This strategic reserve drug has extremely low production; even big cities can't get it. How much will be allocated to remote mountain villages like ours?"

Yan Hua's expression changed again.

It's like leading your troops into battle only to find that your guns are out of bullets.

Ye Zhen reached into her pocket and touched the photo that Gu Zheng had sent her.

The hardness of the edge of the photo as her fingertips touched it calmed her down a little. In the photo, the man smiled smugly and brightly, as if there was nothing in the world he couldn't do.

It seems I'll owe that "Living Yama" another favor.

"I'll think of a way." Ye Zhen turned and walked out, her back view thin but resolute.