Yang Shiyun took out her phone and checked that the signal was still normal. It seemed that the impact of the virus had not yet completely paralyzed New York, otherwise the power should have been cut off by now. However, after dialing, she found that no matter what number she dialed, it was always busy.
Yang Shiyun said, "I can't make a phone call."
Zhao Qiang pointed to the public phone next to him: "Try using this."
She dropped in a coin, and the call actually went through. It seemed there was a problem with the mobile signal. Fortunately, Professor Martin's phone could still be reached, but it just rang for a long time without anyone answering. Yang Shiyun dialed three times in a row, but it was the same each time. She slammed the phone down. "No one is answering. Maybe the signal is just broken."
At this moment, several white students walked towards Yang Shiyun. They were carrying baseball bats and had menacing expressions on their faces. When they saw Yang Shiyun, they exchanged glances and then approached her without making a sound. These boys were the kind of guys who would cause trouble in the past. Now that not only the school but the whole of New York was in chaos, they were doing whatever they wanted. Yang Shiyun, such a beautiful Eastern woman, caught their eye. Since humanity was about to be destroyed, how could they miss out on such a beauty?
Zhao Qiang saw it, and Yang Shiyun saw it too. Zhao Qiang didn't move. If Yang Shiyun couldn't handle these students, it would be a disservice to her reputation. Sure enough, these students were about to approach Yang Shiyun. Before they could attack her, Yang Shiyun suddenly kicked out, slamming her foot into the chest of the student in front. The student raised his baseball bat to block, but little did he know that Yang Shiyun's shoe had also been specially treated by Zhao Qiang. With a snap, it hit the baseball bat, breaking the very sturdy bat in two.
The student was astonished. He knew all too well how sturdy the baseball bat was; to break it with a single kick was something only a skilled athlete could do, yet his opponent was merely a frail girl.
In fact, Yang Shiyun had already held back. If Zhao Qiang had kicked her that time, it wouldn't have just broken the baseball bat; the subsequent force could have crushed a person's chest.
The American student threw down his baseball bat and said to his companions, "Let's team up and catch her, then find a nice place to play with her all night, haha..."
Their companions were in complete agreement, so the group threw away their baseball bats and put on other weapons. Surprisingly, they all carried guns. In the United States, guns are legal to own, and given the chaotic state of the city, it wouldn't be a big deal if they had rocket launchers.
Students think, "You can break a baseball bat, but what about a gun?"
Yang Shiyun frowned. With a flick of her wrist, the guns of several American students were suddenly snatched away as if by a forceful force. Caught off guard, they had no time to react. Their guns were taken from them as if an invisible hand was manipulating them.
"What... what's going on?" Several students were shocked, their faces turning pale. It was even more astonishing than seeing a madman, because the gun was hovering in the air. Was this some kind of ghost?
Yang Shiyun reached for a pistol and, bang, shot a student through the thigh. "Ah!" the student screamed in agony. Yang Shiyun asked, "Where is Professor Martin?"
The injured student screamed, "I...I don't know!"
Bang! Another student was injured, and the rest turned and ran.
"No, no, don't shoot!" the second wounded student pleaded. "I... I know where Professor Martin is."
"Oh?" Yang Shiyun was a little surprised. Actually, she was just asking casually and didn't expect these bastards to know Professor Martin.
(Thanks to Id问天 and 春江新月 for the donations)
Volume 2 [683] Data
[683] Data
"Professor Martin is still in the office building," the injured student said, pointing to the office building billowing with thick smoke in the distance.
Yang Shiyun said, "You're talking nonsense. That building was burned to the ground. How could Professor Martin be inside? He's not stupid."
The male student said, "I really didn't lie to you. We just ran out of there. Professor Martin is indeed inside."
Yang Shiyun said, "Alright, I'll remember what you look like. If I can't find Professor Martin, I'll find you no matter what, unless you leave New York. Then you'll know what happens when you lie."
The male student said, "How could I dare to lie to you? Professor Martin seemed to be looking for something, and he even cursed at us when he saw us."
Yang Shiyun released the injured student and said to Zhao Qiang, "Let's go in and take a look. I know the professor's office."
Zhao Qiang nodded. Night had already fallen. Many buildings in New York City were without power, and many were on fire. Gunshots could still be heard in the city center. Who knew how far the virus had spread, or whether it had spread beyond New York City? This was truly a catastrophe for humanity. Hopefully, the disaster that began in New York would also end in New York.
The entrance to the office building collapsed. Judging from the scene, someone must have shot the madman here. The battle was intense and it even ignited nearby vehicles. The flames are still burning, and there is a pungent smell of burning rubber everywhere. Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun climbed into the office building through the window. There was thick, choking smoke everywhere. They didn't know if Professor Martin was still alive.
Yang Shiyun led the way. The elevator was broken, so the two of them had to take the stairs. Apart from piles of thick smoke here and there, they didn't see a single person on the fourth floor. It seemed that everyone had run away, and those who hadn't were probably eaten by the madmen. The speed of the virus's spread could be described as instantaneous. In the morning, the overall situation was still peaceful. Who could have imagined that the world would change so drastically in just one day? It was like heaven and hell.
Yang Shiyun pointed ahead: "Professor Martin's office is over there."
Zhao Qiang used his X-ray vision. Although he couldn't see clearly because of the smoke, he was still certain that no one was in the room. Yang Shiyun didn't believe him and kicked open the office door. The room was empty. There were no scattered documents that often appeared in apocalyptic scenarios. She even saw a cup of coffee on the table, but it wasn't steaming.
Zhao Qiang picked up the cup, smelled it, and then gulped it down. He was a little thirsty after traveling all the way. Yang Shiyun tried to stop him, but it was too late. "What are you doing? Who knows if it's poisonous? What if you get infected too?"
Zhao Qiang said, "It's definitely not poisonous. If those madmen had been here, they wouldn't have left this place so clean. Besides, if it really is poisonous, it's good to test how toxic this virus is."
Yang Shiyun frowned and said, "Nonsense, where did the professor go? This building isn't even that big."
Thump, thump, hurried footsteps sounded overhead. This was the first sound of human activity heard since entering the smoking building. Yang Shiyun jumped out of the window first, followed by Zhao Qiang. The two of them jumped to the fifth floor at the same time, smashed the glass with a bang, and rushed into the office on the upper floor. There was no one in the office. Zhao Qiang kicked open the office door. Outside was a corridor. There was no thick smoke as expected. On the contrary, the fifth floor was very quiet. However, the footsteps at the end of the corridor were hurried and loud. Yang Shiyun pointed forward: "There." She darted past Zhao Qiang.
Zhao Qiang had no way to deal with Yang Shiyun, who was somewhat competitive. Her energy was not enough to protect herself, and she could only use it for small things like seizing an enemy's gun. Yet she always rushed forward when there was trouble, without knowing how to cherish herself. It would be fine if she only hurt herself, but what if she hurt Xiao Wei, who might be inside her body?
Zhao Qiang pushed off the ground with his running shoes and leaped past Yang Shiyun, reaching the end of the corridor ahead of everyone else. He saw two figures disappear into the stairwell one after the other. The fire door was still shaking. Zhao Qiang kicked it, shattering the fire door, and he passed right through it. The figure in front rolled down the stairs, while the figure behind was getting closer and closer, almost within reach of the person in front.
Zhao Qiang pulled out his compression gun and fired a shot. The figure behind him exploded, spraying a thick layer of liquid onto the wall—it was a madman. The man who tumbled down the stairs was silent; it seemed the fall had really hurt him. However, it was also possible he had been bitten by the madman chasing him. Perhaps in a day or a few hours, he would become one of the madmen's army.
Yang Shiyun activated the X-ray vision glasses Zhao Qiang had given her. She usually didn't like using these devices. With the night vision function activated, the figure of the person on the stairs ahead came into clear view. "Professor?" Yang Shiyun called out, her body lightly leaping from the fifth floor to the fourth floor, stopping beside the motionless person. She then helped him up. He was an elderly man, quite old, with blood in his mouth and nose. Unexpectedly, this man was Yang Shiyun's teacher. That American thug was honest enough; otherwise, Zhao Qiang would have definitely found him and beaten him up.
Zhao Qiang stepped forward and scanned the professor's body. He ripped open the professor's shirt and saw that the professor had wounds on his arms and chest, but he didn't know what had caused them. However, in this critical situation, he preferred to believe that the professor had been bitten by a madman.
"Take him to the hospital!" Yang Shiyun shouted to Zhao Qiang. How could she not be anxious when she saw her teacher injured?
Zhao Qiang pulled Yang Shiyun aside, saying, "Let me carry him, you lead the way." Zhao Qiang was worried that Yang Shiyun wouldn't be able to protect herself, because it could be very dangerous if Professor Martin's virus flared up midway.
Yang Shiyun knew that as a girl, her physical strength was definitely not as good as Zhao Qiang's, so she handed Professor Martin over to Zhao Qiang. She smashed the window glass at the end of the fourth-floor corridor with one blow. Of course, the two of them would not walk on the street. Jumping out of the window and walking in the air was the right way.
"Who...who..." Professor Martin woke up, unable to fall asleep despite being tossed around.
Yang Shiyun hurriedly came over and grabbed his hand: "Professor, it's me, Sarah. I just came to see you not long ago. How come the world has changed so much in such a short time?"
Professor Martin opened his eyes. His eyesight was already poor, and now the visibility inside the building was even worse, and it was pitch black. He asked doubtfully, "Is it really Sarah?"
Yang Shiyun said, "It's me, Professor. We're taking you to the hospital. Why didn't you leave the office building sooner? It's dangerous to stay here."
Professor Martin said, "No, don't go. Go to the sixth floor. There are materials in the laboratory."
Yang Shiyun said angrily, "Professor, what time is it? You're injured and need to receive treatment immediately. Forget about the documents. We need to get to the nearest hospital right away. We can't afford to waste a minute."
Martin struggled fiercely to prevent Zhao Qiang from carrying him away. "No, no, those documents are very important. They contain my previous research on this unknown virus, and they are crucial for identifying the source of infection and developing treatments."
Zhao Qiang said, "Shiyun, go get the documents. I'll take Professor Martin to the hospital."
Martin cursed, "Shot, put me down, let me go up. Don't you know which documents are important? Don't delay the important business."
Zhao Qiang was displeased after being insulted, but considering the other person was an old man and Yang Shiyun's teacher, he didn't say anything. Yang Shiyun said, "Let's go upstairs to get the documents."
Zhao Qiang helped Professor Martin up, and the three of them headed upstairs. Before they even reached the sixth floor, on the fifth and a half floor, they encountered two madmen rushing down from the sixth floor. Professor Martin's face showed fear: "They're the ones who bit my two students to death, otherwise I would have gotten the information long ago." It turned out that Professor Martin had led a group of people to storm the office building, but those two students were unlucky. Instead of becoming heroes, they became food for the madmen, and Professor Martin was also implicated and suffered. Who knows if he can escape infection.
While holding Professor Martin back, Zhao Qiang pulled out his gun and fired with one hand, sending two madmen rushing down the stairs flying. Despite his own injury, Professor Martin praised, "Good marksmanship, young man from China. If I am also infected with the disease in a moment, then I ask you to give me a good shot in the head as well."
Yang Shiyun choked up a little: "Professor, don't say that. We'll take the information and send you to the hospital right away. We'll definitely find a way."
Professor Martin shook his head: "Don't I know? There is currently no cure for this virus. I only hope to live long enough to hand over the research data I obtained by chance to research institutions so that a treatment can be found as soon as possible."
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, Professor, don't worry. There's a reason why humans have survived on Earth for so long. As long as the virus is contained within New York City, there is still hope for humanity to turn the tide."
Professor Martin said, "But it is very difficult to control the spread of the virus, so don't make too many plans. You should even be prepared that the country might send the whole of New York to heaven if necessary. After you take the information to the emergency command center, you should do everything you can to escape New York."
Professor Martin seemed prepared to die, and before Yang Shiyun could persuade him any further, the three of them went to the sixth-floor archives. Because Professor Martin was an important figure in the university, he had his own separate archives and even a large laboratory, although the laboratory was not on this floor; the data was stored here.
"I can't find the key." Professor Martin was a little frustrated. He had tripped and fallen while being chased earlier, and that was probably when he lost the key.
Yang Shiyun stepped forward and kicked open the door to the archives room. Her feet were also super-powered, making kicking the door a piece of cake. Professor Martin had never seen Yang Shiyun so powerful before and was momentarily stunned.
Zhao Qiang asked, "Professor, where are the materials?" The room was full of books and manuscript paper. These older researchers preferred to record data on paper. If it were Zhao Qiang, he would rather use a computer, as paper was not suitable.
Professor Martin pointed to a dark gray bookshelf and said, "The red one." His breathing was a little rapid; it was unclear whether he was currently undergoing an infection.
Zhao Qiang immediately noticed the red book on the dark gray bookshelf. It looked very thick. After scanning it, he found that it was Professor Martin's research notes, which included the magical virus.
Volume 2 [684] The Rescue Team
[684] The rescue team
Zhao Qiang's brain reacts incredibly fast; a single scan is enough to copy the data into his brain. According to Professor Martin's research, the replication ability of this virus can be described as ever-changing. Their favorite environment is the human brain, so when they take over a human body, their first priority is to control the human brain, causing the human to completely lose their soul. Then, they manipulate the human body to devour fresh human flesh to provide them with more abundant evolutionary nutrients. Because they have taken over the human body and the human brain has been damaged, infected humans do not feel pain or fear. They maximize the potential of the human body and frantically create sources of infection.
In fact, Professor Martin's research was quite rudimentary. After all, he hadn't considered that the virus might leak out. As researchers, they had a deep fear of this virus and dared not easily create samples to leave in the world, for fear of accidentally causing a human catastrophe. But unexpectedly, things still happened.
Seeing Zhao Qiang standing there stunned for a few seconds, Yang Shiyun went forward to take the red book. At that moment, there were several loud bangs overhead, and the sturdy floorboards were smashed open, probably by several armor-piercing rounds. However, they did not explode after smashing open the floorboards, but continued to shoot downwards, finally getting stuck in the middle of the floorboards. Several ropes were lowered down through the large hole they had smashed open, and several people slid down the ropes. These people were fully armed, wearing gas masks and carrying weapons on their backs. They did not seem too nervous when they saw the three people in the room. After landing, they took out their weapons from a distance and stood guard.
"Is this Professor Martin?" the leader called out in a muffled voice, his voice muffled by his gas mask.
Professor Martin said, "It's me. Which part are you from?"
“We are a commando team ordered to take you out of New York. My name is Louis. Please come here, Professor Martin. We will take you away by helicopter.” After confirming that there was no source of infection here, Louis removed his gas mask.
Professor Martin said, "Okay, take my research materials with you."
Louis said happily, "Yes, that's another reason we came here."
Two commandos rushed to protect the bookshelf, and Yang Shiyun was pushed aside. Professor Martin said to Louis, "The red one, we don't need the others. There are virus samples in the lab."
Louis said, "There are virus samples everywhere now, so they're not needed."
Professor Martin emphasized: "We have synthesized a drug that can resist 20 percent of the virus's attack power. Apart from this synthesized drug, to my knowledge there is no other drug that works against the virus."
Louis's expression froze. He knew he had to take the synthetic drug Professor Martin had mentioned, or he would be punished by headquarters when he returned. "Professor Martin, where is the laboratory?"
Professor Martin said, "Of course, in the laboratory building. I have my own separate laboratory on the second basement level."
Louis waved his hand: "Take Professor Martin with you, let's go."
Yang Shiyun watched helplessly as the research data with the red cover was taken away. She glanced at Zhao Qiang, who shook his head at her. Yang Shiyun knew that Zhao Qiang had already scanned the data, so whether he got it or not was no longer important. Moreover, judging from Zhao Qiang's expression, there wasn't anything particularly crucial in the data. She guessed that the most important thing was the synthetic drug that Professor Martin had mentioned. Although it could only achieve a 20% therapeutic effect, it was a good start. With this synthetic drug as a foundation, Zhao Qiang could find the final treatment.
Zhao Qiang gestured to follow, and Yang Shiyun understood. The two followed Professor Martin to climb the rope, but Louis stopped them. "Who are you?" It was obvious that the two men were of different skin color. It wasn't that Louis didn't want to save them, but his orders strictly forbade him from causing trouble and that he had to ensure Professor Martin's safety.
Yang Shiyun said, "We are Professor Martin's students."
“You should take the stairs and leave,” Louis said coldly, not wanting to get himself into trouble.
Yang Shiyun said, "No way, we just saved the professor."
Louis said, "Then I thank you on behalf of the country. However, we have a special mission and cannot allow you to board the plane. The country has set up an immunization zone in the city center. As long as you are not infected, you can pass the inspection."
Zhao Qiang said, "I suggest you take the professor to the hospital immediately because he is injured." Actually, even if he goes to the hospital, it is still unknown whether it will be of any use, but it is better than doing nothing.
Louis glanced at his watch, hesitated, and said, "Time doesn't allow us to make two trips. Professor, how is your injury?" He then bent down to examine him. Professor Martin urged him, "My injury is nothing serious; business is more important."
Professor Martin, in the end, still didn't trust Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun. He only said he was there to pick up research data, but didn't mention anything about synthesizing drugs. But when the American appeared, he immediately changed his tune. That could be considered patriotism, right? Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun are Chinese after all. Even if Professor Martin is selfless, he still has some selfish motives.
After receiving confirmation from Professor Martin, Louis had two team members support Professor Martin, actually as a precaution in case Professor Martin suddenly became ill and threatened. He personally put the red document in his pocket and ordered everyone to evacuate. As for Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun, they were forced to stay downstairs with guns pointed at them.
Zhao Qiang said to Yang Shiyun, "It seems your teacher doesn't have a very good relationship with you. It's a shame you even made a special trip to visit him."
Yang Shiyun was also a little embarrassed. She said, "It's pointless to study this issue at this point. Besides, the professor was injured by a madman. Shouldn't we not have any opinions about him?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Alright, then you should at least know where the laboratory building is, right? They took a plane, which is much faster than us."
Yang Shiyun nodded: "Of course I know. If the professor hasn't changed the password, I still have the password to enter the lab."