Chapter 40: The Price

After finishing writing, Xu Chen let out a gentle sigh of relief. He looked at the string of circles he had drawn, wondering what was on his mind.

Finally, Xu Chen solemnly folded the piece of paper covered in circles and tucked it into the inner pocket of his jacket.

Given that he was somehow entangled with an extraordinary entity, even if he didn't receive the grand academician-level treatment someone like Elder Ge got, he figured they would at least assign a couple of criminal police officers to investigate what happened to him if he were to die. When that time came, his deductions would be brought to light.

Little did he realize, however, that what he had written was merely a string of meaningless circles; no one could possibly decipher their true meaning.

For now, Xu Chen planned to seek help from his senior schoolmate, Ouyang Xing. After all, before Grandpa Yang left, he had explicitly told him that whenever he ran into trouble, he should look for Ouyang Xing, and that would certainly not go wrong.

...

Meanwhile, at the Central Hospital.

Captain Chu flipped through the report submitted by Xiao Wu, his face dark and grim.

The records showed that during his stay at the Nanhua Military Region Hospital, six patients afflicted with the Taihao disease had died in a very short span of time for reasons unknown, and two of them belonged to the support team.

"Notify the Equipment Department. I am going to speak with Director Yang... No, I will speak with Xiao Wu."

"Yes!"

Captain Chu waited for a moment, and right after, the desk telephone rang. He eagerly picked up the receiver while keeping his eyes on the surveillance monitor. "Xiao Wu?"

"Oh, oh, I'm here."

"I saw the report you submitted. What on earth is going on with those six people? Weren't they in stable condition right up until I left?"

Over the line, Xiao Wu's voice carried a helpless tone. "I don't know. Director Yang told me it seemed to be... some kind of price to pay."

"Where is Director Yang?"

"He's in the physician's office by the nurses' station. Do you want to speak with him?"

"Hold on for a second. Tell me, how did they die at the time?"

"It went like this... On the morning of the 14th... I heard the continuous alarm of a vital signs monitor. Since those patients can't move around, they generally wouldn't make any movements that could cause the sensor probes to detach, so I immediately ran over to check. I found that the patient in bed 32 had already stopped breathing, had no pulse, and cardiac arrest had set in.

"I performed a quick initial examination on him; his pupillary light reflex had vanished. Then I started cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called for Director Yang. Director Yang came over, carrying several clinical emergency medications like dopamine and adrenaline, and he even dragged an AED with him. But after examining the patient, he stopped me and didn't let me continue the resuscitation.

"He said at the time that the person was already brain-dead and could not be saved."

Captain Chu listened intently for a moment before he couldn't help asking, "Weren't there any abnormal circumstances?"

Xiao Wu was taken aback, then cautiously asked, "What kind of abnormal circumstances? Patients who suffer this kind of inexplicable brain death pass away very quietly. Even if there were abnormalities, you wouldn't be able to see them."

"Understood. Go on."

"I was reluctant to accept it at the time, feeling that the patient's vitals had been quite normal just prior to that, and then he just inexplicably died. I wanted to continue the resuscitation. Director Yang looked at me, sighed, and just as he agreed to let me try using the resuscitation equipment, the monitors for patients in other beds started going off.

"The next one to die was the patient in bed 12. By the time the two of us got there, his condition was identical to the first deceased person—he was already brain-dead.

"After that, at regular intervals, another patient's monitor would sound a prolonged alarm, all the way until the sixth one. He was in the bed next to the fifth patient, and I rushed over the moment his monitor sounded.

"It seemed to happen in an instant—an inexplicable brain death. I simply couldn't find the cause.

"I was terrified and racked with crushing guilt at the time. That was when Director Yang told me not to grieve, saying this was simply a certain price to be paid."

"What price did he mention?" Captain Chu inquired.

"I don't know. I was deeply upset at the time and didn't ask that question. Later on, Director Yang comforted me, saying, 'Which doctor can guarantee that a patient will never die? All a doctor can do is grow accustomed to witnessing life and death, and then cherish the lives of the patients while they can.'"

"Alright, put Director Yang on. I want to speak with him."

A commotion came through the phone as Xiao Wu went to fetch Director Yang.

Director Yang's voice sounded somewhat fatigued and tinged with confusion. "I am Yang Tianyou. What is it, Captain Chu?"

"I'm calling about those six deceased individuals," Captain Chu said, suppressing his anger. "What is going on? Everything had been fine for such a long time, so why did problems arise precisely these past two days?"

"I don't know. You can bring in a forensic pathologist to determine the cause of death. My conditions here are less than ideal; all I can tell is that they suffered sudden brain death."

"I'm not asking for their cause of death. You seem to know why they suffered brain death in the first place, don't you?"

The statement was contradictory, but Director Yang understood the implication.

Director Yang remained silent for a moment before murmuring, "Taihao said this is the price for something He is doing. If it weren't done this way, it would brew an even greater disaster.

"We don't have much time left. Delaying the arrival of the disaster as much as possible and buying time is the most crucial thing. This price is well worth it."

Captain Chu's gaze suddenly narrowed. "Taihao... What did He do?"

"..."

Director Yang kept his lips tightly sealed, offering absolute silence.

A technician nearby issued a warning that the interlocutor's emotions were fluctuating violently, but Captain Chu kept listening stubbornly. This question was of paramount importance; he could not allow himself to miss this information.

"If you refuse to speak, I will personally go up to your floor and confront you face-to-face. I need to grasp critical information to make the appropriate judgments, Yang Tianyou! Do not let the country down."

Silence lingered on the line once more, followed by a disjointed, halting voice: "Why... must you... do this? I... have... my reasons."

"I'm telling you, as long as these people are lying here, this matter won't just end like this! Since you are able to communicate with this so-called Taihao, if you still harbor loyalty to the people, you have no right to conceal anything!"

"Captain, Yang Tianyou's emotional levels have peaked. Please exercise caution in your communication!" the technician warned.

"Sigh, you won't understand... You cannot understand..."

"You won't understand..."

"You won't understand..."

Angrily, Captain Chu hung up the phone. He looked at the technician and declared, "We can't just let it go at this! Give me a set of equipment; I am going to confront him in person."

The technician started and advised urgently, "Captain, the Academy of Sciences' recommendation is that until the transmission mechanism of the Taihao disease is ascertained, we should avoid direct contact and dialogue with Yang Tianyou and the others."

"You know as well that it's merely a recommendation? I suspect he has grasped critical information, and we must find out what he is hiding."

"Yes! However, our equipment here is limited..."

"You are not to go! I will go alone!" Though Captain Chu had made up his mind to see Yang Tianyou, he was well aware of the risks involved and had no intention of dragging anyone else into it.

"Yes!"

To deal with emergencies, the command room kept several sets of Class A chemical protective suits and voice-filtering equipment akin to tactical headsets. Carefully, the technician opened a case, pulled out the protective suit, and meticulously helped Captain Chu put it on according to standard procedures.

Fully armed and protected, Captain Chu headed up the stairs.

Following thorough disinfection, he proceeded to confront Yang Tianyou.

Down at the nurses' station, Xiao Wu was flipping through a book—a medical textbook that had been inspected and cleared as permitted reading material. After reading a few lines, he noticed movement in the stairwell and immediately looked up.

"Captain Chu! What brings you here?"

"I'm here to see Yang Tianyou. Where is he?"

"Um... He's inside his room, but his emotional state isn't very stable right now."