Chapter 46 Growth Rate

After reviewing and searching through the records for quite a while, Xu Chen identified several categories of diseases that had experienced an abnormal surge recently: tumors and cancers, autoimmune disorders, common infectious diseases, and neonatal conditions.

They seemed completely unrelated, making it impossible to pin the cause down to a single specific factor.

Rare autoimmune diseases, in particular, were difficult to diagnose and hard to treat; a single patient of this kind could consume the effort of several others, placing an immense burden on the medical staff.

Xu Chen made a rough guess at what factors might trigger such an outbreak, but his efforts yielded nothing.

Compared to its previous methods, Cthulhu seemed to act with conscious intent, operating much more covertly and elusively.

Although the methods were far milder and the mortality rate could not compare to that of the mutated fungus, Xu Chen knew clearly that this situation was extremely perilous. Once the pressure on the medical system reached a certain threshold, even minor illnesses risked going untreated in time amidst the over-operated healthcare institutions.

When that happened, mortality rates would surge like a rising tide.

What methods on earth was it using? How could it afflict so many patients?

Xu Chen thought for a moment, but found no answer.

Its mysterious power was inexplicable by science; perhaps even the gods struggled to resist its pollution. Otherwise, with such an obvious and overt villain making its entrance, where had the god of mercy ever displayed his divine miracles?

While lost in philosophical reflection, a sudden thought struck him, and a faint flash of inspiration sparked in his mind.

That fleeting glimpse of insight was like a glimmer in the fog—vague and elusive, yet enough to point the way.

"If all these illnesses are caused by Cthulhu..."

"Song Tian's father... his timeline matches up perfectly."

"His medical case records..."

"Could they share commonalities with the previous ones?"

"The doctors' meeting minutes..."

"It seemed to involve some kind of enzyme..."

A light flashed in Xu Chen's mind: "Right, it's the abnormally active BrC-Abl tyrosine kinase."

Ouyang Xing, who was also flipping through documents nearby, was startled. He looked at Xu Chen in bewilderment, having no idea what he was talking about.

Xu Chen looked at Ouyang Xing with a hint of excitement: "I remember that mutated Aspergillus flavus you studied before—didn't you say that fungus was unnaturally active?"

Ouyang Xing thought for a moment and nodded. "That's right."

"How was it unnatural?"

"Why are you suddenly interested in that Aspergillus flavus again?" Muttering a couple of words, Ouyang Xing nevertheless patiently explained it to him. "Put it this way: do you know the growth rate of normal Aspergillus flavus?"

Xu Chen shook his head. He had never studied mycology.

Taking stock of Xu Chen's knowledge reserve on the subject, Ouyang Xing found it pretty much expected. Their medical internship group had been goofing off all along, so being completely clueless now was only natural.

"Alright, I'll tell you straight: the growth rate of Aspergillus flavus depends on multiple factors, including temperature, humidity, nutrients, and other environmental conditions. Theoretically, if suitable environmental conditions are provided, the growth rate of Aspergillus flavus can be quite rapid.

Under ideal conditions, such as a temperature of 25°C to 30°C and a relative humidity of 85% to 95%, its growth rate can reach 1 to 2 millimeters per day."

Xu Chen made a mental estimate, raised his hand to look at his thumb, and figured that under suitable conditions in a petri dish, growing a fungal patch the size of a thumbnail would take about four to eight days.

"The mutated Aspergillus flavus, however, grows 1 to 2 millimeters per hour."

"Isn't that the same?" He didn't understand.

"Wait, per hour?" Xu Chen reacted, looked at his thumbnail again, and then spread out his palm.

Within the span of a single day, under suitable conditions, it could grow a fungal mat large enough to cover the palm of a hand.

Only then did he realize he had utterly underestimated the spread rate of that Aspergillus flavus.

"Moreover, it's not just the growth rate that is fast; the expansion speed is rapid too. Basically, half a day is enough for it to produce mycelia capable of remote dissemination. If it's inside a petri dish, you'd watch a single fungal mat sprout everywhere across the entire dish.

Those smaller fungal patches are just 'enclaves' of the main colony, and their transmission speed is absurd. That was how the mycelia spread everywhere inside the isolation ward back then."

Xu Chen imagined it and realized that mere growth speed was nothing; dissemination was the real deal. With those two attributes combined, it was the ultimate fungus—unbeatable under heaven. The compounding spread rate made the expanding coverage area all the more terrifying.

"That's not all. What do you suppose is the most suitable culture medium base for this mutated Aspergillus flavus?"

"It should be the same as common fungi, right? Cornmeal, soy protein, maltose extract, and things like that?"

Ouyang Xing gave Xu Chen a meaningful look. "Mammals."

"Huh?"

"Alive."

"Huh??"

"This mutated Aspergillus flavus fungus seems to have changed its race, shifting from herbivorous to carnivorous. It can plunder nutrients far more efficiently inside a mammalian body, which is why it produces reactions completely different from when it infects other organisms or plants, as you know."

Xu Chen thought for a moment and nodded.

He marveled at how Cthulhu's brain was wired to create such a lifeform. In the global game of *Plague Inc.*, it would undoubtedly rank among the top, leading the current version and serving as a Tier 0 entity.

Methods or drugs capable of eliminating it did not yet exist. At present, it was still running amok in certain countries lacking robust means and emergency containment measures.

"Then, why is it so active?"

Ouyang Xing was stumped by the question. The previously articulate Ouyang Xing instantly fell silent.

He looked at Xu Chen, at a loss for words, and finally turned his head to look at the instrument beside them to avoid the awkward atmosphere.

"Senior, why is this mutated fungus so active?"

Unable to withstand Xu Chen's persistent questioning, Ouyang Xing could only smile wryly and turn back. "This question... I don't know either. Forget about asking me; even if you asked Academician Qi, he'd probably find it hard to answer."

"You guys still don't know why this fungus is so active after all this time?" Xu Chen asked in confusion.

Ouyang Xing nodded. "Don't let our apparent ease in developing antifungal drugs like EXC08 fool you... Oh, by the way, mine is a broad-spectrum one."

He added this clarification and continued.

"But in reality, only three universities, one engineering institute, and two academies of sciences in the entire country have developed currently viable antifungal drugs. The higher-ups unconditionally share any news regarding this type of fungus with our six institutions to support our drug research.

You could say we are essentially the people who understand this fungus best, so if we don't know, it means nobody knows. Now you should understand how we got the news about the mutated Aspergillus niger."

"Oh?" Xu Chen caught the implication in Ouyang Xing's words. "Since you said *essentially*, does that mean there are non-essential sources?"

Ouyang Xing looked at Xu Chen with a sympathetic gaze, giving him the creeps.

"You didn't even know that? Think about what our internship group was doing at the very beginning."

"You mean..."

"Frontline researchers, of course. Although this fungal subspecies is widely disseminated, honestly, it's not as terrifying as the main entity. To prevent this mutated fungus from staging a comeback, targeted research is actually directed more toward the main entity of the mutated fungus itself—studying the exact problems you mentioned.

So, if they don't have news, it means there is zero news whatsoever."