25 You Did A Great Job, Young Man

In the morning, Zhou Wen was watching a webinar on the bus when his phone suddenly rang. The call was from Wu Yan. 

"Hello, Zhou Wen. Can you hear me?"

"Mmhmm… Yes, go ahead."

"Where are you now?"

"I'm on my way to work. Why?"

"Editor Liu passed away at 4.30 this morning due to respiratory failure. Come over here, quick. The leader has something to ask you."

Zhou Wen was momentarily rendered speechless. 

Even though he was aware of Editor Liu's condition and was not very optimistic that the man would make it through the night, he did not expect that his speculation would actually come true.

Frankly, he felt rather frustrated in his heart. 

After all, he was the first person that discovered the patient, and he was also involved in the emergency treatment. In fact, he stopped at no expense when he used the Biotype plaster on the patient, yet the patient did not manage to live in the end. It was the feeling of powerlessness and dejection that made him frustrated. 

Wu Yan empathized with Zhou Wen's feelings. She consoled him by saying, "Don't overthink. You've already tried your best. That's all for now; we'll talk more when we meet later."

"Mmhmm!" 

In the laboratory department of the First People's Hospital. 

As soon as he arrived at the entrance, Zhou Wen could feel the tense atmosphere in the air. 

The entrance that was cold and desolate earlier now had a few vehicles parked on the outside. Other than the two smaller cars, two more white vehicles were sent from the Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

A few staff members were dressed in white biohazard suits waiting by the side of the vehicles. 

On the other hand, the laboratory department's deputy director, Cao Hui, senior pathologist and PCR Team's team leader, Zhang Shuguang, and the senior pathologist and viral test team's team leader, Yang Liqun, were talking to the five people-in-charge from the Province CDC in the lobby of the first floor. 

As soon as Zhou Wen entered the lobby, Zhang Shuguang called out to him, "Come here, Zhou Wen."

When Zhou Wen made his way to them, and Zhang Shuguang made the introduction, "It was him who discovered the patient yesterday night. You may ask him if you have any questions."

Following Zhang Shuguang's introduction, Cao Hui, Yang Liqun, and the people-in-charge from CDC looked toward Zhou Wen in unison. 

Yang Liqun was the first to ask, "You're the first person that discovered the deceased?"

Zhou Wen nodded. "Hmm, it's me."

"How did you discover the patient?"

"I was having dinner with my colleagues there at the time. Three of us went to the restroom in the middle of the dinner…"

"As for that, I did it out of speculation. I started working in the department recently, and I've been reading the literature of this field for the past few days, it looked just like…"

Zhou Wen gave a credible narrative that he had constructed before making his way here. 

It was true that Zhou Wen did not use any equipment, and no one would believe that he had a pair of eyes that were on par with an electron microscope either. The people would only believe his words if it sounded credible. 

When Zhou Wen was done with his narration, the few people-in-charge from the CDC felt rather speechless in their hearts. They wondered how this jinx could actually figure this out by relying on his intuition. It was also incredible that he could come to a conclusion within such a short period of time. 

For example, Ebola was a deadly virus that took only a short 24-48 hours to take effect after contracting the virus. On the other hand, the disease had a high risk of death, killing up to 90% of those infected. 

Some specialists would joke about it by saying, 'if Ebola had a ten-day incubation period, then mankind will be completely wiped out and start anew.' 

Yang Liqun did not trust Zhou Wen's narrative, but he did not get to the bottom of the matter either. This was because it was meaningless to do so now that the patient was already dead. 

The information that he wanted to find out most now was the ingredients of the antiviral plaster. 

According to the narration of the people in the know, Liu Bing had already suffered from respiratory failure when he was at Food City. Had it not been for Zhou Wen's emergency treatment, it was possible that Liu Bing would have died on the spot. 

However, it was inconvenient for him to ask this question due to the presence of outsiders. 

"Alright. I don't have any other questions."

Upon Yang Liqun's statement, a middle-aged man wearing glasses from the CDC asked a few more questions. He was mainly trying to verify the situation at the scene, such as whether Zhou Wen came into contact with the patient's body and vomitus. 

Zhou Wen had a good understanding of this, of course. 

In reality, he discovered at once that Editor Liu's mouth and nose secretion were not infectious. At the same time, the virus was not transmissible via indirect contact. For example, the door handle of the toilet where he touched did not spread any Filoviridae virus. 

Otherwise, he would not allow the people to crowd around them either. 

After Zhou Wen's truthful report, the specky middle-aged man said, "Here it is. I shall perform a viral test for your department later. Even though the virus is not transmissible according to the primary diagnosis, we shouldn't be caught off guard either."

If the virus were transmissible, the people infected would have shown signs and symptoms according to the deceased Liu Bing's situation. 

On the other hand, there was no second case reported from yesterday night until now, which proved indirectly that the virus was non-transmissible. 

"Hmm! Noted."

Soon afterward, the people from CDC, deputy director Cao Hui, Zhang Shuguang, and the rest shook hands to bid farewell. 

Before they left, the specky middle-aged man patted Zhou Wen's shoulder and praised, "Young man, you did a great job this time."

Zhou Wen took a glance at him. [Name: Lin Huaidong. Gender: Male. Age: 45. Occupation: Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Pathologist Team's team leader, senior pathologist. Physical state: ??? Mental state: ???]

"Thank you."

After the people from Province and Municipal CDC left, Cao Hui and Yang Liqun left in succession while Zhou Wen followed Zhang Shuguang to head upstairs. 

They arrived at his office, and Zhang Shuguang took a seat on the chair and looked at Zhou Wen, who was still standing in front of his office table. He chuckled and said, "I can tell that you're quite capable to be able to determine the virus with your naked eyes. Tell me, what else do I not know about you?"

"Heh-heh…" Zhou Wen let out two humoring laughs. "It was just a wild guess."

"A wild guess? That can't be, right?" said Zhang Shuguang, smilingly. Then, he continued, "Whether it is a wild guess or not, you've managed this event in a rather perfect manner. I shall record a merit for you."

Zhou Wen felt relieved in his heart at once. However, he immediately seized the opportunity to voice out soon afterward, "So uh, boss. How's the case with my being employed as a formal employee? Any news?"

"Why are you in such a rush? I've already submitted it for you. Everything must be carried out step by step. Could it be that you're afraid that I would forget about it?"

"No…" Zhou Wen panicked. "I've already told my girlfriend that I'm a formal employee. If she were to find out that I was only bluffing, she would certainly break up with me."

Zhang Shuguang asked amusedly, "You have a girlfriend?"

Zhou Wen answered embarrassedly, "Uh… Not yet."

Zhang Shuguang chuckled. "Alright, don't need to pretend anymore. You should receive news regarding the issue with the formal employment by this week if everything goes according to plan."

"Thank you, boss."

"Go back to work, quick…"

Zhou Wen left the office feeling both happy and frustrated. 

He was happy that he was about to become a formal employee but was frustrated that the mission would be considered failed if he failed to become a formal employee within 100 hours. 

Yet, there was nothing that he could do about this matter. The only thing he could do was wait. 

After Zhou Wen was done drawing blood in the comprehensive laboratory, Wu Yan came over to see him. "Team leader Yang Liqun is seeking to meet you. Go over and see him; he has some matters to discuss with you."

Zhou Wen knew the reason why Yang Liqun wanted to see him. However, as long as he refused to admit it, there was nothing Yang Liqun could do either. 

"Oh, alright, I shall go over now."

Yang Liqun's office was located on the sixth floor as well. 

By the time Zhou Wen arrived, Yang Liqun was typing something on his laptop. He stopped working when he saw Zhou Wen and stretched out his hand to beckon Zhou Wen. "Please take a seat."

"Thank you…"

Zhou Wen took a seat on the office chair opposite Yang Liqun. 

Yang Liqun crossed his arms and propped himself up on the office table. He chuckled and said to Zhou Wen, "I won't beat about the bush either. To tell you the truth, I'm very curious about your antiviral plaster. Can you please tell me its ingredients?"

"Uh… That…"

"Is there a problem?" asked Yang Liqun. 

Zhou Wen shifted his body posture and said, "Due to the complicated situation of the scene at the time and the fact that the deceased was in extreme fear and panic, I placed a plaster on him to console him and put him at ease. The plaster did not actually have much effect, but it was mainly due to the resistance provided by the deceased's own immunity."

Yang Liqun nodded. He believed it. 

"That's all. You should go back to work."

"Mmhmm… Team Leader Yang, I shall leave now, alright?"

"Hmm."

Yang Liqun picked up the test result on the console after Zhou Wen left. 

It was the test result of this patient. 

There were thousands and even countless cases in nature, so there was nothing much to get excited over a trifling matter like this. 

However, it would be something if Yang Liqun could publish the treatment protocol to The Lancet in his name. 

What a waste that the young man refused to work with him...