Star Rank Hunter

Chapter 422: I Am Here

Hulandu and Zweig Feihang’s condition sent a wave of panic through everyone present.

During their treatment just a few minutes ago, no life-threatening injuries had been found. Now, however, they looked gravely ill. It had happened far too suddenly.

Medics rushed over and brought Zweig Feihang and Hulandu into the emergency room inside the spacecraft.

“What the hell is going on?”

Knight and the others paced anxiously outside the emergency room. Perhaps out of sheer frustration, Knight felt even hotter and more suffocated in his protective suit. He tried to strip it off, but Cillin stopped him.

“They might be infected with a virus,” Cillin said.

“Infected? But they’re wearing protective suits...” Knight suddenly trailed off. He remembered the wounds on Hulandu and Zweig Feihang.

They had retreated all the way from the administration building, meaning their wounds had been exposed to the air for a considerable time. It was entirely possible they had been infected. However, upon entering the spacecraft, everyone had passed through the sterilization chamber to be disinfected, then cleared a virus detector to confirm they were safe before coming inside. They had only kept their protective suits on because it was too much of a hassle to strip them off and suit up again before heading back out.

If Hulandu and Zweig Feihang were truly infected... for the detector to miss it, it had to be a new, unknown strain. In theory, the mother Dream Tapir carried far more viruses than the sub-generations. The viruses on the captured sub-generation Dream Tapir had not been fully cataloged yet, and there were no vaccines or specific drugs to counter them.

Furthermore, Cillin suspected the source of infection wasn’t here. Hulandu and the others must have been infected back at the administration building. Not just Hulandu and Zweig Feihang, but anyone who had followed them there—anyone who was injured, had a torn protective suit, a malfunctioning Breathing Mask, or similar issues—could already be infected.

...

In a temporary medical tent set up on the edge of the base, a group of soldiers was chatting. In front of them, two people were sparring. One was from the Legion, and the other was Cary, who had taken off his Armor.

Cary seemed to be getting along quite well with them. They had likely built this camaraderie while covering Cillin, Max, and the others as they evacuated Central City. These men were all battle maniacs. After falling back to treat their wounds, they were waiting for their next assignment. During this downtime, they agreed to a friendly spar. The others watched from the sidelines, using it as a way to relax before heading back into the fray.

Right in the middle of the fight, a loud, authoritative command suddenly rang out.

“Fall in!”

Whether they were leaning against the wall, sitting on the ground, or actively sparring with Cary, they all dropped everything at the sound of the order. They reflexively formed up and stood at attention. All the joking vanished from their faces as they stared straight ahead, standing tall and perfectly straight.

But after waiting for a long time, no follow-up orders came, nor did any officer appear. Still, none of them dared to shift their gaze, holding their rigid posture.

Cary and the spectating Mogas looked around in bewilderment, seeing no one else. The medics and a few logistics personnel were also glancing left and right. Soon enough, they spotted a large bird perched on a scaffold.

A medic in charge of the temporary tent chuckled. “This guy loves his pranks! At ease, everyone, Ghost Claw is just messing with you.”

Perched high up on the scaffold, Ghost Claw indifferently preened its feathers, showing absolutely zero remorse.

The formation instantly broke as the soldiers exploded into curses, piling on to scold Ghost Claw. But before they could get two words out, a shrill alarm blared.

Ghost Claw kept its beak tightly shut, signaling that it wasn’t the source this time.

This time, it was real.

...

The results were out at the spacecraft, and the medical alarm had originated from there.

Moments ago, the medic who emerged from Hulandu’s emergency room had grimly announced the situation. It was indeed a new strain of virus. Realistically, it would be extremely difficult to find a cure in the short term.

Following the diagnosis, everyone who had gone to the central administration building with Hulandu was quarantined. But even before the quarantine was announced, they had begun to show similar signs of bleeding. Some couldn’t stop coughing up blood, while others, like Zweig Feihang, suffered from bloodshot eyes and unstoppable bleeding from their noses and ears.

Worse still, these people had already interacted with others at the base. While most people here wore protective suits at all times, there were always those who were injured or whose suits were damaged.

No wonder Hulandu, Zweig Feihang, and the rest were able to escape the central administration building so quickly. The enemy’s goal had never been to take their lives, but to spread the virus.

The people in Cary’s temporary medical tent hadn’t been to the central administration building, but some had crossed paths with those who had returned from it. Many in the tent were also infected; their symptoms had simply appeared slightly later.

Cary and the others from the temporary tent were sent to an isolation ward hastily built by the Legion. Mogas stood guard outside; he had been wearing his Armor the whole time, successfully avoiding infection. But Cary wasn’t so lucky. His nose had already started bleeding, and just like the other victims, the flow of blood was impossible to stem.

Over at the 11th Team’s spacecraft, Mengqialuo was staying inside. He still wasn’t used to interacting with people and vastly preferred quiet places.

Standing in front of Mengqialuo was a small figure.

Because he wasn’t used to wearing his Armor, Chifeng had stored it away the moment he returned to the ship.

Chifeng stared at Mengqialuo, wearing the exact same serious expression. However, the wagging tail behind him completely gave away his true mood and intentions. One look at that joyfully thrashing tail made it obvious that Chifeng was just trying to show some affection to this newcomer, who also shared some beast-like physical traits.

However, Mengqialuo’s expression grew increasingly grim. He just didn’t know how to express what he wanted to say.

Suddenly, Chifeng’s tail stopped wagging. He looked down at his hand; blood was dripping onto his palm. Before Chifeng could even wipe his nose, Mengqialuo scooped him up in his wings and rushed to find Eudy. Cillin had said that if anything happened while he was away, they were to look for Eudy.

Cillin exited the Legion’s spacecraft and hurried over to the isolation wards. Inside one of the small isolation rooms, Cary and Chifeng were lying in bed. Mogas, clad in his Armor, stood guard outside alongside Eudy. Mengqialuo was sitting inside with them. Because he had brought Chifeng in and wasn’t wearing a protective suit, the medics in charge refused to let him roam around freely.

Tang Qiuqiu stood by the door, uncharacteristically quiet. Since she was wearing her Armor, her current expression was hidden.

Before Cillin went in, he gently patted Tang Qiuqiu on the head.

“Don’t cry. I am here.”

Chifeng was in slightly better spirits than Cary. When Cillin arrived, he was playing chess with Mengqialuo, while Cary was holding an electronic pad, writing his “last will.”

Cillin snatched the pad out of Cary’s hands and tossed it aside.

“Last will my ass. I’m here, what the hell are you afraid of?”

Cary chuckled weakly. His face was terribly pale, likely from severe blood loss. If he hadn’t stored away his Armor, would he still be lying here? But regretting it now was useless, and Cary wasn’t one to wallow in self-pity.

“Hold on. I have a way,” Cillin said.

Cillin’s tone was resolute, injecting a bit of hope into the previously despairing Cary. Beside him, Chifeng grinned, flashing both of his canine teeth.

They were being treated with high-quality medication. Cillin also took out some of his private stash, giving it to Chifeng and Cary, as well as to the Legion’s medical team. Now was not the time to be stingy.

After checking on Cary and Chifeng’s condition, Cillin left in a hurry. Before departing, he spoke with Eudy and Czedow to make sure everything on this end was properly managed.

Ci Jincheng was busy working with the medical team to develop a vaccine and cure for the virus. He invited Cillin to join the research group, but Cillin refused. He had his own plans.

This time, Cillin’s target wasn’t the virus itself, but its source. Based on the reactions of the Emperor in his palm lately, Cillin was certain that the mother Dream Tapir was right here in Central City, highly likely inside the administration building.

The activated mother body possessed total antibodies against the hundreds of viruses it carried. As long as he found the mother, everything would be solved.

At that moment, inside Central City.

The towering administration building was surrounded by guards. Their men covered both the air and the ground. For the time being, the Legion wouldn’t be able to fight their way in.

On the hundredth floor of the administration building, an old man leaning on a cane stood by the window, watching the scene outside. He wasn’t wearing a protective suit, and the window was wide open; he showed absolutely no intention of guarding against the virus.

The wind blowing in, carrying the heat of war, ruffled the hair at the old man’s temples, but it couldn’t blow away the smile on his face.

The old man’s health appeared to be failing. He wore an Auxiliary Respirator, and every breath he took produced a heavy, labored wheeze. Yet, he seemed completely oblivious to it, smiling as he gazed at the world beneath the high-rise and the battlefield beyond the distant moat.

He knew the Legion had come prepared this time. He also knew that large numbers of Legion troops were still en route, and the situation was not in his favor. Despite that, the old man simply stood there like a bystander enjoying the scenery, a calm smile gracing his lips.

Soft footsteps echoed, accompanied by the rolling of wheels. A young man pushed a wheelchair up behind the old man. A figure sat in the chair, only half of his face appearing normal, completely smooth and devoid of wrinkles. The other half gleamed with a metallic sheen, like a robot. He wore loose clothing that entirely swallowed up his frame.

The old man by the window didn’t turn around to address the two newcomers. His gaze remained fixed on the outside world.

“You’re finally here,” the old man at the window said, his tone sounding as casual as chatting with an old friend.

“You seem to be in a good mood. You actually still have the luxury to admire the view,” the man in the wheelchair replied in the same tone.

The old man didn’t explain. Instead, he said, “If we had joined forces, the outcome definitely would have been different.”

The man in the wheelchair smiled. “From the moment you struck out to kill the Red Branch, our stances were no longer the same.”