Chapter 422: The Evil Hand

“His name is Zhou Xin, and he’s an expert in vaccine research here. A couple of years ago, he developed the vaccine for a disease that was widespread in City Y,” Jiang Linglan introduced with a smile in Li Yiyi’s ear.

Li Yiyi had heard about this matter before. It was said that when the disease first emerged, experts had spent a lot of time and energy researching the vaccine, as there was no prior research on the disease.

Unexpectedly, she was now face-to-face with the expert who developed the vaccine.

“Expert Zhou, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said respectfully, walking up to shake his hand.

Zhou Xin appeared very approachable, without the slightest sign of looking down on others despite his accomplishment in creating the vaccine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Compared to you, what I’ve done doesn’t amount to much. I heard you’re a medical professional. In that case, we have something in common. When you have time, come to my lab and we can exchange some ideas.”

“Sure, as long as you don’t mind, I’ll definitely come,” Li Yiyi replied with a smile.

Following Jiang Linglan’s introduction, Li Yiyi had a brief conversation with several experts in various fields of research.

As she walked around, she realized that she had stepped into a hub of elite professionals.

After lunch, Li Yiyi returned to the lab and received her mission for being here, which, unsurprisingly, involved studying the nematodes.

At that moment, Jiang Linglan was explaining the details of the mission, “Comrade Li, I know this matter is urgent, but don’t worry. We’ll assign two experts to work with you on the research. The organization has given you half a month for the task.”

Just as she finished speaking, Li Yiyi saw two people walk into the lab. One was the expert Zhou Xin who she had briefly spoken to during lunch, and the other was someone Li Yiyi vaguely recognized but couldn’t recall their name.

“These two will assist you in researching the vaccine for the nematode. I hope the three of you can collaborate and develop the vaccine in the next half month,” Jiang Linglan continued.

After giving these instructions, Jiang Linglan left, handing over the lab to the three experts.

Zhou Xin greeted Li Yiyi with a smile, “Comrade Li, I didn’t expect to see you so soon again.”

Li Yiyi returned the smile, “Yes, we met so quickly. Over the next half month, I’ll rely on both of you to guide me.”

“Comrade Li, you’re being too modest. While we are also experts in vaccine research, we know nothing about nematodes. Compared to you, we’re blind. The research will definitely depend on you,” said the other male expert.

Zhou Xin nodded in agreement, “That’s right. Among the three of us, you’re the only one who understands these worms. The vaccine research will rely heavily on you, so we should really thank you, Comrade Li.”

Li Yiyi found their earnestness amusing, and after a brief laugh, she continued, “Alright, let’s all work hard together. I’ll compile all the information I have about nematodes into a booklet, and then we can all research it together.”

“You’re quite thoughtful, Comrade Li. Well, we don’t have much time, so let’s get to work and focus on the vaccine research,” Zhou Xin announced with a smile.

During the research, when the two buckets of live nematodes were brought in, Li Yiyi realized that the very nematodes they had brought back from the village were now in the lab.

Having seen such creatures before, and even uglier ones, Li Yiyi remained calm as she looked at the living nematodes in the water, as if they were just another normal sight.

However, Zhou Xin and Professor Huang were not as unfazed, as they had only heard about these worms but had never seen them in person. This was the first time they had seen the nematodes, and their faces showed discomfort.

“Who would’ve thought, these are the culprits that almost wiped out half of the province decades ago. I’ve heard about the condition of those who were infected back then. It was terrifying. Seeing them today, these creatures are indeed quite disgusting,” Zhou Xin said with a look of hatred as he stared at the nematodes in the water.

Professor Huang, his face pale, also stared at the worms swimming in the buckets and spoke slowly, his voice carrying a distant tone, “I heard that those who were infected with these worms would first show symptoms similar to poisoning. Eventually, the worms would reach their brain, turning the victim into a madman, a soulless monster.”

“Not just madmen, I heard that those infected with these worms completely lose their sense of pain. It’s like they’re possessed, attacking and biting anyone they see,” Zhou Xin added.

Li Yiyi felt a chill in her heart. She thought about the villagers from the village where they had stayed earlier, silently relieved that they hadn’t turned into the monstrous creatures the two experts described.

Seeing her change in expression, both Zhou Xin and Professor Huang immediately guessed that she was thinking about those villagers.

“However, Comrade Li, you’re lucky. The villagers you encountered weren’t severely infected. The worms didn’t stay in their bodies for long, so they just needed to expel the nematodes from their system,” Zhou Xin comforted her.

“I’ve heard that the reason we’re under such time pressure to develop a vaccine for these nematodes is because the higher-ups want to send someone to investigate the origins of these worms, to see if people from Country R are once again extending their evil hands towards our country,” Professor Huang lowered his voice and explained to the others.

“I’ve heard that too, so we must complete the vaccine research within the given time frame. We can’t allow our soldiers to fall victim to these creatures,” Zhou Xin said with a clenched fist, swearing to do everything in his power.

Soon, the three of them split up to work, each examining a nematode under the microscope.

After a busy day in the lab, Li Yiyi rode her bike back home in the evening. Usually, the smell of food would already be wafting from the kitchen by this time, but today, as soon as she entered the compound, she noticed there was no smoke coming from the chimney.