"Yes, that shrew is truly stubborn. No matter what I said, she refused to reveal anything about the antidote. She wants to watch us all get infected and die, only then will she be happy. She'll witness this scene before she dies!"
"Such a wicked woman. A scientist, no less. People like her are a menace to society, no matter what field they're in."
"I agree. But He Xin, have you found any other leads recently?"
Returning to work matters, He Xin became serious again. "Recently, I discovered another group of tattooed men appearing at some docks, but they were apprehended by the police. Captain Guo has been extremely stressed about this lately. I feel this fellow is truly outstanding; it's a waste for him to be in the police force."
"What do you mean? Guo Jin is indeed a talented person, but given his personality, he's more suited for the police force. His ability to communicate with people at the grassroots level is even more professional than those veteran officers. This guy has high potential; he's naturally cut out to be a policeman."
"Exactly. Officer Guo is right. Actually, every branch of law enforcement is extremely difficult. He once told me that in peacetime, being a police officer is the most demanding job."
"Oh? You seem to have a good relationship with him!"
"It's alright, actually. Captain Guo was my high school classmate."
No wonder. If He Xin hadn't told me today, I wouldn't have known. Given He Xin's age, she and Captain Guo are about the same.
I nodded and asked He Xin where those tattooed men were now. She told me most of them were at the police station, but several key individuals had been brought over.
Upon arriving at the interrogation room, I sat in front of a fat man. "Your leader has been arrested, yet a few minor figures still dared to cause trouble at the docks. We've found all the medicine boxes."
"So what if you found them? Some of them sank into the sea, hahaha! Serves you right! You people all deserve to die!"
Hearing me say this, the fat man burst into laughter, acting as if he didn't care about his surroundings at all.
Liu Yuning and I were so angry that we slammed the table and said in unison, "He Botao, what kind of attitude is that? Do you think this is your home? This is an interrogation room! If you continue to be so flippant, the court will only give you a heavier sentence for your crimes!"
"Is that so? You two are quite a pair. I heard you're a married couple. How interesting. What am I? Even if I were like Kelly and shot a hundred times, what difference would it make? People like us, even if we go to hell, will be loyal servants of Satan!"
"Satan? What do you think you are? You're just pitiful, helpless, and ignorant criminals!" I retorted impatiently.
"Are we pitiful? To sacrifice a small part of ourselves to ensure the success of a great experiment, this is a very important..."
"Shut up! What kind of damn experiments are those? Aren't they just things that harm people? If you have the energy to harm others, you might as well create constructive scientific products to benefit society. You who live in darkness, among the decaying soil, think you can shake the world? You are too foolish!"
"You're the foolish one, Officer Liu. Great scientists require sacrifice, especially these ignorant and cowardly people. Their existence merely wastes air and all resources. We are merely purifying these weak, 'trash' bodies. When they die, won't the world's resources be even more abundant? We will surely become great figures like Edison and Einstein!"
"Heh, and do you know what Edison and Einstein did their entire lives? They invented high-tech products, donated money for good causes, educated future generations to research science, and exhausted their lives to benefit human society. But you, you are just a bunch of murderers living in the darkest corners, in the rotten places! What right do you have to compare yourselves to those truly great scientists!"
I spoke righteously and with utmost seriousness. At this moment, the mercenary slumped in his chair, his face showing only utter defeat.
A few minutes later, I had him sign and fingerprint the confession. This guy showed me a glimpse of what was behind the detestable Kelly.
They are all the same group, their dirty deeds far more foul than the filth in a sewer. Among these impurities, all details have become indistinguishable, leading these people to develop a strange belief that everything Kelly did was correct.
It is this terrible blind worship that has brought such tragedy to humanity. I picked up the confession, as heavy as the world's most destructive nuclear warhead, and walked solemnly out of the interrogation room.
In fact, He Botao was Kelly's mysterious boyfriend, and Lilyke was his child. This poor child, after her parents are apprehended, will likely experience a huge change in her life. She will only live under the shadow of her parents being heinous criminals...
All the culprits have been arrested; everyone from the laboratory has fallen into our net. However, ichthyosis has still not been contained. Not to mention me, even Director Zhang, who initially called three times a day to urge us, then once a day, then every five hours, has now escalated to calling every hour.
You must know that this matter has driven the media crazy. They are putting pressure on the Health Bureau and Public Security departments. Experts and medical personnel from all over the country are rushing to Guangming City, all eager to develop an antidote as soon as possible to save these poor patients with ichthyosis. Yet, to this day, there is still no news about the antidote.
That night, I was on duty at the detention center, watching these suffering patients and their pitiable families. Due to the need to care for them, many family members have lost the concentration to work recently, leading to a sharp decline in their economic conditions. Many people, let alone afford medical treatment, are even struggling to live. Fortunately, at this time, the state allocated hundreds of billions, bringing a ray of hope to Guangming City.
Now, when I go out, I see empty streets. Everyone is terrified by the ichthyosis outbreak. An atmosphere of absolute, dead silence and despair permeates the entire Guangming City...
The great economic clock has also stopped ticking. The entire city seems to have fallen completely silent in an instant. However, at 2 AM on September 23, 2022, as I and several police officers were dozing off in the detention center lobby, a sudden, violent commotion swept in from the distant darkness. Liu Yuning and I opened our eyes to see countless ichthyosis patients, who were previously lying in bed, sitting up straight as if summoned by Cain. Their blood-red, ferocious eyes, filled with murderous intent, seemed capable of devouring the entire world. Veins bulged on their limbs, and muscles protruded. As soon as they stood up, they turned and walked towards the detention center gate!
At that moment, we were all stunned and stood up, wanting to ask them what was going on. However, one of the ichthyosis patients roared at us. Afterward, they all surged towards the gate as if they had lost their minds!
They seemed determined to break open the door and leave!
We tried to pull them back from behind, struggling with the ichthyosis patients. However, the ichthyosis contained ketamine, and these individuals, influenced by the drug, had strength and speed exceeding normal levels. Even the mighty Xiao Yuande was pinned against the wall by several ichthyosis patients at that time!
Several of us were being restrained by numerous ichthyosis patients. Liu Yuning tried to grab the communicator to call for backup, but the ichthyosis patients seemed to have seen through her intention and held down her arms, preventing her from doing so.
There weren't many police officers in the detention center at the time. Upon realizing the situation, they all rushed over. I saw Captain Guo among them. Seeing that the situation was dire, he called for reinforcements via the radio communicator.
We continued to fight with the ichthyosis patients. At this moment, a burly man knocked down a guard, snatched the keys from him, and with a click, opened the lock on the main door. Countless ichthyosis patients, taking advantage of the chaos, madly pushed open the detention center doors and surged out. Even with He Xiaoyu and He Jinghui intervening, they couldn't stop them. There were thousands of such patients in our detention center alone, not to mention those from other detention centers in Guangming City. We broke free and chased after the ichthyosis patients, trying to stop them from leaving the detention center, but they were too strong and pushed us to the ground. At the same time, they separated some people to intercept us, while a portion of them took the opportunity to cross the guard railings and reach the main road outside.
You must realize that the roads were filled with vehicles and pedestrians at this time. These out-of-control ichthyosis patients charged towards these people, causing various degrees of car accidents on the road. Even more terrifyingly, ichthyosis patients from different detention centers and hospitals in Guangming City seemed to hear a call and broke through their enclosures, rushing onto the road, attacking people, and vandalizing street facilities. Several police cars were even smashed. They set fires to houses and attacked anyone they saw. For a time, the entire Guangming City plunged into complete chaos...
But after 4 AM, they seemed to have stopped causing trouble and were heading in a certain direction. We all followed behind them. We saw them all walking along a road, heading towards the former laboratory!
We had called for massive reinforcements at that time. It was easier to manage these ichthyosis patients when they were concentrated. If they dared to enter the laboratory, we would surround the place and seal them inside.
However, just as I was making this decision, Director Zhang suddenly appeared. He pulled me from behind and said, "He Sheng! My wife is among the patients. You can't lock them up! What if they fight each other in the laboratory later? Then no one among these ichthyosis patients will survive!"