Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 312 Deep Cooperation
Ouyang stepped out of the door, closed it behind him, and gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

You passed!
Just as he turned to leave, a familiar voice called out to him: "Ouyang!"

Ou Yang turned around, and Lu Wei stepped out, tilting his head slightly: "Want to take a walk together?"

“Okay!” Ou Yang nodded and followed Lu Wei to the deck.

The sea breeze made me feel instantly refreshed.

Lu Wei leaned on the railing and gazed at the coastline. The city disappeared behind the long coastline, and drifting smoke swirled and rose, polluting what should have been a clear blue sky.

Lu Wei patted the railing, took out a cigarette case, and handed it to Ou Yang: "Want one?"

Ou Yang shook his head: "No."

"It won't get better!" Lu Wei lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and the smoke he exhaled was immediately dispersed by the sea breeze.

Ouyang asked curiously, "Can you smoke on a warship?"

He'd been on board the ship for a while now, and this was the first time he'd ever seen anyone smoking.

"Yes, you can, but only on the deck or in the smoking area." Lu Wei smiled and gestured towards the city. "Any thoughts?"

"What?" Ouyang didn't understand what he meant.

Lu Wei flicked his cigarette ash with practiced ease, the ash disappearing without a trace in the sea breeze as soon as it fell: "Did you often encounter similar situations when you were in the epidemic area?"

Ou Yang raised an eyebrow in surprise: "I've encountered it before, but not often."

His mind was filled with all the experiences he had along the way. "The more people there are, the more accidents you'll encounter. You can run into all sorts of strange things. Not to mention the uninfected, the infected are incredibly bizarre... To be honest, there are really good people out there. After falling into the illusion, I also put myself in the template of a good person and tried my best to help others."

Lu Wei was quite surprised, his eyes widening in astonishment: "Is that so?"

Ou Yang nodded: "There are good people, but not many. The vast majority of people who fall ill destroy the template... Although it is dangerous in the city, there are enough supplies, and it is not difficult to find food and supplies; the wilderness is safer, but there are many things that are lacking, and you have to find a way to solve everything yourself."

Lu Wei also had some understanding of the epidemic area, but not as much as Ou Yang. Hearing this, he nodded and began to imagine the scene.

Ou Yang looked at Lu Wei with a puzzled expression: "Why are you asking these questions? Are you being sent into the epidemic area?"

Lu Wei snapped out of his reverie and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "No, it's just that you seem quite comfortable in the city environment, and I couldn't see anything unusual about you, so I was quite curious."

“It’s all out of necessity; you can’t get used to it.” Ou Yang’s tone was both melancholy and wistful. “But I haven’t experienced situations like today many times.”

Lu Wei couldn't help but smile wryly: "Once is enough, why do you need to do it several more times?"

"When you're in the world of martial arts, you're often not in control of your own destiny." Ou Yang chuckled lightly. "You summoned me here just to ask these questions?"

Lu Wei finished the remaining half of his cigarette in one puff, flicked it with his finger, and the cigarette butt flew in an arc into the sea: "Nothing else, I just want to learn some experience from you!"

Ouyang was confused: "What's there to learn from this? What happened?"

Lu Wei shook his head: "It's nothing."

"That's not very nice of you," Ou Yang bluntly exposed. "We've built our friendship together through thick and thin, why are you being so secretive?"

“I just don’t know how to say it!” Lu Wei looked away. “I didn’t feel anything when we were in the city, but after returning to the ship, I can’t help but think about what happened before.”

Ouyang understood a little: "First time on the battlefield?"

"It's not the first time, but I've never encountered one on this scale before."

"Oh!" Ou Yang suddenly realized, "I understand. Everyone has a first time. You'll get used to it gradually."

Lu Wei turned his head and looked at him: "Hey, the way you're talking makes it sound like you're the soldier!"

"Haha!" Ou Yang laughed loudly, "Who knows what the future holds, but right now I'm definitely stronger than you!"

This is the absolute truth, and Lu Wei has no way to refute it.

Looking across the entire Americas, how many truly immune individuals have emerged from the epidemic zone? In a sense, Ouyang is quite a sought-after individual.

Once the conversation was out in the open, Lu Wei stopped hiding anything and carefully inquired about Ou Yang's various experiences in the epidemic area.

Ouyang shared his experience without reservation, especially regarding uncommon but extremely dangerous situations such as spore clouds and special infected individuals.

Lu Wei was greatly impressed and, based on the existing equipment, earnestly discussed how to deal with unexpected situations, especially the impact of infected groups and special infected individuals.

The conclusion was that the best way to deal with mass attacks was through firepower, and the best way to eliminate special infected individuals was also through firepower.

Ouyang...

So, besides firepower coverage, there's no other way? They've become like the Americans, and you still call it a fear of insufficient firepower?
"What if there's no opportunity for fire support?" Ouyang asked.

Lu Wei did not answer immediately, but remained silent for a moment before saying, "There are many ways, it depends on the specific situation. The simplest is long-range sniping."

"What if there's no distance?"

Lu Wei's tone was somewhat heavy: "If necessary, I can sacrifice myself and perish together with the goal."

Ouyang sighed: "I admire your spirit of sacrifice, but it's unnecessary."

Ok?
Lu Wei looked at Ou Yang in surprise: "What do you mean?"

“Ever since we encountered this special infected, I’ve been thinking about how to deal with it.” Ouyang pointed to his temple. “The thing’s biggest characteristics are its strength and speed, but its weakness is that it has no brains.”

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Ou Yang made a shooting gesture: "You know riot guns, right? The kind that shoots out a net with one shot?"

"Oh!" Lu Wei suddenly realized, immediately picturing several soldiers firing capture nets at the same time as the special infected rushed over. "Yes, that's right, net guns are the way to deal with these things!"

“It’s better to be prepared,” Ou Yang said. “We’ve been in the epidemic area for more than half a year and we’ve only encountered it once.”

“It didn’t happen before, but who knows about the future.” Lu Wei disagreed. “I’ll check the records later to see if there are any similar cases.”

The two discussed some more details until the sun set, and the golden-red sunset painted the sea red before they finally ended their conversation.

As night fell, the Hua Tuo ship finally quieted down, but the chaos in the city of Xiushidun had not yet subsided.

Due to the paralysis of the fire-fighting system, the number of fires in the city not only did not decrease, but actually increased, with flames turning half the sky red.

Not only was the city in chaos, but the old Americans who had fled to the docks were also constantly clashing.

They fled in such a hurry that they took almost nothing with them and had no organization, but after hiding at the dock for a whole day, the familiar and unfamiliar Americans quickly united to avoid being bullied.

Black and Hispanic people are united by their skin color, and many of them know each other, so they quickly form several groups, or gangs.

Old Bai has also formed several groups. Some are groups of familiar people who get together, some are groups of people who unite as a neighborhood, and some are even groups that connect with each other based on their hobbies.

There were hundreds of groups, large and small. A typical American trait was that while not everyone had weapons, at least half the group was armed, and everyone was exhausted and hungry.

When people are in dire straits, they throw all sense of propriety, morality, and shame to the wind, and many Americans unanimously set their sights on the piled-up containers.

The supplies brought in by Dongda University were piled up like mountains, with everything from food and drinks to daily necessities.

But wherever there are people, there is a social dynamic. When a group of Americans pried open the container and found it full of food, everyone cheered excitedly, feeling as if the day had already dawned.

However, they were too quick to celebrate.

Another group of Americans, who had searched several containers without finding any food, heard the cheers and immediately realized that they had found food here. The Americans exchanged glances and immediately surrounded the food, forcibly taking it from them.

It wasn't just one group of rice farmers eyeing this batch of food; other groups were also paying close attention to the situation.

A cautious decision to assess the situation, or an impulsive one to immediately dismount, would lead to a large group of Americans on the verge of conflict.

If there are only two or three groups, the next development will likely be a fierce battle between them until a winner is determined.

However, with so many groups gathered, even the most impulsive person would calm down in the face of hundreds of menacing enemies.

Ultimately, the major powers reached an agreement and divided up all the food.

With food, more manpower can be absorbed, the scale can be expanded, and more resources can be seized, thus forming a virtuous cycle of snowball effect.

As for the small groups that also gather nearby... well, who cares about them?

Fortunately, there are still enough containers at the dock, so we can definitely find more food!

So a larger-scale search began, and before long, another container full of food appeared.

This time, the small group that found food didn't make any unnecessary noise; instead, they kept quiet and made their fortune in silence.

However, those large gangs had already sent people to keep an eye on the small group's every move, and would immediately seize any valuable supplies they found.

Initially, some Americans took the initiative to back down and swallow their anger, but they soon found that the more they backed down, the more they were bullied. Unable to bear it any longer, the Americans chose to fight back, and fierce gunfire shook the dock.

Next, various conflicts erupted between large groups and small cliques, between large groups and between small cliques, making the docks increasingly chaotic and turning into a complete mess.

At this time, the city hall, which had initially taken control of the situation in the city, also dispatched personnel to the docks to expel the various forces occupying the docks and reclaim the seized supplies.

During this period, Tokyo University used technological means to obtain more information about the Apostles and provided some of the intelligence to the United States.

People in other areas also suffered varying degrees of impact.

The Apostles’ leadership quickly realized that this was not an accident, but a planned and premeditated precision strike!
Nobody's an idiot. The Apostle leadership immediately severed the connection between headquarters and branches and moved away as quickly as possible.

Soon after, the American soldiers who rushed to the scene found nothing.

It wasn't that the US military wasn't working hard enough, but rather that the headquarters of the Apostles was hidden in the epidemic area, and the US military had always been plotting to bring the Apostles under its control, which left an opportunity for escape.

Otherwise, if they immediately launch a long-range strike upon receiving intelligence, given the equipment level of the US military, they could raze the Apostle headquarters to the ground in no time.

Unfortunately, the Mi family's plans were too ambitious, and they missed the best opportunity.

Ultimately, the Apostles' organization in the plague zone only suffered some damage and was not crippled.

Meanwhile, the apostles in the safe zone were either destroyed or captured, almost completely eradicated. A few escaped and went into hiding, living in constant fear.

Some immediately distanced themselves from the apostles, while others went into hiding to wait for an opportunity.

The Apostle members arrested by the US military were also divided into two groups. The die-hards refused to cooperate with the US Palace and were tried severely, quickly, and in accordance with the emergency law.

Most of the rest defected to the Yonex Palace, becoming another organized immune force under its command.

As a large number of Apostle members were captured, fragments of intelligence related to Smith were gradually revealed, like pieces of a puzzle, ultimately restoring the full picture of the Shy Stew incident.

The Miyako Palace was nearly blown up when it received the news. After all that, it turned out that their own secret department was behind the Shy Poetry Stew incident.
The Miyako Institute immediately initiated accountability procedures, dealing with all the leaders within the X organization responsible for the Shy Poetry Stew incident.

However, they are basically raised high and then gently lowered.

The Yonex Palace has many intelligence organizations, but only this one is immune to all of them. What's wrong with giving it some preferential treatment?
In addition, we need to find Smith, the culprit.

Despite the chaotic situation at the time, the US side still discovered that all the clues collected from various sources pointed in the same direction.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; Old Mi hasn't collapsed yet, so it's not surprising that he found clues.

The White House immediately contacted the embassy to discuss the return of Smith.

The two sides had significant differences, and several rounds of negotiations failed to make any progress.

Ultimately, both sides compromised, each sending personnel to form a joint investigation team to jointly try Smith.

After being repeatedly contested by the two leaders for several days, Smith's life can be considered worthwhile.

Negotiations are one thing, but they do not affect the deep cooperation between the two sides.

Another impact of the Xiushi Stew incident is that both sides have attached unprecedented importance to phacoemulsification, and all equipment and raw materials related to the extraction of phacoemulsification have become highly controlled materials.

The metal cans seized by Ou Yang and others became important materials for the study of phagocytogen.

The research isn't about how to extract it, but rather about analyzing the origin and place of origin of this substance through the materials and processes used in the metal can.

Ouyang couldn't understand how a broken jar could know so much information.

But that's how amazing the investigators are; they managed to make the mute, inanimate object open its mouth and trace its origin.

The next step is to trace the source and eliminate the apostles' ability to create phalloidin.

In addition, protection against phacoemulsification is also of paramount importance.

There's not much to say about this. After conducting some experiments on phagocytogen, China quickly designed practical and affordable protective equipment.

At the request of the United States, the new protective equipment is being produced at full speed, but transportation will take a considerable amount of time.

The US couldn't wait that long. After repeated communication with its superiors, it finally decided to use airships to transport the protective equipment to the US as quickly as possible.

Yes, transport planes are faster, but they have lower payloads and higher flight costs.

Although airships are slower, they are cheaper and don't need to land after reaching their destination; supplies can be airdropped directly.

Due to the limitations of coastlines and ports on sea transport, the University of Tokyo had long planned to use airships to transport goods to the United States and had already established two airship bases at secondary transshipment points.

Everything is ready, except for the final push.

(End of this chapter)