Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 396 Roots
"Is that so?" Ouyang asked, somewhat confused. "Then how did this thing manage to remain dormant in the ice cave for tens of thousands of years?"

“Because the temperature inside the ice cave is not that low, the spores enter a long-term dormancy.” Wan Lin’s smile remained unchanged. “Most fungi are not very cold-resistant, and Pneumocystis is no exception. Only a few fungi can survive for a long time in an environment close to absolute zero, even for thousands of years.”

Ou Yang smacked his lips, suddenly feeling quite emotional.

They are all living organisms, so why can microorganisms be preserved at low temperatures for a long time, but humans cannot?
Despite persistent rumors of cryopreservation and resuscitation, there has actually been no successful resuscitation case to date.

Fortunately it was winter, and fortunately it was Siberia; otherwise, I don't know if the Russians would be in danger, but our own northern region would certainly be threatened.

But Ouyang was a little confused: "I want to know what happened here. Do I need to know this?"

He simply couldn't understand what happened at the research institute had to do with Siberia, thousands of miles away.

“It is necessary!” Wan Lin said with great certainty. “The Russians have done a good job. Until now, no new cases have been found in the Siberian region. However, not long ago, shortly after you fell into a coma, cases were found in southern England, causing an uproar throughout Europe. The three English islands were immediately locked down.”

Ouyang had already guessed this outcome, but he still felt a mix of emotions: "This day has finally come!"

"Yes, it finally came!" Wan Lin sighed as well. "Actually, the preparations for the Ying team were quite thorough. They conducted various drills and did a good job with isolation and disinfection. But without a specific drug, this is all they could do."

"What about other countries? What were their reactions?"

"What other reaction could there be? Everyone was trying to avoid it like the plague. Almost overnight, the coastal cities were completely emptied, and everyone fled inland."

"No control?"

"There definitely are, but it's unclear how they manage it or whether it's actually effective."

Ouyang thought it made sense. After the outbreak in the United States, the government spent countless resources to evacuate people. Europe and the United States are separated by the sea. Given the government's foresight, it was impossible that they did not make preparations in advance.

Nowadays, there probably aren't many of our own people stranded in Europe.

Wan Lin added, "I heard that after the outbreak, the European side withdrew the fleet that was blockading the Americas to blockade the straits. Before the base was closed, the highest level of epidemic alert had been issued to Europe and the western coast of the Philippines!"

Ou Yang didn't say anything, he just sighed.

The fleets that had blockaded the seas have all withdrawn, leaving the Atlantic Ocean unblocked. Ships from the Americas can now sail freely across the ocean, and it's only a matter of time before the pandemic spreads to the other side.

Europe is doing relatively well, with a relatively high level of economic development and adequate preparation. However, Africa is a different story. It is one of the least developed regions in the world, with many areas suffering from poverty, hunger, and natural disasters. Even the most basic needs for food and clothing cannot be guaranteed, so how can we talk about hygiene and disease prevention?
However, Ouyang wasn't too worried about Africa, because it was separated from his homeland by a vast ocean and posed very little threat. Europe was different; although it belonged to a different continent, it was part of the same landmass, and could be reached directly by road or rail.

If the epidemic spreads widely, my hometown will inevitably face threats from Europe.

In the fight against Pneumocystis jirovecii, no one or no country can escape the consequences. As the saying goes, "a single hair can move the whole body," meaning that various changes in the external environment must have produced some adverse effects, ultimately leading to an accident at the research institute!

Ouyang scratched his messy hair vigorously: "What about our fleet? Did they withdraw too?"

“The research institute wasn’t closed before,” Wan Lin said. “Now, not only the Pacific Ocean needs to be blocked, but the Indian Ocean also needs to be blocked. Fortunately, we had a year to prepare.”

Ouyang strongly agreed with this.

A year is a short time, so short that it passes by without you even realizing it; but a year is also a long time, long enough for your hometown to be fully mobilized and for all industries to switch to a wartime system.

Ouyang was unsure how many warships the navy had before the pandemic, but he knew that his shipbuilding capabilities were unparalleled in the world. According to online data, the total displacement of ships launched in a year exceeded 40 million tons!

Taking into account factors such as the structure, quality, and equipment of warships, let's say we can build 10 million tons of warships a year. If we calculate based on a main destroyer being 20,000 tons, that's a full 500 main warships!

This is only the state during peacetime. If the entire industrial system were to switch to a wartime system, the quantity would at least double!
That's so damn brutal, isn't it?
Just thinking about it sent a chill down Ouyang's spine.

He didn't even dare to think about the consequences of the higher-ups going all out. It wasn't just about expanding the fleet with ships; it was about filling the ocean with warships!

What limits the ability to build ships at full capacity is no longer shipbuilding capacity, but where to find so many qualified crew members!
Of course, given its population size and average education level, training enough qualified crew members is not difficult, and it is fully capable of sealing off the world on its own!
This is only one aspect.

What would happen if the situation developed to the point where land borders had to be closed to stop the spread of the virus?
The total length of our land border is about 2.2 kilometers, and the average steel production in recent years has been over 10 billion tons. That is to say, every kilometer of land border can be allocated 4.5 tons.

With so much steel, you could easily build a wall, and how much advanced equipment could you produce?
Assuming a tank weighs 50 tons, 4.5 tons would be equivalent to 900 tanks lined up side by side, with a total length exceeding 3000 meters and an extra 150 meters to spare!
Thinking of this, Ouyang suddenly felt an uncontrollable shiver, as if an electric current had struck his entire body!
Brutal is no longer enough to describe our homeland today. As the most powerful industrial nation in human history, with a population of over a billion, once it unleashes its full power, the entire world will tremble in the shadow of an industrial Cthulhu.

Wan Lin didn't notice Ou Yang's strange behavior and continued, "We had already negotiated the terms with the main island before building the new city and research institute. However, due to the influence of the global situation, the neighboring prefecture split into the cooperation faction and the power faction. The two sides couldn't stand each other and had many conflicts. In the end, the forces of the power faction simply united and overthrew the neighboring prefecture by force."

Wan Lin sighed, "To be honest, we don't care who's in charge of the main island. We just need to acknowledge the agreements we reached before. Besides, these people are incredibly arrogant. They think that with the pandemic spreading, the island's environment is uniquely advantageous, and even if an outbreak occurs, it can be quickly controlled. They believe that any country that comes here should be courted and flattered. They insist on overturning the agreements we reached before and are making a series of unreasonable demands on the new city!"

Ou Yang suddenly realized that the root of the problem must lie in the other party's request!

(End of this chapter)