Chapter 23

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

While Zhou Wen put on the gloves, he used his Truevision to see through the man dressed in a suit. He could see Editor Liu’s skull and even his oral cavity. 

Moreover, in an instant, densely-arranged bacteria had filled Zhou Wen’s view, and he felt as if he had entered the lair of Red Moon Evil from The Legend of Mir. It was truly unsightly. 

The oral cavity was the filthiest part of the human body due to the presence of slightly alkaline saliva and a warm, moist environment. It was very suited to support the survival of bacteria. 

In addition, a human being would eat and drink milk tea, roasted skewers, hot pot, and the like, which further provided rich nutrients to the bacteria. As a result, even an oral cavity with proper hygiene and a good diet would contain roughly 50 billion bacteria. 

If one did not pick up the habit of brushing their teeth regularly, these bacteria would ‘get married’ and even ‘have children’ in the oral cavity to the point where the population would rise to about 200 billion.

It was precisely due to this reason that one would need to clean the wound of a human bite; otherwise, the risk of catching a bacterial infection was extremely high. 

Of course, there was also lysozyme in a human being’s saliva, which could effectively inhibit bacteria. This is why it is useful for parents to apply saliva on a young child’s mosquito bite wound and why animals would lick their wounds. 

However, Zhou Wen discovered that other than the usual staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus, streptococcus salivarius, streptococcus pyogenes, streptococcus thermophilus, and the like, inside Editor Liu’s oral cavity, there were also countless microscopic Filoviridae viruses.

These Filoviridae viruses were tunneling into the oral mucous membrane with great effort, which struck terror in the heart of Zhou Wen upon seeing it. 

Soon afterward, he traced deeper along the oral cavity and found the source of the bleeding. The Filoviridae virus had already invaded his esophageal mucosa to the point where it had ruptured. 

“Jiang Hexuan, quick, call 120 and remind them to pay attention to any spread of the virus.” In order to prevent Jiang Hexuan from being suspicious, Zhou Wen added, “The color of the blood vomited by this man looks strange. It’s possible that it might be due to a viral infection.”

Jiang Hexuan understood the severity of the situation upon hearing about the need for biochemical protection. He nodded and replied, “Noted.” As he was speaking, he immediately took out his phone to make the call. 

Zhou Wen looked at the specky man and said, “We are from the First People’s Hospital. I’m going to ask you a few questions; please answer me truthfully.”

The specky man was startled. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Hmm, hmm, hmm, please go ahead. 

“Does your friend have any history of a hereditary disease, or did he show any symptoms of being sick?”

“No. Editor Liu has always been in good health.”

“In this case, is this the first time he is showing symptoms?”

“Hmm, hmm, that’s right.”

The specky man nodded anxiously. “Editor Liu has always been a man with good alcohol tolerance. However, he had just drunk a few glasses tonight before he said that he felt nauseated. He even vomited a pool of blood before he could reach the toilet. Can this be a case of food poisoning?”

“It is possible…” Zhou Wen answered. Then, he asked, “What did you two have for dinner tonight?”

“We had an exotic meal consisting of wild ducks, wild hares, wild quails, and other similar things.”

“Are those all wild animals?”

“It is said to be wild animals, but I believe that they are all bred in farms.”

“Did you have any?”

The specky man nodded. “Yes.”

Zhou Wen used his Truevision to see past the specky man’s skull and into his oral cavity. The densely-arranged bacteria appeared in his sight once again. However, he took a closer look and found that there was no Filoviridae virus in his oral cavity. 

Zhou Wen furrowed his brows ever so slightly and said, “Think harder. Other than the things you mentioned, what else did he eat?”

“Hmm… He had some seafood; oh, there was also a deep-fried python. Snake bile is good for detoxifying one’s liver and clearing one’s vision, so we gave it to Editor Liu.”

Zhou Wen replied, “Even a child knows that there are many parasites in snake bile, and you actually dared to let him swallow it raw? Are you trying to make him die?”

The specky man had an embarrassed look on his face. 

However, it was also at this exact moment that Editor Liu, who was leaning against the wall, suddenly vomited and collapsed. 

Zhou Wen reacted swiftly to the situation. He propped up Editor Liu’s upper body at once. Upon noticing that the specky man wanted to help out, Zhou Wen called out, “Move aside, you. Jiang Hexuan, come over here…”

Jiang Hexuan had already put on his mask and gloves now. He dodged the vomit on the floor and came over to prop up Editor Liu’s other arm to help him out of the toilet. 

Soon, Editor Liu’s group of friends and colleagues came over upon hearing the news. 

“How are you doing, Editor Liu? Which part of you is feeling unwell?”

“Wake up, Editor Liu. Call an ambulance!”

“What did you do? How did Editor Liu go from being well to being unconscious? Did you…”

The specky man realized that his colleagues had misunderstood the situation, so he hastily explained, “They are doctors. It’s not their fault; Editor Liu’s sickness is caused by consuming snake bile…”

“What? Is it from eating the snake bile? I said that snake bile shouldn’t be eaten, right? Yet, all of you insisted on letting him eat it!”

“That’s impossible! I used to have it all the time in the past, and I never had any issues.”

“That’s right. I had it frequently, too, when I was young. I turned out fine, didn’t I? I think it’s most probably food poisoning.”

“…”

The colleagues of the specky man were all talking at once, trying to push away the responsibility.

Zhou Wen called out aloud, “All of you, fall back. Don’t surround this area; you are affecting the air circulation.”

“Fall back! Fall back…”

Meanwhile, Editor Liu, who was lying on the ground, had his hands grasped around his throat with all his might. The sound of dry heaving was heard coming from his throat while his face flushed scarlet. He looked like he was suffocating. 

Jiang Hexuan, who was squatting down beside him, said anxiously, “His ability to breathe is severely impaired. He is going to suffer from respiratory failure soon.”

Zhou Wen had been observing Editor Liu’s esophageal wall all this time. 

Just as mentioned by Jiang Hexuan, the mucous membrane was about to be penetrated by the virus, which would result in massive hemorrhaging. The victim was bound to die from respiratory failure. 

Yet, the issue was that he did not have any antibiotics with him nor a ventilator. Before the ambulance arrived, there was nothing that could be done to Editor Liu other than to wait for his death. 

Meanwhile, the exotic food restaurant owner came rushing over after hearing that his customer had an issue from consuming the snake bile. He was standing by the side anxiously. 

His exotic food restaurant had only opened up at the end of last year, and he invested quite a large sum of money into it. The rental of the shop cost a few hundreds of thousands. If a customer were to die here, besides having to close down his business, he would even have to compensate the customer’s family. 

The owner begged Jiang Hexuan and Zhou Wen, “Please, I’m begging you. Do something to save him, please…”

It was a man’s life, after all. Zhou Wen could not just watch the victim die without doing anything. He tried to figure out a way as he furrowed his brows.

“Oh, right! There’s the Biotype plaster!”

At the thought of the Biotype plaster, Zhou Wen hesitated for a moment. According to his understanding of the system’s products, the Biotype plaster was supposed to aid in inhibiting bacteria and improve the healing of wounds. However, he had no idea if the plaster would help inhibit a virus. 

Moreover, the plaster was meant for external use while the Filoviridae Virus was in the esophagus. How could he apply it then?

“Oh… Save… Save me…” Just as Zhou Wen was still hesitating, the editor lying on the ground had already called out for help in agony. 

“F*ck it. Let’s try out the last resort in this hopeless situation then…” Zhou Wen called out to the owner of the exotic food restaurant by the side and said, “Go and get me a small blade, quick. Take a bottle of 75% alcohol disinfectant with you too.”

“Oh, oh, oh…” The owner hastily ran toward the shop, and one could hear him roaring aloud from afar. “Quick, bring me the medical emergency kit…”

In less than 20 seconds, the medical emergency kit was brought over. “Here, the alcohol and the blade.”

Zhou Wen received it, opened the alcohol disinfectant’s cap, and poured it over the blade. After the simple disinfecting procedure, he called out to Editor Liu next to his ear. “I’m going to perform an emergency procedure on you; don’t move.”

Upon saying that, he unbuttoned Editor Liu’s shirt and made a small, gentle cut along the area where Editor Liu’s esophageal mucous membrane was most severely corroded. Blood seeped out from the wound almost instantaneously. 

The exotic food restaurant’s owner holding the emergency kit on the side hastily passed Zhou Wen a cotton ball to stop the bleeding. 

Wei Zhaogong received it and applied pressure on the wound. 

He placed down the blade and inserted his hand into the pocket of his shorts. He was actually retrieving one Biotype plaster from the system’s inventory list. 

He tore open the packaging before he applied it to the wound on Editor Liu’s neck right away. 

Jiang Hexuan nudged Zhou Wen, leaned forward, and asked, “What are you putting on him? Don’t simply do anything.”

Zhou Wen nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry; it’s just an antiviral plaster.”

Jiang Hexuan answered with a ‘hmm.’

One must act according to one’s capability in performing a good deed. It would be wise not to act recklessly. The cases of people being sued after failing to save another man’s life were truly too frequently seen that others had begun to pay more attention. 

While Zhou Wen spoke, his vision penetrated the Biotype plaster, and he observed it quietly. 

In less than 30 seconds, he discovered in surprise that the antibacterial and antiviral reagent contained in the Biotype plaster had penetrated Editor Liu’s lymph node and muscle layers to resist the Filoviridae virus in his esophageal mucous membrane. It was effective in annihilating the virus…