Chapter 260: Cold Chain (12)

Chapter 260: Cold Chain (12)

“Polyomavirus?” Doctor Ref asked.

“Aren’t you going to put the botulinum toxin inside that virus and use it for a terrorist attack?” Young-Joon asked.

“What?”

Doctor Ref’s eyes widened, and she suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because a genius’ idea of terrorism is on a different level than mine. I could never have imagined that...”

Doctor Ref barely calmed her laughter, wiping away a tear.

“You’re saying that’s not what it’s for?” Young-Joon asked.

“It’s not.” Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

“Then what are you going to use that polyomavirus for?”

“It’s a secret.”

Young-Joon glared at Doctor Ref silently.

—It’s true that they don’t intend to use it to carry the botulinum toxin.

Rosaline, who was monitoring Doctor Ref’s blood flow in the brain, sent a message.

“... You stole the botulinum strain from LifeToxin, right?” Young-Joon asked.

“Yeah,” Doctor Ref replied.

Her response was calm and short, as if she had given up.

“And you founded Philistines?”

“Yassir and his close associates founded it. However, it’s true that I helped them financially and with the strain supply, among other things.”

“What are you going to use the botulinum toxin for?”

“What do you mean? It’s a neuroparalytic drug. It’s for medical purposes, of course.”

“A terrorist developing a medical cure?”

“Haven’t you met Elsie, my mother?” Doctor Ref asked.

“I did.”

“Then didn’t she tell you about me? I’m not some crazy terrorist. I’m different from the Palestine Liberation Army or IS, who are fighting to create an independent state of Arab culture,” Doctor Ref said. “Those people are berserkers driven by their own religious ideology or nationalism. There are terrorists, there are rebels, and there are insurgents, but I’m neither. Did my mother really not tell you about my goal?”

“She said you want to make a world where Rosaline rules over science,” Young-Joon said.

“That’s right. That’s why I don’t do things like harming civilians. A polyomavirus that carries botulinum toxin... It’s horrifying and ridiculous just to hear about.”

“...”

“And Ryu Young-Joon, you made a big mistake by arresting me,” Doctor Ref said.

“A mistake?”

“Because I’m not your enemy. Think of me as your only ally who can pull you out when you fall into the grave that you’ve dug.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Young-Joon shrugged.

“For someone so smart, you’re not very good at predicting things like this.”

Doctor Ref let out a small sigh.

“For example...” she said. “It’s been a while since the world’s largest oil producer changed from Saudi Arabia to the United States.”

“...”

“The United States made every effort to conserve its oil resources by invading Iraq and indirectly developing Saudi Arabia. As a result, they stockpiled a lot of those important underground resources,” Doctor Ref said.

“Now, since the scarcity of oil has risen significantly, they’re probably thinking about selling it at a high price. And then imagine if, all of a sudden, Doctor Ryu, the omnipotent who can make solar cells and bring people back from the dead, comes along and makes the production of biodiesel so efficient that he can make premium gasoline. Do you think the United States will look favorably upon that? You won’t be playing with your CIA friends anymore.”

“...”

Doctor Ref chuckled when Young-Joon didn’t respond.

“Don’t be scared. I’m sure they won’t hurt you over some oil. They’ll leave you alone for a while, just like they are doing now, but I don’t know what will happen afterward,” she said.

“Ryu Young-Joon, science in the twenty-first century is a manual for the powerful to dominate and exploit the weak. Scientists may be pure in their research, but politicians and entrepreneurs who use it are not. It’s like a cult that recruits and exploits its devotees by cherry-picking and re-interpreting biblical passages.

“Science is taking the place that religion had in the Middle Ages by using words like ‘rational’ and ‘international journals’, especially in underdeveloped countries like this one.”

[Synchronization mode: Would you like to analyze myelodysplastic syndrome? Fitness consumption rate: 3.5/second]

“What’s going on?”

“My meds...” Doctor Ref said in a dying voice.

“Please give me her belongings,” Young-Joon said.

“Hold on.”

Robert went to the team that was examining the confiscated items and then came back.

“This was the vial that was in the bag. Is it this? I brought the bag with me just in case.”

“I think so.”

Young-Joon turned to Doctor Ref as Robert handed him the vial. She nodded as she coughed up a handful of blood.

After swallowing a pill, Doctor Ref calmed down a bit. She stared at Young-Joon while catching her breath.

“You had myelodysplastic syndrome?” Young-Joon asked.

“Yeah. Do you know how I was born?”

“I do.”

“Haha. I would’ve been healthy if you handled my genome, but instead, I was born like this because of the tampering of Elsie, who’s dumber than He Jiankui, and her idiot colleagues.”

“...”

“Ryu Young-Joon,” Doctor Ref said. “Don’t obsess over the polyomavirus. It’s nothing.”

“Sigh...”

Doctor Ref leaned into Young-Joon as he sighed.

In a serious voice, she said, “I swear. I’m not making something that will harm people, but I can’t tell you what it is. I know you can’t trust me, but you have to.”

“What about the botulinum toxin?”

“That’s not for any terrorist activities. Well, the Palestine Liberation Army might use it as a weapon to fight against the Israeli army, but they won’t use it against random people,” Doctor Ref said. “I can’t tell you more than this, whether you kill Philistines or not.”

“...”

Young-Joon glared at Doctor Ref.

This woman’s goal was to allow Rosaline to monopolize all science. Could the polyomavirus or botulinum toxin have anything to do with it?

“I’ll give you an important piece of information instead,” Doctor Ref said. “You said your clinical trial patient was in Afula? You probably shouldn’t go there again. The Palestine Liberation Army is after it.”

“What?”

“Afula is one of the biggest medical hubs in Israel, and it’s where a lot of wounded Israeli soldiers are hospitalized and treated. Doesn’t that make it an attractive target for the Palestine Liberation Army?”

“Damn it! They’re going to hit a hospital?”

“Who are you cursing when the Israeli army blew up a civilian school built by the UN?”

“...”

“They were after it for a while, but they’re probably getting impatient now that word has gotten out that you’ve been there. Don’t go back.”

“There are doctors from my hospital there! They traveled all the way here to treat patients because I asked them to!” Young-Joon shouted.

He slammed open the van’s door.

“What are you going to do?” Doctor Ref asked from behind him.

“I have to stop that insane terrorist attack!”

“Even if you call them now, it might be too late. It takes forever to evacuate patients, you know that. They’ll attack as soon as they catch a glimpse of evacuation.”

“If I can’t stop them, I’ll be there right after the attack to clean up the scene and treat the victims.”

“First aid at the scene would be important, but by that point, the facility will have been blown to smithereens and there won’t be anything left. How are you going to treat them?”

“...”

“Ryu Young-Joon, no matter how brilliant a scientist is, he’s a caveman with his bare hands.”

“...”

Young-Joon’s fists trembled slightly.

—It’s okay.

That’s when Rosaline intervened.

—Let’s go together.