After Bai Ye gave them a detailed checkup, he then separately drew their blood samples for a more complete analysis. There was an unseen somberness on his face, and the young kid had a bad premonition.
When Cheng Anya had a bacterial infection some time ago, the doctor was extremely certain that amputation was a must for her to survive. Now, Bai Ye did not even take a look and left an ironic statement before he coolly entered the lab.
It seems as though there was no medical condition in the world that could stumble Bai Ye, the genius doctor. When Chu Li was shot twenty-three times last year, Bai Ye was unfazed, calm, and demonstrated confidence that superseded himself. He was a legend in the field who shouldn’t encounter anything that put him on tenterhooks.
This time, as Jason had anticipated, viruses were not Bai Ye’s strengths. Bai Ye’s somber gaze showed that things were not looking good. Jason even tapped Bai Ye’s shoulders in a friendly manner to express his sympathy.
Damn it, he finally met his match in the form of a complicated illness. This was like the young kid who had a mythical presence in the field of computer skills, only for the Mo brothers to defeat it.
Bai Ye contacted virologists in Rome to come over to the castle to study the virus together. A serious atmosphere descended upon the castle.
The victims themselves were surprisingly calm.
Cheng Anya had long seen through it. When she was escaping, she felt that death was no biggie after all. She had had a spectacular romance—with her beloved Ye Chen, her darling Ning Ning whom she doted on—and a happy family. Her career developed well, and she had largely experienced what women should have experienced in their lifetime. Having lived such a spectacular life with its ups and downs, she was content.
Her only regret was not being able to see Ning Ning another time—and even that wish was fulfilled. Therefore, to her, living or dying did not matter anymore. Third Young Master Ye himself could not care any less. As a person who did not fear death, he was showing it much more calmly than them.
Chu Li described it as charisma.
Everybody gathered at the conference room and discussed the virus and how Third Young Master Ye had five days left to live. Cheng Anya suddenly recalled something. She said, “Rong Yan injected us with an experimental agent that could delay the onset of the virus by probably a few days.”
As they reunited, she almost forgot about Rong Yan and Chu Li.
Although Rong Yan did not explicitly instruct them to bring news to Chu Li, how could she not? This was an unwritten understanding between them, that even if Rong Yan did not breathe a word, Cheng Anya and Third Young Master Ye would inform Chu Li.
Chu Li’s eyes grew wide and his gaze landed on Cheng Anya. There was an urgent sharpness in his steady eyes that scared Cheng Anya. Jason and Black J, who were laughing and chatting, suddenly quieted down.
“You have news about Rong Yan?” Chu Li calmly asked. While he sounded normal, his over-suppression made him tense. Anybody could tell that his body was extremely stiff.
With the young kid seemed surprised, Third Young Master Ye described what happened from head to toe. Chu Li immediately stood up and said, “Thank you!”
He said two words and quickly left with Jason and Black J in tow. Ye Wei smiled and said, “Scheming Chu must be extremely elated. His urgency is really once in a blue moon.”
A massive mobilization amongst the First Terrorist Organization’s ranks was imminent and the three top leaders were about to wage war together. It was nothing short of earth-shattering. Ye Wei quietly mourned for Prince William.
Somebody was going to lose half, perhaps his entire kingdom.
The young kid secretly thought. Given that Rong Yan could formulate something along those lines, Bai Ye should be able to formulate something similar as well. His complete and undivided attention was on the virus that his daddy and mommy carried. As he was thinking, a man walked over and said, “Young master, Brother Chu wants you to go to the study room.”
The young kid tucked his lips and said, “Daddy, Mommy, I’ll come over to join you in a moment.”
Cheng Anya and the First Terrorist Organization looked each other in the eye. They had the feeling that their child had fully grown up and how their very own young master was certainly going to be part of the ranks of the organization. How their child carried himself in front of them now was completely different from the obedient child before.
That said, since her son had already made his choice, she ought to go the whole ten yards. She supported him.
Third Young Master Ye was, however, comforted. Ning Ning was undoubtedly his son, and it was something he was proud of and took pride in. As his silhouette disappeared around the corridor, Cheng Anya looked on and pondered. When she recovered her senses, she asked Ye Wei, “Wei Wei, did something actually happen to Ning Ning?”
Like how a mother knew her child, she asked as she did not believe that the young kid was fine despite what he told her.
Ye Wei admired her third sister-in-law’s keen observation. She and Eleven then looked at each other in the eye and contemplated whether she should tell her third sister-in-law about Xu Nuo. As Third Young Master Ye looked on, he knew that they were hiding something from him.
“Wei Wei, just say it.”
Ye Wei looked them in the eye and told them about what happened about Ning Ning and Xu Nuo, including Xu Nuo’s death and the young kid’s blindness. They did not conceal the slightest fact.
As Cheng Anya listened on, she felt her heart become heavier.
That explains why her son’s gaze was different. It was no longer as clear and pure as before. However his silhouette looked, he was still a child who still had a few hints of innocence.
Some things, once experienced and had left their impact, changed one’s gaze. She was not overthinking.
Third Young Master Ye frowned as his heart slightly ached at his son’s experience and largely blamed himself for it. Had it been Cheng Anya who died for him, he would also have flown into a deep madness and would not just be blind.
This was extremely similar to how he had self-isolated himself in the past.
“Is that girl confirmed dead?” Cheng Anya asked.
Ye Wei nodded and said, “Our men have combed the area and confirmed her death. Speaking of Nuo Nuo, I am angry…”
Ye Wei slammed her hand on the table and talked about Nuo Nuo’s past. She said, “To think everything bad has to befall Nuo Nuo, heaven is such a jerk-ass.”
Third Young Master Ye paused and said, “Xu Mingyang… I’ve had some dealings with him. He is a decent man, and I did not expect him to be so superstitious. Is there an insider story to it?”
“That’s not how it is,” Eleven said. “I looked up information on the Miao family, and their natal chart is indeed as such. While you could call it geomancy, it is actually extremely accurate and the Miao family is indeed accursed in such a manner. There are a million ways to go about fulfilling this fate, but Xu Nuo’s death should not be one of them. These vicious parents could have let another couple adopt the child.”
Cheng Anya and Third Young Master Ye listened silently. Based on what was said, their child’s future was indeed extremely worrying.
It was especially so for Cheng Anya, who was no longer excessively worrying, as she understood her son best. Him looking like he was no different from the past was just an illusion that deceived.
Once their hearts were desolate, they were like the walking dead.
“Third sister-in-law, don’t worry too much. Ning Ning is still young. He will grow out of it,” Ye Wei said. Since they were two children, even their deep feelings for each other would be diluted with time.
No mortal love, however deep, would stand up to the brutality of time.
Cheng Anya smiled and gently acknowledged. Ye Wei had said that to make them feel at ease. Even Third Young Master Ye also knew that it was even harder to forget than remember.
It merely takes a second to fall in love with a person.
But it would take a lifetime to forget a person.
Third Young Master Ye asked about the Dragon Gate’s recent developments, and Ye Wei replied without hiding anything. As the three main leaders of the Dragon Gate had troubles, especially Lin Yixuan’s recent troubles, things were not looking up.
“Brother, do not worry about this. The most important thing now is to neutralize the virus in your body. There are plenty of people in the Dragon Gate who can hold the fort.” Ye Wei smiled alluringly. “With Louis unable to kick up a racket, he will ease off and we get to recover and recuperate. In case you didn’t know, Commander has already torn us a new one. That battle on the sea was sensational.”
With a new weapon from the largest illegal arms dealer making its debut in battle, how could said battle not be sensational?
Eleven coldly smiled and said, “Based on Jason’s estimation the night before, there are thirteen nations which want to purchase said weapon at astronomical prices, and they are all major powers which are denouncing the terrorists and out to curtail their power. Lo and behold, they are buying weapons from the terrorists’ behind the scenes.”
“That said, the truth… The truth is so… trivial!” Ye Wei smiled even more alluringly.
Miss Cheng did not mention anything whilst a smile broke over Third Young Master Ye’s face. With the firearms market in Jason, Black J, and Chu Li’s hands, they indeed maintained a stranglehold on many nations.
They were so powerful they could not be overlooked.
With Ning Ning next in line to succeed them, their power would grow even larger.
Third Young Master Ye sat for a moment and then went to look for Black Eagle to understand the current situation The Dragon Gate was in. Ye Wei scooted next to Cheng Anya and said, “Third sister-in-law, please don’t tell Ning Ning what we told you earlier.”
“What happened?”
“He recovered from his blindness to never mention Nuo Nuo.”
“I understand,” Cheng Anya said. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you, Ning Ning would have met a worse fate.”
“We ought to thank Nuo Nuo. She exchanged her life for Ning Ning’s.”
…
In the afternoon, five fighters took off from the castle as three helicopters lifted off. They all flew in the direction of Melilla where Chu Li, Jason, and Black J went along.
While Chu Li could single-handedly handle the issue, there was no problem in the world that could mobilize all three heads of the terrorist organization. As Jason and Black J were both bored, and given how the Mafia roiled in its own troubles, they had no qualms getting active as it was their lull period.
The research lab buzzed to life as ten-over virologists were trapped in a panic.
Bai Ye was, for once, caught off guard. He seemed even more solemn and his cold and distant brows were closely knit.
“Mister Bai, who the hell developed this virus?” The leader of the virologist team asked. “I’ve spent almost forty years in this line and have never seen a virus as tacky as this.”
“The Mafia came up with it,” Bai Ye said as he stared at the huge LCD screen which displayed a cross-section of the virus. While viruses were not his strength, Bai Ye had some knowledge of them. Whatever Bai Ye had some knowledge of, he would be able to resolve it with pretty impressive results. He, however, had really never seen such a complex virus before.
“That’s bad,” the leader said in a deep voice. “In June two years ago, a hundred virologists converged upon Rome. One of them is my best friend, and we have met. He claimed that he was developing a virus for the Mafia. Chances are this virus we are looking at is said virus.”
“Are you still able to locate him?” Bai Ye flatly asked. More than a hundred virologists were more than likely top talent.
“He had passed on,” the captain flatly replied. Bai Ye understood his reply.
This batch of virologists was directly under the terrorists’, and they were some of the best virologists in Rome. If they said there was no other way out, it was afraid…
Hope faded.
“Mister Bai, do you have any idea how to approach the issue?”
Bai Ye shook his head and said, “This is the toughest disease I have ever encountered.”
The disease was extremely complicated.
“Go formulate the best possible alleviator. Every day we can delay the onset of the virus is an additional day for us,” Bai Ye flatly replied. The captain went down to give orders. While they could not formulate an antidote, they were able to formulate an alleviator.
It would only delay the onset of the virus by about twenty days.
As Bai Ye recalled the urgency in the young kid’s gaze, his heart sank.
“Mister Bai, I looked up the history of the virus. This is a novel virus,” a middle-aged man said as he passed him a report. “However, in 1934, this virus had once spread in Siberia. It was extremely contagious and was cellular, whose carriers demonstrated symptoms similar to Miss Cheng. The only difference is that this virus does not transmit, and those who are infected only have a month to live. The viruses should, in theory, behave similarly. While the government claimed that it was a radiation leak, what actually happened was a viral epidemic.”
Bai Ye’s eyes lit up. He immediately grabbed the report and gobbled up the information on it. The virus, called SU-1934, was an extremely terrifying virus that spread in a town in Siberia back then. The government later closed all access pathways to the town and ‘sanitized’ the town to prevent the spread of the virus. More than fifty thousand people died.
The virus was a cellular virus, and it was the closest they could find.
“Gather information on virus 1934. I want any information that you could find.” Bai Ye ordered flatly. The man nodded and got down to gathering information.
Bai Ye, in a white robe, propped himself in front of the computer with a hand and squinted. As people scurried around in the research lab, trying to study the virus, various experimental agents were also formulated at the same time.
“Mister Bai, could I suggest that we find the Mafia? If they came up with the virus, we will definitely be able to get the cure from them,” the leader said. “Since it would take a long time to study a new virus, I’m afraid that Third Young Master Ye and Miss Cheng would not be able to hold out.”
Even with an alleviator, they would only be able to delay the onset of the virus for twenty days. They might not have made the slightest headway after twenty days.
Besides, the virus was extremely unstable and it was a cellular virus. If the virus suddenly relapsed, the alleviator would not be of any help and they would definitely die.
“When we put our hands to the plow, we achieve prosperity.” Bai Ye recited the famous saying with a flat face and a calm demeanor.
The leader was at a loss for words.
Since Louis had already brazenly opened fire on Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya, asking him for the antidote was near-impossible. As he would have long expected them to give Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya the antidote, he would have also expected them to be unable to formulate the antidote and look for him. He would, at this moment, mysteriously disappear and reappear elusively. The odds were that they would die before they could find them. That was a risk they could not afford.
He was extremely certain that Louis would not reveal himself in the meantime. Hence, searching for Louis would be a waste of time and effort.
After Cheng Anya and Third Young Master Ye had lunch, they fell asleep. The two of them did not have a good sleep the previous night as they returned to a flurry of inspections and drawing of blood samples. Since they were extremely tired, and given how the virus was slowly consuming them, the two of them could not take it.
As Ye Wei had ignored Mo Jue for a whole day, Mo Jue was hence extremely unhappy and grabbed Ye Wei’s sleeve and complained angrily. In return, Ye Wei wanted to kick him into the swimming pool. The young kid was curious at how Mo Jue carried himself.
“Auntie, how long has he been like this?”
“Five days,” Ye Wei said. “Chances are he is possessed.”
The young kid was extremely curious toward Mo Jue. He was overwhelmingly handsome and had purple eyes that left an indelible impression. He was as pure as a flower which was not tainted by the environment and lacked his typical anger and sinister side.
Comparing Mo Jue before and how today’s Mo Jue called Ye Wei wifey left an impact.
“Dear wifey, you are saying bad things about me.” Indignation welled up in Mo Jue’s purple eyes as he pouted and kissed Ye Wei’s face. The young kid was clearly not used to Mo Jue’s tone and he shuddered.
When he was three, he was nowhere as… petulant… as him.
Ye Wei, who was long used to him getting feely and touchy, touched his head and said, “Be good. Wifey really adores Marshmallow and dislikes those who can scare people to death. I’m praising you, get it?”
“Really?” An innocent Mo Jue looked at her with doe eyes.
Ye Wei was neither flushing nor her heart thumping faster. “That’s for real. When did wifey lie to you?” she said.
The young kid went silent.
She was too… calm.
He emotionally sighed at how calm Ye Wei became. Her calmness was clearly over the top.
“Auntie, can he locate Mo Ye?” The young kid could not care whether Mo Jue had understood and asked.
“He said he could not locate him,” Ye Wei said. Big Boss Mo was so awesomely cold to the point Second Boss Mo would always remain a second boss.
The young kid was stunned into silence.
Mo Jue became visibly aggrieved and hugged Ye Wei, biting her. The young kid deeply felt what he was seeing was NSFW and went out to the research lab.
“Ning Ning, what brings you here?”
“You’ve totally no clue?” The young kid saw Bai Ye’s sunken face and knew that something was not right. He was mentally prepared for what he saw.
At this moment, somebody delivered information on virus 1934. Bai Ye said, “Talk to you in a moment.”
As he attentively read the information, the young kid was curious and scooted over. The information on the SU-1934 virus was as complete as it could get—hazards, number of fatalities, government measures. Bai Ye was most concerned about the designer of the virus.
“Su Jinxiao?”
“Su Jinxiao?” Bai Ye softly murmured the name. The name was extremely unfamiliar, and it was the first time he heard the name. The crux of the 1934 incident laid in its accidental nature which was claimed to be caused by a radiation leak from a nuclear power station that resulted in casualties. Extremely few people knew that it was actually a virus at work.
The young kid had a eureka moment. He said, “Su Man’s grandfather.”
