Chapter 206 - 173: Characteristics of the Ghost Orchid Fungus

Chapter 206: Chapter 173: Characteristics of the Ghost Orchid Fungus

Huai Yu and Uncle Zaozi were sitting on a bench in the hallway outside the emergency room.

This was her first time here. Exhausted and grief-stricken, she could only pace back and forth, trying to distract herself.

Uncle Zaozi was also weak and devoid of energy. At his age, how could his stamina compare to a young person’s? Not to mention, he had been doing strenuous physical labor all day! Unable to sit still any longer, he turned and headed to the nurses’ station. In the spacious, quiet hospital lobby, his voice could faintly be heard pestering the nurses for an artificial-sweetener soothing candy...

Meanwhile, Huai Yu glanced at her basket. Her cup was gone, and the food she had brought was gone, too. All that remained were Big Pup and Second Pup. Having been jostled around for the entire journey, they were now lying dizzily inside, half-asleep and semi-conscious.

She sighed, picking up the basket with the intention of taking it to Zhou Qian’s ward. However, just as she took a step, she suddenly remembered that it was the middle of the night. She decided to wait a bit longer.

She sat back down on the hallway bench and looked up at the posters plastered on the wall. They featured detailed illustrations and explanations of injuries caused by various flora and fauna. Huai Yu read them earnestly, slowly picking up a lot of new knowledge.

Until—

"What is this?"

She leaned closer to the poster.

Uncle Zaozi, relying on his thick skin, had finally managed to pester a nurse into giving him a candy. Reluctant to share it with Huai Yu, he already had it in his mouth. Seeing her studying the poster, he felt a bit guilty, so he eagerly hurried over.

"I know! I know! Although this picture is just a blurry red blob, it’s not because they didn’t want to provide a clear image. It’s because, to this day, no one has ever acquired a complete specimen.

"This right here is the Highly Poisonous Ghost Orchid Fungus. It’s a symbiotic fungus of a certain orchid in the Wilderness. The moment it comes into contact with skin, it rapidly parasitizes the host."

Uncle Zaozi shuddered. "These parasitic types are the most disgusting. If the parasite’s abilities are weak, it can still be expelled after infection—the hospital has all kinds of Expelling Agents.

"But if it’s strong, they have to use various methods to suppress its habits and then forcibly detach it. Otherwise, if it can’t be completely removed, the patient will be dependent on Expelling Agents for the rest of their life."

He sighed, looking deeply pained. "Expelling Agents are ridiculously expensive!

"But folks still have to grit their teeth and use them—because medical technology is advancing pretty quickly nowadays. Who knows? If they hold on a little longer, maybe they’ll see a glimmer of hope.

"This Ghost Orchid Fungus is the most annoying. Not only is it parasitic, but it’s also highly toxic and has an affinity for the brain... No matter where the spores land, their ultimate target is the brain.

"What’s more, currently, they can only expel it temporarily to keep the patient’s mind clear. They can’t eradicate it at all.

"They don’t even have a specimen! The Ghost Orchid Fungus can’t be exposed to light! The moment it detaches from its host and is exposed to light, it dies... In short, this thing is a colossal pain in the neck.

"So, you see, it’s not that the hospital deliberately leaves out a picture when educating the public; they genuinely don’t have one. This blurry red blob seems to have been captured by a medical pod."

...

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Fen Da’s naked body was swiftly sutured and cleaned on a biological life-extension surgical table, and he was transferred into a medical pod for recovery.

Inside the operating room, a group of doctors surrounded a small, pitch-black biological box in the center, their eyes shining with intense excitement.

But before letting their excitement take over, they carefully inspected the temporarily blacked-out box and confirmed once again, "No light is leaking in, right?"

"No, absolutely not!" a nurse swore to the heavens. "I set it directly to dark mode, and just in case, I wrapped it in two extra layers on the outside. The blackout cloth I glued on was cut straight from the curtains."

Without connecting this pitch-black box to specific instruments, they actually couldn’t see anything inside. But everyone still gathered around it, their eyes filled with triumph.

"The only one in the world! Alive! A Ghost Orchid Fungus! Hahaha, it belongs to our Flower City Hospital now!"

"Keep a low profile, keep a low profile! Have you contacted the director yet? We absolutely have to leverage this to pry a few top-tier machines from the Imperial Capital!"

"Exactly! Our hospital is so large, yet we only have three medical pods... This time, we must fight for at least ten!"

"Once we have more, the usage cost will drop, right? As it is now, no one dares to turn these machines on lightly... Still, this young man did help us successfully acquire the specimen. Later on, I’ll submit an application to waive his medical fees."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Compared to the treasure in front of them, what were mere medical fees?

"Wait a minute, I remember them saying four people were brought in at the same time—which emergency rooms are the other three in?"

"Hurry, hurry! What if they also have the Ghost Orchid Fungus?"

"Right, right, right! Go check immediately! Don’t let it go to waste—"

"This patient looks very young; his physical constitution should be pretty good, right? When exactly will he wake up? Why did the Ghost Orchid Fungus gather in his stomach?"

"Exactly. But didn’t we scan the inside of his stomach when we cut it open? There was nothing there."

"There must be a reason. Did he eat something that could suppress the Ghost Orchid Fungus?"

"We’ll ask him clearly when he wakes up—here, Little Qin, make a note of this.

"When the patient wakes up, if he really can provide any useful clues, we’ll apply to waive the medical fees for all four of them together."

"That’s doable, but I think getting an answer will be tough. After all, once the Ghost Orchid Fungus invades, a person instantly falls into a coma, unable to consume food or water..."

"I’m guessing he didn’t eat anything. It’s more likely that a Superpower User happened to have an ability that could counter it."

"Then we still need to ask clearly what specific type of Superpower it was! Regardless, maintain a good attitude and find out the details."

"I’ve checked! The other three companions are in emergency rooms 3, 5, and 6!

"However, room 6 is empty. That person had the mildest symptoms. After basic repairs, he was already sent to a ward—

"It was a standard case of severe abdominal hemorrhaging. They say he was impaled directly by a mutated plant in the Wilderness. But because he has a Wood Ability himself, he left the broken branch of the mutated plant in his body to barely slow the blood loss. That’s how he managed to hold on..."

"Not bad, not bad," the doctors repeatedly praised. "You can tell he learned his first-aid well—so, is he awake?"

"No, he’s receiving a blood transfusion. Furthermore, his Superpower is overdrawn; it will take a long time to recover.

"There are two others. The female patient has nerve necrosis in her left arm, her Superpower is depleted, and she illicitly took a Superpower-bursting potion... Currently, her internal body is battered and riddled with damage. Once the basic cleaning is done, she’ll be sent into a medical pod.

"The other male patient has two broken ribs and a ruptured spleen, suspected to have been struck with heavy force... The broken ribs punctured his internal organs. If their bodies hadn’t become tougher after gaining Superpowers, none of these people would have made it back alive."

The doctors hurried along, taking long strides as they listened to the assistant’s report beside them. One of them simply turned his head and asked the most crucial question:

"So, do they not have the Ghost Orchid Fungus in their bodies?"

"No." The assistant shook his head. "The Ghost Orchid Fungus is a singular parasite. As long as the host hasn’t died, it won’t select other targets. So..."

Though the doctors sighed, they didn’t feel too regretful. They merely waved their hands.

"Forget it. Approve the use of the medical pods for all of them."