Chapter 148: Qi Fu Contracts Evolutionary Bacteria

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Qi Fu Contracts Evolutionary Bacteria

The rainproof cloth was very thick. If left on, it would not only block the light but also cause the temperature inside the greenhouse to rise, adversely affecting the plants’ growth.

So, the most convenient method was to take it down after use and quickly put it back up in an emergency.

Excluding the small sheds for the Red Light peanuts, groundberries, and fodder grass, Territory No. 3 had seven large greenhouses. To quickly cover all seven with rainproof cloth within ten minutes would require twenty-one strong laborers.

Xiaqing was only one person. She had to figure out a way for one person and one sheep to install the rainproof cloth quickly.

Just as Xiaqing was squatting by the greenhouse, racking her brain to solve this technical challenge, Yuan Yan’s voice echoed through the channel, crying for help. "Brother San, are you there? Is anyone from Territory No. 7 there?"

A stranger’s voice replied, "Lord No. 7 has already left the territory."

Yuan Yan immediately pleaded, "Hello, can I trade for a small packet of the topical hemostatic medicine that Territory No. 7 used to trade with everyone? Doctor Chang said my Old Qi is infected with some kind of bacteria that’s causing a coagulation disorder. The Green Dragon Team’s bactericidal medicine isn’t as effective as Brother San’s hemostatic powder."

The person from Territory No. 7 replied, "I’m truly sorry. I don’t know which hemostatic medicine it is, and I don’t have the authority to enter his room to get any. I’ll apply to the Lord for permission right now."

Zhang San had left by helicopter, and with the unstable signal, it was uncertain if they could even contact him. Even if they did, the person in Territory No. 7 probably wouldn’t be able to find the medicine right away.

After thanking them, Yuan Yan appealed to the other lords. "Does any neighbor still have some of the topical hemostatic medicine they traded from Brother San? Could you trade me a little? We’ll agree to any conditions."

Hearing no one else respond, Xiaqing pressed the button. "Ma’am, I still have a little. I’ll go home and get it now, and I’ll bring it to the road sign for Territory No. 5."

"Thank you so much." Yuan Yan’s voice was already choked with tears. "You don’t have to make the trip. I’ll come over to get it right away."

"Let’s meet halfway," Xiaqing said, running home to grab the medicine before rushing back out.

As she left the Third Territory, Xiaqing saw Yuan Yan running toward her from the east.

The Protective Mask Yuan Yan wore was deformed from the hailstorm, its clear plastic visor already cracked. When she saw Xiaqing run out, hope bloomed in her reddened eyes. She limped toward her through the sludge but ended up falling face-first into the mud on the road.

Xiaqing rushed over and helped Yuan Yan up. "Are you alright?"

Yuan Yan’s mud-caked protective gloves gripped Xiaqing’s arm, her hands trembling. "I’m fine. Doctor Chang said your Brother Qi is in bad shape. We need to use the medicine quickly. Miss..."

"I have the medicine. Let’s go." Xiaqing scooped Yuan Yan up and ran toward Territory No. 5.

The people from Territory No. 2 and Territory No. 4, who had come out to watch the commotion, were so stunned to see Xiaqing scoop up a grown woman and run at full speed that their jaws dropped. They didn’t even snap out of it after being splattered with mud.

Xiaqing sprinted all the way to the Territory No. 5 road sign without stopping. "Ma’am, may I go in?"

Yuan Yan, being carried bridal-style by Xiaqing, of course agreed. "I’m heavy, please put me down. Just follow the path for two hundred meters and turn right, you’ll be there."

Although carrying a person of a hundred-plus pounds was nothing to Xiaqing, she didn’t show off. She set Yuan Yan down, ran into Territory No. 5, and dashed straight into Qi Fu’s family’s yard.

The yard was easy to spot because two people covered in mud were standing guard at the entrance.

Seeing Xiaqing, the guards immediately shouted, "Lord No. 3 is here! Everyone, make way!"

Xiaqing burst into the house and saw Qi Fu lying on the bed, his head covered in blood and an IV line in his arm. She immediately said to Chang Li, "Doctor Chang, my hands are dirty. The medicine is in my upper right pocket."

Chang Li immediately pulled a small, sealed bag of powder from the pocket Xiaqing indicated, tore it open, and sniffed it. "Perfect, this is the bactericidal hemostatic powder! Lin Jing, get some people in here to hold the patient down. Yanzi, open the hemostatic bandage."

Hearing that they needed to restrain the patient, Xiaqing stepped back to make room. Three burly men from Territory No. 5 came in. One held down Qi Fu’s legs, another his waist and upper body, and the third supported his head.

"He’s secure," Chang Li said, then pressed the gauze, now sprinkled with the medicinal powder, onto the wound on top of Qi Fu’s head that was still bleeding profusely.

About thirty seconds later, Qi Fu’s limbs twitched a few times, and then he began to convulse, struggle, and scream like a madman.

"AHHH—AHHH—"

Chang Li hadn’t expected such a violent reaction and asked the Strength Evolvers present for help. "Miss Xia, hold his head! Hua Qing, hold down his lower body! Quickly!"

With no time to find a place to wash her hands, Xiaqing wiped the mud from her gloves on a person standing nearby and rushed forward. She used one hand to pin Qi Fu’s face and the other to firmly hold down his collarbone and neck.

Hua Qing, the Strength Evolver from the Green Dragon Team, also moved to pin Qi Fu’s waist. The others in the territory didn’t stand idle, grabbing his arms and legs until Qi Fu was finally held down.

Yuan Yan, covered in mud, staggered in. Seeing her husband in such agony, she quickly asked, "Doctor Chang, can’t we use Relaxing Capsules?"

"No, his brain is already infected. The side effects of the Relaxing Capsules would be too severe." Chang Li quickly bandaged Qi Fu’s head wound and replied calmly, "We’ve done everything we can. Now it’s up to his own body’s resistance. Where are the other injured?"

As Chang Li went to treat the others’ external injuries, Xiaqing and Hua Qing continued to hold down the desperately struggling and screaming Qi Fu.

Qi Fu was an ordinary person. Even if he thrashed about for dear life, he couldn’t escape the grip of the Strength Evolvers.

Three minutes later, Qi Fu stopped struggling and passed out again.

After treating two other injured people who weren’t infected with Evolutionary Bacteria, Chang Li came back to check on Qi Fu. She took two small vials of medicine from her medical kit, added them to his IV bag, gave Yuan Yan a few instructions, and prepared to head to Territory No. 4.

Xiaqing started to leave as well, and Yuan Yan saw them out of the territory, thanking them profusely.

Xiaqing walked with Chang Li, as they were headed in the same direction. Remembering the pocket watch she had just found, she pulled it from her pocket to show Chang Li. "Doctor Chang, have you seen the person in this photo?"

Chang Li and the team members with her all took a look, but no one recognized the person. "This must have been taken before the Natural Disaster. In the ten years since, people’s appearances have changed so much. It’ll probably be hard to find them. Is this a relative of yours, Miss Xia?"

Before the Natural Disaster, humans had no worries about food or clothing; their faces were full and their spirits high. After the Natural Disaster, people couldn’t even get enough to eat and constantly faced the threat of death. Their appearances and mental states were completely different from before, and many had even been disfigured.

Trying to find someone now using a pre-disaster photograph was extremely difficult.

Xiaqing shook her head. "I found it on the mountain today. I thought someone from your team might have dropped it."

"That’s also possible. I’ll ask around when I get back." Chang Li knew Xiaqing was referring to Mountain No. 49. Besides Xiaqing and Shi Du, the only others who frequented that mountain were members of the Green Dragon Team.

After Chang Li led her team into Territory No. 4, Xiaqing returned to her own territory and went back to work on the greenhouses.

About an hour later, Xiaqing was surprised to receive a call from Hu Zifeng. When she answered, it was Chang Li’s voice.

"Miss Xia, the pocket watch you found belongs to Lord No. 8."