Chapter 29: Unsettling Revelations and an Unexpected Encounter

“Boss, when did this start? I only just saw people with red eyes attacking others yesterday, both at school and in the residential area! And it was just one person.”

Hearing the chubby breakfast stall owner’s words, Qiao Xia quickly voiced the doubts swirling in his mind.

After reading Liu Ge’s diary yesterday, Qiao Xia thought he was the only one privy to the secret. Moreover, he believed he was among the tiny fraction of people aware of the contagious disease, having heard it from internal police sources!

Yet, today he discovered that others had known all along. It wasn’t a secret at all; in fact, it was common knowledge.

This left Qiao Xia with a wry, helpless feeling. If he had known earlier, he mused, he would have simply come to the breakfast stall to ask the boss. It would have been far more efficient than his solitary, blind speculation!

“It’s been about a week now, I suppose. I run this breakfast stall, you see, and plenty of customers come for steamed buns every day. Sometimes, they’ll chat with me for a bit… and during our conversations, quite a few have complained about people with red eyes appearing around here. Their bodies are stiff as logs, and they always stare at others with unsettling, terrifying gazes. It’s truly unnerving.”

Seeing Qiao Xia’s urgent questions, the chubby boss’s gloomy mood, initially stemming from poor business, instantly lifted. He began to ramble on, words spilling from his mouth.

As he spoke, the chubby boss’s face displayed an exceptionally rich range of expressions. Qiao Xia couldn’t help but marvel, ‘Selling steamed buns truly underserves this boss; he ought to be an actor!’

However, this was not the time for such thoughts. Realizing this, Qiao Xia immediately refocused his attention on the outbreak of the red-eye disease.

As someone who had experienced it firsthand, Qiao Xia understood just how terrifying the word ‘outbreak’ was when applied to the red-eye disease. Others lacked his precognitive ability; if they truly encountered a red-eyed patient like Liu Ge, their fate would likely be grim.

Qiao Xia’s only consolation at present was that Zhou Li had left U City early. Otherwise, if he had stayed, an attack by a red-eyed person would have been disastrous… Given Zhou Li’s short, stout physique and his consistent last-place finishes in every physical education test, Qiao Xia couldn’t help but worry!

“You see, this is just what I’ve heard; if you add everyone together, it’s quite a significant number. I initially thought it might be something like rabies, but I’ve never heard of rabies patients specifically biting people. They say these red-eyed folks are even more twisted; they actually eat the flesh they bite off… Ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.”

Once the chubby boss started talking, he simply couldn’t stop. Moreover, his revelations quickly turned gruesome, making Qiao Xia lose all desire to listen further.

‘Big brother,’ Qiao Xia thought, ‘this is a place that sells steamed buns. Are you really not afraid that talking about such grotesque things will make me unable to eat them?’

“Boss, I need to get to school quickly. Let’s chat another time!”

Realizing he wouldn’t glean any more information, Qiao Xia didn’t linger at the breakfast stall to chat. Instead, he quickly headed towards the school.

The chubby boss’s description of eating flesh made Qiao Xia increasingly nauseous the more he thought about it. Ultimately, he couldn’t bring himself to eat the steamed buns, instead tucking them into his backpack. He’d eat them only when absolutely starving. For now, he simply couldn’t stomach them.

After summarizing the chubby boss’s words, Qiao Xia realized that many people exhibited symptoms similar to Liu Ge’s. This ruled out the possibility that a specific individual was the sole source of infection, indicating other transmission routes existed.

Firstly, droplet infection could be ruled out. If it were transmitted via droplets, Qiao Xia would have been infected a week ago, having spent time with the already ailing Liu Ge. Even if Liu Ge had simply stayed quietly beside him, they still conversed occasionally. Therefore, if it were droplet infection, Qiao Xia would already be like Liu Ge.

Secondly, the transmission route was highly likely intimate contact… Besides sexual activity, this intimate contact could also involve blood-to-wound contact, leading to rapid viral spread.

Much like the HIV virus, if an injured person’s wound came into contact with the blood of an HIV-positive individual, there would be a significant chance of infection.

This red-eye disease was highly similar to HIV… yet, it was far more aggressive, with its infectivity multiplied several times over.

The thought that those bitten would also fall ill sent a chill down Qiao Xia’s spine. He dared not imagine the consequences if this continued.

‘Damn it,’ he thought, ‘is a real-life zombie apocalypse actually about to unfold?’

In Qiao Xia’s eyes, the current red-eyed patients shared many similarities with zombies. Even if a full-blown zombie crisis erupted later, Qiao Xia wouldn’t be overly surprised.

Alas, he could only hope the police department would act swiftly. Once they identified the mysterious liquid in the syringe, it might prove to be a powerful weapon to save these red-eyed patients.

Even if injecting the mysterious liquid didn’t offer a long-term solution, it could still provide humanity with a direction for research. They could continue to improve upon it, eventually achieving ideal results.

****

“Qiao Xia, you’re finally here! Are you hungry? I bought a ton of snacks, and that old-brand egg pancake from the street corner—I even got two eggs added!”

While Qiao Xia was engrossed in thoughts of the red-eye disease, he arrived at the school entrance. Before he could step inside, the waiting Li Lin Guan called out to him. Snapping out of his reverie, Qiao Xia saw Li Lin Guan approaching with a cheerful stride, cradling a tall stack of snacks in his arms.

Li Lin Guan took large, confident strides as he walked, making Qiao Xia worry that the towering stack of snacks might tumble to the ground.

However, Qiao Xia’s worry was unfounded. Though Li Lin Guan’s steps were wide, they were incredibly steady. Not a single bag of snacks fell. When he reached Qiao Xia, he moved with surprising speed, thrusting all the snacks into Qiao Xia’s hands.

With his hands now free, Li Lin Guan held the steaming hot jianbing guozi. He enthusiastically brought the golden pancake to Qiao Xia’s mouth, displaying an utterly willing, subservient demeanor. The sight made passing students gape in disbelief, their jaws nearly dropping to the floor.

‘Had Li Lin Guan, the school’s most formidable bully, undergone a complete change of heart today?’ they wondered. ‘Why was he suddenly showering such lavish attention on an unknown nobody? And despite the other person’s indifferent expression, Li Lin Guan wasn’t angry in the slightest; in fact, his service only became more attentive.’ This was far too strange! ‘They must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,’ they concluded, ‘to witness such an odd spectacle!’

As the many passing students reeled in shock, Qiao Xia, with Li Lin Guan holding the pancake almost to his face, felt utterly helpless. He saw Li Lin Guan’s fawning expression. While others might not know, Qiao Xia understood that Li Lin Guan was repaying a debt. After all, Qiao Xia had saved Li Lin Guan’s life at school yesterday. ‘But did he have to make such a grand display of it?’ Qiao Xia thought. ‘He just wanted to attend school quietly!’