Chapter 243 UCOC Syndrome
"Influenza?" Rong Yuan's eyes darkened. The first thing he thought of was the virus experiment of Kayul Company. He asked, "Have there been any uninvited guests from alien planets on Earth recently?"
"No." Noah gave a direct answer.
But Rong Yuan couldn't just believe it. Maybe when Kayul released the virus, it would not come directly to the surface of the earth, but would be released directly from space. If it was Rong Yuan, he only needed to freeze the virus in ice and launch it to the earth. The ice would melt due to friction in the atmosphere, and the virus would spread silently on the surface of the earth. In this way, even if Noah had control over the entire planet's surveillance, he would not be able to detect any clues.
Over the years, human monitoring of the Earth has become increasingly sophisticated. If Kayul Company does not want to arouse the vigilance and discussion of the Earth's indigenous people, it is very likely to adopt this method.
As for Wu Xi, he is not a human being. If he went to Juniper Country because of the flu, then the reason is very interesting.
Rong Yuan asked Noah about the cause, scope, and speed of spread of the cold outbreak. After thinking for a moment, Rong Yuan made a decision: "I will go there in person and ask Amirida and Xiao A to come." For research purposes, it is common for him to not show up for three to five days, and no one will notice even if he leaves for a while. However, just in case, he needs Xiao A to occasionally change into his appearance and walk around the institute, and let Amirida cover for him.
…
L City in Juniper Country is a city with low temperatures all year round. Even though the ground in Sugar Country is so hot that it can almost roast eggs, the citizens of L City are still wearing long-sleeved shirts, and some wear vests or coats on top. Even at the hottest time of the day, the temperature does not exceed 20 degrees.
This time of year in previous years is the tourist season in L City, and the streets are bustling with tourists, shoulder to shoulder, and very lively. However, at this time, it is very deserted, even local citizens rarely stroll on the streets, people cover their faces, lower their heads, and walk hurriedly, a few leaves circle in the cool breeze and slide through the middle of the road in a swagger, and even the number of vehicles is pitiful. The most common thing on the road is tourists from the Sugar Country, who happily hold selfie sticks and wave small red flags, and tour the streets in a swaggering manner, with a smile on their faces that does not take the cold that the Juniper Country is afraid of seriously.
A homeless man in a military green jacket sat on the ground, holding a guitar in his arms, and casually strumming a widely circulated variation. The ding-dong music danced in the cold and lonely street, revealing a bit of vitality. A big yellow dog with a bitter face lay beside him, pressing its paws on the small iron bucket in front of it.
All the way from the suburbs to the L City Hospital, Rong Yuan saw this desolate scene while sitting in the taxi. After getting off the car, looking at what might be the only lively place in the entire city, Rong Yuan said softly: "Noah, the impact of this viral cold seems to be greater than what you told me."
"It's spreading too fast." Noah argued, "A day ago, more than half of the factories in L City were still operating normally! Now the city's disease rate has exceeded 80%. There are different degrees of virus outbreaks in various regions throughout the Juniper Country, and similar disease symptoms have been found in several surrounding countries.
This kind of influenza was temporarily named "UCOC syndrome". When the disease first broke out, it did not attract people's attention. After all, the climate in Juniper Country is cold, and a person catches a cold at least two or three times a year on average. The symptoms this time were very similar to those in the past, so many people took medicine on their own as usual. Only a few people with more serious symptoms chose to see a doctor. After a short period of fermentation, the condition worsened, and many people did not even have the strength to leave the house and had to call for help. At this time, the slow-reacting L City government approved the emergency plan for epidemic control, but soon, the same cold symptoms appeared in urban areas around L City.
Today, all sea, land and air transportation in City L are restricted. Travel plans from other countries to the Juniper Country have been canceled. Several high-level diplomatic visit plans have suddenly been aborted. Foreign investment plans have also entered a wait-and-see phase. In addition, industries such as tourism and entertainment, catering and retail, transportation, etc. have all been hit hard.
——All these changes happened rapidly within a day or two.
The worst thing is that no one has come to a definite conclusion as to how this viral cold, which spreads very quickly, is produced. So far, no drug has been found that can effectively treat UCOC. Many medical experts can only watch as the patients' conditions continue to deteriorate. No matter how hard they try, they cannot curb the rate of deterioration.
People are not afraid of diseases, but what is worth fearing is the incurable diseases.
At this point, this UCOC disease began to reveal its half-hideous appearance.
Later, when Rong Yuan was still on the aircraft, the first death appeared. Then, like a domino, patients died , and there was endless crying in the hospital. At the request of the government, schools were closed, factories stopped working, and everyone stayed at home as much as possible to avoid infecting each other. Although there were many people who were sick, the hospital was already overcrowded, and most patients could only go home after receiving the medicine and rely on themselves or their families to take care of themselves.
Originally, Juniper Country didn’t even get a big news report, but now 80% of the countries are reporting on it, and almost all major media websites have put it on their front pages… Although it still didn’t make the headlines, it’s in the top ten.” Noah concluded his speech.
"They won't be happy about this." Rong Yuan stared at the hospital gate for a while and said, "Is Wu Xi inside?"
"Yes, he came to the hospital with a scratch on his hand due to the explosion and has been here for most of the day," said Noah.
"What is he doing?"
"I can't see him. He's in a blind spot." Noah loves to show off his abilities. He was afraid that Rong Yuan would think he didn't have any, so he immediately added, "But I can tell you which room he is in."
"Yeah." Rong Yuan agreed, stroked the camouflage clothes on his wrist, bought a bunch of flowers outside the hospital, and walked in pretending to visit a patient.
…
Even in the distant Juniper Junior High School, Wu Xi was very popular. He sat sideways on a hospital bed, with a blond and blue-eyed little boy sitting on his knees. Many fans surrounded him, eager to get his autograph or shake his hand. The ward was filled with excited and enthusiastic pink bubbles. The powerful power of the fans even temporarily retreated the disease. Seeing a group of people who seemed to be so , even passers-by who didn't know who Wu Xi was would be infected by this atmosphere and stand around involuntarily, eager for an autograph.
Wu Xi was well versed in the art of public speaking. In just a moment, he naturally led the topic to the current cold, and learned the most intuitive and specific symptoms and feelings from the patient's mouth. At the same time, he kept his hand on the arm of the child in his arms and his eyes briefly scanned the red patches on the patient's body.
Patients with UCOC will initially develop tiny red spots that look like bleeding spots, which will slowly spread into inconspicuous erythema within two or three days. Then, on the day when the condition suddenly worsens, the erythema will turn into a deep red mass the size of a baby's palm in just a few minutes. Although it is not obvious, it will be hard and numb and painful when pressed. In less than a day, the surface of the mass will become bright and shiny, and a faint yellowish liquid can be seen inside, and then the patient will die.
Short incubation period and acute onset are the characteristics of UCOC.
Other symptoms similar to severe colds include fever, headache, runny nose, nausea, constipation, etc. In Wu Xi's eyes, these are just unique manifestations of humans, a special species. The focus of this large-scale cold is still on the lumps on the patients' bodies.
A silver light flashed from the ring on his hand and disappeared. The little boy in Wu Xi's arms felt a mosquito bite. He reached out and touched his elbow, but did not catch the expected mosquito, so he scratched his face and gave up.
When the people in front of him could no longer provide him with more samples and information, Wu Xi said goodbye with a gentle smile. His unrestrained demeanor of not fearing the virus and not retreating or disgusting towards patients was impressive, and almost everyone became his die-hard fans. Wu Xi said goodbye to them one by one, accepted several invitations, and spoke for nearly half an hour before he stood up and walked to the door in the reluctant eyes of everyone.
An ordinary-looking middle-aged man from Juniper Country leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, staring at him without any obsession, and with a hint of sarcasm on the corners of his slightly raised mouth.
——Looks a little... familiar...
Wu Xi paused, thinking uncertainly.
Note: UCOC here is not undercarboxylated osteocalcin.
