Chapter 8

Zhu Chenglin is an extremely learned academician who has made outstanding contributions to the field of mathematics in China. Some of his academic suggestions have even been taken seriously by the Chinese leadership. As he grew older and could no longer make significant contributions to academia, Zhu Chenglin came to Fuzhou University and took on the role of president.

In just one more year, Zhu Chenglin would retire. He never expected that at this time, Fuzhou University would experience such an incident, with a severe flu outbreak across the entire campus. Zhu Chenglin is not the type of person who shirks responsibility, but he has always excelled in his field and enjoys a high reputation.

Zhu Chenglin values his reputation greatly. If something like this happens before his retirement, and if students die because of this flu, his lifelong reputation would be completely ruined. For Zhu Chenglin, this would be a fate worse than death.

Therefore, he took this matter very seriously, personally visiting the university hospital to inquire about the situation from Wang Yusheng. Wang Yusheng also called the president of Fuzhou First Hospital. Soon, the call was connected, and President Zhou said, "President Wang, what's the matter?"

Although his words were polite, Wang Yusheng could tell that President Zhou seemed very anxious, as if he had something important to attend to. So, Wang Yusheng got straight to the point, saying, "It's like this, our school has had a large-scale flu outbreak, and we want to borrow some doctors and nurses from the city hospital. What do you think...?"

President Zhou listened and then said with a bitter smile, "President Wang, have you not seen the news? This flu is not just affecting Fuzhou University, or even Fuzhou or China; it has spread globally.

Everyone is in a state of panic. Although there have been no reported deaths yet, except for those who already had serious illnesses, the prolonged high fever will eventually have severe consequences. Now, countries around the world are researching ways to inactivate this new flu virus.

To avoid causing panic, hospitals are telling patients that it's just a stubborn flu. Our hospital is already overwhelmed, and we have mobilized students from various medical schools to help. How can we spare anyone to go to your university hospital?"

After saying this, President Zhou hung up the phone. He was very busy and had only taken the time to explain the situation to Wang Yusheng. Hearing the severity of the situation, Wang Yusheng became even more worried. However, Zhu Chenglin, sitting across from him, let out a sigh of relief.

Although this flu is much more serious than expected, if it is not limited to Fuzhou University, his reputation will not be affected. Even if he were to die from this flu, Zhu Chenglin would die with peace of mind!

At that moment, in a secret underground base, several people of different races were sitting together. A black man asked, "How is the spread of the New Century?"

"It has spread globally, and it is estimated that one percent of the population has been infected with the New Century," a white woman replied.

The "New Century" naturally refers to the new flu virus. Then, a yellow man asked, "Have the people started to panic?"

"Except for some small countries, the public in most countries remains relatively calm," the white woman continued.

The black man then sneered, "If that's the case, we need to make them panic. Only when the fear of the New Century virus is deeply rooted in people's hearts can our New Century Pharmaceuticals attract global attention!" "Yes, boss!"

Following this, under the control of this mysterious black hand, information about the mutated new flu virus began to spread through the internet, newspapers, and media. Patients who initially thought they had a common flu were now in a state of panic, and even those who had not been infected were living in fear, afraid of being infected.

This information naturally infuriated the leaders of various countries, who used various means to calm the public and assured them that they would develop treatment and prevention methods as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the people. In Chu Tianlin's dormitory, the few roommates also saw the rapidly spreading news online, and Huashan was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.

After all, he had shown symptoms of a cold yesterday, but fortunately, he recovered after a good night's sleep. Otherwise, it would have been disastrous. As for Chu Tianlin, he was also shocked by how quickly the flu virus had spread.

Although Chu Tianlin can help people eliminate the virus, each elimination requires physical contact and consumes a certain amount of energy. Even if he sat in a mountain of buns or a sea of noodles and ate continuously, he probably couldn't help many people, as each elimination takes a considerable amount of time. With so many people infected globally, how could Chu Tianlin possibly help everyone?

Just as Chu Tianlin was thinking this, the virtual screen popped up, and the computer manager's voice said, "The operator has issued a task: Solve the rampant flu virus. Reward: 10 megabytes of data."

Chu Tianlin replied, "Oh my God, although you can eliminate viruses, it would take more than a lifetime to eliminate this rampant virus!"

The computer manager responded, "The manager can calculate the herbal formula to inactivate the virus, but due to the large amount of computation, it will consume 150% of the power. The main unit must be fully charged and connected to a power source to proceed."

Chu Tianlin was overjoyed. If the herbal formula to inactivate the virus could be calculated, the flu virus would become a common cold, no longer a threat. Moreover, he would receive 10 megabytes of data as a reward. Why not do it? So, Chu Tianlin immediately prepared to go to the cafeteria.

Seeing this, Huashan said, "Alin, where are you going? It's so dangerous outside. We have stockpiled several boxes of instant noodles in our dormitory. Let's stay inside for the next few days!"

In the face of this virus, college students and ordinary people are no different. With the outbreak of this severe flu, students have bought out all the instant noodles, bread, and mineral water from the supermarkets, stockpiling enough food for ten to fifteen days. For the next few days, everyone will stay in their dormitories to avoid infection and wait for the situation to calm down.

Therefore, when Huashan saw Chu Tianlin preparing to go out, he was a bit worried.