Chapter 440: Chapter 440
Governor Liang Shouyu and Mayor Li Jianfeng invited Ding Fan and Mu Zi into a meeting room at the police station. Besides these two high-ranking officials, the head of the Xingcheng Health Bureau, Tian Hong, was also present.
As for other officials who had come along spontaneously, they were just waiting outside the meeting.
"Mr. Ding, we have sought you out specifically to discuss the matter of the Corpse Poison," Governor Liang said, getting straight to the point.
After all, Xingcheng City is under the jurisdiction of Western Province, and the governor could not possibly ignore such a major epidemic.
Ding Fan had already guessed the purpose of their visit and nodded. "Regarding the zombie epidemic, I will spare no effort to help wherever I can."
In the Cultivation World, once zombies appear, both the righteous and those from the Evil Path would join hands to eradicate them.
After all, the speed at which the Corpse Poison spreads is too fast. It can be said that if the Corpse Poison spreads and zombies form an army, human society will hardly be preserved.
Therefore, upon discovering the zombies, Ding Fan had chosen to stand up without hesitation.
Seeing Ding Fan's response, Governor Liang breathed a sigh of relief. "With Mr. Ding's word, it is indeed a blessing for the citizens of Xingcheng. Director Tian, you are the expert in this field; please come and have a thorough discussion with Mr. Ding about the spread of the Corpse Poison."
Director Tian Hong from the Health Bureau was busy coming over.
"Mr. Ding, the situation is as follows: there are over a thousand suspected cases of Corpse Poison throughout the city, and this number is still climbing. Besides, there are more than twenty cases where individuals have been directly infected by zombies and have turned into zombies... Mr. Ding, addressing the Corpse Poison is of utmost importance right now; all of Xingcheng is in a state of extreme panic."
Then, Tian Hong laid out the latest information about the spread of Corpse Poison to Ding Fan.
Ding Fan frowned, he indeed had not anticipated that the Corpse Poison would spread so rapidly.
"I think we should do this," Ding Fan pondered for a moment before speaking. "Arrange for personnel to thoroughly incinerate the turned zombies, to prevent an even larger scale of Corpse Poison transmission..."
"Mr. Ding, we share the same opinion, but the families of those who have turned into zombies after being infected with Corpse Poison believe that there is still a chance to treat their loved ones. After all, they are still mobile, and if we incinerate these zombies, I fear the public opinion might..." Director Tian said with some difficulty.
Although Director Tian didn't finish his sentence, Ding Fan still understood what he meant; they were worried that incinerating the zombies would cause too much negative public pressure.
"I can tell you responsibly now that once someone infected with Corpse Poison turns, they are no longer human. They are simply corpses, just moving corpses... If you don't want a city besieged by zombies, then forget about the impact of negative public opinion. You need to decide what's more important: human lives or your reputation," Ding Fan said decisively.
After hearing Ding Fan's words, Tian Hong turned to look at Governor Liang Shouyu.
Governor Liang pondered for a moment, then nodded. "As a government official, my duty is to benefit the public. Now that an incident has occurred, we can no longer be hesitant. By my order, incinerate all zombies. Whatever happens, I, Governor Liang, will take responsibility."
Ding Fan couldn't help but give Governor Liang another look.
In the bureaucratic world, self-preservation is key. In such a crisis, not only did Governor Liang not shrink back, but he also actively took on the burden, which earned Ding Fan's increased respect for the governor.
"No, Governor Liang, as the parental official of Xingcheng, this matter naturally falls under my responsibility. If anything happens, I will take charge!" Mayor Li Jianfeng stood up and spoke.
"Good, then let's both take responsibility for this matter together," Governor Liang said to Mayor Li Jianfeng with an indisputable tone.
Mayor Li Jianfeng wanted to say something else, but at that moment Governor Liang had already waved his hand at him and gestured to Director Tian to continue listening to Ding Fan's suggestions.
Understanding, Director Tian hurriedly spoke to Ding Fan. "Mr. Ding, if we are to incinerate all patients who have turned into zombies after being infected with Corpse Poison, what should we do about those who are infected but have not yet turned?"
"Bring me paper and pen..." Ding Fan said.
Director Tian did not dare to delay and quickly brought paper and pen over.
Ding Fan took the pen and, with swift strokes, in no time at all, he had scrawled down a prescription under his flying handwriting.
Ding Fan handed the completed prescription to the nearby Tian Hong.
"Prepare the medicine according to this prescription. Have everyone who is infected with the Corpse Poison take these herbs... Their Corpse Poison can be suppressed; after taking it for a week, the Corpse Poison that has seeped into their bodies will be completely expelled."
Tian Hong took the prescription and was hesitant for a moment.
Tian Hong did not believe that such a simple prescription from Ding Fan could completely cure the Corpse Poison. They had invited many experts and scholars to solve the Corpse Poison issue and had used a lot of imported medicine from abroad. Yet despite all this, they hadn't found anything that could suppress the Corpse Poison, and now Ding Fan was offering a traditional Chinese medicine prescription.
In the eyes of their compatriots, traditional Chinese medicine often seemed like a scam. Therefore, it was not strange for Tian Hong to be skeptical of Ding Fan's prescription.
"Young Master Ding, are you sure this medicine recipe will work?" Li Jianfeng approached and asked as he looked at the recipe.
Clearly, Li Jianfeng also had doubts that a single medicine recipe could solve the corpse poison problem that even experts couldn't resolve.
"It will work," Ding Fan said decisively.
"Brother Fan's medicine recipe is absolutely effective! Just do as he says!" Mu Zi, standing by, spoke out in support.
Li Jianfeng glanced at Mu Zi, then back at the medicine recipe in Ding Fan's hand, and finally, as if making up his mind, he turned to Tian Hong and said.
"Copy down this recipe and distribute it to all the quarantine stations below, instructing them to control the patients with it," Li Jianfeng ordered.
"Understood," Tian Hong replied.
Now that the Mayor had given the word, as the head of the health bureau, what else could he say? Tian Hong turned directly and went to prepare.
"Mayor Li, what we are doing now is treating the corpse poison, but if we want to truly quell this epidemic, I believe we need to address the root of the problem. That is, to control the virus's entry point," Ding Fan said.
It was obvious what Ding Fan meant; they could treat the corpse poison, but they couldn't withstand the increasing number of people infected by it. If they couldn't eliminate the source of the corpse poison, then this zombie crisis couldn't possibly be resolved.
"After our investigation, we've determined that the spread of the corpse poison is related to the water supply. Many people infected with the corpse poison drank water contaminated by it. So now, we have already controlled several water sources in Xingcheng City that can supply clean, virus-free water and sealed off those that are contaminated," Li Jianfeng explained.
Ding Fan neither agreed nor disagreed as he said, "With the medicine recipe I've given you, the epidemic can be controlled. The rest is up to you..."
Mayor Li nodded. If the medicine recipe really worked, then the epidemic would definitely be under control. Controlling the further spread of the epidemic and treating the infected was indeed entirely up to the government now.
After discussing some other issues related to zombies with Mayor Li, Ding Fan then left the police station accompanied by Mu Zi and escorted away by Governor Liang and the others.
After sending Ding Fan and Mu Zi off, Governor Liang and Mayor Li headed straight back to the municipal government. With the epidemic being critical, they couldn't afford to leave their posts for even a moment.
When leaving the police station, Ding Fan took a car from the police.
Mu Zi was responsible for driving at the moment.
"Brother Fan, where are we going now?" Mu Zi held the steering wheel and asked Ding Fan, who was sitting beside her in the passenger seat.
"Outside the city, Immortal Residence..." Ding Fan said indifferently.
Upon hearing this name, Mu Zi understood what Ding Fan was planning to do next—he was going to deal with the source of the zombie siege.
Ding Fan was now almost certain that the mastermind behind the zombie siege was definitely Chen Qiang.
Controlling zombies and feeding ghosts were specialties of the Ghost Path, and there was nothing strange about raising zombies for someone who was the master of the Myriad Ghosts Holy Monarch.
If they didn't completely eliminate this Evil Cultivator now, the source of the corpse poison would not be controlled, and the situation of zombies besieging the city would be inevitable in the end.
The main reason why Ding Fan hadn't mentioned Chen Qiang to Governor Liang and Mayor Li was that, after all, Chen Qiang was a Grand Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Previously, even with his Divine Sense, Ding Fan couldn't measure his opponent's cultivation level. At this point, even mobilizing the military wouldn't help capture Chen Qiang amidst the chaos.
Therefore, it might be best for Ding Fan alone to go and eliminate this Evil Cultivator.
"Mu Zi, the atmosphere here is a bit off," Ding Fan suddenly said to Mu Zi as the car was about to leave the city.
Mu Zi was startled, as she held great trust in Ding Fan's judgment. She immediately stopped the car and asked, "Brother Fan, have more zombies appeared?"
Thump… Before Mu Zi could finish her question, Ding Fan struck her neck with his palm.
Mu Zi, completely unprepared, grunted and then passed out.
"It's too dangerous outside the city; it's better for you to rest here," Ding Fan said lightly, looking at the unconscious Mu Zi. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥
With Chen Qiang's Ghost Path cultivation being stronger than that of the Myriad Ghosts Holy Monarch, the outcome of this battle was uncertain. How could Ding Fan risk bringing Mu Zi along on such a dangerous venture...