Under the moonlight

Xu Ao was lost in thought when a sudden, urgent phone ring pulled him back to reality. "What's wrong?"

Xu Ao frowned as he listened to Huang Meng's voice. He calmly comforted her, "Yes, I know you're worried about them. I'll contact Chen Che later and let you know as soon as I have any news. Don't worry."

Xu Ao had just hung up the phone when he found Chen Che's contact information. The call went unanswered. Xu Ao had originally planned to teach him a lesson once the call was connected, but after several unanswered calls, he started to get anxious.

Xu Ao quickly found his WeChat and discovered that the message was from several days ago. Frustrated, Xu Ao tugged at his tie and then called Jiang Ying.

Finally, on the third call, Jiang Ying answered the phone.

"What's going on your end?" Chen Che was someone who was always on the phone. Given how affectionate he and Zhang Linlin were, it was impossible for him not to answer my calls for so long. Something must have happened.

"An epidemic broke out here. It was initially only in the main urban area, and the residents quickly self-isolated. But three days ago..."

Three days ago, the embassy

"How is it, Lao Huang?" Jiang Ying frowned and looked anxiously at Chen Che, who was lying on the hospital bed, as she examined him.

"Well, thankfully, it was discovered in time. However, the embassy will need to conduct a thorough disinfection." Old Huang remained calm, perhaps because of his age and experience; he was more composed than the younger generation.

He washed and disinfected his hands, and while writing down the names of the medicines, he said to Jiang Ying, "Don't worry, our country has had methods to deal with plagues for over a hundred years. However, to deal with this kind of virus quickly, we need traditional Chinese medicine. Western medicine only treats the symptoms and doesn't make it easy to recover completely."

“But we don’t have any traditional Chinese medicine on hand!” Jiang Ying glanced at Chen Che, whose face was flushed on the bed, and her anxiety was not something that could be easily calmed down.

"Well, based on his symptoms—fever, vomiting, and diarrhea—it's very likely bubonic plague. Their city just experienced riots, and large numbers of corpses have been found piled up. Public infrastructure hasn't been repaired yet. If the source of infection is near a water source, or if infected insects or rodents share a water source with them, then the spread of this virus could be quite frightening!"

“I’ll prescribe some medicine for him to take, which may alleviate the symptoms. However, to cure the disease completely, we still need to control the source of infection. Right now, I think their main urban area is a huge source of infection. Xiao Chen went there a couple of days ago, so it’s very certain that he was infected.” Old Huang said to Jiang Ying as he handed her the prescription.

“But I told him to remember to wear a mask, how come…” Jiang Ying looked at Lao Huang with some lingering fear. Xiao Chen had disinfected himself as required after returning to the embassy, ​​but she was still worried.

"This plague can spread through various channels. He may have been careless, but it's okay. If we disinfect in time, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"What did he go to the city for?" Xu Ao asked, unable to contain himself as he listened to Jiang Ying's account.

“We’ve run out of medical supplies, and he wanted to go out and see if he could buy some more,” Jiang Ying explained to Xu Ao, feeling a little guilty.

"What do you mean 'used up'? Shouldn't the embassy submit a report and apply for supplies, and then have them allocated by higher authorities? Why should he have to buy them himself!"

"You don't know, we're in a very precarious situation right now, surrounded by enemies on all sides."

"What do you mean?" Xu Ao asked, somewhat puzzled by Jiang Ying's words.

“Hey, do you remember that mercenary who held you at gunpoint back then? He’s back, and we suspect this plague might be their final attack.”

"What did you say?!" Xu Ao said through gritted teeth.

“They didn’t deploy a large force this time; all their manpower was used to intercept passing cargo ships. As you know, our stockpiled supplies were received from China right after the riots stopped, and they’re almost depleted. Right now, they’re using the pretext of an epidemic in China and the safety of other countries to prevent ships from stopping. This city has been completely isolated by them.” Jiang Ying told Xu Ao the information Chen He had gathered that day; this was originally considered confidential.

"In other words, they deliberately hid the corpses, waiting for them to ferment. Even if it wasn't a plague, it would be some other epidemic. Then, using that as a pretext, they fortified the port, deterring all ships. Even if other cities in their own country wanted to offer help, they couldn't enter the city. Moreover, other countries had nothing to do with them and wouldn't care about the situation in their city. No one would want to get involved in this mess. This city was doomed. Truly, what ruthless methods!" Xu Ao stared at the ceiling, the mercenary who had held him hostage flashing before his eyes. The chilling words he had heard in his ear back then—it turned out he wasn't afraid of death, but had a backup plan. Damn it! He really shouldn't have let him go like that!

Xu Ao slammed his fist on the table. Jiang Ying, who was sitting opposite him, heard a muffled sound coming from the receiver and sighed, saying, "Xiao Chen is very weak now. His high fever keeps coming back, and he can't eat anything. If this continues..." The usually strong Jiang Ying looked at Chen Che lying on the bed with a pale face and couldn't help but shed tears.

"I'll figure something out. You all do your best to take good care of him, and also pay attention to your own safety." Xu Ao hung up the phone after saying that. Jiang Ying couldn't help but cry after hearing his instructions.

She was really about to collapse. The entire responsibility of the embassy was on her shoulders, and now Chen Che was seriously ill. Xu Ao's phone call was like a needle, finally piercing her tense heart and allowing her pent-up emotions to find an outlet.

After hanging up Jiang Ying's call, Xu Ao thought it over and decided to keep it from Huang Meng for the time being. He pretended to be relaxed on the phone and told her that everything was fine at the embassy and that nothing was wrong, so she could rest assured. Although Huang Meng confirmed with him again and again that the embassy was really safe, just when he was about to give up, someone called Huang Meng on the other end of the phone. Taking advantage of her distraction, Xu Ao quickly said that he had to be busy and hung up the phone.