In view of the arrangents made by the Heavenly chanism Pavilion, Ling Chen and others all stayed in Qiu Yong’s room, waiting for the test results.
Originally, there was to be a martial arts competition in the afternoon, but, with this incident occurring, the Heavenly chanism Pavilion had no choice but to suspend all competitions and devote all efforts to the crisis.
Three hours passed, and daylight gradually faded.
Ling Chen leaned against the window, watching the people whose spirits were flagging and symptoms worsening, his brow deeply furrowed in worry.
He spent the whole day with people like Qiu Yong, and while others were infected, only he was unaffected—could it be that he had antibodies that made him immune to the disease?
While he was thinking, the room’s telephone suddenly rang.
Ling Chen answered the call, greeted briefly, and after listening to the person on the other end, he replied, "Okay, I’ll co over imdiately."
After hanging up, Ling Chen turned to Qiu Yong and said, "Big Brother, I have to step out for a bit but will be back soon."
Leaving the room, Ling Chen took the elevator to the fifth floor of the luxury cruise ship. This area, usually an entertainnt lounge and the liveliest part of the ship, was now eerily quiet. At the entrance, Zhong Yang was waiting for him.
"Mr. Ling, please co in." After speaking, Zhong Yang covered his mouth and coughed a few tis.
Ling Chen nodded and walked through the door on his own. Imdiately, he saw over twenty people in the large entertainnt room, so sitting and so standing, all looking rather ill. Ling Chen scanned the room and recognized many familiar faces: Zhou Qi, Zhu Xiaozhu, Han Yu, Shi Su, Song Ge, as well as Zhou Qi’s grandson Zhou Jun, along with over ten strangers likely skilled in the dical arts from the Martial Arts community, including a few doctors from the dical office.
"Mr. Ling," Zhou Qi ca forward.
"Elder Zhou," Ling Chen greeted and asked, "Did you need for sothing?"
"I heard from Miss Zhu that you are also skilled in dicine, so I hoped you could co and help. We need everyone’s collective intelligence to see if we can resolve this crisis."
"Elder Zhou, I am rely an amateur, picking up bits and pieces along the way. When it cos to dical skills, there are several here far more proficient than ."
"I already said we had enough people, no need to call him. It’s just causing unnecessary confusion," said Han Yu coldly.
Song Ge glanced at Han Yu and chuckled, "Ling, no need to be humble now. We are short-handed as it is, do your best."
"Now that everyone is here, let brief you on the situation," Zhou Qi began: "According to the blood tests conducted on everyone aboard, over 90% have been infected. There were a total of three hundred and forty participants attending the Heavenly chanism Great Ceremony. Including the mbers of the Heavenly chanism Pavilion and the staff on board, we have over six hundred people here. I believe everyone understands what this ans." He glanced at the people around, his expression grave, "Regardless of any past conflicts among us, I hope we can work together sincerely and cooperatively to overco this crisis."
After speaking, Zhou Qi signaled to a dical staff mber.
The latter took out a docunt, stating, "After preliminary confirmation, we are facing a severe contagious disease whose carriers are the more than ten crew mbers from the fishing boat earlier today. This disease is airborne, which is why so many have been infected."
Hearing this, everyone kept silent.
The sudden ergence of the infectious disease had already been suspected by everyone, and the dical staff mber’s words rely confird these suspicions.
"What is the condition of those crew mbers?" asked Shi Su.
"Dead. It was less than three hours after boarding when the crew began dying one by one. We’ve kept this news under wraps, so no one is aware. Initially, we thought that the crew mbers had fallen ill from being stranded at sea too long without proper food and water, but our investigations later revealed the presence of a severe infectious disease."
Elder Zhou said sternly, "I’ll be frank: we believe this incident was a targeted attack against the Heavenly chanism Pavilion. Before the Heavenly chanism Great Ceremony began, we received intel that there were plans to disrupt this event. For this reason, our security asures were exceptionally thorough; apart from mbers of the Heavenly chanism Pavilion, almost no one knew the specific location of this cruise ship."
Han Yu indifferently added, "It seems your asures were still insufficient; our location has been exposed."
"In this matter, the Heavenly chanism Pavilion will not shirk responsibility. However, regardless of who the mastermind is, the most important thing now is to find a way to resolve the crisis. Based on the examination of the dead crew’s bodies, those infected will have a latent period of one to two days during which mild symptoms may appear. If we cannot find a solution within two days, I am not exaggerating when I say that the entire Martial Arts community will suffer a catastrophic blow."
Hearing Zhou Qi’s words, Ling Chen silently furrowed his brows. Who would be so cruel to use such insidious ans, completely indifferent to the lives of hundreds?
"Alright, now that everyone is briefed, please speak up if there is anything needed. The Heavenly chanism Pavilion will mobilize all resources to assist."
"Elder Zhou, may I go see the bodies of those crew mbers?"
"No problem. You, you, and you, escort Ms. Shi to the morgue and fully cooperate with Ms. Shi’s work."
"Xiaozhu, let’s go."
"Yes, Master." Zhu Xiaozhu stole a quick look at Ling Chen and hurriedly followed Shi Su out of the entertainnt room, with Han Yu following along.
Watching Shi Su leave, the remaining ten-plus people looked at each other and quickly followed. Soon, only Ling Chen, Zhou Jun, Song Ge, and a middle-aged man remained in the entertainnt room.
"Song, aren’t you going with them?"
Before Song Ge could speak, Zhou Jun waved dismissively and said, "Why bother with their pointless ddling? Those people are capable of treating a cold at best; they have no business dealing with this kind of contagious disease. They’re following Shi Su hoping she can co up with a solution so they can share in the credit later."
Hearing this, Ling Chen chuckled. This guy really spoke bluntly, with not a care in the world. However, Zhou Jun’s words did strike a chord with him.
"Let introduce myself; my na is Ling Chen, I saw you at the arena a few days ago." Ling Chen extended his hand.
"I’ve seen you too; the old man hasn’t stopped praising you in front of ," said Zhou Jun with a grin, politely shaking Ling Chen’s hand.
Song Ge pointed to the middle-aged man and introduced, "Ling, Zhou Jun, this is He Yuan, our Song family’s private doctor."
"If it were up to , the few of us would form a team to try and find a solution before Shi Su does, then we all shine together. How about it?" Zhou Jun suggested.
"I have no objections. I don’t know much about dicine anyway; I’m just here to look around with Uncle He," expressed Song Ge.
"What about you, Ling Chen?"
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