The elderly woman was taken away directly by the village head. Under Wen Zhiyu’s instructions, everyone gradually relaxed and handled the follow-up work in an orderly manner.
The military hospital also learned of the situation and provided a solution similar to Wen Zhiyu’s.
However, since such an outbreak had occurred here, everyone could not leave for the time being and had to cooperate with the investigation.
Shen Lifeng only found out about this on the fourth day when he went to the hospital to look for Wen Zhiyu—only to learn that she had gone to the village for a medical outreach and that an epidemic had broken out there, leaving all the doctors stranded.
Wen Zhiyu, however, was fine.
In her previous life, she had spent her entire career in research, even bringing a medical laboratory into this era with her.
Later, even while studying, she never stopped and had accumulated some research achievements.
She administered medication from her spatial storage to the doctors working with her, claiming it was a newly developed immune-boosting drug from a research institute in Beijing.
No one doubted her; everyone trusted her professionalism.
In reality, Wen Zhiyu was certain that after taking the medication, they would not be infected at all—and their physical condition would actually improve.
She led the team in examining patients in the village and soon learned that the hospital had requested military personnel to assist with screening.
She didn’t pay much attention to it; having extra help was a good thing.
The military base was nearby, so with a contagious disease involved, the higher military authorities were likely already anxious.
Everyone worked continuously for two days, completing all necessary examinations.
“Wen-jie.”
Xiao Jiang softly called out to Wen Zhiyu. When she looked up, she saw a man wearing a mask.
He was very tall, and his gaze was entirely focused on her, so she noticed him immediately.
It was Shen Lifeng.
Shen Lifeng was busy with work, so he simply greeted her before leaving.
At lunchtime, Wen Zhiyu went to find him.
The food here was poor. Shen Lifeng was holding a few yellow steamed buns, eating them with water. When she approached, he was sitting nearby.
But Shen Lifeng moved slightly to the side.
Wen Zhiyu frowned.
Shen Lifeng immediately said, “I’ve been in contact with patients. If you get too close, you might get infected.”
Wen Zhiyu smiled faintly. “Guess who identified those patients?”
“Keep your distance. It’s better for you,” Shen Lifeng replied.
Wen Zhiyu handed him a syringe filled with medicine. “Drink it.”
Shen Lifeng didn’t fully understand what it was, but he took it without hesitation and squeezed it into his mouth.
“Aren’t you afraid I poisoned you?” Wen Zhiyu asked after a moment of surprise.
“You wouldn’t,” he replied calmly.
Wen Zhiyu smiled. “You trust me quite a lot, Captain Shen. Has no one told you that you shouldn’t trust people too easily when you’re out? Otherwise, you might run into the wrong kind of people.”
Shen Lifeng suddenly looked up, meeting her smiling eyes.
“I do have basic caution,” he said, “but not with you.”
Wen Zhiyu stood up.
“Your body hasn’t recovered yet. That’s an immune-boosting medicine. Later, other doctors will send it over—have all the soldiers take it.”
“Is mine different?” Shen Lifeng asked seriously.
“Yes, it’s different. I brought it from Beijing,” she said after a pause.
Then Shen Lifeng smiled.
When Wen Zhiyu left, she lightly touched her chest.
Tsk.
Not to mention anything else—the man was really handsome.
Although it was an epidemic, there was good news: the source was a dog that had been dead for half a month. A young man and his friends ate it, and after getting sick, they didn’t dare go out, so the outbreak didn’t spread widely.
So only the infected patients needed treatment.
As for the doctors, there was basically no problem.
However, when Wen Zhiyu returned, she learned that someone had helped the first diagnosed patient, Dazhuang, escape.
“He’s still carrying the infection source. If he’s out there, who knows how many people he’ll infect!” Xiao Jiang said anxiously.
The other doctors were also worried.
“Get villagers to help search, and ask the soldiers to look nearby too. He’s sick—he couldn’t have gone far!”
Everyone split up to search. When the village head heard the news, he immediately took Wen Zhiyu to Dazhuang’s house, only to find the entire family gone.
He slapped his thigh.
“Oh no, they’ve probably run away!”
Wen Zhiyu thought of the elderly woman who had caused trouble earlier. She suspected the grandmother had taken him away.
……
Dazhuang had a high fever and was extremely weak, but because he and his grandmother depended on each other, he obediently followed her into the mountains when she came to take him.
He walked slowly, but since they both grew up there, they entered the forest, making them hard to find.
At first, Dazhuang tried to persuade her, but the grandmother was extremely stubborn. She didn’t trust Wen Zhiyu and the other doctors and insisted on taking him into the mountains to worship the mountain god.
Later, even the grandmother began to develop a fever.
“Grandma, let’s go back. I think those doctors can really treat us,” Dazhuang said weakly.
The grandmother refused.
“The soldiers have come—they want to send us to our deaths! Even if I die, I won’t let you die!”
She was completely devoted to him.
When Shen Lifeng and the others finally found them, the grandmother and Dazhuang were in a cave. Dazhuang lay on cold stone, barely breathing.
Only a single day had passed.
The grandmother still refused to let anyone take him away and had to be forcibly removed.
When Wen Zhiyu arrived, the grandmother was still blocking everyone, refusing to let anyone near.
Anyone who approached, she would throw a tantrum and cry.
Wen Zhiyu looked at Dazhuang and felt a pang of pity.
He had gotten worse after leaving—likely due to cold exposure and high fever. His organs were probably already failing. He had been infected early and survived for too long; at this point, he could not be saved.
“No hope. After he dies, remember to cremate him, otherwise the virus may spread.”
“She hasn’t been infected for long and can still be treated.”
These two cases were handed over to Xiao Jiang.
Xiao Jiang delivered medicine every day, but the grandmother kept throwing it away.
Until Dazhuang died.
The two others who had been infected and recovered came to visit, and the grandmother let out a choked sob in the hospital room.
“My Dazhuang… my child…”
“Grandma, he’s gone. You should take your medicine,” one of them said helplessly.
But the grandmother had treated Dazhuang as her entire life. Now realizing it was her actions that led to his death, she refused to take any medicine.
She even refused to eat.
In the end, she was starved into a near-dead state, forced-fed porridge and medicine, and when she woke up, what awaited her was Dazhuang’s ashes.
“My Dazhuang… even in death he didn’t leave a complete body!”