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The blue-uniformed staff member frowned, seemingly realizing something. He immediately pressed the walkie-talkie on his left shoulder with his right hand, his tone grave.
"There's suspected infection here. Please send people over as soon as possible!"
"Received."
After the staff member's notification, an ambulance quickly arrived. The door slid open with a "whoosh," and four medical personnel in protective suits jumped out. Two medical personnel quickly hurried to the fallen, vomiting driver and knelt down.
"Ugh..."
The fallen driver suddenly spewed out a mouthful of yellowish-brown vomit, startling the medical personnel, who sat back on their heels, narrowly avoiding being sprayed.
"Shit!"
Cursing under his breath, the medical personnel changed his position, his heart chilling as he looked at the patient, whose eyes had rolled back, clearly unconscious, but still vomiting.
"Quick, send him to the research institute!"
The two medical personnel quickly supported the patient's legs and shoulders, lifted him onto a stretcher, and together carried him into the ambulance. The engine started, and they were gone in an instant.
"Begin disinfection."
The remaining two medical personnel, carrying disinfection equipment, nodded to each other, switched on the devices, and large amounts of white vapor sprayed out, beginning the disinfection process.
While they were disinfecting, the few people who had previously had contact with the driver were rounded up by a group of guards in protective suits carrying rifles and taken to the isolation area.
Soon, the patient was sent to the New Antibiotics Research Institute. Dr. Helen and a group of researchers, wearing protective suits with independent oxygen supply, tested the samples extracted from the patient. Carefully, a sample was placed under a microscope and magnified a thousand times. The other researchers looked up at the display screen before them, which showed the magnified bacterial shapes.
Thanks to the advanced equipment purchased with significant investment by Umbrella Corporation, three hours later, after Dr. Helen completed various tests, she sent a preliminary test report to Jim Bradley.
Jim Bradley, who was in his office monitoring the company's branch operations, received this urgent notification. He frowned slightly and opened it to read.
"New superbug?"
Jim Bradley's frown deepened. This virus had even begun to spread in Pegorose. Afterward, Jim Bradley immediately elevated the disinfection and inspection level of the company headquarters.
Although this superbug was formidable, the area where Umbrella Corporation's headquarters was located was sparsely populated. Moreover, it wasn't a tourist destination. Apart from Sgerland City, which had a population of about 500,000, there was not a single soul to be seen outside the city. Even if this superbug was powerful, it still needed people to transmit it.
"However, still notify Andrés."
"The new base also needs to heighten its defenses. Although they are in the tropical rainforest, people are still constantly going out to purchase materials."
Three days later, as Pride and Jim Bradley were discussing something, the elevator chimed open, and Illumi stepped into the office.
"Someone's infected with the superbug?"
Illumi walked to the sofa, bent down and sat opposite Pride, who was reading a book, and asked.
"The infected person is a driver responsible for transporting supplies, but all personnel related to him have been controlled and isolated."
"Additionally, infected individuals have appeared at the Pattilus branch and have all been sent to headquarters for isolation and control."
"Disinfection and testing measures have also been put in place."
Illumi nodded slightly. Jim Bradley handed him a report, which he took and read.
The [Infectious Diseases] journal of the Eddimene United States published an issue introducing the superbug currently rampant worldwide. The Eddimene Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even investigated and found that this new superbug might have originated in Coronel City on the East Sea coast. Therefore, this bacterium was officially named CORM-1 bacterium.
Illumi quickly skimmed through it. It clearly introduced the virus's transmission routes, symptoms, mortality rate, and its drug resistance.
"Coronel City?"
Illumi looked at the mentioned origin, his brow raising, a strange feeling in his heart.
"Does Dr. Helen have anything to say about this virus?"
"Dr. Helen has been researching this superbug these past few days."
"According to tests, this superbug is resistant to all current antibiotics and cannot be treated."
"But this does not include our new antibiotics."
Jim Bradley's lips curved into a rare smile, posing a crucial question.
"Is that so?"
Hearing Jim Bradley's answer, Illumi became even more convinced that this superbug was related to the previous new microorganisms, which was why their newly developed antibiotics were effective against it.
Thinking of this, Illumi couldn't help but smile. If only Umbrella Corporation's newly developed antibiotics could treat this bacterium, wouldn't that mean now was a golden opportunity for Umbrella Corporation?
Every country, every region, every company in the world needs Umbrella-A antibiotics. And most importantly, this bacterium has already spread worldwide. It is believed that those who have already purchased Umbrella Corporation's new antibiotics have also discovered this.
"You've all discovered it, haven't you?"
Illumi looked at Jim Bradley and Pride, who responded with smiles.
"We were just discussing related matters."
"According to our predictions, those people should be contacting us soon."
Illumi stroked his chin. Indeed, after a moment of thought, he asked again.
"How are our patients doing?"
Jim Bradley knew he was asking about the infected individuals and replied.
"The first person to show symptoms at the branch was a cleaning staff member. There were ten cleaning staff members in her team, all of whom became infected."
"Three of them delayed too long when leaving and died on the way to the company headquarters."
"The other seven, after being sent to the company headquarters, were injected with a large amount of antibiotics by Dr. Helen."
"After discovering that all other antibiotics were useless, they were injected with Umbrella-A, which was found to be effective."
"Including the company headquarters and the branch, a total of eleven people were infected. Eight of the infected are now out of danger."
Illumi listened to Jim Bradley's explanation, nodded slightly, and asked.
"How many units were used?"
"Eighty-five units. Four Umbrella-A units are needed to complete the treatment."
"Okay, if you find any other infected individuals, if conditions allow, send them to headquarters."
"Understood."
Jim Bradley nodded. He also didn't want his company's employees to suffer on their sickbeds, waiting for death, after being infected with the virus.
Illumi, Jim Bradley, and Pride sat on the sofa, discussing recent international events and the various adjustments within the Hunter Association.
A week later, the Hass Republic of the Mitrene Federation released a report.
According to the latest report from the Mitrene Federation, the Hass Republic and the Rocario Republic jointly dispatched a united survey team to several local villages in the Hass Republic for sample inspection.
Traces of the new superbug were found near their residences and water sources. When they arrived at these villages, dozens of villagers had already died, causing widespread panic in the local area.
However, the Mitrene Federation's political standing in the international arena was ultimately small. What truly shocked people around the world was the news that followed this report.
Epidemics broke out successively in major countries such as the Eddimene United States, the Ozma Federation, the Kakin Empire, the Aztec Republic, Pegorose, and the Khan Kingdom. Even places like the Republic of Batorchia, the Republic of Duji, the Republic of Minpo, and the Chaotic Triangle Zone had corresponding reports.
Based on epidemic reports from various electronic media and discussion groups, coupled with official reports from multiple regions, the V5 organization, through a joint investigation, discovered the true origin of this virus. However, for some reason, they did not publicly announce it.
But a few days later, the V5 organization officially released a notification about the new superbug epidemic, formally naming it the DCM-1 superbug. They announced the elevation of the epidemic level to the fourth tier, requesting relevant government departments in all countries to prepare for the epidemic and prevent large-scale human-to-human transmission.
However, for this epidemic, for the DCM-1 bacterium, ordinary people still knew too little about it. A small number of people, after being infected with this superbug, would erupt and die within a day, while the vast majority showed no symptoms, but the bacteria would lie dormant in their bodies for as long as ten days or more. During these ten-plus days, because their bodies were asymptomatic, they continued to work, go to offices, buy groceries, and play, coming into contact with various people.
It was precisely because of this that the number of infected individuals statistically compiled by various national departments was extremely small, not even a fraction of the number of people affected by annual epidemics.
But over time, it eventually attracted the attention and concern of multiple national governments.
Umbrella Corporation, New Antibiotics Laboratory.
Illumi stood before the laboratory's tempered glass, his hands clasped behind his back, calmly observing the experiment in progress.
After a long while, Dr. Helen finished the experiment, disinfected, and stepped out of the laboratory door, changing out of her protective suit.
"How's the experiment going?"
Illumi looked at Helen Stewart, frowning as he asked.
Dr. Helen glanced at the situation inside the laboratory, then at Illumi. She picked up a tablet from a researcher's hand beside her and walked while speaking.
"Participants in this experiment, from number 1 to number 20, had their injection times ranging from 12 hours to 72 hours."
"Among them, numbers 12 and 16 had their conditions stabilized after being injected with Umbrella-A."
"Numbers 1 and 5 were treated with conventional methods, but both died after three and four hours respectively due to ineffective treatment."
"Numbers 7 and 10 showed symptoms 24 hours after being injected with DCM-1. Their conditions have been controlled after using the new antibiotics."
"The other fourteen experimental subjects currently show no abnormalities. The superbug in their bodies is in the incubation period, but it can be detected through blood tests."
"Dr. Helen, what do you think is the longest incubation period for this virus?"
Illumi asked. Dr. Helen adjusted her glasses and said.
"That's difficult to determine, as we've had too little contact with this bacterium. But based on previous cases, it's at least ten days."
Illumi's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.
Although Umbrella Corporation could gradually rise without this epidemic, with this epidemic, their rise would greatly accelerate. However, he wondered if any unforeseen circumstances would arise. After all, a large-scale epidemic coincidentally appeared in the world just as they developed new antibiotics.
Moreover, the new antibiotics market was simply too massive a pie. Many forces were secretly eyeing Umbrella Corporation, coveting it. In the human world, no matter where, medicine and healthcare have always been a very sweet pie, and everyone wants a piece of it.
Would a new company, a company that had only been established for a year or two, be allowed to hold such a large piece of the pie by the giants and oligarchs of various countries around the world?
Thinking of this, Illumi's heart hardened. No matter who it was, if they wanted to lay their hands on his pie, they would first have to contend with his blade. As long as those hidden forces dared to show their dirty claws, Illumi would directly act. When he had the strength, he wouldn't play subtle games; he would solve the problem directly from its source.
Umbrella Bio-Tech was his brainchild, holding an important position in his future plans, and he absolutely would not allow it to be stillborn.
In fact, if necessary, Illumi wouldn't mind a massive purge. At that time, this world would surely fall into immense chaos.
But what of it? After enduring this tempering, Umbrella Corporation would undoubtedly become one of the top behemoth conglomerates in this world, and anyone who wished to act against it would have to carefully consider the consequences.
"Dr. Helen, continue your research on DCM-1. Report any needs directly to Jim Bradley."
Illumi turned to Helen Stewart, who nodded seriously, indicating her understanding.
After Illumi finished speaking, he quickened his pace and left the laboratory.
"Immediately instruct all production lines to accelerate. Sell a portion, and store a portion," Illumi called Jim Bradley to inform him.
"No problem. Also, the Pegorose government wants to negotiate with us."
"Not only that, the Eddimene United States and the Ozma Federation have both sent people to contact us, saying they want to negotiate with us about the new antibiotics."
Illumi pondered for a moment, then said.
"Alright, immediately arrange for someone to negotiate with them. Inform me immediately if anything comes up."
"Also, notify Alvin so he can prepare."
"Other pharmaceutical giants or certain oligarchs will also contact us."
"Also, how many employees do we currently have in total?"
"Approximately 1,400 formally registered."
"Do not relax health monitoring of company employees. If anything comes up, arrange for immediate treatment."
"Every employee is a company asset. Don't throw away a small advantage for a big one."
"Yes, I understand."
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