Free Web NovelChapter 209: Patient 0
Elaine immediately cut away the bandage covering Jace’s arm before shining a flashlight directly onto the wound.
The bite mark itself had already closed, but the skin surrounding it had turned grayish while countless thin black lines spread underneath like blood vessels.
She gently pressed around the wound and Jace immediately frowned. He didn’t feel anything until she moved to another place until he flinched.
Elaine nodded and continued examining his fingers one by one before checking the pupil response, pulse and body temperature.
"The numbness is ascending from the wound instead of spreading randomly, which means whatever infected him is following the nerve pathway instead of the bloodstream."
She gently pressed Jace’s fingernails until they turned white before releasing them. "Capillary refill is delayed, but circulation is still present. The tissue isn’t necrotic and there isn’t any bacterial smell."
Her hand then moved to Jace’s neck. "Pulse is irregular, body temperature is dropping and his muscle response is weaker than normal. Look at his fingers."
Everyone unconsciously followed her gaze. The fingertips were slowly trembling by themselves.
"Those aren’t voluntary movements. The muscles are contracting without his control."
Jace looked down. "I... can’t stop it."
Elaine carefully picked up a small amount of the black substance Jace had just vomited and observed it under the flashlight.
"The black fluid isn’t blood. There are white filament structures mixed inside it and they are still maintaining their shape instead of dissolving. It looks more like fungal hyphae than body tissue."
She looked toward Gideon. "If I’m correct, the parasite isn’t eating him. It is replacing him."
Her eyes returned to the wound. "The parasite probably entered through the wound caused by the ant, then migrated along the peripheral nerves toward the central nervous system. The vomiting means his body is trying to expel it, but judging from the neurological symptoms, it has already spread beyond the arm."
Otis’ face immediately turned pale. "Can you remove it?"
"Not blindly."
Elaine slowly shook her head.
"If this organism has already intertwined with the nerve bundles, surgery could permanently destroy his arm or even accelerate its movement toward the brain. We need isolation first, complete observation every thirty minutes, blood samples, tissue samples and everything he expels which... we can’t do, Damn it."
She finally stood up. "And nobody touches the black fluid without protective equipment. If those white filaments are reproductive structures instead of waste products, we might accidentally culture the parasite inside this room."
Gideon nodded after hearing Elaine’s explanation.
"Thank you, Elaine. I will prepare another tent to contain..." His words paused for a moment as his eyes slowly shifted toward Jade. "Our guest and place it far enough from the residential area."
He then looked back at Elaine. "One more thing. Based on his condition, is there any possibility he will become aggressive or instinctively try to infect other people?"
The room immediately became quiet. Even Otis unconsciously looked at Jace before taking another step backward.
Elaine lowered her eyes and looked at the wound once again before answering. "I can’t give you a definite answer. But if the parasite reaches the central nervous system, changes in behavior, aggression, hallucinations or loss of self-control are all possible." freewebnσvel.cøm
"I will assume the answer is yes. You take care of Jace, but don’t forget that your own health comes first. Full protective equipment at all times, no direct contact with body fluids and nobody enters the isolation tent without your permission."
Elaine simply nodded.
His attention then shifted toward Otis. "You’re being isolated too. I will have my men examine your entire body and I mean every single part of it before I consider you safe."
Otis lowered his head. "I understand."
Jade quietly watched the arrangement before finally speaking. "Gideon, I will help. If this parasite really changes Jace’s behavior, I can assign Freebound members to guard him."
"No. I don’t need your men. This is my territory, I will handle everything."
Jade opened her mouth but Gideon continued before she could answer.
"If Freebound wants to participate in containment or research, we can discuss it in another formal meeting after this situation is under control. Until then, everything inside this barrier is my responsibility."
Gideon turned around and left the room without even waiting for an answer.
Only after his footsteps completely disappeared did Jade let out a long sigh. She looked toward Elaine, perhaps expecting at least a little sympathy from the doctor. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Instead Elaine calmly adjusted her gloves and began preparing another syringe. "You deserve it."
***
The situation came under control almost immediately.
Gideon bought a military-grade containment tent from the system and deliberately placed it far away from both the residential district and the agricultural fields until nothing surrounded it except empty land.
If the parasite suddenly spread or Jace lost control, they would have enough time to react before it reached the residents.
More than twenty armed guards were already stationed around the area, living inside several smaller tents built in a circular formation.
Every entrance was heavily guarded while two sterilization chambers as large as an adult stood before the main tent, forcing every medical staff member to pass through disinfection procedures before entering or leaving.
Even that wasn’t enough for Gideon.
Besides hiring additional armed personnel from the system, he also spent another large amount of coins recruiting medical staff to assist Elaine around the clock. She had already worked for hours without rest and he had no intention of gambling her life on an unknown parasite.
It might look excessive. But whatever infected Jace could very well be the same thing that made thousands of Eagle Union members disappear without leaving a single bone behind.
Arthur believed those two incidents were different, yet he also admitted it was only a theory.
Gideon wasn’t willing to bet the safety of an entire Safe Zone on a theory.
After putting on another layer of PPE and passing through the sterilization chamber, he finally entered the containment tent.
The inside looked more like a temporary laboratory than a hospital. Medical equipment lined both sides while several hired doctors continuously wrote observations on whiteboards.
In the middle stood another isolation chamber built entirely from reinforced glass, and inside it Jace remained restrained to the bed with both arms tightly secured.
Or what remained of them.
The skin below his elbows had completely blackened and hardened until it resembled bark instead of flesh.
Countless white filaments moved beneath the surface, slowly wrapping around the bones and muscles while the fingers occasionally twitched on their own.
"How is he?"
