Chapter 194: The Surface Becomes a Forbidden Zone

September 14th, 5:00 PM

After an hour-long sampling and analysis, Su Wu finally received a preliminary report on the unknown infectious virus. Unlike ordinary viruses, this one had extreme vitality. It could only be completely eradicated under high heat conditions (above 120°C for more than five minutes) or through exposure to a specific spectrum of light for 15 minutes. Regular alcohol and disinfectants had some effect, but they couldn't eliminate the virus completely; they only slowed down its reproduction rate.

The virus spreads through water and water vapor. In other words, in areas with humidity and air, it can infect anyone nearby. Even a simple sneeze from an infected person can transmit it to everyone within a few meters, making it incredibly dangerous.

"Based on this, it seems that every place on the surface is now a high-risk zone," Su Wu murmured to himself. The torrential rain that blanketed the surface was the perfect environment for the virus to spread.

As for the fatality rate after infection with the unknown virus, due to limited research conditions, Su Wu couldn't obtain an accurate figure. The preliminary report suggested an unfavourable outcome, though the exact data was still elusive.

With a sigh, Su Wu put his worries about the future aside for now. He refocused on ensuring the Farmhouse Shelter remained virus-free. The most important thing was to secure the shelter's internal safety.

An hour later, as specialized disinfecting lights and virus sampling and analysis tools were produced, the entire shelter underwent a thorough disinfection. The testing results provided Su Wu with some relief. Under the highest level of protection, the virus could not infiltrate the shelter's interior. There were only traces of the virus present in the construction area on the eighth floor, where an engineering team was working, and in the exit passage.

The virus in the engineering team's area had been tracked to the transport vehicle that had carried soil and rocks from the surface, which had been contaminated by rainwater. As for the exit passage, the infected transport vehicle and the supplies it carried had come from the submerged shelters in Jianghe City's urban ruins.

Out of caution, even though no viruses had been detected inside the shelter, Su Wu still ordered a comprehensive disinfection of every corner.

After the lockdown was lifted, Su Wu and Chen Xin returned to the underground second-level control center via the internal lift. Sitting down again at the core console of the Farmhouse Shelter, Su Wu's previously anxious state was finally calmed. No matter what happened outside, he could now be sure that his shelter was safe from the virus.

"Keep the air purification system in a fully closed state, thoroughly isolating us from the outside air."

"Re-enable air purification within the shelter."

"Maintain standard isolation at all levels where the lift interfaces with other areas."

"Install special disinfecting lights in the ventilation system, lift platforms, and exit passage."

"Every time the outermost gate of the exit passage opens and closes, the entire exit passage must be disinfected and tested for at least 15 minutes before reopening the internal isolation doors."

After adding these extra precautions, Su Wu felt slightly more secure. He then shifted his focus to the outside world. He carefully sent out a few spider robots, equipped with newly made virus detectors, to conduct a comprehensive survey of the surface around the Farmhouse Shelter.

The news was mixed. The bad news was that traces of the unknown virus were found in the puddles at the entrance. There was almost no completely unpolluted safe zone. The good news, however, was that the virus concentration near the Farmhouse Shelter's surface was still relatively low, about 1% of the virus concentration found in the water droplets brought from Jianghe City's urban ruins.

This uneven distribution suggested that there was still an active contamination source and that the virus had just begun spreading to Su Wu's location. Su Wu still had enough time to respond to this crisis.

"Looks like it's not as bad as it could be," Su Wu thought with a bitter smile.

But just as that thought crossed his mind, another report from the artificial intelligence made his mood darken. Multiple signs of infection had already been reported in several of his subsidiary shelters. The affected individuals exhibited pale faces, weakness, and a small amount of blood leaking from their mouths and noses. The symptoms were strikingly similar, which indicated the virus had continued to spread while Su Wu had been focused on analysis.

Without hesitation, Su Wu issued the strictest isolation orders for all his subsidiary shelters.

"Order all subsidiary shelters to suspend all manual production activities."

"Close all windows and doors."

"All shelter residents are to remain where they are, no one is to move around."

"Except for the Remote Control Center."

Suppressing the feeling of unease, Su Wu quickly issued the most severe isolation commands. However, after some consideration, he had to make an exception for the Remote Control Center.

Without the several thousand people working in the Remote Control Center, most of the engineering vehicles and robots would become inactive. Given the current scale of the mechanical team, powered by the artificial intelligence, the system couldn't support them. Yet, to ensure the survival of over 600,000 people in the shelters and to handle the infected individuals, Su Wu couldn't afford to let the Remote Control Center go without its workforce.

Even though the virus hadn't yet reached the Remote Control Center, he couldn't afford to shut it down, especially given that people were still dying from the virus. He needed the workers to maintain control over the situation.

Once the subsidiary shelters were fully locked down, Su Wu turned his attention to further emergency responses. He designated a separate isolation area within each shelter, sorting the infected into two groups based on the severity of their symptoms. Robots were tasked with transporting them there, and transport vehicles carrying testing and disinfecting equipment were dispatched to the affected shelters.

Saving lives was important, but ensuring the virus didn't continue to spread inside the shelters was even more critical. If the situation got out of control, the number of casualties could easily exceed just a few hundred or a few thou

sand — it could wipe out entire shelters.

(End of Chapter)