Chapter 95: A Journey to Europe

“Wait a moment!” The crew-cut man hesitated, then finally spoke.

Seeing that he was about to confess, the three Falcon investigators knew their plan had succeeded. They forced down the turmoil in their hearts, turned back, looked at the crew-cut man, who seemed to have something on his mind but was reluctant to say it, and asked, “Made up your mind?”

“Does what you said just now about earning merit by atoning for my crimes still count?” the crew-cut man asked cautiously.

“Confess and you’ll be treated leniently. Resist and you’ll be treated strictly. Those are never empty words.” The Falcon investigation team did not say it outright. In truth, they did not know what the final outcome would be either.

After thinking it over carefully, the crew-cut man said, “All right. No matter what, the virus was planted by me. Since you were able to find me, sooner or later someone else would have found me too. In the end, I couldn’t have escaped.”

He paused, then went on. “To be honest, I really didn’t know what that thing was. I certainly never imagined it would cause such terrible consequences. I only heard that bastard surnamed Wu say it was something incredibly powerful, something that could destroy Jinling City. He promised that once it was done, he would ask the organization to promote me. I did think it might trigger some kind of infectious disease, so I didn’t dare follow his instructions and take it to Jinling City’s water source. Instead, I scattered it in the forest. I never expected that, by some twist of fate, things would end up even worse.”

“And then what? Did Wu Jianxue tell you anything about a vaccine or an antidote?”

The crew-cut man shook his head and continued, “No. A suspicious man like him would never tell a nobody like me something like that. But I think I saw him carrying a box with him when he fled. I also heard earlier that his new base was built on a remote island somewhere. That’s all I know.”

When he finished, his voice grew choked with emotion, and he kept muttering things like, “That bastard Wu ruined my life.” No matter how many more questions the Falcon investigators asked, he said nothing else.

Looking at the crew-cut man, Yang Dalong walked over, patted his shoulder lightly, and said, “Take care.”

Then the three of them left, leaving the crew-cut man alone in the room, still staring blankly into space.

After leaving the prison, the Falcon investigation team had only confirmed that this plague had been a premeditated act and that the enemy possessed some means of rescue. Beyond that, they knew nothing. They could not even trace the island where Wu Jianxue was supposed to be hiding.

The case had not come to a deadlock. On one front, the researchers at the Medical Academy were working around the clock to study the disease mechanism of this superbug, search for the most reasonable treatment, and develop a vaccine.

On the other front, the Falcon investigation team was using high-resolution satellites to search for islands that had undergone large-scale construction over the past year and a half, especially those far from the mainland, in order to locate the hideout of Wu Jianxue and the others.

Just as everyone was fighting to overcome the plague, good news came first from the European delegation.

That day, the Falcon investigation team was searching for Wu Jianxue’s hideout as if looking for a needle in a haystack. Suddenly, Julia found Zhang Xingmin and said there was news from Europe.

As it turned out, ever since the plague broke out, the European delegation that had come for exchanges had not been idle either. While trapped in Jinling City, they had remained in active contact with Europe. Now a piece of good news had just arrived, and Julia had come to notify her Chinese colleagues and invite them to join the investigation.

Hearing that there had been a new discovery in Europe, Zhang Xingmin immediately applied to his superiors for permission to go and inspect it.

Approval came quickly. A delegation composed of Zhang Xingmin, several researchers, and medical staff boarded a special plane together with the European exchange delegation and flew at the earliest possible moment to Vienna. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaofeng and Yang Dalong from the Falcon investigation team continued tracking the movements of Wu Jianxue and the others. It was a two-pronged effort.

During the flight, everything was very quiet. The journey passed in silence. Most people were resting with their eyes closed, and only a few, such as Julia, could not suppress their joy at going home.

After the plane landed at Vienna International Airport, the exchange delegation each went back to rest.

The inspection team had originally wanted to hurry over and meet the European researchers to discuss the latest progress in defeating the plague. But it was already late in the day, and most of the people at the European Academy of Sciences had already gotten off work, so the welcome reception was arranged for the following day.

Zhang Xingmin did not travel with the rest of the inspection team. After all, he was not cut from the same cloth; he and those scientific obsessives really could not have fit into the same mold. Fortunately, Julia noticed this, and invited Zhang Xingmin to go with her instead, as a way of returning the care he had shown her while they were in China. In truth, Julia had another reason for inviting Zhang Xingmin, though she did not say it outright.

She wanted to take Zhang Xingmin to see her younger brother, Andreas. Ever since Andreas, who had gone missing, was found again, his mood had been highly unstable. He was gloomy, deeply withdrawn, and very afraid of people, which worried her greatly. She remembered that Andreas had once been lively and outgoing, always making friends with ease. So she wanted to see whether Zhang Xingmin might be able to comfort him.

When they arrived at Andreas’s residence, the young man was asleep. Julia was about to leave without disturbing him, but Andreas woke up and called out, “Sister.”

“I saw you were resting, so I thought I shouldn’t disturb you,” Julia explained.

“They told me yesterday that you were coming back. I’ve been waiting here ever since. I never thought you’d only arrive now.” As he spoke, Andreas swam over and gave his sister a big hug.

“How are you feeling? Have you been listening to the doctors these past few days?” While she had been in China, Julia had been deeply worried about her brother’s condition.

“I’m not a child anymore, Julia. You don’t need to be so nagging!” Andreas said. “Look, I’m as strong as an ox now, absolutely fine. It’s just that not having legs still feels a little strange!” He even flexed his muscles on purpose.

“Oh, right! Let me introduce you. This is Zhang Xingmin, a colleague of mine from my time in China!” Julia finally remembered the Chinese man standing awkwardly beside them, unsure whether to stay or leave, and quickly introduced him to Andreas.

Andreas had long since noticed this Eastern man, whose features were not flat at all and could even be said to be somewhat three-dimensional. Hearing Julia say that he had received much care and assistance from him while she was in China, Andreas politely greeted Zhang Xingmin.

Zhang Xingmin also politely asked after Andreas’s condition.

Andreas was no longer as afraid of strangers as before. He even joked that he was now a specially protected animal, and that his body was in excellent shape. The only thing was that he had not gone out in a long time, and he really wanted to play basketball, but the doctors here would not allow it.

Zhang Xingmin had already noticed that the facilities here did not seem as complete as those back home. He guessed it was because there were not as many victims here as in China, so no special living area had been designed for them. For now, these merpeople were simply being placed in large pools.

Then a thought flashed through Zhang Xingmin’s mind: why not invite Andreas to live in the aquatic district of Jinling City? That way, he could also see Julia more often.