Chapter 45: Two Doctors
CDC – First Floor Lobby
A group of people walked into the lobby looking utterly disheveled.
There were eleven students, two elderly men, and several security personnel escorting them.
The students' clothes were covered in dust and dried blood. Some supported each other while others limped forward weakly.
The two elderly men looked even worse.
Arthur Hawthorne's glasses had a broken temple that was held together with tape.
Elias Benson had lost one of his leather shoes, leaving him with a strange combination of one slipper and one leather shoe, making him the most stylish man in the crowd.
The other survivors in the hall, who were waiting to be assigned isolation rooms, gathered around them.
"My God, these children…"
"It's alright. You're safe now."
Some people handed out water, others offered towels, while a few helped support students with injuries.
A middle-aged woman saw that the youngest girl was still trembling, so she hugged her gently and comforted her.
"Don't be afraid. It's safe here. No one will hurt you."
Several young men accepted cups of water with trembling hands. Half the water spilled, but no one urged them to hurry.
An old woman shakily walked over and stuffed a piece of bread into the hands of a thin male student.
"Child, eat something. Don't stay hungry."
The boy looked at the bread in his hands, and his eyes suddenly reddened.
Before the apocalypse, he had been a student at the University of Georgia. He had been trapped in the university refugee camp for over a month and had never imagined he would be treated with such kindness again.
The two elderly men stood at the edge of the crowd, silently watching the scene before exchanging glances.
They had actually been very afraid when they first arrived.
They had never heard of Umbrella Corporation and assumed it was some kind of sinister organization.
But now, looking at the elderly, children, and ordinary people around them, watching the security personnel in black uniforms politely helping refugees, and seeing staff patiently registering everyone's names—
The two old men breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
This was not that kind of place.
"Gentlemen…"
A staff member approached them.
"Please follow me. The quarantine area is on the second floor. The stairs are this way—"
"Wait a moment."
Arthur adjusted his crooked glasses.
"Is there an elevator? My old bones can't handle stairs anymore."
The staff member paused briefly before smiling.
"Yes, there is. The elevator is over there in the lobby."
He pointed toward a corner of the hall.
The two men walked over and pressed the elevator button.
The display above the door showed that the elevator was currently on Basement Level 3.
-3
-2
-1
The elevator doors opened.
Inside stood a woman in her thirties wearing a white lab coat and holding a stack of documents.
She looked up at the two elderly men and froze for a moment before her eyes widened in shock.
"Dr. Arthur Hawthorne?"
Arthur squinted at her carefully.
She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember her name.
"Who are you?"
The woman—
Candice Jenner—was so excited she nearly dropped the documents in her hands.
She quickly stepped out of the elevator and looked Arthur up and down in disbelief.
"It really is you! My God, I never thought I'd see you again, even during the apocalypse!"
Arthur looked completely bewildered.
Candice quickly regained her composure, though excitement still filled her voice.
"I'm Candice Jenner, a researcher at the CDC. Ten years ago, you gave a presentation at a symposium at CDC headquarters in Washington, D.C., about host adaptive mutations in viral genomes. After your presentation, several of us researchers from Georgia surrounded you and discussed it with you for a long time."
Arthur blinked as he tried to remember.
"You said our research direction was too conservative…"
Candice continued.
"You said that cross-species viral transmission wasn't random but followed identifiable patterns. If we could find those patterns, we might predict the direction of viral mutations. We all agreed with your theory and invited you to join the CDC, but you said—"
"I said I liked universities and hated sitting in offices."
Arthur finally remembered, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, you were that young researcher! You had just joined the CDC and asked so many questions that your supervisor got annoyed."
Candice smiled, her eyes slightly moist.
"You still remember."
"I remember, I remember."
Arthur sighed emotionally.
"I never expected to see you again here."
Candice glanced at Arthur before looking at Elias beside him.
"And this gentleman is?"
"Elias Benson," Arthur introduced. "An ecology professor from Johns Hopkins University and an expert in wildlife behavior. We were both rescued from a refugee camp."
Elias nodded politely.
Candice took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"Doctors, do you know where you are right now?"
Arthur frowned slightly.
"The CDC?"
"It used to be."
Candice shook her head.
"Now this is a base operated by Umbrella Corporation, and we are all employees of Umbrella Corporation."
"Umbrella Corporation?"
Arthur frowned more deeply.
"A biotechnology company," Candice explained. "They already existed before the apocalypse. They have advanced facilities, abundant supplies, armed personnel, and most importantly—"
She emphasized the next words carefully.
"They are working tirelessly on vaccine research and are calling on scientists from all over the country to join them."
The two old men were stunned.
"A vaccine?"
Elias spoke for the first time, his voice hoarse.
"A vaccine for that virus?"
"That's right."
Candice nodded.
"My husband, Edwin Jenner, Dr. Green, and over a dozen researchers are working day and night. We're short on manpower and desperately lacking experts—"
She looked directly at Arthur, her eyes burning with hope.
"Dr. Arthur, you are exactly the kind of person we need. Human genetics and viral genomics—your research fields are key to understanding this virus."
Arthur remained silent for a long time.
Then he slowly took a deep breath.
"I'd like to meet the person in charge here."
Candice smiled.
"You've already met him."
Arthur looked surprised.
"When?"
"The man who rescued you in the helicopter."
Candice said calmly,
"Wu Fan, the leader of Umbrella Corporation, personally rescued you."
Arthur and Elias exchanged glances, both visibly shocked.
They had assumed the helicopter pilot was military personnel or some hired operative.
Unexpectedly, it had been the organization's leader himself.
"He… personally came to rescue us old men?"
Elias could hardly believe it.
Candice nodded.
"He does this all the time. Last time, he even flew to Atlanta himself to rescue survivors. Nearly every elderly person in this base was saved by him or the people he sent."
Arthur fell silent.
In the apocalypse, the leader of an organization personally risking his life to rescue complete strangers—
That wasn't merely charisma.
That was genuine kindness.
"Take us to the quarantine area."
Arthur's voice turned slightly hoarse.
"After the quarantine period is over, I want to meet him. If possible…"
He paused briefly.
"I want to use whatever strength I have left to help complete the vaccine."
Elias nodded firmly.
"So do I. I study wildlife behavior and disease transmission within natural ecosystems. The behavior patterns of those Walkers might prove useful."
Candice smiled and led them into the elevator.
Evening – Third Floor Office
Exhausted, Wu Fan leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and stared out the window.
In the distance, construction crews were working overtime to pour concrete walls.
"Oh, damn…"
He muttered to himself.
"In a city with over a million residents, at least seven hundred thousand Walkers must have already left Athens. I wonder when Atlanta will begin a large-scale migration too."
He recalled the black masses he had seen earlier from the helicopter.
Dense beyond imagination, stretching endlessly across the land.
If the millions of Walkers in Atlanta migrated at once, not only the CDC base, but the entire state of Georgia could be swallowed whole.
We need to move faster.
He picked up the phone.
"Send Jackie to my office."
Ten minutes later, Jackie pushed open the door and walked in.
She had lost noticeable weight and dark circles lined her eyes, but she still looked energetic.
Since taking charge of the wall construction project, she had practically lived at the construction site.
"Boss, you wanted to see me?"
Wu Fan pointed toward a chair.
"Sit. How's the wall construction progressing?"
Jackie sat down and opened her notebook.
"The foundations on the north and east sides are complete, and sixty percent of the concrete has already been poured. Construction on the west side has just started, while the south side hasn't begun yet."
"Too slow."
Wu Fan said flatly.
Jackie paused before replying carefully.
"Boss, the workers are already operating in three shifts, and the material supplies—"
"I know."
Wu Fan interrupted her.
"But time won't wait for us."
He stood up, walked toward the window, and pointed into the distance.
"I saw it from the helicopter today. The Walkers in Athens have already begun migrating in massive numbers—hundreds of thousands spreading into surrounding areas."
Jackie's expression changed instantly.
Atlanta was twice the size of Athens.
Wu Fan turned toward her.
"The Walkers there could grind us into dust. Do you think the workers still care about how many hours they work each day?"
His voice lowered.
"They only care whether they'll live to see tomorrow's sunrise."
Jackie fell silent for several seconds.
"I understand."
She stood up immediately.
"I'll adjust the schedule. We'll switch from three shifts to two twelve-hour shifts and push to complete the primary wall structure within a week."
Wu Fan nodded.
"Good work. Go ahead."
Jackie turned and quickly left the office.
Wu Fan sat back down and looked out over the construction site once more.
The setting sun stretched the workers' shadows across the ground.
Was he trying to build a second Raccoon City?
A modern city protected by walls...