Chapter 1121: Disease Progression

Thinking about how they had been in the company of this Heart-Eating Demon for all these years, a look of lingering fear appeared on everyone's faces.

It was fortunate that the Heart-Eating Demon had not taken the initiative to come into the village all these years; otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable.

However, the people who had gone missing over these years had all had their hearts cooked by the Heart-Eating Demon; counting them up, there were over twenty sets of remains, which the people from the village and neighboring villages had claimed and then buried.

In the afternoon, the samples collected from Yeren Gou were tested in the laboratory, but the results obtained showed no traces of any virus.

"It seems that the place called Yeren Gou is relatively safer," Chen Yu said, looking at the laboratory report.

"Then let's go deep into the forest tomorrow to take a look; some of these people infected with the virus went into the forest," Liu Ying said.

"Let's confirm again. If there are still no issues, then the wild men can be ruled out here. Furthermore, we must approach this from multiple angles; sometimes, a virus may not necessarily be formed naturally," Chen Yu said.

Everyone felt a slight chill. If the virus was not formed naturally, then it was man-made, and if that were the case, it would involve conspiracy theories.

"Of course, this is just my guess. Let's go and investigate first; the source of the infection must be found," Chen Yu said again.

"Mr. Chen, this is bad. We've discovered a few suspected cases—it's a family of five, and they are currently refusing to cooperate; they are from the neighboring village." Just at this moment, Xiao Qi ran over in a rush.

"Where is the village chief?" Chen Yu asked.

"The village chief has already rushed over, but it's not this village; that family belongs to a major clan, and now Zhang Ji and the others are being blocked inside the village," Xiao Qi said, panting heavily.

"I'll go over and take a look." Chen Yu's face darkened; there would always be some uncivilized people coming out to stir up trouble.

The village where they were camping was considered kind, but poor mountains and treacherous rivers produce unruly people; those grandsons who were resisting were truly not afraid of death.

Chen Yu hurried to the neighboring village and saw that Zhang Ji and Wang Yi were both blocked at the village entrance, with a group of people holding tools and staring at the two of them with hostility.

Zhang Ji and Wang Yi were both from special forces backgrounds; if they were to really fight with blades and guns, a dozen or so big men wouldn't even be able to get close to them.

But after all, the people in front of them were not enemies, so the two of them held back; even so, there were already five or six men down around them.

"You dare to come to our Zhou Jia Cun to cause trouble? Do you really think I, Zhou Laohu, am a vegetarian?" A fierce-looking big man was the village chief here, and he had always been at odds with the village where Chen Yu and the others were camping.

The two sides fought over territory, water, and resources, but the old village chief of the village where Chen Yu was camping was highly respected, so these guys hadn't gained any advantage.

When the medical team came here this time, the old village chief stepped forward to ensure all villages were fully equipped, but Zhou Laohu had a long-standing grudge with the village chief, so he deliberately refused to cooperate and deliberately looked for trouble.

"Zhou Laohu, what do you want to do?" The old village chief had already arrived there a step ahead; looking at the group of people in front of him, he couldn't help but shout angrily: "Are you trying to get everyone killed?"

"Wu Lao Tou, don't you dare bark at me here. This is our Zhou Jia Cun, not your Lao Jia Cun." Zhou Laohu sneered and said: "You let outsiders come into our village to run wild; what is it you want to do?"

"Don't you know that the villages around us have an epidemic? Several people have already died. These people were sent by Huaxia to help us, and they are our own people too. You are blocking them from entering the village—are you trying to get everyone killed?" the old village chief said angrily.

"Bullshit epidemic, don't try to scare me with that; I, Zhou Laohu, am not someone to be scared." Zhou Laohu spat: "Old man, don't think I don't know what you're up to."

"I heard that a gold mine was discovered on the mountain behind your village. You are colluding with these people just to claim the gold mine for yourself. It's true that you have prestige in the five surrounding villages, but this place belongs to all of us, and the gold mine belongs to all of us too. Don't you even think about using these things to benefit outsiders."

"Where did you hear all this from? Where is there a gold mine?" The old village chief was practically angered to death.

It was one thing for Zhou Laohu to go against him usually; after all, it was for the interests of his own village.

But at this critical juncture, with the virus spreading so severely, Zhou Laohu had heard rumors from who knows where about a gold mine and was using it as an excuse to cause him trouble, and preventing the medical team's work from proceeding normally was simply unacceptable.

"Hehe, everyone is not a fool; whether there is a gold mine or not, you know it in your own heart," Zhou Laohu sneered and said.

"The family of five in your village is suspected of being infected with the virus and is already running a high fever. You had better let us take them for quarantine; we also have professional doctors there who can cure their illness."

Zhang Ji said coldly: "If their treatment process is delayed, it will end up killing their whole family."

"Fart, it's just a fever; who hasn't had a fever before?" Zhou Laohu sneered and said: "Do you take me for a fool? Just pick some herbs on the mountain, go home, eat them, wrap yourself in a quilt, and sleep, and you'll be fine."

"How can it be as scary as you say? You people stationed yourselves here just to snatch the gold mine here; don't think I don't know."

"Laohu, whatever grudges we had in the past, let's put them aside for now. Lao Zhang from the next village has already died; he died from the virus infection." The old village chief said, suppressing his anger: "And at this critical juncture, a fever is no small matter."

"Even if you won't let us take the people away, at least let the doctors go in and take a look; that way, we can ensure there are no mistakes," the old village chief said: "What if it really is a virus infection?"

"Yeah, Hu Ge, Gou Zi and his family of five all have fevers; this is no small matter. Why not let the doctors go over and check their condition first?" Even the people on Zhou Laohu's side said.

"Shut your mouth, you piece of trash, whose side are you on?" Zhou Laohu, embarrassed and angry, slapped his underling: "What do you know?"

That underling didn't dare to speak after being slapped, and could only mumble and shut his mouth.

"This old immortal must be in cahoots with those people; we can't let them in. Also, send a few people to their village to see what's going on. If there really is a gold mine, this brat shouldn't even think about claiming it for himself," Zhou Laohu cursed and swore.

"You, you bastard, you are simply unreasonable." The old village chief was angered to death; he pointed at Zhou Laohu and shouted: "Move aside for me immediately, I'm telling you, this disease is contagious."

"If you don't take measures, the people in your entire village might get infected. Aren't you afraid?"

The old village chief's words took everyone by surprise; after all, this was an epidemic, and everyone became a bit afraid, fearing that they might really get infected.

"Don't listen to his nonsense." Zhou Laohu's face darkened: "This old thing is despicable; don't ever be fooled by his words."