Plague Doctor

Chapter 43: Phecda Division of Esoteric Studies

“I think Gu Jun should undergo the Mobile Task Force’s training.”

Professor Qin voiced his decision. Since Gu Jun’s condition was stable and he wished to use the last moments of his life to do something for the world, Professor Qin sought to fulfil his wishes. Moreover, the Mobile Task Force lacked manpower. The question of his length of stay there would be left in the hands of fate.

Hearing the decision, the expression of all the members present took a drastic change. Beside Professor Qin, Elder Zheng’s vitality dropped to rock bottom. “Elder Qin, this is really unfair to the research department.”

“Elder Qin, very wise decision!” On the other hand, Elder Qiu was brimming with excitement.

The Mobile Task Force mainly carried out missions outside the headquarters. They did not require experts in machinery and equipment of the laboratory. Instead, everyone within the Mobile Task Force was talented and excelled under all sorts of conditions; extremely harsh environments, under the pressure of various emergencies, severe lack of logistical and other forms of support. Their members must be able to still carry out the treatment of injuries and even various surgical operations under this bleak environment.

As such, per usual training regimes, Gu Jun had to tour various departments which utilized the surgical scalpel like the Clinical Team and the Dissection Team.

Excitedly, Elder Qiu burst out, “You are putting Gu Jun into the Clinical Team, right?”

“Our Dissection Team is lacking manpower too!” As the saying went, the early bird catches the worm. The other team leaders leapt unhesitantly into the quarrel.

“Okay, okay.” Professor Qin raised his hand to stop everyone’s dispute. “There are many upcoming talent selection competitions. The students from the surrounding cities of Eastern Province will be gathered and sifted through. I guarantee that each team will get enough members to fill the gaps you are facing. For now, don’t fight over them.”

On the surface, no one dared to rebut Professor Qin. However, their dissatisfactions were grumbling within their hearts. A talent such as Gu Jun was rare even in the whole country. What were the possibilities that other students would also qualify compared to him.

Professor Qin said again, “I think we should give Gu Jun a more tailored content during his training period to see the depth of his abilities and judge whether he is Gu Jun or Tycoon Jun. If he really has that refined level of expertise, we shall then arrange for rotational training for the Clinical team, the Dissection team… You will have your chances. ”

Hearing Professor Qin’s reassurance, Elder Qiu and the rest finally calmed down. From the potential Gu Jun displayed during the competition, they just had to give him a little more training. Just imagining the possible result, a bright and wide grin shone on their faces.

“Elder Qin, will he rotate to our Research Team?” as Elder Zheng asked, his eyes were on the brink of tears.

“As for that, we will have to decide at that time,” Professor Qin explained. “Team Leader Zheng, we will need to ask for your understanding on this matter. Now is a difficult period, the big picture has dictated that we require more Clinical Medicine trained doctors. There isn’t time for us to slowly train people now. What we need is an immediate battle power, so we must utilize the freshmen’s current abilities to the fullest right at this moment.”

The crowd was in full agreement with Professor Qin, and even Elder Zheng was clear about this. Faced with the current situation, he could only sigh.

The Research Team silently contributes a lot, but alas, we are always placed last in many matters…

After looking through all nine reports, Professor Qin sternly declared, “Ma Jiahua and Yang Ming will be sent to the Research Team. They have a strong foundation in Basic Science of Medicine and should be able to quickly adapt to their position. Cheng Yifeng and Zhou Yi will be sent to the Errands Team for training, while Wang Ruoxiang, Cai Zixuan, Sun Yuheng, and Jiang Banxia will be assigned to the Clinical Team. Lastly, Gu Jun will be assigned to the Mobile Task Force for training. That’s all.”

That was the final arrangement. Facing the ultimatum, everyone except for Elder Zheng was pleased. The latter was drowning in despair. Leaving aside Gu Jun, he could not even clinch Cai Zixuan. What a sad sight.

Contrary, Elder Qiu was all-smiles. His urgent situation had finally seen hope. He had high hopes in Wang Ruoxiang and Sun Yuheng.

As for Gu Jun, that was a separate talk. Silently within their hearts, everyone could not wait to see his development after the rigorous training.

***

As night fell, a small passenger vehicle stopped at Eastern University Student’s Dormitory and dropped off the 4 Eastern University students.

Heading up to his room, Gu Jun did not have much to pack. However, the most urgent thing would be to find a proper and safe hiding spot for the SD card and the boxes of foreign medication. Very obviously, it was not a wise choice to bring these suspicious and unexplainable items to Phecda. With several plastic bags, they were wrapped tightly and shoved into a corner that was even more inconspicuous and quiet.

Then, he took two suitcases containing his laptop, some clothes, and books and went downstairs.

With the cold dark night sky as a backdrop, Gu Jun, Cai Zixuan, Wang Ruoxiang, and Ma Jiahua dragged their luggage to the assigned car. They headed to the mysterious Phecda Division of Esoteric Studies, Eastern Province Branch, Medical Department.

The vehicle headed east, driving through the bustling Qingyun District and left the bright and vibrant city behind. They headed towards the remote outskirts by the foot of the mountain and zoomed along a military-controlled road. After an extended period, they finally saw what the secret department looked like.

The Phecda Division of Esoteric Studies sprawled over a large plot of land, not any smaller than the Eastern University; possibly larger. Tall buildings were erected side by side, and most of them are still brightly lit despite the late hours.

Gu Jun leaned against and lowered the car window. The chilly night breeze caressed his cheeks as his eyes looked at the passing views. Despite the cold air, his heart and mind were heated with adrenaline. At last, he was finally about to step into this mysterious world, giving him a chance to unravel all the truth.

The buildings were nothing special, just typical and straightforward concrete and metal structures resembling the structure back in Eastern University. There were no fanciful designs of towering and domineering scale. Sweeping over the landscape, the tallest structure was 10 to 20 storeys high. Despite that, Gu Jun’s eyes darted everywhere. Everything was fresh and intriguing along this ride into the mysterious world hidden from him for the past 10 years.

Beside him, Cai Zixuan and Ma Jiahua were also bursting with excitement. As they stared at the passing views, their heads had almost extended beyond the window.

Amongst them, Wang Ruoxiang was the calmest. Contrary to the erupting excitement of the boys, a slight disappointment was exuding from her expression. In her mind, she had imagined Phecda to be a cluster of classical and traditional buildings, displaying a dense and concentrated culture linking to several centuries back.

“The Phecda Division of Esoteric Studies…” As the reality of the admittance into Phecda started sinking in, Cai Zixuan lamented under his breath, “Ask not the deepest secrets of Heaven, leave the chains of the world behind.”

“What poem is that?” perplexed, Ma Jiahua asked. “A work of yours, Brother?”

“Haha what a tease, Senior. How would I possess such talent? It is a quote from Yin Zhiping.”, Cai Zixuan burst into a peal of laughter. “That historical Yin Zhiping.”

As he heard the absurd conversation and his eyes followed the scene outside, a slight smile appeared on Gu Jun’s face.

Sometime later, the vehicle stopped in front of a several story high condominium. Per the staff on the car, this was the accommodation for regular staff and also their home from today onwards.

With their luggage, the 4 of them alighted and Wang Ruoxiang headed to the ladies’ dormitory. Gu Jun and the rest met up with the freshmen from the other universities. Following the lead of the staff, they entered a condominium block for men.

The staff welfare of Phecda was extraordinarily excellent. Each unit was for two people, and there were two rooms and one common area inside. There was also a bathroom attached to the washroom, a kitchen, and a large balcony. Previously, the school dormitory was less than three square meters in size. Comparatively, each unit per capita here was more than thirty square meters on average.

“Comfortable living is critical for employees to maintain healthy psychological wellbeing,” the staff said profoundly. “Pairing up our staff can prevent loneliness and social aversion as well.”

They were allowed to pick their roommates freely. Gu Jun and Cai Zixuan continued their partnership. Sun Yuheng and Yang Ming from Qingyun University also chose to stay with each other, leaving Ma Jiahua to pair with Cheng Yifeng of Dongyang Medical College. This apartment building has three staircases and six people were on the same floor.

“Wow, so big,” Cai Zixuan exclaimed as he toured his new accommodation. After looking around his own unit, he even went next door.

Everyone was all praises for the new housing arrangements. However, due to their training schedule, they were not provided with the WiFi password and even had their mobile phones taken from them for the time being.

After running about each other’s rooms, they headed back to pack and rest within their own units. Starting early next morning, their personal training sessions would begin.

Saying goodnight to Cai Zixuan, Gu Jun headed into his own room and closed the doors. Acting as if he was curious about his new surroundings, Gu Jun patted and inspected every nook and cranny.

Hmmm, no signs of surveillance cameras, tapping devices, and any similar equipment…

Despite his thorough checks, he dared not drop his guard. Not only was he uninformed about surveillance and spy techniques, but he was also unsure about the capabilities of this mysterious department.

Whatever I do here, I need to be careful about secrecy.

Gu Jun reminded himself sternly. Looking around his room, bed, wardrobe, study table, air conditioning, he did not find a single-blind spot.

Seems like whatever secretive things would be done under the blankets’ cover on the bed from now on…

Having been on a busy day. He set aside his luggage and laid down on the big bed with a mattress. It was soft and fluffy; very comfortable indeed.

Training will start tomorrow, let yourself rest and meet new challenges.

“Wait…” As Gu Jun was to close his eyes, a frightening thought blared. “What if the bug is in the mattress?”

Well… Forget it, even if there is. There is no sound from a poor forever alone man that would interest the eavesdropper.

I will check it later…