Chapter 613 - 480: Quarantine Order for Forbidden Streets (Part 2)

It’s unique in the world.

When other countries encounter a major epidemic, which one isn’t left in chaos, causing heavy casualties?

Leave it be; as for the "Prevention Guide," let Pei Jian ask for it himself. For now, doing your own work is enough; help as many people as you can.

"Xia Zhu, neither you nor the senior sisters have had smallpox before. Although martial artists have strong resistance, even if infected, symptoms are milder than ordinary people, you still need to be cautious. Wash your hands frequently, disinfect when contacting patients or visiting quarantine zones, and wear protective masks. This ’smallpox’ is transmitted through droplets and contact, and is highly contagious. Immediately report any fever, headache, or back pain symptoms to me!" Lin Miao seriously instructed Xia Zhu and the senior sisters.

Since you’re already here, sending them back has no meaning. If there are sporadic outbreaks in the city, it’s better to stay outside; here the space is wide, making it easier for the virus to dilute.

Discussing infection without dosage in any virus context is frivolous.

The essence of "inoculation" is allowing the body to be slightly infected by the virus, allowing oneself to produce certain antibodies, achieving immunity.

Lin Miao roughly knows the dosage value, so theoretically, cultivating this virus makes "human inoculation" possible.

However, "human inoculation" is not as safe, far less preferable than "cow inoculation"; the key is finding cows with "cowpox."

If one family’s efforts aren’t enough, cast a wide net; eventually, one will be found.

The Su Family, Snow Mountain Sect, and the embroidery house in Li Hen City—Lin Miao can mobilize quite a few forces, and they’re more than mere acquaintances.

...

In the Dongshan Prefecture office, since finding out about the "smallpox" outbreak in the jurisdiction, Pei Jian hasn’t slept this night. He first convened his subordinates for a meeting and assigned epidemic prevention tasks, then summoned the leaders of different wards to issue orders for strict prevention and control.

Later, he went to Shanglin Temple overnight to meet Imperial Envoy Su Mobai, reporting the situation. At this moment, he had already received diagnosis reports from Tian Yuan, the chief of Benefit People Pharmacy, as well as the Xu Family Baoan Hall and Three Saints Hall in the city.

A never-before-seen "major epidemic" has started spreading in Dongshan City, and it’s the highly fatal "smallpox"!

According to past experiences, the mortality rate of smallpox reaches thirty to fifty percent, meaning that at least a third of Dongshan City’s one million population could die.

Faced with such dire circumstances, Pei Jian wondered if he could survive until the end of his term.

How did he end up encountering such a situation?

He clearly couldn’t shoulder this burden alone; he must involve the more capable Imperial Envoy in handling the situation. After all, you’re already in Dongshan—if anything happens, you can’t just run away.

Learning about this, Su Mobai felt regret; he wished he had settled the case by the Emperor’s decision, directly escorting the suspect back to the capital.

Now, even if the case is resolved, he can’t return; if the "smallpox virus" spreads along the way and reaches the capital, his family’s heads wouldn’t be enough.

What kind of mess is this!

He’s forced to stay and cooperate with Pei Jian’s epidemic prevention efforts, and when necessary, even support and back him up.

"Mr. Dong, this outbreak of smallpox is unusual." Being Pei Jian’s advisor, Zhuo Qingfeng naturally has some insights, especially since Pei Jian is in the midst of it, often prone to overlooking things, and Zhuo Qingfeng is the one who fills in the gaps.

Because he’s merely an advisor, even if Pei Jian gets executed with nine familial exterminations, he wouldn’t be implicated; he’s just a strategist, while Pei Jian makes the decisions.

Unless he’s proven guilty of wrongdoing, he remains the clearest mind by Pei Jian’s side.

The smallpox outbreaks are multiple points, but it’s basically certain that the source isn’t in the city. If it were, it should be concentrated in one spot, then spread outward from that center.

Historically, recorded smallpox outbreaks have shown such patterns.

Currently, it’s dispersed in multiple isolated points.

Among these cases, some came from outside the city for treatment, and some are local citizens; the city cases seem to have been infected by patients from outside.

The source isn’t in the city, which is good news because once it’s in the city, the spread accelerates.

Found early, it’s still manageable.

However, if the source is outside, finding it is challenging because those entering the city for treatment, infected with smallpox, aren’t from a specific direction.

In other words, they’re from various locations, which is peculiar. Major outbreaks generally have a starting point.

If it were widespread transmission, it should’ve been identified already, instead of coming from different directions.

They’re all from villages and towns near Dongshan City’s suburbs.

Unless someone linked them, how did it suddenly spread across such a large area and range?

"Why is it unusual?" Pei Jian was anxious, even with Lin Miao’s warnings and prescriptions, he felt uncertain. Smallpox is untreatable; even medication only supports and strengthens the patient’s resistance, ultimately it’s up to the patient to withstand it.

Zhuo Qingfeng explained his analysis to Pei Jian.