“X, how many people do we have in both B.S.S. and Black Knights combined?”
“There are seventy members in B.S.S. and another fifty in Black Knights. Both departments are on duty.”
“It’s not enough.”
Chen Chen said while shaking his head, “Get the mercenaries of Tara Strategic Resource to return to headquarters and enlist them into B.S.S. temporarily. They’ll be working together to lock down Eco Science City.”
“How will we be locking it down?” Little X enquired quizzingly.
“Have all of the security personnel put on fully-enclosed negative pressure protective suits and set up barriers around the entry and exit points of Eco Science City. Nobody is to enter or leave the city without receiving my permission. Also, lock down all of the stores and hotels within the city. Don’t allow people in the city to freely move around.”
Chen Chen thought for a moment and suddenly realized something. “This pandemic will spawn a large number of refugees in Namibia. They’ll come in droves and gather around the city barriers. There’s a chance they might force their way in. It’s bad for the company’s image if we don’t do anything about them…”
Chen Chen added again. “Right, get several engineering teams and have them set up dozens of basic wards outside the city border as soon as they can. The design doesn’t have to be anything intricate, it only needs to meet the basic criteria of a common shelter.”
“Understood!”
As Little X began passing on the orders received, Chen Chen picked up the phone and dialed a number.
After several rings, came the voice of a man who sounded to be of considerable age.
“Chen Chen, facing any kind of trouble on your side?”
“Chief Quintina, I believe you should be asking if you’re facing any trouble on your side instead.”
Chen Chen left the laboratory during the call and began making his way toward the elevator to the surface.
“What do you mean?”
There was a spontaneous silence on the other end of the phone. The man who was Namibia’s Minister of Defense carried an imposing aura even when on the phone.
However, Chen Chen was entirely unfazed and turned the question around. “Does Chief Quintina not know about the ongoing pandemic outbreak in Windhoek?”
“Pandemic? Shouldn’t that be handled by the Ministry of Health?”
There was a tinge of surprise in Quintina’s voice. It sounded like he truly had no idea about the matter at hand.
Chen Chen sneered. “The Ministry of Health is playing it off like they don’t know about what’s going on. They just requested assistance from my company without sparing me the truth. There are currently more than 1,200 people in Windhoek infected with hemorrhagic fever and the disease has spread as far as thirty kilometers away. And yet, I was told there are only three hundred cases. It’s rather obvious that they are trying to force me on the frontlines.”
“What? There are already so many people infected in Windhoek?”
The astonishment in Quitina’s voice was growing. “I don’t know about this. If that’s true, then there’s no use contacting me. There’s nothing I can do for you.”
“No, there’s a lot you can do for me.”
Chen Chen explained, “Safe to say that the situation with the pandemic will only worsen in the future. I need an established force to help me lock down my city and prevent refugees from swarming in.”
Silence on the other end of the phone.
“Of course, as compensation, I’ll be taking in your family as well as the families of soldiers in your platoon.”
Chen Chen added. “And if their families are infected, I’ll be treating them for free. Of course, whether they can be properly treated or not isn’t for me to decide.”
“Will the situation really become so dire?”
Quintina’s voice on the phone was starting to turn dry.
Chen Chen was so infuriated that he found himself laughing. “Chief Quintina, hemorrhagic fever is extremely contagious. Although the exact mortality rate hasn’t been tabulated due to it being the early stages of the outbreak, up to thirty percent of the infected are essentially crippled already. Can you not piece together from these facts just what sort of virus it is?”
“Could it be… Ebola?”
The man on the other end of the call sucked in a breath of cold air.
“Apart from this virus, I really can’t think of any other virus that causes hemorrhagic fever and boasts such a high fatality rate.”
Chen Chen explained, “I also suspect that this stem of virus is a new subtype. After all, it’s spreading incredibly quickly. Terrifyingly quick, if I may add. My suggestion is to get in touch with Congress and also request assistance from WHO. If we wait until the other countries realize what’s going on, there’s going to be a long queue for the ones requesting assistance.”
“A long queue?”
Quintina was first taken aback by the statement before it occurred to him that Chen Chen was subtly hinting that the contagious disease was beginning to make its rounds around other countries.
With this in mind, Quintina took a deep breath before replying in a suppressed tone, “I understand. I’ll relay your message to Congress. As for the matter of dispatching troops to lock down the city, I can’t guarantee I can issue the order immediately, but I’ll do my best. Is it alright for me to send my wife and children to your side now? Will you keep them safe?”
“Don’t worry, even if the pandemic were to get out of hand, I promise you that they’ll be the last to be infected.”
With that, Chen Chen hung up.
After that, Chen Chen made a call to Zurama, the Minister of Investment and Energy as well as several chiefs and parliamentarians who were closer to Chen Chen’s faction. He even got in touch with the customs department of Walvis Bay.
Chen Chen had a hard time containing the sneer from surfacing on the corner of his lips when he heard them all casting their pride aside and begging him with lowered voices.
Taking in the family members of the higher-up Namibian officials was a good way to put them in his debt. It was also a good way to gain some leverage since this would surely improve their confidence in the safety of Eco Science City.
This was Chen Chen’s motive.
Even after accomplishing all this, Chen Chen still felt it did not suffice. After a moment’s thought, he raised his head again. “X, dispatch a team of Black Knights and have them bring two patients from the outbreak zone. Make sure to take the appropriate preventative measures.”
“Understood, are you planning to study the virus?” Little X asked curiously.
“Of course, this is for self-protection.”
Chen Chen continued taking large strides as he elaborated, “After all, you have to understand that as the pandemic grows in severity, the ‘Level-4 Biosafety Lab’ in the research center will essentially become the pillar of hope in the entire Africa continent. I’ll inevitably be involved in the conversation whether it’s matters concerning civil rights or international public opinion.
“In that case, instead of being forced to concede the laboratory to WHO, it’s wiser to take the initiative. If things go well, we may very well become the leading force in combating the pandemic. This will be a great boost for our company’s image and international standing!”
“Understood!”
Little X answered, “I’ve dispatched a team of five Black Knights to the material department to pick up the negative pressure protective suits. They’ll be departing in half an hour.”
“Excellent.”
Chen Chen sighed in relief before suddenly remembering something. “Right, if memory serves me correctly, North America and the Mainland already developed a vaccine for Ebola as early as 18 years ago. Check if the ones who had received the vaccine in the past still contracted the disease.”
“Yes.”
Little X took note and fell silent momentarily before speaking again, “The Mainland had indeed developed a vaccine for Congo and several countries with outbreaks. However, there are still a large number of reported infections among the list of people who have been vaccinated!”
“I knew it…”
Chen Chen frowned and deducted accordingly. “Since the initial discovery of Ebola virus, there have been 4 subtypes discovered. They are Zaire, Sudan, Reston, and Côte d’Ivoire.
“Those who have been vaccinated are generally vaccinated with vaccines developed for Zaire and Sudan subtypes. Since the ones who had been vaccinated were still infected, this suggests that the outbreak this time doesn’t belong to these two subtypes.
“I should’ve thought of this earlier…”
Chen Chen nodded. “Zaire and Sudan can only be transmitted via body fluids. They can’t spread across hundreds of meters in just three days. The airborne subtype, Reston, is harmless to humans. The displayed symptoms also don’t match the symptoms of the final subtype, Côte d’Ivoire. Therefore, the pandemic cannot be any of the four subtypes listed.
“In other words, this is a new highly contagious subtype?”
Arriving at this thought, Chen Chen’s expression grew sterner. “Based on the displayed symptoms of the current infected, the deaths should be rapidly rising over the next few days. The mortality rate will be no lesser than fifty percent, so if this pandemic were to break out of Africa and spread globally, then…”