Chapter 609 - 479: Suspected Source of Infection

Lin Miao looked through the recorded cases one by one. The first case of "miliary epidemic" infection in Erli Village, which was almost in the same area as Miao Manor, was that little boy called "Mr. Wan".

His condition was the most severe.

It had already progressed to the mid-late stage.

Whether he could pull through was uncertain. This child’s body was too frail, and even if nutrition was increased now, it was already too late.

However, some Western medical techniques could be used, but for now, there was no technology, nor were there the conditions.

Now it’s just a matter of doing one’s best and leaving the rest to fate.

The problem was how this little boy got infected—this completely puzzled Lin Miao.

Lin Miao had visited Wang’s home and saw no suspected source of infection. The boy’s life trajectory in the village was simple, so how did cases in other villages arise?

Lin Miao even saw a case in Xiayuan Village, which was similar to Wang but not as severe, and no source of infection was found. Of course, the incubation period was different, and the severity of the illness was also related to personal constitution.

The case in Xiayuan Village was an adult, not a child, and his resistance should be stronger...

Similar cases were discovered in other villages, but specifics hadn’t been compiled yet, so Lin Miao could not analyze or judge for the time being.

But with the increase in cases, clues would naturally increase, and identifying the source should not be a big issue. This was not like Blue Star, where the population density was high and the traffic was particularly large, making tracing the source hundreds of times more difficult.

"Young master?"

Yue Mei’Er’s bright face peered in from the door. She clearly didn’t want to disturb him while he was working, but the situation was urgent and she had to.

"What’s the matter?" Lin Miao was analyzing cases while considering how to improve the formula; even if a special drug couldn’t be found, at least the patient’s pain should be minimized.

"The village chief just reported that the private schoolteacher in their village hasn’t been seen for several days..."

"Private schoolteacher?"

Lin Miao slightly frowned: "When did this happen?"

"They just checked the numbers from door to door and found that they missed counting the private schoolteacher." Yue Mei’Er said.

"How could such a serious mistake just be discovered now?"

"Mr. Cen lives alone in the village temple. Usually, when the kids attend classes, the village arranges a family to cook and deliver meals for him. But with the year-end break, he’s been cooking for himself, so everyone didn’t pay much attention. He’s a grown man and not originally from the village, hence he was overlooked."

"Have people been sent to the village temple?"

"The village chief took people there. I came to notify you as soon as possible, as it feels like something’s going wrong."

"Let’s go, let’s go over immediately." Lin Miao immediately closed the case book, stood up, and said.

Erli Village’s temple is some distance from the village, built on a high slope, after all, it’s the hope of the entire village.

Studying is what many generations have dreamed of; after all, reading can lead to success, at least you can find a decent job in the city, escaping the fate of facing the earth with a bowed back.

Thus, the village put the private school in the temple and hired a teacher from outside to teach the village children reading and writing.

This Mr. Cen is about forty years old, a fallen Scholar, whose knowledge may not be impressive, and he’s a widower, otherwise, he wouldn’t come to such a place to be a private schoolteacher.

The village still respects him, providing sufficient remuneration and arranging meals and laundry. If there’s any difficult matter, they would seek his advice.

When Lin Miao and Yue Mei’Er arrived outside the village temple, they saw the village chief and two young men rushing out with pale faces from inside.

The two young men seemed to be covering their mouths, then bent down and squatted to vomit.

The village chief, seeing Lin Miao, hurriedly came forward to greet: "Old man pays respect to Mr. Lin and Mei’Er."

"What happened?"

"Mr. Cen is dead, it’s too terrifying, covered in pustules, the body’s already rotten..." the village chief said with a very unpleasant look on his face, barely holding back his own nausea.

The scene, even for him, the most knowledgeable in the village, was a first.

"You went in without any protective measures?" Lin Miao was taken aback and looked at the village chief and the two men.

"We..." the village chief murmured. They indeed didn’t want to wear those masks; it felt very stifling and uncomfortable.

"Hurry up and wash your hands, disinfect, and come back wearing masks." Lin Miao ordered, "Also, bring some quicklime for disinfection; we need to thoroughly clean and disinfect in here."

Although Lin Miao and Yue Mei’Er are not afraid of the smallpox virus, they still took protective measures, especially wearing masks over their mouths and noses.

If this place is indeed the source of the "miliary epidemic," the virus concentration here should be the highest, the most susceptible to infection.

As soon as they entered, they smelled a faint odor of decay, the kind that three-layer protective masks could not block, very intense.

Lin Miao’s nose is already very sensitive, especially to the fluid from the ruptured pustules from "miliary epidemic", which he recognized very well.

It’s almost confirmed that the deceased Mr. Cen inside died from the miliary epidemic.

He might be the true "patient zero" in the proper sense.

Lin Miao held Yue Mei’Er’s small hand, and the two followed the scent inside. The village temple wasn’t large, but not small either; it was a place for village worship. When unused, it was given to the village children as a school, which was quite a utilitarian use.