Chapter 125: The Beginning of a Disaster

Qin Yun stared at the system interface, reading it over three times. Aside from the phrase The Beginning of a Disaster, there was no other information.

Noticing something was off, Xiang Qingchuan leaned in and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Yun briefly described what he saw on the system interface.

Xiang Qingchuan’s expression turned serious in an instant.

Their team had long speculated that “participating in major developments” might trigger system updates. Until now, it was only a theory—unconfirmed. But now… the system had actually updated.

“Any other details?” Xiang Qingchuan asked.

“No,” Qin Yun shook his head.

Xiang Qingchuan changed into a hazmat suit and headed to the border of Borman Town. Since it was still unclear whether the virus could mutate and spread, the town was under lockdown. Vehicles from various countries were parked outside, assisting researchers with data collection. Until the area was declared completely safe, researchers from all fifteen nations would remain in Borman Town.

Xiang Qingchuan informed Zhang Hu about the system update.

“Mission guaranteed to be completed!” Zhang Hu drove to the airport. At present, many assistants were returning to their home countries to retrieve materials, so his actions didn’t raise any suspicion.

At 9:50, Xiang Qingchuan returned to Lake Borman. Based on the symptoms of twenty-three cases, the virus was traced back to smelt fish from the lake. The area around Lake Borman had since been sealed off, with residents prohibited from approaching.

Over the next two days, Longxia and international research teams conducted investigations around the lake. They confirmed that the twenty-three cases were linked to the lake’s water quality and named the virus the Hugua Virus. Lake Borman originated from the southern side of the Hurla Mountains, located at 27°E, 82°N—deep within the Arctic Circle.

Two days later, the international teams decided to head to the Arctic region for further investigation. During this time, Zhang Hu returned to Borman Town. Since The Beginning of a Disaster came with no further instructions, the farm instructed Qin Yun and Xiang Qingchuan to follow Xiang Qingchuan’s lead, provided their safety could be ensured.

“Make sure you wear your Constant Temperature Jacket tomorrow, and don’t forget the pendant and wristband,” Xiang Qingchuan said on the night of June 18, reviewing the latest schedule. Just yesterday afternoon, various countries had ordered 5,000 units of the Constant Temperature Series from Longxia. The gear had already been delivered to Borman Town and was being distributed to the international teams by Will Government personnel.

“Been wearing it the whole time,” Qin Yun said, raising his temperature-regulating wristband. Borman was freezing, so he was fully geared up—not just the wristband, but every piece of equipment he had.

The next morning, the group boarded a ship bound for the Hurla Mountains. The journey from Borman to Hurla was seventy-two nautical miles. It was Qin Yun’s first time on a boat, and as the sea breeze swept past, an endless expanse of glaciers unfolded before him.

“This is the Hurla Bay?”

“It’s worse than the reports described…”

…

At 1:20 PM, the group arrived at the Hurla Mountains. Situated near the Arctic Circle, the area had suffered severe glacial fragmentation due to global warming. Ice and seawater mixed chaotically around the mountains, creating a disordered and unstable landscape.

“Everyone, disembark slowly.”

“Watch out for soft ice.”

…

Weir personnel reminded everyone to stay alert.

Qin Yun followed the main group off the ship.

“Impressive jacket.”

“Can really withstand the Arctic chill…”

…

As they disembarked, Qin Yun overheard other researchers praising the gear. Everyone had switched into Constant Temperature Jackets, layered beneath hazmat suits. Since this was an Arctic expedition, Longxia had even sent over newly developed temperature-regulating pants. Despite the thin layers, everyone felt comfortably warm.

“Up ahead is the source of Lake Borman’s water. The quality here matches the lake’s,” a researcher said at 1:30 PM, crouching to test the Hurla seawater.

“Let’s move.”

After completing the tests, the group followed the river upstream. The sun hung high overhead, and thanks to years of rising temperatures, the climate here was milder than expected.

“I’ve been here before. There used to be a glacier right there,” a man said, pointing to a patch of ice not far away. His name was Shock, Weir’s most renowned geologist. He had visited Hurla once before, when only minor glacial melting had occurred. What he saw now was on a completely different scale.

The team launched drones to scout ahead. With aerial guidance, they finally reached a wide ice field at 3:20 PM.

The ice field lay between two glaciers. Due to rising temperatures, the ice had melted into a shallow sea.

“This is the place,” Shock confirmed, consulting his instruments. Geological analysis indicated this was the source of Lake Borman’s water.

Everyone suited up in full protective gear and began collecting biological and material samples near the ice field. The sampling process was tedious, but with the international teams coordinating by region, it went more smoothly than expected.

By 8 PM, the group returned to the ship to rest.

The next morning, they resumed sampling.

“There’s something here!”

Everything had been proceeding in an orderly fashion—until the morning of June 20, when a researcher discovered an unidentified lifeform atop the ice field.

Everyone quickly donned their hazmat suits and rushed to the location.

“These things were carried here by ocean currents.”

“Looks like a giraffe carcass…”

“Could be a hippo.”

…

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the site. It was a small lake, about thirty acres in size. It had likely formed from melted ice. Chunks of floating ice drifted across the surface, interspersed with the remains of unknown animals.

Carried by the currents, the animal corpses had all gathered in one place. Qin Yun stood at the rear of the group. Even in the freezing cold, the stench of rot was overpowering.

“Everyone, maintain full isolation. Be alert for biological pathogens!” Xiang Qingchuan’s expression was grim.

At this moment, not only Xiang Qingchuan but all the other researchers were moving with extreme caution. The team returned to the ship to retrieve their equipment, and two hours later, they were back at the lake. The animal carcasses were carefully placed into pre-prepared sterile storage containers and then moved to an open area. Using bio-test strips they had brought in advance, they conducted preliminary tests. The results were alarming: the pathogen activity on the carcasses was at 100%. The structure of the pathogens matched those found in infected patients.

“This is serious.” The discovery was immediately reported to their respective countries.

The expedition team couldn’t determine whether the carcasses carried a mutated virus. All they could do was store the samples carefully and have them transported by specialized teams to national biological research labs. Because the team had come into close contact with the carcasses, all participating countries agreed to temporarily remain in the Arctic to ensure no pathogens were inadvertently brought back.

“Hopefully we’ll get results soon.”

“An Arctic Circle vacation, huh…”

…

The biologists from each country tried to make light of the situation. With limited equipment on-site, they could only conduct basic sampling. As for in-depth research… that would have to wait until the animal carcasses were fully analyzed.

On the morning of June 23rd, Xiang Qingchuan and Qin Yun were collecting samples near the ship. The Biology Group was now in contact with Longxia, but in order to maintain secrecy, they avoided discussing the farm incident.

Yesterday afternoon, Liu Wensheng had called to check on everyone’s safety. Xiang Qingchuan gave a general report, then very “naturally” handed the phone to Qin Yun to fill in some details.

When Qin Yun took the call, there was an audible sigh of relief from the other end. Liu Wensheng repeatedly reminded everyone to stay safe and mentioned that Longxia’s Biology Group was already analyzing the animal remains. They discussed some official matters, but it was clear from his tone that Liu Wensheng was deeply concerned.

“I shouldn’t have let you come,” Xiang Qingchuan said to Qin Yun after they finished collecting specimens.

Before departure, they had reviewed the profiles of the twenty-three infected patients—all of whom had fallen ill after consuming smelt. The farm had been confident in containing the virus, but no one had expected to find animal carcasses in the Arctic Circle…

“You should’ve stayed in Borman Town,” Xiang Qingchuan continued. If Qin Yun had remained there, things wouldn’t be so passive now. Given Qin Yun’s importance, Xiang Qingchuan felt deeply responsible.

“I chose to come,” Qin Yun replied. Longxia only allowed Qin Yun to join the expedition after ensuring the team’s safety. The discovery in the Hurla Mountains had been unexpected. Once Xiang Qingchuan learned about the Arctic mission, he had opposed Qin Yun’s participation.

[The Beginning of a Disaster] was still shrouded in mystery. Qin Yun had been pondering it seriously, hoping to uncover more useful information. But now, the only clue they had was still just that phrase—[The Beginning of a Disaster]…

After a few more words, Xiang Qingchuan said solemnly, “If we don’t get any results by tomorrow, you and the others need to return home for quarantine.” He had subtly mentioned this to Liu Wensheng yesterday—if the carcasses truly carried an infectious virus, Qin Yun had to leave.

Qin Yun thought for a moment and asked, “Are you going to leave?”

“Of course not,” Xiang Qingchuan answered firmly. He was a biologist. With so many animal carcasses appearing here, even if he had to do it all over again, he would still choose to stay.

“Why?” Qin Yun pressed.

“There’s not always a ‘why’,” Xiang Qingchuan said with a faint smile.

“You have to leave tomorrow. That’s an order!” he added with finality. He had made up his mind—Qin Yun had to go.

Qin Yun didn’t respond. He didn’t think of himself as particularly noble. But even if he had to do it all over again, even without knowing whether the Arctic Circle would trigger a random mission, he would still come.

In the midst of this heavy atmosphere, at 8 p.m., the Will Government called the expedition team.

A diplomat from Weir said, “The Will Government has established a quarantine zone in Borman. Weir will dispatch a quarantine cruise ship—you can head to Borman for isolation.”

Countries around the world were concerned about the safety of their scientists. So was Weir.

There were fifteen nations’ top biologists gathered here. If anything were to happen to them, the consequences would be more than Weir could bear. After much deliberation, the Will Government implemented the current quarantine plan.

There were 327 members in the Arctic expedition team. Weir had prepared a fully equipped quarantine zone. Just when everyone thought the biologists would return…

Longxia Biology Group refused. Natal Bio-Group refused. Canberra Bio-Group refused…

The reasons were simple: the carcasses in the lake were just the tip of the iceberg. They needed to determine whether other sources of infection existed nearby. Rather than handing the work off to others, they preferred to conduct the research themselves.

They wanted to wait for results from other countries and coordinate with their own teams for further research and sampling.

“This is the spirit of a biologist,” said a scholar from Canpesheng. The discovery of these carcasses was completely unexpected. Missing the chance to study them would be a huge loss.

From the moment they were assigned to investigate an unknown virus, they had already anticipated this scenario. To the average person, this was an outbreak. But to them, it was a scientific mission. They respected their work—and that respect transcended borders and race.