"An infected person?" Ye Xuan was slightly shocked. "If the remains in those caves are from the same period... hasn't she survived underground for over a century then?"

"It's rare for the anomaly to extend the lifespan of an infected person, but it's not unheard of," Yang Qi said. "If possible, I'd like to send this infected person to the research institute... if she still retains her mind and can provide us with valuable information."

"And study her body's structure as well?" Sun Hang added. "Don't look at me like that... Live dissection experiments are something the research institutes in all the cities likely haven't done less of, right? I'm not saying we can't dissect, just that we shouldn't be hypocritical about it."

Though it sounds inhumane, in reality, live dissection of infected persons is something the research institutes in all cities haven't refrained from doing... The so-called assurance of the infected person's basic human rights is merely a "statement" after all.

Moreover, apart from those organizations that sell "cyber redemption coupons" under the guise of "human rights" and "political correctness," and the small number of kind-hearted people, or excessively sympathetic "philanthropists," the vast majority of ordinary people do not oppose the dissection of infected persons by research institutions... Some even support it.

Since the large-scale arrival of the anomaly, the number of people who have died directly or indirectly because of the anomaly has already reached astronomical figures. Compared to this, for the survival of the "majority" to combat the anomaly, having the research institutions dissect the "minority" who can no longer become human, ordinary people have no objections.

As long as the sacrifice doesn't involve me personally, any sacrifice can be accepted by "gritting one's teeth."

"Researching infected persons doesn't necessarily require live dissection," Yang Qi said reluctantly. "Do you think of us as constantly having bloodstained hands?"

"Isn't that the case?" Sun Hang retorted.

"I admit, a part... well, most researchers are quite indifferent to infected persons, but I am not one of them..." Yang Qi argued.

"Are you a philanthropist?"

"Can you let someone finish speaking?"

"I'd like to, but that person is about to crawl over." Sun Hang pointed to the highly deformed infected person, "She keeps staring at the light in your hand."

Their dialogue wasted about half a minute, and during this half-minute, the infected person only crawled less than two meters.

It was evident that her body was extremely weak, and her life seemed about to reach its end...

It's hard to imagine that this infected person could survive in this isolated underground ruin for over a century in such a dying state.

Finally, her emaciated, deformed arm could no longer support the weight of her upper body, and she collapsed onto the ground.

Nonetheless, she still exerted all her strength to stretch her arm forward... more specifically towards the light in Yang Qi's hand.

"Do you... want this thing?" Yang Qi's eyes showed a hint of reluctance, as he was about to take a step forward but was stopped by Wang Xiyi.

"Mr. Yang, it's still impossible to determine whether this infected person poses a threat, so don't act rashly," Wang Xiyi said in a deep voice. "Even if we test, it shouldn't be you."

"I'll do it." Sun Hang took the lamp from Yang Qi, walked a few steps up to the infected person and crouched down, shaking the lamp in his hand, "Want this? If you want, nod."

The infected person did not nod but slowly stretched her right hand towards the lamp.

She was only a few centimeters from touching this lamp, but at this moment Sun Hang pulled his hand back, leaving her grasping at empty air.

"No way," Sun Hang raised a finger with his other hand and shook it in front of the anomaly, "I said you need to nod, nod and I'll give it to you. If you don't nod, you won't get it... It's not hard to nod for you, is it?"

Sun Hang observed her cervical joints deliberately; although there was some degree of deformity, nodding should still be possible.

The infected person still didn't nod but tried hard to prop up her body, crawling forward a short distance again.

"Tsk," Sun Hang stood up, retreated a few steps, shook his head with his back to Yang Qi, "Looks like there's no way to communicate, she doesn't understand me."

"It's possible her auditory system has lost function," Yang Qi said. "You shouldn't perceive her with the same view as a regular person given her significant physical deformities..."

"Do you think her current actions are driven by conscious will, or are they similar to... 'animal instinct'?"

"I'm not sure... but the best way to handle this now is to call an external team to safely transport her to the institute, where experts can evaluate her physical and mental state..."

"How long to call in an external team now?" Sun Hang interrupted her and asked directly.

"Fastest would be twenty-five minutes," Yang Qi said.

"Didn't you already request logistical support from the institute when we entered the tunnel?" Sun Hang asked, puzzled. "They'd be arriving soon, right?"

"Transporting an infected person requires specialized containers and equipment, plus corresponding medical support," Yang Qi explained. "I hadn't anticipated finding a surviving infected person in the tunnel... That was my oversight."

"Twenty-five minutes..." Sun Hang looked at Wang Xiyi and Candle Dragon and shook his head, "I have a feeling... We shouldn't waste twenty-five minutes on this person, or we'll miss something..."

"To be honest, I have the same feeling," Wang Xiyi nodded. "There's always an inexplicable anxiety urging me to move forward as if something called me from the depths of the tunnel."

"Though such feelings are generally not a good omen..." Candle Dragon sighed, "But the feeling of being called is weakening... It seems it might disappear at any moment."

"Aren't you worried it's a trap?" Ye Xuan frowned.

"If we halt due to fear of risks, research on anomalies would have stagnated long ago?" Candle Dragon said calmly.

Sun Hang said nothing, but directly threw the lamp at the heavily deformed infected person.

The infected suddenly burst with unprecedented strength, leapt up, grabbed the lamp mid-air, and fell heavily to the ground.

In the next moment, the lamp began to change in her hand!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.