Source of infection...

Gu Ji stared at the words behind the target, and the image of the man in the brown hat quickly flashed in his mind.

Last night, when isolating infected individuals and close contacts, he saw the man in the brown hat again, with numerous red papules appearing on his skin, which had broken down and ulcerated, clearly entering the mid-stage of the disease. He was currently receiving treatment in the medical area.

He quickly got out of bed and prepared to wash up.

When he turned around, he found that Ito Meiyu was not in bed.

"Such energy..."

Gu Ji blinked.

You know, last night Ito Meiyu also stayed up all night like him. Because he had just boosted his immunity, he felt less fatigued, but this girl had genuine energy to burn.

He changed into protective gear and walked out of the guest room.

In the downstairs hall, the on-duty medical staff and workers were busy taking the tourists' daily temperatures, and Ito Meiyu was conspicuously among them.

Gu Ji waved to greet her, and suddenly, a tourist in line couldn't hold on and collapsed to the ground.

"Stretcher!"

Dr. Matsushima shouted urgently, and two security personnel in protective gear quickly pushed a metal stretcher over. A female flight attendant joined in to help support the fallen patient.

Just as the three of them supported the patient's limbs to lift him, "Ugh!"

His back arched suddenly, and he started vomiting violently, spraying the vomit all over the security personnel holding his feet.

The thick, murky vomit mixed with dark red blood clots flowed over his transparent face shield and mask, seeping into the corners of his hair.

"Ah!"

The female flight attendant screamed and instinctively let go, causing the patient to drop one side to the ground and trigger another bout of vomiting, which sprayed onto her shoes.

Terrified, the nearby tourists in line quickly backed away.

"Stay calm, don't panic."

At this moment, Gu Ji's voice came from the rear. Upon seeing the emergency from the second floor, he immediately descended using the fire escape, "First, get the patient up. Someone, quickly clean and disinfect the two of them!"

The security personnel holding the feet froze in place, still bent over, unable to move, letting the nauseating vomit roll over his skin.

But everyone knew this was not merely disgusting.

Each drop of liquid could carry a potent virus, and once infected...

"Miss Jian, will I die?"

The security personnel spoke with a trembling voice. He was only in his twenties, and fear of death was natural.

"Don't worry, you won't necessarily be infected. First, disinfect, and then go to the quarantine area and hang on for another half day."

Despite the female voice Gu Ji used being gentle, it carried a convincing sense of security.

The mindsets of the security and female flight attendant soon settled down.

"How's the situation today?"

After handling the scene, Gu Ji first followed up on the data.

Matsushima's expression was not optimistic: "So far, we have discovered another 49 infections, of which 42 come from the medical isolation observation area, and the remaining were screened this morning in daily checks. The treatment area is a bit understaffed now, with 18 patients progressing from mild to severe today..."

"The public areas haven't been cleared yet..."

Regarding the isolation and treatment areas, Gu Ji wasn't worried. His real fear was for areas outside the containment.

If the public areas aren't cleared, it means the virus is still spreading, and sooner or later, there will be a more horrifying outbreak.

"Apart from the routine temperature check, add another round in the afternoon. Also, tightly control the flow of people in public areas, non-essential movements out of guest rooms are prohibited, and meals should use disposable tableware."

Gu Ji furrowed his brows, recalling the source of the virus: "Take me to the treatment area first."

Matsushima nodded and led him to the medical room at the ship's bow on the second floor.

Currently, every room in the medical room was full. The medical staff had no choice but to arrange temporary folding beds in the hallway to serve as patient beds.

"Doctor, when can we reach land..."

"Tasukete (Help me)..."

"Ugh... Ugh..."

...

As Gu Ji and Matsushima entered the room, the patients all raised their heads like they had found a lifeline, continually calling for help.

But he could only respond with phrases like "soon" or "hold on for a few more hours," beyond which he couldn't do anything.

Indeed.

Without knowing what virus the infection originated from, they couldn't administer targeted treatment. They could only address symptoms as they appeared.

For low blood pressure, provide intravenous glucose and saline to maintain electrolyte balance;

For patients with severe bleeding, transfuse platelets, plasma, or administer hemostatic drugs.

But even if they knew what virus it was, it might not help.

Most severe hemorrhagic fevers currently don't have vaccines or antigens developed, let alone on this cruise ship.

Gu Ji found the man in the brown hat.

At this moment, he was lying in bed receiving an infusion. In addition to red spots on his face, there were blister-like papules, his mouth slightly open, seemingly struggling to breathe, and his blue-and-white hospital gown had pink stains from blood.

Gu Ji glanced at the patient's name on the bedside: Nakamura Hiro, "Mr. Nakamura, I would like to ask you some questions. I hope you can cooperate, as it concerns the lives of everyone on this ship."

Facing his own mortality, he had no reason to bear a grudge.

Nakamura Hiro blinked and weakly replied, "Ask away."

"Were the redness and rash on your body indeed caused by eczema, and did it onset before boarding? What were the initial symptoms, have you been in contact with wild animals, or been bitten by insects, and do you have a history of staying in tropical regions?"

Gu Ji's questions were very targeted.

Most hemorrhagic fevers originate from tropical regions, such as South America and Africa, many of which spread through mosquito bites and non-human primates.

"I had a history of eczema, and the symptoms flared up after boarding. It's my fault for not controlling my diet. I am friends with Mr. Shida from the dining department, and once aboard, I approached him and had quite a bit of sashimi and beer ahead of time, which led to the outbreak..."

No wonder Nakamura Hiro was evasive after the conflict, likely fearing security would pursue it further, implicating his friend.

After all, unauthorized release of food from the cruise kitchen is considered a breach of duty.

Nakamura Hiro coughed twice and continued: "This onset was rapid. After eating the sashimi, not long after, the eczema acted up, accompanied by coughing, fever, and some headache. I have stayed in Tokyo and Yokohama for the past few years and haven't visited tropical regions."

The onset of eczema has many causes, primarily related to dietary habits. Some foods have strong antigenicity, likely causing allergic reactions, especially alcohol and seafood. Moreover, the heavy moisture at sea can easily trigger it.

However, these factors shouldn't lead to such severe onset within two hours.

You see,

After Gu Ji woke up, the cruise ship had just set sail at 9 AM. Even if Nakamura Hiro directly approached his friend after boarding, by lunch, it had only been two hours. Could the eczema spread all over his body?

Moreover, eczema rarely causes fever, cough, or headache symptoms.

The virus source is not with Nakamura Hiro!

He instinctively looked around at the patients nearby and suddenly found they were almost entirely Europeans, Americans, and Japanese, with the latter particularly numerous.

Dietary habits;

Sashimi...

Gu Ji's pupils suddenly contracted as he asked, "Where is Mr. Shida?"

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