Chapter 144: Mutation—the Evolving Virus

When Zhang Qiqi pushed open the door and saw her mother sitting on the edge of the bed, her face haggard and her eyes vacant, her heart felt as though it had been cut by a knife. Although she had often stayed by her father’s side during these past few days, her mother, consumed with worry for her husband, was terrified that she might wake one morning to find him separated from her forever. Thus, she refused to leave his side even for a moment. Apart from the time she spent eating three meals a day and going to the bathroom, nearly every waking hour had been devoted to her husband. How could Zhang Qiqi remain unmoved at the sight of her mother’s exhaustion?

Women were naturally more prone to sentiment, especially when faced with the sorrow of impending separation through life and death.

“Mom, go get some rest! You’re not in good health. How can your body endure keeping watch day and night without sleep? If anything happens to you, what will become of your daughter?” Zhang Qiqi did her best to persuade her stubborn mother. When she saw hesitation flicker across her mother’s eyes, she immediately continued, dispelling her concerns. “Don’t worry. Brother Yang and I are here to watch over him. Nothing will happen. Besides, Brother Yang is a doctor, after all!”

She called Lin Yang a doctor, but deep down, she had little confidence herself. A cosmetic surgeon and a physician who treated serious illnesses were worlds apart. It was like saying, “A veterinarian is a doctor too, isn’t he? But would he dare treat a human being?” Her anxiety was only natural.

“That’s right, Aunt Qin. If you ruin your health like this, who will take care of Uncle Feng? Besides, Qiqi hasn’t married yet. She still needs someone to rely on,” Lin Yang added.

His words were quite persuasive—sharp and direct, striking at the heart of the matter. The two relationships Xu Qin valued most, the love between husband and wife and the love between mother and daughter, were both contained in his appeal.

Looking at the two determined faces, Xu Qin finally let go of her misgivings and nodded silently. However, she did not leave Zhang Zifeng’s bedroom. Instead, she walked to the sofa in the corner, half reclined upon it, and covered herself with the quilt that had been placed there beforehand. After releasing a deep breath, she slowly closed her slightly darkened eyes.

Afraid that Zhang Zifeng might suffer another attack at any moment and that the proper measures might not be taken in time, Xu Qin had spent every night on the sofa. It was not that the bed Zhang Zifeng slept on was too small; she simply feared disturbing her husband’s rest. Given his present condition, his life could end at any moment. With no other choice, she had decided to make do on the sofa. Once she lay down there, she slept all the way until now.

Her faint snores revealed that Xu Qin was already exhausted in body and spirit. She was probably surviving only through that small but unyielding reserve of willpower in her heart. Even Lin Yang, whose body had been strengthened by extraordinary internal cultivation, could barely endure four days without sleep, let alone a middle-aged woman like Xu Qin.

Seeing her mother so worn and haggard, Zhang Qiqi felt an indescribable guilt, especially since she was already in a poor state of mind. As a daughter, she truly had not done enough.

“Brother Yang, is my father really beyond saving?” Zhang Qiqi lowered her head and looked at her father. He was so thin that he seemed little more than a skeleton, barely clinging to life. Tears filled her eyes as she stared directly at Lin Yang and asked in a choked whisper. As long as even the slightest hope remained, she was unwilling to let it slip away.

Before her voice had even faded, large tears were already falling. Drop after drop struck the tiled floor with crisp little sounds.

A woman was still a woman; no matter how strong she might be, she could still weep. After all, even the most resolute man had his moments of tears.

Women were born with a devastating beauty, especially those blessed with attractive features. When a beautiful woman shed tears, it was often the moment most capable of throwing a man’s heart into chaos. Facing Zhang Qiqi’s pitiful, pleading gaze, Lin Yang found himself unable either to speak or remain silent.

Should he deceive her? A lie might work for a while, but never forever. What was destined to happen would happen in the end.

And this would not even be a well-intentioned lie. Lin Yang found it exceptionally difficult to say the words. As he looked at Zhang Qiqi’s helpless expression, the face of the old man who had been unusually strict with him ever since birth flashed through his mind.

Was the old man all right?

He silently muttered the thought to himself. After hesitating for a moment, he seemed to steel his heart and said quietly, “There is still one final chance. But you’ll have to discuss it with your mother. I have no absolute certainty.”

Before Lin Yang could finish, Zhang Qiqi heard that there was still a chance and felt as if she had escaped death itself. She wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and eagerly pressed him, “Really? There’s really still hope? Then hurry up and do it!”

Overcome with emotion, Zhang Qiqi had clearly lost all coherence. She probably had not heard a single word of what Lin Yang said afterward.

Seeing that Lin Yang remained unmoved, Zhang Qiqi urged him anxiously, “Brother Yang, hurry! Didn’t you say there’s still a chance? Then treat my father now! If we delay any longer, then—”

She stopped herself. To continue would sound like she was cursing her father to death. It was only then, because of that sudden pause, that she noticed the helpless expression on Lin Yang’s face. Her heart gave a jolt as she realized that the sudden glimmer of hope had thrown her thoughts into confusion.

“Qiqi, will you let me finish?” Lin Yang gently placed a hand on her thin shoulder and spoke in a soft, persuasive tone.

Zhang Qiqi said nothing more. She simply nodded in silence, her captivating eyes fixed on Lin Yang’s. She looked as though she were listening with rapt attention, a rare seriousness in her expression.

Only then did Lin Yang let out a long breath and explain, one by one, the reasons behind his decision and the dangers they might encounter.

The place where Zhang Zifeng had first been infected by the HSV virus was his right thigh. This undoubtedly meant that the right thigh contained the greatest concentration of the toxin. Moreover, HSV was a slowly spreading virus. Although more than eight years had passed, the right thigh remained the area where the toxin was most concentrated, continuously releasing the virus outward at a steady pace.

Lin Yang’s final hope was to amputate Zhang Zifeng’s right leg, eradicate the source from which the virus was spreading, and then use his vital energy to force the remaining toxins through the body and expel most of them through the severed limb.

That was the plan. But for Zhang Zifeng, whose entire body had already been invaded by the toxin, forcing it out in this manner would be extraordinarily difficult. Eight years of corrosion had allowed most of the toxin to merge tightly with the cells in his body. To achieve a true and lasting cure, they would have to remove even the toxin that had penetrated the cells themselves.

There was no antidote. Even if one were developed, completely eliminating the toxin from Zhang Zifeng’s body under such circumstances would still be nothing more than a delusion. That was why Lin Yang had called it a final chance: the toxin had been eating away at his cells for far too long.

This was one of the reasons the HSV virus was so terrifying. Lin Yang had once tried concentrating all his vital energy on a small piece of bodily tissue to see whether he could eliminate the toxin within it. The result had shocked him.

The HSV virus seemed almost like a living, intelligent organism. The moment his vital energy touched it, the virus retreated rather than confronting it directly, circling around to continue eroding areas his energy could not reach. In places where his vital energy was weak, it suffered little damage. This was the primary reason that, despite repeatedly sending his vital energy into Zhang Zifeng’s body, Lin Yang had never been able to cure him effectively.

A complete cure was out of the question. Even controlling the disease had become increasingly difficult. The major discovery Lin Yang had made while examining Zhang Zifeng that day had made an already grave situation even worse.

Mutation.

Yes, mutation.

The HSV virus within Zhang Zifeng’s body could actually undergo special mutations beneficial to itself in response to changes in its environment.

With every infusion of vital energy, it had subtly adapted. The mutations had gradually allowed the HSV virus to develop an immunity to his energy. The effect was not yet obvious, but Lin Yang’s exceptionally powerful spiritual senses had still detected traces of it.

The discovery left him stunned and made him fully understand the severity of the situation. At that moment, his thoughts were not of Zhang Zifeng, nor of the grandfather who had been so strict and demanding with him since childhood. Instead, he thought of the bastards from that island nation who had developed the HSV virus.

He could no longer imagine what kind of catastrophe China would face if the HSV virus were ever deployed on a large scale in conspiratorial warfare between nations.

The extinction of a people?

That was no joke.

Not only could the HSV virus mutate, but after mutating, its rate of cellular destruction would increase dramatically. This meant that what had originally been a slow-acting virus was evolving into a lethal toxin of far greater destructive power. It was certainly not good news, nor was it a promising beginning.

The reason Lin Yang had not initially chosen amputation was that he had mistakenly believed the HSV virus to be stable. As long as he continued accumulating vital energy and supplemented it with the assistance of the Heavenly Sun Pill, he had believed that he would still have time once he broke through to the Sixth Blade—the Barrier-Breaking Blade.

But given the current trend, that was clearly unlikely. After all, he had not sensed even the slightest sign that he was about to break through. After weighing every possibility, he had been forced to make the choice he least wanted to see and least wanted to happen.

Amputation might not be anything extraordinary. There were plenty of disabled people in society. But given Zhang Zifeng’s current condition, the operation would carry a considerable risk to his life. If anything went wrong, he could die on the spot. That was the crucial reason Lin Yang wanted Zhang Qiqi to discuss the matter with her mother.

Who would willingly choose to become disabled? Anyone of sound mind would refuse. As for those who were mentally deranged, had been hit on the head by a door, or had been kicked in the head by a donkey, they were another matter entirely.

Listening to Lin Yang’s detailed explanation, Zhang Qiqi’s expression shifted again and again as her spirits sank to rock bottom. The severity of her father’s illness had far exceeded what she had imagined.

She turned her head and looked at her mother, who had fallen into a deep sleep. She did not know how to begin. Her mother had labored all her life for her father’s sake, spent every last one of the family’s savings on his illness, searched everywhere for every famous doctor she could find, lived in a poor and dangerous house that looked like a pigsty, eaten little more than coarse scraps, and endured so much suffering. In the end, she still had to face the anguish of being parted from her husband by life and death.

Zhang Qiqi truly did not know how to face her mother—or the pitiful woman sleeping heavily on the sofa.

Seeing her troubled expression, Lin Yang did not rush her. For a child, making such a decision was indeed more painful than killing her. But no matter how difficult it was, Zhang Qiqi still had to make that agonizing choice.