It is hard to say whether the supervisor was unlucky or fortunate. Regardless, the fleeing Ursus had indeed saved his bear-like life, and he even had enough strength left to run and hide underground.
The problem, however, was that the magma sphere spat out by the Earth Dragon was anything but safe. It was actually a mixture of soil from the dragon's belly and a massive amount of Originium debris, propelled by dragon breath. You didn't even need to touch the stuff; the extremely active Originium within the boiling magma was so potent that merely breathing near it could infect you with Oripathy, let alone having it come into direct contact with open wounds.
If one were to strip away his bandages, they would find a massive amount of black Originium emerging within the burn wounds—looking as if thousands of black eyes had grown across his body. If Jeanne were to see this, she might be reminded of the "Hundred-Eyed Demon" from Journey to the West, the centipede spirit covered in eyes; it was a terrifying sight.
Perhaps because the Originium he encountered was so volatile, Ivanov's current level of infection was far more severe than that of people who had been infected for over a decade! Right now, he could feel the Originium slowly writhing inside his body, gradually growing larger and more numerous, accompanied by a pain sharp enough to kill.
The helpless Ursus had no choice but to seek help from Dr. Donald beside him. Despite Donald's favorite hobby being the dissection of the Infected, he was still considered an expert on Oripathy.
"Don't be in such a hurry, you are very important. You know, in all these years, you are the first case I've seen with such a rapid onset of the disease. I don't know how many years it'll be before I encounter another. Let me study you first!"
At this moment, how could Donald care whether the Ursus lived or died? His entire focus was fixed on the patient, his gaze looking as if he were dissecting him on the spot.
The room they were in was a secret chamber within the secret underground facility. It was originally designed as a panic room to ensure a safe escape in case of an emergency. Only the three people in this room knew of its existence. It led directly to the most important place for dodging the police in Lungmen: the underground drainage system.
Within this system were many long-abandoned drainage pipes. These pipes were not only interconnected in all directions but also extremely spacious—some areas were more than wide enough for a motorcycle. This was a major channel for many gangs in Lungmen to transport contraband and a mandatory route for fleeing the city. One could only wonder how many people had successfully escaped through here.
The current problem, however, was that both people responsible for the escape were incapacitated. And this doctor from Columbia had no idea how to safely evacuate from Lungmen.
"If you don't hurry up, once we both explode from Oripathy, you won't have a way to escape. When that happens, just wait to be torn apart by those cops outside after they catch you," Ivanov said to the bastard Donald, gritting his teeth through the pain. The doctor had just plunged a needle into his spine and withdrawn quite a lot of fluid, and it hurt like hell.
As for Gvass nearby? He had already passed out from the pain. Originally, his leg had only been punctured by a specimen jar containing Infected organs; at most, he might have been infected with Oripathy. But after arriving here, he was trapped in a cramped space with two bleeding Infected, and one thing led to another. The issue was that as a Liberi, his physical constitution was relatively weak compared to the Ursus, resulting in an infection level even more severe than Ivanov's.
"Oh, I get it, I get it. You two really are a nuisance. To think I have to use such a precious item on a matter like this... when I think about it, I'm losing out big time!" Dr. Donald looked at the two of them, dissatisfied that they looked like they might breathe their last at any second.
Can't you two hold on a bit longer? This is for science! Where did that support you both showed earlier go?
However, he didn't dare delay any longer. If this continued, these two would truly kick the bucket! Then he wouldn't be able to escape, and his research results would be useless no matter how successful they were. Even if he achieved a breakthrough, based on the things he had done, it would be enough for a crossbow to fire at him continuously for twenty minutes—and that was under Columbia's lenient stance on human experimentation. If he fell into the hands of Lungmen, even Columbia wouldn't step forward to protect him. He didn't have that value yet; he still needed to go to Ursus to continue his research.
"This is an extremely precious item. If you don't build me an even larger laboratory after we get back, I'm going on strike!"
With that, he mixed together the strange drugs in his hand, added some purified water he had stolen earlier, and gave each of them a direct injection.
After a short while, although their condition remained extremely dangerous, the worsening Oripathy was indeed suppressed, and the blood at their wounds stopped flowing.
"I didn't expect your research to actually have a breakthrough! To be able to suppress Oripathy of this level... it looks like the final product isn't far off!" Ivanov's face lit up with joy as he saw the Originium stop growing. It seemed that upon his return, he would have the capital to claim credit from his master; his beautiful life could continue! Even if it was just this Oripathy suppression drug and not the "thing" they truly needed, based on its efficacy, the value it could bring to his master was no small figure!
"No, this is just a medicine your employees stole from the slums. I only got my hands on it yesterday and haven't researched it much."
It wasn't that he didn't want to tell the other man that he had invented it. The problem was that it really had nothing to do with him; if he claimed credit now, he would likely die a miserable death later. But with the medicine in hand, he, a Doctor, was confident he could replicate it. He might not be able to research it from scratch, but how hard could it be to copy the answer when the sheet was right in front of him?
"It doesn't matter. Since you've found the drug, I believe you can replicate an even better one. You are the expert in this field, after all!"
Ivanov realized he had misspoken the moment the words left his mouth. One of the incidents this guy was famous for was plagiarizing someone else's thesis and getting called out on the spot. This sentence was clearly a stab to the heart! He won't hold a grudge, will he? I really just let it slip out unintentionally!
Donald's expression grew awkward for a moment, but he didn't seem to dwell on it. He knew what was more important and would settle this debt once he was safe!
"We should leave quickly! The LGD will find this place sooner or later, and we'll be in danger then." Donald actively changed the subject. He turned his gaze toward Gvass, who had recovered but looked as if the sky had fallen.
Coming to his senses, Gvass realized he had actually become an Infected! How could I become an Infected? This wasn't supposed to be my life. Did something go wrong somewhere?
"Let's go! Our time isn't so abundant that we can afford to waste it! We still need your strength." Ivanov understood the situation perfectly and slapped Gvass twice across the face. Right now, he indeed needed this fellow's help, so he couldn't let him stay in this state. As for whether he lived a wretched life or committed suicide after reaching safety—that had nothing to do with him. If all else failed, he could be used as material for the Doctor!
Snapping out of it, Gvass found some excuse for himself, and his spirit suddenly rallied. He prepared to lead the two of them out of Lungmen through the secret passage.
However, just as the mechanical gate of the secret passage was opened, they heard the voices of several people outside the secret room, instantly drawing all their attention.
Among them, Ivanov heard a very familiar voice—the voice of that woman he considered exceptionally uncanny.
"This is the place, Officer Ch'en! Just use your Chi Xiao to hack out a door!"
To his ears, that voice sounded like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.