PFC Chapter 109 Escaping the CDC (6)
Chapter 109 Escaping the CDC (6)
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"..."
After venting his emotions, Dr. Jenner calmed down and turned to Rick, saying, "This is better..."
"..."
Rick, hearing that there seemed to be a glimmer of hope, immediately asked, "How is it?"
"The system will activate HIT to ignite the air..."
As Jenner spoke, he straightened his collar, which they had just rumpled, and continued, "For a mere instant, a fraction of a second, there was no pain, no more sorrow, grief, regret, and it all ended there..."
"..."
"Screw you, that's enough! Let me go! Let me kill him!"
Upon hearing this, Moore's anger intensified, and he tried to rush over and punch him again, but T-boy and Glenn held him tightly and he couldn't move.
"..."
Jenner glanced at Moore, then ignored the brute and turned to the crowd, continuing, "Let things take their course, it'll be much better..."
"Who will be better off...?"
Amy's eyes were red; she didn't want to die here.
"Everyone will..."
Jenner said to her, "You know what's happening outside; the living can't sleep peacefully, and the dead can't rest in peace..."
"This isn't right, my daughter shouldn't have died like this..."
Carol hugged Sophia tightly, her voice choked with emotion.
"..."
Dr. Jenner paused for a moment, looking at the little girl. He avoided her bewildered gaze and turned to Jacques beside him, asking, "What's the name of your companion who didn't make it this far?"
“Jim.”
Jacques looked somewhat blank, and upon hearing this, he answered truthfully.
“Jim, you know what the final outcome will be, you've seen it with your own eyes…”
Dr. Jenner looked at Jacques and said this.
"..."
Seeing that she didn't respond, Dr. Jenner turned to Rick and asked, "Do you want your wife and son to end up like that?"
"I don't want this to happen!"
Rick sensed something was wrong and glared at him, warning him through gritted teeth.
"Last night you said you knew your loved one would die sooner or later, it was just a matter of time..."
Jenner ignored his warning and directly recounted their conversation from the previous night.
"......What?"
Upon hearing this, Lori looked at her husband in shock.
"What? You really say that?"
Sean looked at Rick in shock and asked incredulously, "Then what about all those boasts you made before?"
"..."
Rick glanced at Sean, who was embellishing the story, but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to his wife and said, "I must always keep hope alive..."
"There's no hope. There was never any hope. This catastrophe we've experienced..."
"It's a catastrophe of extinction..."
Jenner, however, said...
"Doctor, you're wrong..."
Li Ailun finally spoke.
"You say there's no hope, but that's not true, because you're not out there and have no idea what's going on out there..."
Lee Allen stopped dwelling on the fact that everyone was infected. He looked at Dr. Jenner and said, "The walkers have been gradually weakening over the past two months. Their bodily functions are far from what they used to be. One day..."
"Those zombies will degenerate to the point where they no longer pose a threat to humans, and humanity will ultimately win the final victory. As long as we live, hope always exists..."
"..."
His words brightened everyone's eyes and rekindled their hope.
Because they all witnessed the fact that the walkers were weakening, and Li Ailun was right. One day the walkers would no longer pose a threat to people, and they would only need to try to survive.
Those who had been shaken by Dr. Jenner's words regained their confidence.
"..."
Rick watched as Lee Allen's gaze hardened. He turned to Dr. Jenner and said, "If it were truly hopeless, as you say, you would have run away with everyone, or died and ended it all. But you didn't..."
"You made a more difficult choice, why?"
Rick stared intently into his eyes and continued, "Why did you choose to stay when everyone else ran away?"
"It's not that I want to stay, I made a promise..."
Jenner said, pointing to the large screen on the wall: "To her, my wife!"
"..."
Everyone was astonished upon hearing this; no one had expected such a hidden story.
"..."
Lori asked in even greater shock, "Test subject number 19 is your wife?"
"She begged me to do everything in my power to continue the research..."
"How could I refuse? She's about to die..."
A look of pain flashed in Dr. Jenner's eyes, but he forced back his grief and continued, "The one who should die is me. I am utterly worthless, while her death is a loss to the whole world..."
"Damn it, she's the boss here, and I'm just her subordinate..."
"She's a genius in this field, and me? I'm just a nobody..."
"She could have achieved so much, but I couldn't..."
"Your wife had no choice, but you did!"
Rick felt sympathy and looked him into the eyes, speaking with genuine sincerity.
"..."
"Your wife trusts you; she places all her hopes on you!"
Li Ailun pointed to the large screen, looking directly at Dr. Jenner, and said, "Didn't you research the serum? That research data represents the hard work of your wife's team, and it's humanity's hope. It shouldn't be destroyed along with this building!"
"Not only these..."
"And you, do you think the outside world can cultivate talent of your caliber again?"
"Even if it were possible, how long would it take?"
"..."
Dr. Jenner's eyes flashed with hesitation. In fact, he had already begun to waver after hearing Lee Allen say that the walkers outside were weakening.
"..."
Susan noticed his hesitation and spoke up, "Dr. Jenner, Dr. Madeline wants you to continue your vaccine research; she certainly doesn't want to see this outcome..."
"Doctor, copy all those documents, then come with us."
"We will definitely find a solution someday!"
As he spoke, Li Ailun took off his watch, flipped it over, and took out a hidden small USB drive, handing it to Dr. Jenner.
"..."
Dr. Jenner met his gaze and, seeing only determination in his eyes, finally made up her mind. She reached out and took the USB drive, then said, "As you wish, but I really can't open the door outside..."
After saying that, he turned and walked to the workbench, inserted the USB drive into the computer, and gave the system instructions:
"Wei, copy all the data for Project Wildfire to a USB drive."
As he finished speaking, the AI's emotionless voice rang out:
"Unknown disk detected".
"Disk scanned and confirmed safe."
"Please enter your access password."
Drip... drip... drip... drip...
Dr. Jenner typed the password on the keyboard.
His wife had given him the highest-level password to the CDC long ago so that he could control the place and continue his vaccine research.
As the password was entered, a download window popped up on the main screen, and the AI-powered voice broadcast the news with a completely emotionless tone:
"The Wildfire Project data is being copied. It will take 6 minutes and 20 seconds."
However, only 9 minutes remained before the full disinfection was completed...
......