Zuo Feng's heart sank upon hearing this, deeply aware of the gravity of the situation. While Firefly had not used this agent, the Wild Wolf Gang in Dream City had created nearly a thousand Mutants using such agents, and now the Three Giants were clearly also using this agent to mass-produce Mutants.
Zuo Feng asked with a grim face, "How long is the virus's incubation period?"
Professor Yan replied with a solemn expression:
"According to our preliminary analysis, the zombie virus in the agent may have an incubation period of up to six months.
Another issue involved is the suppressive effect of abilities on the zombie virus. It is well known that Mutants of the same level will not be infected by zombies of the same or lower level, because the Mutant's ability can suppress the zombie virus.
However, the zombie virus in the agent chooses to exist symbiotically, which means that once the virus erupts, the Mutant's ability will not only be unable to suppress the virus, but will instead be utilized by the virus to accelerate the mutation process.
Furthermore, the abilities within Mutants injured by infected individuals will also be unable to suppress this type of symbiotic virus. The New type of symbiotic zombie virus will spread rapidly, forming a new zombie species!"
Zuo Feng's face grew even gloomier. Six months was enough time for those Mutants who had taken the agent to light the Six Lotus Seeds.
This meant that once the virus erupted, they would become even more powerful than Six Vertical Bar Level Mutated Zombies; Six Vertical Bar Level Mutated Zombies were capable of killing Seven-Bar Zombies.
The key issue was quantity.
The Wild Wolf Gang alone had nearly 1,000 Mutants who had taken the agent, and the Three Giants were also secretly mass-producing them. Zuo Feng estimated that each of the Three Giants should currently have no less than 1,000 Mutants who had taken the agent. If it were six months later, the number of such Mutants would definitely skyrocket to tens of thousands!
Once it erupted, tens of thousands of new type of zombies, even more powerful than Seven-Bar Zombies, sent shivers down Zuo Feng's spine just thinking about it.
By then, the entire Dream City and H City would be completely overrun, simply unable to resist! And it would continue to spread to surrounding cities!
Zuo Feng took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
He understood that panic wouldn't solve any problems now. He had to first understand the information about this symbiotic zombie virus clearly before formulating a countermeasure.
He turned to Professor Yan and then asked in a deep voice, "Is there any way to suppress or eliminate this new type of virus? Also, are those Mutants currently carrying the symbiotic zombie virus contagious?"
Professor Yan frowned tightly: "Currently, there is no effective method for suppression or elimination. Mutants carrying the virus are also contagious during the incubation period. Once their blood is consumed, or if a wound comes into contact with their blood, the virus will spread through the blood, somewhat similar to the spread of AIDS, but more covert and rapid."
Zuo Feng's heart immediately sank to the bottom. This meant that even if all Mutants were killed now, it would be impossible to stop the spread of the virus. The contagiousness during the incubation period meant that the virus had already spread widely, and those Mutants would inevitably seek lovers, partners, or outlets for their urges.
What was particularly worrying was that only about a month after the apocalypse began, the Wild Wolf Gang had already developed and put the agent into use. Dream City had long become a breeding ground for the virus, and its outbreak in six months would inevitably trigger a disaster. Even the entire H City had already been invaded by the virus, and now it was too late to stop it; the spread of the virus was a foregone conclusion.
"Damn it!" Zuo Feng clenched his fists, his heart filled with indignation. This agent, which could turn ordinary people into Mutants, was a complete Pandora's Box, opened by the Wild Wolf Gang more than two months ago!
What was worse was that his Firefly Base was also very likely to have virus carriers, because he had brought back many people from Dream City, and there must also be infected individuals among the members of Huo Yao Base.
The New type of symbiotic virus had already spread!
"Professor Yan, I'm giving you a task now: concentrate all your efforts on developing drugs to suppress the virus, and be sure to find a solution in the shortest possible time. At the same time, you must develop a reagent that can detect virus carriers as quickly as possible!"
Professor Yan's expression was firm as he nodded in agreement: "Understood, Leader. I will immediately organize a team to fully launch research and strive to overcome the difficulties as soon as possible."
Zuo Feng knew that time was of the essence, and every minute and second was crucial.
"Xiao Mi Tao, go and inform Fox Yaorao and Jian Ruoxi to come for a meeting immediately!"
Xiao Mi Tao quickly took the order and left. Zuo Feng hurried towards the living room, where the girls of Firefly were all gathered.
In the living room, the girls were chatting with Huan Jingjing. Huan Jingjing was also wary of the girls of Firefly, so the conversation had not made any substantial progress.
Seeing Zuo Feng enter, the girls all fell silent.
Zuo Feng's face was solemn, "girls, something big has happened!"
Zuo Feng did not delay for a second, immediately explaining the situation in detail, emphasizing the seriousness and urgency of the virus's spread.
After Zuo Feng finished speaking, the living room was in dead silence, and the girls looked terrified.
Huan Jingjing's beautiful eyes also widened. Such a terrifying symbiotic virus had actually spread!
A moment later, Xiao Mi Tao led Fox Yaorao and Jian Ruoxi in a hurry, all three with solemn expressions.
On the way, Xiao Mi Tao had briefly informed them of the news, and their hearts had already been stirred by a tempestuous wave.
"You all already know the seriousness of the matter. Now, let's all offer suggestions and see if there are any solutions."
Zuo Feng asked with a grim face:
Fox Yaorao spoke first: "We need to immediately seal off the base and strictly inspect everyone, especially those who returned from Dream City."
Da Mi Tao then said: "The key now is that we can't detect who is a carrier and who isn't. We must develop a detection reagent as soon as possible, otherwise all measures will be futile."
Da Bai Tu nodded in agreement: "Yes, the detection reagent is the top priority. However, all personnel brought back from Dream City must be quarantined to prevent further spread of the virus."
Da Yuanyuan added: "It's too late. In the past half month, those people have already had contact with base members, and the virus may have already spread silently. Just isolating them is useless."
Xiao She Jing then said:
"Isolation is already useless. In fact, it may not be as serious as imagined. Since the transmission route of this virus is similar to AIDS, it is normally difficult to spread unless intimate relations occur. Very few people have been injured during this period, so the probability of infection should not be high. We should focus on those personnel brought back from Dream City and prioritize screening those who have had intimate contact with them."
Xiao She Jing's words brought a slight sense of relief to everyone, but they still dared not be careless.
Zuo Feng pondered for a moment, just about to express his opinion, when suddenly, Jian Ruoxi softly said: "Leader... those women under me... many of them have had contact with people from Dream City recently, and I'm worried that they may already be at risk of infection."
Jian Ruoxi's voice was soft, but it struck like a heavy hammer to the heart.