From the appearance of the corpses, Leo could tell they were killed by some terrifying animal.
The cause of death wasn’t the main point; the key was that the deceased showed signs that only appeared after being infected by the virus!
In other words, these people were likely killed by the virus host!
It was like finding something without even searching for it; this cave was very likely the lair of the virus host!
Leo dropped the branch he was using to inspect the clothes of the dead and returned to Monica’s side.
Monica, who had just recovered from a bout of vomiting, grabbed Leo’s arm and pleaded, “Dr. Bloomer, I really can’t take it anymore. Can we please leave?”
Leo, however, was excited. “Monica, I think we’re about to find the virus host.”
“What? The virus host? Where?” Monica asked quickly, her body trembling.
Leo pointed at the corpses. “Based on my judgment, these people were killed by the virus host. They have clear symptoms that only appear after infection.”
“Really?!” Monica couldn’t help but get excited. After all the hardships, they finally had a clue about the virus host.
But her excitement didn’t last long. Monica became worried. “So many people were killed by it. We…”
“We’ll be fine, and I’ll capture the virus host myself!” Leo interrupted firmly.
He grabbed Monica’s hand. “With me here, you won’t get hurt. Let’s keep going!”
The warmth from Leo’s hand gave Monica a great sense of security. She nodded without hesitation.
Leo used his senses to scout ahead and continued leading Monica forward.
After about five or six minutes, Leo let go of Monica’s hand, signaling her to stop and made a gesture for silence.
He then turned off his flashlight and looked into the darkness ahead. With a flip of his right hand, the Purple Radiance Dagger appeared in his grip.
At that moment, a series of “thud thud thud” sounds echoed, as if something massive was charging towards them.
Leo swung the Purple Radiance Dagger.
Two seconds later, a terrifying howl filled the cave.
Then there was a loud thump, as if something huge had fallen to the ground.
Leo turned on his flashlight and shone it ahead.
A large, strange animal gradually came into view under the flashlight’s beam.
The creature, killed by the Purple Radiance Dagger, looked like a mix of a monkey, gorilla, and bear. It had the size of a large black bear and was covered in thick black fur.
“Monica, quick, take a sample!” Leo reminded her.
Monica snapped out of her shock and quickly took out a syringe, test tube, mask, and medical gloves from her sampling bag. She ran to the strange animal and drew blood.
Soon, she had a vial of blood from the creature.
Returning to Leo, Monica said excitedly, “This strange animal should be the virus host. With its blood, I can conquer that deadly virus!”
“There’s no time to lose. Let’s head back to the camp!” Leo breathed a sigh of relief. If Monica could conquer the virus, Willow would be saved.
As soon as they exited the cave, a group of armed soldiers appeared before them.
It turned out that Lawson had sent people to track them down because they hadn’t returned for a long time.
Back at the camp, Leo and Monica briefly described their encounter in the Primeval Forest to Lawson and the village chief.
Lawson was delighted to learn that they had found the virus host and collected its blood because it meant his infected soldiers could be saved.
The old village chief marveled at how Leo and Monica had survived the deadly forest.
As for Eugene and Brady, they hadn’t returned to camp and were presumed lost forever in the forest.
The camp had specialized analysis equipment. Monica quickly confirmed that the collected blood contained the deadly virus in its original strain.
With the original strain, conquering this virus and its variants was just a matter of time for Monica.
Time was tight, so Leo and Monica didn’t stay at the camp. They left directly for Langstel.
Upon arriving in Langstel, Monica flew back to the United States immediately. Only with advanced equipment from the United States Medical Research Association could she develop an antiviral serum in the shortest time possible.
Leo returned to the clinic to control Willow’s condition and buy Monica some time.
In just three days, Monica returned to Langstel with her assistant and went straight to Nameless Clinic.
Her assistant carried a special metal case containing the antiviral serum.
Entering the backyard, Monica learned about Willow’s recent condition and said seriously, “Dr. Bloomer, due to time constraints, I can’t guarantee a 100% cure rate with this antiviral serum. You need to be prepared.”
Leo nodded solemnly. “Inject it.”
Monica nodded to her assistant.
The assistant put on a mask and medical gloves, opened the metal case, drew a dose of serum with a syringe, and skillfully injected it into Willow.
Time passed slowly. Willow remained unconscious with no reaction.
Monica checked her watch and said, “Under normal circumstances, it should take effect in twenty minutes. Then we can administer another dose.”
Leo nodded and continued waiting.
Twenty minutes later, Leo’s tense expression finally relaxed as Willow’s virus-induced rash began to disappear rapidly.
“Administer the second dose!” Monica instructed.
Her assistant injected Willow with a second dose of antiviral serum.
Another twenty minutes later, all abnormal symptoms caused by the virus had vanished from Willow’s body. Her breathing became steady as if she were in a deep sleep.
“Dr. Bloomer, she should wake up in an hour or two,” Monica said to Leo.
Leo expressed his gratitude. “Monica, thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Thanks to your help, I was able to develop this antiviral serum successfully,” Monica replied. “I’ve already shared my findings with Langstel Hospital and the military hospital. Soon, those infected will recover.”