Plague Doctor

Chapter 288: The Announcement

Chen Jiahwa was also tuning into FBM’s press conference. With his English level, he did not understand much, so he was more focused on the online comments among Chinese netizens. The disgruntlement on the internet grew but if there was a place that could not achieve a unified front, it was the web. Some of the netizens maintained their confidence and calmness. FBM appeared impressive but their own country’s secret unit would not pale in comparison either. After all, there were signs that suggested that.

Based on what the US President said, supernatural forces had been active for quite some time. There had been some strange news that popped up online within the nation lately but they were all labelled as rumors. Looking back, some of them were probably real, but the fact that none of them ended in tragedy had proven something. Chen Jiahwa agreed with this perspective, he found many of the analyses reasonable. It had only been half an hour since the US president gave his speech but the conflict that originated from it was long and intense, it was the same within his friend’s group.

“Now I start to suspect we do not even have such a department...” Wang Zirui added. He and Lee Jiaqu had been slinging mud at the government. Surprisingly enough, it was Ren Yu, normally a peacemaker, who got into argument with them, “New York was filled with dead birds a few days ago and is still currently on lockdown! But nothing like that has happened here, why do you think that is?!”

Wang Zirui, “Easy, we’re too easy a target for the supernatural forces to waste time on.”

Chen Jiahwa was incensed. Granted the Chinese government had its problem but these people were being contrarian for the sake of it, “Wang Zirui, what do you mean by that?” Wang Zirui started with the intention of making jokes but as the atmosphere intensified, he got truly riled up. He shot back, “Well, probably due to how incompetent our administration is, even the supernatural forces does not want to deal with them.”

Xiao Lin, “That’s enough from all of you. Look at the time. Better head back to sleep.” He knew his friend was trying to ease the tension but how could he sleep with a ball of fury in his heart... He was about to mount a retort when the chat group was swamped again. The message notifications pinged incessantly.

“Turn on the tv!”

“The news is out, our government is making the announcement too! The supernatural is real!”

“I swear to join Phecda!”

‘What?!’ Chen Jiahwa rushed into the living room and switched on the television. He glued his eyes to the screen and screamed excitedly, “Mom, dad, quick! The announcement is here!”

“What’s wrong? What announcement?” Father Chen and Mother Chen soon shuffled out of their bedroom. Why the commotion so early in the morning?

The Chen family was not the only one awake at that ungodly owner. If one looked out the window, one could see lights coming on one after another in the neighborhood windows. The whole city was coming alive. It was like thunder had just stricken the area, causing people’s heart to palpitate. Of course, there were some who were spared like those who viewed sleep as the most important thing in the world. The broadcast was live on both the television and on the internet. Those who were still working tuned into the news through their phone.

The announcement had been made! The existence of supernatural forces—things that human beings temporarily could not understand, was real! At the same time, a secret department called Phecda was revealed. They were responsible for dealing with supernatural incidents. But there were more revelations that caused Chen Jiahwa’s heart to pound and Father Chen to cheer with excitement...

During this official announcement, there were many unbelievable revelations. The announcement began with a solemn tribute to the victims and staff who had given their lives during the pandemic, it was followed by a high praise of the various departments related to curbing the pandemic like the first responders, medical workers and researchers. Then the announcement stated clearly that the supernatural force in the recent pandemic was dealt by a special mobile force affiliated to Phecda. In fact, the only drug effective against this new strain of legionella pneumophilia was the joint effort between the researchers and the team leader of this special mobile force, Doctor Gu Jun. The drug had been sent to the hospitals within the affected areas and donated to other countries. With the upcoming series of disease control activities, the pandemic should be effectively eliminated.

Despite not revealing too many confidential information, the official statement covered most bases and answered many questions. At the end of the announcement, it added that a press conference with Doctor Gu and the elites from Phecda would begin half an hour later. The half an hour was naturally given to the public for them to process the information and for the media to work on their articles as well.

“So it was us who resolved the epidemic...” The revelation felt so surreal. He turned back to his phone, his friend’s group was a mess already. He ran back to his bedroom to check on the computer. The internet exploded. Netizens who showed faith in the Chinese government earlier now started to brag. Chen Jiahwa skipped over the internet restrictions and found the overseas response to be less than optimistic. Even with his rudimentary English, he could see that other than a small percentage, most of the global netizens viewed the latest Chinese government’s announcement with varying degrees of suspicion. For example, one claimed that the formula of the drug was stolen from other more advanced countries... Considering China’s history, could these people be blamed?

“The truth will always prevail!” Before the computer screen, Chen Jiahwa pumped his fist. No wonder the Chinese government did not make the announcement at first notice, they wanted to gather more information first. Chen Jiahwa picked up his phone with excitement and typed the following into the group, “Just now who was the one slandering our government for its incompetence?”

Instantly, Renyu, Xiao Lin and other friends tagged Wang Zirui.

Wang Zirui, “ha ha... I was only joking, my fingers slipped. That was a typo.”

They chided the man for a while before turning to other topics like how to join Phecda, and how the secret mobile force would look like, what kind of person Doctor Gu Jun was, how old he was... Their impression of this man was that of their medical professors in university, stuffy and cantankerous.

The hot topic among the girls was whether there would be dashing soldiers within Phecda. Hot guys in uniform, that was every girl’s dream. The half an hour was not long but it felt like a lifetime for those waiting. Finally the Phecda press conference began.

...

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