Chapter 17: The Unknown Plague

"Found it, I found it here! That's the kind of stone, right? ”

An emerald green molybdenum uranium mine appeared in Victoria's hand, and she shouted over the walkie-talkie as she took the picture.

"It's the same on my side, what a big piece of uranium ore, their color is pure, which is a sign of a relatively high uranium content!"

"This mining area must be huge. That's great! It's really amazing! ”

The intercom was filled with joy, and Clark resisted the excitement in his heart and immediately spoke: "Gentlemen, ladies! Congratulations! Don't go too far, everyone...... Let's go back to the base after we get a certain number of samples, and wait for the big army to come over and then probe the specific mineral reserves. ”

……

An hour later, the crowd gathered next to the rover with a large number of ore specimens.

"I estimate that this uranium mine has at least hundreds of thousands of tons of uranium reserves, enough for human use for decades." Zhao Chao immediately shouted excitedly when he returned to the car.

"This must be a gift from God!"

Journalist Victoria smiled sweetly as she photographed a piece of uranium ore and explained: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have found a uranium mine 150 kilometers away from the Martian base!" It's just amazing, it's exciting...... It really made me feel worthwhile.

Now, I intend to bring this news to everyone, haha, gentlemen and ladies, you will be with me to witness this wonderful moment. ”

"Click" and the flash comes on......

Although there is not enough signal in the rover to transmit video, only after returning to the base can pictures and videos be transmitted to Noah. However, Victoria still wanted to record this joy as soon as possible.

Zhao Chao couldn't wait to test the uranium ore in his hand, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed loudly, "Oh my God, what did I find?" With a uranium content of 1.36%, this uranium mine is a real bonanza! We sent it, we sent it! ”

He had never been so excited, it was a joy for the whole of humanity, as long as there was energy, humanity would have everything, wonderful, wonderful! The ore with a uranium content of 1.36% is also a first-class good mine on the earth!

One hundred and fifty kilometers is not far, and it will take three hours to arrive. They shared the good news with the people at the base, and then the base passed the news to the Noah......

"It's uranium!"

"Uranium has been discovered on Mars!"

Everyone is boiling, everyone knows what a piece of uranium mine means!

Even Yu Yifeng clenched his fists tightly and hammered them into the air a few times to vent the joy in his heart. A uranium mine not only means a lot of energy, but also a lot of associated ores, and many rare metals can be found in the uranium mining area.

"Good evening, friends from the audience, I'm Victoria, and I'm glad I was able to witness the discovery of this mine......," Victoria said on camera, "Look, this is the whole process of our uranium discovery." ”

Victoria's camera recorded the entire process of uranium ore discovery, from the listlessness of the scientists, to the skepticism, to the screaming, without much embellishment, but with an extra sense of realism. Many people felt the joy of the car.

"It is a beautiful stone with a blue tinge and is the main source of energy for us humans. Uranium is also the main material for nuclear power plants, and the energy produced by nuclear fission is enormous......"

“…… This is a credit not only to the twenty of us, but to all of humanity......"

A researcher hurried over and said a few words to Victoria, when the screen flashed and the show ended abruptly.

Yu Yifeng saw that there was something unnatural in it, and his face changed slightly, but it returned to normal in almost an instant. He whispered a few words to a soldier, and then looked at Xu Yunjin.

"What happened, and why was the show cut off? Why is your face ugly? ”

Xu Yunjin was also alert, and immediately walked over and said softly: "Captain, 14 of the 20 people in that group have fallen into a coma and are having a high fever!" ”

"What!" Yu Yifeng was taken aback and slammed his fist on the table.

……

Dr. Roman, the head of the small base, isolated them the first moment he got the news, and secretly screamed in his heart.

However, it has been several hours since the onset of the disease, and they have been exposed to too many people, what should they do? Is it all quarantined? Even Roman himself may have been infected!

Soon, the 15th unconscious, the 16th, the 17th...... This coma is spreading faster and faster......

"Urgent notice, urgent notice, no one is allowed to take off the space helmet! An unknown microorganism is spreading fast! ”

"Urgent notice, no one is allowed to take off the space helmet!"

This is...... Evil intentions from Mars!

Dr. Roman speculates that this is likely a microbe from Mars that has not yet been discovered by humans!

The best way now is to find this pathogen and find its weakness...... However, wearing a thick spacesuit, although it protects the human body, it is impossible to do a good experiment, and someone must make sacrifices.

So, let yourself come, I've been infected anyway......

Roman felt that he was already experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, albeit only slightly feverish.

He has failed the expectations of all mankind, and there is a crisis at such a time......

Why didn't you find life in the first place? Are they all concentrated in uranium mines?

Roman sighed, still feeling that he had not completed his task. Although it is said that the carload of people was infected before returning to the base, as the person in charge, he still has a certain responsibility.

Human beings are still too immature, and the basic biochemical control measures are too simple. Disinfectant water is very effective for life on Earth, but not necessarily for life on Mars...... Roman quickly figured out the key. Humanity has never been exposed to extraterrestrial life, and it is normal to take this lightly.

Besides, these geological teams who have been outside need to be isolated for at least a period of time before they can enter the base, right?

He didn't think of any of these questions. Or rather, before the accident, everyone didn't think about it.

Now it's useless to regret it, Roman wants to make amends, and he immediately issued an order for emergency isolation of all employees. No one is allowed to take off their helmets until the crisis is resolved.

"Zhao Yao, you haven't taken off your helmet, the probability of infection is small, if I fall unconscious, everything will be left to you."

"Yes! Mission completion guaranteed! Zhao Yao stood upright, and made a military salute with a serious expression, they have long entered a state of military control, no one is allowed to take off their helmets, they are not allowed to move around at will, only biologists and medical scientists have the right to move freely.

Roman walks into the lab and draws the patient's blood for testing.

"The body temperature is 39.1 degrees Celsius, the breathing is normal, the heartbeat is 95 beats per minute, and there is no life-threatening situation for the time being. I think it took about four hours to get sick after contracting this unknown virus. ”

"It is most likely to spread through the air, it is very contagious, and you can get infected by skin-to-skin contact." Dr. Roman kept writing in his notebook as he researched that he felt like his head had gotten a lot dumber and slowed down a bit.

"A normal spacesuit can isolate the virus. However, because there are microorganisms in the air, it is possible for people to take off their helmets and eat or drink water. ”

"I found a small amount of DNA and protein in the uranium ore that I collected, which is supposed to be a carbonyl life. I understand that on this energy-poor planet, these microbes attach to uranium deposits and rely on fission energy to survive...... They absorb the energy produced by nuclear fission! ”

But this explanation ...... It's just barely, why is there no life at all elsewhere? Maybe that's because of that. ”

"After being infected, the body's white blood cells have increased, and the body's immune system is resisting, but the condition is not getting better. Humoral immunity has little effect. ”

"Ordinary light microscopes don't really look at it, they are very small and may be a microorganism that resembles a virus."

"Ordinary disinfectants are not effective, which is why our biochemical control fails. I think the protective layer on their surface may be thick, even resistant to the nuclear radiation of uranium mines......"

Roman shook his head, he felt his head get heavier and more confused.

"It's been four hours, my head feels heavy, I have a feeling of dehydration, hot and cold, and my eyes can't see clearly." However, the pen in his hand was still recording, and he was gritting his teeth. Every time a few more words are recorded, there will be more information for future generations.

"Antibiotics, ineffective, interferon, ineffective...... Our immune system ......" wrote this, Dr. Roman finally couldn't hold on and fainted......

A couple of soldiers in spacesuits carried Roman to the hospital bed, and then hung him on a drip with their clumsy hands.

100 people...... 200 people...... 300 people, and after a few more hours, the final number of comatose people was fixed at 322, and only 178 were awake! They were dressed in spacesuits, wore helmets, and did not dare to take them off at all.

Although their stomachs were already very hungry, they still had to hold on.

……

Yu Yifeng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, he had to make a forced landing!

The workers kept moving the heavy loads out of the spacecraft, increasing the mass of the spacecraft, and in about six hours, the Noah spacecraft would be able to land.

Although some people are still thinking about safety, Yu Yifeng can't take care of so much, he must save these people!

How can our new human civilization be conquered by the virus? Brothers, sisters, hold on, hold on, we're coming!