Criminal Psychology

The two leaders quickly returned to the conversation after reading about the Borna virus. They knew very little about the Darna Rainforest, yet their faces turned pale with a sense of foreboding.

“Commander Xing, if it weren’t for the recent vote, I’d think you were joking with us.”

“Even with the vote, I’d still think you were joking,” said the other.

“Isn’t the drug enough? Now there’s a virus?”

“How did they get such strong scientific research capabilities?”

“Is this a real existing virus or something out of a fictional novel?”

“Is this scientific?”

The two of them went back and forth.

At this point, a corner of the laptop that Wang Chao was holding flashed. He received an email from a virology expert. He clicked to open it, took a quick glance, and urgently called out, “Boss.”

Xing Conglian turned his head. Wang Chao handed him the laptop, and they both read the entire reply. The letter mentioned several points:

First, The Borna virus does indeed exist.

Second, the materials on the other party’s server come from related literature reviews, which means that every sentence in it can be traced.

Third, However, just because there is evidence doesn’t mean it’s scientific truth. The research on the Borna virus is still very preliminary, and there’s a lot of debate. The material glosses over the opponents’ viewpoints.

When Wang Chao saw this, he felt that the situation was indeed more dangerous than they had imagined.

Xing Conglian also looked up at the same time and said to the two people in the video call, “I’ll answer your two questions. First, I’m not joking. Secondly, the Borna virus does indeed exist.”

Once Xing Conglian said this, both inside and outside the video, everything fell silent. In the video, the two leaders were tongue-tied and found it hard to form sentences.

But since they were elite police forces, they quickly made a judgment by combining existing materials with the key location pointed out by Xing Conglian. Suppressing their inner horror, they spoke calmly.

“The Dana Region has poor medical and health conditions, making it the perfect breeding ground for certain viruses.”

“And the Doctors Without Borders organization, rooted in the rainforest, is the biggest enemy of virus spread.”

“The Republic of Angodo, which borders the Dana rainforest, has gradually improved its health conditions, forming a protective wall against the spread of disease, which is not allowed.”

“This is why they target insurance companies and Doctors Without Borders.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Chao took a deep breath.

The grand plan involved too many considerations and small schemes.

They were careful and discreet, making all motives twist and turn, so it was hard for people to detect the hidden truth behind them.

Therefore, was there anything they overlooked in the matter of Zhourui Pharmaceutical?

Wang Chao looked at Xing Conglian, remembering the unprecedented and incomprehensible acquisition case, and was momentarily lost for words. “Boss, Zhourui…”

Xing Conglian seemed to understand everything at once, and his face showed a look of realization. “The old man said that Zhourui is one of the world’s largest vaccine and blood product manufacturers. They probably want to make a move in this area.”

The morning sun had already risen outside the building, but Wang Chao had never felt colder than he did today.

He looked at the glowing sun and couldn’t help but feel dazzled. He was very tired, having not slept for almost three days and nights.

He was struggling to keep up with the fast pace of the discussion and wanted to stop and chat about the virus in a more casual manner.

He wanted to scream out “Fuck, this is too terrifying!”.

He wanted his boss to give him a playful smack on the head and tell him to shut up. Even such a brief exchange could relieve his current mental pressure.

But now, there was no time.

The leaders, whether in front of him or beside him, didn’t show any signs of panic or fatigue.

They were determined and rational, as if they had not been affected at all.

Each person was doing their best in the area they excelled in, maintaining a high level of concentration and gritting their teeth to persevere.

“But isn’t this a bit too roundabout? If there is a virus, directly dropping it in a densely populated area would surely cause more damage, wouldn’t it?”

Wang Chao subconsciously looked at the computer screen and noticed the heavy red veins in the eyes of the two leaders in the video call.

He bit the flesh in his mouth, forcing himself to refocus. After thinking about it, this was indeed a very poignant question.

His boss didn’t need any of these measures to maintain focused attention and high-speed brain operation. Just glancing at the reply letter written by the virologist, he responded fluently, “The research on the BDV virus is only in its initial stage. What it is, how it infects humans, how it spreads among humans, whether it necessarily leads to schizophrenia—all these are uncertain.”

The two people in the video quickly understood. “The material turns some possibilities into inevitabilities.”

Xing Conglian nodded.

But the two team leaders didn’t feel noticeably relieved. “This also means that perhaps they have made breakthrough progress in the research on the Borna virus.”

“Even if they have, it wouldn’t be too advanced,” Xing Conglian said. “Otherwise, what we’d be facing now is an outbreak.”

“So, they took advantage of the backward medical environment of the Dana rainforest, trying to spread the virus in a primitive and slow way?” The director of the second bureau hesitated.

“Do you think it’s too far?” Xing Conglian saw through his doubt at a glance.

Xing Conglian said, “The Dana Rainforest, The Angodo Republic, who knows where—it’s too far, rarely seen on TV. People are dying there every day because of wars. If something happens, does it have anything to do with us?”

The director of the second bureau was somewhat at a loss for words. “I just feel like it’s a movie, because it’s far away, so it doesn’t feel real.”

“But if you’ve been there, you’d know that, although it’s not quite like us, there are indeed many people there who are, like us, referred to as the human species.”

“I don’t think they’re not human.”

“But that’s the advantage of hiding in backward areas.” Xing Conglian’s voice was very cold, “There, it’s not like our country or any other modern civilization country. There’s not much concept of the value of human life. There are still countless diseases spreading there, and most ordinary people’s views are: Oh, it’s so pitiful, but it’s so far away, it shouldn’t affect us.”

The two team leaders on the video call fell into deep thought.

Xing Conglian didn’t let them off. “Such a concept is inevitable from top to bottom.”

He said, “In 1976, we learned about Ebola, but it took 40 years for a handful of vaccines to enter clinical trials. Why? Of course, because it’s difficult to conquer, but in fact, the peak of vaccine research occurred after a few cases of infection occurred in developed countries. And before that, the real susceptible population was in poor and remote West Africa, where they couldn’t afford the cost of the vaccine. So, if the virus is unlikely to affect us and there is no market prospect or economic benefit, why should we pay attention to it and invest too much manpower and resources in it?”

“This is Ebola, the extremely deadly Ebola that has the same fatality rate as AIDS. Developed countries have a complete medical system and enough manpower and resources, while poor and backward areas are the best breeding grounds for deadly viruses because, for most people, it’s too far away, like a movie.”

That was what Xing Conglian said.

Wang Chao couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat.

His boss wasn’t born with extraordinary wisdom. These views could only come from the person who had a deep understanding of these issues after a long time fighting on the front lines in the rainforest, and from that person’s dying wish.

That night, he had actually overheard some of their conversation.

Those rambling words, with a bit of roguish demand, kept ringing in his ears.

“The US’s expenditure just on maintaining nuclear submarine patrols is 120 times the entire World Health Organization’s total investment in preventing epidemic diseases.”

“But mankind is actually a community of shared future.”

“Do you have any money to donate to the medical aid organization here?”

“Do you still know any local tycoons who can invest some money in Dana, to help establish a Dana Rainforest Virus Observation Outpost?”

“If such observation points existed at the time, AIDS might not have had a chance to spread out of the African rainforests and kill tens of millions of people worldwide, so it’s quite important.”

Xing Conglian said, “No matter what happens in Dana, it’s hard to attract international attention, let alone allocate resources, send a large number of doctors, research viruses, and develop vaccines. This takes decades…”

“In those decades, the spread of the Borna virus may be enough to change mankind, and in the process, they only need to remove some minor obstacles.”

“So, our selfishness, indifference, irrelevance, and interest-first attitude would ultimately lead to their victory. What’s more mocking than this?”