Chapter 260: Cold Chain (12)

“Polyomavirus?” Doctor Ref asked.

“Aren’t you going to put the botulinum toxin inside that virus and use it for a terrorist attack?” Young-Joon asked.

“What?”

Doctor Ref’s eyes widened, and she suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because a genius’ idea of terrorism is on a different level than mine. I could never have imagined that...”

Doctor Ref barely calmed her laughter, wiping away a tear.

“You’re saying that’s not what it’s for?” Young-Joon asked.

“It’s not.”

“Then what are you going to use that polyomavirus for?”

“It’s a secret.”

Young-Joon glared at Doctor Ref silently.

—It’s true that they don’t intend to use it to carry the botulinum toxin.

Rosaline, who was monitoring Doctor Ref’s blood flow in the brain, sent a message.

“... You stole the

botulinum

strain from LifeToxin, right?” Young-Joon asked.

“Yeah,” Doctor Ref replied.

Her response was calm and short, as if she had given up.

“And you founded Philistines?”

“Yassir and his close associates founded it. However, it’s true that I helped them financially and with the strain supply, among other things.”

“What are you going to use the botulinum toxin for?”

“What do you mean? It’s a neuroparalytic drug. It’s for medical purposes, of course.”

“A terrorist developing a medical cure?”

“Haven’t you met Elsie, my mother?” Doctor Ref asked.

“I did.”

“Then didn’t she tell you about me? I’m not some crazy terrorist. I’m different from the Palestine Liberation Army or IS, who are fighting to create an independent state of Arab culture,” Doctor Ref said. “Those people are berserkers driven by their own religious ideology or nationalism. There are terrorists, there are rebels, and there are insurgents, but I’m neither. Did my mother really not tell you about my goal?”

“She said you want to make a world where Rosaline rules over science,” Young-Joon said.

“That’s right. That’s why I don’t do things like harming civilians. A polyomavirus that carries botulinum toxin... It’s horrifying and ridiculous just to hear about.”

“...”

“And Ryu Young-Joon, you made a big mistake by arresting me,” Doctor Ref said.

“A mistake?”

“Because I’m not your enemy. Think of me as your only ally who can pull you out when you fall into the grave that you’ve dug.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Young-Joon shrugged.

“For someone so smart, you’re not very good at predicting things like this.”

Doctor Ref let out a small sigh.

“For example...” she said. “It’s been a while since the world’s largest oil producer changed from Saudi Arabia to the United States.”

“...”

“The United States made every effort to conserve its oil resources by invading Iraq and indirectly developing Saudi Arabia. As a result, they stockpiled a lot of those important underground resources,” Doctor Ref said.

“Now, since the scarcity of oil has risen significantly, they’re probably thinking about selling it at a high price. And then imagine if, all of a sudden, Doctor Ryu, the omnipotent who can make solar cells and bring people back from the dead, comes along and makes the production of biodiesel so efficient that he can make premium gasoline. Do you think the United States will look favorably upon that? You won’t be playing with your CIA friends anymore.”

“...”

Doctor Ref chuckled when Young-Joon didn’t respond.

“Don’t be scared. I’m sure they won’t hurt you over some oil. They’ll leave you alone for a while, just like they are doing now, but I don’t know what will happen afterward,” she said.

“Ryu Young-Joon, science in the twenty-first century is a manual for the powerful to dominate and exploit the weak. Scientists may be pure in their research, but politicians and entrepreneurs who use it are not. It’s like a cult that recruits and exploits its devotees by cherry-picking and re-interpreting biblical passages.

“Science is taking the place that religion had in the Middle Ages by using words like ‘rational’ and ‘international journals’, especially in underdeveloped countries like this one.”

Doctor Ref was grimacing as if she was saying a disgusting word.

“The science you have developed so far has been to the taste of the most powerful country in the world, the United States, so they’ve left you alone. You cured cancer and HIV and reduced microdust; everyone is living happily and making money.”

Doctor Ref leaned closer to Young-Joon.

“But watch. Your science has advanced too fast. From brain death and solar cells, you’re going to start bothering some people,” she said.

“I don’t care about that,” Young-Joon replied.

“That’s so like you.”

Doctor Ref smiled.

“If anyone tries to stop the progress of science, I will destroy them head-on. I’ve clashed with the Prime Minister of China, too. Don’t worry, nothing will happen,” Young-Joon said firmly.

“...”

Doctor Ref stared into Young-Joon’s eyes.

“It’s probably nice being so resolute. Maybe you really will overcome all the pressures of the authoritative world on your own and achieve everything you want. Well, maybe this is why Rosaline was born. A third-rate scientist like me could never follow in your footsteps, not in a million years.”

“I didn’t come here to hear crap like that. Tell me what you were going to do with that damn polyomavirus,” Young-Joon said.

“You can torture me, but I’m not going to tell you, Ryu Young-Joon. What the hell are you doing in the Middle East?”

“Phew.”

Young-Joon let out a sigh as Doctor Ref grinned and changed the subject.

“There’s a clinical trial patient here,” Young-Joon said.

“Of course. That’s what brought you all the way here. Is the patient in Afula?”

“Yeah.”

“It must be nice. Israel is a Jewish community and has a lot of money, so they can be treated by the famous Ryu Young-Joon even when they are brain-dead in the middle of the Middle East. The Palestine Liberation Army die of infections from minor wounds because they can’t even get a prescription for some antibiotics.”

“You shouldn’t be saying that,” Young-Joon said. “The brain-dead patient is like that because of the polyomavirus you spread, Franklin.”

“What are you talking about? The polyomavirus is not pathogenic. There are countless people in the world who live with it. I know that, and that’s why I tested it,” Doctor Ref said, smiling.

“It can be deadly to those with compromised immune systems,” Young-Joon said.

“What, like there was an AIDS patient there or something?”

Doctor Ref scoffed but became silent at Young-Joon’s next words.

“There was a child who was hit with white phosphorus. His lymphocyte count had dropped significantly because the gas poisoning destroyed his bone marrow.”

“...”

“He was just a child.

You

were the one who left a kid barely in his teens brain-dead.”

Doctor Ref closed her eyes.

“... Get it straight. It wasn’t me who made him brain-dead; it was the Israeli army’s white phosphorus bombs,” she said. “If a boy around his age had side effects of a bombing, it must have been the most recent white phosphorus bombing of Gaza. He asked for it. Why would an Israeli Jew crawl into a neighborhood of Arabs, get bombed by his own government, and then go back to Afula?”

“He’s Palestinian.”

“What?”

Young-Joon glared at Doctor Ref silently.

“The victim is a Palestinian Arab. You think they’re all Israeli citizens and Jews because they’re in a hospital in Afula? Contrary to what you think, medicine has no borders.”

“...”

“What did that child do wrong? He doesn’t know anything! He was bombed with white phosphorus by the Israeli army and terrorized with the polyomavirus by the Palestine Liberation Army. Now, he’s brain-dead with horrible burns, and I’m here to treat him. Do you understand?” Young-Joon said. “Isaiah Franklin.”

“...”

“I’ll ask you one last time: why did you release the polyomavirus? Tell me the truth, and I’ll consider sparing the lives of your friends in Philistines.”

“... That’s...”

Doctor Ref was about to say something, then stopped. She suddenly clamped her mouth shut and began choking.

“

Cough!

”

She began coughing violently. She clutched her chest and throat in pain.

“My bag... The meds...”

She barely managed to squeeze out something like a groan.

“What?”

A message window popped up in front of Young-Joon, who was startled.

[Synchronization mode: Would you like to analyze myelodysplastic syndrome? Fitness consumption rate: 3.5/second]

“What’s going on?”

“My meds...” Doctor Ref said in a dying voice.

“Please give me her belongings,” Young-Joon said.

“Hold on.”

Robert went to the team that was examining the confiscated items and then came back.

“This was the vial that was in the bag. Is it this? I brought the bag with me just in case.”

“I think so.”

Young-Joon turned to Doctor Ref as Robert handed him the vial. She nodded as she coughed up a handful of blood.

After swallowing a pill, Doctor Ref calmed down a bit. She stared at Young-Joon while catching her breath.

“You had myelodysplastic syndrome?” Young-Joon asked.

“Yeah. Do you know how I was born?”

“I do.”

“Haha. I would’ve been healthy if you handled my genome, but instead, I was born like this because of the tampering of Elsie, who’s dumber than He Jiankui, and her idiot colleagues.”

“...”

“Ryu Young-Joon,” Doctor Ref said. “Don’t obsess over the polyomavirus. It’s nothing.”

“

Sigh...

”

Doctor Ref leaned into Young-Joon as he sighed.

In a serious voice, she said, “I swear. I’m not making something that will harm people, but I can’t tell you what it is. I know you can’t trust me, but you have to.”

“What about the botulinum toxin?”

“That’s not for any terrorist activities. Well, the Palestine Liberation Army might use it as a weapon to fight against the Israeli army, but they won’t use it against random people,” Doctor Ref said. “I can’t tell you more than this, whether you kill Philistines or not.”

“...”

Young-Joon glared at Doctor Ref.

This woman’s goal was to allow Rosaline to monopolize all science. Could the polyomavirus or botulinum toxin have anything to do with it?

“I’ll give you an important piece of information instead,” Doctor Ref said. “You said your clinical trial patient was in Afula? You probably shouldn’t go there again. The Palestine Liberation Army is after it.”

“What?”

“Afula is one of the biggest medical hubs in Israel, and it’s where a lot of wounded Israeli soldiers are hospitalized and treated. Doesn’t that make it an attractive target for the Palestine Liberation Army?”

“Damn it! They’re going to hit a hospital?”

“Who are you cursing when the Israeli army blew up a civilian school built by the UN?”

“...”

“They were after it for a while, but they’re probably getting impatient now that word has gotten out that you’ve been there. Don’t go back.”

“There are doctors from my hospital there! They traveled all the way here to treat patients because I asked them to!” Young-Joon shouted.

He slammed open the van’s door.

“What are you going to do?” Doctor Ref asked from behind him.

“I have to stop that insane terrorist attack!”

“Even if you call them now, it might be too late. It takes forever to evacuate patients, you know that. They’ll attack as soon as they catch a glimpse of evacuation.”

“If I can’t stop them, I’ll be there right after the attack to clean up the scene and treat the victims.”

“First aid at the scene would be important, but by that point, the facility will have been blown to smithereens and there won’t be anything left. How are you going to treat them?”

“...”

“Ryu Young-Joon, no matter how brilliant a scientist is, he’s a caveman with his bare hands.”

“...”

Young-Joon’s fists trembled slightly.

—It’s okay.

That’s when Rosaline intervened.

—Let’s go together.