073 The Vaccine Injection

For those who survived the apocalypse, things that once required a lifetime of effort to obtain could now be had with ease. Luxury cars, mansions, ten-carat diamonds—these treasures littered the streets, with abandoned vehicles everywhere and empty homes waiting to be claimed. No one worried about having enough space to live; the only concern was whether their shelter was truly safe.

Since the disaster began, Rob had been plagued by just two worries: security and vaccine research. Now, with Abel and Betty—the two Night Fiends—successfully restored to humanity, the vaccine’s efficacy was confirmed. The question was no longer whether the vaccine could be developed, but how to spread it to more people and rescue others from the Night Fiend curse.

“The first issue is that we don’t have enough rooms,” Rob announced as his house hosted an important meeting. The participants were an odd mix: Abel and Betty, newly returned to human form; Anna, once a housewife, now a tough survivor, with her child; Li Danew, a man utterly alien to this world; and a dog named Sam.

Yet this gathering might determine the fate of all humanity.

“We have plenty of rooms. There are only six of us. Ethan and I share one, Abel and Betty can share another,” Anna calculated. “Of course, if you and Tarek want to share, nobody will mind.”

“Anna, this is a serious meeting. Please, no jokes,” Rob said, exasperated. Among those present, only he—a former army colonel—and Abel, once a police officer, had any real discipline.

“Fine, go ahead,” Anna replied, pursing her lips.

“At the moment, our rooms are sufficient. But we're not the same as before. We have the vaccine now, and can turn more Night Fiends back into humans,” Rob said gravely. “Where will those people live?”

“The second issue is supplies. Medical equipment, food, medicine—we’re short on everything. We can’t treat just two Night Fiends at a time forever; even if we did, with our current food stores, we wouldn’t last long.”

“The third issue is security. As our numbers grow, some careless mistake will surely draw the Night Fiends to us. Never mind whether we can defeat them—now that we have the vaccine, Night Fiends are our kin. Can we bear to kill them?”

After Rob listed his three concerns, silence fell. Abel and Betty, too, ceased their affectionate whispers.

“There’s another issue,” Anna said, glancing at Abel and Betty. “From their condition, it’s clear that humans lose their memories while infected as Night Fiends. Their memories stop at the moment of infection. How can we be sure that the Night Fiends we restore won’t turn out to be bad people?”

Anna, as a woman in the apocalypse, understood the ugliness of human nature better than Rob and worried deeply about this.

Li Danew, seeing the gloom deepening after Anna's words, spoke up. “I think we should establish our goal first, then make a plan.”

“Goal?” All eyes turned to Li Danew.

Now, as the leader of a nation, Li Danew’s mindset was nothing like before, and he didn’t flinch. “Since we’ve managed to gather, there must be other survivors out there—maybe even established survivor bases, given three years have passed.”

“So our goal should be: do we search for those survivor bases, or build our own?”

“I know where we might find one,” Anna said. “When I came looking for Rob, I wanted someone to go with me to a survivor base in Vermont. If we leave in the morning, we’ll get there before nightfall.”

“What do you think?” Li Danew turned to Abel.

“We’ll go with you,” Abel replied. He and Betty, newly restored, lacked knowledge of the current world and couldn’t make decisions alone.

“Rob?”

Rob considered for a moment. “I think we should go, but we need to prepare. As Anna said, this world is no longer what it once was. There’s no law, no moral restraint. How can we know what that survivor base is really like?”

Li Danew sighed inwardly. He had hoped Rob would build his own survivor base, since he could help Rob for nearly three months. Moreover, staying in New York meant greater access to wealth, while Vermont was an unknown quantity.

“Then let’s set our plan with the goal of finding a survivor base,” Li Danew said. “First, we’ll back up the vaccine production method. Everyone gets a copy, just in case. Rob, is that alright?”

“Of course. Did you think I made the vaccine just for myself?” Rob answered generously.

“Rob, you should be known as the Savior from now on,” Li Danew joked, continuing, “Second, we’ll gather as many supplies as possible, and reduce Night Fiend treatments for now, to minimize risk and ensure the vaccine reaches the survivor base safely.”

“When we’re ready, I’ll head out to the survivor base and check it out,” Li Danew said. By preparation, he meant finding a chance to fully cure the virus within himself.

“I don’t agree with you going alone. It’s too dangerous,” Rob objected.

“Trust my survival skills,” Li Danew smiled. “Besides, traveling solo draws less attention and is safer.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Rob shook his head, convinced that Li Danew’s luck, rather than skill, had kept him alive so far.

Li Danew didn’t insist. It wasn’t time to seek the survivor base just yet.

“Anna, stay here and look after Ethan. The rest of us will go out for supplies,” Li Danew said.

Abel was about to object, but Betty caught his hand and shook her head.

Li Danew noticed this and said nothing. His arrangement was a precaution—he wasn’t sure about Abel and Betty’s true nature. If Betty stayed, her virus-altered strength would leave Anna defenseless. Better to keep Abel and Betty close, just in case.

The meeting ended. The four set out in two vehicles to gather supplies. Guided by Li Danew, they arrived at a large supermarket. Earlier, Li Danew had locked two Night Fiends in the warehouse here.

The shelves were nearly empty. The group approached the warehouse door, the light dim.

“The lock’s intact. There should be plenty of good stuff inside,” Rob said, excitedly trying to pry the lock open, only to find it wouldn’t budge.

“Let me,” Abel said, slinging his gun and taking the crowbar. Since regaining consciousness, he’d noticed his strength was far greater than before.

With barely any effort, Abel popped the lock, leaving Rob feeling rather hurt.

“Tarek, should I try getting infected and then injected with the vaccine? This physical strength is really enviable.”

“You can try, but I promise I’ll kill you when you become a Night Fiend.”

Leaving Betty on guard outside, the three entered the warehouse with flashlights. Rob and Abel, trained as police and soldier respectively, took the lead.

Li Danew followed closely, intent on both protecting Rob from Night Fiends and finding a way to get bitten himself.

Barely five meters in, a guttural roar erupted—a sound familiar to both Rob and Li Danew.

“Back!” Rob shouted, preparing to retreat, just as a shadow lunged at him.

Ready for this, Li Danew sprang in front of Rob and kicked the Night Fiend hard.

Seeing the Night Fiend sent flying, Rob—shielded by Li Danew—had no time to wonder at Li Danew’s strength; he sidestepped and fired at the airborne Night Fiend.

Bang… bang…

The shots rang out, and the Night Fiend fell, motionless.

“Careful!”

Before Rob could relax, Abel shouted, tackling him to the ground and avoiding a second Night Fiend.

Li Danew had been tracking the other Night Fiend all along. Seeing Abel save Rob, Li Danew’s vigilance toward Abel eased.

With flashlights scattered on the ground, the light was unclear, and Li Danew punched the second Night Fiend—who was about to attack Rob again—with a surge of inner power, knocking it out cold.

As Rob and Abel scrambled to their feet, Li Danew sat on the Night Fiend, pried its jaws open, pressed his arm against its teeth to create a bite mark, then calmly shot it in the head.

“What happened?” Betty rushed in at the sound of gunfire.

“Get out! Night Fiends!” Abel shouted, pulling Rob to his feet.

“Go!” Li Danew, knowing the warehouse was now clear, still fled with the others. His objective was met—a convincing bite wound, and a test of Abel’s loyalty.

Once they reached the sunlight, all four collapsed onto the ground.

“Are you all right?” Rob asked, breathless.

“We’re fine,” Abel replied, hugging Betty. It was his first brush with danger since regaining his mind.

“I… I think I was bitten,” Li Danew said, examining the bite mark on his arm, which showed no blood. He surreptitiously forced some blood out with his inner power.

“What?” Rob scrambled to Li Danew’s side. Seeing the wound, he said urgently, “Quick, get back and inject the vaccine!”

“I can still walk!” Li Danew said, hurrying to fend off Rob’s attempts to support him. He wondered whether Rob would still help if he knew the bite was deliberate, and that the Night Fiend had been locked away by Li Danew himself.

The four abandoned their supply search and raced back by car.

“I’ve told you before, be careful! Your luck can’t last forever,” Rob grumbled as he drove.

“Seems your luck’s worse—both Night Fiends went for you!” Li Danew laughed, knowing he had plenty of time. With a legitimate excuse to take the vaccine, he could spend the next two months gathering wealth without worrying about infection.

“You can still joke? Even though you’re immune to airborne virus, a bite will still infect you,” Rob said, flooring the accelerator. He believed Li Danew, like Anna and Ethan, had immunity, but immunity didn’t mean bites couldn’t infect.

Li Danew couldn’t explain that he’d been infected upon entering this world, and only the Nine Suns technique had slowed the process.

“No worries, I trust your vaccine.”

A thirty-minute drive was finished in fifteen, leaving Abel and Betty far behind.

In the lab, Li Danew dutifully lay on the bed as Rob injected the vaccine, then packed him in ice.

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll freeze me to death?” Li Danew asked, though the cold didn’t bother him thanks to the Nine Suns technique.

“Freezing is better than turning into a Night Fiend,” Rob replied, slumping beside him. Though his vaccine had proven effective, Li Danew was his first friend in the apocalypse, and had saved him twice. Of course he was nervous.

“True enough.”

Li Danew closed his eyes and called to the system.

“How’s the virus in my body?”

“Infection rate is now declining. Estimated full clearance in six hours.”

“Will I get infected again after this?”

“Except for saliva and blood transmission, you will not be infected.”

“System, why does that sound just like HIV?”

“……”