PCJ – Chapter 522 The Cause of the Illness Cannot Be Determined

“How is it? Have you found the pathogen?” He Kun was under a lot of pressure. After all, the people who were quarantined were all public figures. The Ghost House Storm film crew had been receiving a lot of attention due to the lingering impact of The Great Tomb Storm. Now, the entire crew, except for a few main actors, had been hospitalized—this was definitely international-level news. The phones from all directions kept coming, inquiring about the details.

At Renxin Hospital, all the tests had yielded no findings. Most of the quarantined patients’ physical indicators were within normal ranges. If you only looked at the indicators, these people could be considered very healthy.

However, these people’s bodies were clearly abnormal, with persistent high fevers and unconsciousness.

“You need to figure out the cause of their high fevers and unconsciousness! We can’t just say these people are faking a high fever and pretending to be unconscious, right? Can they even fake it to such an extent? With their status, would they do something like this? If they’re truly sick, then find out the cause!” He Kun was not in the mood to waste time with the infectious disease department. What was needed now were the real causes and the corresponding treatments.

“Director, we have checked repeatedly, and no abnormal pathogens have been found in the patients’ bodies. We cannot determine what disease they have. We suspect the patients are infected with an unknown virus. We need further research,” said Sun Xinhua, the chief physician of the infectious disease department, awkwardly.

“Further research? How much time are we talking about?” He Kun glared. Time was now the most urgent issue. The higher-ups had already urged him repeatedly. Plus, Renxin Hospital’s reputation was on the line. So many patients had entered Renxin, and the hospital couldn’t even find a cause? Renxin’s reputation would be hard to preserve.

“Uh…” Sun Xinhua naturally dared not make any guarantees. If it were so easy to find the cause, it would have been discovered already. Renxin Hospital could never have hidden such information.

“Sigh, at critical moments, none of you are reliable,” He Kun said, frustrated.

“I heard that the four main actors of Ghost House Storm are all safe. If we can find them, maybe we can uncover the true cause,” Sun Xinhua said, trying to show his value at a critical moment.

“The entire crew has been hospitalized, but these four are fine? That’s strange,” He Kun immediately became interested. Though his main focus was on administration, he hadn’t completely lost his professional ability. He could clearly understand the significance of Sun Xinhua’s words. Since some people were immune, it would be easier to find the cause or a treatment.

“This is absolutely true. I asked them casually during their checkups. I heard it from Director Lin Jianming,” Sun Xinhua said, knowing exactly what He Kun meant.

“Is that so? Try to contact these people and make sure they come to the hospital for a detailed examination. Maybe we can crack this medical mystery,” He Kun said excitedly.

Sun Xinhua quickly took action. Although he couldn’t contact Chen Cheng and the others directly, it wasn’t difficult for the family members of Lin Jianming and the other staff to get in touch with them. Since Lin Jianming was in trouble, Chen Cheng and the others couldn’t just sit idly by. With a need here, they wouldn’t refuse and quickly headed to Renxin Hospital.

Chen Cheng and the others gathered together, but this time there were only three of them. Zou Heming had no chance of entering their circle now.

“Without Jiaohua’s talisman, we’d probably be in the hospital right now too, right?” Tang Yan said.

Chen Haibo nodded. “Definitely. I’ve already found out. Apart from the four of us, Director Lin and the crew members have all contracted a strange illness and are now quarantined in the hospital. They suspect it’s an infectious disease. The reason they urgently asked us to come over is probably to figure out why we’re unaffected.”

“Haibo, you didn’t say anything, right?” Chen Cheng asked, a bit worried.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything out of turn. But I’m worried about Zou Heming. Now that we’ve fallen out with him, he definitely won’t help us hide the truth,” Chen Haibo said, sounding a little anxious.

“Then let me ask Jiaohua what he means,” Chen Cheng quickly took out her phone and dialed Zhang Jiaohua’s number.

Zhang Jiaohua had just finished a class and looked at his phone. He received Chen Cheng’s call at the perfect moment.

“You can say whatever you want, I don’t mind,” Zhang Jiaohua said indifferently.

“I think it’s better to keep it a secret. Otherwise, it could be bad for you if the news gets out,” Chen Cheng said, worried. She had already seen the troubles that come with fame.

“Do as you wish,” Zhang Jiaohua hung up the phone.

Chen Cheng heard the beep on the phone and gave a helpless smile.

“What did Jiaohua say?” Tang Yan quickly asked.

“He said it doesn’t matter, but I still think we should avoid mentioning him,” Chen Cheng said.

“Then we’ll say that our talismans were given to us by a Taoist priest,” Chen Haibo thought for a moment and said.

“A talisman? How is that possible?” The doctors at Renxin Hospital were stunned by this answer. What era was it? How could anyone still believe in such things? But the odd part was that these few people were completely fine. There couldn’t be such a coincidence.

“Believe it or not. Anyway, the talismans we wore that day turned to ashes, and they really worked,” Tang Yan said.

“Where did you get these talismans?” Although Sun Xinhua was skeptical, he couldn’t help but ask.

“A Taoist priest gave them to us. Unfortunately, when we went to Lüzu Temple later, we didn’t meet that priest again. He must have been a wandering Taoist priest. It’s really a pity. If we had asked for a few more talismans that day, it would have been better,” Chen Haibo said regretfully. He spoke half-truths, making it hard for people to distinguish between what was true and what wasn’t.

After leaving the hospital, Chen Cheng said worriedly, “Director Lin and the others are in this condition, and we can’t help them at all. I really don’t know what to do.”

“Actually, it’s not that we can’t help. To help Director Lin, we need to ask Jiaohua. This could be troublesome, though. I’m afraid Jiaohua will think we’re always making use of him,” Chen Haibo said.

“We can’t play tricks on Jiaohua. Don’t you see? He hates it when people play games with him. I think if we just talk to him honestly, he might be willing to help,” Tang Yan said.

Chen Cheng nodded. “That’s right. People from our village are always straightforward.”

Chen Haibo also nodded. “This isn’t something that can be faked. Even if we can fool him for a while, once Jiaohua figures it out, he’ll definitely grow to dislike all of us.”