Chapter 720: Sunset
Li Yang stood in the center of the laboratory and looked around.
The room that was filled with black matter just now has now returned to its original state. Equipment, walls, floors, everything seems to have never been eroded by the [Epidemic].
He walked to the container that once contained the [Epidemic] sample and examined it carefully.
The container was intact, and even the tiny crack that had been there before disappeared.
"It's incredible..." Li Yang muttered to himself.
At this moment, the door of the laboratory was suddenly pushed open.
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhi rushed in, their faces full of worry.
"Li Yang!" Jiang Xiaoxiao shouted, "Are you okay?"
Li Yang turned around and gave the two girls a comforting smile: "Well, I'm fine, everything is over."
Bai Zhi looked around, her eyes full of confusion: "Where is the [Epidemic]? Where did it go?"
Li Yang shook his head: "It has been eliminated, completely disappeared."
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhi looked at each other, and both saw surprise and confusion in each other's eyes.
"How is it possible?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked, "How did you do it?"
Li Yang was silent for a moment, as if thinking about how to explain. Finally, he slowly said: "This is a long story... Let's leave here first."
The three walked out of the laboratory and came to the conference room of the base. After Li Yang sat down, he took a deep breath and began to tell everything that had just happened.
"[Epidemic] was not really sealed by me," Li Yang said, "It deliberately showed weakness in order to sneak into our world."
"Its purpose is to assimilate this world, and then use our power to cross more universes."
Jiang Xiaoxiao took a breath: "So, we almost..."
Li Yang nodded: "Yes, we almost fell into its trap."
"Then how did you defeat it?" Bai Zhi asked curiously.
Li Yang showed a mysterious smile: "It's okay to tell you, this is thanks to the hint given to me by [Origin] just now."
"It said that you are very strong, and you are the only one who can kill it."
"I didn't understand the meaning of this sentence at the first time, until the last moment just now..."
Li Yang paused, as if organizing his words:
"The essence of [Epidemic] is an unconscious existence, it can only act on instinct."
"And I, as a relatively special existence, have an independent consciousness."
"When [Epidemic] tried to assimilate me, I did not resist. On the contrary, I let my consciousness merge with it."
"The result is that [Epidemic] was eroded by my consciousness. It can't bear this kind of human consciousness, and can only choose to self-dissolve in the end."
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhi were stunned, and didn't know what to say for a while.
"This... this is too dangerous!" Bai Zhi finally came to her senses and exclaimed, "What if it fails?"
Li Yang shrugged: "It is indeed dangerous, but that is the only chance."
"If we don't do this, the whole world will be swallowed by the [Epidemic]."
Jiang Xiaoxiao frowned: "But, the [Epidemic] was eliminated like this? It will never appear again?"
Li Yang's expression became serious: "I am not completely sure about this question."
"In theory, the [Epidemic] that invaded our world has been completely eliminated. But..."
"But what?" Bai Zhi asked.
Li Yang sighed: "But, obviously, as long as its body has not yet been killed, the [Epidemic] in other universes will still pose a threat to us."
"What's more, it now knows our existence."
"In short..." Li Yang's voice became low, "We must be vigilant against the reappearance of similar [Epidemic]."
"Perhaps, [Epidemic] is just one of many possible threats... We must always be vigilant and prepare for any possible situation in the future."
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhi nodded silently, with solemn expressions on their faces.
Just then, the door of the conference room was knocked.
"Come in." Li Yang said.
The door opened and a young researcher walked in. It was the person who reported to Li Yang before.
"Mr. [Shennong]," the researcher said respectfully, "we have completed a comprehensive inspection of the laboratory."
"What is the result?" Li Yang asked.
The researcher showed a puzzled expression: "This is the strange thing... We didn't find anything abnormal."
"All the equipment is intact, and even the container that previously stored the [Epidemic] samples has been restored to its original state."
"What's even stranger," the researcher continued, "all the data we collected before has disappeared. It's as if... we have never conducted research on [Epidemic]."
Li Yang nodded thoughtfully: "I understand, thank you for your report."
After the researcher left, Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't help asking: "Li Yang, what's going on?"
Li Yang pondered for a moment, then said: "It seems that the disappearance of [Epidemic] is more thorough than I thought."
"It's not just a physical disappearance, but all the information related to it has been erased."
"This may be a good thing," Bai Zhi said, "At least there is no need to worry about some people with ulterior motives using this data to do bad things."
Li Yang nodded: "You are right. But this also means that we have lost valuable research data."
"If we encounter similar threats in the future, we will have to start from scratch."
The three of them fell silent, each thinking about the impact of this incident.
After a while, Li Yang stood up: "Okay, now is not the time to dwell on this."
"We still have a lot of work to do. We must restore the normal operation of the base as soon as possible and strengthen defense measures at the same time."
"Although the [Epidemic] has disappeared, we cannot be careless. Who knows what the next threat will be?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhi also stood up, with a firm expression on their faces.
"I will coordinate with various departments to resume normal work as soon as possible." Jiang Xiaoxiao said.
Bai Zhi continued: "I am responsible for strengthening the base's defense system to ensure that we can deal with any possible threats."
Li Yang nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, then I will go to check the status of [Origin]."
"It has consumed a lot of energy to help us fight the [Epidemic]. I have to see if I can help it recover."
The three of them acted separately and got busy.
In the next few days, the base gradually returned to normal order.
People seemed to have forgotten the panic caused by the [epidemic], and everything was back on track.
But Li Yang knew that this was just an appearance.
The [epidemic] incident sounded the alarm for them, reminding them that they must always be vigilant.
In the evening a week later, Li Yang stood on the observation deck of the base, overlooking the busy scene below.
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhi came to him, and the three of them enjoyed the beautiful sunset together.