When I rushed out of the isolation ward, I saw Li Dapeng kick a policeman flying and sprint towards the hospital lobby.
Four policemen lay sprawled across the hallway, their conditions unknown.
There was no time to check on them; I shouted and chased after him, "Li Dapeng, stop!"
"Stop!" Lao Chen echoed from behind, joining the pursuit. All the guards on this floor had been knocked out by Li Dapeng. Besides Lao Chen and me, no one was left standing.
I had anticipated that Li Dapeng would attempt to escape after biting me. I had told Lao Chen to move him to the detention center immediately after the incident, but Wu Guozhi's interference had delayed our actions. I hadn't expected Li Dapeng to act so quickly.
It was late at night, and the county hospital was quiet, unlike big city hospitals that were busy 24/7. The lobby was deserted.
As I reached the lobby, I saw Li Dapeng turn into the stairwell designated for our isolation.
"Xiao Lin, I'll cut him off from the east side!" Lao Chen shouted from behind.
"Got it!" I replied and sprinted towards the stairwell. Hearing Li Dapeng descending, I flew down the stairs, practically leaping over steps.
The inpatient building had twelve floors, and our isolation ward was on the top floor. By the time I reached the first floor, I felt like my heart would explode, as if I had sprinted two hundred meters without stopping.
But seeing Li Dapeng about to reach the hospital entrance, I couldn't afford to rest.
With the strange virus in him, letting him escape would be disastrous.
"Li Dapeng, stop! Somebody catch him!" I yelled again, hoping to alert the security guard at the entrance.
Sure enough, the security guard, a frail old man, emerged from his booth with a steel pipe.
Seeing him, I regretted my shout. Damn it, hospital, you make so much money but can't afford a younger guard?
Despite my doubts, the old man dutifully charged at Li Dapeng.
"What's going on?" the old man shouted, brandishing the pipe.
"Ahh..." Li Dapeng roared, an inhuman sound that froze the old man in his tracks, making him drop the pipe.
In an instant, Li Dapeng was upon him, biting his left shoulder viciously.
"Ahh..." The old man's scream was horrifying. Li Dapeng tossed him into the nearby shrubbery and continued running.
By this time, Lao Chen had reached the lobby from another staircase. Being older, he couldn't match my speed, but I pointed to the old man in the bushes, "Uncle Chen, help him!"
I resumed chasing Li Dapeng, shouting, "Li Dapeng, stop!"
As I ran, a towering figure walked into the hospital entrance. This man was huge, a hulking brute, but I couldn't make out who he was from a distance. Not wanting another bystander to get hurt, I waved frantically, "Get out of the way, move!"
Unfortunately, the big man didn't move. He stood there, grinning at me, "Ho ho..."
Before his laugh ended, Li Dapeng reached him.
I felt a jolt of fear, knowing another innocent person was about to be hurt.
Li Dapeng grabbed the big man's arms and bit his left shoulder hard.
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice, "Officer Lin, does this bite mean more money for me?"
Damn, it was the Shandong giant.
"Forget the money! He's infected, a bite means you're done for!" I shouted, rushing towards them.
"Ah..." The Shandong giant exclaimed, then punched Li Dapeng square in the face.
"Thud!" The sound echoed as Li Dapeng collapsed instantly.
By the time I reached them, Li Dapeng was unconscious, several teeth scattered on the ground.
I swallowed hard, looking at the fallen Li Dapeng and then at the grinning giant. At that moment, I was in awe of him.
I knew the virus could unleash incredible strength and dull pain. Even frail Ge Lao required several officers to subdue him when frenzied. Li Dapeng, a strong martial artist, would be even more formidable.
Yet this man had knocked him out with one punch.
"Officer Lin, you can't expect this bite to be free. You owe me," the giant said, snapping me out of my shock.
"You'll get your money, definitely." I nodded sincerely. This time, I meant it. He had saved us from a potentially catastrophic escape.
We tied Li Dapeng with several thick ropes. I asked the giant to carry Li Dapeng back, but he refused, saying he didn't want to touch him after being bitten. After much persuasion, he agreed to drag Li Dapeng by the leg back to the isolation ward.
Taking the "isolation corridor," Li Dapeng was battered and bruised by the time we reached the ward. I was too exhausted to care about his condition.
Shortly after, several leaders from the hospital and law enforcement arrived, including our investigative team leader, who must have arrived earlier but stayed away from the hospital until now.
The leader, wearing isolation gear, personally came to see me.
He asked detailed questions about the case and today's events, to which I answered truthfully. I added some favorable details for myself, especially emphasizing my earlier warning to move Li Dapeng to the detention center, hinting that Wu Guozhi's disregard had caused tonight's incident. I wasn't foolish enough to outright blame him, as criticizing superiors directly would only backfire.
After listening, the leader nodded and left without comment. Watching him leave, I felt a pang of sorrow, thinking my police career was truly over.
But to my surprise, he returned and said, "Good job. I'll commend you for this. However, defying orders will cancel out this merit. If it happens again, you're out. Keep up the good work."
"Yes, sir!" I shouted excitedly, saluting him.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow, you'll be flown to the National Center for Disease Control in the capital for treatment. There's more important work ahead," he said, leaving without waiting for my response.
I was both happy and troubled by his words. Happy to continue my career, but uneasy about being sent away for tests like a lab rat.
Early the next morning, we were transported in several ambulances. Lao Chen and the Shandong giant, who had been bitten, were with me.
On the way, the giant explained that his father had sent him to return some money, "My dad said, 'Take money, protect the person.' But he thought I took too much, so he told me to give you back a thousand. I couldn't find you yesterday, so I came to the hospital at night. But now that I've been bitten, that thousand can count as extra, right?"
I wondered if he was truly simple-minded or just playing dumb.
We spent a month in the capital, subjected to numerous injections and blood tests. Despite exhaustive testing, neither Lao Chen, the giant, nor I showed any signs of infection, so we were eventually released. The real Ebola virus has a maximum incubation period of 21 days, so after a month, they deemed it safe to send us home.
Returning home, I eagerly visited my mother, who immediately shared some alarming news.
She said I had received four packages recently. She hadn't planned to open them, but a foul odor had started emanating from them. When she opened the packages to find the source, she was so shocked she fainted.