"Don't you know, Luc? My boss suddenly became suspicious of me just because I wanted to get information for you today," Jamie complained, but that didn't stop him from uncapping his beer before bringing it to his lips to take a sip.
They were in Luca's apartment, sitting on the living room carpet, accompanied by several cans of beer and also a bucket of fried chicken on the coffee table. Jamie kept his promise, coming to Luca's apartment tonight to eat and drink with the younger man.
Luca heard the complaint, but he didn't answer immediately and reached his hand to one of the cans of beer, uncapping it before taking a sip.
"Why is the director of the research center suddenly suspicious of you, Uncle? What did you do today?" Luca asked, moving the beer away from his lips.
Instead of answering, Luca heard a heavy sigh from the older man.
"I saw those people walking towards the meeting room in the research center building today, and I decided to wait near the room just in case I could gather some information. The meeting ended quickly, in less than an hour, and most of the people left after it ended. I noticed the director of the research center and the senior researcher staying in the room even after the meeting ended, and I was curious about what they were talking about with each other after everyone else left. I dared to try eavesdropping in front of the meeting room."
Luca seemed speechless after hearing Jamie's explanation. He had known Jamie for years, and he had always known that the older man could be a bit of a weirdo at times. While his parents were more serious, their best friend often acted like he was a comedian, but he was still speechless when he witnessed the man's antics again.
"Then, did you find out anything after you were caught red-handed by your boss, Uncle?" Luca asked again.
"Shavia caught me, and I came clean to her. I told her that I was curious about the meeting, and she told me what I wanted to know."
"Just like that?" Luca was surprised again.
"Mhm," Jamie answered. "She told me that Marc Bosche rejected the senior researcher's idea of a cure for zombies. Instead, he wanted the research center to focus on a vaccine and a cure for the Dawn virus at the same time."
Marc Bosche was the leader of the East Block, and Luca knew about that. Each block had a leader who had the highest authority like a president. The leader made every decision for everything in the block, including how the block would deal with the Dawn virus.
"Who is the senior researcher who managed to find a cure for zombies, and is it true that the drug will be able to turn zombies back into normal humans?" Luca asked again.
"The researcher I'm talking about is Damian Horan. Have you heard of him before?" Jamie asked after answering, and after seeing Luca shake his head, he spoke again. "Damian Horan used to be the director of a pharmaceutical company, and it was called HAZ Pharmaceutical. It used to be one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world before the Dawn virus outbreak but was forced to merge with other pharmaceutical companies a few years after the East Block was established. Those pharmaceutical companies have been under the leadership of Marc Bosche since then, but they were actually part of the research center. That's why Damian Horan is now also part of the research center, and he's also one of the respected researchers there."
Luca didn't show much of a reaction on his face because he had never heard of Damian Horan before.
"The main researchers who used to work at the pharmaceutical companies now work at the Dawn Virus Research Center and also share the same building with the other researchers, but I've never seen Damian Horan because he rarely comes to that building. He has his own laboratory, and he's been doing his research there, including his research for the cure for the Dawn virus," Jamie continued to explain.
"Earlier, you said that all the pharmaceutical companies in this block were merged into one under the Dawn Virus Research Center, right? Why were they merged into one like that?" Luca finally responded to the older man.
"That's because the situation around the block is getting worse, and the leader of the block assumes that competition between pharmaceutical companies is unnecessary in a situation like this. Instead, he wants every company to work together for the health of our people, including how they will try to work together on the Dawn Virus vaccine as well as the cure for the zombies," Jamie replied.
"Did the people from those companies easily accept that arrangement back then?" Luca asked again.
"They had no other choice," Jamie answered with a nonchalant shrug. "Our economy has become stagnant after the virus outbreak, and those companies wouldn't be able to continue operating without the financial support of the block's management. That's why they could only give up their personal goals."
"I see," Luca replied again. "Then, what about the medicine proposed by Damian Horan today, Uncle? Is it an effective cure for the zombies?"
"Shavia told me that it's not that effective. That's why it was rejected by Marc Bosche," Jamie answered again. "I'm not a researcher of the Dawn virus, but I know that the virus affects human DNA and brains when it enters the human body. The medicine proposed by Damian can only normalize DNA mutations but can't do anything to the brain. It will only help those zombies return to normal physically, but they still won't regain their consciousness. It also won't kill the virus inside the zombies' bodies, and that's why it was rejected."
Luca fully listened to the explanation, and he remained silent as if he was thinking about something after receiving the information. Jamie didn't say anything to him right away either, and the man even continued to sip his beer quietly.
But then he seemed to remember something as he hurriedly spoke again, "Summer is coming soon, so you'd better stay alert during the summer, Luc. You still remember what happened last summer, right? Don't go anywhere near the fortress, and don't let the zombies get close to you either!"