Jason and Lei made their way through the corridor filled with corpses, eventually arriving outside a large room at the end.
Long Zhan was already waiting by the door. Seeing the two approach, he gestured toward the interior and said, "Boss, there are quite a few people inside, and their condition is dire."
Jason could already hear coughing as he frowned and approached the doorway.
The room was completely unlit, shrouded in dimness. As Jason swept his headlamp across the space, the scene revealed was beyond tragic.
Elderly people, children, women...
Everyone was in an extremely weakened state, showing clear signs of poisoning.
When they noticed someone entering, these people, whose eyes were previously hollow and numb, displayed no fear of strangers. Instead, a glimmer of the desire to live emerged in their gazes.
A small child, no older than a few years, his face darkened, struggled to lift his hand toward Jason and pleaded in Arabic, "Save me. I don't want to die. Please, I beg you."
Jason, a father himself, could not bear the sight of a child pleading for help.
He immediately broke down.
"This is B1, Brock Protective Specialist Team. Everyone else, head to the second floor immediately. We need emergency assistance here—bring all available medical supplies!"
Jason gave the order without hesitation, his tone as heavy as his current emotions.
Even the most hardened soldiers could not remain unmoved when faced with the plight of innocent civilians, especially when these civilians included vulnerable women, children, and the elderly.
Upon receiving Jason's orders, the B-Team quickly arrived on the scene. Dividing their tasks, they began providing aid to the civilians and investigating how they had ended up in such a situation.
The B-Team had two medics, Trent and Long Zhan.
Naturally, the two of them took on the role of emergency responders, diagnosing the civilians' symptoms and administering what treatment they could.
Jason and the others focused on calming the civilians and repairing the room's lighting system. They needed to figure out what had transpired here.
After about ten minutes of intense work, the team began to piece together the story.
Through conversations with the women and children, Jason learned the identities of the civilians and the reason they had been abandoned here.
It turned out they were civilians from *** (a country). The Syrian army had seized their village.
Men of conscription age were forcibly drafted to serve as cannon fodder in battles against anti-government forces, reducing the Syrian army's own casualties.
The remaining children, elderly, and women were brought to this hospital to work as laborers.
However, a recent accident caused a gas leak that killed many animals outside, and those inside the hospital were not spared.
Those working near the explosion site or outdoors died instantly. Those inside avoided the initial wave but were still affected by the gas that seeped in. They were now enduring the agony caused by a neurotoxin.
The Syrian army, fearing the international repercussions of a gas leak killing numerous civilians, took the most inhumane approach: they sealed off the hospital entirely, imprisoning all poisoned individuals on the second floor.
Guards were stationed on the first floor to prevent anyone from escaping. No treatment or food was provided, leaving the victims to perish on their own.
After days of continuous suffering, most of the people on the second floor had succumbed. Out of hundreds, only about 20 remained.
The survivors were those who had inhaled the least amount of gas, but their condition was still critical.
Their bodies were being ravaged by the neurotoxin, and they had gone days without food. Without immediate medical intervention, none would survive.
Having learned everything about these civilians, Jason's mood grew heavier than ever.
Yet, he understood.
The brutality of war was something Jason was well aware of. The disregard for human life to preserve a nation's reputation was nothing new to him. He had witnessed far worse atrocities.
People living in peaceful countries could never fathom the horrors of war-torn regions.
"Long, how's the child?"
The boy who had clung to Jason's sleeve and pleaded for help was his greatest concern.
"His respiratory system is in critical condition. If the paralysis in his throat muscles worsens, he could drown in his own saliva," Long Zhan replied.
Based on the symptoms observed and his own examination, Long Zhan was almost certain the people here had been exposed to VX gas.
VX was a fast-acting neurotoxin. Symptoms appeared within seconds of exposure, including excessive salivation, pupil constriction, and chest tightness.
Like other nerve agents, VX disrupted the enzymes that controlled the body's glands and muscles.
When these enzymes were blocked by the gas, molecules continuously stimulated the muscles, causing them to spasm uncontrollably. Prolonged spasms led to exhaustion, eventually resulting in suffocation or cardiac arrest.
The good news was that victims of VX gas exposure had a high chance of survival with timely treatment.
Its lethality was far lower than that of sarin or ethyl gas.
The bad news was that without sufficient antidotes and thorough detoxification, the fatality rate remained high.
Jason, who had undergone training on biochemical agents, knew that the B-Team's individual first-aid kits contained emergency antidotes for such toxins.
"How many doses of atropine have you given him?"
At Jason's question, Long Zhan held up two fingers and said, "I'm running low on supplies, and there are too many people to treat. I could only give him two injections."
(Atropine: a specialized medication for treating nerve gas poisoning.)
"Give him another dose. His condition is severe—two injections aren't enough," Jason said firmly, pulling a dose of atropine from his own medical kit.
Each soldier's kit contained only a single dose of atropine.
By using his on the boy, Jason was forfeiting his own backup safety measure.
"You should keep it. What if you get exposed—"
"Give him the shot!"
Jason cut Long Zhan off, pressing the atropine dose against his chest, his gaze unwaveringly resolute.