Chapter 79: Specific Immunity

"I'm telling you this just so you're prepared for your sister's situation," Murphy said, as if he had never hesitated from the start.

"So, you're going to save her?" Alex asked, not quite believing him. He didn't have much trust in his black-hearted boss.

"Save her? Of course!"

The Heartseed was a critical support for Murphy to carry out his plans with peace of mind.

Rather than waiting for an unknown next opportunity, Murphy felt it was better to seize it now.

Although he hadn't seen any signs of backlash yet, it was always better to be proactive than reactive.

"I'll go with you," Alex said.

"You? Just rest." With Alex's limited skills, Murphy really didn't expect him to be of much help. "Don't worry, I'll find a way."

Currently, from Serika's letters, the potential dangers in the village seemed to be two-fold.

One was the plague, the most direct and lethal threat.

If he could detect the causative agent beforehand, he could make preemptive arrangements, including vaccinations, to minimize the risk.

The second concern Murphy had was Serika's mention that there were no living people in the village.

If she meant that everyone in the village was dead, Murphy could understand it better. But her phrasing suggested that the people in the village were somehow undead?

Zombies? Vampires? Or ghosts? Ghosts weren't particularly scary, as most couldn't affect the real world. But zombies and vampires could potentially be countered with specific spells and magic.

The third was the curse she mentioned; entering the village would subject one to the Heartseed curse, preventing them from leaving.

This was the greatest unknown and, thus, the biggest risk. Murphy didn't yet understand the working mechanism or constraints of this "curse," so he couldn't guess whether he could avoid or break it.

However, since information could be transmitted from inside to outside, there might be a way to handle it.

He could arrange external support outside the village, ready for contact and command. This increased the chances of breaking the curse.

If worst came to worst and he was indeed trapped, he could resort to brute force, uprooting the entire forest. He doubted that the magic sealing the village was potent enough to isolate space entirely.

His reason for not taking Alex along also involved this factor. Alex certainly wanted to save Serika more than Murphy did. Keeping him outside for information transmission or to execute a rescue plan was more reassuring.

Apart from the three dangers mentioned in the letter, the possibility of encountering a dark wizard from a century ago was another factor Murphy needed to consider.

For this, he planned to obtain some powerful Muggle equipment from the Umbrella Corporation.

Unfortunately, since his wizard security shop hadn't opened yet, he couldn't find suitable assistants. Otherwise, he would have liked to take a few wizards with him.

...

"Plague?"

Harada Toshiro didn't keep Murphy waiting too long before presenting him with a report.

"Based on the descriptions in the letters and historical context, the plague is a strong possibility. I initially thought of this and, after testing the samples, found traces of plague bacillus, confirming this guess."

"Will I be infected by touching these letters?"

The name Black Death was quite foreboding, and Murphy was a bit worried.

"The concentration of bacteria on the letters is low. Plague bacillus is mostly transmitted via rat fleas. Eating the meat of infected animals or airborne transmission through aerosols are other possibilities. But merely touching a small amount of bacteria is unlikely to cause infection. However, I still recommend burning or disinfecting any clothing that came into contact with the letters."

Murphy nodded; he had already washed his hands and disposed of his clothes after handling the letters.

"What do you suggest if I plan to enter the village?"

"If the village has been sealed for a century and the plague is still active, it's quite baffling."

"However, the plague bacillus is known for its strong vitality. The bacteria we detected seem to have mutated to survive in nutrient-poor conditions by entering a semi-dormant state, drastically slowing their metabolism. It's almost as if they've been frozen, which might explain the continued presence of the plague."

"Once they receive sufficient nutrients, they reactivate and produce toxins. So, their infectivity might not be much less than the common plague bacillus."

"But you don't need to worry too much. Plague is not a particularly terrifying disease for modern medicine. It develops quickly and is a virulent pathogen, but it's not resistant to disinfectants and doesn't tolerate high temperatures. It's not difficult to kill outside the body. Also, it's sensitive to antibiotics like streptomycin and kanamycin. Early treatment usually resolves the issue."

"If you go there, I recommend getting vaccinated against the plague first, though it typically takes about half a month to a month to develop decent immunity. Besides, standard epidemic prevention measures like protective gear, avoiding contact with infection sources, and bringing your own clean water and food should suffice."

Murphy had planned to get vaccinated, but "half a month... that's too long. Is there a faster way to acquire immunity?"

Harada Toshiro pondered for a moment, then suggested, "The Umbrella Corporation's paper, 'Study on the Use of Dittany Promoter for Specific Immunity,' might help. It can accelerate the activation of T cells using Dittany promoter, culture specific immune T cells outside the body, and then inject them back into the body to achieve an effect similar to vaccination. This method not only prevents but can also directly treat infections."

Recalling this research mentioned by Patrick, Murphy immediately called him and arranged for it. Then, he took some samples of the mutated bacillus and went to the Umbrella Biotech Research Center's Dittany development unit.

Considering he would soon have Boris replace him in the Muggle world, he didn't reveal his identity to Patrick. He disguised himself as an ordinary Muggle researcher.

After finding the manager arranged by Patrick, Murphy handed over the mutated bacillus samples, "I want to gain immunity against these mutated bacilli. How soon can I achieve this using Dittany promoter?"

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