Jishou, Hunan – Through Natalie’s Eyes: September 2025, 8:30 AM
Dehang Village
Wooden houses lined the crystal-clear stream. Bamboo tables were set right over the flowing water, and a waterfall cascaded from a high cliff like a white ribbon fluttering in the wind. Limestone mountains stood jagged, as if trying to pierce the distant sky.
"Sawn, go order two clay pot sour fish stews. I need to have a serious talk with this scientist," Jetdoe said with a mocking smile. If he wanted to spend the last moments of his life in misery, I would be the one to tell him exactly what he was about to face.
The sound of a bamboo stool dragging against the floor echoed through the roar of the waterfall behind us.
The faint scent of woodsmoke from the earthen stove wafted past my face. It should have been a peaceful meal, but the moment the sour fish pot was placed in the center of the table, I knew... this was a negotiation table where the last happiness of life was the stake.
Right now, every pair of eyes was filled with suspicion. Than stared intensely at the backpack, Juyon stole frequent glances, and even Pai Pai—whom I had already told some of the story—looked skeptical.
I recalled Sawn saying that Jetdoe was a kind person. Having him on our side would be more beneficial than not. I had to find an opportunity to clear their doubts.
"Juyon! Can I sit here? I want to talk to you about hacking the system to fly Natalie out of China," Than, the law student on the run, seemed particularly fond of Juyon.
Sawn also looked at me often. His gaze wasn't like a typical person’s; it was the same look Pai Pai gave me.
Loweis was the most mysterious one in the group. While the other men acted like themselves, he frequently glanced at the phone in his hand whenever everyone else was laughing or distracted.
The massive waterfall plunging from the steep cliff thundered through the valley, sending a cold mist against our skin.
The footsteps of a waiter in traditional attire echoed on the bamboo floor before the earthen pot was set firmly in the middle of the table.
Steaming vapor from the fermented chili rose up, momentarily obscuring the suspicious glares being traded.
"Eat this! It's delicious!" Pai Pai grabbed some bamboo-grilled sticky rice, peeled it, and handed it to everyone. The scent of burnt bamboo membrane helped soften the tense atmosphere surrounding the virus for a moment.
"I'm so curious I'm getting bloated. We’re finishing this talk now! Hahaha!" Jetdoe shook the mist off his face and gestured for everyone to dig in.
I shook my head to clear the mist from my hair and sat beside him with growing confidence.
"Everyone," I began before they could corner me. "What I’m about to tell you might be of some use."
"If I don’t say anything, everyone will keep suspecting these things, and Jetdoe will keep taking it out on everyone like a man going through andropause. Sawn said we’ll reach Guiyang in a few hours. I feel that I may have made mistakes in the past, but I insist I never harbored ill will or stole from anyone. If we are to part ways, let’s have a brief good memory with this special meal together."
"I wasn't taking it out on anyone. That 'Middle Finger' girl provoked me first," Jetdoe tossed his hair in the wind. He really was as kind as Sawn said; his harsh demeanor was just a bluff.
"Unnie, have some rice wine to warm up," Pai Pai handed me a cup of white liquor that looked like makgeolli.
A fizzy sweetness burned down my throat, reaching every inch of my gut.
"Juyon-unnie, it’s good. Try some," I passed the pitcher to her and popped some smoked pork into my mouth. "Let’s get to the point... I’ll give you information about White Silence because I was once involved with it."
"Huh! " Everyone dropped their chopsticks. Than, in particular, craned his neck forward more than anyone else.
Loweis blurted out a question, "That video... is it real?"
I pondered before deciding to speak. "I have tested the White Silence virus on all kinds of animals. The virus died out; it cannot use other living creatures as hosts. It can only survive in humans."
"There it is!" Loweis slapped his knee. "I wasn't wrong. See, Jetdoe? I told you there was substance to this."
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"So what? I still don't forgive you for sneaking that Korean girl onto the trailer truck," Jetdoe stuffed fish into his mouth, acting indifferent.
"Bro! If you want to know, just ask nicely. Stop acting cool!" Sawn laughed and downed some fermented rice wine. But that tender gaze he directed at me and his shy demeanor—what did that mean?
Jetdoe tapped him lightly on the head with a chopstick. "Jetdoe, you have to drive a long way later. Don't drink."
"I'm itchy. Maybe the alcohol will make it go away."
I could only sigh. Sawn was already experiencing the side effects of Tame 30. In less than two months, his body would be covered in oozing blisters. To avoid a panic, I couldn't tell them about the properties of Aeon 30 right now, nor could I reveal the true nature of Tame 30.
The only thing I could do to repay them was this: "Sawn, don't scratch it. Just rub it gently. If possible, find meat high in Omega-3 to eat, and stop drinking alcohol."
He set his cup down immediately. Pai Pai pursed her lips, looking at Sawn with an uneasy, pained expression.
"Bro, eat lots of fish," Than placed some fish in Sawn's bowl.
"Than, this is good. Try it!" Jetdoe glared at them and put fish in Than's bowl. I felt like these two were a bit too close—maybe something deep was hidden there. They were like lovers, yet not quite.
I enjoyed the local food of the ethnic minority in this heaven-like valley. Sipping the rice wine made me faintly miss makgeolli.
However, as the waiter brought over a pitcher of wine and a tray of smoked pork, my eyes caught something that made me freeze. I saw clear, oozing blisters starting to form on the back of the waiter’s hand and between his fingers.
A cold shiver ran down my spine. No one else seemed to notice, and Sawn likely had no idea that the itchiness he was facing was the exact same symptom appearing on this waiter's hand.
Jetdoe picked out the fish cheek to eat before speaking with his mouth full. "I’m hauling Tame 30 vaccines to treat White Silence—the whole back of the trailer truck is full of them. Why are you so excited? There’s already a cure, isn't there?"
Juyon, her face flushed pink from the alcohol, raised her hand. "Before I escaped, I was an order maintenance officer at the Tame 30 vaccine conference. Jetdoe is right; there is a preventive vaccine."
"Hahaha! That’s the spirit! This North Korean girl is starting to be useful," he pointed his chopsticks at her.
"If only it were that simple," I didn't know how to put it. I glanced at Pai Pai. She stuffed smoked pork into her mouth and gave a slight shake of her head—a signal.
I still remembered her promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone. She had said, And if I told these people, they wouldn't believe me anyway.
"That vaccine won't work in the long run. It’s like during COVID-19 when we thought the first vaccine would end everything, but in the end, it was just a temporary relief. Tame 30 right now... it’s a malformed genetically modified virus that was rushed out because of the greed of leaders who want to control the situation." I tried to relate it to something they could understand.
"What are you talking about? Stop destroying people's hope. Just don't," Jetdoe was the first to resist.
"Whatever you do, don't get injected with Tame 30! These viruses are smart. They evolve according to the bloodlines of people in each region, just like the UK or Delta variants we saw during COVID. Taking a free vaccine produced in one place and injecting it into the whole world... it won't work."
I looked at each of their faces with pity, praying in my heart that they would just believe me and follow this advice. This was all the help I could give. As for Sawn and his sincere smile... that would have to be left to his fate.
"The more you talk, the less I understand. If the vaccine doesn't work, why are they injecting it?" Than's brow furrowed, his voice turning stern.
"For power and control. Like in 2019 when everything was so chaotic that the government had to create new rules. Tame 30 is just a new, more subtle tool."
"Hmm! I believe her with all my heart. I might be losing already. It itches like hell," Sawn’s innocent words and sincere eyes made a lump form in my throat.
Jetdoe tapped his head lightly with a chopstick and smirked. "You found her, didn't you? Is this the one?"
"My heart is racing, Bro," Sawn said shyly, turning to whisper something to Than.
"Sawn wonders if you might know Dr. Yan Liyin. Is that true?"
Jetdoe looked at Sawn and smiled. "Why don't you ask her yourself? Too chicken again?"
I didn't understand the meaning behind their conversation, but Pai Pai was pouting and glaring at Sawn.
"Dr. Kim Min-young and I... he used to be with Isaiah Biotech. We worked together in Wuhan and received information from Dr. Yan Liyin to look for secret data. We discovered it was the genetically modified viruses OZC415 and OZXC218 that leaked from the lab. Not long ago, Dr. Kim Min-young died under mysterious circumstances—a supposed suicide—and I became a target for them as well." I revealed as much of the truth as I safely could.
The sound of chopsticks hitting the rim of a porcelain plate rang out again.
Everyone froze as if turned to stone. Only the sound of the waterfall remained in the background. Silence enveloped the table until the charcoal in the earthen stove popped.
Smoke from the pot curled up, blocking the view of eyes filled with doubt.
"Who are you that they would target you?" Jetdoe was the only one looking at me with disdain.
I cycled through my thoughts for the safest answer and glanced at Pai Pai to gauge her reaction, but her face remained expressionless. I had to decide.
"I’m an intern."
He threw his chopsticks down again. "Jetdoe... and here I was getting all excited!" He dismissed me as if I were a cheap piece of trash on the side of the road.
"Hahaha!" Than and Sawn roared with laughter.
I lowered my head and scratched my scalp, thinking to myself, As I raised my glass to drink, my eyes met Loweis’. His eyes were lifeless. He quickly looked away toward Sawn and laughed to cover it up in a split second.
Jetdoe laughed heartily and insulted me further. "Just eat so we can get moving. If the world believed an intern, things would be even more chaotic than this. Hahaha!"
Go ahead and laugh, Jetdoe... If you knew that Sawn’s itchiness was the beginning of rotting from the inside out, you’d probably choke on that sour fish stew. I tried to give you a way out, but you chose to see me as just a lying intern... Fine. Since you want to judge people by their titles, one day you’ll learn a very expensive lesson.
