Day 238 - Saturday - 9:30 AM
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXF9y9qrV7
We all followed Pratap as he rushed through the hallway. Inside a meeting room, the Hang Tuahs had gathered, along with K-Zhaii and Professor Joe. That's where we met a new group - The Ultras.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorYFMiViHe
They were unlike anyone we had met so far. Dressed like rebels out of a movie - they were badass. Two couples: a tall, muscular Indian man with his beautiful, chubby wife, and a lean Chinese man with short hair, paired with his fierce, quiet partner. They were free spirits, travelers who didn't care about the end of the world. They survived by moving, gathering info, and doing what they loved - living.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7pryxHget
They had arrived with a video message from someone familiar: Professor Agilan, leader of the original group of scientists. Both Pratap and Professor Joe lit up upon seeing him alive and well.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDNfrFpgK2
In the video, Professor Agilan said,
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxxXiezCif
> "We need Pratap. He's our best hope in metallic element breakdown. We've found a mysterious compound... it could be the final piece for the cure. But we can't complete it without Pratap's expertise."
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXPS9Vk9WS
That's why they sent the Ultras - to find and bring Pratap back safely.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DsEi8UX6z
Pratap agreed without hesitation. He and Professor Joe immediately locked themselves in a lab and worked for hours. The Hang Tuahs provided every resource they could.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Jf88Yp044
By evening - they had done it.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwntPW8YRMh
> They created the first ever cure for the Z31 virus.
A single dose... just one injection... could revert a Rotten back to human.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlPE0mGSlI
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNnPULdNZo
---
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wPYojdKWX
Day 238 - Saturday - 4:30 PM
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvG3c4O1sq2
We needed test subjects.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1KhNl0xNU
With Dato's help, we located a nearby car workshop that had a few isolated Rottens. So I, Ajay, K-Zhaii, and the Ultras geared up. Thanks to Mr. Shaiful's sticky grenades, we safely captured four Rottens.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzToZxnaBGa
Back at the lab, everyone gathered as Professor Joe and Pratap injected the cure.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFNtL6QGDp
We watched in silence.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcrHMDqJ4J
And then - magic.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8UI569nUn
Their eyes shifted from pale grey to brown. Their rotten flesh began to heal. Scratches disappeared. They stood upright, blinking.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZPlJDOHYX
They were human again. Fully cured.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pEDG905sK
Ajay hugged Kohila in pure joy.
K-Zhaii and I hi-fived like champions.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQH8nqHDD4
But... the moment didn't last.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKGmd1mOgO
Seconds later, all four of them growled and turned back.
Back to Rottens.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLc9DKiqFG
We froze. Hearts sank.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmB4hfScod1
Professor Joe and Pratap double-checked the formula. Every ratio, every molecule - perfect. But something was missing.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvESd9KZV9d
Suddenly, Professor Joe grabbed the Ayurveda & Siddha medicine book he found at the temple.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOGIKvmwwp
> "This cure isn't just science," he said. "A big part of it came from ancient knowledge."
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1J15pveKMX
He flipped through pages, then stopped. His eyes widened.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BMQLQGTkD
> "We're missing Anthocyanins. A high enough dose will lock the cure in the body permanently."
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOVAzGMxEs
I blinked. My mind raced. Images of our journey flashed across my brain. And then it hit me.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUO2vsCq4JP
I said quietly... "Hibiscus."
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEOHnScMgU
Professor Joe and Pratap turned toward me, smiling with renewed hope.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3MCYv03Sk
Ajay threw his arm over my shoulder.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO0qYC6UYy
> "You're a genius, machan!"
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtN7zILnN6V
I smiled back, silently thanking Valli - for being the one who made me fall in love with hibiscus years ago.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0L8qxKfByQ
Mr. Ram's face lit up.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJg9eJIGma
> "My wife's garden. It's full of hibiscus!"
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ492stPsf9A
We sprinted there. The garden was alive with color - red, white, orange, yellow, even rare purple ones. Mrs. Ram was happy to help. We plucked what we needed.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXknGnEnnYx
Back in the lab, the scientists worked fast.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bLGE8ysEu
Ajay held the camera, and I held my Magic 8 Ball.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJGZJHgtc1
Kohila brought the Lord Murugan statue I had taken from the temple and placed it beside the test tube.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7krmbRWzQ
I shook the ball.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtyeAIWlyB
The message read:
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3I0Y9CKGO
> "Yes. Definitely."
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylx9ieLFfO
And this time... the miracle stayed.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfz14rNa6p
The Rottens were fully cured.
No relapse. No turning back.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡom79a7jhab
They were human. Safe. And alive.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsZR2Lgo9z
---
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33lZpbIfzS
Ajay and I recorded everything - video, notebook, all as Mr. Amar instructed us before.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIwdtEP47n
> Saturday - August 21, 2049 - The cure was discovered.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmgOgteZmJ
We released the four individuals. They were confused. Scared. They had no memory of being infected.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLQgk68LDz
One of them, a woman, began to cry. A teenage girl followed, also crying. Mr. Cheng and Mr. Ram explained everything to them gently.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGv34iisLT
All four thanked us with folded hands.
Dato offered them shelter.
They agreed to join the Hang Tuahs.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdEz7ji4q7
That evening, we celebrated.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSiTiuj4oo
I stood outside under the night sky. My heart was calm. My soul warm. I remembered what my Tamil teacher once told us back in school:
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHSidKyTFI
> "Nature always finds its way to repair itself."
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqQJlSMd0r
Now, we held that hope in our hands.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuIBpCj9tS
And with that thought... I closed my eyes... and finally slept.
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbD40CNWFvr
---
270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpA2b7Kqxj
and then Add to home screen.