48 Hours a Day

The doctors were surprised by the lack of preparedness of the Pripyat Medical Center for acute radiation sickness.

In particular, the lack of large-range radiometers meant that the players had no way of determining how much RAD of radiation they had absorbed in the previous explosion. This meant that they had no method of estimating how much time they had left.

However, the good news was that they had found potassium iodide injection in the hospital.

“The best time for this thing to take effect is before your exposure is to radiation. It is, however, still effective even after you are exposed to radiation.” The doctor gave the players, including himself, an IV drip. WIth drip stands in hand, coupled with the hospital gowns, they looked no different from patients now.

When they were done, the hospital was finally bustling with activity. The wounded had been streaming in from Chernobyl, and many had their skins turn dark brown, and their bodies swelled. As they were being carried out of the ambulance, they couldn’t stop moaning. Some became hysterical. They looked very manic, but soon, his severe hiccups forced him to calm down.

Zhang Heng and the others also saw a familiar face among them. It was the man who had stood on the balcony in front of the reactor.

His condition was also the most serious of all. Because he was too close to the reactor, all the skin on his body had almost been burned off. The strips of skin hung on his body, exposing the flesh underneath. His entire body was swollen beyond recognition, and he could not move at all. Even moving his fingers proved impossible.

In order to relieve the poor man from the excruciating pain he was experiencing, people in the same ward had to find some vodka for him to drink. However, before he could even swallow any, he retched it out violently. His condition did not look good, and it seemed that he had little time left to live.

The off-duty doctors and nurses had also mobilized. There were also people borrowed from the nuclear power installation company, mainly aunties, cleaning the corridors and wards over and over again.

Considering that each of the injured from the nuclear power plant contained a lot of radiation, the players and their team had all left the medical center with IV bottles. However, they did not return to the original bus, finding a jeep instead.

After witnessing the current state of the medical center, everyone could not help but worry about their future, especially Coconut. The doctor had to give her a sedative to calm her down.

“Now that we’ve obtained the potassium iodide, what’s our next step?” Master Kui asked.

“Of course, we have to hurry and complete the main storyline,” the maintenance man said without hesitation. He didn’t want to stay in this dungeon a second longer.

“What do you guys think about the main storyline quest, then? Let’s hear it,” Zhang Heng said.

“Okay, I’ll go first.”To everyone’s surprise, the first person to raise his hand this time was unexpectedly the server youth. “I feel that the situation in this dungeon is actually not that bad. Hmm, even though everyone’s survived a nuclear explosion, it looks like they don’t have much time left to live.”

“Your definition of “not that bad” is quite ingenious,” Master Kui mocked.

“No, the first part isn’t the main point. What I want to say is that this mission isn’t too difficult. Finding the key person should mean we have to find the key person that caused this disaster. And don’t forget that we have an advantage in this.”

“What advantage?”

“We don’t need to really investigate this accident because we’re from the 21st century. We’ve all read some information related to Chernobyl.”

“I haven’t really read much about it.” Coconut yawned. Because of the sedative, she couldn’t feel the pain in her palms and lips anymore. However, the side effect was that her senses would be dulled, and she’d feel a little sleepy.

“Alright, most of us should have seen it.”

The young man immediately corrected himself. “What we need to do now is to find the most responsible person for this accident based on the information everyone has. Then, we can find him and directly complete the mission and leave this damn place.”

“I remember that this accident seems to be due to some safety test. The person in charge of this test was the deputy chief engineer of the reactor. His name is Otlov or Totorov… It’s tough to remember Russian names,” the maintenance worker complained.

“Gatlov,” the doctor said, “And the foreman on duty and an operator at that time. But I don’t remember their names. In short, the three of them should be the main people responsible person for this disaster.”

“Did their mistakes lead to the accident?” Master Kui raised her eyebrows.

“No, I remember a passage saying that there was something wrong with the design of the reactor itself. Their experimental operation that night was the cause,” the maintenance man said.

“So, if it’s the second possibility, do we have to find the designer of the power plant?” Mouse asked anxiously. “Does he live in Pripyat or nearby?”

“Who approved tonight’s safety test?” Master Kui asked again.

“The chief engineer, the director of the nuclear power plant?”

“Don’t you think they should be more responsible for the accident?”

“Yes, that makes sense, but then we’ll have to add names to our list.”

“We should list all the suspects and prioritize them according to their importance. We should first take care of the people who live here or nearby,” Zhang Heng said, “Also, the most important thing right now is to find a translator. Otherwise, our actions will be too limited, be it investigating or integrating into the city.”

“Finding a translator is not a problem, but how can we guarantee that he won’t betray us?

“We don’t understand Russian, after all, so we rely on translators to communicate with the outside world. Furthermore, we have a cold war background now, so we might be treated as spies sent by the West.”

“I’ll solve this problem,” Zhang Heng said.

“That would be the best.”

With Simon’s words, the players could finally heave a sigh of relief. The next step was to find a translator. Pripyat was the newly built atomic city of the Soviet Union, complete with all manner of facilities. However, there was also a problem. This city had only been developed because of the nuclear power plant, and most who settled here were also related to the nuclear power plant. They were either builders or staff at the plant. There were few around who worked in other professions, even more so for those who translated for a living.

It was not easy to find a competent translator in the massive city of Pripyat.