Chapter 94

"Professor Chi, Professor Feng, Professor Chu, thank you for your contributions to all of humanity." Cheng Zhiyu looked at the dark circles under their eyes and spoke with genuine sincerity.

Chi Hongyi waved her hand. "These are just things we ought to do. We all hope the apocalypse ends soon."

The other two professors, less eloquent, nodded in agreement, murmuring, "Mm-hmm, exactly."

Chi Hongyi continued, "Speaking of which, we owe a great deal to Captain Cheng and the research samples you provided. We discovered a truly remarkable substance in those samples—it can resist infection from the zombie virus and even purify it. We synthesized this substance, and it became the main component of the zombie virus vaccine. So, this isn't solely our achievement."

She smiled. "Without those samples, who knows how many years it would have taken us to discover this substance on our own."

She didn't mention that in their previous research institute, everyone was caught up in political maneuvering, and few were genuinely dedicated to research. They were even more grateful to Small River Base for providing an environment where they could focus entirely on their work without any distractions.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled, thinking to himself that they really owed thanks to the fawn. Perhaps he should get the fawn some extra treats later?

For now, the zombie virus vaccine only required a follow-up testing phase.

Chi Hongyi explained, "However, the vaccine has a significant limitation: it must be administered within two hours of infection. Administering it in advance has no effect. Our next research direction is to explore whether we can inject it into humans beforehand to help the body develop antibodies. In that scenario, the body wouldn't fear the zombie virus for a certain period afterward."

Currently, after being bitten by a zombie, ordinary people turn into zombies immediately, so the vaccine must be administered right after being bitten.

Superhumans, depending on their level, can hold out longer. Based on current data, the maximum time they can last is half an hour.

So, while the window is two hours, it's best to administer the vaccine immediately after being bitten.

Cheng Zhiyu issued a notice calling for volunteers to participate in the zombie virus vaccine research trial.

The zombie virus vaccine! The news caused quite a stir. Everyone was thrilled to hear about the progress, and many enthusiastically signed up, willing to take part in the trial.

"But how will the trial work? Do we have to get bitten by a zombie on purpose?" someone asked.

Hearing this, some people recoiled nervously. If that were the case, what if—just what if—the vaccine didn't work? Wouldn't they turn into zombies right away?

Even though it had been successful in animal trials, people were still afraid. What if it didn't work on humans?

But despite the fear, some still signed up: "I just want the apocalypse to end quickly."

"Just like before the apocalypse, many medicines were tested because people volunteered. Someone has to step up. Anyway, I'm the only one left in my family, with no family ties. It's good to be able to contribute."

"I feel the same way. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Exactly. I refuse to believe this vaccine has no effect at all."

The next day, those who signed up received individually packaged vaccine doses and syringes.

"Huh? We don’t have to get bitten by a zombie on purpose?"

The person in charge was speechless. "Get bitten on purpose? That would be far too dangerous."

"Then how will the trial work?"

The person in charge explained, "Carry the vaccine and syringe with you. If an accident happens, administer it immediately. Even though the trial is important, you are all living human beings. Unless an accident occurs, don’t intentionally put yourselves in danger."

Everyone was moved after hearing this. Small River Base was truly compassionate—here, people were more important than anything else.

If it weren’t for the vaccine being crucial to humanity's future, they wouldn’t use people for testing.

A few lives and the hope of all humanity—both are important.

Zhang Yan and Miao Li were a couple who also signed up for the trial.

They were among the few newly joined superhumans who volunteered for the trial.

Both were part of the thousand people taken in by Small River Base.

Miao Li’s situation was special. She and her boyfriend had been robbed of their belongings by another group of superhumans. Their abilities weren’t very strong, and with the other side outnumbering them, their supplies were stolen, and Miao Li had her arm severed.

As a superhuman, losing an arm didn’t kill her, but her abilities were severely diminished. With their food stolen, she felt utterly hopeless.

Right then, several bases came to recruit people. Miao Li knew she would be a burden and told Zhang Yan to leave her: "You’re a superhuman. Try your luck—maybe they’ll take you."

Zhang Yan refused. "If I leave you, you’ll probably die."

Miao Li smiled bitterly. "I’ve had enough of this apocalyptic life. Maybe death would be better."

Zhang Yan frowned. "Don’t talk nonsense. There has to be a way."

Miao Li cried. What way could there be? She and Zhang Yan were only Level 1 superhumans; their abilities were too weak to be useful. Before, they could survive by working together, but now, in her condition, she couldn’t help Zhang Yan much—instead, she was a burden to him joining a large base.

No one would want someone like her. Even if a Healer could regenerate lost limbs, why would any base waste such valuable resources on someone like her, a useless person?

The best choice was for Zhang Yan to join a base alone.

Otherwise, they would both die.

But Zhang Yan refused. "We’ve come this far together. You know I’m not that kind of person."

Miao Li cried, heartbroken. The better Zhang Yan was to her, the worse she felt for holding him back.

Just as they were despairing, they heard about Small River Base, a place that didn’t prioritize the strength of superhumans too much.

Small River Base valued character more.

Miao Li pursed her lips, a glimmer of hope returning to her eyes: "Maybe we should give it a try."

Zhang Yan nodded in agreement.

Truthfully, neither of them had much hope, but they still wanted to try. What if it worked?

Even though Miao Li said she didn’t want to live, if there was a chance to survive, who would choose death?

Besides, she didn’t want to burden Zhang Yan.

If there was even a sliver of hope, they wanted to try.

When they signed up, Zhou Min glanced at Miao Li’s missing arm.

Both of them tensed, afraid Small River Base would reject them because of it.

If that happened, Miao Li had already decided she would beg them to take Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan was physically intact and had a better chance.

Thinking this, Miao Li felt a wave of bitterness.

However, to her surprise, Zhou Min wrote their names on the registration form and had a cloth-wrapped bundle of cotton pressed into Miao Li’s arms. She was stunned.

Sun Yu, seeing this, reminded her: "You passed the screening."

Miao Li: "!!!"

She and Zhang Yan exchanged a look, then embraced each other, weeping with joy. Not only had they joined Small River Base, but they also gotten fabric for clothes and could eat white steamed buns. It truly felt like a dream.

Later, after arriving at the base, someone reminded them that Miao Li could go to the base's hospital to have her arm examined.

Zhang Yan said, "Let’s go check it out."

Miao Li nodded, but she didn’t hold out much hope. Would a Healer really be willing to help a low-level superhuman like her?

As it turned out, they were willing.

"However, the treatment cost is quite high," the staff member said.

Miao Li swallowed nervously, and Zhang Yan quickly asked, "How much is it?"

The person replied, "It’s been a while since your injury, and it involves regrowing a limb. It’ll cost 5,000 contribution points."

Miao Li was surprised—was it really that cheap?

In her previous base, only high-ranking people had access to such treatment, or one had to pay an exorbitant price—at least hundreds of thousands of contribution points.

But aside from high-ranking individuals, how could ordinary people ever accumulate so many contribution points? Even if they worked themselves to death, they could never earn hundreds of thousands. So, while the requirement seemed to offer everyone a chance, it effectively excluded people like them.

It was often said that ordinary people struggled to survive in the apocalypse, but low-level superhumans like them weren’t much better off.

Because she knew this, Miao Li hadn't held out hope before coming. She had only tried out of desperation.

To her surprise, it only cost 5,000 contribution points!

Although they still couldn’t afford it.

Unexpectedly, the other person said, "The longer you delay, the harder it will be to treat. How about this—I’ll apply for a special case for you. You can put the contribution points on tab for now."

Miao Li and Zhang Yan were overjoyed. They never expected Small River Base to be so generous, allowing them to owe contribution points!

Zhang Yan immediately said, "Thank you so much. We’re willing to owe it, absolutely willing."

The other person added, "Don’t rush just yet. To prevent people from owing contribution points indefinitely without any intention of repaying, you’ll need to sign a contract. If such a situation arises, we’ll give you mandatory tasks, and most of the contribution points you earn will go toward repaying the debt."

Miao Li asked nervously, "What’s the time limit?"

The person replied, "Six months. If you haven’t repaid by then, we’ll assign mandatory tasks."

Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. "Six months is manageable. If we work hard every day, we can definitely repay it."

Since arriving at the base, he had already inquired around. As superhumans, repaying 5,000 contribution points in six months shouldn't be hard.

Small River Base had no intention of making things hard for them. Once Miao Li’s arm was healed, she could repay the contribution points on her own, especially with his help.

Miao Li also felt relieved, tears welling in her eyes. "I… I’m willing to sign the contract."

Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Put my name on it too. It’ll be faster with both of us repaying."

This time, Miao Li didn’t refuse.

After signing the contract, the Healer came right over to treat her. Miao Li swallowed nervously, her uninjured hand gripping Zhang Yan’s tightly.

Zhang Yan was even more nervous than she was, squeezing her hand until it hurt.

They watched as a white light enveloped her missing arm. As the Healer used their Healing Power, Miao Li felt an ache deep in her bones.

The Healer said, "Hold still. Don’t struggle, or it’ll affect the results."

Miao Li quickly steadied herself, frowning. Thinking about her arm growing back, she forced herself to stay still.

After what felt like an eternity, the treatment ended. Miao Li could already feel her arm again. She tentatively moved it and noticed it was much whiter than before, and the skin was softer.

The Healer, Chen Juan, was pale and let out a deep breath. "Go back and rest properly. Don’t use your power too soon."

Miao Li nodded repeatedly, thanking her again and again.

Chen Juan had a terrible headache, but she didn’t feel the same frustration she had experienced at her previous base. Instead, she felt deeply satisfied, especially when she saw Miao Li and Zhang Yan embracing each other, weeping with joy. In that moment, she felt her true worth had finally been recognized.

The hospital also provided Chen Juan with nutritional supplies and let her leave early to rest.

Chen Juan didn’t refuse. Her abilities were completely drained, and she couldn’t do much else that day. Going back to rest was the best option.

After some time, Miao Li’s arm had fully recovered, and it felt just like before.

Then, when the base put out a notice recruiting volunteers for an experiment, Miao Li hesitated for a moment before deciding to sign up.

First, she was deeply grateful to Small River Base. No exaggeration, she felt the base had saved her life, so she was willing to contribute to it.

Second, participating in the experiment came with a sizable reward of contribution points, enough to repay her debt to the hospital in one go, with some left over.

Although they could repay it slowly, it would require constant skimping and saving.

Food wasn’t an issue, but crystal cores could also be converted into contribution points. Since they finally had a chance to enhance their abilities, they needed to grab the chance.

Because both of them were pretty weak, they had to participate in the base’s daily superhuman training sessions after arriving.

This was actually a great thing. Since the apocalypse began, superhumans had mostly figured out their abilities on their own, with few willing to invest time in what others saw as low-level, untalented superhumans.

Relying on their own trial and error, leveling up was incredibly difficult.

So, even if they hadn’t been required to join the training, they would have found a way to spend contribution points to improve.

It had to be said that after training for a while, their progress was much faster than if they had used trial and error on their own for six months. Both of them had made good progress—Zhang Yan was almost at level two, and Miao Li was close behind.

They needed crystal cores.

But they also had to repay their debt. Neither of them liked being in debt, so they were reluctant to use the crystal cores for absorption, opting instead to convert them into contribution points.

However, seeing others absorb crystal cores and level up made them itching to do the same.

So, they signed up for the experiment without hesitation.

When they learned it wasn’t what they had imagined—like being deliberately bitten by zombies—they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Coincidentally, some fellow superhumans they knew invited them to go out and hunt zombies.

Since arriving, Miao Li and Zhang Yan had never left the base. With a large group, there was little risk, so they agreed.

Although leaving the base always came with risks, that’s just how it was for superhumans. Their growth was always accompanied by danger. Unless someone was willing to support them, they had to claw their way up from fighting zombies to level up.

The group left the base. "Within one kilometer of the base, there are hardly any zombies. The base periodically sends people out to hunt them, so we need to go further out."

No one had any objections, and they all nodded in agreement.

After this period of training, they had gained a lot of confidence. Moreover, with so many of them together, even though the highest level among them was only Level 2, they still had a fighting chance against a Level 3 zombie.

Unexpectedly, as if jinxed by someone’s ill-omened words, they encountered a Level 3 zombie—and a troublesome lightning-type one at that.

While dodging its attacks, they were struck by lightning several times, leaving the whole group a mess. They barely managed to kill the Level 3 zombie in the end.

Miao Li still had some energy left. She stepped forward, dug out the zombie’s crystal core, let out a sigh of relief, and smiled. "Great! With this crystal core, each of us can get a decent share of contribution points."

"Right! When we get back, let’s go to the cafeteria for a meal and splurge a little."

"Is the cafeteria really that good? I’ve never been," Miao Li asked curiously while cleaning the crystal core.

"The food’s amazing! I’ve been craving it ever since I tried it once. It’s just that we just arrived at Small River Base and are short on contribution points. We still need to buy daily necessities, otherwise I’d eat at the cafeteria every day," the other person went on to describe the flavors of various dishes.

Miao Li couldn’t help but salivate. It wasn’t that she lacked self-control—since the apocalypse began, who had eaten so well? Even though they had joined Small River Base, they couldn’t afford to eat at the cafeteria because they needed to repay their debt.

Eating White Steamed Buns every day already made them feel fortunate. After all, in their previous base, they could work their fingers to the bone and still not get a single bite of a White Steamed Bun.

At most, they scraped together enough to exchange for a bowl of pickles to eat with their White Steamed Buns, feeling over the moon.

But they never expected the cafeteria to be this good.

Miao Li set her sights on going to the cafeteria for a meal. Once the debt was repaid, she would go eat there once.

As the group chatted and laughed, they noticed that the second-tier superhuman in their team was pale, with sweat beading on his forehead.

"Are you okay? Did you overuse your abilities earlier?" Everyone expressed concern.

"Ha, want me to carry you?" someone joked.

Unexpectedly, the second-tier superhuman took a step back, his face pale, and said, "Just go without me."

"What is it?" The group’s smiles faded.

The second-tier superhuman closed his eyes and raised his hand, revealing a scratch on the back of it. It didn’t look like an ordinary wound—the area around the scratch had already started festering.

"I was accidentally scratched by that zombie just now," the second-tier superhuman said bitterly. "You all go. Before you leave... kill me."

Everyone’s expressions changed, and they panicked. Although they were only a temporarily formed team, they were all kind-hearted people. Seeing the second-tier superhuman like this made them devastated.

The second-tier superhuman felt he was losing control. He closed his eyes and said, "Hurry, go..."

The more sensitive folks had already started crying. Without this second-tier superhuman, they would never have been able to kill that Level 3 zombie.

Miao Li and Zhang Yan were also in shock. Just moments ago, everyone had been so happy, but now the atmosphere had completely changed.

Miao Li suddenly remembered something and said, "Wait! I have the base’s new vaccine!"

"Right, the vaccine! I heard they were recruiting guinea pigs for the trial before!"

"Quick, let’s try it on him."

At this point, it didn’t matter whether it would work or not. Anything was better than doing nothing.

Miao Li quickly took out a syringe and the vaccine, loaded the syringe, and injected it into the second-tier superhuman.

Someone nearby gulped nervously and asked, "How is it?"

The second-tier superhuman told them to stay away from him and shook his head. "Nothing yet."

"Ah? No effect?" Someone sounded disappointed.

It wasn’t just concern for the second-tier superhuman—they were also worried about their own futures. If the vaccine really worked, it would mean that in the future, if they were accidentally scratched or bitten, as long as they carried the vaccine and injected it immediately, they wouldn’t have to worry about infection.

"What do you mean it didn’t work? Look, he hasn’t changed at all after all this time. That means it’s working!" someone else shot back excitedly.

Everyone looked and saw that it was true. They were ecstatic.

After waiting a while longer, the second-tier superhuman remained conscious, and the wound on the back of his hand stopped rotting. Instead, it gradually turned healthy pink again, eventually becoming an ordinary wound.

The group watched in amazement.

"It worked! The vaccine really works!"

"It works! This is fantastic! Hahaha, to hell with these damn zombies!"

"Does this mean we never have to fear zombies again? Is the apocalypse finally over?"

Someone began to cry, thinking of their family members who had been bitten by zombies. They had watched helplessly as their loved ones turned into zombies and even attacked them.

In the end, they had to put them down themselves... If only they had had a vaccine like this back then, how different things could have been.

Everyone was both crying and laughing. After returning, they reported what happened to the base.

The second-tier superhuman needed to give blood for tests.

Later, the vaccine was validated in subsequent trials—it worked.

Cheng Zhiyu smirked. After contacting the authorities, an official announcement was soon made. The news of the successful development and testing of the Zombie Virus Vaccine 1.0 spread throughout all major bases.

Instantly, the news blew up.

Ordinary people were stoked about the vaccine but worried they might miss out. Meanwhile, the major bases familiar with Small River Base’s situation were skeptical.

After all, Small River Base was such a tiny outfit. It was already surprising enough when they produced so many mutant seeds, but now they had actually developed a vaccine?

How was that possible!

Although skeptical, they also knew that Small River Base wouldn’t joke about something this big without evidence.

Everyone began inquiring about when Small River Base had snagged such brilliant researchers. Among them, Chaoyang Base was also involved.

The administrator of Chaoyang Base looked up after hearing his subordinate’s report. "You’re saying those three people came from our base?"

The subordinate avoided eye contact, and nodded. "Yes."

The administrator of Chaoyang Base thought carefully and indeed recalled such an incident. At the time, Small River Base had mentioned discovering suitable research samples. He had brushed it off, thinking it was just a small base and not paying much attention.

Still, he agreed to send a few people to assist with the research.

Recalling this now, the administrator was kicking himself. If he remembered correctly, Small River Base had initially intended to give the samples to them, but he had passed on it!

Back then, the director of Chaoyang Base’s research institute had said it would probably be a wild goose chase and suggested just sending some benchwarmers over.

The administrator had been persuaded at the time and told the director to handle it.

"If I remember correctly, he said those three were just grunt workers at the institute, right?" the administrator sneered. "Grunt workers? How could people doing odd jobs pull this off?"

Having climbed his way up step by step, he was well aware of the internal politics and nonsense within the research institute.

These three individuals clearly had the ability but were pushed out!

If he'd known what they were capable of, he would never have agreed to send them away!

If they had gotten hold of the sample back then... The manager shook his head at the thought. It seemed the research institute was already rotten to the core. Even if they had secured it, they would likely have wasted the sample.

There probably wouldn’t be a vaccine developed by now. No matter what, the emergence of the vaccine is an immensely positive development.

"Quickly contact Small River Base..." The manager rubbed his temples, made the arrangements, and then sneered, "It seems the research institute also needs to clean up its act!"