Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

buzzing-

Five helicopters roared overhead over Jiangxi Province.

The researchers from the Fanyuan branch base were sitting in the helicopter cabin.

They didn't have much luggage; most of them only carried one bag.

Su Zhenbang sat by the window, watching the sky gradually darken outside, without saying a word.

His granddaughter, Su Nian, sat beside him, tilting her head and looking outside.

"Grandpa, are we almost there?" Su Nian asked, looking up.

"almost."

Su Zhenbang replied, his gaze still fixed on the view outside the window.

The terrain below is changing.

The continuous mountain ranges gradually receded, replaced by a hilly area.

Occasionally, you can see abandoned towns, with dilapidated houses leaving only blurry outlines in the twilight.

Su Nian peeked out the window and said, "It looks much flatter here than in the snowy area."

"Yes. The terrain in Jiangxi Province is low and the altitude is not high."

Su Zhenbang answered, then remained silent for a moment before reminding him:

"Once you get there, observe more, listen more, and speak less."

Su Nian nodded: "I know."

On another helicopter, Wen Jingming was sitting with Gu Yanqiu.

Wen Jingming was wearing an old work uniform and holding a thermos in his hand.

Gu Yanqiu leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

Both of them were thinking about their own things. Wen Jingming was mainly worried about the remaining equipment and data from the Three Guardians Alliance.

He didn't have time to bring all those things with him. Although the people from Dazhangshu said they would send someone to deliver them later, he was still a little worried.

As for Gu Yanqiu, he spent the whole journey thinking about the antidote for zombies.

He had been researching with the Three Guardians Alliance for many years, but had not made any breakthrough progress.

He had previously obtained the zombie antidote from the camphor tree from the judge, and was amazed by it. He had long wanted to come and see for himself how they did it.

The helicopter continued its flight.

It was completely dark by then.

The cabin lights came on, and above the dark earth, the five helicopters looked like five moving stars.

An hour later, the helicopter flew over the headquarters base in Dazhangshu.

Everyone in the helicopter looked down.

Below, a vast urban cluster can be seen.

The dense buildings stretched out in the lights, and the streetlights illuminated the streets, forming a vast, glowing net.
The searchlights on the buildings swept slowly across the area, casting it in and out of the light.

Upon seeing this scene, the passengers in the cabin immediately began to discuss it amongst themselves:

"Is this here?"

"This scale is much larger than I imagined."

"That must be at least several hundred thousand people!"

"The key issue is all these lights; how much electricity does that consume? It's outrageous!"

The helicopter landed slowly on the helipad of the fourth outer city, the airflow from the rotor blades blowing away the dust on the ground.

At this moment, a large group of people are standing by the tarmac.

Several people in white research coats were standing at the front, and several people in work clothes were standing next to them.

Bai Jie stood at the front, He Bing stood next to her, and a row of people stood behind them.

When Su Zhenbang stepped off the helicopter, he immediately spotted Dong Chengpeng in the crowd.

Dong Chengpeng also saw him and quickly came to greet him.

"Chief Engineer Su, it's been a long time!" Dong Chengpeng said excitedly. He had obtained the information in advance and knew that Su Zhenbang was among this group of people.

Su Zhenbang was taken aback for a moment, then recognized him: "Dong? Dong? Dong Chengpeng? What are you doing here?"

Ten years have passed, and both of them have stayed in a relatively stable base, without experiencing the harshness of the outside world, so they haven't changed much. When they meet again now, they can recognize each other.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Dong Chengpeng laughed and said, "I joined Dazhangshu a long time ago, and I am now the head of the Dazhangshu Power Supply Department."

Su Zhenbang looked at him, his eyes filled with emotion.

The first time I met Dong Chengpeng was many years ago.

At that time, he was the deputy chief engineer at the National Electric Power Research Institute. At an industry exchange meeting, a young man came up to him to ask him a question.

That young man was Dong Chengpeng.

The two talked for a long time. He admired Dong Chengpeng, and Dong Chengpeng always respected him.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Su Zhenbang said with some emotion.

Dong Chengpeng said with a smile, "Chief Engineer Su, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for this day for so long."

The two shook hands firmly.

On the other side, Wen Jingming had just stepped off the helicopter when someone called out to him.

The person who called him was a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue work uniform, which still smelled of engine oil.

"Chief Engineer Wen, hello, I am Liu Huajiu," the man introduced himself.

Wen Jingming glanced at him, finding him somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place him: "You are...?"

Liu Huajiu laughed:
“I used to work at Dongfeng Motor and participated in the powertrain R&D project you led. Back then, I was a chassis engineer and learned from you for several years.”

Wen Jingming paused for a moment, then remembered.

That was before the apocalypse. At the time, he was in charge of the powertrain R&D project for a large car company, leading a large team of people.

He did have some recollection of the person in front of him, although he couldn't remember his exact name.

"Oh, it's you." Wen Jingming said.

"Yes, it's me." Liu Huajiu nodded excitedly.

"I'm now in charge of the vehicle manufacturing plant in Dazhangshu. It's good that you're here. We can work together on some new things from now on."

Bai Jie stood at the front of the crowd, not saying a word, just quietly watching these new researchers.

She saw Su Zhenbang chatting with Dong Chengpeng, Wen Jingming talking to Liu Huajiu, and Zhou Lin talking with several people from the military industry department.

Although the scene was a bit chaotic, the atmosphere was better than expected.

This was something she had arranged in advance.

She had already obtained the list and information of the researchers from the Fan Yuan San Shou Meng.

The information was given to the lower-level staff in advance so they could assess the quality of the researchers from the San Shou Meng group.

To her surprise, the researchers in the Brahma Three Guardians Alliance were highly qualified, and many of them were leading experts in their respective fields before the apocalypse.

So she arranged for some staff members who knew these people to come and greet them together.

This will foster a sense of closeness and allow them to quickly integrate into the Ministry of Science and Technology.

"Everyone," she said, looking at the researchers from the Three Guardians Alliance.

All eyes turned to her.

"I am Bai Jie, Minister of Science and Technology. On behalf of our big camphor tree, I welcome you all to join us."

Snap snap snap~
The surrounding crowd applauded.

After the applause, Bai Jie didn't waste any words and said to He Bing behind her, "Take them to register first."

He Bing nodded.

The registration staff went directly to the fourth outer city, set up two sets of tables and chairs, and registered them directly in the open space.

The staff sat behind the counter with a computer and a card-making machine in front of them. The registration process was similar to that in the oil city, but faster.

Everyone stops at the counter, tells the staff their identity, the staff verifies the information, enters it into the computer, and then takes a blue card from the card-making machine and hands it over.

Su Zhenbang took the card and glanced at it.

The card was blue, with a string of numbers printed on it, along with a large camphor tree symbol.

He asked curiously, "What level is this?"

The staff member replied:

"Level 4 personnel will have their food and lodging provided. If you make any significant contributions later, you can be directly promoted to Level 3."

Su Zhenbang nodded and put the card away.

Other researchers also took the cards and put them away.

After registration, staff took them to the accommodation area.

As Dazhangshu has developed to its current state, the fourth outer city has gathered many researchers and laboratories, becoming Dazhangshu's scientific research city.

They arrived at a newly built six-story building with a light gray exterior.

Su Zhenbang carried his suitcase into the room.

The room wasn't big, but it was very clean, and you could see the city walls in the distance from the window.

Downstairs, an electric bus was slowly driving by, with several people sitting on it.

"Grandpa, this place feels pretty good," Su Nian said.

Su Zhenbang nodded. "That's good."

Early the next morning.

Su Zhenbang was taken by Dong Chengpeng to visit the science and technology laboratory in Dazhangshu.

He originally thought it was just an ordinary laboratory, but when he arrived, he found that it was much larger than he had imagined.

A huge factory building with the words "Fourth Outer City Research Center" written on the gate.

Once inside, he saw that it was divided into several areas.

It has a materials laboratory, a mechanical testing area, an electronic research and development area, and a small assembly line.

“These devices…” Su Zhenbang asked, pointing to a huge machine tool.

"Some of them were moved from the third-tier factories."

Dong Chengpeng explained, "Before the apocalypse, we found equipment from many factories, and later they were all gathered here."

Su Zhenbang nodded, thinking to himself: If the Three Guardians of Fanyuan had these things, their technological development wouldn't have stagnated. Even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice.
He looked at the massive machine tool, then at the rows of neatly arranged instruments and equipment beside it, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Ugh.
"Our equipment here isn't the most advanced," Dong Chengpeng said with a smile.

"But its advantage lies in its comprehensiveness. From the initial raw material processing to parts production and final assembly, most of the processes can be completed here."

The upstream chip industry, along with industrial machine tools, steel mills, and assembly plants, has built a complete industrial chain, distributed across the fourth outer city, buffer city, and edge city, totaling thousands of factories.

The headquarters employs 700,000 people, a third of whom work in various factories.

Su Zhenbang's pupils dilated slightly when he heard the number.

hiss! !

Of the 700,000 people, one-third work in factories.

This means that the industrial system of Dazhangshu has reached a considerable scale.

When he was in Sanshoumeng, there were fewer than 500 researchers in total, and most of them focused their research on Tibetan medicine and new energy.

Such a complete industrial system is unimaginable in the apocalypse.

He turned to Dong Chengpeng and asked the question he had been pondering all the way: "Then what's the power source? Why can the helicopter keep flying?"

Dong Chengpeng smiled and said, "Zombie generator."

Su Zhenbang: "???"

That's it?

Dong Chengpeng continued with a smile:

"The principle is actually very simple: zombies are tied to the pedals of the generator, and the zombies step on them to generate electricity in a cycle, which provides power to the helicopter's motor."

Because zombies have virtually inexhaustible stamina, the helicopter can keep flying as long as the zombies don't die.

The only downside is that the zombies decompose relatively quickly, so new zombies need to be replaced after a while.

But this drawback of helicopters has now been largely overcome; we're now using zombies like the King Kong or the wall-climbing zombies.

Su Zhenbang stood there stunned after hearing this.

"Cattle!"

The principle is indeed simple, even to the point of being crude, but the problem is that no one had thought of this approach before him.

Not only did Dazhangshu dare to dream, but he actually made it happen, and he succeeded.

He remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "The approach is more important than the technology."

Wen Jingming, who was standing nearby, also came over. He looked at the huge machine tool with a look of shock on his face.

The conditions here in Dazhangshu are much better than he imagined, and the scale of the industry is also much larger than he expected. When he was in the Sanshoumeng, he had very little access to information.

Now, he has a complete set of equipment and complete data in front of him, with the entire upstream and downstream industrial chain.

“Under these conditions, something can be made,” Wen Jingming said.

Dong Chengpeng chimed in, "That's why we need talented people like you."

Wen Jingming didn't answer, but just looked at the huge machine tool and lamented what he had done with the past ten years, what a waste of time.

Su Zhenbang suddenly remembered something and asked:

"By the way, I heard that your Big Camphor Tree also has a kind of mecha and a Vajra suit. What materials are those things made of? I'm very curious."

Dong Chengpeng thought for a moment, realizing that these people would basically not leave the fourth outer city anyway.

Besides, these mechs have already been released, so there's no harm in mentioning them.
So he explained with a smile:
"The mech's outer shell is made of a mixture of nickel-molybdenum alloy and carbon fiber composite material, with key areas also inlaid with parts of the King Kong zombie's skin. The battle suit, however, is different."

The main material of the suit is the outer skin of the King Kong zombie, which, after being processed with a special technique, retains its toughness and defensive capabilities.

The internal padding is made of silk from the cocoons of King Kong zombies. This material has excellent shock absorption properties, is very soft, yet extremely tough; it can't be cut even with a knife.

Su Zhenbang's eyes lit up: "Then where does this kind of silk come from?"

Dong Chengpeng replied:

"Obtained from the lair of the King Kong zombies."

The zombie mother secretes a filamentous substance to wrap the insect eggs.

The filamentous material is very tough and corrosion-resistant.

We use a special process to process it into thin sheets, and then layer them to make padding that we wear inside the suit.

Su Zhenbang sighed:

"What about the joints of the suit? How did you solve the problem of maintaining flexibility while also having sufficient strength?"

Dong Chengpeng laughed and said, "The joint parts are still made of cocoon silk."

The material itself possesses both flexibility and strength, and after special treatment, it is almost perfectly suited to the movement requirements of the combat suit.

We just need to add some metal structural components at the joints to connect the various parts.

Su Zhen clicked his tongue in amazement and then asked:

Just how strong is the defensive capability of that Vajra suit?

Dong Chengpeng replied:

"Ordinary bullets cannot penetrate it at close range."

The skin of the King Kong zombie itself has extremely strong defensive capabilities, and with multiple layers of cocoon silk padding inside for shock absorption, the impact of bullets is gradually neutralized.

We've done tests; a 7.62mm rifle bullet fired from 50 meters away only leaves a faint white mark on the surface of the combat uniform.

"I rely on!"

Wen Jingming was dumbfounded. Hearing this, he couldn't help but interject:
"What about melee combat? What if you get bitten or scratched by a zombie at close range?"

"No problem at all," Dong Chengpeng said.

"The King Kong zombie's teeth and claws cannot bite through or scratch it."

We conducted a real-life test. A person wearing the suit stood in a cage and let a zombie bite them. After several minutes of biting, the suit didn't even leave a mark.

Su Zhenbang and Wen Jingming exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

They all understood that the military value of this combat suit was immeasurable.

If the Three Guardians had possessed such equipment back then, even just a few dozen sets, they wouldn't have been completely helpless against the mechs and helicopters of the Big Camphor Tree.

Of course, it's pointless to talk about this now.

"Do you have solid-state batteries? You should have achieved solid-state batteries by now, right?" Wen Jingming asked immediately afterward.

"Yes, we have it, and it's already reached its fourth generation," Dong Chengpeng replied proudly.

"Our solid-state battery has an energy density that is ten times higher than that of the highest-capacity ternary lithium battery before the apocalypse."

The positive electrode material is lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide with some special doping elements, the negative electrode is a silicon-carbon composite material, and the electrolyte is solid. Our cars, helicopters, and mechs all use this type of battery.

Wen Jingming stood there, mouth agape: "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!"

It's not that he's uncultured; it's just that when he's shocked to a certain extent, only "Holy crap!" can express his feelings.

When he worked for a car company, he participated in the research and development of solid-state batteries and knew that the technology was not difficult, but mass production was very difficult.

The fact that Dazhangshu has achieved this demonstrates that they are already far ahead in the fields of materials science and electrochemistry.

"And what about intelligent technology?" he then asked.

"It's also developing," Dong Chengpeng continued.

"We now have an intelligent driver assistance system that can automatically plan routes, avoid obstacles, and assess enemy situations. Although it is not perfect yet, it is being gradually rolled out."

Wen Jingming turned his head and glanced at Su Zhenbang beside him, who was also looking at him.

They saw the same thing in each other's eyes: a mixture of shock and admiration, and an indescribable anticipation.

After leaving the research center, Dong Chengpeng led them on a walk around the streets of the fourth outer city.

There are relatively few people here; most of the residents are researchers. However, there is also a military camp here, so you can occasionally see a group of combat personnel in combat uniforms passing by.

There wasn't a single diesel or gasoline car on the street; they were all electric vehicles.

Several small electric trucks were parked on the side of the road, their bodies marked with the logo of a large camphor tree, and their cargo compartments were full of goods.

“Electric vehicles are very common here,” Su Zhenbang said.

Dong Chengpeng nodded:
"That's right. Most of the oil in the oil city is used to refine diesel and lubricating oil, and the rest is prioritized for military use. Civilian vehicles are mostly electric."

Su Zhenbang didn't ask any more questions, and just kept walking.

He saw a vending machine downstairs at the research institute and went over to take a look.

Inside were some daily necessities, toothpaste, soap, tissues, and several rows of vacuum-packed snacks.

A user manual is affixed to the side of the vending machine, which reads "You can purchase by swiping your points card".

"Let me take you for a walk outside the city. There's not much to see in this fourth outer city," Dong Chengpeng said.

“Okay.” Su Zhenbang nodded.

"Sure," Wen Jingming replied without objection.

The three of them had just stepped out of the fourth outer city.

Su Zhenbang then saw several electric delivery vehicles drive past on the right, with riders wearing uniforms.

"Wait, you even have takeout here?"

"Yes, it just came out recently, and it's quite convenient," Dong Chengpeng said with a smile.

"However, the delivery drivers can't deliver inside the fourth outer city, but you can pick it up at the city gate of the fourth outer city."

"How do I order? Using my phone too? But my phone doesn't have internet!" Su Zhenbang asked.

Dong Chengpeng replied with a smile, "We have a local area network, and we've put a lot of effort into building a large-scale, wide-area, industrial-grade private network."

"Impressive!" Su Zhenbang looked at Dong Chengpeng with admiration. "This must have been quite complicated to set up; the infrastructure investment here is substantial."

Dong Chengpeng led them on a aimless stroll through the buffer zone, eventually arriving at the commercial area.

Su Zhenbang had anticipated the prosperity of the place, but he was still shocked.

As he passed a barbershop, he saw a price list posted at the entrance: a haircut cost 0.3 points and a shave cost 0.1 points.

When he was in the Three Kingdoms period, he had to travel a long way to find an old soldier to cut his hair with scissors; there was never a price list like that.

"The prices here are indeed not high, and it's also very convenient," Su Zhenbang remarked.

Based on the income of the local people that Dong Chengpeng had just mentioned, Su Zhenbang did some mental calculations.

Dong Chengpeng nodded:
"Mutant crops have high yields, and the prices of grains and vegetables are much lower than before. In addition, industrial products can also be produced domestically, so the cost of living has come down."

Su Zhenbang listened and nodded, looking around as he went.

He walked along, observing the shops and pedestrians along the way.

He noticed that the shops on both sides of the street were not only diverse in type, but also very dense.

There's a shop almost every few meters—selling clothes, tools, spare parts, medicine, all sorts of shops, but restaurants are the most numerous.

It was already afternoon when I walked back to the Fourth Outer City Research Center.

As soon as Su Zhenbang entered the hall, he saw Anya and Ding Jiu already waiting there.

Several people stood behind the two, each holding a stack of documents. The hall was filled with researchers from the Three Guardians Alliance.

Anya saw Su Zhenbang walk in and went up to him, saying:

"Professor Su, welcome to the Big Camphor Tree. I am Anya, Minister of Agriculture."

Su Zhenbang shook hands with her.

Anya then turned to Wen Jingming and the others, nodding in greeting in turn.

After exchanging greetings, Anya got straight to the point.

"Everyone, I know you just arrived and haven't had time to rest yet."

However, time is tight, and we need to arrange some tasks in advance.

Among you, some are experts in agriculture, some in chemicals, some in medicine, and some in infrastructure.

We hope you can integrate into our R&D system as soon as possible.

Anya paused for a moment, then continued:

"Several agricultural experts, we are currently working on the extraction of solidified protein crystals and crop cultivation."

If you are interested, you can join this project.

Professor Zhuoma Yangjin, I've heard that you have done extensive research on the combination of Tibetan medicine and mutant crops.

If you'd like, I'd like you to participate in this research project.

Zhuoma Yangjin nodded: "No problem."

Anya then looked at Lin Wangshu in the crowd:

"Professor Lin, you are a breeding expert. We need your cooperation with several senior agronomists from our Ministry of Agriculture to conduct breeding experiments on crops resistant to chlorophyll. The climate here is different from that in the snowy areas, so it may take some time to adapt."

Lin Wangshu nodded: "I will adapt as soon as possible."

After Anya finished looking for the person, she looked at Ding Jiu.

Ding Jiu stepped forward, glanced at the list, and read out a name: "Who is He Chuan?"

He Chuan stepped out from the crowd.

He was wearing an old jacket and a baseball cap, and his face showed signs of fatigue from the long journey.

He thought he would rest for a few days first, but he didn't expect that someone would come to find him as soon as he settled in.

"Are you an expert in permafrost engineering?" Ding Jiu asked.

“Yes.” He Chuan nodded.

"The railway from Wuyuan Mountain to the Qinghai base is currently under construction. They need your expertise in permafrost engineering to help them," Ding Jiu said, glancing at him.

He Chuan nodded without hesitation: "Okay."

Since the camphor tree has been included, its value must be demonstrated.

Without value, one will not be valued by any faction.

Ding Jiu continued:

"That railway has now been built up to the section from Xining to the Qinghai base. The roadbed has been laid and some rails have been installed, but there are several sections of frozen soil that are difficult to deal with."

Although our people are experienced, we still lack someone who truly understands permafrost engineering to oversee the process.

“I understand,” He Chuan replied.

"Can we leave tomorrow?"

"can."

He Chuan answered very decisively.

Ding Jiu nodded, closed the list, turned around and said to the staff behind him, "Take him over to complete the formalities."

A group of highly efficient individuals.

He Chuan followed the staff out of the hall.

In the hall behind him, Anya was talking with several newly arrived agricultural experts.

Lin Wangshu stood in the crowd, listening quietly as Anya introduced the agricultural system of Dazhangshu.

Mutant crops, solidified protein crystals, greenhouses.

As she listened to Anya's introduction, her gaze occasionally swept over the data charts she had just received.

"The scale of agriculture here is much larger than I imagined," Lin Wangshu said softly.

Gu Yanqiu was then called aside by Bai Jie.

Bai Jie looked at Gu Yanqiu and said:
"Professor Gu, I heard that you were also researching a zombie cure before, but you haven't made any progress yet."

Gu Yanqiu nodded:
"Yes. Due to limited conditions and insufficient equipment in the snowy areas, coupled with a lack of core raw materials, we have not been able to achieve any breakthrough results."

Bai Jie said, "The conditions are right now. The zombie research center is over there, and you can use the equipment and data there directly. If you'd like, you can join our zombie research project."

Gu Yanqiu was taken aback: "Didn't you already develop a zombie vaccine? Is there still a need for research?"

"Yes. But research on zombies and zombie animals still needs to continue." Bai Jie said calmly, as if she were talking about something insignificant.

Gu Yanqiu thought for a moment and nodded: "I'll go tomorrow."

Next to walk out of the hall were He Bing and several people from the military industry department.

He Bing and Lao Zhou approached Wen Jingming, Zhou Lin, and others.

He Bing pulled Wen Jingming aside and said:

"Chief Engineer Wen, our vehicle manufacturing plant is developing a new transport vehicle, but we've encountered some problems with the chassis. Liu Huajiu mentioned to me that you're an expert in this area and would like to ask you to come and help."

Wen Jingming nodded: "No problem, I can start working now."

He Bing then turned to Zhou Lin: "Zhou Lin, you are one of the few military equipment manufacturing experts on our side."

Would you like to join our military industry department?

Zhou Lin nodded: "Okay."

The heads of various departments of the Big Camphor Tree came here with their people to select suitable personnel.

Fewer and fewer researchers from the San Shou Meng organization remained here, as they were all recruited by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Industry.

Those who were not selected by these departments will be arranged by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

They will also be assigned to suitable positions based on their professional fields.

(End of this chapter)