Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Two days later.

Zhao Ke, carrying the data and test reports from the past few days, arrived at the inner city of the Big Camphor Tree headquarters base with Gu Yanqiu, a medical science expert, Ma Di, the director of the Zombie Research Institute, and Bai Jie, the Minister of Science and Technology.

Seeing Zhao Ke's serious demeanor, Gu Yanqiu also felt a little nervous.

Gu Yanqiu sat on the tram and watched as the gate to the inner city opened and the vehicles entered.

Although the inner city and the first outer city are separated by only one wall, she has never had the authority to enter.

There was a barbican between the inner city and the first outer city, so even if you stood outside the gate of the inner city, you could not see inside the inner city.

This was Gu Yanqiu's first time entering the inner city.

The checks in the inner city were very strict. After entering the barbican, they underwent a full-body check and even a temperature test.

Only after the inspection is completed will the vehicle be released.

Enter the inner city.

Gu Yanqiu immediately spotted the ancient camphor tree in the center of the inner city. Its canopy was enormous, and the trunk at its base required four people to encircle it. The shade provided by the canopy covered at least a thousand square meters.

The roads are neat and the greenery is abundant.

Soon, they arrived at a detached house next to the villa area.

There is a conference hall inside, which is specifically used for meetings of the Standing Committee of the 15th CPC National Congress. High-level officials also hold important discussions here on other occasions.

Gu Yanqiu quickly grabbed the documents and reports and opened the car door.

Bai Jie was the first to step down, walking at the front, followed by Ma Di and Zhao Ke, with Gu Yanqiu at the very back.

Upon entering the conference hall, Li Yu, the leader of the Big Camphor Tree Association, and Li Hongda, the chairman, were both seated inside.

When Li Yu saw Bai Jie and the others enter, his expression changed, and he asked:

"I heard the human evolution drug project has made a major breakthrough. What's the progress now?"

Bai Jie nodded and said:
"The drug has now been developed."

As she spoke, she waved to Zhao Ke behind her, "Zhao Ke, bring up the sample of the medicine for the leaders to see."

Zhao Ke carried the suitcase and placed the silver-white safe on the table.

After cracking the code, I carefully took out a bottle of green potion.

Li Yu walked over, took the bottle of medicine, and examined it under the light.

The medicine has a pure, light green color, a very clean green.

"This color looks pretty good." Li Yu glanced at it and put the potion back into the safe.

He plopped down in the chair. "Go on," he said.

"it is good."

Bai Jie asked Zhao Ke to personally give the explanation, because Zhao Ke had been in charge of the project from its inception to the present day when the sample was developed, and he knew it best.

Zhao Ke instructed Gu Yanqiu to distribute the information to everyone present.

Once everyone had received the materials, he turned on the projector and began his explanation:

"Commander, Chairman."

"The first-generation sample of the human evolution drug has been developed, and a live in vivo testing experiment was conducted a few days ago."

"Through repeated experiments over the past few days, we have found that the experimental samples of the injected drug have improved in various dimensions. As you can see, these are the results detected from various dimensions."

Speed: +16.7%
Lower limb power: +15.2%
Neural reflexes: +15.8%
Bone density: +12.3%
Self-healing speed: +11.2%
A 17.3% decrease in resting heart rate indicates a stronger heart!
Overall muscle mass increased by only 6.4%.
Hearing/olfactory senses increased by 10% to 13%.
Aerobic endurance improved the least, by only 7.1%, indicating a poor proficiency in long-duration running.

After Zhao Ke finished speaking, he turned to a page of the PPT report.

Continuing from the above:
"After the injection, the test animals did not have a fever on the first day after the injection, and the abnormal reactions gradually appeared 36 hours after the injection."

"In addition, there is intermittent low-grade fever 36 to 72 hours after injection. The body temperature is normal on the first day and rises intermittently thereafter, but there will be no sustained high fever. The activity level increases significantly, but after a short period of strenuous running, the patient will become stiff and lie down without moving."

"After four days of low-grade fever, the experimental animals' body temperature returned to normal, and the drug was fully absorbed."

"The side effects discovered so far after injecting the evolution drug include: a 30% increase in appetite;"

Furthermore, the drug cannot enhance the sensory abilities of the brain's emotional inhibition center; with overall physical enhancement, the urge to kill will more easily overwhelm reason.

Li Yu listened attentively to Zhao Ke's story, but when he heard the last sentence, his brows furrowed:

"What do you mean? The last thing you said?"

Zhao Ke replied:
"Simply put, after being injected with the drug, one will become easily angered and have a bloodlust. Although one will not lose their rationality, they will become irritable and violent."

Li Yu put down the documents in his hand and said in a deep voice:

"The side effect is quite significant, but the increased appetite isn't the most serious side effect."

"but."

He looked at everyone present and said, "It's truly remarkable that the Human Evolution Drug project has achieved such a breakthrough."

"We'll find a way to resolve this side effect."

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Ke replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Sir, we've only conducted live animal testing so far, but the physiological structures of humans and animals are quite different."

“Simply testing on animals is far from enough.”

"I want to conduct human experiments, but there are no human test samples available."

Chairman Li Hongda began by saying:

"This is not a problem. We can issue notices at each branch base and recruit volunteers with compensation."

"No, no," Li Yu shook his head and retorted.
"The drug has only just been developed and is not mature at all. Moreover, the side effects have not been fully tested and there may be other side effects."

"In that case, Xiao Jun still has a group of Indian prisoners. We can send them to the headquarters base for experiments."

"In addition, during the crackdown on bandit groups in the snowy areas, some vicious individuals were also found, and they can be sent over for experiments."

"Anyway, there's absolutely no need to worry about live samples."

Zhao Ke was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Okay, thank you, sir."

Li Yu glanced at the documents in his hand and stretched.

Said:

"It's still pretty good. Although there are still side effects, the medicine has been successfully developed."

"We will continue to push forward and clearly list all the efficacy and side effects of the injectable drugs."

"There's no need to rush, take your time."

Zhao Ke nodded vigorously and said:
"clear."

Li Yu looked at Li Hongda and said with a smile:

"Those who have made contributions should be rewarded. The Zombie Research Department has made such great contributions, so they should be credited."

Li Hongda nodded and said:

"That's natural. From today onwards, Zhao Ke will be promoted from Level 2 to Level 1 personnel. His benefits and treatment will be in accordance with Level 1 standards. He will also gain access to the inner city and will be awarded a residence in the inner city."

"Gu Yanqiu played a significant role in the human evolution drug project, and was promoted from a Level 5 personnel to a Level 4 personnel."

Congratulations to both of you! I hope you can keep up the good work!

Li Hongda was the first to applaud, and everyone present joined in.

A round of applause erupted.

Gu Yanqiu looked agitated, gripping his pants tightly as he tried his best to control his emotions.

He had only been with the Big Camphor Tree for four months at most.

But during the months he spent in the big camphor tree, he became very clear about the importance of rank.

At first.

After the several forces in the snow area were taken over by the Great Camphor Tree, the Great Camphor Tree had a very clear plan for the resettlement of personnel from the Anding Alliance, the Sanjiang Stone Alliance, and the Fanyuan Three Guardian Alliance.

The leader level is given as level three.

Generally speaking, only one person in an alliance can enjoy this privilege.

Even the vice leader is only at level four, and it takes three or four other high-ranking members to reach level four.

Even someone like him, who was in the Three Guardians Alliance of Fanyuan back then, would only have received level five treatment according to the standards of the Great Camphor Tree.

This is only because he is a researcher, which is why he was able to be rated as level five.

Over 98% of the members of the Brahma Three Guardians Alliance are at level six.

When he joined the Big Camphor Tree, he was rated as Level 5, but because of his experience in zombie virus research and medical research, he lived in the Fourth Outer City Research Institute, and his actual treatment was about the same as that of Level 3.

However, because he is only at level five, there are many things he cannot do. Putting aside other factors, his freedom is one of them. Currently, he can only stay in the fourth outer city and cannot go anywhere else, as if he is imprisoned.

Now that I've been promoted to level four, I'll have much more freedom than before.

His eyes were full of light; he knew that if things continued this way, things would turn out well.

When the complete version of the drug is finally developed, his contribution will certainly be indispensable.

It is entirely possible to be promoted from level four to level three.

Level three.
If he reaches this level, he can freely enter and leave the outer city, and go to the buffer city and the edge city.

Even if he stops working at the research institute in the future, he will still have a guaranteed income, and the government will arrange a job for him.

It's completely under control!

Being a Level 3 staff member in Dazhangshu is essentially equivalent to passing the civil service exam and getting a government job before the apocalypse.

As long as you don't do anything reckless, no one can do anything to you.

And they can also enjoy a few special privileges.

Thinking about it, he became even more excited.

After the meeting, Bai Jie and the others left the inner city.

Only Li Yu and his second uncle remained in the meeting room.

Li Hongda looked at Li Yu with a smile on his face and said:
"You should tell your third uncle this good news."

Due to the special nature of this project, strict confidentiality measures were adopted.

Apart from the team members involved in the project, no more than ten people in the entire base knew about this project.

After hearing his second uncle's words, Li Yu nodded and said:
"Yes, let's get Uncle excited too."

"The sea fog has receded for so long, and the zombies have followed it to the ocean. Who knows what they will be like when the zombies return to the mainland next time."

"The success of the human evolution drug will provide us with another trump card to deal with zombies and unpredictable dangers in the future."

"Hmm." Uncle's smile faded, and his expression became serious.

Their Great Camphor Tree is now very powerful, possessing an extremely strong fighting force, towering city walls, and a complete industrial system.

but.

The environment is changing, the zombies are changing, even the plants are changing.
Nobody knows what the future holds.

This is not to be taken lightly.

From a practical standpoint, there's nothing they can do about that huge meteorite in the waters off Palau.

They knew that if they could resolve the issue of that meteorite, many problems could be avoided.

However, with our current technological capabilities, we simply cannot solve this problem.

Then.

My second uncle contacted my third uncle and told him the good news.

At the same time, he contacted Xiao Jun and Bi Tianxing, who were far away in the snowy area, and asked them to send a batch of live human test subjects over immediately.

Few people in the entire camphor tree knew about the initial success of the human evolution drug.

This was a step that could have changed the big camphor tree, but it didn't cause any ripples in the tree.

For the residents at the bottom of the social ladder, life went on as usual.

into the night.

Construction site of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway repair project.

The section of Railway Line 6 under repair.

Temperatures plummet on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at night.

The temperature difference between day and night here can even reach 30 degrees Celsius.

The section of railway line under repair is located in the area with the most permafrost.

The temperature is only a few degrees at night, but can reach over thirty degrees during the day.

This led to the situation where they wore cotton-padded jackets in the morning and gauze dresses in the afternoon.

The entire construction site was shut down at night.

It wasn't just because the workers needed rest, but also because the nighttime temperatures were too low, which was not conducive to railway repairs.

Along both sides of the track, there are rows of small tents where workers are resting.

Here, transport workers can sleep in their vehicles, but the workers can only cut some wood, press it on the ground, and set up a tent to sleep in.

The wind is strong and the cold is biting on the plateau.

The high altitude, thin air, and lack of pollution at this location allow for an exceptionally brilliant view of the Milky Way at night.

Inside a small tent.

A hand unzipped the tent, and Deng Bei crawled out.

He wrapped his cotton-padded coat tightly, his breath coming out in white puffs, and walked to the side to urinate.

After he finished urinating, he returned and saw Sun Ketong peeking out from the tent next to him.

"Old Deng, where have you been so late?"

“Oh, pee.”

Sun Ketong waved at him, his mouth dry, and said:
"Do you still have any hot water? At this time, the hot water supply point at the logistics department should be shut down."

"Damn it, I think I'm catching a cold. Feel my head."

Upon hearing this, Deng Bei quickly went over.

He touched Sun Ketong's forehead and said, "It's alright, you don't have a fever."

Sun Ketong sighed, "This week, another thirteen people left our group. They couldn't keep going."

Deng Bei listened, then silently returned to his tent, took out his thermos, opened it, and poured a cup of hot water for Sun Ketong.

"Altitude sickness can lead to colds and fevers, or even pulmonary edema and heart disease."

“I heard that someone in the next group had a heart attack after finishing work a couple of days ago and stopped breathing.”

Sun Ketong took the hot water and sat up cross-legged.

He said, exhaling white breath:

"Damn it, the points awarded for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway repair work are really high!"

"But the risks are really high. Fortunately, we weren't assigned to the bridge construction section, where the mortality rate is extremely high."

The cold wind was biting.

Deng Beizuan returned to his tent, wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, but the tent was still open, with the opening facing Sun Ketong.

He was also sitting cross-legged.

Looking up at the Milky Way in the sky, he said:
"Old Sun, if you really can't hold on any longer, just give up. Your life is more important than points."

You're not like me, you won't be so short on points.

"I have no choice. My daughter is waiting for surgery, and I have to accumulate enough points."

Sun Ketong took a sip of hot water and exhaled:
"I'm fine, just a bit of a headache. It was probably this evening when I was too lazy to put on clothes and got caught in the wind."

"We'll see."

He laughed heartily:
"If I leave, who will stay with you?"

Deng Bei glanced at the thermos in his hand and said:
"I'll leave the water bottle with you. I'm a little sleepy, I'm going to bed now."

"Hey, hey, wait a minute. Old Deng, come with me to pee."

"I just went there, you go by yourself."

"I have a headache, dizziness, and feel weak all over."

"You son of a bitch!" Deng Bei crawled out of the tent. "You're a grown man, you're a real piece of work."

"Hurry up, climb out, I'll help you up."

"Old Deng, give me a cigarette to relieve my headache."

"Smack your ass! You're already like this, and you still want to smack me? Why don't I just beat you to death, you son of a bitch!"

(End of this chapter)