RIACMET chapter 235

 

In addition to announcing the estimated release time for the soil restoration agent, the Nancheng Base revealed the conditions, advantages, and disadvantages of the experimental transfer and transplantation of supernatural crystal cores.

These include unstable factors and residual side effects caused by rejection value deviations, the number of transplants affecting the strength of supernatural attributes, etc.

The announcement stated that the first generation of human trials for the antidote serum had begun, and the results were promising.

At the same time, the Nancheng Base will build a temporary testing facility for the serum outside the protective walls. Infected individuals will be injected with the first-generation serum there before they lose their sanity completely.

Of course, participation was entirely voluntary, and the Nancheng Base was transparent about this—but full effectiveness could not be guaranteed.

If a severely infected person showed up at the drug testing site and had already lost their mind, they would be shot on the spot.

Due to Xia Weiwei and her father, negative news about S Base continued to emerge.

Additionally, Jiang Wenwen and Liang Yunhao began submitting relevant evidence and joined forces with other factions opposing radical research in an attempt to intervene. Now, S Base was facing a strong undercurrent.

As a result, many people suspected that Nancheng Base might be hiding a conspiracy. Fueled by a few extreme voices, rumors spread that the antidote serum was just an experimental drug for humans. Demands were made for Nancheng Base to reveal the truth and development details behind the zombie antidote serum.

In response, Nancheng Base refused to comment and arrested those who had snuck in to spread rumors and stir up trouble. They issued these individuals long-term “brick-moving tickets.”

“It’s been over a year since the apocalypse started. How are these brainless people who got their heads stuck in the door not dead yet?”

Inside the patrol vehicle, Zhou Rongbin complained as they passed a group of handcuffed people being escorted by soldiers to the voluntary work area.

Recently, they had encountered quite a few people like that while on patrol. It was almost as if these people were afflicted with some kind of serious illness.

Tang Ji, sitting beside him, snorted coldly and took over the conversation.

“Human nature is both good and evil. There are plenty of fundamentally stupid and mean people. Ignoring logic and reason is a sign of low intelligence. As Brother Nian said, when you meet someone like that, there’s no need to argue. Just beat them up and report them, and they’ll quiet down.”

Situations like this don’t only happen in the apocalypse.

“Haha, you’re right…”

Zhou Rongbin laughed. Lately, they really had been getting into more fights. As their team leader, Jiang Nian had never let anyone down.

Those making sarcastic remarks and spreading doubt weren’t infected; they were troublemakers. Most of it boiled down to a power struggle over resources behind the scenes among the base forces.

The truly infected saw Nancheng Base as their final hope. Even if it was their last chance, they would give it their all to get there before losing their minds.

The drug-testing warehouse built by the army and the national superpower corps resembled a long hall.

It could hold two to three thousand people and was filled with medical beds bolted to the floor. Each bed had two iron chains as thick as a thumb.

Once an infected person arrived, they would lie down on a bed and be restrained by the chains. Depending on the severity of the infection, the amount of antidote serum used would vary as well.

The first-generation detox serum triggered a strong reaction in those who took it, and the process was just as painful as the purification process. Those who were severely infected and too weak to endure it often didn’t survive, and there was nothing that could be done.

Those who did survive experienced various residual side effects:

These included comas lasting from ten days to half a month, temporary inability to use superpowers, memory loss or sudden amnesia, temporary loss of smell and taste, excessive drowsiness, and rapid weight loss.

If the serum saved a life, then it was considered a success. However, the rest still required ongoing refinement and adjustments. The concentration and dosage needed to be recalculated—there could be no rushing it.

In addition to the standard detox serum, another serum was developed using Gao Xuyang’s blood. Its effects varied depending on the strength of the virus.

However, the results were positive: those who were injected with it typically developed stronger antibodies after recovery.

These days, Jiang Nian went to Laboratory Building No. 3 every day to purify virus-contaminated blood.

Recently, the base hospital collected blood from all survivors through free basic physical checkups for personnel.

Combined with newcomers to the base and those who had recovered from the virus with the help of the antidote serum, the number of people was significant.

The special drug production line next to the research institute in the central area was continually expanding.

By mid-November, less than a month later, Nancheng Base had distributed the antidote serum to major bases, enabling infected individuals to purchase it nearby.

However, Nancheng Base’s production wasn’t large enough to cover the entire country.

Consequently, individuals and entire organizations were demanding that Nancheng Base reveal the development method of the antidote serum.

Without Minister Wang’s firm stance and the Nancheng Base’s overwhelming military strength, the other bases would have already joined forces to pressure them.

If developing the antidote serum were truly a normalized method, it should be made public and other bases should be allowed to produce it together. However, Jiang Nian was the key to the serum.

Although Minister Wang never mentioned the pressure from all sides to Jiang Nian, Cheng Jing, and the others, they all knew that this wasn’t a long-term solution.

One night, after lying in bed staring at the ceiling for a while, Jiang Nian took the initiative to say to Cheng Jing:

“Brother Jing, I’ve thought it over. With our current strength and Minister Wang and Nancheng Base backing us, I should be able to reveal my superpower to the public. All your careful planning and deployments until now—wasn’t it all for a moment like this?”

Cheng Jing nodded.

“Yeah…”

He let out a long sigh and said,

“But I’m still afraid.”

Being prepared was one thing, but actually facing it was different.

Jiang Nian held his hand.

“We’ve come this far. The timing is right. Nancheng Base is being watched by everyone. If this keeps dragging on, it’ll just create more chaos. Let’s talk to Minister Wang tomorrow.”

After a moment, Cheng Jing leaned over, hugged him, and nodded.

“Okay.”

Minister Wang was probably waiting for them to speak up anyway, which was a good thing.