RIACMET chapter 147

 

The role of the medium crystal core was clearly demonstrated. Cheng Jing handed Minister Wang the written proposal, and they began discussing the feasibility of each suggestion listed in the document.

The first proposal was to extract energy from crystal cores as a power source.

“From now until the extreme heat period ends, we’ll have enough solar power,” said Cheng Jing, “but no one knows what’ll happen afterward. Recycling crystal core energy is the safer option, at least for now.”

Minister Wang agreed.
“Yes, the extreme heat is definitely coming. While we prepare for that, we also have to think about the potential disasters that could follow.”

Professor Mo nodded as well.
“According to data released by the Central Broadcasting Bureau and the Meteorological Research Bureau, there’s a high chance that we’ll experience a polar night. If we can establish a stable power generation system by then, that’d be excellent. As for keeping zombies in captivity, that’ll need further evaluation and discussion.”

In the early days of the apocalypse, weather forecasts were chaotic and unreliable. Now, however, they were slowly becoming more accurate.

Even if they weren’t 100% accurate, they at least provided people with some guidance and helped prevent panic when sudden changes occurred.

“…”

After discussing the proposal’s contents, Jiang Nian took out the wolf tissue samples he’d brought back from Xihe City and handed them to Chu Yi for safekeeping.

Regarding why animals weren’t infected by the zombie virus, Professor Mo explained:

“Not all animals are immune. In fact, our research labs are full of dead animal specimens that succumbed to the virus. What you’ve seen—those seemingly unaffected animals—some really weren’t infected, but others were infected and just survived.”

“… ”

Both Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing shifted their expressions slightly. So, the information from his previous life was incorrect. There were no exceptions to this disaster. Whether you survived or not was all a matter of luck. It was a brutal kind of natural selection.

Jiang Nian paused, then asked,

“So, if they were infected but survived, you mean some animals developed antibodies?”

Professor Mo nodded.
“You could say that. But it’s more unique than that. These ‘antibodies’ are a type of energy—something visible to the naked eye.”

Seeing their confusion, he gestured a few times with his fingers as he continued explaining.

“All the major bases have experimented on animals. Those without antibodies die quickly after infection and don’t mutate.”

“But animals with antibodies develop a faint white glow around their bodies after infection. This glow slows the spread of the virus and, in some cases, clears it from their cells.”

“You’re talking about animal superpowers, aren’t you?” Cheng Jing blurted out. The description sounded too much like a superpower.

“… ”

Jiang Nian’s heart thudded. Beneath the table, he quietly clenched his knees.

Professor Mo gave a helpless smile and shook his head.

“Some researchers from other bases have suggested that possibility, too—animal superpowers. But this energy only appears after the animal has been infected. It’s temporary, lasting anywhere from a few minutes to thirty minutes, depending on the individual.”

Jiang Nian frowned.
“It disappears after that?”

Professor Mo sighed.
“Yes, once the time is up, regardless of whether the animal recovers, the energy fades completely. If the infection clears, great. If not, the animal dies anyway.”

Jiang Nian pushed aside his thoughts and asked calmly,

“If an animal that has recovered becomes infected again, will it produce the same antibody energy?”

If so, they might be able to extract a serum to create a cure.

“I understand what you mean. That’s exactly what we’d hoped for, too,” said Professor Mo. “But unfortunately, no. If the same animal becomes infected again, it may produce that energy again, but recovery is unlikely. The energy becomes very unstable.”

After finishing, Professor Mo adjusted his glasses and, as usual, touched his smooth forehead in thought.

Jiang Nian pressed his lips together and nodded.
“Okay.”

Minister Wang cut in at the right moment:

“Labs at various bases have already conducted repeated experiments trying to extract this energy, but none have succeeded. The number of animals that develop this kind of ‘energy antibody’ is incredibly small—just like the small proportion of humans with superpowers.”

“Plus, there’s no way to tell which animals have it ahead of time. Because of this, the central government issued a directive to halt all experiments that might lead to mass animal culling.”

Cheng Jing nodded in agreement.
“Yes, it would just lead to pointless slaughter without producing any useful results.”

“Exactly. Research is meant to solve problems. If one method doesn’t work, we try another. There’s no need to rush it.”

Professor Mo echoed the sentiment. But he didn’t say what was on his mind.

What if humans also had energy antibodies or similar superpowers? Then they wouldn’t need to fear infection from the zombie virus.

Someone had proposed a more drastic idea for this possibility: When a superpowered person is infected with the zombie virus, instead of putting them down immediately, isolate and observe them—just in case they have this mysterious “antibody.”

Of course, this proposal hadn’t been made public. It only circulated among lead researchers at major bases as an “academic discussion.”

However, Professor Mo knew that some bases were quietly recruiting “volunteers” with superpowers who had unfortunately been infected.

So far, South City Base had not issued any orders to detain infected mutants. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was up for debate.

After all, studying zombies is not the same as studying living humans. Those who were infected but not yet fully transformed existed on a dangerous boundary.

Jiang Nian didn’t ask any more questions. But he still couldn’t settle down. The “energy antibodies” that Professor Mo described reminded him too much of his own special ability.

Could these animals have developed the same purification power he had?

A self-protective mutation triggered by catastrophe?

Unfortunately, he would need to see it for himself to know for sure.

“…”

The discussion that followed was in-depth, open, and honest. Everyone was free to speak or ask anything, and they even had lunch in the conference room.

The entire time, Chu Yi listened quietly. He only nodded occasionally to show that he was following along, but he mostly stayed silent.

Now and then, he would glance at Jiang Nian, who kept sneaking looks at him, with an expression that was slightly cold and slightly puzzled.

Whenever the other man wasn’t deep in thought, his gaze had a sneaky, hamster-like quality—as if he thought he was being subtle, but was totally obvious.

His wide, soulful eyes looked the same whether he was gazing at a dog or a person. He didn’t stare; he just looked shy and hesitant.

If Chu Yi hadn’t known that Jiang Nian already had a boyfriend, he probably would’ve misunderstood.

Cheng Jing didn’t even know how to step in.

Only after the workday ended did the doors of the conference room finally open.

Wang Bu, Zhou Li, Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, and Chu Yi all stepped out together.

Minister Wang called for an escort to send Chu Yi off. Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian stayed behind a little longer.

Jiang Nian watched Chu Yi leave, his eyes full of envy. He’d just seen Chu Yi teleport Professor Mo and the others away. It felt like magic!

Had Cheng Jing not been there, he would have begged Chu Yi to take him on a tour.

Earlier, Minister Wang had mentioned that Chu Yi had a private lab in his spatial zone where all the most important experiments were conducted.

The medium crystal core would be completely safe and undetectable there.

However, the number of people who could enter that space was extremely limited.

So, Jiang Nian could only smile bitterly on the outside while crying on the inside.

God! Why couldn’t I have gotten powers like that?

Would it really be so bad to be the one dual-attribute mutant hero in this apocalypse?