RIACMET chapter 219

 

When the professors and researchers at the “Special Phenomenon Experimental Research Base,” including Qi Laoer, saw Gao Xuyang again, they finally recalled the cause of the previous accident at the research facility. They remembered that “someone like him existed.”

As Yang Kai had suspected, Gao Xuyang had possessed a superpower related to creating illusions for a long time, and he had always been one of the “key subjects” under study at the Special Phenomenon Experimental Research Base.

The severe headaches he suffered due to intense stress were actually the physical trigger for activating his superpower.

However, before the apocalypse, Gao Xuyang’s superpower had a limited range—no bigger than a regular room—and its hallucinatory effect wasn’t as strong. He had no control over it himself.

During a mission, Gao Xuyang was seriously wounded and his superpower was triggered. He escaped but fell into the sea. By the time he was recovered, he had already lapsed into a vegetative state.

Due to the unusual circumstances of his case, the authorities officially declared him dead in the line of duty and permanently sealed his police number.

Researchers at the Special Research Base tried countless methods to awaken him, but nothing worked.

A year later, the expert team publicly declared that he could not be recovered, and he was moved from the intensive observation ward to the general ICU to wait for death—a final act of respect for his professional identity.

Roughly half a month before the end of the world, he had been forgotten by the base for over a year. When the accident occurred, no one even thought of him.

That night, the monitoring equipment used to track his brain waves suddenly issued an alarm.

Then, the entire base was plunged into a terrifying illusion where they were surrounded by zombies.

The attack was swift and covered such a vast area that the armed guards patrolling the facility’s perimeter were caught off guard and overpowered. In response, the base sealed its gates.

Suddenly, the entire research facility descended into chaos and panic. The high-powered explosives that had been planted as a precaution were accidentally triggered, resulting in massive casualties.

That horrifying illusion lasted for twenty-four hours.

Afterward, however, every survivor at the research base forgot about Gao Xuyang and the “zombie uprising” illusion. They only remembered that a huge accident had occurred and that many people had died in an explosion.

Those familiar with unusual cognitive phenomena were not surprised by this kind of selectively clear memory, but thinking about it now sent chills down their spines.

Gao Xuyang, for his part, could recall fragments of what happened. Based on his restored memories, the zombie invasion was merely a dream projection created by his fully awakened superpower, and the illusion dispersed the moment he woke up.

People forgot because of his subconscious desire that no one remember the nightmare. He wanted Qi Laoer and the others to believe he had died.

To avoid further complications, the remaining staff and security personnel secretly administered sedatives and transferred him to Guanshan Prison for temporary holding with help from external contacts.

When the poisonous rain fell and the research base hadn’t yet recovered, deeper chaos ensued. The personnel involved either died or became infected. The entire event was buried in fading memory.

As for whether that dream had been a premonition of the apocalypse, Gao Xuyang didn’t know. At this point, however, it no longer mattered.

“…”

“This is likely the real cause of the accident. The more detailed and illogical aspects of the event cannot be verified. Even if Mister Gao regains his memory, he probably won’t be able to explain it. That place is cloaked in mystery,” Yang Kai concluded, sighing with relief. He was satisfied with the answers they had found.

Jiang Nian and the others accepted the explanation. After all, the Special Phenomenon Experimental Research Base was established to study things beyond common sense. It was unfortunate but not unexpected.

Later that afternoon, after hearing the full story, the rest of the team resumed their regular duties, leading their squads of superpowered personnel in accordance with their daily assignments.

Yang Kai didn’t leave right away.

Instead, he waited until everyone had left, then removed a dark gray claw roughly the length of a pinky finger. Without waiting for Jiang Nian to ask, he calmly confessed,

“This is Master Gao’s claw. Jiang Nian, I was infected, and I want to produce antibodies. Help me. This way, we can also verify whether antibodies produced from a zombie king infection are stronger.”

Jiang Nian frowned deeply.

“You’re insane!”

But Yang Kai simply smiled, his face relaxed and serene.

“I’m not insane. I believe in you. With these antibodies, I’ll be able to get closer to him. I don’t need to do anything; just being near him is enough.”

“…Brother Kai…”

Jiang Nian tried to reason with him, but Yang Kai interrupted, pleading sincerely.

“Jiang Nian, please. I’m begging you. If you were me, you’d do the same. If this is the only way I can stay with him and stay sane while infected, then I’m willing to become a zombie.”

“…”

Jiang Nian was speechless. Of course he would have done the same. The feeling of losing and then regaining someone struck too close to the heart.

Then, Yang Kai took out a neatly folded towel, a pair of handcuffs, and a collar.

The towel was to muffle his cries when he bit down on it, and the cuffs and collar were to prevent him from losing control and using his superpower.

As long as he didn’t use his abilities, Jiang Nian could easily subdue him by hand.

For convenience, Yang Kai was wearing a gray T-shirt that day. He scratched the palm of his left hand with his sharp claw and tossed it aside.

Jiang Nian put the collar and cuffs on Yang Kai but didn’t immediately use purification. Instead, he monitored the infection closely and discussed his symptoms with him.

Since they had already gone this far, they might as well gather more data.

After a short burst of pain, Yang Kai began to feel an unusual numbness in his palm.

Two minutes passed. The pain faded, but the wound discolored, turning pale gray, and the blood flowing from it darkened.

With zombies evolving rapidly, an infected person could last no more than 24 hours—even with general medication—before losing their mind completely.

Superpowered individuals might last longer, depending on their strength, but no more than two days.

However, judging by Yang Kai’s reaction, when infected by a zombie king, the virus attacked at a rate at least ten times faster than with regular zombies.

In just twenty minutes, Yang Kai had not resisted or taken any medication and still retained his rational consciousness. However, the wound had turned black, his entire arm was numb, and his skin had turned gray.

“That’s enough. If we wait any longer, your palm will start rotting. There’s no need to push further,” Jiang Nian muttered.

Yang Kai bit down hard on the towel and lay on the floor. Jiang Nian crouched beside him, gripped his left arm, and activated his superpower—purification.

The infection wasn’t deeply rooted, but the zombie king’s virus was powerful and difficult to purify. The pain it caused would have broken any normal person.

“Ngghh!”

Even though Yang Kai believed he had a high pain tolerance and had prepared himself mentally, he still convulsed from the intensity of the pain. Sweat poured down his face as his eyes glazed over in agony.

“Mmmph…”

The towel in his mouth became soaked in blood. His face turned pale and red, and his temples bulged with veins. Despite the searing pain, he remained conscious and did not resist or use his superpower.