"Rebirth After the Apocalypse" - No Rebirth (Part 6)...

Gan Man put down what she was holding and looked up at Ye Xiqing.

In the post-apocalyptic world, all networks were paralyzed, and information was spread entirely by word of mouth. Although the people in the base knew that a new Dr. Luo had emerged who could make medicine, they did not know what Dr. Luo looked like. However, Gan Man recognized the clothes she had made.

Before the apocalypse, she was a fashion designer. After the apocalypse, she was no longer of any use, but her long-standing habits led her to create some useless, decorative designs, which turned out to be quite suitable when assigned tasks.

Seeing this cloak on someone else again, Gan Man felt uneasy and stood up nervously: "It's me, what's wrong?"

Ye Xiqing looked at her.

This apocalypse is not only marked by regional damage from explosions, but also by global damage from radiation and viruses.

Regional damage can be reduced if it is not at the center, but radiation and viruses have already penetrated into every piece of land, every water source, and even the air through atmospheric circulation. As long as one lives in this world, one will continue to be ingested.

This is also the biggest cause of the global crisis. Those who cannot withstand radiation sickness will die, and those who die will be infected with the zombie virus and turn into zombies.

Those who survive radiation sickness will be attacked by zombies and turned into zombies themselves. The survivors are lucky enough to activate their superpowers and rely on large bases to band together for survival.

The reason why Huiyang Base has grown so large is that, unlike other bases dominated by people with superpowers who treat ordinary people as less than human, it does not reject ordinary people.

In the apocalypse, people with superpowers are indeed powerful, but their numbers are large. The people who are truly capable of building a better future are the vast majority of ordinary people.

Nothing can withstand the power of sheer numbers. The massive population of Huiyang Base brought about the fastest development, and the favorable environment, in turn, benefited the base, attracting many lone ability users to join, leading to increasingly positive development.

As for why such a friendly base would arrange for women to give birth full-time, it's probably because everyone knows that a woman's reproductive function is very important, but to compensate, one has to give up some of their own interests, so it's better to pretend not to see it.

A woman's reproductive function is amazing. All players need to go through a woman to log in to the game. This is very important in the early stages. You can't create an account without a woman.

But a person is only born once. After birth, one can either acknowledge the responsibility or not, and a woman cannot put the thing she gave birth to back in.

If all the new players are just like me, that's fine. I'll go through the same phase, and people won't attack the collective weaknesses I also have, to avoid hurting myself.

But it's interesting if half of the players are completely different.

For another group of players, since the child will have nothing to do with women after birth, they can simply go into their arms.

Why can't they just be safe vessels for producing new life? Why compete with them for resources in this world?

Ye Xiqing didn't know who first invented the extreme fantasy of women becoming reproductive tools in the apocalypse, but Ye Xiqing was certain that this setting could become popular not because it was "realistic" or "cruel".

Rather, such plots, like the widespread plots of women being violated, appear cruel on the surface but actually give some people a secret thrill.

Whether in film, television, or animation, Ye Xiqing had never seen a situation where no one used memes in this kind of plot. Clearly, it was something that could be used in a realistic way or as a satisfying meme to humiliate women.

This is how collective consciousness manifests itself—it expects individuals to be any different.

Therefore, although Huiyang Base does not treat women as reproductive resources and confine them like other bases, it still has gentle ways of dealing with them.

The base's higher-ups enthusiastically paired up male and female members, making them husband and wife. From then on, you would all have families, and may you have many children and much happiness.

After marriage, you need to take care of your family. Don't do dangerous jobs. Doing some odd jobs is also your contribution to the base. Leave the more important things to you men. If they do them, it's the same as you doing them.

Female superhumans are paired with male superhumans, and ordinary people are paired with ordinary people. Of course, if they like each other, male superhumans can also marry ordinary women. How romantic!

Before the apocalypse, Ganman had never thought about marriage, but after the apocalypse, she accepted her fate.

I do odd jobs every day, take care of the house, and occasionally showcase my art to make myself laugh. It feels like I've returned to the pre-apocalyptic world, quite peaceful.

As for the pain of childbirth and the pain of radiation sickness, she selectively forgot them.

Her illness is getting worse and worse. Perhaps it would be good to have more children in the last days of her life, at least to leave some seeds for the world.

Will her children live to see the end of the world and the return of civilization?

So Gan Man couldn't resist going back to work right after giving birth to her first child.

Although her husband was assigned by the base, he was a good man.

In the current situation, having a boy is more advantageous. She gave birth to a girl, and her husband didn't say anything, comforting her that having a boy or a girl is the same. Gan Man was a little touched.

Her pain was getting worse and worse, and she felt like she couldn't go on. Fortunately, her daughter seemed very healthy and hadn't inherited her radiation sickness.

In the last moments of her life, she always wanted to leave something for her husband and daughter, so she worked even harder.

Seeing Ye Xiqing arrive, she was quite nervous because Ye Xiqing's attitude was anything but gentle.

Fortunately, Ye Xiqing didn't say anything else, but looked at Gan Man and said, "Did you make these clothes for me? I'm Director Luo from the newly established pharmaceutical department. Your craftsmanship is excellent, and I really like them."

"My right hand is disabled, and I need someone with excellent life skills to take care of me and assist me with some routine experiments. Can you do that?"

Gan Man was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Ye Xiqing to contact her for this kind of thing.

This was unimaginable for Gan Man. She stammered, "Thank you, Director Luo, but my illness is very serious. I might not be able to hold on any longer, perhaps..."

Ye Xiqing interrupted her without hesitation: "It's okay, I'll replace you if you die, and if you don't mind me using you for experiments, I can study your illness first."

Gan Man:......

What's with this feeling of both caring and not caring...?

Since Ye Xiqing had already said all that, what could Gan Man say? She obediently stood beside Ye Xiqing.

Ye Xiqing then looked at the remaining people and asked, "Is there anyone else who wants to join the pharmaceutical department? We need to recruit ten people."

Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Those who are seriously ill will be given priority."

Everyone: ...

I've only ever heard of priority for those with mild illnesses, never for those with severe illnesses. After a few seconds of stunned silence, the crowd immediately realized what was happening and started to sign up.

In the apocalypse, even if you get sick, there will be no medicine, and you will have to endure it on your own. The pharmaceutical department only hires patients, which sounds wonderful!

Ye Xiqing assessed the severity of each of their illnesses and found that none of them were serious. Any one of them would have died before the apocalypse, but they were able to survive relatively normally in the apocalypse. She didn't know whether to call it luck or misfortune.

Of course, if it weren't for the apocalypse, they probably wouldn't have gotten this disease.

Ye Xiqing's knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from her fourth world study came in handy. Without the aid of modern medical instruments, the TCM diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation became the most advanced techniques, and Ye Xiqing conducted a general examination of everyone present.

Before checking, he turned to Gan Man and asked, "Can you read?"

Gan Man was taken aback: "I recognize it..."

Does she look that illiterate?

Ye Xiqing fell silent.

With a simple gesture and a quick consultation, they forgot that this was the end times, not ancient times. Although the conditions were very similar, there were still differences; at least everyone was literate.

Knowing how to read saved her a lot of trouble. She took out a notebook from her pocket and handed it to Gan Man behind her: "Take down the diagnosis details. Separate some pages and divide them into three categories: large, medium, and small. Understand?"

When Gan Man got nervous, she couldn't understand human speech. She confirmed with Ye Xiqing several times before carefully starting to write, afraid of making a mistake.

Ye Xiqing didn't care about her condition, only asking her to categorize her illness into three levels: minor, medium, and major, and to write down the pulse diagnosis so she could review it later.

The number of people who fell into the serious illness register easily exceeded ten, and these were also the people she wanted to recruit. To be fair, she would select people by drawing lots.

Gan Man wrote ten "中" characters and divided the paper into equal parts. Ye Xiqing's iron hand provided indispensable help during this period.

Wrapped papers with writing on them were mixed together with those without, and those classified as having serious illnesses were eagerly sought out.

While they were drawing lots, Ye Xiqing took the opportunity to check Gan Man's pulse as well: "You should also be added to the major illness register, and record it yourself."

Gan Man:......

...

Ye Xiqing's recruitment process lasted a long time, mainly to give all the staff at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital a physical examination.

Such a large event naturally caused a great stir, and some people at the base expressed their opinions.

How can you make a group of pregnant women do such a dangerous thing? This is inhumane! It goes against the strategy of human development and continuation!

Ye Xiqing's reply was also very simple: she hoped that the base could respect the opinions of herself and the applicants. Their initiative to participate in the lottery showed that they were not afraid of danger and were willing to sacrifice for it.

Both giving birth and manufacturing medicine are sacrifices made for humanity and for the continuation of humankind. What difference does it make which role one sacrifices in?

We are a base known for its gentleness, and we hope that the base will respect everyone's willingness to sacrifice and praise their sacrifice and dedication.

Base leadership: ...

Sometimes acting can bring benefits, and sometimes it can bring drawbacks. For example, right now, no one in the base's upper echelons can refuse Ye Xiqing's request.

Ye Xiqing recruited ten of the most seriously ill people. She also comforted the others who were not selected, saying that if the research made a breakthrough, she would treat them immediately.

For those suffering from illness, nothing is more joyful than hearing this; in the end times, even a glimmer of hope is precious.

Once people joined the pharmaceutical department, Ye Xiqing didn't teach them anything useless; she went straight to anatomy lessons.

Pharmacology, to put it simply, is about treating people's illnesses; nothing is more useful than studying the human body.

She would teach a few lessons, and the rest you had to learn on your own.

There's no need to start by dissecting a frog; you can go straight for a person.

In the apocalypse, there's not much of anything except corpses, so you can dissect them as much as you want.

Everyone: ...

Human beings' fear of death, and their fear of the corpses of their own kind, is ingrained in our DNA. When we first started anatomy class, everyone vomited for a long time.

The new students studied the dead, while Ye Xiqing studied the living.

Zombies that can move after death and even attack people are too interesting. Ye Xiqing hoped that even if Mao Hong didn't bring her back a living corpse, she could at least bring back a fragment of a body part.

Such a thing can only be done by someone with superpowers.

Zombies are spread by a virus. Only those with superpowers show obvious antibodies. Ordinary people can get infected by being bitten or scratched, and those with weak resistance will slowly mutate into zombies.

Zombies roam freely and like to appear in groups, posing the greatest threat to survivors. The zombie virus is also contagious, which is a major headache for survivors. When Mao Hong heard that Ye Xiqing was going to research the zombie virus, she naturally offered her full support.

As a beneficiary of nine years of compulsory education and online education, Mao Hong had some understanding of the principles of viruses. She handed the body tissue cut from the zombie to Ye Xiqing and showed some interest: "Is it to develop a vaccine against the zombie virus?"

Ye Xiqing took the sealed zombie limbs, and the two of them did some infection prevention measures, which were better than nothing. To be honest, in an environment where radiation and viruses were as common as eating and drinking, they really didn't know what use they were.

The reason these two people dare to stand here is simply because one is a superhuman and the other used to be one.

Ye Xiqing felt that since the zombies were spread by a virus, the superhuman must have undergone some physiological changes, and the shattering of the crystal core should not affect her resistance to the virus.

If it affects you, then go die.

This extremely dangerous experiment can only be participated in by people who are not afraid of infection. Even her newly recruited employees are not allowed to participate; only those with supernatural abilities can assist her.

Ye Xiqing did not teach Mao Hong, her senior assistant, any pharmacological knowledge; she simply assisted her.

Hearing her ask this, Ye Xiqing nodded solemnly: "That's right, I will do everything in my power to develop a vaccine to fight zombies and save everyone."

Mao Hong had no intention of switching careers to become a pharmaceutical expert, and simply listened to Ye Xiqing's instructions from the side.

There were many things Ye Xiqing did that she didn't understand, but when Ye Xiqing got serious, she did look quite sophisticated.

Mao Hong felt relieved.

As expected of a PhD in pharmacy, her eccentricities are just a hobby; when it really matters, she's incredibly reliable.

...

Late at night, Mao Hong went downstairs to rest, while Ye Xiqing stood alone in front of the mirror in the laboratory.

The base is extremely short of electricity, so it must be used wisely. At night, there is no electricity for lighting, and only this small, isolated laboratory is granted special access to electricity.

Bite a syringe in your mouth.

Her signature black outer robe was thrown off, revealing a peculiar inner garment.

As an item that needs to be worn for a long time, her prosthetic hand was poorly made and had no anti-abrasion design. No one could stand wearing it so close to the skin, so Gan Man designed a skin-friendly long sleeve for her right arm to reduce discomfort.

The left arm was hollowed out diagonally from under the armpit, exposing the entire arm and half of the forearm. Since the prosthetic arm was useless at night, Ye Xiqing didn't wear the fake hand.

Using her intact left hand to feel for the vein under her clavicle, she felt the inconvenience of losing her right hand for the first time. If she still had her right hand, she could operate with both hands and at least smoothly pull down her collar.

In the second world, Ye Xiqing dedicated herself to researching gene editing technology and made very encouraging progress.

However, the progress of modern medicine is always linked to technological progress. In the second world, she not only has a very high status in academia, but is also a wealthy and powerful woman who can enjoy the most advanced technical services.

Whether it's observation equipment or operating equipment, it can reach the nanometer level, or even the atomic level, making entering the microscopic world feel like coming home.

In the post-apocalyptic world, field personnel were lucky to collect even some basic medical equipment, let alone high-precision instruments.

Genes exist in a microscopic universe beyond human perception; to unlock their doors, one must shrink oneself to the same size.

Ye Xiqing has now lost the ability to touch the microscopic world. What should she do?

There are actually ways to do this.

The microscopic and macroscopic are not two separate concepts. The macroscopic is composed of the microscopic, and the microscopic is manifested by the macroscopic. As long as they exist in the same universe, they are closely connected and interdependent.

Even without the hands that touch the microscopic world, we can still capture guests who move between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds.

Viruses that roam freely in the world are like brokers moving between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds.

The witch medicine that Ye Xiqing fabricated in the fourth world wasn't entirely nonsense.

When real-world drugs cannot directly target the virus, one might as well summon spirits to kill the ghosts.

When the naked eye cannot see the entire microscopic world, one might as well send divine messengers to control the divine and the ghostly.

Viruses are often a headache, but sometimes they can also serve as a vehicle for information copying and transcription.

The needle pierced the skin, and Ye Xiqing slowly pushed the liquid in the syringe into the blood vessel.

Now, give my genes a message!