"Rebirth in the Apocalypse" - No Rebirth (Chapter 26)...

In the shadow of brilliance, there are always those who are dimmed.

As more and more women gathered together to celebrate and chat, the men realized that, without them noticing, they had become the ones standing aside, acting as the atmosphere-maker.

Once the men realized this, they couldn't bring themselves to applaud.

This doesn't make sense. The one standing in the center of the crowd, becoming the focus, should be them, not him. How come they're all women?

As the women rushed over and huddled together, even male superhumans received little attention in this large gathering.

Men used to mock women for only doing safe jobs behind the scenes, but when women are given all the dangerous jobs in front of the camera, men become resentful.

They were eager to join the field team, but the field team now only accepts people with superpowers, and even male people with superpowers are not accepted very often.

Although there is no explicit ban, logistics also needs people with superpowers, so those logistics positions naturally fall to men.

The once-renowned members of the Sunshine Squad went as follows: those with earth element went to loosen the soil for the Ministry of Agriculture, those with fire element went to the boiler room to boil water, those with strength enhancement went to the transport team to transport goods, and those with metal element went to fight daily necessities.

Although they are still contributing to the base, the contributions are actually divided into different levels.

People respect field teams, research teams, and medical teams more and recognize their contributions, but they don't recognize the more tedious and mentally taxing contributions made by those working at the grassroots level.

If they continue to make silent contributions like this, that's one thing, but having experienced a glorious past, the current bleakness is even harder to accept.

The men felt bittersweet, but the women were happy, especially those who had escaped from the giant shark base.

They finally gained a new understanding of the strength of the women at the Huiyang base, and those who were pregnant immediately wanted to get injections.

No, seeing the free state of the powerful superhumans, I also made up my mind to have a child.

Not all of them were seriously ill, but their mindset made them unable to wait for a natural breakthrough.

For those who are already pregnant, it's very simple; they can just get the injection done directly. The facility is now very familiar with this procedure.

The 50% mortality rate is unknown; it hasn't happened yet. The women at the Huiyang Base have started using the superpower serum as a regular medication. The reason not all women have been injected is because some still want to awaken naturally.

To those who are not pregnant but wish to awaken their superpowers, Ye Xiqing smiled and said, "You are very lucky. My students have recently made a new breakthrough regarding superpower potions."

Upon receiving this news, the previously quiet base erupted in excitement once again, not only because of the victory, but also because the pharmaceutical department announced that a superpower drug suitable for all citizens had arrived!

Many women have already been awakened, but this time, men will be the first to be injected.

Hearing this, the men were finally happy; it was finally their turn!

They've been subjected to all sorts of backstabbing and betrayal these days, and they just want to awaken their supernatural abilities as soon as possible.

Excitedly, I went to get the injection. This time, the injection was a little different. To reduce its toxicity, it had to be administered in seven doses, each seven days apart. It was troublesome, but very effective.

After several courses of injections, many people's pain began to subside, and their bodies really felt different!

Just when they thought the last injection would awaken their superpowers, nothing happened.

Gradually, the joy faded: "Dr. Luo, has it failed...?"

Ye Xiqing glanced at the examination report and announced regretfully, "I'm sorry, while reducing the toxicity, the ability activation effect was also weakened. Please provide some samples so I can have them study it further."

Everyone: ...

The weakened version of the medicine could cure the disease, but it fell far short of their expectations of having superpowers.

Qi Ke and the others, who were originally waiting for the results, couldn't wait any longer. If the safer second-generation drug only cured the disease and did not have the effect of stimulating superpowers, they would rather choose the first one with more explosive effects!

Ye Xiqing didn't stop them from making this decision. She just had a sudden thought: what would happen if they selected sperm that had been injected with second-generation gene therapy during the preconception period?

It is common knowledge that the fetus, as a cluster of cells residing in the mother's body, exchanges nutrients with the mother.

What is less known is that fetal embryonic stem cells and genetic information can also enter the mother's body through blood circulation, and may even lead to partial gene recombination in the mother.

Thinking about it carefully, injecting drugs into embryos is indeed too cruel. The mother may survive, but the embryo is unlikely to survive. The thought of so many children losing the chance to be born breaks her heart.

So Ye Xiqing wondered if it was possible to complete the gene transformation in the father's body and use heredity to produce a "super baby" in the early stages of embryonic development, which could directly communicate mutation information with the mother and feed back to the mother.

In adults, females are certainly more susceptible to mutations than males, but both females and males are less susceptible than embryos.

This is easy to understand. Adults are already fully developed, and adult stem cells only differentiate into specific cells, while embryonic stem cells can differentiate into the entire human body.

Anything can only be changed at its source. When an embryo is born, only one cell needs to be changed, but when it becomes an adult, trillions of cells need to be changed. It is obvious which is more difficult and which is easier.

But the fetus is really too fragile to withstand such a violent change. It would be much better if the change were made from the father's perspective.

As an adult male, his conversion ability might be somewhat limited, but his tolerance for stress is definitely high.

If they can withstand the transformation, even a little bit, and retain their genetic information, both the mother and the fetus will have a much easier time.

Fatherly love is as solid as a mountain; they would definitely be willing to sacrifice themselves for the unborn child, Ye Xiqing knew.

Therefore, for the purpose of the experiment, Ye Xiqing did not use her own serum for the second-generation drug, but instead had Gan Man lead the core members of the pharmaceutical department to study the expression of the first-generation drug in male bodies.

She's not a blood slave; she can keep supplying her own blood. Establishing an early advantage is enough.

However, the core principle of gene-based drugs is that the human body refines poisons. A top-tier medicinal vessel like her can refine many poisons at the same time, thus converting more superpowers, which is not possible for ordinary men.

To make the drug tolerable for ordinary men, Ganman and her research team refined the drug's components and studied the exact vector virus required for different mutant genes.

After being split into individual components, when a single drug is injected, gene transcription can be achieved by inhibiting specific immune expression, unlike Ye Xiqing who completely eliminated the immune system, something a normal person cannot do.

After the virus has been categorized and refined, "preliminary vaccines" are produced by inactivating the vector virus, and the performance of the drug in humans is tested.

Those who are unlikely to reject prior vaccines are more suitable for receiving progenitor drugs and developing antibodies, while those who are not are not suitable, which is exactly the opposite of the principle of virus vaccine testing.

Ye Xiqing only taught them the principles of the first generation of gene-based drugs and didn't care about the rest. She was focused on researching fish and plants that could be raised by zombies with the agricultural group.

But wisdom is something that never belongs to any one person alone.

The pharmaceutical department staff worked tirelessly, researching, discussing, and debating together. One day, they suddenly had a breakthrough and came up with the "drug splitting method" and the "preliminary vaccine trial method".

After receiving their reports, even Ye Xiqing put down what she was holding, found a place to sit down and read them carefully.

After reading it, slowly raise your head.

If gene therapy can be tested for match in such a simple and primitive way as "preliminary vaccines," then what about her behavior of ruining the entire immune system?

Ye Xiqing: ...

Even if she is a genius, a chosen one, a born protagonist, with her immune system completely destroyed, she still has a chance to save her life, turning danger into safety, and being infected by all kinds of poisons.

Upon realizing this, Ye Xiqing instantly felt relieved; the protagonist and the NPC are, of course, different.

Extricating herself from her mixed emotions, Ye Xiqing returned the report without making any changes. The pharmaceutical department staff were overjoyed; they had finally achieved something independently!

The moment the students were weaned, both teachers and students were liberated. Ye Xiqing didn't participate much in the second-generation potion production; Gan Man and the others basically completed it independently, which was very worry-free.

After completion, new guinea pigs are needed. They are Ye Xiqing's guinea pigs, and Qi Ke and her friends are their guinea pigs.

Everyone looked expectantly at the people who wanted to be injected with the gene serum: Do you trust our teachers more, or do you trust us more?

Qi Ke and her friends: ...

Actually... I still trust your teachers quite a bit...

Everyone was terrified of these newly appointed "intern" doctors, but pregnancy was a prerequisite for the first-generation drug, and the two were not mutually exclusive, so they decided to give it a try.

When injecting drugs into the father, it is necessary to screen them in different categories. Not everyone can be like Ye Xiqing, who is afflicted with all kinds of poisons. Ordinary people cannot tolerate multiple drugs.

In contrast, assisted insemination of the mother does not involve mixing all types of eggs together. The eggs are intelligent and will select the ones that are suitable for them, which is a natural "preliminary trial method".

The women who had suffered so much at the Giant Shark base were originally very resistant to this kind of thing, but they were afraid of the atmosphere.

The researchers in the pharmaceutical department of Huiyang Base study this kind of thing as normally as they study menstruation. In the base, women openly buy children and get pregnant, while the men are coy and hesitant, as if they are guarding against thieves and not letting anyone touch them.

The same thing can produce different psychological pressures depending on one's attitude. These women who have fled have gradually shifted their mindset from being consumers to being consumers themselves.

Qi Ke calmed herself down and treated it as a normal physiological activity, just like when a doctor tells you to eat and you don't eat when they tell you not to. It was just normal pre-operative preparation, nothing strange about it.

At first, I was on tenterhooks, but as time went on, I got tired of being on guard. No one can be on guard every day, except for the people in the pharmaceutical department who still monitor the data every day.

Qi Ke went about her normal work and meals every day, almost forgetting about it, and even thinking that she had not succeeded at all.

However, one day she suddenly fainted, and her companions were terrified and quickly called for someone to take her to the medical department.

After the medical and pharmaceutical departments took turns checking, they couldn't find the cause. Gan Man felt very guilty: "Could it be that there's something wrong with our medicine..."

"No." A voice came from behind.

When everyone turned around, they realized that Ye Xiqing and Dean Luan had arrived at the same time.

Gan Man instantly found a savior and pulled Ye Xiqing to go check on Qi Ke.

Ye Xiqing wasn't in a hurry about the mess her student had made, and walked slowly behind, while Luan Anchun went ahead first.

Luan Anchun sat down in front of Qi Ke's bed and gently stroked her forehead like a mother stroking her child. Under her comforting touch, Qi Ke actually opened her eyes.

Upon seeing her awake, the pharmaceutical department felt a huge weight lifted from their shoulders and rushed over to ask her how she felt.

Qi Ke slowly stood up, looked up at them blankly, and then suddenly lowered her head, stammering, "I...I'm fine...I think I just awakened a superpower..."

The others were initially stunned, but then immediately erupted in a frenzy, asking her what kind of superpower she had awakened.

Qi Ke looked up at Gan Man and said weakly, "Sister Gan, there seem to be many transparent ripples on your body. Are you a water-type ability user?"

Although Gan Man's special ability wasn't a secret at the base, Qi Ke didn't need to joke about it with her. He immediately widened his eyes and nodded excitedly, "Yes!"

Qi Ke then looked at Qu Menghan: "Sister Qu, your aura is very hot. Do you have fire-type abilities?"

Qu Menghan paused for a moment, then nodded to indicate that she was right.

Qi Ke looked at each person and described their special abilities, as well as those who didn't have special abilities but had a unique aura.

Everyone was stunned. Ghost detection? That's an amazing and unique ability!

Previously, people were more familiar with elemental abilities or physical enhancements; this is the first time I've seen a special type of superpower.

The crowd had even more questions to ask, but after they finished, they realized something was off: "You've awakened such a powerful ability, why do you look unhappy?"

Qi Ke: ...

If you could see what I saw, you wouldn't be laughing either...

The moment she opened her eyes, the world seemed to change; the colors in her eyes appeared incredibly rich.

Each person was adorned with a different color, making them look like dreamy fairies from a fairy tale. Normally, Qi Ke would have smiled knowingly, but now, she couldn't smile at all.

Behind those colorful, dreamlike hues lies a multicolored black, like the dark and silent void behind luminous celestial bodies in the universe.

At first, Qi Ke thought that she had just awakened and was a little dizzy, and that she could even see the background color.

Then at some point I suddenly realized that it wasn't the background, it was two "colors" too!

One was like a lingering night mist, drifting endlessly and penetrating everywhere; the other was like a deep abyss, devouring and tearing everything around it.

She could find a master for other people's "lust," but she couldn't find one for these two.

But sometimes you don't need to use your eyes to see, but your brain to think. When you can't find the owner of those two streams of energy, the one without energy is the owner.

Qi Ke first met Luan Anchun at this base, and then received help from Ye Xiqing. Her impression of them was that they were a kind doctor like a mother and a knowledgeable, gentle and firm doctor.

But when she opened her "wise eyes" and looked at the two of them again, what appeared before her were no longer people.

The "kind" lioness lay coiled beside her bed, while the "gentle" python watched with a smile.

Luan Anchun gently stroked Qi Ke's head and said tenderly, "What a coincidence that you have awakened the same detection ability as me. It must be a special fate."

Qi Ke: ...

Is she still dreaming...?