Chapter 155 Success
Wen Le had been hiding beneath the earth for three days, wrapped in a rock-like camouflage suit. This type of suit, recently developed by the military, allowed the wearer to hide beneath the rocky soil without being detected by the sensitive Zerg. The downside was obvious: the wearer could barely move, remaining as rigid as a rock.
This would be very uncomfortable. If you don't move your limbs for a long time, blood circulation will be lost, and numbness in the body is the least of your worries. But Wen Le couldn't care less. His experiment had reached its final stage. The success of the new and improved insecticide that the laboratory had spent ten years developing depended on this one move. Success or failure depended on this one move!
The drug Wen Le and his team deployed this time wasn't entirely an insecticide; it still had little effect on high-level Zerg, but it could inhibit the hatching of eggs, fundamentally solving the problem. This was far more effective than directly killing adult Zerg, which could be eliminated by sending soldiers. The real challenge was the Zerg's high reproductive capacity, making extermination difficult.
Just like the cockroaches in the Earth period, one nest can hatch hundreds of cockroaches, and they are all very tenacious and cannot be killed easily. This is the most troublesome thing.
But now that this problem was hopefully solved, it was no wonder Wen Le was nervous. The military and the Imperial leadership were also very concerned, but fearing that this attention would attract outside attention and raise vigilance within the Zerg, they all tried to focus on other matters, essentially concentrating their attention on this experiment.
Just three hundred meters ahead of Wen Le, a group of adult Zerg entering their reproductive phase also reached a critical juncture. At this point, the Zerg were at their most sensitive and aggressive. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would cease reproduction and launch a fierce attack on any intruder. This attack would continue until the intruder was near death, at which point the intruder would be devoured by the nutrient-starved females or used as a petri dish for the laying of eggs within their bodies.
This is also what interstellar people hate most about the Zerg. These Zerg not only wantonly plunder resources and make it impossible for humans to survive, but even more terrifyingly, they use humans as petri dishes to hatch their eggs. Once used as a petri dish, whether human or animal, they will die a very painful death. This is definitely one of the cruelest ways to die.
So, no matter how uncomfortable Wen Le felt, he dared not move, even breathing lightly, fearing that the Zerg before him would accidentally discover him. This was not only related to the success of the experiment, but also to his own life and the lives of his teammates who were protecting him. He couldn't be careless.
The advance team protecting Wen Le was also very nervous at the moment. In order not to expose their hiding place, they were a bit far away from Wen Le. If an accident occurred, they might not be able to rush over to rescue him in the first time. So the team leader stared at Wen Le almost without blinking, so that he could rush over to rescue him in the first time if an accident occurred.
Jin Cancan, hidden in mid-air, kept a close eye on Wen Le. This was his racial gift, allowing him to conceal his presence and remain in the air when in a certain form. Of course, this required a significant amount of energy, and the longer he remained hidden, the greater the loss. It also required a high level of stamina. If his stamina wasn't up to par, he'd be plummeting mid-flight. By then, he'd be in danger of losing himself, not even saving anyone.
So for this experiment, Jin Cancan also tried his best. Not only did he start to train his physical fitness crazily two years ago, but he also kept eating all kinds of high-energy exotic beast meat to store energy. This also caused his body size to expand rapidly like a blown-up balloon in just two years, and his weight soared to 300 pounds. If he had not passed every physical examination, Wen Le really wanted to persuade him to give up.
He'd raised the cub from infancy, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't heartbroken to see him end up like this. While his mind told him that Big Cat was sacrificing for the future of humanity and should be encouraged, his emotions were another matter. If possible, he'd rather be selfish than let him suffer like this.
…
Time ticked by. The Zerg ahead finished their reproduction, and the males, having fulfilled their mission, were devoured by the females, desperate for nutrition. Some males were more alert, quickly fleeing the breeding grounds when they noticed something was amiss. However, the hungry females were unlikely to let go of such a delicious meal. They swooped down in pursuit, surrounding and killing the fleeing males.
The scene was chaotic for a while.
It's time!
Wen Le quickly used his mental power to coat the prepared potion and spray it onto the eggs. Afraid of being spotted by the Zerg, he quickly enveloped himself in his mental power. Jin Cancan, who had been waiting in the air for him, swooped down, scooped Wen Le up, and fled.
The Zerg still fighting below took no notice of them, unconcerned with the slightest movement around them. Their reproduction had ended, and no creature dared to come seeking death at this moment. Furthermore, in their understanding, all life in the universe was food, and the Zerg were at the top of the food chain. As for the fragile humans, they paid no attention.
Wen Le successfully escaped, and the squad assigned to protect him breathed a collective sigh of relief. The captain signaled for everyone to evacuate immediately. They didn't want to stay in such a troubled place for even a second, especially since it was a Zerg breeding ground. For those of them who had been dealing with the Zerg for years, the mere sight of those eggs made them want to blast them to dust with their cannons. They were afraid if they didn't leave now, they'd be tempted to take action.
The successful release of the drug marked halfway to the experiment's success, and a small celebration took place within the lab. However, they didn't dare to publicize it, fearing that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. What if the drug didn't work? Wouldn't their excitement be in vain? It was better to keep a low profile and be safe.
Even so, the lab was filled with a festive atmosphere, like the Lunar New Year, a mixture of anticipation and nervousness. It had taken them ten years to successfully develop this new insecticide, and how many more decades could they afford to waste? If this one didn't work, they would have to rethink their approach and start over. This would be a massive undertaking, consuming far more than just human and material resources.
The waiting time is always long. Just when everyone was waiting anxiously, a month finally passed and it was time to check the results.
This time, Jin Da Miao went alone. Firstly, it was easier for him to move alone; bringing someone else would be inconvenient and risk exposure. Secondly, it was just collecting experimental data, something he was familiar with. After all, to earn some pocket money, he'd been helping Wen Le in the lab, except for missions. Over the years, when it came to their rapport, he was second best, and no one dared to claim first place.
…
The experiment reached a critical stage, and Jin Cancan volunteered to go to the test site for inspection. Wen Le agreed without hesitation. However, before leaving, Jin Damiao still gave a worried warning: "Be careful, don't take advantage of your ability to fly and become invisible to ignore those insects."
Those who drowned were all able to swim. He didn't say this, fearing it would be unlucky.
Jin Cancan knew Wen Le's temper too well. After all these years of getting along, she knew what he was going to say the moment he opened his mouth. Afraid that he would continue nagging, she quickly assured him, "Don't worry, I will be extremely careful and ensure that I complete the mission and return safely."
Wen Le: "..." He was even more worried after hearing that. In movies and TV shows, if the protagonist said something like that, they usually couldn't take it back... Thinking of this, Wen Le's eyelids jumped, and he raised his hand and slapped him on the head, cursing, "If you can't speak, shut up! Get out of here!"
If he doesn't leave now, he's afraid he'll be mad to death.
Although he cursed fiercely, he was still worried in his heart. He couldn't feel at ease just because of what this guy said just now.
Jin Damao smiled and bowed to Wen Le: "Then I'll go." After that, he spread his wings and flew down from the rooftop, his posture was very casual and unrestrained.
Wen Le was jealous and thought: Having wings means you can be willful and leave whenever you want.
…
As Wen Le and the others in the lab waited anxiously, Jin Cancan delivered the good news—the experiment had been successful. Less than 10% of the eggs in this batch had hatched, and the rest were dead. This meant that a single dose of the drug had directly wiped out hundreds of Zerg!
The lab erupted in excitement after hearing this good news. One highly respected senior colleague burst into tears of joy. He had spent his entire life in this field, having spent nearly seventy years working with his mentor since graduation on a drug capable of killing the Zerg. He'd thought his work would be hopeless until his death, only to succeed in his lifetime! How could he not be thrilled? The old man even felt that this moment was worth his death.
Fortunately, the assistant was quick to take out a pill and put it into his mouth, otherwise the headlines of the next day's news would have been a shocking report about a famous pharmacist suddenly dying in the laboratory.
As for such big news as the successful development of an insecticide? How could it be released casually? It must have been discussed by all the leaders and then a grand press conference was held. Such shocking news must be announced in an equally shocking manner.
As the lab's owner, Wen Le knew this news wouldn't be released anytime soon. After all, it was a newly developed potion, and its effectiveness needed to be proven. Furthermore, if it were released, it would alert the Zerg, making it much more difficult to find their breeding grounds.
Moreover, this was only the beginning. The lab would then focus all its efforts on developing inhibitors. As the name suggests, these would act directly on adult Zerg, destroying certain cells within their bodies and thus inhibiting their reproduction. This was fundamental; Zerg that could not reproduce would be nothing to fear.
So, amidst this immense joy, Wen Le was the calmest. Compared to the others in the lab, he was more worried about Jin Damiao. Although he had brought back the news, he was still nowhere to be found. Thinking back to his last words of "don't worry" before leaving, his eyelids twitched.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
