Chapter 95: Wings Have Grown! (Base Expansion Underway)
Chi Hongyi and the others were unaware that the advent of the vaccine had already brought disaster to those in the research institute who were scheming and forming cliques.
However, even if they knew, they would still say, "It should have been done a long time ago."
The Chaoyang Base Research Institute has always been rotten to the core. The people at the top don't focus on research, but instead exploit those below them, steal their research results, and claim others' research findings as their own.
The rewards given to those below are completely disproportionate to their own contributions.
Since the news about the vaccine broke, Cheng Zhiyu's communicator has been ringing off the hook.
Many people want to buy vaccines, and there are also large bases like the Chaoyang base hoping to cooperate.
They can pay a patent licensing fee, and the Xiaohe base will license the vaccine patent to them, allowing them to produce it themselves.
Cheng Mo, who was listening nearby, sneered: "A cunning old fox."
They only need to pay a patent fee, and then they can produce vaccines continuously. This is naturally much more comfortable than buying from the Xiaohe base and being controlled by them.
Cheng Zhiyu held his pen and tapped the table: "Vaccines are different. If possible, I would like to mass-produce them, but obviously, even with the potential of our base, we don't know how long it would take to supply these bases, even if we produced them day and night."
Lin Kang understood what he meant: "You are willing to authorize it? Indeed, keeping this in our own hands is not a good thing for the general public in the apocalypse, nor for our base."
A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.
Nowadays, unless it's a large base like Chaoyang Base that holds the vaccine patent technology, no one else can control the situation.
Moreover, it's a powerful weapon like a vaccine; even the Chaoyang base wouldn't dare to completely hide it, since there are official sources involved.
The authorities aren't concerned with the base's interests; they just want everyone to be well.
Fortunately, Cheng Zhiyu didn't intend to keep it. Even if he made a fortune from it, it wouldn't be very meaningful.
He licensed the patent to other entities, trusting that they wouldn't dare to act recklessly.
Like before, good things are not given to ordinary people?
Obviously not. The development of a vaccine might end the apocalypse. If you don't give it to ordinary people, they will be infected and turn into zombies, and the zombies will continue to emerge. So when will the apocalypse end?
Moreover, the materials used in this vaccine are made from inexpensive and readily available materials, so the materials have little impact on production capacity. I believe that after a while, vaccines will no longer be such a rare commodity.
Cheng Mo praised from the side, "Zhiyu is so kind."
Cheng Zhiyu glared at him and said, "Now we need to discuss how much the patent fee should be."
He's not one to be taken advantage of; of course he can't refuse patent fees.
He also plans to use the patent fees to build a base.
After discussing it for a while, everyone finally settled on a price that, although painful for the major base, was one they were willing to pay.
As for small bases, those who are willing to buy them can do so. If they can't afford the patent fees, they can find an official guarantee and buy on credit.
In the following period, all the bases got busy and quickly started production after paying a patent fee.
The authorities have also stipulated that for every dose of vaccine produced, a certain number must be allocated to ordinary people. This is a strict rule to prevent the vaccine from being monopolized by the upper echelons again.
Putting aside other things, vaccines are absolutely unacceptable!
Anyone who dares to have any ulterior motives about this should consider whether they can bear the consequences.
Cheng Zhiyu was quite happy with the official's strict attitude. Although it couldn't be completely eliminated, it largely protected the rights of ordinary people.
Because the Xiaohe base does not need to supply vaccines to other bases, each person at the Xiaohe base now has several doses of vaccine as soon as they leave the base.
Cheng Zhiyu looked at the huge profits brought by the patent fees on the books—he offered a one-time buyout, so the price was quite high.
Some people think that Xiaohe Base is foolish; the patent fees should be collected annually so that there would be a continuous stream of money.
Cheng Zhiyu said, "I want to reduce the cost of patent fees. If patent fees are collected every year, the patent fees paid by each base are actually spread on the cost of each vaccine purchase. This is not the result I want. Vaccines should be cheaper."
The officials were deeply moved and were very impressed with this young base manager, thinking that he had a great sense of the big picture.
Because of the official goodwill, some research bases that wanted to delay payment were warned, with the implication being that the authorities had already given them so many benefits and suffered such a great loss, and they still wanted to delay patent fees. Didn't they think the funds they invested in research were money? If they continued to delay, they would be shameless.
Although officials wouldn't directly say "shameless," that's the general idea.
The base, having been warned, naturally dared not cause any more trouble and obediently paid the patent fees.
Cheng Zhiyu touched his nose, feeling a little guilty. Well... the main reason he accepted the payment in one lump sum was that Chi Hongyi and her team had already started researching the zombie virus vaccine 2.0. Once 2.0 was released, it would be difficult to collect patent fees for 1.0, so it was better to pay in full at once.
Of course, if other bases improve upon version 1.0 to create something more advanced, that's their skill, and Cheng Zhiyu doesn't think much of it, since it benefits humanity anyway.
Otherwise, whether people are doing it to make money or not, that's a good thing, as long as the result is good.
Returning to the topic of the extra money on the books, Cheng Zhiyu immediately approved all the projects that had been delayed due to a shortage of funds.
Buildings have started to be constructed on the site, which will reduce the area occupied by the buildings.
He has already applied to the authorities, and the surrounding area is now their Xiaohe base's territory.
After everyone has integrated, the Xiaohe base will recruit a group of people.
As the base gradually expands, the Xiaohe base will eventually become a large base.
He plans to turn this place into a city... but of course, it's still a bit early for now.
But it's not difficult. They have a steady supply of food, vaccines, and patent fees, and more patent fees will come in later. This dream will come true one day.
Six months later, the weather had already gotten hot. Cheng Zhiyu was worried that the summer would be even hotter than last year, but he found that the temperature seemed to be tolerable.
Of course, the temperature is not comfortable. Compared to before the apocalypse, the current temperature is definitely high, over forty degrees Celsius, but Cheng Zhiyu doesn't feel it's that hot.
Not only did he think so, but when he asked the people around him, everyone felt that such a temperature was actually quite bearable.
Cheng Zhiyu felt that although the temperature had changed in the apocalypse, humanity was also evolving. He wasn't referring to superpowers.
This evolution, including that of ordinary people, is the evolution of their ability to adapt to the apocalypse.
The temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius was comfortable not only for those with superpowers but also for ordinary people.
This is undoubtedly a good thing. Many plants have also developed mutated varieties under human intervention. The mutated seeds are well adapted to the temperature of the post-apocalyptic world, and they grow freely just like the plants before the apocalypse.
Cheng Zhiyu not only cultivated many tree species, but also grass seeds. When he had nothing to do, he would sit quietly and scatter grass seeds everywhere outside the base.
The mutated grass seeds are just like the grass before the apocalypse; they can be scattered anywhere and will grow quickly. After a while, they will have turned into a lush green patch.
Occasionally, you'll see herbivorous mutant animals grazing on the grass by the roadside, and judging from their expressions, they're clearly enjoying themselves.
Compared to the withered and yellow landscape of last year, this scene is undoubtedly a beautiful sight.
If you don't go any further and stay only near the river base, you might even lose track of whether you're in the pre-apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic world.
Because the grass near the river base is very lush, it attracts many animals. Cheng Zhiyu occasionally comes out and can see little rabbits hopping around and eating grass.
Cheng Mo, standing to the side, spoiled the mood: "I want to eat spicy rabbit head."
Cheng Zhiyu was speechless: "Didn't I tell you not to eat it before?"
Cheng Mo said, feeling wronged, "I haven't had enough to eat."
The base's livestock industry is now taking shape, especially the rabbits, which reproduce the fastest and already number in the hundreds. Residents can buy rabbits from the farm.
Cheng Zhiyu was craving spicy rabbit heads, so he bought five. At first, when Cheng Mo heard that they were going to eat rabbit heads, he was disgusted: "Why eat rabbit heads when you can just eat regular meat?"
Cheng Zhiyu said, "You're not eating? That's perfect, I'll eat it all by myself."
Seeing his expression, Cheng Mo hesitated for a moment, as if rabbit heads were something special, and immediately changed her tune: "Then I'll give it a try."
Cheng Zhiyu "kindly" advised him: "You might not be able to accept it, so don't force yourself."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo became even more determined in his choice: "I want to try it."
Cheng Zhiyu thought to himself, "What a blunder! What a blunder!" Cheng Mo, being a foodie, was very perceptive.
In the end, Cheng Zhiyu prepared a whole rabbit feast, including spicy rabbit heads, spicy stir-fried rabbit, braised rabbit meat, and some vegetables to cut through the richness.
The whole family ate together. No one else ate rabbit heads, but with Cheng Mo included, there were exactly five people who wanted to eat them, one for each person.
Zhou Min eagerly grabbed a rabbit head and asked Han Ping, who was standing next to him, "Are you sure you don't want to try it?"
Han Ping glanced at it and shook his head in refusal.
Han Tingting revealed his past: "My brother was bitten by a rabbit when he was a child. He has a psychological aversion to rabbits and doesn't want to eat rabbit heads."
Han Ping: "..."
Zhou Min laughed heartily: "What are you afraid of? If it bites you, you'll retaliate. You really won't eat it?"
Han Ping firmly refused: "I won't eat."
Zhou Min: "Okay then~"
Tian Qiao, standing to the side, looked at Tian Manman and said, "If you don't like it, you can give it to me."
Like Cheng Mo, foodie Tian Manman had never eaten it before, but wanted to try it.
At this moment, Tian Manman was engrossed in her munching, and upon hearing this, she looked at Tian Qiao with a puzzled expression: "?"
Tian Qiao: "...Never mind."
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at Cheng Mo, who was elegantly putting on gloves, picking up a rabbit head, and seemingly studying where to start eating, and said, "If you don't want to eat it, then forget it."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo took a bite and was instantly amazed: "Delicious!"
Cheng Zhiyu: "...That's good."
The last person ate a rabbit head, still wanting more.
After that, Cheng Mo had his eye on rabbit heads, but unfortunately each rabbit only had one head, and the scale of the breeding base was not large enough to allow them to eat rabbit heads at will.
In fact, most residents buy rabbits to raise at home, because the farms promise to buy them back, which will be a source of income.
Therefore, Cheng Zhiyu estimates that in another six months to a year, the number of rabbits at the base should increase.
Cheng Mo sighed, "It's been so long."
Cheng Zhiyu laughed until he was dizzy; Cheng Mo really loved eating.
Because of the scarcity, Cheng Mo started craving spicy rabbit heads as soon as he saw a rabbit running by.
"Don't be greedy, they've all run off somewhere." Cheng Zhiyu patted his head comfortingly and promised him a bright future: "When the time comes, we'll open a spicy rabbit head restaurant for the base, and you can eat as much as you want."
Cheng Zhiyu has now issued a new policy, hoping that the residents of the base can make use of their strengths and open more shops.
Cheng Mo: "Then I want to be a VIP."
Cheng Zhiyu outwardly agreed, but inwardly he was thinking, "Uh... Cheng Mo probably won't eat all the rabbit heads in the shop at once, will he?"
Cheng Mo was unaware of his thoughts. Seeing how much Cheng Zhiyu cared for him, he smiled and said, "Let's open one in my hometown too."
"The rabbits there reproduce too prolifically; we really need to curb it," Cheng Mo said.
Cheng Zhiyu: "Uh...between beastmen..."
Although he didn't finish speaking, Cheng Mo understood instantly and tapped Cheng Zhiyu's head with his fingers: "What are you thinking? I was talking about an ordinary rabbit."
Cheng Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
In his view, although the orcs are of different races, they can all turn into humans, so they are the same race. If they can eat each other, then it is no different from cannibalism, right?
"Do you eat orcs where you're from?" Cheng Zhiyu asked cautiously.
Cheng Mo revealed a smile, his canine teeth gleaming coldly: "Eat."
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at his expression and said, "Well, it's good that you don't want to eat it."
"Oh dear, I can't scare you anymore." Cheng Mo was disappointed.
Cheng Zhiyu snorted: "When will you be able to scare me?"
Cheng Mo nuzzled against him: "I didn't want to scare you."
Before Cheng Zhiyu could say anything, Cheng Mo said, "Zhiyu, my back is itchy."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu reached out and scratched him: "What's wrong?"
Cheng Mo: "It might grow wings."
Cheng Zhiyu exclaimed in surprise, "Really?!"
Cheng Mo nodded: "Actually, if you think about it carefully, I don't have many days left until I turn 18."
Cheng Zhiyu said seriously, "Next time, please say it's 100 years away." Otherwise, it would make him seem like a criminal.
Cheng Mo refused: "Wouldn't that make me look old?"
Cheng Zhiyu was speechless, and asked him questions about wings out of curiosity.
Cheng Mo said, "The day we come of age is not fixed. The day we grow wings is the day we come of age."
Cheng Zhiyu nodded, somewhat expectant.
Over the next few days, he would touch Cheng Mo's back whenever he had free time, trying to see if the wings had grown out yet.
Cheng Mo was under a lot of pressure. What if his wings didn't look good after they grew out?
Cheng Zhiyu, seemingly lost in thought, asked him again, "Your wings have just grown out, they're not tiny, featherless little wings, are they?"
Cheng Mo found his idea terrifying and told him to stop talking about it.
Cheng Zhiyu comforted him, "It's nothing really, it's just the natural growth pattern of organisms."
Cheng Mo pinched his mouth shut, telling him to stop talking.
That's really scary.
——
In recent days, people from various bases have been arriving one after another to exchange supplies.
The Xiaohe base has a new batch of seeds, and they want to exchange them.
Cheng Zhiyu gave some, rice and soybeans, but only a little bit.
"Rice and soybean seeds are our food. This is the first batch we've planted, and this is all we can spare," Cheng Zhiyu said.
Rice goes without saying, it can be used to make all sorts of things. Soybeans are even better, they can be pressed for oil, made into tofu, soy milk, tofu pudding, tofu rice, tofu skin, and all sorts of vegetables. Moreover, soybean residue is used to feed pigs, and the pigs love to eat it, and they get fat and plump.
One of the bases even tried to get him to compromise: "This is too little. There are so many of us. Can you distribute a little more among us?"
The person in charge of the negotiations said, "I'm sorry, this is already the maximum we can go."
The man wanted to say something, but then he discovered that, good heavens, people from the other bases were already arguing about how to distribute the loot.
That's a lack of martial ethics!
The man cursed a few times and joined the fight, no longer caring about sharing the spoils with the people at the Xiaohe base.
Cheng Mo, watching the commotion from the side, said, "Zhiyu, let's go get some tofu pudding."
Zhang Tai, who had already secured a share, perked up his ears: Tofu pudding!
He swallowed hard; their base didn't even have soybeans, let alone tofu pudding.
When he went back last time, he told others how good the food was at the Xiaohe base, and everyone was green with envy. This time, when he came to Xiaohe base for a mission, they all wanted to come.
Zhang Tai was filled with regret; he had created a group of rivals for himself!
Fortunately, he once again stood out and successfully took on the task.
Great, I can have a big meal again.
In fact, the situation at Chaoyang Base has improved a lot in the past six months. At least the first batch of mutated wheat and mutated vegetables have been grown, and they can occasionally eat some steamed buns and vegetables.
But it certainly can't compare to the Xiaohe base. Their wheat and vegetables are all kept for seed and will continue to be planted.
Fortunately, they were still able to buy wheat and vegetable seeds this time. They estimate that after planting them one or two more times, their base will be able to eat steamed buns and vegetables as freely as the Xiaohe base.
Thinking of this, Zhang Tai swallowed hard.
The Xiaohe Base is now quite famous, and many people want to join, but it doesn't seem to be recruiting yet.
In response, Cheng Zhiyu actually planned to recruit a batch of people soon, still intending to recruit only one thousand at a time.
Seeing Zhang Tai's expectant gaze, Cheng Zhiyu felt embarrassed to refuse: "Okay, let's go eat together."
In fact, he had already arranged for someone to entertain this group. This time, they would eat directly in the cafeteria, because with Ning's mother, the chef, the food there was quite good.
However, even if the food is just average, it's still quite presentable, considering that other bases can't even afford to eat.
That hurts.
Inviting only one person to eat tofu pudding was obviously not a good idea, so in the end everyone who came went together.
Cheng Mo was unhappy. These people had no tact whatsoever, and he regretted saying he wanted to eat tofu pudding.
The tofu pudding shop was a bit small, and there wasn't enough room for the group of people to sit down, but they didn't mind. Each of them held a bowl and squatted by the roadside, eating with great enthusiasm.
Cheng Mo scooped up a spoonful of the fragrant and spicy tofu pudding; it was delicious.
A few people on the roadside finished their bowls and didn't ask for any more, because they saw that next door there was a stall selling jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), next to that a stall selling fried noodles, and next to that a stall selling roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers)!
This is actually a commercial street planned by Cheng Zhiyu, and many businesses have already moved in one after another.
Since there are so many delicious foods, it's not enough to just eat tofu pudding; each family wants to try it.
They even took photos with their phones. Although they couldn't send them now that they were out of the base, they could use them to tempt others when they got back.
Regarding communication issues, the major bases are preparing to jointly build base stations, so that they can communicate with each other even if they are not in the same base.
"Tch, I'm tired of all that." Cheng Mo ate his tofu pudding with an air of superiority.
Tofu pudding is a relatively new food; the shop has only been open for about a month, and Cheng Mo hasn't gotten tired of it yet.
The speed at which he gets tired of a dish depends mainly on how quickly the next restaurant introduces new and exciting food.
Cheng Zhiyu rested his chin on his hand, thinking that they should hold a celebration for Cheng Mo's coming-of-age ceremony.
He said, "In a few days, I'll make you something you've never had before."
Cheng Mo became expectant: "Why do we have to wait a few days? Can't we do it tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?"
Cheng Zhiyu: "...No."
Cheng Mo said disappointedly, "Fine."
He was silent for a moment, then said seriously, "Don't worry, my abs and pecs are still there, they won't disappear from eating."
Cheng Zhiyu: "..." That's not the reason!
Cheng Mo: "Go back and check? I got Zhou Min a new brooch."
Cheng Zhiyu: "...Yes."
I simply can't refuse.
Zhang Tai and his friends ate a lot in the commercial street, and in the end they sat there motionless, which almost scared the shop owner to death, who thought they had eaten themselves to death.
Cheng Zhiyu was speechless after hearing about it.
It's so heartbreaking.
What happened next was even more heartbreaking. After organizing their supplies, the group went on a food spree at the base, and before leaving, they were reluctant to go: "Waaah, I don't want to leave here."
"Even if we take a step back and say the worst, can't I join the Xiahe Base?"
This group of people carried bags of all sizes, filled with food that had been frozen by ice-type ability users, so that if the food got a little rotten on the way, they could just heat it up and eat it when they got back.
They really looked like refugees from somewhere.
So, after they left, a message circulated throughout the Xiaohe Base: a group of refugees were crying and begging to join the Xiaohe Base, but they were rejected, and it was said that they were almost crying themselves to death.
"Huh? Then why doesn't our base accept them?"
The person who relayed the message didn't know why either; he had only heard it from others and couldn't explain it clearly, so he just guessed, "They're probably not good people."
Everyone knows that the Xiahe Base recruits people with good character.
“That makes sense, then it’s right not to have them.”
As the group talked, they did some handicrafts to earn contribution points. While sighing, they all felt incredibly lucky and that joining the Xiaohe Base was definitely the right choice.
Of course, more importantly, they have always been committed to being good people; otherwise, even if they wanted to join, the Xiaohe Base wouldn't accept them.
Everyone felt inexplicably proud to be residents of the Xiaohe Base.
This outrageous rumor eventually reached Cheng Zhiyu's ears, and he was shocked: "How come I didn't know about this?"
Tian Qiao laughed and explained it to him.
Cheng Zhiyu listened and then said: "..."
Sure enough, this is how rumors are born. But there's no point in trying to explain anything.
When the "refugees" Zhang Tai and his group returned to their base, the group of people, as if they had a dog's nose, all set their sights on the "local specialties" they had stayed in, wanting to sell this and exchange that.
When they finally came to their senses, they found their hands were empty, leaving only the cold, hard crystal core.
them:"……"
I regret it so much! I should have eaten it all on the way instead of trying to save money!
Cheng Zhiyu was unaware of all this; at that moment, Cheng Mo was holding him, complaining of severe back pain.
Cheng Zhiyu was heartbroken. The other person told him that the wings were about to emerge.
Cheng Mo is still thinking about it: "If it's really ugly, you're not allowed to dislike it."
"No, how could I possibly dislike you?" Cheng Zhiyu said, amused and heartbroken at the same time.
Cheng Mo was satisfied. Next, Cheng Zhiyu seemed to hear the sound of wings flapping. He saw the dark shadow behind Cheng Mo and his eyes widened.
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