Chapter 123 World L: 6 "Are you kidding me?!" Male...
"What a joke?!" The man slammed his fist on the table, veins bulging. "You crazy woman! What are you talking about?!"
“It seems Mr. Smith’s hearing isn’t working properly anymore; he’ll have to retire as soon as possible.” Reena said casually, looking at the enraged Smith with a cold eye, as if he were a clown.
"You're insane! You actually want everyone to exploit their abilities to the fullest!" Smith's face was contorted with rage, making his scars even more horrifying. "If this is the price for obtaining the antidote to the zombie virus, I think everyone might as well come back and kill zombies! I believe that people would rather preserve their abilities to kill zombies than exhaust their abilities to create a world without zombies! After all, excessively exploiting one's abilities not only leads to a decline in strength, but some people won't even be able to use their abilities anymore!"
"And you! The commander of the Yangyan Base!" Smith changed the subject, pointing directly at Tenas: "Have you gone mad too? You're actually following this crazy woman's nonsense?!"
Tenas silently added Smith to his list; if he couldn't persuade him, Smith would automatically be added to Reena's list of people to deal with.
That's usually how it goes. He tries to persuade them gently, but if that doesn't work, Reena takes action and eventually subdues them completely, or makes them stop saying those annoying things.
The two of them took turns, which was very effective.
As for Nadia? Let her have fun. Leave these things to them. It's not that I'm excluding her, but she doesn't need to know about the slightly dirty things.
He and Reena shared the same sentiment: they hoped Nadia could live a happier life, even though the apocalypse wouldn't bring happiness.
Smith unleashed his fury, but the two remained the same as before. Tenas offered a polite smile, appearing somewhat gentle. But Smith knew that this heartless scoundrel was not as virtuous as he seemed on the surface.
He is Reena's follower, helping her handle many shady matters. He is also good-looking, not only ruthless and eloquent, but also knows how to use his own resources to help them achieve their desired goals.
Such a person would actually cooperate with that madwoman Reena, one forcefully suppressing the other while the other pretends to be a good person and tries to dissuade them.
Smith disliked this cunning, smiling tiger even more than the crazy Reena.
Reena remained the same, her face gloomy and unfriendly to everyone. However, when Smith met her inhumanly powerful golden eyes, his anger seemed to be stuck, unable to rise or fall, and it subsided somewhat, and his mind slowly cleared up.
Smith dared not admit that he was frightened by a woman's gaze, even though the Novigrad base where Reena was located was almost the strongest in the country. Although she, as the base commander, did not have any powerful superpowers, her intelligent mind was more useful than any superpower.
This guy is even more cunning and manipulative than Tenas!
Finally, Smith snorted coldly, slammed the door shut, and left. The loud noise as the door closed made Reena frown slightly.
“It seems he’s not going to agree no matter what. Go and deal with him.” Reena’s voice was completely calm, as if she were asking Tenas if he wanted to stay for dinner before leaving. But the meaning behind her words made everyone else’s heart skip a beat: “Remember to do it properly. Don’t let anyone suspect us, or our subsequent progress will be hindered. If there’s really no other way, remember to get rid of him.”
Tenas responded, his expression unchanged, but he was deep in thought, considering whether to remain silent or let Smith die in an accident.
But before Tenas could make a move, Smith and his team had already launched their attack.
After the conversation ended, Reena went to the lab to see the results of the experiment.
The professors, still excited, couldn't wait to introduce her, even gesturing wildly with exaggerated expressions and movements.
The satisfactory result moved Reena, who usually had a neutral expression, to a touch. She looked at Ethan with a gentler gaze and assured him, "I will absolutely make them dedicate their abilities."
As for whether people will rebel? Reena doesn't care. She wants this terrible situation to disappear and the self-disciplined society of the past to reappear. She's had enough of the strong being forgiven for anything. The law should be used to judge a person, not the power of those who do whatever they want.
Although she was considered among the strong, she still disliked this system. In the apocalypse, without laws, the weak became commodities, freely traded and sold, and even used as food reserves when necessary—all of this disgusted Reena.
Although the apocalypse has arrived and everything is mutating, not only humans have gained superpowers, but animals and plants have also acquired strange and terrifying abilities, or developed sentience, or grown more aggressive parts. Humans used to feed on them, but now they feed on humans; everything has been reversed.
However, the mutations are all similar. As long as an antidote and vaccine are developed for the most important type of zombie, other mutated animals, plants, and even contaminated water sources can be studied with this as the center, and corresponding antidotes can be developed. It's just a matter of time.
Everyone knows this, which is why the professors are so excited. Besides developing the zombie virus and vaccine, they can also solve other mutations.
The peaceful days before the apocalypse might really come back someday. People will no longer have to live in fear of mutated plants and animals harming them, nor will they have to worry about the arrival of zombie hordes that could turn them into mindless zombies.
All of this will cease to exist, though only a few people know the cost.
Reena inquired with great interest about several things from Ethan, including the ingredients of the potion and whether it could be brewed in large quantities. After receiving a satisfactory answer, she was unusually delighted.
Smith and his men attacked at that time.
With a deafening roar and a series of cracking sounds, almost urgently, the ceiling shattered inch by inch, letting in the abnormally scorching sunlight from outside.
The professors fell silent and all looked up.
Reena quickly came to her senses and realized it was an attack. She hurriedly woke the still-dazed professors and told them to scatter and try to stay near guards to reduce the possibility of being killed together.
After all, if anyone knew the conditions under which she gave everyone the antidote and vaccine for the zombie virus, a whole bunch of people would want to get rid of them.
From Reena herself to all the members involved in the research and development, they wouldn't let go of visitors from other worlds, even if they knew they were from elsewhere.
Ethan quickly recovered and, taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, stored the antidote and vaccine in his personal space. He was incredibly grateful that time was paused in his space. Because he was worried the potion's effects would diminish over time, he had added something extra when making it—something Starfall had taught him.
Reena stood still, her fist clenched around a signal transmitter, her gaze cold as she watched the ceiling shatter and break open, revealing dozens of menacing enemies floating outside.
Because her superpower is only auxiliary and doesn't grant her the same level of strength as others, her self-defense capabilities are incomparable to those of combat-type superpowered individuals. Even though she learned a great deal of martial arts before the apocalypse, mastering the top styles from every country, she still wasn't entirely confident against strength-type superpowered individuals, let alone so many of them.
What kind of weaklings would be sent to attack them? The answer is obvious: absolutely not.
As the only one of the three with a non-combat-oriented ability, Reena was required by the other two to carry a signal transmitter with her at all times. If she encountered danger, she should press it; they had a receiver, and the two of them would drop everything and come to find her as quickly as possible.
This was the first time she had ever pressed the button. Even after facing so many crises over the past few decades, she had never brought it up before. But now it was different. Her condition was that it threatened everyone's interests, and some people wanted to kill her.
Reena's hands, gripping the signal transmitter, were already sweating. Her face was pale, and she clenched her teeth, unsure if the two of them could get there before she was dealt with.
If the two of them can't be there in time, they should at least protect the professor and Ethan. This is their only chance to change the world. There will never be another Ethan with such a magical potion, and there are very few professors as capable as her.
If even one person survives, the world will be transformed, everything will return to normal, and the weak will no longer be sacrificed!
She can die, but the team that worked on this project cannot die!
If we miss this opportunity, we don't know if we'll ever see that normal world again in our lifetime.
Reena's mind raced; less than ten seconds had passed since the attack began, and she had already made up her mind.
Reena took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
“Base Commander, blame your own ambition.” The attacker closest to them chuckled, his contempt undisguised: “You actually want to change the world, and with such harsh conditions. How can we, who enjoy such star treatment, swallow this insult? In any case, I hope you and the others die here together.”
"Was it Smith who sent you?" Reena asked calmly.
"So what if it is? So what if it isn't?" The attacker still smiled. "Whether it's the person you're talking about or not is irrelevant. All you need to know is that you need to die here."
Having said that, the attackers had no patience to waste any more time talking nonsense with Reena. They made a gesture, and the attackers floating in the air flew towards them.
They dispersed, not focusing on solving the problem together, but instead launching attacks on the professors who were dodging and weaving.
The professors have lived to this age and survived so many years in the post-apocalyptic world. Although they were well cared for in the base for many years afterward, they did not slack off.
Even those professors who lack superpowers, or whose superpowers are so weak they're practically defenseless, have maxed out their dodging skills. Like nimble mice, they either find cover or roll nimbly to evade their attacks.
When the professor was in grave danger several times, Ethan seized the opportunity and very quickly raised a protective barrier, allowing them to escape unscathed.
Even so, Ethan attracted the attention of many attackers, and their firepower gradually focused on him.
Reena didn't know how strong Ethan was, but seeing so much firepower focused on him, she was still uneasy.
The professors, on the other hand, were all very perceptive, and one or two of them slipped away faster than rabbits.
People like them, who are the same whether they have superpowers or not, don't participate in these kinds of activities.
Although they knew that running away like this was immoral, they felt that saving their own lives was not shameful, and they also knew that as long as even one of them survived, the antidote and vaccine could still be developed.
So, in order to preserve the vaccine and the antidote, they ran even faster under the cover of the guards.
Having been a Guardian for many years, Ethan is no longer the Guardian who could only watch blankly at the beginning. During the initial few seconds of confrontation between the two sides, he quickly set up several protective spells for Reena, enough to withstand at least five powerful attacks.
It was silent and without any of the fancy effects that other spells have when they take effect.
He had predicted the ultimate move, but he didn't know if the attackers' moves could even be considered ultimate moves.
He couldn't just watch Reena get hurt or even killed.
Even with Reena from other worlds, Ethan had an initial fondness for her. Although he spent most of his time as a Guardian initially fearing Reena, he was also afraid of the gloomy Reena at first.
But in his world, Reina is a companion and a leader. She hasn't done anything to them in this world and has only sent friendly signals. Based on that alone, he won't sit idly by and wait to die!
So while skillfully dodging, Ethan continued to buff Reena.
Magic to increase speed? Added. Magic to make hands and feet more agile? Added. Magic to make people lucky? He added them all.
He's not the Ethan he used to be, with pitifully low magic reserves who needed to drink potions. Several years have passed, and although there are still many potions in his space to quickly restore magic in case of emergency, Ethan rarely moves anymore.
He will be the one to protect the leader of this world!
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Author's note: I haven't been eating on time lately, and I've had a stomachache again. I also have no appetite, so I bought some stomach medicine, which cost me half of my living expenses...
Don't follow my example [splitting face]
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