Chapter 176 Zombie Files
Although almost all the colleagues present had seen this unusual zombie when it was first brought into the laboratory, it was so special that it was surrounded by everyone again as soon as it appeared.
Lin Xi peered at the zombie's face through a gap in the crowd.
Apart from his pale skin, he looked no different from an ordinary human, and even looked almost exactly like the person Lin Xi remembered.
Her facial expressions remained composed, and her body language was not stiff.
When it sees or hears people, it will try to stretch out its neck to bite, but it doesn't look as ferocious and exaggerated as a normal zombie.
He was firmly strapped to the bed, unable to harm anyone. He had been changed into a hospital gown, his exposed arms were still wrapped in gauze, and a patch of hair was missing from the top of his head, where a sample had just been taken.
"It still has a heartbeat. Holy crap, this zombie can't be considered dead."
"The scan showed that a large portion of the brain was infected."
"In principle, people infected with the zombie virus will lose basic vital signs and should be judged as dead."
"Moreover, the zombification process is irreversible. Even if his organs are still functioning, he has already been partially infected."
"But he has a heart and blood pressure, and none of his indicators meet the criteria for determining death."
Everyone was discussing it, each offering their own opinion.
Finally, someone remembered: "What exactly are Professor Song's instructions? To treat them like living people, like when we first discovered zombies, or to use them as research samples?"
Before the large-scale outbreak of zombies, the three zombies that Lin Xi brought back from Hongwen Hospital were not initially considered dead, but were treated as special cases.
Until Nanhua was widely poisoned, many people were infected with the virus and turned into zombies who then attacked others, the "normal" population dwindled sharply.
As the harm caused by zombies continued to increase, people finally began to formally distinguish "zombies" from humans and began to dissect them.
This unusual zombie has definitely had its blood and various tissue fluid samples extracted by Song Heng in an attempt to extract antibodies.
The presence of both zombie and human characteristics in this unique zombie makes it indeed difficult to determine whether it is a human or a zombie.
"If the zombie virus could be expelled from the human body like a regular virus..."
"But his organs were still infected. The vital signs maintained by the uninfected parts did not actually meet the standard of 'being alive'."
Although this was just a hypothetical scenario, the staff members present all shared a consensus:
The zombie infection process is irreversible.
Even if a drug to control the virus is developed in the future, it will not be able to save the zombies that have already been infected.
While a common pneumonia virus can be treated to eliminate the virus and cure the inflammation, allowing one to survive even with long-term effects, a zombie virus has turned the infected into zombies. Even if the virus is eradicated, the resulting organ atrophy and limb stiffness are beyond the recovery capabilities of current medical technology.
What exactly is the professor's plan for us?
A colleague, looking exhausted, came out of the lab and said, "The professor believes this zombie is key to the antibody research, and he's gone completely mad. He can't hear anyone calling him."
The resignation turmoil has not yet subsided. Apart from the staff members who voluntarily resigned to seek employment elsewhere, almost all the remaining people are former students of Song Heng. Everyone knows what this mentor was like when he was engrossed in scientific research.
The Mediterranean Sea appears to grow larger with each new cohort of students.
An older doctoral student stepped forward and said, "No matter what, let's keep an eye on this zombie and not damage the sample for now."
For the next few hours, Song Heng kept everyone outside the key laboratory. Without the essential instruments and tools, everyone could only make basic observations and records. Some people also voluntarily drew some blood from the zombies for testing and analysis.
Gradually, some people dispersed from around the zombies.
Lin Xi finally found an opening and stepped forward, standing close to the zombie while wearing a mask.
When the zombie saw her, it muttered to itself for a while, talking about trivial things, mechanically repeating what it had said in life, just like those talking zombies.
The zombies reacted to Lin Xi just like they did to anyone else, like they were trying to reach for food but were tightly bound and could only drool in vain.
"Do you know me?" Lin Xi asked in a very soft voice.
But she didn't dare take off her mask.
The zombies just drooled blankly, behaving much like humans with dementia.
This indicates a lack of awareness of the need to retain information.
Lin Xi's voice was very soft, but Zhao Jing, who was not far away, heard it clearly. She laughed and said, "Junior sister, why would you ask such a question? Do you know her?"
Lin Xi remained noncommittal.
Song Heng didn't come out of the lab until 5 a.m. Most of the staff were waiting for a miracle to happen outside the lab. They had already eaten a late-night snack and were either leaning or lying on the ground guarding the lab.
Song Heng had very dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes still shone: "There is a lot of intact tissue inside this zombie, which may allow us to extract antibodies!"
Everyone heard this in a half-dreaming state, hummed and mumbled a few words, and then, as if jolted awake from a near-death experience, they all exclaimed in surprise: "Really?! That's wonderful!"
But Song Heng seemed to have reached his physical limit: "I'm going to sleep for a few hours and then I'll come back. You all take turns guarding this place."
Lin Xi returned to her dormitory at eight o'clock the next evening. She was in a relaxed mood and even hummed a little tune when she opened the door.
"San San is so happy?" Xiang Xin was packing her things when she noticed San San's changed demeanor and was quite surprised.
His surprise was tinged with a hint of reverence, but this reverence wasn't directed at Lin Xi.
Brother Lu was right after all!
Letting San San drink some alcohol to vent her emotions really helped a lot!
It was worth getting drunk with her!
Although Lin Xi did not admit in the lab that she knew the special zombie, she later joined the research group and saw hope in extracting antibodies to develop a vaccine.
Very good--
Finally, we have a direction to move forward.
Seeing Xiang Xin's actions, Lin Xi was a little puzzled: "Are you going on a long trip?"
Xiang Xin nodded: "Yes, I might be away for a few days this time, so I'm packing some things."
They now belong to two different departments, and some tasks are inconvenient or unnecessary to discuss in detail. For example, Lin Xi doesn't talk much about her work because it's difficult for people with different majors to understand each other.
She simply told him, "Be careful."
Xiang Xin leaned closer to look at her for a while, then couldn't help but pinch her cheek: "Finally, I see your brows have relaxed."
-
In the following days, the neighboring laboratory also came to try and steal this special zombie.
Although their research focused on cracking the virus rather than developing a vaccine, this exceptional case gave everyone a glimmer of hope, and everyone wanted to take the zombie away to see if they could make any progress in their research.
Although Song Heng was unwilling, he knew that there was strength in numbers and that he could not monopolize the experimental samples.
So the laboratories agreed to take turns bringing the zombies to their respective laboratories for sampling and research without damaging the zombies' integrity, and prohibited dissection or damage to the zombies' integrity.
After all, this is a unique case.
Song Heng's initial enthusiasm gradually subsided as the results of the first round of testing were released.
When the research institute was in chaos, Song Heng gave Lin Xi an important position. After Lin Xi entered the base, Song Heng treated him as an ordinary staff member. He was never good at interpersonal communication and handling trivial matters, so he focused on his research.
Lin Xi was well aware of this and knew that her professional skills were not high enough, so she didn't have any ideas.
But Song Heng suddenly took the initiative to talk to Lin Xi about the current state of research.
"Some antibodies were indeed extracted from the special zombie, which provided some immunity to the zombie virus. However, these antibodies were incomplete and could not completely immunize against the zombie virus, so this special zombie was still a zombie."
Lin Xi nodded. She had read a lot of professional literature over the years, so her theoretical foundation was very solid. She had also been following the research progress in the laboratory, so she naturally knew this.
"But since no vaccine has been developed, there's only one outcome for outsiders: no vaccine has been developed, no results." Song Heng suddenly felt a little melancholy: "We'll be laying off staff after the tenth day of the Lunar New Year."
Lin Xi suddenly widened her eyes. Song Heng had suddenly taken the initiative to chat with her. Was he going to steer the conversation toward "layoffs"?
Lin Xi tentatively asked, "Are there clear rules for layoffs?"
"Never mind him." Song Heng frowned, then stopped talking.
"How can we ignore this? It concerns your team members!"
Song Heng changed the subject: "Our research needs other breakthroughs."
Lin Xi was a little sensitive to the topic of layoffs, but she also knew that Song Heng was a research fanatic and would definitely prefer to talk about research rather than layoffs.
Song Heng said, "Xiao Lin, do you remember the results of our previous research on Zhang Qiongqiong and her child?"
Lin Xi nodded: "I remember. Both mother and son are mutants whose brains have not fully mutated. You said that the human body's immunity to viruses may be related to specific genes or gene mutations, and these things can be inherited."
A glint of light flashed across the lenses of Song Heng's glasses: "Yes, the antibodies we've extracted so far are incomplete. If we find the zombie's relatives, it might be possible to extract other parts."
Lin Xi: "Does he have to be considered a direct relative like Zhang Qiongqiong and her son?"
If that's the case, then it's a bit troublesome.
This is because the zombie's biological parents and child most likely died during the two-year-long riots.
-
Base -17, Base Confidential Section.
"Colonel Lu."
Lu Wei watched Shen Hua walk past him, knowing that he was only greeting the colonel and did not recognize him, his "colleague" from his previous life.
Lu Wei nodded and replied, "Officer Shen." He didn't know Shen Hua's current position, so he could only address him that way.
Shen Hua was a little surprised that an important figure in the base would recognize him, but he still quickly brushed past him.
Shen Hua came out to the archives room, and an inexplicable intuition compelled Lu Wei to chat with Shen Hua for a bit.
He asked, "What are you doing right now?"
Shen Hua paused: "I was asked by Professor Song from the laboratory to retrieve the data."
Lu Wei asked, "Professor Song Heng?"
"Yes. My superior and Professor Song knew each other back in Nanhua. Professor Song asked us to check the relationships and files of the people involved... Colonel, checking files is not difficult, but it is not in accordance with regulations. However, the base stated that it should provide as much assistance as possible to the laboratory, so we still checked it."
"What?" Lu Wei was unusually curious.
Shen Hua opened the screen in his hand to display the data: "This is a special zombie that the laboratory recently captured. It has retained its complete human appearance, so its identity can be identified through facial scanning."
This is the zombie that Lu Wei brought back from Yang Yicheng. Lu Wei has never seen this face before.
Because the mutation was not obvious, this zombie's skin was not damaged, and it did not have a crooked nose, slanted eyes, or a droopy tongue like other zombies. It could indeed be identified by facial scanning.
Shen Hua turned to the next page: "Professor Song wants to investigate the kinship of this zombie, and he wants us to find these people at all costs."
Lu Wei looked at the pages of character information, some with children, some with spouses. When he reached the third page, he frowned slightly.
"Father, Lin Cheng; Mother, Zhang Xiulan..."
A distant memory flashed through Lu Wei's mind—he had seen these two people in a chaotic little courtroom in a remote village.
Lu Wei turned the page, and a very familiar face appeared on the next page:
Lin Xi.
-
“We do not know which side his genetic traits came from. In addition to direct relatives, collateral relatives may also carry antibodies.”
Lin Xi's body stiffened slightly.
Song Heng added, "Antibody research has reached a critical moment, and we cannot afford to miss any opportunity."
Lin Xi was stunned for a moment, then remembered many things.
She picked up on the most important confirmation: "The special zombies have no consciousness?"
Song Heng: "Judging from the images, the brain infection is severe, and there should be no remaining consciousness; the body is moving unconsciously."
Lin Xi left Song Heng in a cold sweat. Outside the laboratory, her colleagues were circling around Lin Jie's zombie.
They were feeding Lin Jie. Due to his incomplete mutation, Lin Jie was not only interested in people, but he could also chew and swallow ordinary bread and biscuits.
Lin Xi sat at a distance, her mind churning with thoughts.
For example, she had seen Yang Yicheng take Lin Jie away from Yunxiang when he was recruiting soldiers, and Lin Jie's zombie was given to Lu Wei by Yang Yicheng to bring back. She had figured out the completeness of the incident.
Lu Wei never said that he would die after turning into a zombie.
But her zombie was conscious. Although it didn't have the ability to control its body, its consciousness and sense of pain were real.
Based on what Song Heng said, if Lin Jie's immune system is related to bloodline inheritance, then she is very likely to have the same type of immunity.
Antibody research has made great progress and breakthroughs are urgently needed.
This breakthrough may lie with Lin Jie's relatives.
She was 10 meters away from Lin Jie.
Lin Xi was suddenly tapped on the shoulder, which snapped her out of her reverie.
"What are you thinking about? Your face is so pale." Zhao Jing sat down next to her.
"I'm thinking about the breakthrough point the teacher mentioned."
Zhao Jing: "Oh, I've heard about that too. They're looking for the zombie's relatives."
Lin Xi casually replied, "Is it that easy to find?"
Zhao Jing looked at her and said, "Even if it's not easy, we have to find someone."
"That's true." Lin Xi frowned. "Finding someone isn't our responsibility, is it?"
"Of course." Zhao Jing handed over a glass of water: "Why is your face even paler? Drink some water to calm down."
Lin Xi took the water; drinking it did indeed help relieve her emotions.
But my heart beats even faster after drinking water.
According to her original memory, Lin Cheng had died long ago, and she was injured by Yang Yicheng and hid in the basement to recuperate. When she came out again, there was no one left in the village. Zhang Xiulan and Lin Jie's wife and son had all disappeared or died.
It's been almost two years since the zombie outbreak started; these people probably wouldn't have survived if they hadn't joined Yang Yicheng's side.
Yang Yicheng's base only accepts capable people, so it's unlikely they will accept them.
Therefore, the breakthrough point is very likely to be her.
Lin Xi glanced at her watch, her mind in turmoil.
If that's the case, at least wait for Xiang Xin to come back...
But she gradually realized that it wasn't a numbness in her heart, but rather...
Lin Xi suddenly felt as if her tendons had been pulled out, unable to support her body, and fell backward uncontrollably.
The watch vibrated, but Lin Xi didn't have time to look at it; she just stared wide-eyed at Zhao Jing.
Zhao Jing calmly helped her up and hung up the call from "Xiong Da" on her watch.
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