Chapter 184 Reorganizing the Laboratory
After tidying up my lab and holding a negotiation, it was noon in the blink of an eye.
Song Heng is a workaholic who becomes so engrossed in his research that he forgets to eat and sleep. However, he always holds scientific research in high esteem and, no matter how busy he is, he forbids anyone from eating in the lab.
When Lin Xi was there, many people would have the cafeteria deliver boxed lunches to them so they could get back to work quickly and eat in rows outside the lab.
People are less tense now. At mealtimes, most people go to the cafeteria to eat and chat with their companions along the way. However, the conversations are no longer limited to scientific research and include more everyday topics.
The atmosphere became more relaxed.
Looking at them, Lin Xi recalled her time at the Nanhua Research Institute. Back then, although everyone sometimes worked overtime, they didn't experience the oppressive feeling of the apocalypse, and their spirits weren't so tense.
When engaged in work, one is focused and attentive; when not working, one continues to live a normal life.
Lin Xi watched as teams of staff members walked past the door, and the staff members who passed by took the opportunity to take a look at the Sixth Laboratory.
Lin Xi took out her own insulated lunchbox. Having learned from her previous experience, she now arranged all her own meals and drinks in the laboratory.
Although it took some effort, these troubles won't last long.
-
In the afternoon, a new batch of scientific research supplies happened to arrive at the base.
Lin Xi and Zhao Jing met on their way to collect supplies. They had just had a heated argument that morning, and now they saw each other but each put their hands in their pockets and pretended not to see each other.
When they arrived at the management office together, the same problem arose again—
There are only 4 boxes of supplies, which is difficult to distribute equally.
It's the same familiar scene, the same familiar people.
Wang Yitong and Zhou Yiheng took turns deciding on the distribution of supplies, but of course the distribution was unfair. They used the same old excuse: whoever was more capable would get more.
Lin Xi has been away from the lab for the past few months, but she has heard that Zhou Yiheng's research has made new progress. It seems that they have developed a drug that can effectively slow down the spread of the zombie virus in the body.
However, this only slows down the process. Once the zombie virus enters the human bloodstream, it is an irreversible process, and sooner or later it will mutate into a zombie.
Even so, this drug can extend the natural infection process, which originally took a minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 6 hours, to more than 24 hours.
Lin Xi genuinely believed that Zhou Yiheng was quite capable.
Zhou Yiheng himself thought so too, so he started to boast, relying on his skills.
They were discussing the distribution of resources, and Zhao Jing seemed to have no say among them, having been ignored by the two of them.
Seeing Lin Xi with them, Zhou Yiheng seemed to recall what happened last time, and glanced at Lin Xi with a slow and steady gaze: "Haven't seen you for a few months, why did you change your name and start a laboratory?"
Wang Yitong said sarcastically, "You haven't heard of this? She's got connections."
Lin Xi watched as Zhao Jing was allocated only a small portion of the supplies, less than one-fifth of the total. Although Zhao Jing was unhappy, she couldn't argue with them.
After Lin Xi left, Song Heng's lab lost a few more people in the layoffs, making its presence less noticeable. Without Lin Xi, a capable person, to support it, Zhao Jing often faced this situation when distributing supplies.
Lin Xi coughed lightly, blocking the two people who were about to leave with a large amount of supplies.
Zhou Yiheng: "What? You want to divide it equally among the five labs like before?"
Lin Xi: "No, it's the average score of the six laboratories."
"Six?" Wang Yitong repeated exaggeratedly, raising her voice as she laughed, "Even with your little lab where you're all alone, you still need to get a separate set of supplies?"
Lin Xi was never good at arguing, but she had other ways of dealing with these sarcastic greetings—
fist.
Back in the lab, "Zhang Sirui" had no more scruples. According to Zhao Jing, she was "ruthless." She first subdued her mentor and then used her fists to intimidate other labs, making them dare not underestimate her.
-
Although Lin Xi received the supplies in the name of Laboratory No. 6, these items eventually ended up in Song Heng's laboratory along with the refrigerator she used to store her own samples.
She couldn't complete so many complex research operations on her own. Lab 6 was just her backup plan; it didn't actually have much research equipment. Her return to Lab 5 was inevitable.
This is currently the only laboratory in the base that is still conducting vaccine research.
All operations involving the samples were to be performed by Lin Xi herself, and no one else was allowed to touch "Lin Xi's" samples. There were many such operations in the early stages, and Song Heng watched anxiously from the sidelines, but the three rules had been agreed upon and could not be broken.
It's 5 o'clock, time to go home from the day shift, and now all we need to do is have someone on duty at night.
Lin Xi observed the way the staff members looked at each other as they waited to leave work. There weren't many people like Zhao Jing who cared about their teachers and research anymore. About half of them had reverted to their pre-apocalyptic workaholic spirit and were waiting to leave when it was time to go home.
Upon seeing Lin Xi, Song Heng seemed to see hope for his research and was very excited. He personally stayed behind to take turns observing and recording.
Lin Xi finished tidying up the remaining unused samples, glanced at Song Heng's back as he changed into his protective suit, and shook her head slightly.
She thought that the bald patch on Song Heng's head seemed to have gotten even bigger after not seeing him for a few months. There was a large bald patch on Song Heng's head, and he didn't care about his appearance. He didn't know how he styled his hair, which was of varying lengths and looked rather ugly.
In the past, Lin Xi might have jokingly expressed concern about his receding hairline and advised him to go home and rest, but this time she remained silent.
People's hearts can easily grow cold.
The lab was left with only her, Song Heng, and that female staff member who always spoke softly but worked diligently—Qu Shuran, who had been saved after taking only a small amount of the virus.
She weathered the resignation and layoffs and remained in the lab.
Unlike Zhao Jing, Qu Shuran looked at Lin Xi with a somewhat evasive gaze, as if she dared not face her, but she diligently assisted her from the side.
Like Song Heng, Lin Xi was also full of anticipation for her work and refused to relax until her colleague on the night shift came to hand over the duties at 6 o'clock.
At 7 o'clock, Lin Xi's watch vibrated, and the group chat became active.
Xiang Xin: Lu Ge and I are off work. When is dinner time, family?
Lin Xi: You guys eat first, don't wait for me.
Xiang Xin: [Dinner.jpg][Dinner.jpg] @SanSan
Lu Wei: How was your first day at work?
Liang Hui: I mean, does anyone care about me, who's also working overtime?
Lin Xi replied to the message briefly.
At 8 o'clock, Lu Wei and Xiang Xin arrived at the laboratory with an insulated box.
At this time, the colleagues from the other four laboratories who were on night shift also returned one after another. Most of them had seen Lu Wei's photo on the base bulletin board. As for Xiang Xin, the people in Song Heng's laboratory all knew her, and the staff from other laboratories also knew that Chao Xiong, one of Song Heng's subordinates, had a very good friend who was a junior officer at the base.
Lin Xi had anticipated that Xiang Xin would come, but she didn't expect Lu Wei to come as well.
She stopped what she was doing and led the two to the adjacent Laboratory 6.
"What a coincidence, you two are both free." Lin Xi looked at the food being taken out of the lunchboxes, all of which were packed from the military canteen.
Although it wasn't as good as her own cooking, Lin Xi was indeed hungry after a busy day, so she ate the food box.
Xiang Xin said, "Well... I haven't had many missions to go out recently, so I do have more free time."
Lin Xi glanced at Lu Wei: "What about you?"
Even if he doesn't go out, Lu Wei should be very busy, so why would he come in person?
Previously, Xiang Xin had said they would send her to work in the lab to boost her confidence, but Lin Xi refused.
Lin Xi felt confident that she could handle both the lab work and her own safety, just like today, which went smoothly.
Lu Wei hadn't thought of all that, and answered seriously, "I'm here to inspect the laboratory."
"Then I don't need to go with Xiang Xin, who's bringing the food," Lin Xi thought to herself.
Lu Wei added, "Now that the base's field combat missions have decreased, a group of people will take charge of base management."
A few days ago, Lin Xi heard Xiang Xin mention that her job might be changing. Due to the hardened zombies outside the base being very troublesome, the clearing work was difficult to carry out. Unless it was for collecting supplies or some special missions, the base rarely sent people out anymore.
Lin Xi sensed the deeper meaning in the words and asked, "So the lab is going to be managed too?"
Lu Wei nodded.
"Hmm...that's definitely how it should be."
The Dawn Base currently has five renowned professors and academicians, each leading their own teams to conduct research in five separate laboratories.
Previously, the base's management of the laboratory consisted mainly of distributing supplies and awarding wages based on points; it hardly intervened in any other internal issues.
Because the base's initial focus was on eliminating zombies and building the base itself, the hardened zombies have made the base realize that biological research might be able to solve the current predicament, and it is time to start managing the laboratory.
The five professors in the laboratory are all highly respected figures. Their functions and status are different from those of the military region. Previously, the base could hardly intervene in the mutual suppression between the professor teams and the disputes caused by the allocation of materials. However, now that the focus is on the research teams, they need to be strictly managed.
After Lin Xi finished tidying up the empty lunchboxes, she asked, "Who does the base plan to send to manage the lab? Is it also a military assignment?"
The military has the greatest strength at the base. This includes not only the original troops, but also many outstanding individuals who have entered the base and joined the military through recruitment. The people in this team are not only outstanding in combat, but also have strong overall strength.
Now that the number of missions outside the base has decreased, these people are the most likely to be brought down.
But Lin Xi didn't hear a reply for a long time. When she looked up, she saw Lu Wei staring at her intently.
“Me?” She pointed to herself.
"Yes." Lu Wei nodded readily. "You're more familiar with the lab."
Lin Xi couldn't accept this premise for a moment: "But I'm just a clerk... this kind of management work..."
The laboratory's management office is just a figurehead, only responsible for distributing supplies; it doesn't get involved in the power struggles between the professors at all.
Lin Xi could obtain legitimate supplies through his own strength, but managing them required overseeing several highly respected seniors...
"Management is not my strong suit, and I don't know if I can do it well," Lin Xi said honestly.
Lu Wei: "You're amazing. So many people at the Nanhua Biological Research Institute survived under your management."
Lin Xi: "But I want to do scientific research."
Lu Wei: "Someone will assist you."
Xiang Xin grinned: "Me and Qian Zetao!"
Upon hearing this familiar name, Lin Xi recalled that he was the team leader stationed at the Nanhua Biological Research Institute.
She does have some ideas about the lab. If it doesn't require too much of her effort, she can try to accept the task. After all, the lab's miscellaneous tasks and the staff's mindset are also very important.
Lin Xi considered for a moment, then sighed: "Today, a new administrator is parachuted into Lab 6, and tomorrow, another one will be parachuted in. I'm definitely a nepotism hire."
Xiang Xin: "You really are."
"..." Lin Xi rubbed her forehead.
“It’s not important.” Lu Wei looked at Lin Xi seriously, his eyes filled with appreciation. “You can do it.”
Lin Xi suddenly felt that these words sounded familiar. Song Heng had said the same thing to her when he asked her to deal with the mess at the research institute.
-
The news that the laboratory was about to establish a management office spread quickly.
Each of the five laboratories has five teams, each led by a highly respected professor, expert, or academician.
Who would be in charge of the management office? This sparked a flurry of discussion in the various laboratories.
The most enthusiastic debate was between Zhou Yiheng and Wang Yitong. Their team was quite strong, with an average of over 100,000 students holding doctorates by the time the apocalypse arrived. They were also one of the two teams with the most significant research achievements.
There wasn't much animosity between the professors, but when talented people work together, there's always some unspoken competition.
The relationship between Zhang Zheng and Song Heng in the Nanhua Biological Research Institute deteriorated due to these competitions.
However, the teachers maintained a facade of peace, and at worst, they simply ignored the situation. They couldn't bring themselves to argue over laboratory resources, so these matters were handled by their trusted apprentices.
Wang Yitong represents Cheng Xiaoyang's team, and Zhou Yiheng represents Guo Yanlin's team. Most people believe that the manager will be chosen from these two teams.
Previously, these two "strong alliances" worked together to secretly monopolize laboratory resources, but now that there is only one manager position available, they are at odds with each other again.
They are all strong individuals, and without outstanding achievements, they barely maintain a balance. Now that a management office is being established, regardless of how many managers there are, only one person will have the final say. Since they are all strong, who would be willing to be subordinate to someone else?
Zhou Yiheng was confident of victory: "Since entering the Dawn Base, everyone has witnessed that our teachers' performance is the most outstanding."
Laboratory No. 3 clearly thought so too, and in order to stay there in the future, many staff members of Laboratory No. 3 tried to curry favor with Zhou Yiheng in advance.
Lab 4, on the other hand, believed that their mentor's achievements were not particularly outstanding, and the management office had no chance with their lab. However, they placed their bets on Cheng Xiaoyang's team in Lab 2.
Because Academician Cheng Xiaoyang's achievements are also outstanding, but his personality is relatively mild and outgoing, he is more popular than Guo Yanlin of Laboratory No. 1, and is suitable to be a manager.
Wang Yitong from Lab 2 coughed lightly and responded modestly to the compliments, "Oh, don't celebrate too soon. No matter which lab goes to the administration office, it's all for the sake of contributing to scientific research."
The other four labs were having a heated discussion, but Song Heng from Lab 5 was forgotten, as was Zhang Sirui from Lab 6, who wasn't acknowledged by everyone.
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