Chapter 201 White Shield Laboratory
The luxury suite had a desk but no lamp, and the corner was poorly lit. Lin Xi could only sit on the sofa, her dark circles under her eyes, rubbing a small pill in her hand with a nail file.
This tool is non-aggressive and an everyday item, so it won't be confiscated during security checks. It's perfect for rubbing off the camouflage on the surface of "chemical weapons."
Seeing that the polishing was almost complete, Lin Xi pinched the pill between two fingers and examined it under the light. It was a mini pill covered with a light-colored sealing film.
Lu Wei, who hadn't slept for a day and a night, also watched from the side with dark circles under his eyes.
After rubbing two pills, Lin Xi didn't seem to stop working. She yawned and continued her precise operation.
She suddenly remembered something, looked up at Lu Wei standing beside her, and asked, "Didn't we have no plans for today? Why aren't you going to sleep?"
After welcoming and washing away the dust of those who had traveled overnight, White Shield Base did not assign any work for the time being, and everyone was taking a break.
If it weren't for preparing for tomorrow's trip to the lab, Lin Xi would have already lay down by now.
Lu Wei: "Waiting for the sofa."
Lin Xi, sitting on the sofa: "?"
"I'll sleep on the sofa."
Lin Xi said "Oh", and then said, "The sofa is only 1.6 meters long. After deducting the width of the armrests, the remaining space for lying down is too short for either you or me to sleep on. It's okay for short rests, but not for long-term use."
Poor sleep quality affects physical strength, and they both need plenty of energy to perform their respective tasks.
They've already established a romantic relationship; they can't let the White Shield base realize this is just an excuse.
Moreover, Lin Xi was assigned a room to share with Zhao Jing, so if she had to choose a roommate, she would naturally choose one she trusted.
"..." Lu Wei turned around and walked towards the bedside.
Lin Xidao said, "We know that the bed is 2 meters wide and the truck bed is about 2.4 meters wide. In the past, four of us squeezed into the truck bed, with supplies piled on both sides, and the distance between people was less than 0.5 meters."
Now, with such a wide bed, two people can sleep with a meter of space between them.
At their home in Dawn Base, each of them had their own room, but in both their past and present lives, when they went out on missions, they all squeezed into a train carriage, eating and sleeping together. The carriage space was much smaller than this room.
During those extraordinary times, no one was bound by gender issues. Back then, four people slept side by side and even died together.
Given their close relationship, Lin Xi felt that if Lu Wei didn't care about such things, why should he be so particular?
Lin Xi said without any hesitation: "Imagine the bed as a slightly narrower train carriage."
“…Mmm.” Lu Wei responded softly with his back to her, his expression unseen.
Lin Xi lowered her head and continued to rub the pills, feeling so sleepy that her head was spinning.
He muttered a few words, trying to regain his composure: "The pills are reversed. The blue pill should contain the anesthetic, and the pink pill should contain the poison. After all, we only need to consume one pink pill a day, so it won't matter if we take a few more blue pills."
A helpless sigh came from the other end, and Lu Wei actually responded to her whispered mutter: "'Blue pills' can cause shock if taken too much."
"Yeah?"
Aren't you a medical student?
"Um... I'm a pathologist, so I haven't memorized the specific precautions for this drug."
Lu Wei sighed again.
He really didn't want to hear that "blue film" anymore.
After chatting for a few minutes, Lin Xi seemed to have regained some of her energy: "How did you know?"
Lu Wei rolled over and lay on the edge of the bed, only the back of her head showing, as if she didn't want to talk to anyone.
He muttered, "...No one should be coming to check on the medication usage."
Lin Xi: "Who knows? Details determine success or failure."
She finished her work and lay down comfortably on her own one-meter stretch of bed, covered herself with her blanket.
The next day, Lin Xi got up early. Today, their research team would officially enter the White Shield Laboratory to carry out related work.
"That's all for now. Here, take these 'little blue pills'." Before leaving, Lin Xi handed the pills to Lu Wei.
Seeing the hand that was handing over the blue mini pill trembling slightly, Lu Wei knew what funny thing this person had thought of again.
"Stop playing." He said with some helplessness, then added, "Be careful."
-
When Lin Xi arrived at the dormitory area of the research institute, Peng Xinghong, whom he had met briefly yesterday, was already waiting. After everyone was present, he distributed access cards to the research institute and led Lin Xi into the institute.
After passing through the access control, four professors and their staff members greeted everyone.
Several of them were familiar faces who were already somewhat famous before the apocalypse.
Professor Huang Qian, who was in charge, had given a lecture at Lin Xi's school when she was an undergraduate.
Huang Qian and Guo Yanlin are old friends, and they greeted each other and shook hands.
Lin Xi watched the professor exchange pleasantries and compliments while quietly observing the entire research institute.
This place is larger than the Dawn Research Institute. The laboratory that can be seen with the naked eye is numbered "7", and there are at least 7 laboratories.
Song Heng didn't care about being ignored, but he couldn't wait to ask, "When shall we start our research?"
Huang Qian wasn't surprised and chuckled, "I'll take you to your respective laboratories now."
Everyone was curious about the White Shield Research Institute when they first arrived, and they looked at the various laboratories along the way.
Most of the laboratories have a glass wall, so you can see inside as you pass by. Some laboratories have zombies, while others are sealed off so you can't see inside.
Lin Xi toured the place with an open mind, knowing full well that the laboratories researching biological weapons were definitely not here.
Peng Xinghong led Guo Yanlin's team into Laboratory 9 for an exchange, while Huang Qian accompanied Song Heng's team to Laboratory 10.
The equipment here is indeed more advanced, and the relevant consumables are also well prepared.
The refrigerated containers used by the Dawn Research Institute to preserve samples and specimens were also moved here.
Huang Qian said, "To be honest, Professor Song, since the zombie outbreak, my research has focused on extracting antibodies to develop vaccines, so next..."
Lin Xi interrupted, "Professor Huang, we reached an agreement with the White Shield Base beforehand, and our antibody project will still be carried out independently by us."
White Shield Base provides the site and advanced equipment, but personnel are not allowed to interfere.
However, once an effective antibody is proposed, the results must be shared with the White Shield Research Institute.
Huang Qian's gaze swept lightly over Lin Xi. He had heard of this young female dean of the Dawn Base. Although he despised the situation of a student becoming the dean instead of the teacher, he felt a bit of curiosity and awe towards Lin Xi.
“Of course, we won’t interfere with your work.” He adjusted his glasses. “On the contrary, we will provide some of the antibodies we have extracted to support your work.”
Zombies that can talk or retain some consciousness can be considered special zombies. Their brains will have parts that have not been completely infected by the virus, and a small amount of incomplete antibodies can be extracted from them.
Song Heng was not good at socializing, so Lin Xi replied, "Then thank you to White Shield Laboratory."
Huang Qian: "Hey. We're all doing scientific research, why bother with thank you?"
After saying that, he lingered and watched as Song Heng's team sorted out the contents of the refrigerator for later use.
Both teams had members present during yesterday's security check, and Huang Qian and others knew what was in the refrigerated box.
He said with a mix of envy and sourness, "We've been researching antibodies for two years, and we've only extracted a few small antibodies. You guys are lucky; you've extracted a large number of antibodies that can fight off the virus."
The implication is that everyone involved is a researcher, and no one is superior to anyone else. Song Heng's team was simply lucky enough to capture two highly unusual zombies and extract antibodies, which gave them the priority.
After he finished speaking, no one responded or paid him any attention.
Over the past two years, Song Heng's team at Dawn Lab has experienced both voluntary resignations and layoffs. Many people have left, and those who remain are people who are tight-lipped and dedicated to their research.
Lin Xi couldn't deny this.
Even though the team ignored her wishes and tried to force her to be an experimental subject, they did not leak the news.
For so long, no one has revealed the relationship between Lin Jie and Lin Xi.
-
Huang Qian kept his word and later delivered all the antibody samples extracted from their laboratory.
As he himself said, these are all "small antibodies" that can only provide immunity to a small portion of viruses.
According to data analysis, most of the immune responses that small antibodies can provide have been covered by the total number of antibodies developed by Song Heng's team.
Upon seeing the complete multispecific antibody synthesis system, Song Heng's team worked with great enthusiasm.
After organizing the equipment and materials on the first day, Song Heng checked the preservation status and data of all antibodies again to confirm that they were in good condition. The next step was to put the design schemes of the constructed bodies into combination tests one by one. This process was quite lengthy and could not be rushed.
Before we knew it, it was noon. Just like at the Dawn Lab, everyone went to eat in shifts to ensure that someone was on duty at the lab.
Song Heng is usually the one who stays until the very end.
Lin Xi was among the first to go to the cafeteria.
They arrived at the White Shield Base on a business trip, where the White Shield Base paid their points-based salaries. Lin Xi glanced at the balance and saw that it was much higher than that of an ordinary staff member.
Judging from the level of courtesy she received, the White Shield Research Institute did not treat her as a "director," but her points-based salary seemed to be paid at the level of a "director."
Lin Xi pretended to queue casually, but she was actually keeping an eye on the food serving process at the window.
There are no abnormalities.
They've only been at White Shield Base for a day. Even if White Shield Base has ulterior motives, they won't turn on them right away. They'll wait until their project yields results before taking action.
However, Lin Xi is more concerned about safety issues.
Only a small portion of the personnel in this layer are clerks; the majority are military and political personnel.
Lu Wei's team also ate and stayed on this floor, but Lin Xi didn't see them in the crowd.
Zhou Yiheng, who had come out of the Dawn Base with them, did appear.
Zhou Yiheng felt much better after arriving at the White Shield Base.
Although he was a guest here and couldn't act with impunity, Lin Xi felt much more at ease now that he no longer had the dean's special privileges.
On the first day, everyone was full of excitement and worked overtime until midnight.
Lin Xi received greetings from Xiang Xin and Lu Wei.
After joining the White Shield base and entering the intranet, the three of them formed a small group. To prevent the leakage of mobile phone messages, they would not discuss confidential content in the group, but daily greetings were allowed.
Xiang Xin: I get off work at 5 o'clock, I'm so bored.
Lu Wei: Is progressing smoothly?
Xiang Xin: San San... why haven't you left work yet?
It was past midnight when Lin Xi dragged her exhausted body home. After a quick wash, she collapsed into bed, too tired to move.
Today, Lu Wei sat on the sofa and rubbed small pills.
Lin Xi: "What are you doing today?"
Lu Wei: "Yue Mingyuan integrated us into the White Shield military department, assigned us corresponding positions according to our military ranks, and gave us the same treatment as the original soldiers of the White Shield base."
Lin Xi: "So you're also a major general here?"
"Um."
Lin Xi: "Wouldn't that mean you could get involved in a lot of things? Isn't Yue Mingyuan wary of you?"
Lu Wei shook his head.
Lin Xi closed her eyes and analyzed in a low voice, "He's definitely wary. He's doing this to lower your guard and observe your behavior."
Yue Mingyuan established the White Shield Base as an independent regime, detached from the control of relevant departments, and never communicated with the outside world. Suddenly, a major general who worked for relevant departments arrived. Even with the excuse of "accompanying his girlfriend," it was not easy to lower one's guard.
-
In fact, although Yue Mingyuan did not have anyone defending the Dawn Base, he was observing the Dawn Research Institute and Lu Wei through two channels.
While he communicated with Lu Wei more often to show his trust and allowed him to freely enter military strongholds to observe his behavior, he also sent people to secretly investigate.
Lu Wei did not reject this trust and acted very naturally, without any unusual behavior.
The researchers from the research institute who were tasked with the investigation started with Lin Xi, mainly by asking the staff members from the Dawn Base for information.
Luo Jun, an ordinary junior clerk, took on this task.
He often dined with Zhou Yiheng next door, and over the course of a few meals, he managed to glean some information from him.
Luo Jun complimented, "I've always been curious. You have five professors and a postdoctoral fellow as capable as you. How did you manage to appoint someone who hasn't even graduated with a master's degree as the dean?"
Zhou Yiheng rolled his eyes at Lin Xi from afar: "She's a woman, and she's hooked up with Major General Lu from our base. She's got powerful connections, that's all. It's the apocalypse, but these things are still decided by the base's higher-ups, aren't they?"
Luo Jun asked, "Hmm? Is Lin Xi really having an affair with that major general? I heard she doesn't live in the research institute's dormitory, but in the military region."
Zhou Yiheng waved his hand: "That's how it is at our base. She doesn't live near the research institute. I heard she's living with that guy."
Luo Jun indicated that she understood and wanted to ask something else, but Zhou Yiheng became impatient: "Don't mention that vase anymore, it's annoying."
A few days later, Luo Jun had dinner with a member of Song Heng's team and took the opportunity to ask about the young director of the Liming Research Institute.
The staff member in Song Heng's team didn't speak harshly, but he did mention: "The Major General does have a very good relationship with Lin Xi, and there are two other people who are equally close."
So another female soldier went to try and get information out of Xiang Xin.
Xiang Xin is outgoing, enthusiastic, and easy to get along with; some people seem to gossip about Lu Wei's love life.
Xiang Xin narrowed her eyes and said, "What do you want to do? Although he's my boss, actually... he's my brother-in-law!"
The man feigned regret: "Ah... what kind of person is your sister? When did they get together?"
"When? Like ravenous wolves." Xiang Xin gritted her teeth, recalling something. "The major general looks respectable on the surface, but behind the scenes..."
He's unreliable behind people's backs, yet he still makes San San take that kind of medicine. Ha, what an irresponsible man.
But San San is her best friend, so she can't reveal San San's private affairs; she has to protect San San.
-
Fan Yuchao reported the information gathered by others: "You want to use that kid? He directly used back channels to make his lowest-ranking girlfriend the dean. What kind of person can get anything done with only women on his mind?"
“It’s not that simple for Xiao Lu to rise to this level in such a short time.” Yue Mingyuan tapped the sofa armrest with his index finger and said with interest, “But young people still have weaknesses.”
Fan Yuchao: "Weakness? You mean his impotence?"
Yue Mingyuan sighed—
His student was neither very capable nor very smart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
