Chapter 235 Current Status of the Half-Infected
Lin Xi saw the group of people on the lab table through the glass. Zhao Jing's face was too familiar, so familiar that it was almost blinding.
At this moment, Zhao Jing also saw Lin Xi and Lu Wei surrounded by a crowd outside.
When these two reappeared, the situation was reversed once again.
Zhao Jing gave a weak twitch at the corner of her mouth, the emotions hidden in that slight laugh were unknown.
Lin Xi didn't want to ridicule her or mock her.
It wasn't because of kindness or forgiveness, I was just simply tired.
Seeing Zhao Jing made her feel very tired, and the things she was about to do also made her feel very tired.
She wasn't born with a passion for scientific research, and now, having only just stepped into the research institute, Lin Xi, who had just adjusted her physical condition, was already exhausted.
As the president of the Semi-Infected Association, Lu Wei made a brief speech before leaving the research institute.
Lin Xi then changed into protective clothing and entered the laboratory.
The zombie virus is not transmitted through respiration, so their protective suits are not very airtight. Even through the mask, Lin Xi could still smell a faint sweet and fishy smell in the air.
Several live samples were restrained on the experimental table. Their eyes moved freely, and their facial features were calm, indicating that they were all conscious. However, they were being protected using methods used to restrain zombies, almost as if they were wearing bite guards.
Lin Xi checked each of the live samples on the bed one by one.
These are all infected individuals who have encountered problems, and each infected individual has corresponding data and records next to them.
Most cases involve loss of consciousness and difficulty controlling limbs. In more severe cases, the individual loses consciousness and becomes completely uncontrollable, essentially turning into a zombie.
There are also isolated cases.
For example, a cancer patient voluntarily receives an undeveloped vaccine and gets infected with the virus in an attempt to stop his condition from worsening. However, his body develops a severe rejection reaction to the vaccine, and instead of producing antibodies, he develops lumps on his body and gradually turns into a zombie.
In some cases, the hardening reaction doesn't manifest in the bones but rather migrates to the blood vessels. In these cases, hard crystalline structures appear in the blood vessels of the half-infected individual, their movements become extremely stiff, and strange white patterns even appear beneath their already pale skin. He doesn't show obvious signs of zombification, but that part of him as a half-infected person is about to die.
Zhao Jing belongs to the first category. Her record sheet states that she occasionally experiences periods of unconsciousness and emotional instability.
Since she began to show symptoms, Gao Zhixing temporarily took over her position to lead the research institute and continued to work, and conducted basic analysis on these problematic semi-infected individuals.
Lin Xi has seen the dynamic changes of various values over the past few days, as well as the list of medications. What she needs to do is continue this research, which is more like treatment than research.
Gao Zhixing explained, "In fact, the semi-infected group has been implemented for a long time, and only a few special cases have occurred, so the margin for error is not low."
His words seemed to be telling Lin Xi that the semi-infected experiment was actually successful, and that the few cases that went wrong were normal errors that could be tolerated.
After all, people have individual genetic differences. Some people may have allergic reactions or even more severe rejection reactions to vaccines, while others may not develop enough antibodies after receiving the vaccine. These situations vary from person to person.
But most people are currently normal.
Gao Zhixing had never persecuted Lin Xi, and even showed some leniency when Lu Wei, a half-infected person, first appeared. Moreover, he was a researcher who focused on his work, so Lin Xi didn't want to argue with him.
But she couldn't help but speak out against these self-deceiving words: "If you think this is normal, why did you call me here?"
Not to brag, but Lin Xi was one of the first to start research on the zombie virus while she was in Song Heng's team, and she was involved in almost the entire process of antibody and vaccine research.
Both she and Zhao Jing were Song Heng's "closest disciples," but unlike Zhao Jing, Lin Xi maintained a learning mindset throughout her research, reading literature and studying different zombie viruses every day in addition to working overtime.
She is indeed the researcher who understands virus vaccines best right now.
If these samples fall within the normal tolerance range, the research can continue; the base doesn't necessarily have to force her to participate in the semi-infected organism research.
Gao Zhixing looked embarrassed and didn't reply.
Lin Xi didn't stop there, but continued to analyze the current situation: "Current vaccines cannot completely resist the virus, but it is also very difficult to maintain a balance between antibodies and the virus in the body."
“It’s difficult, but it’s achievable.” Gao Zhixing adjusted his glasses and said meaningfully, “President Lu has been a semi-infected person for the longest time, and he hasn’t had any problems.”
“But he mutated too.” Lin Xi said sadly.
Gao Zhixing: "The decline in vital signs is a common phenomenon, just like the special zombies remaining in the Dawn Base. Their organ functions have declined but can still maintain operation. Most importantly, their brains have not mutated. Chairman Lu retains a clear consciousness..."
Lin Xi didn't want to listen to his rambling about Lu Wei's problem, and said directly, "My area of expertise is vaccine research, but the base asked me to participate in the research on semi-infected individuals, but instead of having me develop a vaccine that can truly maintain a balance between the virus and antibodies in the body, they first studied these problematic semi-infected individuals. This shows that the base is afraid that the semi-infected individuals will continue to cause problems, after all, it concerns themselves. I guess there are probably quite a few people in the base's upper echelons who are already semi-infected."
She had seen the list and information of semi-infected people inside the base from Lu Wei, but Lu Wei also said that the information of the base's senior personnel was kept confidential, and it was not clear who exactly were semi-infected.
Gao Zhixing coughed lightly, not answering directly, but said, "We tested the antitoxin and delay agent you gave Chairman Lu, and prepared the same drugs, but they were not very effective. We need Dean Lin's cooperation to hand over all the drug regimens used since Chairman Lu was first infected with the virus."
Initially, Lin Xi used a delay agent formulated by Zhou Yiheng to slow down the spread of the virus in her body, buying time for the vaccine to generate antibodies, while also using a simple antitoxin.
This antitoxin is almost useless against the rapidly proliferating zombie virus.
After arriving at the Watchtower, Lin Xi not only researched vaccines but also gained more insights into virus research. He improved the antitoxin formula and used it on Lu Wei while making improvements.
Both delay agents and antitoxins require rare and valuable raw materials, making them difficult to distribute widely in the short term. Given Lin Xi's current estimate of the number of semi-infected individuals at the base, the amount of drugs that the laboratory can produce is far from sufficient. Therefore, most semi-infected individuals were vaccinated first, and after a period of time, their bodies had developed antibodies before they were infected with the virus, possibly without the use of delay agents and antitoxins.
Lin Xi already had a bad feeling.
Over the next few days, Lin Xi administered antitoxins to different semi-infected individuals based on their condition, as the delaying agents were no longer very effective.
Her current role is more like that of a doctor treating semi-infected individuals.
She treated every sample equally, including Zhao Jing.
The two met but remained silent.
Perhaps bored being stuck on the lab bench, or perhaps unable to contain her emotions, Zhao Jing spoke first: "Don't you have any questions?"
Lin Xi shook her head. The situation was already like this, and she roughly understood the cause, so there was nothing to ask.
But after thinking for a moment, she still said, "I thought you were sensible and wouldn't infect Jiang Wenxian."
Lin Xi initially thought that Zhao Jing and Qu Shuran just didn't want to die from cancer. However, after seeing Lu Wei's good condition, Zhao Jing took a risk and led everyone to become semi-infected.
They did this simply to survive. Lin Xi thought they would hide their half-infected identities and continue living like Lu Wei.
Although Lin Xi and Zhao Jing were not on good terms, they had been colleagues for many years. Zhao Jing was not that bad; otherwise, knowing Lin Xi's background and the fact that she had powerful backers, she would have had countless opportunities to attack Lin Xi.
Zhao Jing sighed and laughed, annoyed: "You're really naive."
The two have completely fallen out, which is certainly not a compliment.
Zhao Jing said, "You won't know the pain until you prick yourself. Lin Xi, I've said before that you're this kind of person, and everyone is like this. How can I let myself be in a semi-infected state alone?"
Following this logic, Lin Xi could understand that Jiang Wenxian would become a half-infected person, and Zhao Jing might have done it intentionally. In the apocalypse, people are treacherous, and no one can be trusted. Only by pulling others onto one's own ship and into the same situation can one become a community of shared interests.
Zhao Jing seemed to see what Lin Xi was thinking, shook her head and said, "Actually, I hesitated at first about whether to do this, but if it weren't for him... never mind."
She didn't finish speaking, but Lin Xi knew that Jiang Wenxian was definitely not a good backer. Zhao Jing didn't have a good time under him, otherwise she wouldn't have been "sent back" to the lab by Jiang Wenxian.
Zhao Jing continued, "He was very angry when he first heard about the situation of semi-infected people, but there was nothing he could do. After a while, when he discovered the benefits of semi-infected people, he began to vigorously promote the semi-infected person project. You know, the vaccine has already been mass-produced."
Lin Xi nodded. She didn't want to listen to Zhao Jing's description of their emotional journey any longer, and prepared to turn and leave.
Zhao Jing stopped her: "Lu Wei's list is incomplete. In fact, less than 30% of the people in this base are real people."
Lin Xi turned around in a daze. She and Lu Wei had originally estimated that the number of semi-infected people should account for about 25% of the base's population.
"The semi-infected organism experiment is not mature, how could it be promoted to this extent?"
Zhao Jing: "Many people have died in the years since the apocalypse. Everyone is afraid of death and everyone is exhausted. Who doesn't want to live forever? You've seen the church members marching outside, haven't you? At first, vaccines were very expensive, and everyone competed for them at high prices. Those who became half-infected were either rich or powerful."
"But there are still some people who don't want to become semi-infected, like you."
Lin Xi: "Only part?"
Isn't it better to be a pure person?
Zhao Jing clicked her tongue, seemingly exhausted by the differing values between Lin Xi and herself.
"Don't underestimate the allure of immortality; even Qin Shi Huang couldn't resist it."
"..."
Zhao Jing added, "Jiang Wenxian vigorously promoted the semi-infected body plan some time ago, and even shared this plan with other bases. He also directly mass-produced vaccines within the Watchtower Base, turning most people into semi-infected individuals."
"When did this happen?" Lin Xi asked seriously.
The list of semi-infected people that she and Lu Wei saw was far less than that. Even if Lu Wei did not have Jiang Wenxian's trust, there shouldn't be such a big discrepancy.
Zhao Jing gave a sarcastic smile: "It all started when the first half-infected person had a problem. Like I always say, you don't know the pain until you get pricked yourself. Only by putting everyone on the same boat can we work together."
Lin Xi panicked; she felt a genuine sense of fear.
When problems arise with the semi-infected, the higher-ups fear that the semi-infected will become outcasts and be resisted. So they turn most people into semi-infected so that everyone is in the same situation. If problems arise, they will all be in the same situation, and the base will not be divided into two factions.
The relevant departments have a negative attitude towards the plan to eliminate the semi-infected. Jiang Wenxian took this into consideration, thinking that since the population has decreased sharply in the apocalypse, the law will not punish the masses. If the relevant departments want to clean house, they should also consider the number of semi-infected people in the entire Watchtower Base.
Moreover, these semi-infected individuals formed an alliance. When faced with confrontation, they were "new humans" with stronger, more rigid bones, possessing greater combat power than ordinary humans and making them difficult to eliminate.
Jiang Wenxian may not have had the same independent ambitions as Yue Mingyuan, but he also did things that went against the interests of humanity in order to save his own destiny.
Wang Jun and Gao Zhixing, who believed they were becoming half-infected to eliminate zombies for the benefit of humanity, also went astray.
Seeing that she had come out of her reverie, Zhao Jing said, "Originally, you were also going to be forced to become a half-infected person."
Lin Xi looked at her.
Zhao Jing shook her head: "I told Jiang Wenxian that you are the most likely person to solve this situation. You need to maintain human awareness and skills."
Lin Xi asked, "...Why are you telling me all this?"
Zhao Jing stared at her intently: "So that you would come here to treat me."
Lin Xi couldn't hide her annoyance. The two of them had already made such a scene, and Zhao Jing's attitude towards her was really good, and she was quite shameless.
Zhao Jing said calmly, "I just... want to live. Just like you, I want to live."
Lin Xi shook her head: "Living is hard. I have neither the ability nor the obligation to save others."
These are her thoughts over the past few days.
“Maybe.” Zhao Jing sighed self-deprecatingly. “But even on his deathbed, my teacher still thought you were hope. Ironically, I also thought you might be able to lead everyone out of danger again.”
That's why I showed mercy before.
-
After meeting Lin Xi, Lu managed to secure an opportunity to meet Xiang Xin.
But Xiang Xin refused to visit him in prison, so Lu Wei had no chance to help her.
Lu Wei went home specifically to get her ita bag and said in a serious tone, "Your brother-in-law has come to see you."
Upon hearing the guard's words, Xiang Xin paused for a moment, then clutched her pain bag and said, "I only came to see you because of this, you traitor."
Lu Wei: "San San and I are both working for the Semi-Infected Association. Come out and join us."
Xiang Xin blinked, silently processing Lu Wei's words. Then she loudly retorted, "No way! I have things I'm good at! I'm a scout, what use would I be in the Semi-Infected Association!"
Lu Wei: "..."
Xiang Xin shouted excitedly, "I'd rather go to jail than associate with you! You two dogs, man and woman!"
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