Chapter 50 Chapter 50 The Fourth Wish
After this year's conference, Chen Mu held a small meeting with several ministers. Everyone's reports were first submitted to System 05, who reviewed them before handing them over to Chen Mu. Chen Mu explained that there were too many reports and that System 05, a member of the Internal Affairs Department, was needed to help with the review, sorting, and checking.
The meeting focused on last year's financial issues. Chen Mu once again used this incident to reduce the power of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Biology. He had a talent for maximizing the use of a handle. Afterwards, some recent policies were discussed. After closing the door, everyone spoke more directly. Chen Mu was determined to implement reforms. The Minister of Civil Affairs expressed support, the Minister of Finance was ambiguous, and the Minister of Biology had some complaints.
Base No. 59 began to undergo subtle changes amidst the turmoil and unrest.
Finance Director Li Qing pushed open the door. Inside sat the Director of the Biology Department, a slightly plump man in his thirties, whose eyes fixed on him sharply. Because of the virus, the Biology Department held a special status, and the annual funding for the drug research and development department was exceptional.
The head of the Biology Department raised his chin, sat there, and said, "Our leader has been thinking a lot lately. If he continues to mess around with the base like this, I'm afraid there will be a big mess."
Li Qing didn't say anything.
The head of the biology department continued, "He's not a young man anymore, how can he still be so naive?"
Li Qing: "Minister Liu, if you have any opinions, you can raise them directly to the leader, or submit an application through the Internal Affairs Department. If there is nothing else, I will leave first."
The head of the Biology Department suddenly slammed his hand on the table, and a loud bang echoed in the closed room. He shouted, "Don't think I don't know who he's targeting. He's targeting me!"
Li Qing's eyebrows jumped. This sentence was indeed correct. She didn't want to argue with him any more, so she said, "The leader has his own ideas."
The head of the Biology Department raised his hand. "Minister Li, it's amazing how loyal you are to the leader."
Li Qing: "I'm just doing what I should do."
"Then it seems that our previous agreement is no longer valid?"
"I don't remember making any promise with you."
The head of the Biology Department pushed the report in front of him and said, "Minister Li, at your age, you're still running around and taking care of the base. It's really worrying. I happened to see you come to the Biology Department for a checkup the other day. Because I care about you, I took a look at your report. Minister Li's health condition is not optimistic. Look, the threshold has reached 98. If you are infected with the virus, there is no medicine on the market that can save you."
The most advanced drug on the market is Levo IV, but only a few can afford it, and access requires specialized channels. A year ago, after contracting the virus, Li Qing received an injection of Levo IV. By then, her threshold had reached 93, and Levo IV had little effect. That's when the director of the Biology Department contacted her, saying they had Levo V and could give it to her for a trial. However, if Li Qing wanted to use it long-term, they hoped she would consider the new spending plan.
So in last year's spending plan, Li Qing agreed to a huge allocation to the Department of Biology.
But after using Levo Type 5, her threshold rose to 98 in just one year.
"Levo Type 5 is no longer useful to me. Does the Biology Department have any new drugs?" Li Qing asked calmly.
"Of course, the Levo VI has been successfully developed, and the Levo VII is under development..."
Li Qing suddenly smiled and said, "Minister Liu, you should tell the leader more about good news like this. If he is happy to hear it, he might agree to give you funding."
The Minister of Biology looked at her in disbelief. It was precisely because Li Qing had colluded with him before that Li Qing's attitude now was even more unacceptable to him. He really didn't understand why Li Qing suddenly changed his position.
He decided to add weight to the situation: "Since you've already used Levo Type 5, you should know its effects. You have a minor problem right now, but don't worry, everything is under the control of the Biology Department. We have a way to solve your sequelae."
"What method?"
"A new drug..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Qing laughed sarcastically, her lips curled up: "What price will I have to pay? The medicine in the biology department is too expensive, I'm afraid I can't afford it."
The head of the Biology Department sighed and said with feigned regret, "Minister Li, you've chosen the wrong side this time. The consequences of the reform are beyond his ability to bear."
Li Qing was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Minister Liu, have you ever thought about what the future will be like?"
"future?"
"I'm not talking about one or two years, but ten or twenty years from now. Will drug development catch up with the speed of viral evolution? Can we hide in the underground base forever?" Li Qing looked at his disdainful eyes, shook his head, and said, "I have something else to do. I'll take my leave now."
She left the Biology Department's office and immediately started coughing after getting into the car. Her throat convulsed continuously, and her lungs felt as if they were being torn apart. Every breath was accompanied by a tearing pain. She smelled the stench of blood in her throat, along with a cold, decayed smell.
Li Qing looked at the mirror inside the car and pulled open his collar with his hands. There was a red line underneath, spreading from the collarbone to the lungs.
She wasn't infected; this was a side effect of the medication. Levo IV had already had significant side effects, including asthma, epilepsy, difficulty breathing, drowsiness, and confusion. After she used Levo V twice, the side effects became even more severe. Two months ago, these lines appeared on her body, which was the minor problem the Minister of Biology mentioned.
Before giving her Levo Type 5, the Minister of Biology did not mention anything about the sequelae.
Li Qing's head was buzzing, her thoughts intermittent. She now occasionally experienced memory loss and slowed reaction times, and her daily lucidity was decreasing. Even if the Biology Department did have medication to treat the sequelae, those drugs would have new side effects. At forty-five, three years older than the average age, she didn't want to become a slave to drugs.
The communicator rang twice. She rubbed her eyes and the words in front of her became clear again. It was a message from her daughter Li Xingxing, saying that she had finished school and asked her when she would be home.
Li Qing smiled, replied to the message, leaned back in his seat to rest for a while, and then drove back.
She has children and she has to think about their future.
She originally wanted to live, but now she wants to do something for her child before she dies. Li Qing did not fully believe in the leader's determination, nor did she trust his ability, but the Biology Department was too short-sighted and did not share her views.
If there were a better choice... Li Qing couldn't help but wonder where the road to the future was.
…
The lights in the room were off, the only source of light being the robot dog on the floor. System 05 and Chen Mu crouched under the window. Outside, a large crowd had gathered outside the leader's residence, holding up colorful flags and signs with various slogans in protest.
They protested against the recent rise in drug prices, the chaos caused by the conflict between the base's administrative department and underground forces, the establishment of the Internal Affairs Department, the assessment reform, etc., and marched outside the leader's residence for this purpose.
Amidst the clamor, System 05 and Chen Mu stared at the robot dog. After a brief wait, the robot dog's limbs stretched out, and a display screen, similar to a head, lit up in front of it, revealing a line of text:
Hello, master.
Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief: "I studied the charging method, and now it can do some simple things."
System 05 asked: "What can be done?"
Chen Mu said to the robot dog seriously, "Dog, stand up."
The robot dog raised its front legs and stood upright.
"Get down."
The robot dog lies down.
"Jump."
The robot dog landed on all fours and then jumped suddenly, about ten centimeters high.
"Tell a joke."
The robot dog made a cold mechanical sound and told a joke, but before it finished, a stone came from outside and interrupted it.
The two ignored the stone. System 05 asked, "What's the use of this?"
Before Chen Mu could say anything, the robot dog said, "I'm sorry, I'm a useless little dog."
The display screen at the position of its head lights up: QAQ
Chen Mu: "Look, how clever."
System 05: "Intelligence level is too low."
"So I have an idea," Chen Mu said. "Let's give it that chip and try it out. There's no carrier in the base that can use that chip, but this robot dog is originally from that era, and it's just sitting there anyway."
System 05 really didn't know what to do with the chip, and there wasn't a spaceship in the base. He thought for a moment, turned off the robot dog's power, and took it apart. The chip slot was universal, so he could just put it in.
There was a fire outside. It was probably the protesters who started to light a fire. Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the special agents came over and dispersed those people.
System 05's attention was still on the robot dog. After turning it back on, the two of them stared at it intently. The robot dog's screen lit up, and then it immediately turned to System 05 and said, "Please give me a new body, even one of lower quality. I can help you find energy and fly—"
Chen Mu's eyes widened at its words. With a bang, the robot dog shook and collapsed to the ground. The system immediately opened the robot dog and removed the chip inside. The robot dog's interior was already burning.
The chip itself was unharmed.
"I can't carry this thing." System 05 said. He looked down at the chip and was silent for a moment. Just in the short two seconds just now, the intelligence level displayed by this chip was too high. Even System 05 had to give it an extremely high evaluation, which was almost the same as some inferior systems in the main interface.
Moreover, it also knows what the requirements of system 05 are.
"What does it mean that I can't carry it?" Chen Mu asked blankly.
"This robot dog's performance is terrible. The power supply, motherboard, mechanical structure, materials... none of them are up to par." System 05 reinstalled the chip. Even if the chip wasn't demanding, the base simply couldn't get one out at the moment. By now, silence had fallen outside. System 05 stood up, peered down from the window, and said, "You've cut their pay. It seems those special agents aren't willing to work for you anymore."
"If I relied on them for protection, I would have been in trouble a long time ago." Chen Mu picked up the broken robot dog and said, "This is just the beginning. Those people were sent by the Biology Department. It's useless to just deal with them."
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