Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 41 Virus Protective Agents

More than a week of peaceful life had passed. Li Chenglong was in his office that afternoon processing reports from various battalions and some promotion and appointment letters when Yun Lan knocked on the door and came in. It was March, a time of fluctuating temperatures. Yun Lan had already taken off her heavy coat and put on a light down jacket. Li Chenglong was engrossed in signing documents, wondering why she hadn't spoken for so long. He looked up and saw Yun Lan staring at him. Li Chenglong smiled, "What are you looking at?" Yun Lan smiled back, "A man working hard is really handsome, especially you." Li Chenglong put down his pen, walked over to Yun Lan, hugged her tightly, spun her around three times, and then put her down. "Is there anything official?" Because Yun Lan usually wouldn't come to him during work hours for personal matters, unless it was lunch or dinner time.

Yunlan then said, "Academician An Qingyuan and his students sent word that the virus research has made some progress, so I came to tell you." Li Chenglong immediately exclaimed with delight, "Really? It's only been two months, and there's already progress? Didn't they say the virus's gene sequence was very complex and would take a long time? I didn't expect to hear news so quickly. Let's go take a look." With that, he led Yunlan out of the office.

When Li Chenglong and Yun Lan arrived at An Qingyuan's research institute, many people were already there, mostly key managers from various departments. They all came over to greet Li Chenglong. Li Chenglong smiled and responded to each of them before entering the institute. Academician An Qingyuan was an expert in infectious diseases, particularly in the study of epidemic viruses. He had received numerous awards both domestically and internationally, and had even narrowly missed winning the Nobel Prize. Upon seeing An Qingyuan, Li Chenglong immediately stepped forward to shake his hand, saying, "Academician An, I didn't expect you to achieve results so quickly. This is a fortunate event not only for our base, but for the entire country and even the world."

An Qingyuan said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, it's only a small achievement so far, but Miss Yunlan said that even a small achievement can greatly boost the morale of the residents. Since you're all so interested, let me explain." An Qingyuan first gave a simple explanation of the virus's genetic sequence, then shared some of his own understanding, and then had someone take out several vials of light blue liquid from the freezer, saying, "This is the virus protection agent I've developed for the primary virus affecting ordinary zombies. Based on our experiments on animals over the past week, it can successfully prevent the initial infection stage of the primary virus. However, if the infection lasts too long, even ordinary viruses cannot resist it. Another feature of this product is that it can be used as a vaccine. Through our experiments on monkeys, five monkeys were injected with the virus protection agent, and then injected with the primary virus; none of the monkeys showed any signs of infection."

After Academician An finished speaking, Zheng Yong spoke first: "Wouldn't it be dangerous to use the vaccine on humans?" Academician An replied: "We injected a virus-protective agent into three people bitten by ordinary zombies. Two of them have now recovered, but one person was infected for too long and couldn't be saved. As for researching it as a vaccine on humans, we haven't done that yet." Li Chenglong smiled and said to An Qingyuan: "You can conduct preliminary experiments on humans. I'll have Li Xue help you. She has purification powers, so even if the vaccine experiment fails, she can use her abilities to remove the virus from those people." An Qingyuan was overjoyed, but then asked: "Where can we find volunteers?" Li Chenglong immediately said: "Liu Dongliang has captured a few thugs these past few days. We can use them for experiments. Although it seems a bit inhumane, it's the only way for now. I'll send two squads of soldiers to help you keep an eye on them." An Qingyuan nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Yun Qian raised her hand and spoke: "Academician An, if it is later proven that the vaccine does indeed have a good effect on humans, how fast can we produce the vaccine?" An Qingyuan slowly said: "We have to thank Lord Li for bringing all the equipment from the First People's Hospital back then, otherwise, let alone production, even research would be impossible. With our current technical level and equipment, we can produce 20 doses of vaccine every day." Yun Qian made a note in her notebook and returned to the team. Li Chenglong looked at the virus protection agent and said to An Qingyuan: "Now it can only prevent the primary virus, what about the later viruses? You know, we've even seen level six zombies." An Qingyuan shook his head: "It's very difficult. The gene arrangement of each level of virus is very different. To put it bluntly, from my observation, the gene sequence of the level three virus doesn't even match my understanding of viruses. We haven't even fully studied the primary virus yet. So for now, we are powerless against the later ones." Li Chenglong nodded to show his understanding: "Thank you for your hard work, people in your research institute. If you have any difficulties, just tell me or Yun Qian, and we will try our best to help."

An Qingyuan quickly waved his hand, "We're already doing very well. Yun Qian is supplying our ordinary personnel with the same level of resources as the lower-level leaders, which is already a great favor. Besides, I'm the head of the medical department, so I should do even more for the base." Seeing this, Li Chenglong didn't say anything more. He chatted with An Qingyuan for a few more minutes before leaving. Everyone else, except those who had work to do, also dispersed.

That evening in the small courtyard, Li Chenglong was cooking in the kitchen while the others waited in the yard. Their mealtime was over an hour later than others because they needed to finish everything. Among them, Chen Xiaoke and the others were too young, Yun Qian couldn't cook at all, Yun Lan only knew how to make fried rice, and only Shen Menghua and Li Xue were decent cooks. However, considering how busy they were in the medical and logistics departments, Li Chenglong decided to cook himself. Chen Xiaoke was leading two little girls playing in the yard, though she wasn't very old herself. Yun Lan, Li Xue, and the other two girls sat together chatting, their laughter frequently audible. Soon, Li Chenglong brought out several dishes and rice from the canteen.

Cao Yuechan washed her hands and skipped over, exclaiming, "Wow, what a feast! There's braised eggplant, stir-fried cured pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, braised fish, shredded potatoes with green peppers, and a chicken soup!" Shen Menghua was also surprised, saying, "You've only been busy in the kitchen for thirty minutes, and you've made so many dishes." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Actually, only the stir-fried cured pork and scrambled eggs with tomatoes were freshly made. The rest were dishes I got from the cafeteria earlier, which I then put into my storage space." Although Han Xiaoling had seen Li Chenglong take things out of his storage space many times, she was still curious about what it looked like inside. So she said, "Brother, can you put me in too? Let me see what it's like inside the storage space." Li Chenglong had already tested it before; both living and inanimate objects could be put into the storage ring, but living objects could only be placed in the high-tech zone because the time flow in the natural zone was three times faster, while in the high-tech zone, except for the storage area where time was stopped, the rest flowed at normal speed.

However, to prevent Han Xiaoling from running around inside the storage ring and causing danger, Li Chenglong refused her request. He had previously had a good chat with Yun Lan, who said her storage ring wasn't as big as Li Chenglong's, and it couldn't hold living beings; time flowed through it as well. Li Chenglong was very curious about this phenomenon, but after studying it for a long time, he couldn't figure it out.

It was nearly 8 PM, and quite dark outside, so Li Chenglong moved the dining table to the living room in the north-facing room. Yunlan was about to add another candle when Li Chenglong stopped her. He glanced at his watch, exchanged a smile with Yunqian, and began a countdown: "10, 9, 8, 7..." When he reached zero, the lights in the room suddenly came on. Having grown accustomed to the darkness, the sudden light made it difficult for them to open their eyes. Cao Yuechan and Han Xiaoling jumped up and down, shouting, "Power! Power!" At that moment, Li Chenglong and the others went outside and found that lights were on all around them. Yunlan asked excitedly, "Is the power back on?" Li Chenglong nodded, "Although it's several days later than initially estimated, it's finally fixed. However, the power supply might be unstable at first, so this power-on period will only last for a little over an hour. Okay, let's eat while the lights are on."

Not long after they started eating, Li Chenglong slowly began, "I plan to explore Linhai City first to pave the way for our later attack." Yun Lan immediately put down her chopsticks, "I'll go with you." Li Chenglong waved his hand, "No, you have to help me guard the base, and you'll assume the duties of the city lord while I'm away." Li Xue also asked, "Didn't they say at the conference that the attack on Linhai City would take one or two months? Only 20 days have passed." Li Chenglong's face was serious, "Wu Gang told me this afternoon that all three waves of scouts sent out have disappeared without a trace, including two..." "A Level 5 ability user? This is a serious problem, so I wanted to go and see. Even if I can't win, I can still run away with my abilities." Shen Menghua also said, "But you can't go alone, that's too dangerous. Take a few people with you." Li Chenglong shook his head: "Currently, our base has four Level 5 users: me, Yun Lan, Li Xue, and Zhao Rui. Although Zhao Rui is Level 5, his actual combat strength is only at the Level 4 level. Yun Lan will be my deputy to guard the base, and Li Xue will help An Qingyuan develop the vaccine. Most of the Level 4 users are battalion commanders and deputy battalion commanders. Our team is in a development phase and cannot do without them."

Just as the group fell silent, Chen Xiaoke stood up and said, "Brother Li, let me go with you." Li Chenglong asked in surprise, "You?" Chen Xiaoke nodded, "Yes, I want to go see what's outside with Brother Li. I've been protected by Sisters Yunqian and Li Xue all this time, and I've hardly ever participated in combat. Thanks to the resources I received, I successfully advanced to a Level 3 Water-type Ability User a few days ago. And now that the New Year is over, I'm already 16 years old, which is considered an adult in this apocalypse." Yunqian nodded in response, "Xiaoke has performed very well in the logistics department. She used her water purification ability to help many people get safe drinking water. According to the base's rules and regulations, she also receives a weekly reward of crystals."

Seeing Chen Xiaoke's determination and with others speaking up for her, Li Chenglong agreed, "Alright, you can join us. But we shouldn't have too many people this time. I plan to bring two more, that should be enough." Yunlan asked, "Who are you going to bring the other two?" Li Chenglong thought for a moment before answering, "Wang Bing and Yang Liu. Wang Bing is a level four speed-type ability user. He came to the Dawn Base from Xipo Village with our main force. I have high hopes for him, but he lacks practical experience, so bringing him along will be a good training opportunity. As for Yang Liu, that was just decided. Since we decided to bring Chen Xiaoke, it's inconvenient for just the two of us men, so we'll bring Yang Liu. Yang Liu is a level three wood-attribute ability user, and she's not weak either. Plus, she can help take care of Xiaoke."

Hearing this, the others didn't say anything more. Cao Yuechan, however, conjured a bolt of lightning in her hand and said, "I feel pretty powerful now, I want to go with big brother too." Shen Menghua grabbed her ear and pushed her back into her seat: "What are you going to cause trouble for? Get up early tomorrow, you have to go to the superpower school." The superpower school was recently established by Li Chenglong, and it only admits superpowered individuals aged 15 and under. The curriculum is very different from ordinary schools; besides teaching knowledge, the focus is on teaching the control and use of superpowers. After all, children's minds are not mature enough, and if they master powerful abilities, they might not know how to use them, and some children might even become reckless and harm others. The superpower school is responsible for managing and training them. Currently, the teachers at the superpower school are drawn from the military and various departments, and Li Xue and Yun Lan also occasionally teach there.

After washing up that evening, Yunlan hugged Li Chenglong in bed. "But I still don't want you to go. We've only been settled for a little over half a month, and you're leaving again. Can't you stay?" Li Chenglong gently kissed Yunlan's forehead. "Right now, we need to take Linhai City before the zombies evolve to a higher level. Only when Dawn City is truly established will we have a safe place to live. This base is good, but that's only because there hasn't been a large zombie army attacking yet. And you have to manage this home well for my sake, okay? If anyone dares to cause trouble while I'm away, you can kill them." Yunlan nestled in Li Chenglong's arms. "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."

The next morning, Li Chenglong went to the General Committee in Shuguang City to inform them of the news and explain the pros and cons. He then went to the Military Committee and gave a report. Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo, among others, expressed their desire to go with him, but after being persuaded by Li Chenglong, they had to give up. After lunch, Li Chenglong, Wang Bing, Yang Liu, and Chen Xiaoke arrived at the base gate. Li Chenglong and Yang Liu planned their route using a map and then set off on foot.