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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 188: The Conversation Between the Living and the Dead
After listening to An Zheng's account, a ripple of surprise crossed Kenny's calm face, and he remained silent for a long time.
"So, you need to inject this batch of serum to retrieve the obscured data?" After a while, Kenny lifted his head, his eyes sparkling with interest.
"Yes." An Zheng averted her gaze; she still wasn't used to making eye contact with this man. She said lightly, "From the perspective of the experiment's purpose, you've actually succeeded."
"I'm still a bit short of what I want," Kenny replied with a smile, calling Black Man in from outside. He turned to An Zheng and said, "You haven't disappointed me."
"Where is the child? I want to see the child." An Zheng shot him a glance, revealing her true intention.
"Don't worry. I keep my promises. Once he recovers, I'll bring him to you," Kenny instructed Black Man and sent him away. "Fortunately, there is still one more of what you need."
An Zheng narrowed her eyes, catching a hint from his words. She asked in confusion, "Recover? Do you already have the cure for the Vaccine?!"
Kenny's lips curled into a restrained smile as he stood up and gestured for her to follow. He casually remarked, "It's just supporting medication—targeted treatment, not exactly a Vaccine."
With her hands in her pockets, An Zheng followed behind him, repeatedly pondering his words. It seemed that all the drugs they had developed would come with an antidote. At this thought, a flicker of insight passed through An Zheng's eyes as she kept her guard up.
On the first underground level, in the Laboratory and Biological Cultivation Chamber.
Bai Yudong was dozing on a bench behind the isolation room door, with half a bottle of water and a gun beside him. Black Behemoth hurried over to wake him up, pointing behind him to urge him to open the door quickly. From a distance, An Zheng noticed him and felt somewhat uneasy. Kenny pretended not to see it and continued on as if nothing had happened. There weren't many accompanying personnel; aside from the Security at the Elevator Passage, only a few Field Personnel were following them. Bai Yudong glanced at them; his gaze lingered on An Zheng for just a moment before shifting away as he took out his keys and unlocked the sealed isolation door.
Kenny and An Zheng entered together while Black Man, Bai Yudong, and other Field Personnel remained outside. Inside the isolation room, there were sounds of electronic devices buzzing; clearly, there were others inside.
The two changed into Sterile Suits and walked through an Aseptic Passage into the Biological Cultivation Room. Seven or eight similarly dressed staff members were busy at work, ignoring the two newcomers. In the center of the room stood a cylindrical glass bio-chamber resembling an aquarium, where a female body floated up and down in solution. If it weren't for the woman's long legs visible inside, An Zheng might have thought that Kenny had captured a mermaid.
"What is this?" An Zheng couldn't hide her astonishment; her voice sounded muffled through the isolation hood of her Sterile Suit.
"Come take a look," Kenny said cheerfully, his eyes glinting with mischief as he eagerly anticipated An Zheng's reaction.
An Zheng steadied herself internally and slowly walked around numerous metal conduits on the floor until she reached the front of the bio-chamber. The woman's head hung low, her slightly long black hair swaying like seaweed in the solution. As An Zheng leaned closer for a better look, she felt as if struck by lightning and froze in place. Kenny was pleased with An Zheng's reaction and remained silent, standing by patiently as he waited for her to regain her composure.
“Song Yao…” An Zheng stared wide-eyed, shocked beyond measure, her trembling hands pressed against the glass wall, a line of fine sweat forming on her back.
“Fate has a funny way of playing tricks. A few months ago, you and your friends were nothing more than insignificant ants to me. And now, you’ve all changed your identities and stayed by my side. How ironic,” Kenny said mockingly, looking at the body submerged in the solution, chuckling, “It’s all part of destiny, isn’t it?”
An Zheng didn’t respond, biting her pale lips, unable to utter a word. Kenny's words struck her heart like a whip lined with iron thorns. If it weren’t for her, how could these people who had no connection end up in such a situation? Gazing at the familiar face in the solution, An Zheng felt her eyes welling up with tears, recalling that night in the city when the girl wielding an Entrenching Tool rushed into the Horde to save her and the child; that overly optimistic young man; that girl as fragile as a blade of grass; that defiant Bald Guy…
“Alright, you’ll have time to catch up later. If you need anything, just ask them,” Kenny interrupted An Zheng’s thoughts coldly, beckoning a short girl over. “She’s still in hibernation. You can look at the existing data first. If you need to wake her up, just let them handle it.”
An Zheng suddenly turned around and asked, “She’s not dead?”
“Of course not,” Kenny replied, his eyes betraying his delight. “In fact, even if you hadn’t come to find me today, I would have sought you out. The reason I closed off other *zones* was because of her existence. Start your work now and give me answers as soon as possible.”
“Oh, and if you have any other questions, ask Bai Yudong. The mermaid was brought back by him,” Kenny added with a wink before walking toward the isolation passage.
“Wait, is she the only injector of that batch of reagents?” An Zheng furrowed her brows and pressed on.
“No,” Kenny stopped and replied. “But she’s the only one still alive. Due to some chaos involving your companions here, this is the only remaining Experiment Subject. So be cautious.” With that, he left the biological chamber.
“I am Suzumiya. How can I assist you?” The short woman bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, her voice soft like glutinous rice. An Zheng snapped back to reality and looked at Song Yao in the chamber, clenching her fists tightly.
“How is she doing now?” An Zheng asked.
“Vital signs are normal; the virus is currently integrating well,” Suzumiya reported briefly. “There were signs of language regression when she was first brought in, but that has resolved now. The damaged cell nuclei have self-repaired, and organ functions have returned to normal.”
“Language function regression? Why?” An Zheng frowned slightly; she remembered there were no similar physiological regressions recorded in the files of that deceased student.
Suzumiya shrugged her shoulders. “Overexertion. Before she was brought here, her body suffered many fatal injuries. At that time, the virus had just begun to take effect; the speed of cell division and self-healing couldn’t keep up in time, leading to functional disorders.”
“Oh?” An Zheng relaxed her brow and asked curiously, “So if we wake her up now, she would be a Living Dead with self-awareness?”
“You could say that,” Suzumiya answered hesitantly, carefully choosing her words before explaining further: “In fact, we haven’t fully analyzed her condition yet. The viral strain within her is still undergoing fission; we don’t know if new symptoms will emerge next.”
"What does that mean? The drug is unstable?"
"Yes, its effects are phase-dependent, and the speed at which it fuses with her own cells is beyond imagination. However, what specific breakthroughs may occur... remains a mystery."
"Is it possible that it's also a short-acting drug? After its efficacy fades, will the Infected Virus completely erode the nerves again?"
"We can't rule out that possibility, but the Lurking phase cannot be measured."
An Zheng nodded thoughtfully, refraining from asking further questions. Suzumiya pushed a chair toward her and stood quietly beside her, ready to provide answers at any moment.
"I have another question." An Zheng licked her dry, cracked lips and asked, "What about the situation concerning females? Is it related to chromosomes?"
Suzumiya smiled silently, as if she had already prepared for this inquiry. She explained, "Currently, the differences in chromosomes are the only explanation. Due to incomplete early data, we have no way of knowing the initial thoughts of the experimenters, so we can only rely on exploration." After a pause, Suzumiya added regretfully, "The boss doesn't allow dissection, so progress has been much slower; after all, there is only this one."
"Where did the others go?" An Zheng was curious since she was unaware of the chaos that had occurred that day.
Suzumiya replied, "Many died in the chaos and were transferred outside by Security... I heard some even escaped because the Underground Structure is too vast and several areas were sealed off, so searching was abandoned."
"Then why not use new—" An Zheng began but quickly stopped herself, surprised by her own thought. She waved her hand dismissively to indicate that this statement should be disregarded.
Suzumiya understood her meaning and did not press further. She explained, "The new reagents are still under development; the boss..."
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