Chapter 12: Unveiling the Mystery of the Zombie Beast
Following the soldiers, we walked through the long tunnel.
This air-raid shelter has been converted into a research institute, and a whole row of laboratories can be seen on the right side of the corridor.
Through the glass windows, they could see various experimental instruments and devices, as well as some large instruments that they could not recognize. In short, it looked quite high-end.
At the end of the tunnel is Director Luo’s office.
The soldier knocked on the door and then stood guard outside.
The four people were greeted by a woman in her early forties.
He was wearing a white coat and glasses, and his hair was a little messy and looked unkempt.
Plus, perhaps because she often stayed up late, her face was haggard and she looked like a tired old lady.
"Uncle Liu, you're still alive. It's great."
Director Luo smiled.
"Haha, I won't die that easily, Xiao Luo."
Uncle Liu looked relieved.
"But Uncle Liu, how did you get here? I remember you lived on the East Coast, right?"
"It's a long way from there, and there are a huge number of zombies in the city..."
After the greetings, Director Luo expressed his doubts.
She knew that Uncle Liu was very powerful, but these groups of zombie beasts were obviously not something that just one or two humans could deal with.
"These three escorted me here."
“Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the XC section.”
Uncle Liu introduced Shi Li and other two to her.
Although they seemed to have arrived in a fire truck, the journey was safe and fast.
In reality, the situation is not that simple and easy.
A fire truck is a fire truck after all. Even if Shi Li drives it like a tank, it is not a real tank.
So on the way, they encountered several impassable road obstacles, such as abandoned vehicles blocking the middle of the road, collapsed overpasses or large billboards, etc.
Every time this happened, they had to get out of the car and clear the roadblock.
This kind of behavior could easily attract zombies, but they were all dealt with by the three of them.
"A person with super powers?"
After listening to Uncle Liu's story, Director Luo fell into deep thought.
She didn't question it.
It is an indisputable fact that the other party is able to pass through the XC area where zombie beasts are densely populated.
And given her status and position, she had indeed heard of the existence of some talented people.
In that case...
"In that case, please follow me."
After thinking about it, she decided to show them the results of her experiments over the past three weeks.
[Do you accept the hidden mission: Learn more about the dead beast - 0/1]
An unexpected subtitle popped up on the panel, which made Shi Li and the other two look excited.
So he quickly got up and followed.
"Director Luo, what exactly does your institute do?"
On the way there, Mosaichou couldn't help but feel curious.
Look at these devices and instruments, they are more than just making medicines.
“Studying the human body.”
Director Luo grinned, and at that moment the lights above the ceiling began to flicker.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little creepy.
For a moment, Shi Li and the other two didn't know what to say.
"Xiao Luo, stop scaring me."
"They are just some very common experiments. I have been a volunteer for them."
Uncle Liu began to explain.
"Don't worry, the experiments we conduct here are safe, legal, compliant and ethical."
The lights stopped flickering and Chief Luo's expression returned to normal.
As they were talking, they passed through an iron gate guarded by soldiers.
What caught Shi Li's attention was that the number of soldiers guarding the place was as large as a squad, and they were equipped with heavy weapons such as heavy machine guns.
The most crucial thing is that the muzzle of the heavy machine gun was actually pointing at the iron gate.
In other words, the troops deployed here are not to prevent anyone from entering, but rather to prevent anyone from coming out.
After Director Luo scanned his face, the iron gate slowly opened.
It turned out that there was another iron gate inside.
After passing three thresholds in succession, they finally arrived at a laboratory.
"This..." x4
When they saw the situation in the laboratory, Shi Li and the other three were shocked.
It doesn’t matter what kind of vessels, devices, instruments, etc. What matters is that there is an iron cage installed in the deepest part of the laboratory.
Inside the iron cage... there were actually a few zombie animals imprisoned.
In the glass room in the middle of the laboratory, there is an operating table, on which lies a dissected headless zombie.
"That's amazing, Xiao Luo. It's hard enough for us to just survive."
"How dare you capture zombies for experiments?"
Uncle Liu finally understood what the other party wanted them to see.
"They are species that have never appeared in the world. How could I miss this rare opportunity to experiment? "
"Besides, we are currently researching a way to crack the zombie beast."
Director Luo led several people to the iron cage with a smile.
After getting closer, everyone realized that the iron cage was actually in a privacy-proof glass house, and the eyes of the zombies were all covered.
They can see these zombies, but the zombies cannot see them.
And because the glass house is sealed, you can't smell their scent.
"Let me show you something interesting, Xiao Chen, Xiao Wang."
Director Luo said this and called over a researcher and a soldier.
The soldier named Wang is tall, with thick eyebrows, big eyes and three-dimensional facial features. His tanned skin due to long-term training makes him look more manly.
Overall, he is a very handsome young man.
In comparison, the appearance of researcher Xiao Chen was much worse. His irregular work and rest schedule coupled with work pressure made him look very tired and energetic.
Coupled with his ordinary facial features, he formed a sharp contrast with the handsome Xiao Wang.
"Xiao Chen, you go in first."
"Okay, Chief."
Xiao Chen walked to the side of the glass house and pushed the door open.
【Ahhh...】xN
As soon as those zombies smelled the scent of a living person, they immediately reacted.
He lay on the bars of the iron cage, sniffing and growling.
"Remember their reaction now."
Director Luo reminded them, then turned on the microphone on the console: "Xiao Chen, you can come out now."
"It's your turn to go in next, Xiao Wang."
"Yes, sir!"
Xiao Wang grabbed the gun and walked straight in.
When the two people coming in and out passed by each other, Xiao Chen looked a little unhappy.
This look was not one of fear, but more of a certain degree of displeasure and sourness.
【Ahhhh!】xN
What they didn't expect was that as Xiao Wang stepped into the glass house, the zombies immediately became agitated.
They even stretched out their hands and shook the iron fence vigorously, trying desperately to stick their mouths out from between the fences, but in the end they could only bite the air.
Even though he was a soldier with strong psychological qualities, Xiao Wang still looked grim and was frightened to a certain extent.
"Okay, Xiao Wang, come out now."
Hearing Director Luo's instructions, he walked out quickly without wanting to stay any longer.
It is obvious that the zombies reacted differently when Xiao Chen and Xiao Wang entered the glass house respectively.
"Tell me, why do the two people cause different reactions in the zombies?"
Director Luo looked at several people at this time.
Straw man: "You ask me, who should I ask, the grass."
Mushroom: "Is it because Xiao Wang is holding a gun that the zombies are more alert?"
"No, don't forget that they are all blindfolded and can't see at all."
Director Luo smiled and shook his head, and continued: "And the intelligence of the zombies is not even as good as that of cats and dogs. To them, there is actually no difference between holding a gun and holding a broom."
"Take a look at the differences between Xiao Chen and Xiao Wang."
She then prompted.
"Is it because of the difference in the quality of the meat? Brother Wang smells better?"
Shi Li asked doubtfully.
"You're pretty close."
Director Luo nodded and decided not to embarrass them anymore, so he revealed: "In fact, for the zombies, the biggest difference between Xiao Chen and Xiao Wang is that Xiao Wang is handsome and Xiao Chen is ugly."
Xiao Chen: "Director..."
Everyone: “???”
"That's right. When we first came to this conclusion, all of us researchers couldn't believe it."
"These beasts actually have a sense of smell that can determine a person's appearance."
Director Luo's words stunned Shi Li and the others.
"Judging appearance by smell? What kind of concept is this!
"What do you mean, shit."
"Director Luo, what you mean is..."
Shi Li seemed to have thought of something.
"That's right. These zombies only eat faces, and the prettier the face, the more attractive it is to them."
Director Luo finally gave the answer.
Shi Li: "If this happens, I will be in danger."
Straw Man: "And me, Grass!"
Mushroom: "Wait, you guys accepted it so quickly, don't you think it's outrageous? And you, you straw man! You clearly didn't understand, why are you just agreeing with me?"
"After repeated experiments and calculations, we found that the better-looking a person is, the easier it is for them to be spotted and attacked by zombies."
"Measures like plastic surgery or wearing masks are ineffective, and maybe that's not quite accurate, but they can tell what you look like by smell."
"In addition, we have also inferred through various test results that when the target is extremely ugly, its appeal to the Zombie will infinitely approach 0."
"In other words, in theory, as long as you are ugly enough, the zombies will not bite you, or even ignore you."
Director Luo added.
"Why are you looking at me?!"
Mosaichou suddenly noticed that there was something wrong with the woman's gaze.
At this time, the task panel popped up again.
【Learn more about Zang Beast－1/1】
[Congratulations, mission accomplished]
It's just a pity that there is no reward.
"By the way, Director Luo, we met a strange guy on the way here."
Shi Li told Director Luo about his encounter with the enhanced zombie beast.
Now hearing what she said, the cook was able to survive alone until now not because of luck, but because he was ugly.
Cook: Thank you.
"Oh? We have never seen this kind of beast before."
"This is an issue that deserves attention."
"Um... follow me back to the office."
After thinking about it, Director Luo decided to talk to them about some deeper issues.
10 minutes later, inside the office.
"What? From a force that is not of this world?"
After listening to Director Luo's remarks, Uncle Liu could not sit still and stood up.
However, Shi Li and the other two remained silent.
Aren't they themselves from a place that doesn't belong to this world?
"Uncle Liu, we didn't believe it at first."
Faced with Uncle Liu's reaction, Director Luo gave a bitter smile.
After repeated research and verification, they discovered that these zombies stored a form of matter-energy that had never been seen before.
She called this form of existence magic, because it was absolutely impossible for humans to create it, no matter how advanced the technology was.
"Now I heard you say that a strengthened zombie beast appeared. According to my guess, this proves that this form of matter-energy existence has the possibility of evolution."
“So the problem is getting worse.”
She expressed deep concern.
"Is there no way to solve it, such as making a vaccine or a reverse virus for Zombies?"
Uncle Liu asked.
"Unfortunately, based on my knowledge and the current conditions of the institute, the possibility is 0%."
Director Luo shook his head, but then changed the subject: "But there is a place in the suburbs of XC District that may have such technical capabilities."
"H International Group's experimental base is dedicated to biological and pharmaceutical research."
"Everyone, would you like to take a trip?"
She looked at Shi Li and the other two.
[Do you accept the hidden mission: Explore the H International Group Experimental Base - 0/1]
A new task popped up.
"Of course."
Shi Li agreed on behalf of everyone.
"Then I'll quit my job. I can't help but be a hindrance."
Uncle Liu is very self-aware.
"The location of the H International Group's experimental base is relatively remote, and it has its own security forces, so the possibility of it not falling is relatively high."
"If there are still researchers there, please pass this thing over to them."
"This is all the data our institute has obtained in the past three weeks, and it should be of some help to them."
"If that place has already fallen, we can make a long-term plan when we come back."
Director Luo handed Shi Li a USB flash drive.
"In addition, I can provide you with a little help."
As she spoke, she dialed the internal line.
[Ugh…! ]
After a while, Shi Li heard a sound similar to the growl of a dead beast outside the office door.
"Mourning beast?"
He immediately pulled out the iron rod.
"Don't worry, that's our funeral beast."
I didn't expect Director Luo to say such a thing.
As the office door opened, a large dog led by a soldier appeared before them.
The dog was of large build, about the same height as a mushroom.
The key point is that the color of its hairless skin is hard to ignore. It is the same dry and gray-brown color as those zombie animals on the street.
"Isn't this a real lost dog?"
Shi Li looked at the other person.
"I believe you have also discovered that the Zombie Virus will not infect animals other than humans."
"We infected this big dog artificially."
"Then we discovered that the Zombie Virus not only does not affect the rationality of animals, but also makes them smarter and better at communicating."
Originally, the dog had not much time left due to a serious illness, so Director Luo simply conducted a series of experiments and achieved very good results.
"There is such a magical thing? What is its name?"
Mosaichu looked at the docile big dog with its tongue sticking out and felt curious.
Director Luo: "It didn't have a name. It was already dying when it was sent to us."
Shi Li: "Will this dog bite people?"
Director Luo: "Don't worry, it's very obedient and generally won't bite unless it can't help it."
Shi Li: "..., isn't this nonsense?"
Mushroom: "Ahhhh! Why didn't you tell me earlier! Mushroom! Let go! You damn dog!!"
Director Luo: "It's okay. We have calculated theoretically that animal parasites cannot infect humans."
Director Luo: "But you should have had a rabies vaccine, right?"
Mushroom: “????”
