Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

”Brother Su, did I and the big guy really regenerate our limbs because of this?”

Liu Tianji stared at the two pieces of light golden material in his hand, full of disbelief.

Zhang Su took the self-sealing bag back into his hand and nodded, ”An ordinary thalamus can heal very severe injuries in a very short time. Back then, when Dr. Xie was seriously injured by an explosion, he ate half a thalamus. Many of our brothers in the Yama Corps have eaten it.

If we say the light golden thalamus is an upgraded version of the bluish-gray thalamus, with the effect of healing upgraded to limb regeneration, it kind of makes sense. But whether it can heal neurological problems like Fu Weijun’s, that’s another story.”

”I can answer that question.”

Xie Yanshan laughed and said, ”If it can achieve limb regeneration, then solving Weijun’s problem is not a big issue. Pluripotent stem cells can completely repair nerves. It’s a true miracle drug!”

Upon hearing this news, Liu Tianji secretly felt happy for Fu Weijun. Although he became Fu Weijun’s ”guinea pig” for testing the drug’s efficacy, this ”guinea pig” truly received benefits.

He thought, with his ability and status in the Yama Corps, it would be difficult to get the light golden thalamus even if contribution were rewarded.

”But we don’t know the source of this miracle drug!”

Zhang Su shook his hand, feeling a bit melancholy.

He’s not a scientist, so he doesn’t bother with hypotheses, verifications, and re-hypotheses. Through simple logical deduction, he concluded that the light golden thalamus could enable limb regeneration.

So the next question becomes, where do we get this miracle drug!

”Actually, if we want to know whether the golden thalamus is related to the mutation level, we have a way to verify it!”

Xie Yanshan said confidently.

Zhang Su was delighted: ”How?”

”We could take the brain from inside the fire-breathing zombie...”

”Don’t even think about it!”

Zhang Su immediately interrupted Xie Yanshan’s ”fantastic idea.”

Limb regeneration is indeed important, but even allowing ten people to regenerate limbs is no match for the benefit a fire-breathing zombie brings to the camp!

”Uh... then there’s no way for now.”

Xie Yanshan rubbed his hands awkwardly, feeling that his suggestion was terrible, and then sighed.

”I have to say, this thalamus is really unusual. Generally, thalami are extracted when zombies are still alive or as they’re being killed. That way, the extracted thalamus is active.

But according to Mr. Zhang, the LPG zombie has been dead for over twelve hours. If it were an ordinary zombie, the thalamus would have shrunk and withered, becoming like dried flower buds with no activity.”

”So, you mean this thing might have been darker and bigger when it was originally inside the zombie’s brain?”

Zhang Su seized the key point.

”Based on experience, it should be like that...” Xie Yanshan nodded seriously, then his face changed suddenly, clapping his hands against his palm anxiously, ”Oh no.”

Everyone looked at Xie Yanshan in confusion.

Xie Yanshan didn’t hold back and said hurriedly, ”Mr. Zhang, I greatly admire Dr. Fu’s bold attempts. He knew the magical effect of the thalamus long before most people, even all people. But if others discover thalami of this quality, they won’t turn a blind eye; they will definitely invest in research, and by then...”

He didn’t finish, but everyone present wasn’t dumb and understood what he wanted to express. Having what others don’t is crucial for maintaining an advantage; if everyone has it, then it just becomes competition!

”Dr. Xie, you usually stay in the lab and rarely go out, so you might not be aware of the outside situation. If our previous judgment is correct, only zombies with higher levels of mutation can produce this special thalamus, then there’s no need to worry too much because such zombies are scarce!”

Zhang Su waved his hand, making a reasonable deduction.

If highly mutated zombies were common on the streets, then limb regeneration wouldn’t be as important; people would need to focus on survival...

Imagine hundreds of LPG zombies charging with their black spheres, expanding and contracting, not to mention people, even buildings couldn’t withstand it.

Fire-breathing zombies are even more terrifying. If some suddenly appeared, not many, just twenty or thirty, they could completely destroy Celestial Horse Island!

”What this civilization has brought is truly advanced, incomprehensible, and hard to fathom.”

The more he researched, the more Xie Yanshan felt he had learned too little. Unlike Fu Weijun, he didn’t crave cutting-edge instruments because he feared entering the microscopic world, a dazzling technology created by another civilization. He was shocked and envious.

”Wait a moment!”

Liu Tianji had also been marveling, delighted at being one of the first beneficiaries of the light golden thalamus, but suddenly he heard an explosive piece of news.

”Dr. Xie, you just mentioned... this civilization? Which civilization? Do you know what’s going on with the zombies?”

Previously, various speculations circulated within the camp, but there was no fixed statement. Now, hearing such confident words from a researcher, he couldn’t help but be curious.

”I... I request to be excused.”

Ke Zhiyu was stunned. An accidental injury had brought him to the core area of this camp, exposing him to secrets he shouldn’t know at his level. He didn’t have Liu Tianji’s strong curiosity; he wanted to flee, afraid that knowing too much would trap him.

Zhang Su understood Ke Zhiyu’s thoughts and showed a faintly amused expression, ”You already know a lot.”

”Eek!”

Ke Zhiyu felt a chill, tightening his bladder and almost wetting himself.

”I promise not to say a word. I know nothing. If others ask me when I leave, I’ll say I was unconscious all the time. If I leak even a single word, I’ll... I’ll never stand up again!”

Without needing reminders from others, Ke Zhiyu made a poison vow, fully aware of his own situation.

”Fine, that’s what you said. If there’s any related discussion outside, you’ll be the first to capture, and castrate directly.”

Zhang Su patted Ke Zhiyu’s shoulder and then said to Liu Tianji, ”Based on everything we know now, this disaster should have been caused by a higher civilization. We just don’t know whether this higher civilization comes from outer space or the earth’s core, nor what the purpose is.”

”Does a higher civilization see us like we see ants? Maybe there’s no special purpose, and they’re just playing with Earth as a petri dish...”

Liu Tianji recalled a childhood memory of burning ants with a magnifying glass with friends and threw out an explosive statement.

With that, everyone fell silent.

”It’s quite sad to think about, but we live our lives. Humans still have their own happiness. Don’t think about things out of reach. Alright, you should rest now!”

Zhang Su nodded to Liu Tianji and Ke Zhiyu, not wanting to continue the demoralizing topic, then said to Xie Yanshan, ”Dr. Xie, shall we check on Qiu Hui?”

”Oh? I was just thinking the same!”

Xie Yanshan hadn’t forgotten the experiment Zhang Su mentioned and was instantly intrigued.

Howl, howl.

As the two walked out of the room, the zombie lying in the corridor corner protested at once, as if accusing Zhang Su of mistreating prisoners.

”Mr. Zhang, how shall we experiment?”

Xie Yanshan looked at the zombie on the ground, missing limbs and tied up like a crab, his expression very strange.

”My experiments are not as complicated as yours; I just watch the zombie’s reactions. Let’s go.”

With that, Zhang Su picked up the zombie, signaling Xie Yanshan to open the door.