Chapter 77

Chen Yanlin remembered very clearly —— a few months ago, he had issued twenty-six different ranks of military promotion orders.

Among them, three were for the Kunming region. The names of the promoted personnel were Major Li Daoyuan, Lieutenant Wu Guoguang, and Second Lieutenant Su Hao.

Chen Yanlin had read the first and second notebooks sent by the KD03 base.

The content was very detailed, with various data and times arranged systematically, accurately describing the daily activities and physical changes of the zombies. Next to the data, there were often a few conjectures specially noted by the recorder. The notebook was so detailed that it was even shocking.

After reading the notebook, Chen Yanlin immediately ordered his secretary to send a copy of the document to the Group Army Headquarters. Number One and Number Two had similar opinions, both thinking that the recorder was very excellent and should be directly recruited as a soldier.

The personal file in front of him was very telling —— on the screen, Su Hao's "Personal Rewards" section was blank, and his identity was marked as "Civilian."

In other words, his current situation was the same as it was a few months ago, with no changes.

Then, where did the promotion order I signed go?

Why is he still a civilian?

Why didn't anyone tell me about this?

Chen Yanlin could hear the strong anger in his own breathing. He instinctively wanted to reach out and press the electronic communicator on the corner of the desk to call his secretary and ask about it. After a few seconds of consideration, he slowly retracted his fingers and refocused his gaze on the computer screen.

Chen Yanlin noticed that on the left side of the screen, where the index representing the file insertions was, there was a large "W."

That was a special mark of the Academy of Sciences.

There were various speculations about what the "W" represented, but two theories were the most popular.

Some people thought it was the first letter of the name of the Academy's director, Wang Qian. It indicated the director's strong control and dominance over the Academy.

Others believed that "W" actually represented a toilet —— many researchers, engrossed in their work, often suffered from kidney stones, urinary stones, hemorrhoids, and other stubborn diseases. Using "W" as a mark was a reminder for researchers to remember to use the toilet and eat, to avoid overworking themselves to death.

Only the files of official researchers would have the "W" symbol.

Could it be that this young recorder, Su Hao, is a member of the Academy of Sciences?

Chen Yanlin opened the file with a puzzled look. In the identity section that appeared when he flipped the page, it clearly stated that he was currently a "D2" level researcher, along with the specific time of his promotion from D3 to D2.

Chen Yanlin was somewhat surprised. He frowned, and the anger in his breathing gradually subsided. After a few seconds of calm, Chen Yanlin pulled the phone on the desk, pressed his officer identity code, and ordered with the authority of a superior: "Connect me to the Academy of Sciences' Alpha A Research Lab."

The Academy of Sciences had only one Alpha A Research Lab. However, in terms of experimental equipment and living facilities, it was even inferior to the first-level Alpha B.

The waiting tone of the radio wave lasted nearly half a minute. Suddenly, a lazy voice came from the speaker on the desk, which had the "speaker" button pressed.

"Say what you have to say quickly, or I'll hang up."

Chen Yanlin was quite familiar with Wang Qian, and they could be considered half-friends. He skipped the introduction and went straight to the core of the issue: "Isn't Su Hao one of your people?"

"Hmm?"

The director, Wang Qian, clearly found the question unexpected. He asked in return: "The Su Hao in Kunming City?"

Chen Yanlin smiled slightly: "That's right! You just promoted him to D2 last month."

"What does the researcher's rank change have to do with you?"

Wang Qian didn't seem to like Chen Yanlin much and mocked him very viciously: "What, is Su Hao your aunt? Or did he have some non-friendly intimate contact with your female relatives?"

Even if Chen Yanlin had the best temper, he couldn't tolerate such blatant dirty talk. His face turned red instantly, and he roared in uncontrollable anger: "Fatso Wang, clean your dirty mouth before you speak, or..."

"Or you won't get any fourth-stage potions from me. Not even a milligram. Enough! Including you, I've been interrupted by seven phone calls today. Fine! Su Hao isn't your aunt, and he never raped your female dog. If you stop calling to harass me, I'll say a few nice things to you. Also, don't ask about the damned fourth-stage enhancement potions. I don't care if your children, nephews, or daughters are interested in this stuff, and I don't want to know how rotten your family education is. In short, two things: first, no! Second, no! If any idiot tries to storm into the Academy to snatch it, I'll use a laser cannon to..."

"I only care about the young man named Su Hao ——"

Chen Yanlin roared again, interrupting the director's incessant chatter, and the anger on his face subsided somewhat: "I just noticed that his personal reward section in the file has no records. Did you mess with it?"

"Got nothing to do with me ——"

Wang Qian retorted with a foul tone: "It's your own fault for going back on your word. You issued the promotion order and then took it back. I thought it was strange that there could be such idiots with brains full of muscles and maggots —— they shit and then eat it themselves. Ha! Now you finally noticed? How does it taste?"

The sarcasm and ridicule in these words were even stronger than before. Chen Yanlin, with his excellent temperament, was still stimulated by the various dirty words coming from Wang Qian's mouth, making his face turn pale with anger.

He instinctively looked up and glanced at the opposite wall.

There hung a large picture frame.

The people in the photo were all classmates from the Army University back then.

At that time, he was young, and Wang Qian wasn't as fat as he is now. Both of them were smiling happily.

He didn't know when things changed. Classmates who were once young and full of vigor are now old. The differences in their views and thinking, like knives, had severed their friendship. Once close friends, they are now like strangers...

Chen Yanlin's slightly nostalgic gaze flashed in his eyes as he reined in his thoughts.

He suppressed the urge to drag Wang Qian over the phone and beat him up, tightened his face, and asked sternly: "Speak! What do you know?"

Chen Yanlin understood Wang Qian.

This lecherous, fat old man had a very high IQ and unique insights in scientific research. He had a special and perverted interest in excellent talent, like a blood-sucking mosquito. This metaphor might be a bit excessive, but it sufficiently indicates that the director of the Academy never fell behind in the talent competition.

Whatever he set his eyes on, it was his.

Since the old fat man had included this young man named Su Hao in the Academy's roster, there must be a reason. The file showed that Su Hao was promoted from D3 to D2 in just one month. Wang Qian never favored anyone, so the young man must have performed exceptionally well to be promoted so quickly.

At this moment, delving into more peripheral issues would only put him at a disadvantage. "Wang Qian" was always a synonym for stubborn and unreasonable behavior.

Chen Yanlin only wanted to clarify two things.

First, why wasn't the promotion order he signed executed?

Second, why wasn't Su Hao registered in the military and given any rewards?

"You have a lot of slackers and useless people. The army's food must be very rich, otherwise they wouldn't all be so stupid."

Wang Qian laughed sharply on the other end of the phone, his laughter seemingly hiding the sharp and bitter curses of a witch.

"Go check the officers in charge of personnel in your unit. Those guys have nothing to do all day and just like to compare who has the bigger and longer reproductive organs. Any woman can make them lose their minds... Ha! It seems that your subordinates are all a bunch of studs and useless people. Besides eating and having sex, I can't think of what they are good for. Even using them as live materials for viral infections makes me feel nauseous ——"

The old fat man hung up the phone very quickly.

He perfectly timed it so that the last note of the sentence could be heard by Chen Yanlin, giving him no chance to retort or curse. Chen Yanlin's face was full of anger, and he instinctively wanted to curse back, but found only the busy signal on the other end of the phone.

"Damn old bastard ——"

Chen Yanlin scratched his head, feeling extremely frustrated and unwilling. He pressed the call button on the corner of the desk. Soon, a young officer in a black uniform, with a "Guard" armband on his left arm, pushed the door open and stood in front of the desk in a standard military posture.

"Go and check the execution status of all the orders I signed in the past three months."

Chen Yanlin stared intently at the black-uniformed officer, his tone fierce and cold, with an unyielding and decisive air: "All the people involved must be questioned, and every step must be investigated. Move quickly, and I want to see a detailed report as soon as possible."

These harsh and cruel words made the black-uniformed officer's eyelids involuntarily twitch, and he asked instinctively: "What if there is resistance from higher-ups or other bases?"

The fury in Chen Yanlin's eyes gradually turned cold, but the icy light in his pupils still lingered. He thought for a few seconds and said seriously: "First, investigate secretly, then compile a detailed list of the people involved. As for the other matters... I will handle them."

The black-uniformed officer nodded solemnly. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Chen Yanlin suddenly called him back.

"I remember that before Li Daoyuan was in charge of the KD03 base, he seemed to be part of the guard personnel?"

The black-uniformed officer answered without hesitation: "Yes. He was a member of the 16th Action Team of the Guard Bureau, responsible for the daily training of new members."

"Guard personnel..."

Chen Yanlin's face turned somewhat gloomy.

Clearly, the conversation with Wang Qian a few minutes ago still made him angry. The flames in his chest and mind had yet to be extinguished.

"Send a special order to Li Daoyuan in the name of the Guard Bureau."

After thinking for about ten seconds, the anger on Chen Yanlin's face subsided slightly, and his tone became more gentle: "Have him contact the researcher named Su Hao. Give him preferential treatment in terms of weapons and medicine, and provide him with a multi-functional communication vehicle. Also, give him fifty first-stage enhancement potions. In short, make sure the young man develops a good impression of Li Daoyuan."

The black-uniformed officer's face showed shock.

As a member of the Guard Bureau, he was well aware of the value of enhancement potions.

Although this mysterious liquid, which has a transformative effect on the human body, can be mass-produced, it still cannot meet the needs of the entire army. Currently, the first-stage enhancement potions produced can only be prioritized for frontline combat units. Two new biopharmaceutical factories have been put into operation, and it is estimated that it will take at least five to six months to achieve a 100% injection rate for the entire army