Chapter 88

Su Hao didn't know what kind of experiences Li Li had gone through. This young soldier liked to laugh and treated Yang Lulu as if she were his own younger sister.

If in ancient times, Wu Guoguang would have been a fierce general like Zhang Fei. He had a straightforward and generous personality. How to put it! He felt very much like a butcher.

This term was absolutely not derogatory—most butchers had a strong, bloody smell, a robust build, and a face full of rugged features that could be intimidating. A rough exterior did not mean stupidity. When selling meat at a stall, butchers were more shrewd than anyone else. They would describe fat as marbled, sell the hind legs and tenderloin at high prices, and ensure that no part of the pig, from the heart and liver to the head and tail, was left out. The meticulous attention to detail and the constant haggling over every ounce of meat often led to verbal wars that even the most domineering women in the market could not win. They would stand at a distance, watching the butcher, whose face was covered in sweat and whose body was drenched in water.

Wu Guoguang and Li Li were very familiar with Su Hao's team and were the most suitable candidates for the experiment.

The last words Su Hao said before they left were not superfluous.

Historical records showed that during the second mutation of the zombies, which occurred about a year after the virus outbreak, the casualty rate among personnel at the monitoring stations in various cities was extremely high. Old combat methods were difficult to apply against the mutated creatures, whose overall capabilities had significantly improved. If Wu Guoguang and Li Li were to undergo some uncontrollable changes, Su Hao could secretly kill them without drawing attention.

The last words were also meant for the driver and a few other soldiers in the off-road vehicle to overhear. In critical moments, they would become the most direct witnesses. This was just a contingency plan. Su Hao would not take action against Li Li and Wu Guoguang unless absolutely necessary.

Zhou Chen stopped by a discarded "Xiali" car on the roadside. He wiped the dust off the side mirror and, with a somewhat narcissistic look, examined his reflection in the mirror, saying seriously, "I'm much more handsome than before. Look at these eyes and this face, I'm starting to look more and more like Huang Xiaoming... No! I misspoke—Huang Xiaoming is nothing! If time could be reversed, I would definitely be more popular than him, with thousands of female fans."

Su Hao smiled calmly and said nothing. He, of course, understood the hidden meaning in Zhou Chen's words. Recently, Zhou Chen's research direction had gradually shifted towards the specific effects of the black particles.

This mysterious giant cell seemed to be quietly changing those who willingly accepted it, especially in appearance and consciousness. Su Hao's body was a fully optimized and reconstructed version. Apart from his genes, his appearance conformed to the general aesthetic standards of humans.

This was not out of narcissism or a special fondness for the term "handsome." Returning from the future to the present, Su Hao would meet many strangers. In unfamiliar situations, appearance often became the first standard by which people judged good and evil.

Just like Quasimodo and Tom Cruise standing together, the latter would definitely be more popular. Even if the next second they were about to be bitten by zombies, a love-struck girl would rather die in Tom Cruise's arms, drenched in cologne, than be held by the pig-like Quasimodo, and then escape together happily.

It had been several months since the injection of the prototype drug.

Su Hao himself couldn't explain why, but as time went on, he found his appearance becoming more and more beautiful.

This change was not limited to him—Xin Yan, Cao Rui, Du Tianhao, Zhou Chen, Old Song... everyone who had received Su Hao's blood had undergone extremely subtle but obvious transformations.

Xin Yan's figure became more slender, meeting the standards of her original dance major. Her legs were particularly long, and her waist, which had become narrower, contrasted sharply with her rapidly expanding chest and hips, forming nearly perfect curves.

Cao Rui's figure changed similarly to Xin Yan's. She was slightly fuller and had a more mature, alluring style. In comparison, Xin Yan was much more innocent. They were both irresistibly attractive to men. Du Tianhao's ruggedness was pushed to the extreme. He looked like a lion ready to pounce at any moment. His towering, robust build exceeded two meters, and while his explosive strength was not as strong as Su Hao's, it far surpassed that of ordinary enhanced humans.

Zhou Chen was becoming more and more like a fox. His thinking was agile and versatile, and his ideas in biological research were even more bizarre than those of some senior researchers known to Su Hao.

As for Old Song... his appearance became more aged and steady, yet still vibrant. As Han Ying put it, "Like a respected king in a fairy tale." Tao Yuan and Lu Tao, among others, were sent away for another reason. The military's 7.92mm caliber light weapon replacement plan had already begun. According to the history Su Hao knew, this replacement plan lasted less than two months. The rapidly mutating blood zombies and humanoids were much stronger than zombies. Even the newly replaced weapons were hard-pressed to inflict fatal damage. Considering the strength increase after soldiers injected the first-stage drug, the military began developing larger, heavier, and more powerful 9mm and even 12.7mm assault rifles.

Tao Yuan, Lu Tao, and the other five people all possessed fourth-stage strength. They would be quickly promoted due to their excellent performance on the battlefield. Each of them carried a portion of Su Hao's blood. In appropriate situations, they could develop new "swarms" within the military. Additionally, there was another factor. Tao Yuan had told Su Hao that he hoped his son could grow up in a healthy and happy environment. A base with a heavy military presence was the best choice at the moment.

"I hope he grows up happily and can eat his fill every day."

This was Su Hao's blessing for the baby, and also the most common prayer among the nomads in the future world.

After saying this, Su Hao turned his gaze to Zhou Chen beside him, "What about you? What are your wishes?"

"Me?"

Zhou Chen thought for a moment and smiled with a strange expression.

"I hope to encounter Liu Dehua, who is fleeing in this city, and see who is more handsome. Then I'll ask him where Yang Mi and Fan Bingbing are, whether they are still alive, and if they have turned into zombies. If not, hehehe... you know what I mean."

The electronic communication armored vehicle allocated by the Chengdu base had completed the delivery procedures.

Su Hao sent twelve team members to receive training from the technical officer accompanying the vehicle. The main function of this heavy vehicle was battlefield and long-range communication, capable of connecting with military satellites and having powerful electronic detection and radio scanning capabilities. With the help of external independent monitoring probes, it could form an electronic alert network within an effective range.

Su Hao entered a series of passwords given to him by Ye Ying on the controller, and soon the fat, old face of Wang Qianian appeared on the electronic screen.

"Hello, I am Su Hao."

"You're the kid who scribbles in notebooks?"

The opening remarks lacked the usual formality and flattery between superiors and subordinates.

Through the screen, both men were carefully observing each other. Su Hao, of course, didn't know what Wang Qianian was thinking at the moment, but he felt very excited, as if he had been reborn after a long time.

The old fat man, Wang Qianian, was a legend in the Academy of Sciences.

Although he held several doctoral degrees and was an authority, his behavior and actions had a certain style of a gang leader—loyal, extremely protective of his subordinates, and hard to be deceived. He always fought for the maximum benefits for his subordinates. As long as it didn't affect the absolute right and wrong, he would always stand by his people. He often complained and cursed, but his eyes always sparkled with wisdom and shrewdness.

If it weren't for Wang Qianian and Ye Ying, Su Hao might have died long ago.

In another timeline, Wang Qianian had sensed Su Hao's plan to escape. Instead of pursuing him, he used his authority to provide Su Hao with as much convenience as possible, allocating a large amount of energy to maintain the time machine's operation. Especially in the final critical moment, if it weren't for him blocking the people who came to capture Su Hao, Su Hao wouldn't have had enough time to operate.

"Yes."

As he said this, Su Hao felt his eyes moisten. He controlled the surging emotions deep inside, trying to appear relaxed, but his body was trembling slightly. Wang Qianian was a bit puzzled. He was sure he had never met Su Hao before. But why did the other person seem to recognize him? The respect and excitement in his eyes, and the involuntary tremor in his voice, all indicated that this young man was in a state of intense emotional fluctuation.

Could he be an actor with a special mission?

A spy sent by the military and the conglomerates to approach and test him?

This thought was immediately dismissed by Wang Qianian—those notes were recorded in a very professional manner, and the data and ideas were not something an outsider could write. As far as he knew, the military and the conglomerates did not have such people. Those bastards, even if they had nine lives like cats, would not have the courage to get so close to zombies.

However, being revered like this felt good.

At least, it was better than those who painted "respect" on their faces but secretly cursed him to death.

It was clear that this young man, Su Hao, was genuinely sincere, not falsely flattering.

"Really can't figure out what about me makes you so excited. Am I your long-lost grandfather? Are you my long-lost grandson? For heaven's sake, don't let this sappy plot, which is no different from a horror story, happen to me. I'm perfectly normal, I don't have any illegitimate children."

Wang Qianian pursed his lips, muttering to himself, but a faint smile appeared on his face, "Those notes are well done, some of the ideas are quite innovative. Although some of the ideas are a bit strange, they still have some reference value."

After saying these two sentences with a hint of praise, the old fat man on the screen changed his tone, "Don't tell me you're just testing the equipment for remote communication. That's a lousy and silly excuse. If you want to leave that city or move to a safer environment with your people, those requests can be met. Anything in this world can be exchanged for an equivalent. The notes you provided are worth the price. Of course, don't expect to get more rewards from me with false words. I've already given you a hundred standard units of the enhancement drug. You can use that to build a small army. In short, get to the point. I don't have much time to waste."

Su Hao's face showed a bitter smile. This was the old fat man's usual style—decisive and direct, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. Excessive flattery and formalities would only invite a torrent of verbal abuse. Complicated data and self-praise would only cause strong aversion. He valued results and abilities. Even if he thought you were very excellent, he was extremely stingy with verbal praise, converting it into more practical material rewards.

"Several months ago, I learned from the soldiers at the military's monitoring stations in the city that there is such a thing as an enhancement drug. Thanks to your generous gift, I injected one, and the effect was very good, with my strength and load-bearing capacity increasing several times. The enhanced physique, combined with the immunity drug, gives us a unique advantage in dealing with zombies. You know, zombies are mutating. Humanoids, like the corpse we transported, have already shown insect-like changes. Their mutation speed is much faster than expected. If this continues, our advantage will soon be offset, and we may even fall into a disadvantageous position."

"Beating around the bush for so long, still just a bunch of nonsense."

Wang Qianian's sharp tongue immediately spewed out sarcasm, "I guess you already know that the military is developing a 7.92mm caliber single-soldier weapon replacement system. With the first-stage enhancement drug, the second and third-stage drugs will naturally follow. Alright! I know you have a smart and wise head. But after all that, I still couldn't find any useful information. If your goal is to seek rewards, you've picked the wrong person. Remember— in the Academy of Sciences, we only speak based on facts. If you want to seek benefits through flattery and exaggeration, you should go to the military and the conglomerates. Those guys are so stupid, I often wonder if they are close relatives of pigs?"

"Why not directly develop weapons with larger calibers and greater power?"

Su Hao automatically filtered out the old fat man's cold and vicious curses and continued, "I have calculated the enhanced physique after injecting the first-stage drug—the striking force is about 300 kilograms, and the normal load-bearing capacity is two to three times that of a normal person. According to this standard, it is completely suitable for 9mm assault rifles, and even 12.7mm heavy weapons can be considered for single-soldier equipment."

Wang Qianian raised his gray eyebrows and said lightly, "Young man, it seems you are quite familiar with these weapons!"

Su Hao's eyes were as pure as a child's, "I used to be a military enthusiast, so I know a bit. This level of enhanced physique should be able to carry the weapons and ammunition needed for normal combat intensity."

Wang Qianian looked at him silently for a while before saying, "You have quite a few strange ideas in your head... Alright! I admit what you said makes some sense. However, you should have just received the experimental equipment I sent, and your research on the enhanced physique is clearly still at the blood and muscle level. Young man! The strength data you mentioned is quite accurate, but the load-bearing capacity is a mess. Haha! If I'm not mistaken, you have repeatedly calculated the former. As for the latter... it's just a guess based on the strength data. Is that right?"

Su Hao pretended to be surprised and opened his mouth wide, "You... How did you know?"

"Don't make such an exaggerated gesture. It doesn't work on me. And it looks silly, making me think you haven't brushed your teeth in days and your breath stinks—"

Wang Qianian pounded the table fiercely, "Muscles and tendons contract to produce strength, but load-bearing involves the human skeleton and the central nervous system. Have you considered the strength of the bones? Have you thought about the tolerance of the nerves under extreme pressure? These require experiments and must be based on facts, not just a random formula to calculate X plus Y equals Z."

Su Hao did not further anger the old fat man, who was on the verge of exploding. He took out an object he had prepared from his pocket, placed it in the palm of his hand, and slowly raised it to the screen. It was a silver bone.

"I found this inside a zombie."

Su Hao's tone was very calm, without any emotional fluctuation.

Wang Qianian squinted his eyes, his gaze becoming focused.

"Bones and muscles support each other. Zombies have strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, but their muscles are almost rotten, and there is no biological basis for their strength. I have dissected many zombies, and their internal structures are completely different from humans. I have been considering that this violent strength is based on some hormone-like substance, not the normal muscles and bones. Just the day before yesterday, I finally found this unique solid in the hindquarters of a zombie." The silver bone reflected the light, emitting a special luster that only metal could have.

"I am currently analyzing its composition."

Su Hao spoke confidently, "I have dissected thirty-one zombies and found this unique solid in the same position in all of them. It is between metal and bone, insoluble in water, but can be dissolved in acid. After liquefaction, the molecular structure changes. It contains a large amount of activated calcium, which has a very significant stimulating effect on bone marrow cells. I injected the neutralized acid solution into a rat, and it was infected and mutated, but its bone strength exceeded that of other rats."

"Send me your research data."

Wang Qianian sat up straight, his expression becoming unprecedentedly solemn. He put away his mocking smile and said seriously, "I need all your dissection videos, on-site records, and send them to me now—also, have you found this thing in all the zombies you dissected?"

Su Hao hesitated for a moment and slowly nodded, "I don't know if this guess is correct, but the zombies I chose for dissection were from different areas inside and outside the city. I have sent many people to continue hunting zombies, and I believe we will know the results by tonight. Haha! Its texture is very similar to silver, so I call it 'silver bone'."