Chapter 11

The helicopter landed on the rooftop of the engineering teaching building at RMIT University's city campus. Raul and the others disembarked one by one, and Dr. Kahn was already waiting on the rooftop. Ignoring Raul and the others, his gaze swept past the disconnected Terminator and landed on Li Mu, who was tightly bound with alloy steel cables.

"Truly a masterpiece," Dr. Kahn's eyes flashed with a hint of madness. He couldn't wait to step forward, put on metal gloves, and gently caress the bone knife on Li Mu's right hand and the bone spurs on his back, noticing the clear marks left on the high-quality alloy gloves.

Dr. Kahn became even more enthusiastic. "Quick, take him to my lab immediately. I can't wait to study him in detail."

Raul and the others were already used to Dr. Kahn's madness and remained expressionless. They carried Li Mu and the Terminator, following Dr. Kahn into the elevator and down to the third basement level of the building.

"That's enough, you can go now. The rest is up to me," Dr. Kahn opened the security door, not allowing Raul and the others to enter his lab. He personally dragged Li Mu and the Terminator inside. "Unless the zombies have broken through the iron gate, don't come and disturb me."

Raul didn't mind and even felt relieved. He watched as Dr. Kahn disappeared behind the door and sighed, "Alright, the mission is over. Guys, enjoy your break. How about some whiskey?"

The tactical team members laughed, but Charlie still stared at the lab door. Raul patted Charlie on the shoulder, "Don't think too much. It's just a zombie."

"He's different, isn't he?" Charlie countered.

With that, Charlie took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell of the lab.

"Damn it, didn't I tell you not to disturb me?!" Dr. Kahn opened the door, furious.

"Doctor, can you tell me how you plan to study that zombie?" Charlie asked.

"Dissection, electrolysis, culture medium, clinical trials, and so on. Damn it, why am I telling you this!" Dr. Kahn, in a frenzy, scratched his head and tossed a bottle of capsules to Raul, "Vitamins, make sure your people don't forget to take them."

"Alright, I have to start working now."

"Doctor, I want to tell you more about that zombie. He's different from the others..." Charlie recounted everything he knew about Li Mu to Dr. Kahn.

Dr. Kahn was stunned for a moment, then became even more excited, "Excellent. This is exactly what I need. Is this the pendant? I see..."

"Doctor, don't you understand what I'm saying? Is it possible that he has overcome the effects of the Dead Virus, or that he is recovering? Like a cold, which is also a virus, but we can always cure it, right?"

This thought had been on Charlie's mind ever since he met Li Mu. Could the zombies just be sick people, like those with the flu, and if they could be cured, they would be fine again.

"Are you an idiot?"

Dr. Kahn was furious, "That's the Dead Virus. For God's sake, it's not the same as the flu. The Dead Virus has already destroyed their genetic chains. They are no longer human. Even if they regain intelligence, they are a different species."

This left Charlie and the others bewildered.

"Damn it, why am I explaining this to you! Listen up, kid. Those zombies are no longer human. It's not as simple as being sick. Their genetic chains have been completely destroyed. Those zombies are now like trilobites, with only reflex reactions left."

"For God's sake, don't tell me you don't know what reflex reactions are!"

Dr. Kahn's voice became sharp.

"But it's still a virus, right?" Charlie asked, bewildered. "If we kill the virus and develop a vaccine, can't we cure them? Like the flu virus, like the SARS virus..."

"For God's sake, can't you understand what I'm saying? They are no longer human. The Dead Virus is not some damn flu or SARS. It doesn't destroy our immune system; it destroys our genes, our genes!"

Dr. Kahn became agitated and shouted.

"I don't understand. But isn't that what you should be doing? Isn't science about this? Instead of studying Terminators, don't you think finding a way to cure them is more important?"

As Charlie spoke, his eyes turned red.

Raul and the others remained silent. After all, compared to killing the zombies, curing them would be the perfect solution. This thought wasn't just Charlie's; many survivors preferred to believe that the wandering zombies were just sick people, not monsters or demons.

"For God's sake, I don't want to argue with you. Raul, keep an eye on your people. Make sure they take more vitamins. I suspect they are about to be infected by the zombies. Cure the zombies? Idiot, that's a different species now!"

Dr. Kahn sneered, unwilling to argue with Charlie further. Only those at the forefront of science knew that the zombies were far more than just infected by the Dead Virus.

The zombies' genes could mutate at any time, evolving into a completely different species. This was a genetic mutation that could not be reversed. Most importantly, the zombies had no thoughts, no reason, only reflex reactions like trilobites.

Watching the closed lab door, Charlie punched the wall in disappointment, blood dripping. Raul sighed and gently patted Charlie on the shoulder, "Don't think too much. Dr. Kahn is probably right. Those people are not coming back."

Raul opened the bottle, grabbed a capsule, and swallowed it with a look of disgust, then gave each member of the tactical team a capsule, "Take the vitamins first, so you don't get infected."

The other members of the tactical team laughed, looked at the vitamins in their hands with disgust, and swallowed them reluctantly. Charlie composed himself and swallowed the capsule without the same expression. This vitamin was recently developed by Dr. Kahn, said to prevent infection by the Dead Virus. They had to take it after each mission.

They heard that the base had started mass-producing this vitamin.

"I remember a long time ago, there was a rumor that eating salt could prevent radiation. I thought it was nonsense, but now, eating vitamins to prevent the Dead Virus doesn't seem too exaggerated."

Raul laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Although the joke was cold, it did ease the tension. Charlie smiled gratefully at Raul, "Boss, thanks."

Raul didn't say anything, patted Charlie on the shoulder, and the group took the elevator to the second basement level.

"Boss, you guys go rest. I'll go check on John."

Charlie said.

Raul nodded and threw Charlie a few cans, "Come back and rest soon."

Charlie nodded, pressed the elevator button, and went to the first basement level.

This temporary gathering place was based on the original underground laboratory. The third basement level was Dr. Kahn's lab, the second basement level was the base for Charlie's tactical team, and the first basement level was reserved for the survivors Raul and the others had gathered over the past month.

Most of the survivors from the gathering place Charlie was previously in had come here.

The sound of the elevator startled the survivors on the first basement level. Seeing Charlie come out, many who knew him immediately gathered around, asking questions.

"Charlie, when are we moving to the base?"

"Has Dr. Kahn made any progress in his research?"

"Have you found a vaccine to cure the Dead Virus?"

...

Faced with these questions, Charlie just shook his head, gave a few cans to some children, and exchanged a few words with familiar people. He scanned the survivors and asked, "Where's John? I didn't see him."

"It's like this. Yesterday, John led us to the supermarket on campus to find food. On the way back, he accidentally injured his leg. We took him to Dr. Kahn for treatment. Didn't you see him?"

Someone explained. Although these people had been saved by Charlie's tactical team, with the increasing number of survivors, the food they had was not much. Many times, they still had to fend for themselves.

Fortunately, the entire RMIT campus had been thoroughly searched by Charlie and his team, so there wasn't much danger.

Charlie shook his head, "I see. I'll go check on him later."

"By the way, I feel like we're missing a lot of people. Where are Tom and Jerry?"

Charlie asked. These two were also familiar to him, having lived in the same gathering place for a while.

The crowd fell silent for a moment before someone sighed, "They're dead."

"Tom was injured and got infected, and so did Jerry."

Charlie opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. This damn apocalypse, with no tomorrow, and the constant partings and deaths, even though they had become accustomed to it, it still weighed heavily on their hearts.

Waving his hand weakly, Charlie realized that his words had instantly made the atmosphere tense. A woman started crying.

Charlie recognized the woman; she was Jerry's wife. The couple had survived together, which was rare in the apocalypse and was envied in Charlie's small gathering place.

So many people had lost their parents, spouses, children, lovers, and friends in that short hour. But even after surviving that disaster, life was still uncertain, and partings and deaths continued.

Thinking about this, Charlie lost interest in staying there. "Make sure the iron gate of the building is always closed. I'll talk to the boss tomorrow and sweep the area again. It will be safer for you to find food then."

PS: The enemy is 30 seconds away from the battlefield. Use recommendations and favorites to destroy them!

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