The next morning, soft yet desolate post-apocalyptic sunlight filtered through the gaps in the reinforced glass of the command center, spilling onto Lin Xuan's desk. Rubbing his temples, Lin Xuan was reviewing the consolidated logistics report for Qingyun Town and the Hope Survivor Base.
With these two strongholds secured, the logistical pressure on the campus base had been greatly alleviated. The farmlands of Qingyun Town and the underground warehouses of the Hope Base provided basic survival guarantees for a large number of survivors, also allowing Lin Xuan to free up his hands and focus more energy on military expansion and biological research.
"Sir, Dr. Parker has a new research breakthrough. They've invited you to see the 'big gift' they've prepared for you," Ling Jianqing said as she pushed the door open, her long legs moving beneath her military uniform skirt, stirring a faint breeze.
"Oh? Has that woman Parker finally come up with something interesting?" Lin Xuan put down the documents in his hand, stood up, and stretched his stiff joints. "Let's go take a look."
The two passed through the heavily guarded corridor and took the elevator down to the core laboratory on the fifth underground floor. The moment the elevator doors opened, an intensely pungent stench assaulted them—a vile odor as if ten thousand tons of chili powder had been mixed with rotting corpses.
"Cough! What the hell is this?!" Caught off guard, Lin Xuan was choked by the spicy smell, tears nearly welling up in his eyes.
Several Black Watch Soldiers behind him reacted swiftly, quickly stepping forward to hand him specially designed gas masks. Lin Xuan put on the mask. Though his breathing became easier, that thick, corrosive odor seemed to penetrate his skin, making him deeply uncomfortable.
In the center of the laboratory, Dr. Karen Parker, clad in a full-body biochemical protective suit, stood before a massive transparent experimental tank. The tank was filled with a dark red liquid. Due to some chemical reaction, red bubbles continuously churned on the liquid's surface. That pool of "blood" looked both eerie and dangerous.
"Dr. Parker, is this the 'big gift' you prepared for me? If your plan is to choke the zombies to death with chili powder, I'd say you're quite creative," Lin Xuan walked to the side of the tank, teasing her through the thick bulletproof glass.
Dr. Karen Parker turned around. Through the transparent visor of her protective suit, her eyes gleamed with a near-mad scientific fervor.
"Sir, please save your humor. This isn't chili powder. This is a highly concentrated biological toxin we synthesized after extracting mutated fragments of the virus—'blood toxin'," Dr. Parker explained, pointing at the liquid. "It can disperse as an aerosol. It can destroy all genetic chains and neural responses throughout an infected body within one second. Simply put, it causes zombies to completely collapse and disintegrate at the cellular level. Even if they wear gas masks, this toxin can penetrate their bodies through skin pores. It's harmless to humans, but for the infected, it's the most brutal bone-dissolving agent."
Lin Xuan leaned in closer to observe. He saw a severed zombie limb inside the tank instantly dissolve upon contact with the toxic liquid, as if splashed with strong acid, turning into a pool of foul-smelling black water.
"This weapon deserves the highest production priority," Lin Xuan said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He recognized the strategic value of this weapon.
"I want it on the battlefield as soon as possible. We'll use it to clean out those 'holdouts' in the city center of F City."
"Understood, sir," Ling Jianqing promptly noted beside him.
"I will immediately contact the 'Viper Commander' in the Qingyun Town area and Chu Wenhai at the 'Hope Base'. The industrial zones in their areas have facilities suitable for conversion into biological factories, enabling large-scale mass production."
Lin Xuan nodded in satisfaction. That sense of absolute control over the situation pleased him.
"Excellent. We'll take our leave then, Dr. Parker. Continue your research. I want to see this stuff covering F City," Lin Xuan said as he turned to leave, his steps brisk.
"Take care, sir. I will show you that beautiful 'crimson funeral'," Dr. Parker responded from behind.
Exiting the laboratory, Lin Xuan removed his gas mask and took a deep breath of the filtered fresh air. Ling Jianqing, her military boots clicking, quickly caught up to him from inside the door. Her posture was erect, but her tone carried a hint of urgency.
"Sir, the 'White Blood Cell Squad' under the Black Watch has sent an urgent report. During a routine reconnaissance in the Lan Bi Garden high-end residential area in the western district of F City, they suspected the presence of a cluster of infected entities exhibiting a high degree of organization and simple intelligence. The White Blood Cell Squad requests permission for in-depth investigation."
Lin Xuan's eyebrows shot up sharply.
"Intelligent infected?"
He repeated the term, his voice filled with skepticism and intense interest. In this virus-ravaged world, zombies had always been low-level monsters that relied on instinct and numbers. If they were beginning to possess intelligence, it would completely overturn all existing counter-strategies, and the threat level would increase exponentially. It sounded absurd, but the White Blood Cell Squad was the Black Watch's reconnaissance unit; their judgment wouldn't be baseless.
"Permission granted for investigation," Lin Xuan ordered decisively.
"But emphasize this: the primary mission is observation and information gathering. Ensure they do not alert these 'brainy' zombies. I need a detailed report on all their behavioral patterns, methods of communication, and... weaknesses."
"Yes, sir. Orders relayed," Ling Jianqing said crisply, saluting before turning to leave.
Lin Xuan's gaze turned towards the ashen sky, yet his mind was already in turmoil. A new, even more dangerous game seemed to be about to begin.
...
Meanwhile, in F City, within the Lan Bi Garden residential complex marked as "High-Risk" by the Black Watch, in Room 2101, Building 28.
Zhao Yuwei stood behind a blast-proof door twenty centimeters thick, made of special steel plate and composite materials. Through the wide-angle night vision camera on the peephole, she coldly observed the situation in the hallway.
She was a reincarnator.
In her previous life, in the third month of the apocalypse's outbreak, she was betrayed by her most trusted best friend, Wang Xixi, and Wang's boyfriend, Zhang Hao. She remembered clearly how Wang Xixi's sweetly smiling face had personally pushed her into the swarming horde of zombies. The excruciating pain of claws tearing her skin, fangs gnawing her flesh, and the bone-chilling cold of betrayal were seared into the depths of her soul.
When she opened her eyes again, finding herself back two months before the apocalypse broke out, she felt no joy, only burning flames of vengeance and an extreme thirst for survival.
She told no one, not even her parents. She knew how fragile ordinary people's kindness and familial bonds were in the face of the apocalypse. She frantically used her "foreknowledge" of the future to embark on a high-stakes gamble. Under the pretense of starting a business, she deceived her parents out of their life savings. Then, she maxed out every credit card she could apply for and borrowed up to the limit on dozens of online lending platforms.
A sum of money enough to bankrupt any family instantly was unhesitatingly poured into her doomsday fortress plan.
She purchased this top-floor duplex apartment on the 21st floor of Lan Bi Garden. Then, she hired the most professional construction team and, under the excuse of "creating a private home theater" and "extreme soundproofing," carried out a perversely militarized renovation of the apartment.
All interior walls were reinforced with 10mm thick steel plates; all windows were replaced with bulletproof polycarbonate glass capable of resisting rifle fire, with additional electrically operated alloy blast shutters installed, controllable from the inside; that main door was a bank-vault-level monstrosity with dual verification via complex mechanical locks and electronic keypad locks.
She also laid out a large number of solar panels on the balcony and the rooftop terrace (having bribed the property management), connected to a massive battery bank sufficient to power the entire apartment. The water system was modified into a large-scale recycling filtration system, connected to several one-ton water tanks stored in a secondary bedroom.
Subsequently, she converted all the remaining money into supplies. Five huge commercial upright freezers were stuffed with vacuum-packed frozen meats—pork, beef, chicken, fish. The shelves in the storage room were piled high with boxes of compressed biscuits, military canned goods, rice, flour, dehydrated vegetables, and various seasonings. Medicine, weapons (crossbows and controlled knives obtained through the black market), daily necessities... she nearly emptied the warehouses of several nearby large supermarkets.
When the apocalypse arrived on schedule and the whole world descended into wails and flames, Zhao Yuwei simply calmly closed the door of her fortress, shutting out everything outside. For three months, she listened to the screams from downstairs, police gunfire, and finally, the silence of death, without a ripple in her heart. Her daily routine consisted of exercising, maintaining her weapons, inventorying supplies, and monitoring the rotting world through cameras placed all around the apartment.
Her death in the previous life had already transformed her into a woman who was selfish and self-interested, living solely for survival.