This scene should have been familiar to Zuo Feng, a sight that brought him peace—the most intelligent mind in Firefly Base tirelessly exploring for the future of humanity.
Yet, at this moment, this very focus felt like a cold needle pricking at his heart.
He moved stealthily, like a hunting cheetah, silently weaving through the busy researchers and heading straight for Professor Yan.
The unique, sterile air of the Laboratory seemed even more biting.
Zuo Feng stood there quietly, not speaking immediately, his gaze heavy as it fell upon Professor Yan’s slightly hunched back.
That back symbolized the scientific pillar of Firefly Base, and also represented the source of all current mysteries.
An invisible pressure emanated from Zuo Feng, spreading outwards; a few researchers nearby seemed to finally sense something, instinctively halting their work and looking over with some trepidation, but were quickly intimidated by Zuo Feng’s icy aura, hastily lowering their heads, and the low hum in the Laboratory seemed to diminish slightly.
Professor Yan finally seemed to break from his research, noticing the unusual silence behind him and the oppressive feeling that almost solidified the air.
He slowly straightened up, a hint of disturbed confusion and annoyance on his face, and turned around. When he saw Zuo Feng’s face, so dark it looked like it could drip water, a flicker of surprise clearly crossed his eyes behind his glasses.
“Leader? How are you…”
Professor Yan’s voice carried a hint of displeasure; his research was at a critical juncture, and even if Zuo Feng was the leader, he couldn’t interrupt his work. As for Zuo Feng’s grim face, Professor Yan simply ignored it.
Professor Yan pushed up his glasses and asked,
“Leader, if there’s no emergency, please don’t disturb me. This experiment is very important right now.”
Zuo Feng didn’t respond immediately, only taking a step forward, instantly closing the distance between them, the invisible pressure almost stopping the air from flowing.
He slowly raised his hand and handed a crumpled letter to Professor Yan, its edges slightly torn from being held too tightly.
“Professor Yan,” Zuo Feng’s voice was low and hoarse, his face serious, as he stared intently into Professor Yan’s eyes, not missing any subtle change in his expression,
“Read this letter first. I think we need to have a serious talk.”
He paused slightly, the air solidified as if tangible,
“Of course, I still trust you, but this matter is too important, and I must get to the bottom of it.”
Professor Yan took the letter, his fingertips trembling. As his gaze touched the handwriting, his pupils suddenly constricted, and a fervent light instantly flashed across his face.
“Leader! There’s a half-human, half-Corpse Clan situation! Where are they? Have they been brought back?
The research value of the half-Corpse Clan is extremely high! Quick! Take me to see them immediately!
Also, only 1% are failures? Are there samples of the 99% successful ones!
Wan Youyu’s left eye contains a will that isn’t his? How is that possible?
Quick, take me to see it! And how was Wan Youyu transformed into a half-Corpse Clan? Is there any information?”
Professor Yan’s voice trembled with excitement.
Zuo Feng’s brow furrowed even deeper.
Professor Yan’s reaction was completely beyond his expectation—no panic, no defense, not even the expected surprise when faced with an accusation.
Only an almost insane thirst for knowledge burned in his eyes behind his glasses, as if the terrifying disaster, the millions of corpses, and the half-human, half-Corpse Clan monsters described in the letter were all precious samples awaiting dissection in his eyes.
“Professor Yan!”
Zuo Feng’s voice suddenly rose, like shattering ice, instantly overpowering the faint hum remaining in the Laboratory.
He took a step forward, his body almost touching the operating table, and the immense pressure made Professor Yan instinctively recoil half a step, his back hitting the cold instrument rack.
“You only care about samples?
Only care about research value?
What about those 990,000 corpses?
What about the ‘Corpse Clan’ that could overturn the entire world?
In your eyes, is there nothing left but data on the experimental table?!”
Professor Yan was stunned by Zuo Feng’s sudden sharp reprimand. The fervent light in his eyes flickered violently, then was replaced by a hint of confusion and a deeper research impulse.
“Leader, you misunderstand! Precisely because this matter is so important, I must obtain firsthand information immediately!”
He waved the letter in his hand urgently, the paper rustling,
“‘Half-human, half-Corpse Clan’! This means there exists a controllable, intermediate state between life and death!
Wan Youyu’s left eye will was invaded?
This is very likely the prototype of some kind of consciousness parasitism or transfer technology!
This is thousands of times more terrifying than a simple pathogen outbreak!
It might be able to trace the whereabouts of those vanished corpses—they might not have ‘died,’ but rather been ‘transformed’!
We must immediately dissect Wan Youyu’s left eye, analyze its structure, and find the source and method of the will invasion!
And those ‘99% successful ones,’ if they are transformed Corpse Clan, where are they now?
What is their form?
Do they have consciousness?
This information concerns the survival of all of us!”
He spoke extremely fast, spittle almost splashing onto Zuo Feng’s face, every sentence filled with logical chains, pointing towards deeper research directions, as if in his eyes, the entire world was a giant, unsolved puzzle Laboratory.
This obsession left Zuo Feng speechless for a moment. The key was, what was Professor Yan’s focus?
Facing Professor Yan, who was completely off-topic, Zuo Feng realized he had to bring his thinking back on track first.
“Professor Yan, I ask you, what is the source of all this?”
Zuo Feng’s gaze was fixed on Professor Yan’s face.
“The source? That would naturally be the agent that can create the pathogen, what else could it be?”
Professor Yan answered carelessly, but then his gaze suddenly froze, as if struck by some invisible force.
He realized now, wasn’t that agent developed by him?
Professor Yan’s face instantly turned pale, and fine cold sweat seeped from his forehead. Although he had always been immersed in the world of scientific research, he had never imagined that something he created would become the beginning of the apocalypse.
Moreover, and most importantly, this involved a shocking conspiracy, and he was the starting point of that conspiracy.
He trembled as he clutched the edge of the experimental table, his knuckles white, his throat feeling as if something was tightly choking it.
“Leader… I… I only developed the agent, the rest… I… I don’t know.”
Zuo Feng shook his head slightly and said,
“Professor Yan, if I didn’t trust you, do you think you’d still be standing here now?
However, Professor Yan, you must tell me every detail of how the agent was created.”
Professor Yan’s lips trembled, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down,
“Before, we were imprisoned by the Wild Wolf Gang, doing virus experiments for them day and night. The agent was developed at that time, you know all this. The agent is synthesized using high-level zombie blood combined with special gene editing technology, stimulating human potential to cause mutations in the human gene chain, thereby becoming a Mutant.”
At this point, Professor Yan suddenly paused,
“Wen Dizhi! It was Wen Dizhi! The initial theory was provided to me by Wen Dizhi! It was then developed and refined by me and the team, but the theoretical framework he provided was the core of the agent’s birth!”