Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 707 - 333: Test Subject No. 2

Chapter 707: Chapter 333: Test Subject No. 2

The Fortress Company’s upper echelons secretly and expensively hired mercenaries to enter the quarantine zone and acquire serum from Blood Heart. In the end, half of the citizens in Leimeng Town were sheltered and injected with serum, while the other half turned into zombies.

Each refuge had a different research direction. The Leimeng refuge’s research focused on coexisting with the virus, akin to genetic vaccines. By adding a virus sequence to human genes, the body could become immune to the virus. Similar to the hepatitis B vaccine, after vaccination, some people could produce antibodies, while others couldn’t.

The first group of five subjects began to show signs of zombification, including various skin blemishes and hair that would fall out when tugged. However, to their surprise, the subjects managed to maintain mental clarity and control over their bodies. Most impressively, zombies recognized them as their own kind and did not attack. An unfortunate side effect was that the subjects lost interest in normal food and felt the impulse to bite humans, which could lead to madness and the loss of reason, eventually turning them into zombies. Although the outcome was the same, the process differed, which gave the leadership of Fortress Company great confidence.

Over two years, researchers in Leimeng Town made significant headway. They synthesized a more effective vaccine, which not only withstood the zombie virus and allowed coexistence, but also greatly reduced side effects. To use an inappropriate analogy, vaccinated humans were like smokers quitting tobacco; even though resisting the urge to bite others was uncomfortable, it would not rob them of sanity.

The biggest problem was the low efficacy rate of the new vaccine, and currently, the underground lab in Leimeng Town was intensifying research for the vaccine’s development.

Ordinary people lived continuously in the underground shelters, while only the subjects could live in the town. Some research personnel or security staff, unable to bear the environment, volunteered to become subjects. They underwent simple blood sampling and psychological health conversations daily, and a thorough physical examination weekly.

The owner of Villa 20 was a Genetic Engineer. He volunteered for the experiment two months prior, according to his diary. There were 80 subjects living in the town, led by a man assigned by the shelter known as Iceman.

The owner of Villa 20 went to the airport every morning, returned home after completing blood sampling and psychological health checks, and carried the distributed food; his routine involved playing table tennis against the wall and gardening.

A month ago, due to a shortage of personnel, Fortress Company set up Auto Turrets at three checkpoints, created barbed wire on the roads, and then removed the Sentries. The owner’s brother of Villa 20 was a Sentry, and after being laid off, he was assigned to work on the Hope.

The Hope was a supply ship tasked with sailing weekly to acquire life supplies provided by Fortress Company.

Since there was no worry about external invasion or safety of the subjects, Leimeng Town only maintained a 20-person armed security force from Fortress Company in the 80 meter-deep underground shelter.

This was the ecosystem of Leimeng Town.

Humans had now established a quarantine zone on an island and decided to initiate an immigration plan. To acquire more serum, the quarantine zone offered substantial rewards to Fortress mercenaries to go to Leimeng and ten other towns. The mercenaries who went to Leimeng Town became subjects, and then the subjects flying planes transported them to quarantine zones to collect serum.

This was the source of the continuous stream of Fortress mercenaries entering the quarantine zone. Why would the mercenaries be fatally infected? Because the genetic vaccine was ineffective for some, something the mercenaries didn’t know. Besides, Leimeng was but one of ten towns.

Maya’s consideration: With access to airplanes, fuel available, and the ability to fly, the security is low.

Lin Wu’s consideration: This was a backdoor opened by Dawn for Hardcore Mode. If a base could be established in Leimeng Town, it would be akin to returning to non-Hardcore Mode, with access to water and electricity, low zombie density, subjects lacking in combat ability, and Fortress security 80 meters underground. The benefit was not just that the town was uncorrupted, but also the fact that substantial supplies arrived weekly at Leimeng Town, including fuel, tools, and possibly even weapons and ammunition.

Not to mention, the salvageable and scavengeable resources would be sufficient to sustain many Shadows.

"It’s about time; the master will be back soon. Let’s retreat, take nothing." Maya said, "Head to the west for encampment; we need to destroy the Auto Turrets at all costs."

...

Following the U-shaped highway to the west and entering Road 99, after cycling 4 kilometers, they set up camp on a beach one kilometer away from the Sentry Card. It was a small beach cluttered with rocks, where not only was it difficult for boats to shore, but people also struggled to clamber onto the beach cliffs under the action of the waves. The camping spot was beside a crack with a seven-meter deep sea chasm below, where at high tide, water would surge in, creating a small inner sea over 200 square meters.

Maya immediately went to the Sentry Card to confirm that its turrets could rotate 360 degrees. Today’s quota for Little Fight had been used up, and they had to stay at this location for at least two and a half days. Lin Wu suggested fishing in the inner sea, while Maya’s plan was to infiltrate the town center and find an opportunity to cross the highway bridge to the airport.

This type of infiltration was new to Lin Ma. Until now, they had only encountered NPC Bases or the World of Zombies. Facing zombies and NPCs together was a first for them. Maya wasn’t too worried about the armed NPCs in the underground shelter, but the automated defense systems. If discovered by an NPC, the enemy could alert the command center, which could then deploy drones.

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