ATDIWR Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Another Great Feat! Experiment Successful!

Zhao Zhen’s initially casual, mocking expression changed instantly.

He sat up straight. “Are you sure that Zombie Crystal Core is a Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core, and that Zombie King was a Mental-type Zombie King?”

Zhao Zhen had never come into contact with a Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core, but it was said that even Zombie Crystal Cores of the same level from a Zombie King were of better quality than those from ordinary Zombies, offering a higher chance of advancement.

Even when using a Zombie Crystal Core to advance, not all Power Users could succeed; there was still a certain probability of failure.

This was especially true for Zhao Zhen.

No matter how Zhao Zhen claimed to be diligent and hardworking, he knew better than anyone that he hadn’t put much effort into scientific research. Most of his thoughts were actually focused on striving for personal gain.

Compared to research itself, he only desired the glory that scientific success brought him. He didn’t genuinely love research. If he could achieve glory without doing research, Zhao Zhen would leave Han Yaokun’s laboratory without hesitation or regret, never looking back.

For someone like him, with impure motives and no real focus on research, their Mental-type ability would definitely be superficial and unstable. Even if he obtained a Mental-type Zombie Crystal Core, the probability of successful advancement wouldn’t be high.

So, when he heard there was a Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core that could increase the advancement probability, Zhao Zhen’s eyes turned red.

Not to mention that if he succeeded in advancing using a Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core, his evolved ability would be even more powerful and stable.

Zhao Zhen was currently at the early stage of Tier 4 Mental-type ability and had been for several years without any breakthrough, primarily because he hadn’t found a suitable Zombie Crystal Core.

Originally, Country R had come to the auction and brought many Mental-type Zombie Crystal Cores. Han Yaokun had obtained a Mental-type Zombie Crystal Core suitable for himself through The Base, and Zhao Zhen had also privately acquired several high-quality Mental-type Zombie Crystal Cores from Country R. He thought everything was ready and just waiting for the right moment, but then Ji An, that troublemaker, exposed that those Zombie Crystal Cores were actually Power User Crystal Cores.

This instantly shattered Zhao Zhen’s dream of advancement. No matter how much Zhao Zhen wanted to advance, if the price was suffering from mania, becoming mentally ill, and eventually having mental chaos, ability riot, and his Power User Crystal Core self-destructing, Zhao Zhen would not accept it.

He never expected Wang Zhenghao to now tell him that The Base had hunted a Zombie King and obtained a Mental-type Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core of much higher quality than ordinary cores of the same tier. How could Zhao Zhen not be envious?

It wasn’t just a matter of envy anymore; Zhao Zhen seemed to have caught ‘red eye disease,’ his eyes looked like they were about to bleed.

Seeing Zhao Zhen’s appearance, the smile at the corner of Wang Zhenghao’s mouth quietly curled up.

“Where is that Mental-type Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core now?” Zhao Zhen asked impatiently.

“It’s in Ji An’s hands,” Wang Zhenghao intentionally led Zhao Zhen, deliberately omitting the fact that Ji An had participated in The Base’s mission.

Zhao Zhen immediately showed a mixed expression of jealousy and unwillingness. He almost roared, “Why give the Zombie Crystal Core to that useless Ji An?”

“Probably because he’s Commander Gu Jinsheng’s… partner!” Wang Zhenghao deliberately added fuel to the fire. “He can use ‘connections’! Someone like you, Director Zhao, who is down-to-earth and works diligently, doesn’t have a shortcut, so naturally, you can’t get it.”

Wang Zhenghao peeked at Zhao Zhen’s expression, seeing that he was on the verge of fury, needing just a gentle push to lose his reason and do something crazy.

Wang Zhenghao continued, “Honestly, I feel truly unfair for you. If this had happened before Ji An lost his ability, it might have been acceptable. Anyway, he could continue to create value for The Base in the future, so giving it to him was fine.

But now, Ji An’s ability is clearly gone. He’s a useless person without ability, separated from you by an unbridgeable chasm. He won’t be able to contribute to The Base anymore.

And you, you have a great future ahead, infinite possibilities, and will continue to contribute greatly to The Base.

In terms of creating value, that useless Ji An is completely incomparable to you. Let alone making a comparison, I think comparing Ji An to you is an insult to you.”

These words truly hit Zhao Zhen’s heart. This was exactly what Zhao Zhen was thinking right now.

Wang Zhenghao continued, “Your value is something that Ji An isn’t even fit to carry shoes for. So, from every aspect, that Mental-type Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core should be given to you, not Ji An.

It can’t be because Ji An can sell himself, and you can’t, that the Mental-type Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core is given to Ji An, right?

That would be too unfair to you! I can’t even stand to watch!”

Zhao Zhen was now enraged. He was like a bull seeing red, going mad, as if Ji An and Gu Jinsheng were in front of him, he would stab them to death with his horns.

Zhao Zhen kicked over the experimental bench in front of him, completely disregarding the culture dishes and other items being experimented on the bench. Glassware, culture medium, and bacteria splashed everywhere, startling the researchers and students who were conducting experiments into screaming.

Zhao Zhen ignored all of this. He stood up and strode away, intending to confront Gu Jinsheng.

But he was stopped at the doorway by Wang Zhenghao.

“Wang Zhenghao, what do you mean? Are you even going to stop me? Do you still have feelings for that useless Ji An?”

Wang Zhenghao quickly shook his head and explained, “How could that be? Ji An is just useless. I’m not being arrogant, but even if I achieve some research success in the future, that useless Ji An won’t be able to.”

“Then why are you stopping me? I, Zhao Zhen, am not a coward who would be afraid of a commander who sells himself!”

Wang Zhenghao said, “I’m doing this for your own good, so you don’t suffer a loss. Think about it, if you go alone like this, that Gu Jinsheng might agree to everything on the surface, but secretly find someone to get rid of you and make the scene look like an accident or a murder originating from Country R. With his capability, who could investigate?”

Zhao Zhen felt that what Wang Zhenghao said made a lot of sense, but it also fueled his anger even more. He felt a fire burning in his chest, a fire that was about to burn his internal organs to ashes.

“Should I just be a cowardly turtle like this? Just endure this unfairness?”

“Of course not,” Wang Zhenghao suggested. “A commander like Gu Jinsheng, who sells himself, surely does more than just this one unfair thing. Let’s gather all those who have suffered similar unfair treatment and go together to confront him.

With strength in numbers, he wouldn’t dare to silence so many people even if he wanted to. By then, would you still fear not getting justice or not getting back that Mental-type Zombie King’s Zombie Crystal Core?”

“Alright,” Zhao Zhen readily agreed, his eyes not only filled with jealousy but also flashing with intense greed and deep malice.

In Ji An’s laboratory, people were constantly coming and going. Wu Youyang blocked the doorway and said, “Rong Fan, register all the items. We will subsequently inspect these animals and plants to ensure they are not carrying the Zombie virus. After confirmation, compensation will be distributed according to the registration order.”

Although Gu Jinsheng had kept the fact that Ji An invented the nutrient solution a secret, with only some high-level personnel from the command center and the research institute knowing, these people knew that Ji An was the inventor of Space Storage Tools, and their curiosity about him was no less than that about the inventor of the nutrient solution.

Many people didn’t leave after handing over their goods, standing at the door and peeking inside.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t see anything. Those who came to deliver items could only access the outer area of the laboratory. Furthermore, Yin Fang and Yu Xi, like two great door gods, were guarding the entrance, standing guard on the left and right.

In the laboratory, Ji An placed a pair of mosquitoes into the space. Yes, after two small white mice, the third original life form welcomed into the Mustard Seed Space was two small mosquitoes.

Ji An couldn’t help but laugh a little when he put the pair of mosquitoes in himself. He wondered if, one day, his Mustard Seed Space truly became the origin of all things, people would want to hit him knowing that the little mice and mosquitoes were personally preserved by Ji An.

At least Ji An had some conscience and didn’t put the mosquitoes in the living area of the kitten. Instead, he put them together with the two small white mice.

After all, the fluffy little kitten was so cute, how could Ji An bear to let mosquitoes bite it!

It must be said that Ji An’s influence was truly strong. In just two weeks, Ji An received an abundance of unmutated animals and plants that had not been infected with the Zombie virus, far more varied than he had expected.

Crops such as rice, paddy rice, and sorghum, which were almost extinct in The Apocalypse, were all found by those treasure hunting teams.

The food Ji An and the others were currently eating was mainly mutated plants grown by Plant-type Power Users, which Ji An didn’t need.

In nature, due to the contamination by the Zombie virus, unmutated plants were almost nowhere to be seen. Ji An had no idea how these people managed to find them. The difficulty of finding unmutated plants was even higher than finding Zombies with the three rare abilities. One could only say that heavy rewards attract brave men!

Ji An planted the plants in an area with very fertile-looking soil, far away from the location of the kitten and the small white mice. He watered them with the spiritual spring water and waited quietly for the plants to sprout.

Ji An had Plant-type Zombie Crystal Cores and also Plant-type Power User Crystal Cores. These Zombie Crystal Cores could be artificially converted into energy through technical means and injected into the Mustard Seed Space to Produce birththose plants, but Ji An chose not to do so.

Since the Mustard Seed Space chose the most primitive, uninfected genes, there must be a reason for it. Ji An would not artificially disrupt this, but would only respect the Mustard Seed Space’s choice, protecting it from the invasion of the Zombie virus and mutation, allowing it to develop slowly.

Even for fertilizer, Ji An chose the feces of the small white mice and the kitten. This was the most primitive form of farm manure.

Currently, there were three types of animals in the space and six types of plants. So far, no marine creatures had appeared, so the spiritual spring water had not yet upgraded.

This couldn’t be blamed on the treasure hunting teams. After all, the ocean was the first place where mutations occurred.

The origin of the collective mutations was due to Country R discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean.

Since then, marine life first suffered widespread illness and death. Those that didn’t die began to mutate, with numerous marine creatures having multiple heads, multiple eyes, multiple legs, etc.

After that, when the oceans globally were polluted by nuclear wastewater, acid rain fell from the sky. After days and nights of acid rain, the Zombie virus quietly emerged, and humanity ushered in The Apocalypse.

Therefore, finding unmutated marine creatures was the most difficult!

Ji An sighed. He was even worried himself whether he could find unmutated marine creatures.

However, with the addition of unmutated animals and plants, the Mustard Seed Space did become more vibrant and full of life.

Ji An artificially fed the kitten and the small white mice with nutrient solution, then stood up and went to the incubator, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Through the transparent incubator, one could see a short section of bone from some unknown animal. Ji An put on sterile gloves, took out the bone, and admired it in front of his eyes. Sunlight shone on the porcelain-white bone and then on Ji An, coating his body with a sacred halo.

This halo made Ji An look exceptionally sacred, yet also gave off a strange sense of terror.

Especially the way Ji An’s eyes were smiling, his mouth curved up, as if seeing a peerless beauty,Obsessed with admiring and playing with the bone, looking exactly like a mad scientist straight out of a horror movie.

If someone were to walk into the laboratory at this moment, they would definitely be frightened to death by the sight of Ji An admiring the bone.

Ji An watched for a while before putting the bone back into the sterile box. Then he took off his gloves and sent a message to Gu Jinsheng.

About half an hour later, Gu Jinsheng arrived at the laboratory.

At this time, Wu Youyang was still collecting unmutated creatures. He was stunned when he saw Gu Jinsheng. “Commander Gu Jinsheng, why are you here?”

Gu Jinsheng nodded to Wu Youyang and the dutiful door gods Yin Fang and Yu Xi who were guarding the door, indicating, “I came to see Little An.”

Wu Youyang awkwardly said, “Commander Gu Jinsheng, you know that when our Boss Ji is doing experiments, he doesn’t allow people to enter his laboratory casually.”

As soon as Wu Youyang finished speaking, Ji An opened the door and waved at Gu Jinsheng. “Jinsheng, you’re here. Come in quickly, I have something good to show you!”

Although Gu Jinsheng’s face was as expressionless as usual, showing no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, the aura around him softened abruptly, as if a gleaming sharp sword was suddenly sheathed, and its fierce sharpness instantly disappeared.

“Little An called me over,” Gu Jinsheng said with gentle eyes, leaving that sentence behind and striding into the research laboratory.

Wu Youyang’s mouth twitched. Boss Ji had personally come out to greet him, so how could Wu Youyang not know? Was it still necessary for Commander Gu Jinsheng to specifically emphasize that sentence? Was he intentionally showing off?

One couldn’t help but wonder, was this the difference in treatment between an employee and a partner?

Employees were strictly not to be disturbed, and disturbing meant death, while for a partner, if they didn’t come, they would even be called over with a message.

Wu Youyang just had to say, why was the treatment between people so different?

Wu Youyang muttered softly to Gu Jinsheng’s retreating back, “Look at how pathetic you are!”

Everyone present except Wu Youyang were Power Users. Although Wu Youyang felt he had spoken very softly, it was still clearly heard by the Power Users present with developed senses.

Almost everyone widened their eyes and looked at Wu Youyang. Yin Fang even gave Wu Youyang a thumb-up in admiration.

Wu Youyang slapped his own mouth hard. Why was his mouth so cheap!

Ji An led Gu Jinsheng into his laboratory. This was the first time Gu Jinsheng had entered Ji An’s private laboratory. The last time he saw it through Thunder Dragon’s eyes didn’t count.

Gu Jinsheng noticed that in just a few days, many things had been added to Ji An’s laboratory. The most obvious change was the 3D printer against the wall.

This 3D printer was requested by Ji An from Gu Jinsheng. Gu Jinsheng had also used personal connections to find it for Ji An and personally delivered it.

It could be said to be the most advanced 3D printer at the time. Both its external appearance and internal functions were extremely powerful.

But now, that high-value 3D printer had clearly been disassembled by someone and reassembled, and its appearance was… ugly.

However, Gu Jinsheng knew Ji An wouldn’t do anything without purpose. There must be a reason for this modification.

Directly across from the 3D printer was an inflatable bathtub.

The inflatable bathtub was about two meters long, 65cm wide, and 60cm high, easily accommodating an adult male.

Currently, the inflatable bathtub was filled with liquid. It was a very viscous, not very fluid, almost transparent liquid, making it difficult to tell what it was.

“Jinsheng, come here and look,” Ji An led Gu Jinsheng to the sterile incubator.

Gu Jinsheng’s gaze fell on the section of bone inside the sterile box, his eyes narrowing slightly.

It was clear it was a leg bone from some animal, which wasn’t surprising. What was surprising were the culture dish and incubator beneath this section of leg bone.

This indicated that this section of leg bone had just been cultivated!

How was this possible!!!

Gu Jinsheng’s pupils contracted. He could hardly believe his eyes, and even less believe his own crazy speculation.

“Little An,” Gu Jinsheng felt his throat dry. “Did you cultivate that leg bone?”

Ji An came back to his senses, noticed Gu Jinsheng’s expression, which was like a comet hitting Earth, and smiled. “Yes, that’s right. Country M provided me with a completely new idea.”

Gu Jinsheng didn’t understand research matters, but he knew that what Ji An had done was far more than just following an idea provided by Country M. This technology didn’t exist in Country M now, it didn’t exist anywhere. It was a completely new field, far from being as simple as just an idea.

Gu Jinsheng was proud of Ji An’s achievements, but at the same time, a dense pain arose in his heart.

If Ji An’s Mental-type ability hadn’t been lost, what kind of beautiful flowers would he have bloomed!

Now, as an ordinary person, he had created a completely new medical field!

Ji An saw Gu Jinsheng’s eyes and guessed what he was thinking. “What’s with that look? This is a good thing! If it succeeds, Zhou Qin’s leg can be healed, and from now on, there will be no more disabled people in the world!”

Gu Jinsheng closed his eyes. When he opened them, the pity in his eyes had faded.

Ji An said, “The experiment is in progress. Don’t tell Zhou Qin yet, lest he gets his hopes up for nothing.”

“Okay,” Gu Jinsheng couldn’t describe the feeling flowing in his heart. This person was truly too excellent, so excellent that it felt unreal. When facing Ji An, Gu Jinsheng always felt a sense of powerlessness, like a hand that could never grasp flowing sand, a person who could never hold onto time.

This person was clearly right beside him, yet it felt as if he could disappear at any moment!

Ji An said, “Since you’re here, stay and witness a miracle together!”

Gu Jinsheng’s pupils shrank sharply.

Just then, Xiang Xintong arrived at the laboratory. Ji An had sent Xiang Xintong a message shortly after messaging Gu Jinsheng, but Xiang Xintong arrived later than Gu Jinsheng.

Before coming, Xiang Xintong didn’t know what Ji An was going to do. Ji An hadn’t said much, only that he needed her help with treatment.

Now, Xiang Xintong was Ji An’s exclusive Healing-type Power User. In the last commendation meeting, Ji An received the reward of having an exclusive Healing-type ability.

Originally, he should have chosen Fang Rurong. Her Healing-type ability was among the best of all Power Users. However, Fang Rurong had severely depleted her ability after treating Deputy Commander Zhou Qin’s injuries last time and was currently recuperating.

If Ji An had chosen her, other Healing-type Power Users would have to temporarily provide service during Fang Rurong’s recuperation period.

In that case, there would be no fixed personnel, and it might be whoever had time would provide service, which was inconvenient. So Ji An chose Xiang Xintong, whose strength was not inferior to Fang Rurong’s.

Xiang Xintong rushed over quite urgently. Although Ji An said he wasn’t the one with a problem, Xiang Xintong was still a bit worried. After arriving and seeing Gu Jinsheng there as well, she became even more concerned.

“Mr. Ji, is something wrong with your health?” Xiang Xintong asked anxiously.

“No,” Ji An explained. “I apologize for troubling Miss Xiang to rush over. I have some private matters I would like to trouble Miss Xiang with.”

Xiang Xintong let out a huge sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t Ji An’s physical or mental health that was the problem.

Xiang Xintong then smiled. “It’s no trouble. Please feel free to ask me for help with anything you need.”

“Then I won’t be polite,” Ji An led Xiang Xintong to a small white mouse with half of its leg missing. “Here is the half-section of leg bone from this small white mouse. It has not been contaminated by the Zombie virus. Please help heal it.”

A trace of confusion flashed in Xiang Xintong’s eyes. Ji An called her all the way here just to treat a small white mouse’s leg bone?

Xiang Xintong thought, well, I’ll treat it. Ji An is a researcher, so this small white mouse might be special. Otherwise, Ji An wasn’t the type to deliberately trouble people.

“Okay,” Xiang Xintong agreed, putting on sterile gloves and taking the bone section out of the culture dish. She placed it at the site of the small white mouse’s missing hind leg and began to use her ability to heal it.

With an uninfected bone, healing a broken leg was not difficult. This was even simpler for Xiang Xintong than healing an external wound for a Power User.

In the blink of an eye, the small white mouse’s broken leg grew back completely.

“It’s done,” almost the moment Xiang Xintong finished speaking, the small white mouse stood up. It shook its regrown leg and found that it could move freely.

Then it used its newly restored leg to jump and run around, showing no signs of ever having been injured in the hind leg.

Gu Jinsheng’s expression changed so much that even Xiang Xintong noticed the anomaly. She was somewhat confused. “This isn’t difficult at all. Because this small white mouse has a low degree of mutation, I didn’t use much ability to heal it. Only cases like Deputy Commander Zhou, where the severed limb wasn’t preserved and regeneration is needed, are untreatable.”

Gu Jinsheng’s expression did not ease because of Xiang Xintong’s words; instead, it became even more solemn.

This meant that as long as Ji An could cultivate suitable bones, all severed hands and feet could be healed!

What did this signify?

Another great feat after the nutrient solution! Another great invention that would change the destiny of the entire human race!

Ji An smiled, his mood clearly very good. “Thank you for your help. This small white mouse is extraordinarily significant to us. This is a thank-you gift for you.”

Xiang Xintong looked down and saw a Jade Necklace in Ji An’s hand.

It was well known that Ji An was the creator of Space Storage Tools. How could the Jade Necklace he took out be just a simple Jade Necklace? It must be a Space Storage Tool.

Xiang Xintong was so nervous her hands and feet were sweating. “Is this a Space Storage Tool? This is too valuable, I can’t accept it.”

“Take it. I’ll be needing your help in many places in the future,” Ji An said.

Gu Jinsheng also said, “From now on, you just need to serve Little An wholeheartedly. Take the item.”

“Then, then I’ll accept it brazenly,” Xiang Xintong saw that both Ji An and Gu Jinsheng were sincere, and besides, she would have many dealings with Ji An in the future, so she accepted it.

Xiang Xintong liked it more the more she looked at it, and her eyes curved into smiles. “It was rumored among us Healing-type Power Users that Researcher Ji is a very generous person, and likes to casually give Space Storage Tools for just a small favor.

Many people doubted the truth of this rumor before, after all, Space Storage Tools are so rare, not like cabbage on the street, how could they be given away so casually for a small matter?

But now that it’s happened to me, I know the rumors are true. I can personally testify.”

“How could there be such rumors?” Ji An was puzzled. He hadn’t given away many Space Storage Tools, it seemed.

Xiang Xintong smiled so wide her teeth showed, flashing a mouthful of white teeth. “It was Captain Fang who said it, Fang Rurong. She seemed to have helped you treat an external wound on an ordinary child last time, just such a small matter, and you gave her a Space Storage Tool. That’s how everyone found out.”

Ji An was both amused and exasperated.

Xiang Xintong continued, “Originally, when we heard that you would have an exclusive Healing-type Power User spot at this commendation meeting, everyone was hoping it would be themselves. I didn’t expect the lucky person to be me. Then everyone started betting on when you would give me a Space Storage Tool. Some said half a year, some said a year. I didn’t expect it to be so soon, only betting three months.

The reason why everyone bet on half a year and a year, and didn’t bet sooner, was because nobody expected you to return to work so quickly. Everyone thought with your severe injuries, you would need to recuperate for at least half a year to a year.”

Ji An smiled. “I wonder if you guys had a betting pool. If so, you must have lost everything. If I had known there was such a bet, I would have placed a bet earlier.”

Xiang Xintong’s impression of Ji An improved further. As expected of a big shot, he was not only generous but also humorous and witty.

Such an excellent and gentle person, thankfully, didn’t really die. Perhaps even Heaven was reluctant to let him go!

“Miss Xiang, you can’t leave yet. I will need your help with treatment later. You might have to wait for a bit. You can go to the lounge next door and rest for now,” Ji An said.

“Okay,” Xiang Xintong had received such a big gift from Ji An without doing anything, and felt uneasy. Now that Ji An needed her help, she felt much more at ease and readily agreed.

Ji An personally escorted Xiang Xintong to the lounge next door to rest. When he returned, he said to Gu Jinsheng, “Notify Zhou Qin to come here. Don’t tell him specifically what we’re going to do, just say I need to collect data for an experiment and ask for his help.”

There were exceptions to everything. Ji An didn’t want Zhou Qin to be disappointed, so it would be better to wait until everything was settled and give him a sudden surprise then.

“Okay,” Gu Jinsheng agreed and immediately sent a message to Zhou Qin.