Chapter 105 Gene Weapon

Gao Yuan was conscious, even very clear-headed.

Excruciating pain, unbearable and unrelievable, had become not just an adjective but a real, firsthand experience.

He could even hear others talking; it was just the intense pain that left him too weak to ponder or distinguish their conversations.

He truly wished to lose consciousness, to truly wish for death.

Gao Yuan would rather die immediately than endure the current agony.

But now, he couldn't even cry out—that was the most miserable part. He was in so much pain that he could beg anyone to kill him quickly, but he couldn't make a sound.

His entire body had lost control, leaving only a conscious mind to feel the intense suffering.

If he had known it would be like this, Gao Yuan truly wouldn't want to live, really wouldn't.

Luo Xingyu wasn't even aware that Gao Yuan was desperately pleading with her in his mind, begging her to end his life quickly.

Even losing consciousness would be good.

Finally, Gao Yuan's breathing stopped, even his heartbeat ceased.

"Is he really still alive?"

Luo Xingyu asked uncertainly because Gao Yuan had stopped breathing and even his chest no longer rose and fell, which seemed to indicate he was dead.

Zombies have heartbeats, and they need to breathe too; they're just habitually called zombies. In reality, zombies are simply humans who have lost the ability to think and have become highly aggressive.

So even if Gao Yuan turned into a zombie, he should still be breathing.

"The cessation of heartbeat and breathing is only temporary."

Xinghe explained, and Xiang Weiguo thought for a moment, then said, "Then maybe you two should leave first, don't wait here, escort Xinghe away; we'll figure out a way to take Gao Yuan with us."

The two special ops members exchanged a look. They almost instantly agreed to Xiang Weiguo's request because staying here was indeed dangerous, and Xinghe was the most important.

"No, I'll stay. Let's wait until he can move, then we can leave together."

Xinghe, to everyone's surprise, once again refused Xiang Weiguo's suggestion. Xiang Weiguo hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How long will that take?"

"Twenty-six minutes."

The precise time made Xiang Weiguo wonder, but Luo Xingyu asked anxiously, "Why wait twenty-six minutes?"

"In twenty-six minutes, the strong virus in his body will be entirely killed by the vaccine injected into him. After the strong virus dies, it won't be infectious anymore."

Luo Xingyu's voice was tense as she said, "But you mentioned he would turn into a zombie?"

"Just non-infectious. However, the virus is currently active in his body, destroying his conscious will. According to your terminology, if he loses consciousness, he will attack every living thing he sees, isn't that the hallmark of a zombie?"

Luo Xingyu looked at Gao Yuan with concern, murmuring, "Then what's his situation now?"

Xinghe also looked at Gao Yuan lying on the ground and said, "I don't know. I only know if he gives up his consciousness, then he will lose it forever. No one knows what he will be like when he gets up. If he attacks anyone around him, then he's a zombie, but if he can think, then he's Gao Yuan."

Luo Xingyu, looking at Gao Yuan, cried out, "Gao Yuan, you must hold on!"

"One in a thousand chances..."

Someone spoke, but it was something no one wanted to hear. Li Changfeng might have realized he shouldn't have said it, so he quickly asked, "You just said he'll become a more powerful zombie, what does that mean?"

Xinghe hadn't explained when Yu Shunzhou suddenly rushed forward and kicked Li Changfeng, then angrily shouted, "I told you to shut up! Shut up! Shut up..."

Yu Shunzhou raised his fist to strike, but Xiang Weiguo shouted sternly, "Shunzhou, what are you doing!"

Convinced that Gao Yuan wouldn't survive, Li Changfeng urgently asked, "I just want to know what happens when he becomes a more powerful zombie."

Although Xiang Weiguo tried to stop him, Yu Shunzhou still slapped him, and after a sharp smack, he angrily said, "I just can't stand people like you, a pus-filled, good-for-nothing wimp! Were you not able to understand when I told you to shut up?"

"The stronger zombies refer to a being whose strength, speed, and reactions are all far beyond those of a normal zombie... because his genes are currently being optimized. The gene-modifying drugs being injected are fighting the virus while optimizing his genes, killing all of the virus, but I can't accurately predict the consequences, because Gao Yuan has also been contaminated with monster blood, and as you know, these monsters are biological weapons of the Serpent People, products of genetic modification."

Everyone was momentarily stunned before Luo Xingyu asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Not caring about beating up Li Changfeng any longer, Yu Shunzhou anxiously interjected, "Yeah, what do you mean?"

Xinghe thought for a moment before responding, "I can't give you a clear answer to your question."

Luo Xingyu urgently asked, "Will he turn into a monster if he survives?"

After considering, Xinghe said, "I cannot be certain, but this type of monster did not have the ability to emit electricity on its home planet. Its speed was similar to what it is now, but its shell was definitely not as hard, nor was its strength as great. Therefore, the Serpent People have modified this creature. Given the Serpent People's technology, they begin with genetic alterations, and such creatures need a long time to grow into a fully developed entity. The Serpent People couldn't wait that long to use them as weapons, hence they employ certain methods to accelerate the growth process, continuously and rapidly modifying the organism."

Having finished, Xinghe quickly added, "The Serpent People use Gene Weapons and selected rabies virus as a template for modification, transmitting it to humans through the air. What I administered to Gao Yuan... does not belong to vaccines or medicine. To be more accurate, it's also a Gene Weapon, a virus specially made to counteract other viruses."

Then he continued, "The Gene Weapon that the Serpent People used to transform monsters is another type of Gene Weapon, a different form of viral Gene Weapon. If only the rabies virus were present in Gao Yuan's body, then his chances of survival would be over fifty percent, but now there are three different Gene Weapons in his system, so I can't predict what will happen. I can only say that as long as Gao Yuan retains his consciousness and is not infectious, then he is still himself, not a monster."

Luo Xingyu was truly confused and only understood one thing, that there were three different viruses within Gao Yuan's body, all of them being Gene Weapons.

"Do these viruses have names?"

A special forces member asked, to which Xinghe immediately replied, "They have names, but they do not exist in your vocabulary. I cannot express names you do not have in your language, unless you can come up with names yourselves."

After glancing at each other, Xiang Weiguo suddenly suggested, "Let's call that monster an Armored Beast, what do you think?"

Everyone looked at the dead monster as another special forces member said, "The name is quite descriptive. Since we still have to wait here for a while, why don't we study this beast now?"

"Keep your distance. The virus carried by the Armored Beast is highly infectious," Xinghe warned. But he followed up with, "However, strong viruses cannot be transmitted through air; maintaining a distance should be safe."

A special forces member murmured, "I just want to know where this monster's eyes are. If we could target the eyes, so many people wouldn't have had to die..."

Xinghe calmly replied, "You lack a cosmic perspective, so you haven't considered that the Armored Beast has no eyes. It observes the world via a dual-mode system of bioelectricity and infrared, so it has no need for eyes nor suffers from the limitations of sight."

Xiang Weiguo paused for a moment before he sighed, "You should have told us this earlier..."

"You didn't ask me, and I realized that telling you wouldn't be of any use," Xinghe justified himself in a rare moment of self-defense.

Luo Xingyu didn't care what the monsters should be named. She only cared about Gao Yuan, just Gao Yuan.

"Xinghe, he's going to wake up in twenty minutes, right?" she asked.

Xinghe looked at Gao Yuan and then leaned down to touch Gao Yuan's face with his hand.

"The strong virus will change his brain, the virus I gave him will protect his brain and kill the strong virus. Now he's beginning to recover his heartbeat and breathing. If he can stand up in twenty minutes, then the result is bad since humans can't recover that quickly. The longer he takes, the better his condition might be, because it means he hasn't left his body to be controlled by instinct. As for the exact time... I cannot know."

After speaking, Xinghe stood up, then after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly added, "But now there's another possibility. He might end up in a vegetative state, a very high possibility."

Just moments ago, Luo Xingyu hoped that Gao Yuan would wake up and stand quickly, but now she was only worried he might suddenly stand.

Since they had to wait regardless, Yu Shunzhou said nothing and quietly went to collect ammunition. One special forces member was observing the creature named the Armored Beast, while another approached Yu Shunzhou and said, "Hand me the gun."

Yu Shunzhou slung the gun across his body and shook his head, "Even now, you still won't give us weapons? Isn't it better to have more weapons? Are you still dwelling on what just happened? It's over now, what are you afraid of?"

The two special forces members exchanged glances, and then one of them said softly, "You're right, gather more ammo. I'll continue observing the Armored Beast."

The agonizing wait went by slowly, and after twenty minutes, Xinghe approached Gao Yuan, placed his hand on Gao Yuan's face, and waited silently for about a minute before saying, "He no longer has infectiousness, but I cannot determine if he's Gao Yuan or has become a zombie because I can't detect his brainwaves. This isn't a reaction of a zombie, nor is it a response a normal human should have."

After completing his analysis, Xinghe stood up and calmly added, "I can no longer judge his condition, for it exceeds my scope of knowledge. So the decision is now up to you. Oh, just a reminder, if you still want to replicate the virus for the vaccine, he's the only hope."