Chapter 202: Breakthrough in New Materials

He tried to half-sit up.

Although his body still felt a bit sore and weak, it was now able to support him to the extent that he could move around like a normal person.

Skillfully, he reached out and closed the capsule compartment door.

Liang Liyang took a bag hanging on the wall and began to handle his own bodily functions.

This operation was a bit embarrassing for him.

And it made the air quality inside the capsule compartment rather poor.

But he had no other choice.

Because the robots managing this area strictly prohibited anyone from leaving their capsule compartments.

Anyone who dared to break the rule would receive a warning the first time, and if repeated, they would be killed.

Liang Liyang had seen it with his own eyes.

A neighbor of his, located about ten meters away, couldn't bear the cramped space of the capsule compartment and, ignoring the rules, tried to rush out.

Before he could take more than two steps, he was shot in the head without a sound by an unknown source of attack.

Fortunately.

Although he couldn't leave the capsule compartment, the managers of the place didn't seem to be entirely inhumane.

As long as he woke up, it wouldn't be long before a robotic arm would bring him a tray with food.

He could also hand over his trash to the robotic arm to ensure the compartment stayed clean.

After patiently waiting for a while.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Liang Liyang realized his mental state was relatively good and showed no signs of falling back into a deep sleep.

He secretly took out his phone.

Unlike many who had their personal belongings confiscated after being infected, he was lucky enough to have his phone.

With this alone, if he could fully recover from the infection and live, he might be one of the wealthiest among the infected.

He pressed and held the power button.

The phone powered on smoothly.

He glanced at the display, which showed that the battery was at 54%.

Liang Liyang breathed a sigh of relief.

This charge was enough.

He opened the phone's contacts and paused his finger on a certain icon for a few seconds.

Then, with a deep breath, he pressed it.

After a long and heart-wrenching wait, the call was answered.

"Is it Liang Liyang?"

A cautious voice, tinged with hope, came from the phone.

Liang Liyang felt his nose sting.

"Mom, it's me."

He curled up at the far end of the capsule compartment, focusing on the conversation with his family.

Compared to Liang Liyang's struggles, his mother was much luckier.

She hadn't contracted the virus.

Due to the strict regulations of the shelter, she couldn't earn money through work.

In recent days, she had only been receiving the minimum ration of relief food.

But at least she was alive and well.

"I'm fine here too."

"Someone injected us with a treatment, and my health is getting better little by little."

"The food is porridge, with some lean meat, peanuts, and lotus seeds. It's better than what we had in the shelter."

"Just... there are too many people, and there isn't enough space for activities."

"However—"

Liang Liyang looked up, his gaze passing through the small opening of the capsule compartment, and he saw the huge image projected onto the divider opposite him.

At that moment, the screen showed news from the Huangshi Channel.

A drone, carrying a large orange-yellow light, was flying through the heavy rain in the pitch-black night.

The light illuminated the surging floodwaters below and the occasional glimpses of collapsed buildings, making them glisten in the glow.

According to the report, that drone was performing disinfection on the surface.

Meanwhile, in other unseen locations, there were also thousands of drones doing the same thing.

Watching the flickering light in the darkness, which brought a sense of warmth, Liang Liyang suddenly felt a deep sense of calm and hope.

"Everything will get better from here."

There were many people like Liang Liyang.

Thanks to Su Wu's timely warnings, the public release of disinfection device manufacturing blueprints, and the large-scale reception of severe infection cases, although the infection numbers in Jianghe City were enormous, the actual number of deaths from the Rola virus was only about 100,000.

The fortunate survivors who could reunite with their family members were far more numerous than those who had completely lost their families.

When these people woke up and realized their situation, they easily accepted Su Wu's leadership.

As a result, the amount of spiritual energy Su Wu gained daily began to rise noticeably.

From over sixty points a day, it increased to seventy or eighty points.

For these newly gained spiritual points, Su Wu continued to invest a portion into Chen Yue, so she could fully dedicate herself to developing the vaccine.

As for why not invest all the spiritual energy—based on the analysis of the past few days, Su Wu concluded that about 30 points of spiritual energy per day was optimal for the research.

Beyond that, additional investment yielded only negligible returns.

The remaining spiritual energy wasn't saved up.

Instead, Su Wu directed it toward Chen Xinyue.

Because just yesterday, Chen Xinyue had given him a huge surprise.

She had stumbled upon a strange chemical reaction in the chemical laboratory she was in charge of.

With the appearance of this chemical reaction, a corresponding key technology began to glow faintly on Su Wu's technology tree.

This indicated that all the prerequisites for this critical technology had been met.

As long as the research continued, it would soon progress far faster than other technological studies.

Faced with this huge temptation, Su Wu couldn't resist allocating some of his resources to Chen Xinyue, gambling on this opportunity.

"If successful..."

"We won't need to worry about the underground space problem in the shelter anymore."

"Even if the number of people we need to accommodate doubles..."

"We'll easily be able to settle them all."

With a bit of anticipation, Su Wu once again focused his gaze on the glowing icon on the technology tree, silently praying that his investment would unlock it sooner.

Quick Cement

"Basic construction material of the interstellar era, with some metallic properties. Its initial hardness is equivalent to steel and can be reinforced through certain technologies. It resists high-intensity radiation and can be significantly reduced in weight using anti-gravity technology. When exposed to special light, it can solidify rapidly within three minutes."

"Main material: Limestone, others unknown—"

"Note: An anc

ient civilization once used it as the foundation to create a massive city that encircled the entire planet. Its power speaks for itself."

(End of Chapter)