After stocking up at the maximum level, all the handsome men in the apocalypse are looking for suppo

Chapter 182 Difficult Choices
The lab lights were still on, the air thick and oppressive. Su Wanqing wrote down the last line, closed her pen, and lowered her voice slightly: "Sit down, everyone. Don't rush to say anything. I need everyone to make their points clear at once."

Lu Zhao was still clutching the proposal in his hand, the corner of the paper crumpled. Lin Che's left thumb was grinding against the band-aid on the blood collection point.

Han Xue stood by the control panel, not moving. Xiao Ran leaned against the door, glanced at Su Wanqing, and didn't say anything.

Su Wanqing looked around and announced the meeting agenda: "The focus will be on serum sampling methods. Apart from the most conservative supplemental induction, all others, including the spinal cord puncture proposed by Han Xue, will be included. Now, let's vote. Speak first, then vote."

Lu Zhao was the first to speak up: "I disagree with taking high-risk samples from girls with childlike voices."

In vitro induction is slow, but only if the patient survives can we talk about saving lives. No matter how fast it is, we can't risk someone's life.

Lin Che gripped the edge of the seat tightly: "I agree with Lu Zhao. I can increase the frequency of blood draws, or assist with in vitro induction, but I absolutely cannot let her have to endure a needle that she can't be pricked."

Han Xue pushed the documents aside, her tone calm: "The window of opportunity won't wait for us much longer. Of all the available methods, only high-density collection can overcome the inactivation rate bottleneck. Once the zombie horde erupts outside, even the best ethics won't be able to protect anyone."

If the safety of the surgery can be guaranteed, I am willing to perform the entire procedure, with everyone supervising the process.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment and said, "I agree with Han Xue. Every day we delay, more people will die. The key is that this isn't just a simple academic discussion, and we don't know how much safe time we'll have later. I'll take care of the safety. In short, let's hurry."

Lin Che lowered his voice and pressed his left hand firmly against the edge of the table: "Don't touch her."

Han Xue leaned over and said, "If you were her biological child, I might understand. But you also know that all the survivors are waiting for the outcome. None of them can choose the weight on your head."

Lu Zhao folded the paper and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any assumptions that she can hold on? Have you calculated the dosage of the medication? Who will be responsible if her immune system collapses?"

Xiao Ran remained motionless, only adding, "None of the previous plans actually used children that age. What if something goes wrong?"

Su Wanqing sat upright at the table without saying a word; she simply glanced around the four-person room.

A moment later, she turned a piece of paper face down on the table and pointed at the corner of the table with her index finger: "I've written down all the speeches. Now, vote. Dangerous sampling—do you support it or not? Think it through."

Lu Zhao and Lin Che said in unison, "We object."

Han Xue looked up: "Agreed."

Xiao Ran simply said, "Agreed."

The score remained 2-2, stuck in a stalemate.

Su Wanqing gently stroked the table, stood up to pack up the meeting materials, didn't ask anything more, and turned to leave the laboratory.

The corridor was quiet. Su Wanqing tightened her grip on the folder in her hand, without turning around.

She went down the stairs to the basement and pushed open the door to the temporary medical area.

The girl with the childlike voice was curled up in the blanket, sleeping restlessly. A new cold compress was applied to her forehead.

Su Wanqing walked to the bedside and sat down—the girl's lips moved, uttering a very soft murmur: "The key...the door is...locked..."

Su Wanqing held her breath and listened closely for a couple of moments. She looked carefully at the child's face, a hint of hesitation crossing her mind, and pulled the girl's blanket a little tighter.

He murmured the words "key... door..." repeatedly, and when he seemed to mention "box," his voice became hoarse.

Su Wanqing didn't wake her up. She just pursed her lips, wrote down these few sentences, and put them into her notebook.

When she came out again, Xiao Ran was waiting in the corridor. He said in a low voice, "I just took a look around, and the three surveillance cameras on the east side of the base are malfunctioning. When they were repairing them, they found that the wiring to the equipment had been cut, but the method didn't seem like that of an ordinary homeless person."

There was a trail of fresh mud prints in the outer woods, the soles of military boots.

Su Wanqing stopped and asked directly, "What do you think?"

Xiao Ran replied, "I suspect there are professionals watching around, maybe targeting the girl, or maybe they're after the serum or something else."

Su Wanqing pondered for a moment, then said only, "Add two more sentry posts to monitor the Cleaners. They've been working hard to test their weapons and communicators lately, as if they're preparing for something big."

Xiao Ran nodded and turned to make the arrangements.

Su Wanqing returned to the experimental area. Lin Che leaned against the experimental table, playing with the experimental report in his hand, his eyes fixed on the data table on the table, his brows furrowed.

Lu Zhao and Han Xue hadn't left yet. Han Xue was quickly filing documents, while Lu Zhao was still revising the operational plan, showing no signs of letting up.

Just then, electronic noise came through the radio, followed by Li Ming's voice: "The situation is worse than you think. The outer defense line has just detected a large number of zombies moving around, more than five times the usual density, and they are moving towards your base."

We can't guarantee how long we can hold out; the operation must be accelerated immediately.

Su Wanqing moved closer to the radio and picked up the microphone: "Do you have specific numbers? How many are approaching?"

"More than four thousand have been discovered so far. There's no time to mobilize weapons. You either need to produce the serum immediately or find another way out. The scale of the zombie horde is unprecedented, and the basic defense line can only hold out for a day at most. Anyway, we're waiting for your decision."

The radio went dead with a "snap".

Su Wanqing put down the microphone and remained silent for a long while. Han Xue stated bluntly, "The situation is obvious."

It's not that we're making a choice; the situation is forcing us to. Every hour we can buy us time is precious; we can't afford to waste any more time.

Lin Che grabbed the corner of the data sheet: "No, I suggest that Lu Zhao and I lead the entire response process, and that I double my sampling frequency. Any high-risk method requires everyone's signature of consent. We can't let her bear the risk alone."

Lu Zhao looked up, his tone firm: "Give me time. Three days—no, two days, forty-eight hours. Lin Che and I will take turns working non-stop and try every possible workaround. Even if the success rate is only one percent, it's better than what we're doing now."

Xiao Ran asked, "What if there are still no results after forty-eight hours, and the zombie horde is at the door? Who will take responsibility for that decision then?"

Su Wanqing put away the plan on the table, and gave Han Xue one last look. "I'll give you forty-eight hours. Lu Zhao will be in charge of the in vitro culture and induction, and Han Xue will be responsible for preparing the bypass plan. Each of you should provide the optimal rate. I will conduct the final review after forty-eight hours."

Han Xue nodded: "I have prepared a plan for all experimental procedures in advance. Unless absolutely necessary, we will not harm a single hair on the girl's head. We will only consider more radical measures if the backup plan fails."

Su Wanqing glanced at everyone and added simply, "All decisions concerning the girl are subject to my approval, and no one is allowed to touch her without my consent."

Xiao Ran glanced at Su Wanqing one last time. "The Cleaners have been deploying a lot lately, using all professional equipment. Tonight, their men were all carrying pistols, and their movement was strange. I've arranged for survivors on the perimeter to keep watch from the shadows and report anything immediately."

Su Wanqing said, "I'll remember that. More job rotations and more overtime shifts."

Lin Che, clutching the experimental table, stood up and went back to adjust the equipment. Lu Zhao opened the reagent cabinet behind him and began organizing the instruments and substrates.

Han Xue put the experimental records back in the filing cabinet and didn't argue with anyone anymore.

Su Wanqing returned to the table, reopened the folder filled with plans, and emphasized the words "48 hours".

No one spoke; only the instruments operated silently.

The air in the laboratory was oppressive, making it hard to breathe. Su Wanqing underlined the words "48 hours," then opened the glass window above, stuffed a few pages of last night's plan into a folder, and didn't say another word. She only instructed Lu Zhao and Lin Che to work as a group, while Han Xue had a separate case file, and told no one to slack off.

Lu Zhao stayed in the control area all night, continuously organizing data on the screen.

When he flipped to Lin Che's sampling records, his brows furrowed tightly as he pondered the parameters of each set.

The electromagnetic stirrer emitted a hissing sound. Lin Che stood to the side, repeatedly rubbing the veins in his right arm and adjusting the mixing ratio from time to time.

The girl with the childlike voice is still asleep, and the sample size is pitifully small.

"Lin Che, retrieve the batch of healing factor plans you brought to the cold storage room, and select the three most stable ones."

Lu Zhao stared at the control panel, filing the reagent dishes one by one. "Don't let your hands shake, be careful. The amount is only enough for two tests." Lin Che nodded, his movements clean and efficient. He pressed the collection syringe on the lab bench down a little, said nothing else, and silently handed over the dispensed blood sample and steady-state reagent.

Lu Zhao lowered his head slightly, constantly calculating the reaction time and buffer concentration, and filling all the variables into another pre-set table.

At night, with the automatic timer precisely set, Lu Zhao's hands never stopped. He titrated Lin Che's healing factor and the girl's diluted blood plasma in the same reaction tube, quickly activating the catalytic enzyme module.

When the time was up, the enzyme plate lit up with a green light, the instrument core lit up with red, and the stable signal jumped several times.

“There’s a chance.” Lu Zhao stared at the data curve in the window. His shoulders twitched slightly. The curve was more than twice as high as last night.

He then changed the conditions and added the collected antigen fragments.

With each catalysis, the activity value seemed to be amplified. After Lu Zhao calculated it, he called out to Lin Che.

“Come and see, the catalytic ratio has exceeded the original setting. Theoretically, we don’t need to take any more samples. Based on the samples you and the girl provided, plus the bio-amplification step, the antibody quantity is enough for a small medical station to operate.”

Lu Zhao paused, glanced at Lin Che, and said, "The problem is we still need a stabilizer. How are Han Xue's preparations going?"

Lin Che tried to mix all the standard-compliant healing extracts in the refrigerator again and handed over the parameters.

Su Wanqing had just come in from the outer room. Without saying anything else, she only urged Han Xue to provide the data.

Han Xue remained seated at the other control panel, her hands constantly typing on the keyboard.

She took out two molecular models from her drawer and sorted through the latest records one by one.

Lu Zhao walked over and asked, "Which step of the plan have we adjusted? We need to increase molecular stability by three times, otherwise scaling up production will cause everything to fall apart."

Han Xue folded the reaction diagram while looking at several variables on the data.

She cut off a row of old settings, pushed the adjusted sample toward Lu Zhao, and said in a low voice, "I did some localized changes to the antibody sequence, and protected some side chains with a 'critical separation enzyme.' Theoretically, the degree of polymerization is 3.4 according to the formula. You'd better push the calculator again."

Without wasting words, Lu Zhao took the calculation paper and deduced the formula. The parameters were more than twice as high as his original calculations.

He stared at the reaction flask on the control panel, wiping away the condensation on its surface: "Did you miss something? Why are there three extra decimal places on this stability coefficient?"

Han Xue shrugged, opened the experiment log, and left several key nodes blank.

She gestured for Lu Zhao to stop arguing: "Didn't you want speed? We can produce a batch every three hours now, which is a whole day faster than your original plan. You can leave some variables for me to keep on file."

Lu Zhao pursed his lips, not delving into it further, and simply split the sample. Lin Che stared at the computer screen, occasionally sending the physiological curves to the main feedback board.

Han Xue quietly returned to the terminal, her finger hovering over the last step of the calculation program. Every step was compliant, but some details made it seem like there was something hidden.

Before dawn, the first bottle of optimized antibody mixture was placed next to the isolation chamber.

Lu Zhao moved the small centrifuge device into the cubicle. Su Wanqing stood at the door and asked, "After the first batch of serum samples are collected, who will conduct the field testing?"

Lin Che pushed the test tube rack, "I'll work overtime to finish the remaining parameters. You guys use the archived infection samples to simulate first, and then I'll follow up and monitor each reaction data."

Su Wanqing nodded and went to the first aid area to retrieve blood samples from adult survivors who had been slightly bitten two days prior for model testing.

Lu Zhao quickly issued a test order, and Han Xue also brought up her assistant terminal to conduct a control test on the spot.

The first test used a solution of the virus from live zombies collected at the base. After adding new serum, the conversion rate was only one-seventh of the original.

In the model readings, the viral activity that was originally expected to rise sharply automatically 24 hours after infection was significantly delayed, with the longest delay being six days and eighteen hours.

Han Xue pointed to the graph on the screen, "You can see for yourselves. The existing parameters can extend the activation conversion period from one day to one week, but it is ineffective for the complete organism. The control group showed no response in the basic indicators."

Lu Zhao thought for a moment and typed directly in the record book: "Conclusion: Serum is effective for early-stage infected individuals, but cannot cure individuals who have undergone complete transformation."

Su Wanqing glanced around. "The results are good. The rest will be mass-produced in an organized manner. Lin Che, it's up to you, can you manage three production lines?"

Lin Che went to the side to check the equipment, and returned after counting: "The equipment and substrate are all complete. Su Wanqing, could you bring over some more raw materials? The warehouse inventory is almost empty."

Su Wanqing whispered a few words of advice, returned to the storage area, put her hands on the jade bracelet, picked out several packets of the most critical reagent powder and frozen enzyme, carefully checked the quantity, and packed them into the spare box.

When she returned, she moved all the raw materials to the production room converted from the wine cellar and piled them neatly to one side.

Lin Che immediately assisted in planning the three production lines, listing all the necessary production steps, batch synthesis sequence, and label packaging in a chart.

Lu Zhao and Han Xue take turns supervising the ingredient preparation and repeatedly checking the operation of the automatic mixer and sterilization chamber. Even if they only have a few minutes of free time, they will monitor the real-time data panel.

At 5 p.m., the first batch of fifty antibody serum vials were packed in a special refrigerated box, with ten vials labeled as a group.

Lu Zhao tested the stability of the sample packaging, verified the activity of each sample again with the instrument, and made a record of each one.

"The results are undeniable, and production capacity can be further expanded, but the current port raw materials are only enough to last for one week."

Lu Zhao handed the cold box to Su Wanqing, "The rest can only be achieved through continuous sampling and further optimization of molecular amplification with Han Xue."

Just as Lu Zhao was recording the last vial of serum, Han Xue quietly closed the experimental record and archived all the batch numbers.

She paused in that data log for a few seconds, deliberately miscalculated three variables, and then turned to the next page.

As Lin Che worked, he whispered, "Separate the medicines into separate warehouses, isolate the infected samples, and only report to the outside world that the medicine has limited efficacy. Don't let the surrounding areas of the base know. If the higher-ups keep a close eye on it, we might not be able to prevent it."

Su Wanqing didn't reply. She simply sent the batches of serum into the storage room and locked the combination lock cabinet. She was pondering another question: no matter how fast the mass production speed is, what will happen to the "cleaners" and the military once external threats breach the defenses?
The production line never stopped. Lin Che and his two assistants raced against time, repeatedly disinfecting each line and weighing the raw materials meticulously. He didn't even take a break, keeping a close eye on the batch numbers.

Lu Zhao also conveniently made a reference card out of the vaccination records and single-dose delivery forms.

Around dusk, Xiao Ran pushed open the door and stepped into the production room, calling out to Su Wanqing in a low voice.

He handed her a piece of wire covered in mud, the ends of which were cleanly broken off, and the outer layer had a slanted edge.

He shook out a bag of parts and placed it on the table, saying, "In the outer defense zone, there are two sections of barbed wire at the southeast and northwest corners that have been precisely cut. The cuts are clean and sharp; it wasn't done by an ordinary person."

Su Wanqing stopped at the doorway. Xiao Ran said, "The technique looks meticulous and efficient; they're not homeless. They must have received military training. The new footprints outside are also too neatly distributed; someone is probably watching us."

Su Wanqing only said one sentence: "Strengthen the defenses, move the sentries to the outer ring, and change the passwords for all monitoring channels. Don't alert 'The Cleaners' for now."

Xiao Ran nodded, revamped the radio station channel, and re-examined the internal group that knew the code.

He also had several surviving veterans take turns setting traps, using recordings and camouflage to confuse footsteps.

He scattered fresh lime on the muddy ground outside the base and hid several bouncing hooks. Before leaving, he casually sent Dawn an error message, saying only that serum production was hindered and would be delayed for two days.

With everything arranged, Su Wanqing returned to the laboratory, counted the finished serums in the refrigerator, and wrote the production number of each batch in the main file book.

Lin Che wiped the sweat from his hands, checked all the reaction curves again from beginning to end, and affixed the color-coded tape to the two batches of refrigerated boxes that were about to be shipped out.

Finally, Lu Zhao walked to the data analysis table, said nothing, and simply packaged the new version of catalyst and stabilizing enzyme data into a separate document, copied it to the host's backup disk, and kept it for record-keeping.

Han Xue stood in the corner, pressing the last revised draft of the molecular sequence under the interlayer, her eyes fixed on the door lock.

It was nearly midnight, but the machines were still running, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant and reagents.