Ch 130: TGCIR

After entering the tent to discuss serious matters, Li Weilan decided to ease off and not continue his verbal sparring with Xia Jinshi. The earlier confrontation was deliberately staged to tarnish Xia Jinshi’s righteous image in front of everyone, to avoid a situation where public opinion would entirely favor Noah if they eventually turned against each other.

Yes, they had come here, but Li Weilan had never intended to ‘play it safe.’ Like Shen Cheng, he intended to use this stage to dismantle Xia Jinshi’s plans from within.

Li Weilan sat down in the tent. Just as Xia Jinshi began to speak, a new task notification popped up on Shen Cheng’s phone:

【Mandatory Main Quest 1: Investigate the Stability of the Zombie Horde. Completion Reward: 10% Progress in Zombie Vaccine Research】

“!!!” Seeing this task reward, Shen Cheng held her breath.

Since Wei had taken over part of Fu Yanzhou’s work in Noah, the technological achievements were almost entirely unlocked, except for the ultimate reward: the progress on the zombie vaccine had been stuck at 60%.

Everything else, even if progressing slowly, was at least moving forward incrementally. But the vaccine seemed to be stuck, as if a ‘technological leap’ was needed to progress further.

Shen Cheng hadn’t expected this task to offer progress in vaccine research!

This reward was a must-have.

She suspected that this series of main quests might all offer rewards related to the zombie vaccine.

Shen Cheng immediately shared this task information with Li Weilan. His usually calm expression showed intense emotion: this was incredibly good news!

Unknown to others, Dr. Wei’s vaccine research was genuinely advancing step by step. If the vaccine could be mass-produced, even with potential spatial distortions, the experience could be shared with authorities in Shen Cheng’s world to ensure their safety.

Li Weilan stood up abruptly.

Xia Jinshi was stunned but saw the man across from him wordlessly turn and walk out.

Such disrespect?

He had been explaining their plan on how to control the zombie horde, emphasizing the voluntary sacrifices and dedication of the Research Institute, just as he had built up the atmosphere. Who would have expected someone to leave at this critical moment?

Xia Jinshi’s face darkened, but he forced a smile: “Mr. Li, are you so eager to be the first to fight the zombies?” Though his voice still carried a hint of laughter, those familiar with the Research Institute knew that his gaze was icy and filled with anger: Xia Jinshi tolerated no challenge to his authority, whether in research or in strategic planning.

Li Weilan stopped and turned around.

Originally, he didn’t want to engage in a battle of words, but the way Xia Jinshi phrased his question made it seem like Noah was afraid to fight. If he didn’t respond, it would look like cowardice to others: “Director Xia, you seem to be avoiding the main issue. So far, you haven’t addressed the key point.”

Xia Jinshi frowned slightly and was about to question further when Li Weilan dropped a bombshell, revealing a fact that even the members of the Research Institute weren’t sure of: “The stability of the zombie horde is an illusion. Your so-called control seems to be nothing more than a mirage. If you have the leisure to boast here, perhaps your information is flawed.”

These two sentences caused an immediate uproar among the gathered crowd.

A buzz spread through the assembly. If Li Weilan’s casual remark about the information being possibly incorrect had any merit, it would scatter the morale immediately.

After delivering this bombshell, Li Weilan didn’t intend to continue arguing with Xia Jinshi. He turned and walked away.

Xia Jinshi’s eyes, behind his glasses, flashed with a sharp, icy light.

His gaze quickly scanned the few people present who might have leaked this information, trying to determine who could have betrayed him at such a critical time.

Shen Cheng, observing this dramatic scene unfold, eagerly asked Li Weilan, “Lanlan, why did you directly expose his bluff?”

“We have no evidence,” Li Weilan sighed, looking towards the heavily guarded tents in the distance. “We took advantage of Xia Jinshi being caught off guard to throw him off balance. It’s like exposing Xia Jinshi’s past experiments—people might talk about how ruthless he is, but what does it change? To truly topple Xia Jinshi, we need to be stronger in every way.”

Xia Jinshi sought fame and wanted to be the first hero of the future world.

But what if the end of the apocalypse wasn’t brought about by a nuclear bomb, but by Noah’s vaccine?

This quest reward showed Li Weilan a new path.

Li Weilan asked Shen Cheng, “Is there any way for us to blend in with the zombie horde?”

The most basic method would be to cover themselves entirely in rotting flesh and blood. This would fool low-level zombies and allow them to escape from their keen sense of smell. However, to investigate the real situation within the zombie horde, they needed a disguise that could deceive mid-level zombies as well.

Shen Cheng started browsing the ‘escape equipment’ in the game store.

Finally, she found an item:

【Mimicry Equipment (Level 5): Can mimic any appearance for 24 hours. Requires intense focus on the desired form and scent while using. The more detailed the imagination, the clearer the mimicry. Note: Cooldown time is 24 hours. Reminder: Wondering why the mimicry is so realistic? First, ask your kindergarten teacher if you passed art class! Price: 1000G】

It was indeed expensive, much pricier than anything she had bought before, but the effect was a high-level version!

Aside from the humorous disclaimer, the only real drawbacks were the 24-hour cooldown and inability to use it continuously, making it a must-buy item.

Shen Cheng asked Li Weilan before making the purchase, “Lanlan, did you pass art class in kindergarten?”

“?” Li Weilan was puzzled by the question, but he answered honestly after a moment’s hesitation, “My drawing skills aren’t very good.” He wasn’t skilled in any artistic endeavors that required creativity.

Before he finished speaking, Shen Cheng had already made the purchase.

The mimicry equipment fell from the sky into her hands with a ‘clang,’ and she sighed, “It’s too late, I already bought it.”

Since it was already bought, what else could they do?

Upon hearing about the ‘appearance,’ ‘scent,’ and the necessary focus, Li Weilan’s brows gradually furrowed.

Among these three, the easiest for him would be the last one. As for the first two, trying to recall the appearance and scent of zombies…

Actually, for someone like him, when he deliberately tried to remember the appearance of zombies, his mind went blank: What exactly do zombies look like? Where should he start?

Are they all tattered and rotting?

He pressed the ‘mimic’ blue button, but after several attempts without success, Li Weilan grew frustrated. On the other end, Shen Cheng, for the first time, realized he had a weakness and laughed heartily in her mind.

After laughing enough, she finally offered a practical solution: “You know, there’s another way. Have someone draw it for you, and you can use the drawing to visualize it in your mind. Of course, the closer it looks to Fu Yanzhou’s current appearance, the better. The more it resembles a high-level zombie, the easier it will be to blend into the horde.”

This was indeed a good idea.

Imagining vividly enough to create a detailed mental picture was like constructing a building from scratch for someone who never passed art class. Even if he tried to draw something, it would probably end up looking bizarre and wouldn’t help much in the real situation.

But if he could look at a picture and make adjustments, it would be like modifying an already existing building, reducing the difficulty from 100% to 20%, making it manageable even with his eyes closed.

Li Weilan nodded: He knew exactly who to find.

Su Bai had just started tearfully recounting her tragic experiences at the Research Institute to Tang Lu inside the tent when their tent was suddenly barged into.

Su Bai, about to flare up, saw it was Li Weilan. Remembering the sour taste from earlier, her eyes filled with tears again, and she didn’t dare provoke him. She blinked and whispered, “Tang Lu, I’m so tired.”

Tang Lu stood up to say something, but Li Weilan directly asked Su Bai, “Your healing abilities are gone, aren’t they?”

Su Bai’s sobbing stopped abruptly.

Tang Lu’s expression of concern quickly turned to surprise. He looked at Su Bai for an answer: Was her healing ability gone?

Su Bai remained silent, her face pale.

No response was needed; Li Weilan already knew the answer.

The spiritual spring had reached its limit, expanding from a few drops a day to five drops per day. It was enough for watering and growing spiritual plants and herbs, but it couldn’t be upgraded further. Li Weilan suspected that the spiritual spring might have originally belonged to someone else and had been transferred here. Since it had reached its limit here, maybe it had dried up where it originally was.

Considering Su Bai’s previous ‘limit on the number of treatments,’ Li Weilan guessed that her healing abilities might have completely disappeared now.

Su Bai’s face turned ashen as she looked at Tang Lu cautiously, then lowered her head and said, “Yes.”

At this point, nothing else needed to be said. Tang Lu immediately understood her response. Feeling dizzy, he tasted bitterness in his mouth, thinking if he had known this would happen, why was he still here at this time?

He was angry: “Su Bai, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Do you think I only care about your abilities? Do you not trust me at all?”

Su Bai’s heart ached: Was he really so naive, or did he truly have no idea?

Tang Lu had always been very charming, and the reason she had remained his only girlfriend for so long was precisely because she was a rare healing ability user!

She had been hoping to delay and figure out a solution, thinking her abilities might return. But now, Li Weilan had completely ruined that possibility!

Su Bai glared at Li Weilan with resentment and venom in her eyes.

Li Weilan ignored her, turning to Tang Lu instead, “We need Miss Su to help draw some high-level zombie images. The more detailed, the better.”

Tang Lu was taken aback but quickly reassured him, “Su Bai is very talented in drawing and music. Don’t worry, sit tight, and she’ll get it done right away.”

Without her healing abilities, Su Bai knew she had lost her leverage and dared not act out. She obediently sat down and, within a short time, sketched a high-level zombie on paper. Her drawing skills were indeed impressive, capturing the essence of the zombie perfectly. Li Weilan looked at the drawing and found it remarkably similar to what he had seen:

The higher the level of the zombie, the more human-like they appeared, but their intact appearance masked the fact that they were long dead. Regardless of their level, their skin was bloodless, their nails turned grey, and their hair sparse, hanging loosely on their heads. Their eyes held a sinister, feral silver-grey hue, determined by the color of their pupils.

As Li Weilan examined the drawing, Shen Cheng began visualizing ‘Zombie Li Weilan’ based on the picture. Except for his recognizable handsome features, the rest was entirely transformed into a zombie-like appearance.

She asked Shen Cheng, “Does it look right?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Even though the Q-version wasn’t scary or disgusting, despite the face and hands having intentionally added bite marks and scars, Shen Cheng still thought her boyfriend looked the coolest no matter what, even with a ‘zombie appearance.’

She said softly, “Lanlan, don’t worry about anything. We’ll protect ourselves. The disguise lasts only 24 hours, so be careful, okay?”

This ‘exploration’ mission meant going through countless zombies, and they didn’t know how intelligent high-level zombies were or if they could see through the disguise. Shen Cheng was worried but didn’t want to dampen Li Weilan’s spirits. She just said, “I’ll stay online until this mission is over. I’ll be with you until the end.”

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋