Kingdom of Corrosion

The Fortress Company’s upper echelons secretly and expensively hired mercenaries to enter the quarantine zone and acquire serum from Blood Heart. In the end, half of the citizens in Leimeng Town were sheltered and injected with serum, while the other half turned into zombies.

Each refuge had a different research direction. The Leimeng refuge’s research focused on coexisting with the virus, akin to genetic vaccines. By adding a virus sequence to human genes, the body could become immune to the virus. Similar to the hepatitis B vaccine, after vaccination, some people could produce antibodies, while others couldn’t.

The first group of five subjects began to show signs of zombification, including various skin blemishes and hair that would fall out when tugged. However, to their surprise, the subjects managed to maintain mental clarity and control over their bodies. Most impressively, zombies recognized them as their own kind and did not attack. An unfortunate side effect was that the subjects lost interest in normal food and felt the impulse to bite humans, which could lead to madness and the loss of reason, eventually turning them into zombies. Although the outcome was the same, the process differed, which gave the leadership of Fortress Company great confidence.

Over two years, researchers in Leimeng Town made significant headway. They synthesized a more effective vaccine, which not only withstood the zombie virus and allowed coexistence, but also greatly reduced side effects. To use an inappropriate analogy, vaccinated humans were like smokers quitting tobacco; even though resisting the urge to bite others was uncomfortable, it would not rob them of sanity.

The biggest problem was the low efficacy rate of the new vaccine, and currently, the underground lab in Leimeng Town was intensifying research for the vaccine’s development.

Ordinary people lived continuously in the underground shelters, while only the subjects could live in the town. Some research personnel or security staff, unable to bear the environment, volunteered to become subjects. They underwent simple blood sampling and psychological health conversations daily, and a thorough physical examination weekly.

The owner of Villa 20 was a Genetic Engineer. He volunteered for the experiment two months prior, according to his diary. There were 80 subjects living in the town, led by a man assigned by the shelter known as Iceman.

The owner of Villa 20 went to the airport every morning, returned home after completing blood sampling and psychological health checks, and carried the distributed food; his routine involved playing table tennis against the wall and gardening.

A month ago, due to a shortage of personnel, Fortress Company set up Auto Turrets at three checkpoints, created barbed wire on the roads, and then removed the Sentries. The owner’s brother of Villa 20 was a Sentry, and after being laid off, he was assigned to work on the Hope.

The Hope was a supply ship tasked with sailing weekly to acquire life supplies provided by Fortress Company.