It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when we returned to the air raid shelter.
After taking off the large and small bags that were weighing on his body, Li Chong breathed heavily, but his face was rosy and excited.
A total of seven bags of food and water, and three quilts.
The bedding was a bit thick, so I originally planned to let Xiao Leng carry only one bag, but Xiao Leng insisted on carrying an extra set of bedding.
There were fine pieces of firewood piled at the entrance of the air-raid shelter, but Li Xiang and Mr. Sun were not inside.
Turning around, the two of them were holding a piece of thick wood together and walking down the stone steps.
"You're back? Look what we found."
Old man Sun walked in front and greeted us.
"With such a large piece of firewood, I won't have to worry about it for the next few nights."
The old man's eyes crinkled and he slowly put the firewood on the ground with his hunched body.
"Then look what we found."
Li Chong held a bottle of Niulanshan and walked out from the side with a smile.
At this moment, Old Man Sun and Li Xiang's eyes suddenly shone.
"With wine? What else?"
Li Xiang asked excitedly.
"There are also instant noodles, duck legs, chicken feet...you can even add two ham sausages."
Li Chong clapped his fingers and counted the treasures from his family, which made the two of them salivate.
"You also took the mattress?"
Li Xiang looked past me and saw three sets of quilts tied on the ground.
"Haha, it can be considered an unexpected discovery."
I responded, "After I take a break, I plan to go there again and pick up a few more sets of bedding, and there are still a few boxes of water that I haven't finished yet."
As soon as I finished speaking, Li Xiang stepped forward and patted me on the shoulder, "Li and I will go there next time. You can have a good rest here."
"Don't you know the way?" I hesitated slightly.
"Didn't Li Chong go there once? Why don't you know the way?"
Li Xiang turned around and greeted Li Chong, "Let's go, hurry up, we can be back before sunset."
"I'm tired!"
Li Chong's eyes suddenly widened, and the smile disappeared from his face.
"Stop pretending!"
Li Xiang slapped Li Chong on the back of the head and directly lifted the 1.85-meter tall man up.
…
The two Li brothers set out with all the bags, while the three of us stayed in the air raid shelter to count the supplies.
A series of snacks such as instant noodles and duck legs, carbohydrate staples such as biscuits and bread, a stack of towels, three bottles of white wine, and the rest are all bottled and bottled water.
The current water supply is enough for the five of us to use for half a month if we only consider drinking.
The food, plus the compressed biscuits and cans I brought earlier, is enough for a month.
Old man Sun was holding a bottle of Niulanshan and squinting to read the words on it.
What concerned me more was the pile of towels. I wanted to open a bottle of water to moisten the towels and wipe myself, but I resisted this thought.
The current conditions do not allow for such luxury.
After counting the supplies, Xiao Leng began to play with the bedding.
She wanted to find a clean place to make her bed in the air raid shelter.
I leaned against the wall and pulled out the experiment diary from the metal suitcase.
I didn't have time to take a closer look last time, but it turned out that what was recorded inside was true.
The monsters wandering outside every night are products of the laboratory.
Just something that makes me wonder, why are there so many species born in the laboratory?
I was flipping through the log, and on the page after recording α-0000, I saw the new number.
'α-1203 facial nematode'
There are no illustrations on this page of records. Just the simple text makes me feel chilly in my heart.
'1203 is a parasite whose main host is humans. It parasitizes in the subcutaneous muscle tissue of the face. It can provide the host with adrenaline and enhance muscle strength and reaction speed. However, the parasitized person will have auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, and rejection reactions. Deep parasitism can control the host's spirit. (not verified)'
The last line of this text was scrawled several times with a pen, then rewritten, and marked with the words "unverified" at the end.
Continuing on, there is another incomprehensible calculation process. From the text description, it should be the genetic arrangement of this parasite.
All the experiments recorded in the diary revolve around two keywords: genetic breakthrough and salamander.
"Salamander..."
The axolotl is an infinitely regenerative creature.
"Do they want to study regeneration technology?!"
I thought of a terrifying guess. Could the monster wandering outside, Alpha-0000, be the product of the fusion of this regeneration technology and human genes? !
My breathing started to get faster, and I felt like I was touching the truth.
Continuing to turn back, there is a stage report on the next few pages.
One line caught my attention.
'The experimental drugs have not undergone clinical trials. The theoretical effects include: gene fragment insertion, removal of exhausted necrotic cells, immune particle radiation...'
Immune to radiation!
The other content is not important. The immunity to radiation makes my heart beat fast.
Reading further, I can be sure that this experimental medicine is the blue liquid in the closed test tube.
"Would you like to give it a try?"
I stared at the blue test tube wrapped in sponge in my suitcase, and the idea suddenly came to me.
The medicine has not yet gone through clinical trials. What if it is a failed product?
Will I become that monster out there?
I picked up the metal suitcase, struggling internally.
After a nuclear disaster, pollution is everywhere. If you can be immune to radiation...
Xiao Leng's voice suddenly came: "Brother, come over and try!"
I raised my head and saw Xiao Leng waving to me. She had already laid out the quilt.
"Quickly, come and try some softness?"
At her urging, I quickly stood up.
But the moment he stood up, a feeling of dizziness hit his head.
Holding on to the wall, I almost fell down.
"Brother, what's wrong with you?"
Xiao Leng said anxiously, trotting towards me.
She helped me sit down and put her little hand on my cheek.
"Your face is so hot, you have a fever!"
Xiao Leng suddenly panicked.
"I'm fine."
By the time I sat down, the dizziness had gotten better.
"No, you need to take medicine!" Xiao Leng said firmly, "I remember there are antibiotics, I will go find them for you."
After Xiao Leng said that, he ran towards the place where the supplies were stored.
Watching Xiao Leng walk away, I slowly opened the cuffs.
On my arms, the places where the black rain hit that day have turned black.
Along the arms, the skin had begun to fester, and thick black pus and blood stuck to the clothes.
I didn't feel any pain, just a slight itching.
It was the wound infection that made my body temperature rise.
I had been exposed to nuclear radiation, but I didn't expect that the disease would come on so quickly.
Skin decay caused by radiation is irreversible. Radiation particles will directly destroy the genetic structure in cells.
I know my fate: die from infection, die from cancer, or disintegrate into a puddle of blood and mud.
I am not far from death.
I turned my head and stared at the blue test tube in the suitcase, fascinated.
When I noticed Xiao Leng coming towards me, I came to my senses and quietly lowered my sleeves.