Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Chi Hongyi and the others were unaware that, due to the vaccine’s release, those in the research institute who engaged in scheming and factionalism had already met their downfall.

However, even if they knew, they would likely say, "It’s about time."

The research institute at Chaoyang Base had always been corrupt. Those in higher positions neglected research, exploited their subordinates, stole their findings, and claimed credit for others' work.

The rewards those at the bottom received were completely disproportionate to their contributions.

Since the news of the vaccine broke, Cheng Zhiyu’s communicator had been ringing off the hook.

Many wanted to purchase the vaccine, and large bases like Chaoyang Base sought collaboration.

They were willing to pay a patent licensing fee. In exchange, Small River Base would grant them the patent rights to the vaccine, allowing them to produce it themselves.

Cheng Mo, listening nearby, sneered, "Sly bastards."

By paying a one-time patent fee, they could produce the vaccine continuously, which was naturally more comfortable than having to buy from Small River Base and be at their mercy.

Cheng Zhiyu tapped his pen against the desk. "The vaccine is different. If possible, I’d like to see it mass-produced. But clearly, given our base’s capabilities, even working day and night, we have no idea how long it would take to supply all these bases."

Lin Kang understood his meaning. "You’re willing to license it out? Indeed, holding onto it ourselves wouldn’t be good for the post-apocalyptic public or our base."

It’s like they say: "He who has the treasure bears the blame."

Now, unless a major base like Chaoyang Base held the vaccine patent technology, no one could control the situation by keeping it to themselves.

Moreover, something as powerful as the vaccine—even Chaoyang Base wouldn’t dare keep it under wraps completely, especially with the government keeping tabs.

The authorities don’t care about base interests but for everyone’s well-being.

Fortunately, Cheng Zhiyu had no intention of clinging to it. Even if he could cash in on it, it wouldn’t feel right.

By licensing the patent, he believed other bases wouldn’t dare mess around.

Would they keep such a good thing from ordinary people like before?

No way. The vaccine could potentially end the apocalypse. If ordinary people weren’t vaccinated and got infected, turning into zombies, zombies would keep popping up. When would the apocalypse ever end?

Besides, the materials for this vaccine were chosen to be cheap and easily accessible. Materials didn’t significantly impact production capacity. Before long, the vaccine wouldn’t be a rare commodity.

Cheng Mo praised beside him, "Zhi Yu’s got a big heart."

Cheng Zhiyu glared at him and said, "Now we need to discuss what to charge for the patent fee."

He wasn’t a fool; of course, he wouldn’t give it away for free.

He planned to use this fee for building up the base.

After some discussion, they settled on a price that would make major bases wince but still be willing to pay.

As for smaller bases, those who could afford it could buy it. Those who couldn’t could get the government to guarantee a loan to pay on credit.

In the following days, all the bases got busy. After paying the patent fee, they quickly began production.

The authorities also mandated that for every certain number of vaccines produced, a certain amount had to be set aside for ordinary people. This was a strict rule to prevent the vaccine from being monopolized by the upper echelons again.

Other things might be negotiable, but the vaccine was absolutely non-negotiable!

Anyone daring to try any funny business in this area would have to pay the price.

Cheng Zhiyu was quite pleased with the authorities’ tough stance. Although it couldn’t completely eliminate problems, it went a long way to protect the rights of ordinary people.

Since Small River Base didn’t need to supply vaccines to other bases, everyone leaving the base now carried several doses.

Cheng Zhiyu looked at the enormous profits from the patent fees—he had opted for a one-time buyout, so the fee was quite high.

Some thought Small River Base was foolish, that patent fees should be collected annually to ensure a steady stream of cash.

Cheng Zhiyu stated, "I want to reduce the cost of the patent fee. If fees were collected yearly, the cost would ultimately be tacked onto the price of each vaccine, which isn’t the outcome I want. The vaccine should be cheap."

The authorities were really touched hearing this and gained newfound respect for this young base manager. Someone with such big-picture thinking was rare.

Because the authorities were impressed with him, any base attempting to drag their feet on payments was warned. The message was clear: "They’ve already given you such a great deal, taken a hit, and you still want to delay the patent fee? Isn’t the money they put into R&D money? Delaying further would be shameless."

Although the authorities wouldn’t come right out and call them "shameless," that was the implied meaning.

The warned bases didn’t dare make waves and obediently coughed up the fees.

Cheng Zhiyu rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat guilty. Well... the main reason he opted for a one-time fee was that Chi Hongyi and the team were already working on the Zombie Virus Vaccine 2.0. Once 2.0 was out, it would be hard to collect fees for 1.0, so a one-time payment was better.

Of course, if other bases improved upon 1.0 and developed something more advanced, that was their capability. Cheng Zhiyu saw no issue with that—it would still benefit humanity.

Whether others profited from it or not, the outcome was what mattered.

Returning to the surplus funds, Cheng Zhiyu immediately approved all projects that had been delayed due to funding shortages.

The base began constructing buildings, which would reduce the area the base occupied.

He had already applied to the authorities to expand Small River Base’s territory to the surrounding areas.

Once everyone was settled, Small River Base would recruit more people.

As the base gradually expanded, Small River Base would eventually become a major base.

He planned to build it into a city... though, for now, that was still a bit premature.

But it wasn’t impossible. They now had a steady supply of food, the vaccine, patent fees already collected, and more fees to come. This dream would one day become reality.

Six months later, the weather had turned hot. Cheng Zhiyu had initially worried that summer would be even hotter than last year, but he found the temperature somewhat bearable.

Not that it was comfortable—compared to pre-apocalypse times, temperatures now were undoubtedly high, over 40 degrees Celsius—but Cheng Zhiyu didn’t find it overly hot.

Not only him; when he asked those around him, everyone felt that such temperatures were actually tolerable.

Cheng Zhiyu realized that although the apocalypse had changed temperatures, humans were also evolving. And by evolution, he didn’t just mean gaining superhuman abilities.

This evolution included ordinary people—adapting to the post-apocalyptic world.

In weather over 40 degrees, not only superhumans but even ordinary people found the temperature acceptable.

This was undoubtedly a good thing. Many plants, through human intervention, had developed mutated varieties. Mutated seeds were well-adapted to post-apocalyptic temperatures and grew freely, much like pre-apocalypse plants.

Cheng Zhiyu cultivated not only many types of trees but also grass seeds. In his free time, he rode around on a small vehicle, scattering grass seeds outside the base.

Mutated grass seeds, like pre-apocalypse grass, grew easily wherever they were scattered. When he checked back after some time, the area was already lush and green.

Occasionally, herbivorous mutated animals could be seen grazing by the roadside, their expressions clearly showing enjoyment.

Compared to the withered and yellow scenery of last year, this was undoubtedly a beautiful sight.

If one doesn't venture further and only stays near Small River Base, it’s almost disorienting, like you can’t tell if it’s pre- or post-apocalypse.

Thanks to the lush grass around Small River Base, many animals have been attracted to the area. Cheng Zhiyu occasionally goes out and sees little rabbits hopping around while grazing.

Cheng Mo, standing nearby, kills the vibe by saying, "I’m craving some spicy rabbit heads."

Cheng Zhiyu responds helplessly, "Didn’t you get to eat some before?"

Cheng Mo complains, "I didn’t get my fill."

The base’s livestock farming is now well-established, especially with rabbits, which reproduce quickly. There are already hundreds of them, and residents can buy rabbits from the farm.

Craving spicy rabbit heads, Cheng Zhiyu buys five. At first, when Cheng Mo hears they’re having rabbit heads, he scoffs: "Why eat the heads when there’s so much good meat?"

Cheng Zhiyu replies, "You don’t want any? More for me."

Seeing Cheng Zhiyu’s expression, Cheng Mo hesitates, thinking rabbit heads might be a delicacy, and quickly backtracks: "Well, maybe I’ll give it a try."

Cheng Zhiyu says "helpfully", "You might not like it. Don’t force yourself."

Hearing this, Cheng Mo becomes even more determined: "I insist on trying it."

Cheng Zhiyu thinks to himself, "Bad move, bad move." As a foodie, Cheng Mo is quite perceptive.

In the end, Cheng Zhiyu prepares a full rabbit feast: spicy rabbit heads, dry-fried spicy rabbit, braised rabbit meat, and some vegetables to cut the grease.

The whole family digs in together. Besides Cheng Mo, four others are willing to try the rabbit heads, making it one per person.

Zhou Min eagerly grabs a rabbit head and asks Han Ping beside him, "Are you sure you don’t want to try?"

Han Ping takes one look and shakes his head in refusal.

Han Tingting calls him out: "My brother was bitten by a rabbit when he was young. He has a hang-up about rabbits and doesn’t want to eat rabbit heads."

Han Ping: "..."

Zhou Min laughs heartily: "What’s there to fear? It bit you, so you should take revenge. Really not trying?"

Han Ping firmly refuses: "No."

Zhou Min: "Alright then~"

Nearby, Tian Qiao looks at Tian Manman and says, "If you don’t like it, you can give it to me."

Tian Manman, a foodie like Cheng Mo, has never tried rabbit heads but is curious. He’s currently focused on gnawing his rabbit head and looks at Tian Qiao in confusion: "?"

Tian Qiao: "...Forget it."

Cheng Zhiyu glances at Cheng Mo, who puts on gloves, all refined-like, picks up a rabbit head, and seems to be figuring out where to start. He says, "If you don’t want to eat it, that’s fine."

Hearing this, Cheng Mo takes a bite and is instantly amazed: "It’s delicious."

Cheng Zhiyu: "...Glad to hear it."

In the end, each person finishes one rabbit head, left wanting more.

Cheng Mo had since become fixated on rabbit heads, but unfortunately, each rabbit only had one head, and the scale of the base’s breeding program hadn't yet reached a point where rabbit heads could be eaten freely.

In fact, most residents bought rabbits to raise at home, as the breeding farm promised to repurchase them later, which would also provide some income.

So, Cheng Zhiyu estimated that in another six months to a year, the base should have more rabbits.

Cheng Mo lamented, "That’s such a long time."

Cheng Zhiyu was amused—Cheng Mo really loved eating.

Because rabbit heads were still relatively scarce, every time Cheng Mo saw a rabbit running by, he’d start craving spicy rabbit heads.

"Stop craving it—who knows where it ran off to," Cheng Zhiyu comforted him, patting his head and painting a bright future: "When the time comes, we’ll open a spicy rabbit head shop at the base, and you can eat as many as you want, to your heart’s content."

Recently, Cheng Zhiyu had rolled out a new policy, encouraging residents to leverage their strengths and open more shops.

Cheng Mo: "Then I want to be a VIP."

Cheng Zhiyu agreed on the surface but thought to himself, Well... would Cheng Mo really eat all the rabbit heads in the shop in one go?

Unaware of his thoughts, Cheng Mo, seeing how much Cheng Zhiyu doted on him, smiled and said, "Let’s open one in my hometown too."

"The rabbits there breed like crazy—we really need to control their numbers," Cheng Mo added.

Cheng Zhiyu: "Um—between the beastmen—"

Though he didn’t finish, Cheng Mo instantly understood and rapped Cheng Zhiyu’s skull with a bent finger: "What are you thinking? I meant ordinary rabbits."

Cheng Zhiyu let out a sigh of relief: "That’s good."

In his view, even though the beastmen came from different species, since they could all transform into humans, they were essentially the same race. If they could eat each other, wouldn’t that be no different from eating people?

"Do people in your place eat beastmen?" Cheng Zhiyu asked cautiously.

Cheng Mo grinned, his canine teeth gleaming sharply: "Yeah, we do."

Cheng Zhiyu took one look at his expression: "Mm, good thing you don’t."

"Aw, I can’t scare you anymore," Cheng Mo said, disappointed.

Cheng Zhiyu snorted: "When have you ever been able to scare me?"

Cheng Mo rubbed against him: "I just can’t bear to scare you."

Just as Cheng Zhiyu was about to say something, Cheng Mo spoke up: "Zhi Yu, my back is itchy."

Cheng Zhiyu reached out to scratch it for him: "What’s wrong?"

Cheng Mo: "I might be growing wings."

Cheng Zhiyu said with excitement: "Really?!"

Cheng Mo nodded: "Actually, if you think about it, it’s only a few days until I reach adulthood."

Cheng Zhiyu said seriously: "Next time, please say it’s 100 years off." Otherwise, it made him feel like a criminal.

Cheng Mo refused: "Wouldn’t that make me seem ancient?"

Cheng Zhiyu had nothing to say. He curiously asked him questions about growing wings.

Cheng Mo said, "Our coming-of-age day isn't fixed; the day our wings grow out is the day we become adults."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded, with some anticipation.

Over the next few days, he’d often feel Cheng Mo's back, wanting to see if the wings had started growing.

Cheng Mo felt a lot of pressure—what if his wings turned out ugly when they grew out?

Cheng Zhiyu, thinking of something else, asked him, "When your wings first grow out, they won’t be small and bald, will they?"

Cheng Mo found this idea terrifying and told him to stop talking about it.

Cheng Zhiyu comforted him, "Actually, it's nothing. It's just how biology works."

Cheng Mo clamped his mouth shut to keep him from saying more.

It was really scary.

—

Recently, folks from different bases have been coming one after another to exchange supplies.

Small River Base had a new batch of seeds they wanted to trade.

Cheng Zhiyu gave them a tiny amount—some rice and soybeans, just a little bit.

"Rice and soybean seeds are basically food themselves. Since it's the first harvest, this is all we can spare," Cheng Zhiyu explained.

Rice, of course, can be used to make all sorts of things. Soybeans are even more versatile—they can be pressed to make oil, made into tofu, soy milk, douhua (tofu pudding), tofu rice, tofu skin, and various dishes. Plus, the soybean residue is great for feeding pigs, and they love it, growing nice and fat.

One base tried to push for more: "This is too little. There are so many of us. Can’t you spare a bit more?"

The person in charge of negotiations replied, "Sorry, this is already the most we can give."

The person was about to say more but noticed that people from other bases were already arguing over how to distribute the seeds.

No honor!

Cursing loudly, this person jumped into the fight, forgetting all about asking Small River Base for more.

Cheng Mo watched the scene unfold and said, "Zhi Yu, let’s go have some douhua."

Zhang Tai, who had already secured his share, pricked up his ears at the mention of douhua!

He was drooling. Their base didn’t even have soybeans, let alone douhua.

Last time he went back, he bragged about how well he ate at Small River Base, making everyone else's eyes turn red with envy. This time, when the mission to Small River Base came up, everyone fought for the chance to go.

Zhang Tai regretted it deeply—he had basically created his own rivals!

Luckily, he still stood out and successfully took on the mission.

Great, he could feast again.

Actually, over the past six months, Chaoyang Base’s situation had improved a lot. At least with the first batch of variant wheat and vegetables harvested, they could occasionally have some mantou (steamed buns) and dishes.

But it still couldn’t compare to Small River Base. Their wheat and vegetables were mostly kept as seeds for further planting.

Fortunately, they could still buy wheat and vegetable seeds this time. After another planting cycle or two, their base might also be able to enjoy mantou and dishes freely, just like Small River Base.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tai was drooling again.

Small River Base was getting known lately, and many people wanted to join. However, the base wasn’t recruiting yet.

Cheng Zhiyu actually planned to recruit a batch soon, still aiming for just a thousand people initially.

Seeing Zhang Tai’s eager gaze, Cheng Zhiyu didn't have the heart to say no: "Alright, let’s go eat together."

He had already arranged for someone to entertain this group, so this time they went straight to the cafeteria. With Mom Ning as the chef, the cafeteria meals were quite impressive.

But even ordinary meals were impressive since other bases could hardly get proper meals.

A sad reality.

Inviting only one person for douhua obviously wasn’t ideal, so in the end, everyone who came along went together.

Cheng Mo was unhappy. These people were clueless, and he somewhat regretted suggesting douhua.

The douhua shop was a bit small and couldn’t seat everyone, but no one minded. They each held a bowl, squatting roadside and eating with gusto.

Cheng Mo scooped a spoonful of savory and spicy douhua—it was delicious.

The people by the roadside finished one bowl but didn’t ask for more because they noticed the neighboring stall selling jianbing guozi, the next one selling fried noodles, and even further down, one selling roujiamo!

This was actually part of the commercial street Cheng Zhiyu had planned, and many vendors had already set up shop.

With so many delicious options, just having douhua wasn’t enough—they had to try everything.

They even took photos with their phones. Although they couldn’t send them outside the base, they could make others jealous once they returned.

Regarding communication issues, various bases were planning to jointly build communication towers so people could communicate across bases.

"Whatever, I’m tired of all those," Cheng Mo said haughtily as he ate his douhua.

Douhua was relatively new; the shop had only been open for about a month, and Cheng Mo hadn’t gotten bored of it yet.

How fast he got bored of food mainly depended on how fast new options appeared.

Cheng Zhiyu propped his chin in his hand, thinking that they should mark the occasion when Cheng Mo reached adulthood.

He said, "In a few days, I’ll make you something you’ve never had before."

Cheng Mo got excited. "Why in a few days? Can’t it be tomorrow? Or the day after?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "...No."

Cheng Mo said disappointedly, "Fine."

After a moment of silence, he said seriously, "Don’t worry, my abs and chest muscles are still there. They won’t disappear from eating."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." That’s not the reason!

Cheng Mo: "Want to go back and see? I got a new chest chain for Zhou Min."

Cheng Zhiyu: "...Yes."

He couldn't say no to that.

Zhang Tai and the others pigged out along the commercial street, eventually sitting there too stuffed to move. The shop owners were nearly scared to death, thinking they had died from overeating.

Cheng Zhiyu heard about this and was speechless: "..."

That's so sad.

What's even more heartbreaking is that after organizing their supplies, this group frantically bought food at the base and, before leaving, were reluctant to leave: "Boo hoo, I really don’t want to leave this place."

"Seriously though, can’t I just join Small River Base?"

Carrying bags of all sizes, these people were packed with food frozen by ice-ability Superhumans to prevent spoilage on the road—just heat it up when they got back.

Their appearance truly resembled refugees from somewhere.

So, after they left, a rumor spread through Small River Base: a group of refugees had begged and cried, begging to join Small River Base, only to be rejected. It was said they were so heartbroken they nearly cried themselves unconscious.

"Huh? Then why didn’t our base take them in?"

The person spreading the rumor didn’t know why either—he’d only heard it from someone else and couldn’t explain why, so he just guessed: "Probably they weren’t good people."

Everyone knew Small River Base only recruited those with good character.

"That makes sense. It was right not to take them in."

As they chatted, the group were doing handicraft work that could earn contribution points. While feeling sorry for them, they all felt incredibly fortunate—choosing to join Small River Base back then was definitely the right decision.

Of course, more importantly, they had always firmly committed to being good people. Otherwise, even if they wanted to join, Small River Base wouldn’t have accepted them.

Everyone felt an unexpected sense of pride simply from being residents of Small River Base.

This absurd rumor eventually reached Cheng Zhiyu’s ears, and he was shocked: "How come I didn’t know about this?"

Tian Qiao laughed and explained the whole thing to him.

After hearing it, Cheng Zhiyu was silent: "..."

So this is how rumors are born. But there was no need to dwell on it or bother explaining.

As for the "refugees"—Zhang Tai and the others—when they returned to their own base, their companions, with sharp noses, immediately noticed the "specialties" they’d brought back. Everyone wanted to buy or trade for something.

Before they realized it, they found their hands were empty, left only with cold crystal cores.

They were speechless: "..."

They regretted it so much. If only they’d eaten everything on the road instead of saving it!

Cheng Zhiyu knew nothing about this. At the moment, Cheng Mo was holding onto him, saying his back hurt terribly.

Cheng Zhiyu felt terrible. Cheng Mo told him it was because his wings were coming in.

Cheng Mo was still worried: "If they turn out really ugly, you’re not allowed to dislike them."

"I won’t. How could I ever dislike you?" Cheng Zhiyu replied, both amused and heartbroken.

Cheng Mo felt content. The next moment, Cheng Zhiyu seemed to hear the sound of wings rustling. He stared wide-eyed at the shadow forming behind Cheng Mo’s back.