This unprecedented global conference lasted over ten hours, and Ning Yu did not participate in the remaining proceedings, quietly leaving the venue after publishing the antibody gene map.
The laboratory looked exactly the same as when he left that morning.
Sunlight quietly spilled through the glass onto walls covered with numbers and cluttered experimental tables. Fire Seed No. 1’s server racks blinked with indicator lights, and the titanium-silver biological equipment emitted a faint halo in the sunlight.
Ning Yu sat directly in front of the monitor, seemingly gazing into the void, or staring at his blank face in the black screen.
Knock, knock.
A knock at the door, and someone entered.
“Dr. Ning…” the laboratory assistant carried a tray with a bowl of tomato and egg noodles, speaking cautiously: “Would you like to eat something…”
Ning Yu moved his neck, suddenly stiffening, before turning:
“I don’t eat during the day.”
“But…” the assistant mustered courage: “The experiment is complete now, and eating lunch shouldn’t matter. Besides, not eating lunch for a long time is very bad for your health, so…”
Ning Yu stared directly at her.
He was like a shell whose soul had already departed, sitting there emptily. For a moment, the assistant didn’t dare to meet his gaze.
“Leave it there,” Ning Yu finally uttered three words.
The assistant, as if granted amnesty, hurriedly placed the tray at the laboratory door and bowed out.
Ning Yu slowly turned back, saying nothing, thinking nothing.
Without even moving his eyes, the warm food’s aroma drifted through the air, passing by his invisible cold shell, gradually rising.
Ning Yu never moved.
·
In September 2020, global mass production of antibodies was completed, and the gene vaccine project was launched.
The army cleared city after city ruled by zombies using methods like burning, bombing, and tank crushing, starting from the southernmost point of the motherland and advancing northward in a fan-shaped pattern, reaching Tahe, North Frontier, and Inner Mongolia. Simultaneously, planes began air-dropping food and antibodies, rescuing millions of civilians from highlands and deep mountains in addition to survivors already settled in five major bases.
This operation, codenamed “Fire Seed,” continued for over four months, until deep winter.
