I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

Chapter 215: Biological Organic Weaponry |

  Since the subject's mouth was gagged, the bite failed to land.

  The assistant jerked up in shock and immediately retracted his hand, visibly traumatized by what had happened.

  "I already told you to be careful," Li Lei expressed with a frown, "we don't have a detoxifying agent yet!"

  "I'm very sorry, sir." The assistant immediately apologized profusely.

  The heart of the subject who was recently deceased suddenly began beating again. Apart from that, his complexion had turned snow-white. His pupils were also enlarged and no longer reacted to exposure of light. He clenched his teeth and drooled continuously, all while screeching violently at the people surrounding him.

  Becoming like a beast infected with rabies.

  "How is this possible…"

  It was then when an assistant inspected the brainwave meter and announced in a surprised tone, "The brainwaves of the subject have completely dissipated just now, but now they appear to be resurfacing again!"

  According to the reading shown on the display, the brainwaves of the subject which was originally a straight line was starting to go up. However, it did not revert to a regular human state. It was all but a mild brainwave, roughly equivalent to the brain activity displayed in humans when in a state of deep sleep.

  "The heartbeat rate of the subject maintains at 20 beats per minute!" Another assistant pointed out.

  "Looks like the virus reactivated the subject, leaving the subject in an extreme energy conservation state."

  Li Lei was baffled. "So, the so-called zombies are humans eternally trapped in a sleepwalk state that expends energy at a minimal rate?"

  After a series of tests, a sheet of the research report was very quickly produced and found its way to Chen Chen's hands.

  On the other side, Hannibal had concluded the experiment on his end as well.

  The final findings were that macaques and chimpanzees could also be infected by the virus. However, the virus was lethal and did not reanimate them into zombified animals.

  Other species that could not be zombified included birds and cats. Only canine species could become zombified after being infected by the virus.

  Hannibal even conducted an additional experiment. He first acquired the carcass of a wolfhound that had been deceased for several hours and injected the virus into it.

  Unsurprisingly, the wolfhound came back to life.

  "I don't quite understand."

  Hannibal handed the data acquired from the experiment to Chen Chen. "As per the conclusion devised from the experiments, the T-virus is likely to have the ability to restart terminated brain cells. But doesn't this violate the common laws of nature?"

  "That's true, this does defy common knowledge."

  Li Lei, who was standing beside chimed in as well. "I've seen a living person transform into a zombie, but will a person who has been dead for several hours be reanimated? In other words, does this imply that the T-virus can reactivate terminated brain cells? But how is this possible…"

  "Actually, this doesn't go against common sense."

  Chen Chen flipped through the data in his hand and began his explanation, "There's a thesis published in Nature that describes a similar scenario."

  The two of them were caught by surprise and turned to Chen Chen in amusement.

  "If memory serves me correctly, it was an article from April 2019 titled Restoration of Brain Circulation and Cellular Functions Hours Post-mortem…

  "The content of the article is as follows - Professor Nenad, a neurologist at Yale University developed a system called extracorporeal pulse perfusion system or simply known as BrainEx. This is an extracorporeal artificial circulation machine that operates similar to a dialysis machine. It's a combination of a pump, a heater, and a filter.

  "To test the functionalities of the device, Professor Nenad went to the slaughterhouse and took the heads of thirty-two pigs. Although the pigs have been slaughtered for more than four hours, Professor Nenad had no qualms with it and took them all back to the laboratory."

  Chen Chen went on. "After bringing the heads back to the laboratory, he extracted the brains of the pigs from their skull and connected them to the BrainEx system. Using this device, artificial blood was pumped into the pig's brains, supplementing the brain cells with nutrition and oxygen. The entire perfusion process took six hours."

  "What was the outcome?" the two of them asked.

  "The result was very surprising as a portion of the pig's brain cells were 'reanimated'. The neurons of the pig brain displayed spontaneous synaptic activity and some brain cells have reactivated their metabolic functions. Even the immune system started operating again."

  Chen Chen spread his arms apart. "It's a common belief in the medical field that asphyxiation exceeding four minutes will kill a large amount of diffused brain cells. If exceeding ten minutes, all of the brain cells will die. However, this experiment proves that the brain can still be salvaged even four hours after its death.

  "Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with so-called 'reanimation'."

  Chen Chen pondered for a moment before further backing up his point. "This phenomenon only proves that the brain's tissues stay alive for longer than we initially believed. We may have underestimated the restorative abilities of the brain. In practice, dead brain cells can be reactivated again through a certain set of methods."

  "In that case, did the brain of the pigs emit brain waves?" Hannibal asked.

  "No, the experiment commenced after six hours."

  Chen Chen shook his head. "Over the course of the experiment, the brains of the pigs didn 't emit high-order neural electrical signals which may indicate consciousness. This suggests that even if their brains were salvaged, the only thing that may come out of it were vegetative pigs devoid of conscience."

  "Maybe the professor can try simulating the brain using an electric current to trigger the brain's consciousness synapses," Li Lei suggested eagerly.

  "Maybe he did try that secretly but cannot publicize the information."

  Chen Chen snickered. "Because just the publication of this experimental paper alone was met with a great amount of objection. Some people were concerned that this experiment would spark ethical issues while others were concerned about its implications on the practice of organ donation. After all, most organ donors donate their organs after their brain is pronounced as dead, but if brain death could be reversed, nobody would want to donate their organs and whatnot.

  "Sometimes, I want to beat up these ethic freaks."

  Li Lei said helplessly, "Mr. Chen Chen, I get what you mean now. The T-virus doesn't reanimate the deceased. The reason they can achieve that effect is that the brain cells aren't completely dead yet. In this sense, the T-virus operates similarly to the BrainEx system, capable of reviving a part of the brain cells."

  "Yes, but this is where the magic of the T-virus truly shines."

  Hannibal summarized. "For the BrainEx system to work, the brain has to be removed from its skull to perform its perfusion cycle. However, the T-virus can directly salvage brain cells that are on the brink of death. With the correct application, this virus can be used to remedy brain damage and brain death...

  "If we can get rid of the toxin in the virus, we may be able to unleash its potential."

  Chen Chen nodded in agreement. "The true potential of the T-virus lies in its application in the military. Reanimating people into zombies is only its side effect. The real functionality of the T-virus lies in its ability to reprogram the genetics of its host…"

  With that, Chen Chen rose suddenly and took a marker pen to write down three letters on the whiteboard —

  B.O.W.

  "This is the true application of the T-virus"

  Chen Chen explained, "To create highly destructive 'Biological Organic Weaponry' via genetic recombination…"

  Chapter 216: New Project Commences |

  "Boss, the summary report of the T-virus' zombifica
tion process of its host is ready."

  Two days later, Chen Chen stood in front of the french windows separating him from the isolation room and looked at the five experiment subjects bound to stretchers. Behind him, Hannibal was reading from a sheet of report.

  "When the T-virus enters the cells inside the human circulatory system, it first releases RNA, posturing at the host's RNA. Once the parasitism process is complete, the polymerase begins to cycle through the RNA strands which are covered with beaded protein until it reaches the end of the correct RNA strand.

  "After that, the polymerase begins reading the coding of the RNA which allows it to synthesize a corresponding RNA agent. When one of the polymerases starts to read the genetic information of the RNA, it'll collide with the other cycling polymerases, prompting them to begin moving inside the cells until they also find the proper RNA ends so they can begin to replicate…

  "In the end, the T-virus spreads its infection over every single cell in the host's body, killing a vast number of immune cells in the process. As these immune cells begin to die off, the body of the host starts to corrode."

  Chen Chen listened silently.

  "From what we can observe now, the T-virus relies on fluid transmission which includes blood, saliva, sweat, tears, sputum, and such. However, when the virus exceeds a certain level of concentration, it can also become airborne through volatilization. Of course, to achieve that level of concentration, the volume of concentration has to exceed the measurement of one billion units of T-virus container. Also, the virus can only survive for barely an hour before its proteins deactivate, causing the virus to die off.

  "In the end, the immune system will crumble due to the fervent assault of the T-virus. The host is proclaimed dead but the zombification process doesn't begin until this point onward…"

  Hannibal continued explaining, "According to our observations, the host's body functions will be suspended for three to five minutes. After that, the T-virus reactivates the brain cells of the host, essentially bringing the dead host back to life.

  "At this point, the host is by all definition already deceased. The only thing living on is his or her cells. Based on current observation, the micro brainwave electric current emitted by the T-virus persists for more than several months.

  "Still, you can't call that being resurrected as the host is only turned into a walking corpse driven by basic instincts. Although there might be a bit of lingering memories, they don't exactly qualify as intelligent beings. Also, since the virus requires a great amount of energy to continue to reproduce, the zombies are largely driven by impulse and basic needs.

  "Simply put, its instincts are to… Eat!"

  Hannibal put the report down and let out an exasperated sigh. "Boss, are you satisfied with the report?"

  "Sure, it's already very detailed."

  Chen Chen wrapped his arms around his body and nodded. "This means that after being reanimated into a zombie, they should theoretically be able to function for several more months?"

  "Yes, they'll expire after approximately three to five months. But these are all simply in theory."

  Hannibal answered, "Without proper nutrition for a prolonged period, the zombie will starve to death in ten days. Also, if the zombie is wounded, the wound will become inflamed which may lead to necrosis. The only difference is that this process may take longer compared to regular humans."

  "Excellent."

  Chen Chen suddenly turned around. "What are the findings on your and Neumann's end?"

  Neumann was one of the three researcher prospects selected by Chen Chen. Back then, Hannibal, Li Lei, and Neumann were all put in charge of researching clone hormone regulation technology. As the research projects gradually increased, the three of them began to split up and were assigned to different tasks.

  "I believe you're referring to the hormone regulation technology."

  Hannibal answered, "Currently, the developed hormone regulation technology can shorten the growth period of clones from one year to just half a year, which is probably the limit. After all, it takes a considerable amount of time for a zygote to fully develop into a functioning adult."

  "I know, half a year should be enough."

  Chen Chen considered for a moment. "Why don't the three of you work on the next project together."

  "Next project?"

  The two of them became curious. Li Lei glanced at the five zombies bound in the isolation room and glowed up. "I get it, the biological organic weapon?"

  With Li Lei's pointer, Hannibal finally caught on as well.

  The first project the trio touched on was the clone research project. After the successful commencement of the project, Chen Chen had the trio begin researching hormone regulation technology. The second project could be said to be a derivative subject of human cloning so naturally, the third project assigned to them would also be a sub-project of human cloning.

  "That's right, I'm sure you guys can already tell what the next project entails."

  Chen Chen nodded with approval. "By now we already know that the T-virus is incompatible with humans. Forcibly trying to fuse with the T-virus will only have the person end up a walking corpse, but what if we can fuse the T-virus with a zygote?

  "If the T-virus infects a fertilized ovum, then the virus should naturally become an integral part of the zygote. Only a living being born using this method can become the perfect biological weapon that's completely compatible with the T-virus!"

  At this point, there was an eager look on Chen Chen's face. "Try imagining this, what sort of power will a Black Knight born using this method possess?"

  …

  The T-virus research shall carry on but the primary focus had now shifted to researching biological organic weapons.

  The trio of Hannibal, Li Lei, and Neumann had also embarked on their third project -- Biological Organic Weaponry Research Project.

  However, according to the settings of Resident Evil, the T-virus was not the definite peak. For example, there was the G-virus, C-virus, Veronica virus, and a series of other viruses that stemmed from the Progenitor virus which were more powerful.

  For instance, the G-virus was one which mutation abilities far exceeded that of the T-virus.

  The G-virus shined in that unlike the T-virus which had to cultivate zygotes to produce biological organic weapons. It could instead cultivate already mature organisms directly.

  This meant that whether in terms of cost efficiency and time efficiency of cultivating biological organic weapons, the G-virus was vastly superior to the T-virus. Small wonder that inside the Resident Evil game, the researchers claimed that "The T-virus is a worthless substance only good for creating zombies."

  Sadly, the G-virus only existed in-game, there was no such thing as the G-virus in the Resident Evil movies.

  There were no mentions of G-virus in the information Chen Chen had extracted either. This implied that only the T-virus existed inside the cinematic world. There was no such setting at the G-virus.

  Although it was a great shame, it did make sense as well.

  Simply because the G-virus was far too overpowered. It could even enlarge a human to the size of a cruise in one minute. This completely violated the laws of conservation of mass and energy.

  If at all possible, Chen Chen was ready to launch another research project to begin modifying the T-virus and develop a customized version of his own.

  What was a customized version?

  Simply put, a customized version was a specially manufactured virus that was only compatible with a specific genetic structure. This meant that this variant of T-virus would be able to perfectly fuse with the genes of the targeted host, allowing it to successfully cultivate the zygote.

  Just like how the T-virus was able to perfectly fuse with the protagonist Alice in the movies.

  It was merely a stroke of impressive luck that allowed the virus to fuse perfectly with Alice. The odds of this happening were less than one in a million.

 
Chen Chen planned to utilize genetic engineering techniques to brute force a variant of T-virus which perfectly complemented his genetic structure.

  If Chen Chen's plans came to fruition, he would be able to obtain physical prowess far exceeding that of an average person, bordering on realms of superpower. This which encompassed strength, speed, physique, and even lifespan several folds over that of an average person!

  Of course, there was a substantial amount of difficulty involved in this process with countless obstacles along the way…

  Chapter 217: Successful Vaccine |

  While Chen Chen was beginning his research of the T-virus inside the Spire Experimental Base, the outside world still had their attention fixed on the Eco Science City and awaiting the outcome of the clinical trial.

  With the virus looming over them, every one of them was particularly concerned with the subject at hand.

  To ensure each nation stayed up to date on the latest development, the World Health Organization specifically set up an official website. The status of the clinical trial was updated daily, with proper photos and video footages made available.

  The website contained daily statistics and the subsequent blood antibodies statistics of the five thousand volunteers residing in Eco Science City.

  These data included the primary index of adverse reactions within a week of receiving the vaccine as well as the secondary index of adverse reactions within the 0-28 days range. The data covered BE-006 specific antibodies, EBOV-520 antibodies, T-virus-specific reactions, laboratory safety index changes, and such.

  At the end of the one month period, the final report of the five thousand volunteers was finally publicized —

  All demographics ranging from low dosage, medium dosage, and high dosage reported BE-006 specific antibodies and EBOV-520 antibodies contents inside their blood. Additionally, there were no adverse reactions detected.

  In other words, the result of the clinical trials of the virus vaccines perfectly matched the conditions set by the World Health Organization. The vaccine was hereby recognized by a majority of countries and may be distributed and used in these countries.