Chapter 45: Pheromone
In the meeting room, the holographic projection above the ring-shaped table lit up, and a three-dimensional topographical map covering half of City slowly unfolded.
marked each explored area one by one, with different colors representing different threat levels.
The green area was only a small patch—the power station base and the three kilometers around it. density was near zero. Threat level: low.
The yellow area covered the residential and bustling commercial districts of . density was high, and many unconfirmed potential risks existed. Threat level: medium.
The orange area covered the Comprehensive and . The former had high-risk white-winged mutants appearing, while the latter happened to lie directly in the path of a horde migration caused by unknown factors, with extremely high density. Threat level: high.
Red covered two areas. First was , where the groups were behaving extremely abnormally, and an unknown high-risk was suspected to exist. Threat level: extremely high.
Second was District, completely contaminated by aberrant flesh. density was extremely high, and advanced mutants appeared in large numbers. Threat level: extremely high.
Everything else was covered in black, indicating that it had not yet been fully explored.
After the map display ended, the meeting room remained quiet.
[The good news is that, thanks to everyone's close cooperation, the number of survivors our has taken in has increased greatly.] spoke first.
“But the bad news is that the District operation proved that without sufficient firepower, it’s very hard for us to rescue large numbers of new survivors amid a horde.”
said in a deep voice.
From the perspective of a single mission’s gains alone, the District rescue operation wasn’t a failure—at least they had brought back over a hundred people.
But from the execution process, replicating that kind of operation again was basically impossible.
Putting aside the unknown giant creature over two hundred meters long in the dense fog, and the river bridge it had brutally slapped apart,
merely pushing through a horde of that density to rescue people was already too difficult.
Previously, they had mainly encountered first-stage mutants, which they could barely handle.
But as time went on, if higher-stage mutants also began appearing in large numbers...
didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
[Exactly.]
[So we have to change our strategy.]
“Do you have any good ideas?” asked.
[There are three main options right now.]
[First, find a new route.]
“What do you mean?” Lin — [ ] — Yue’s eyes went wide as he asked with great interest.
didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he switched the projection.
A three-dimensional structural diagram of a sci-fi-style geological survey vehicle, along with its functional parameters, appeared in front of everyone.
A six-wheeled behemoth about twelve meters long and four meters wide, covered entirely in dark gray composite armor.
Its extremely high chassis allowed it to handle most complex terrain.
A twin-linked Gauss machine gun turret mounted on top of the vehicle could rotate a full 360 degrees, greatly alleviating the anxiety caused by insufficient firepower.
And in the middle-rear of the vehicle, a miniaturized “ ” and a were integrated, revealing its true purpose.
The whole vehicle looked as if a mobile fortress and a large drilling rig had been forcibly stuffed into the same shell.
“Whoa... that looks pretty awesome!” said, his eyes lighting up.
also stared at the vehicle’s structural diagram, his eyes equally full of curiosity.
[The . I found two of these in underground . I think they’ll be very helpful.]
In fact, had reluctantly spent two thousand to manifest them—one thousand each. He had to admit it was pretty expensive.
The moment those words fell, the meeting room went silent for an instant, then erupted in a cheer they couldn’t hold back.
“Two of them?” shot up from his chair. “That’s a great find!”
“So, what do you mean?” asked thoughtfully.
[Since the surface is full of danger and hard to travel, why not try going underground?]
switched the projection back to the topographic map, but this time a translucent geological cross-section appeared beneath the image.
[According to the preliminary data from the geological radar, there are large sandstone and shale layers twenty to forty meters below . Their hardness is moderate, making them suitable for mechanical tunneling.]
[If nothing unexpected happens, we might be able to build an underground transportation network covering —from the power station straight to key areas throughout the city.]
[When that happens, whether we’re rescuing survivors or transporting supplies, we won’t have to risk being surrounded by hordes on the surface.]
frowned and asked, “For underground construction, won’t the noise and vibration attract dangerous mutants on the surface?”
[The is equipped with a shock-absorbing buffer system that effectively suppresses the transmission of construction vibrations to the surface. When working at depths below twenty meters, surface-perceptible vibration should be lower than natural background noise.]
“How about ventilation?” asked.
[The onboard air circulation system can maintain basic air exchange in the construction section. Later, we can try laying pipes in the tunnel to connect to the ’s ventilation network.]
“What about the risk of collapse?” continued.
[The front armor itself serves as a temporary support structure. While tunneling, it releases quick-setting spray material to reinforce the tunnel walls. Afterward, people can be arranged to follow behind and carry out support work.]
[Anyway, I think this is a direction very much worth trying.]
“I agree.”
“I agree too.”
...Everyone voiced their agreement one after another.
“Then the next question: who should be in charge of this?” asked.
already had someone in mind.
[ , I remember you mentioned before that you have experience working in mines, right?]
nodded. “That’s right. I did coal mine excavation for three years, then switched careers.”
Then he stood up, pointing at several fault markers on the geological cross-section. “These positions need attention. The surrounding rock near fault zones is fractured and prone to water inflow.”
“But if Mr. ’s quick-setting material is reliable, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
“Also,” he turned to look at everyone, “I don’t think we should rush underground work. In the first phase, we should dig a short test section to verify how the equipment and materials perform under actual geological conditions, and only then consider long-distance tunneling.”
[This matches my thinking exactly. I fully agree with your suggestion.]
immediately marked out a three-hundred-meter test route on the projection.
[The initial plan is to excavate a test tunnel toward the northeast.]
[If all goes well, the second phase will extend toward the residential area of , and the third phase will connect to downtown .]
“That’s a huge amount of work,” said in amazement.
[That’s why we need a dedicated team.]
called up a personnel roster.
[The will add an Underground , with an initial staffing of fifty people.]
[ will serve as , responsible for daily construction and safety management.]
[Mr. , can you handle it?]
looked at his name appearing in the position, was silent for two seconds, then gave a heavy nod.
“Alright, leave it to me. I promise I’ll get the job done!”
“That’s just the first option,” said as the discussion wound down. She looked at the screen, expectation in her eyes. “You said there are three options. What’s the second?”
[As for the second one, let introduce it.]
Everyone’s gaze turned to .
It was then that they noticed looked exceptionally well today, with a relaxed, self-satisfied smile on her face, showing none of her usual exhaustion and exasperation.
She carefully took out a sealed test tube from the satchel she carried.
Inside the test tube, a pale pink liquid swirled slightly under the light, giving off a strange luster.
“This is?” leaned in for a closer look.
didn’t answer directly. Instead, she smiled and teased them first.
“Do you still remember the thirty-four big-bellied patients brought back from District?”
“Them?” was the fastest to react, a hint of thought flashing through her beautiful eyes. “Was the nature of the parasites confirmed? No... is it about how they used to not be attacked by zombies?”
“Close enough,” said, tapping the test tube wall with her finger and giving her an approving look. “But to be precise, it’s not that they ‘used to’ be unidentifiable to zombies. Even now, they still retain that ability.”
At this, she looked at .
nodded in confirmation. “That’s right. Entrusted by , we brought along several patients who had recovered well after surgery on our field mission a couple of days ago.”
“In practice, even after the parasites in their stomachs were removed, they still weren’t recognized as ‘living people’ by ordinary zombies.”
“As long as they didn’t actively attack or make loud noises, the zombies simply ignored them.”
A stir ran through the meeting room. Everyone understood how significant this was, but...
“Then do we have to let worms burrow into our stomachs to get this ability?” ’s face went a little pale, and he instinctively touched his abdomen.
The other people’s expressions didn’t look great either. That method really smacked of evil cultivation techniques.
“Of course not,” shook her head with a laugh. “The functions and long-term effects of the mutated tissue remaining in those patients’ bodies aren’t fully clear yet. I would never advise anyone to willingly undergo parasitization—the risk is too great.”
She raised the test tube in her hand, her voice carrying powerful confidence.
“What I mean is, I’ve found the reason they aren’t recognized by zombies... well... part of the reason.”
“Is it what’s in your hand?” pressed.
“Mm.” A gleam of intelligence shone in ’s eyes. “I discovered that those patients’ bodies continuously release a type of volatile small molecule with a very unique structure.”
“I successfully isolated and analyzed its molecular structure, and I also found a way to synthesize it in a laboratory environment.”
She paused, then added, “Although I still haven’t fully figured out why this molecule can precisely ‘block’ the zombies’ sensory systems, or why this kind of pheromone communication doesn’t exist among zombies.”
“But at least it works. Spray it on yourself, and zombies will treat you as if you don’t exist.”
The meeting room fell into a brief silence.
Then slammed the table. “Holy shit! perfume?!”
“Can’t you come up with a nicer name?” The corner of ’s mouth twitched. “It’s called !”
“How long does it last?” asked the key question.
“About three to five minutes, and it needs continuous reapplying,” shrugged. “Also, the current synthesis rate is limited, so output is very low.”
“But if we can scale it up with industrial facilities, mass production isn’t a problem.”
[Exactly.]
[So for this route, I think we need to build a small chemical production line on the perimeter of the power station.]
marked the planned construction location on the projection.
At the same time, a system notification only he could see popped up.
[Ding! Detected that a sheltered survivor independently researched and discovered the structure of ‘ ’.]
[Hidden Series Achievement (1) triggered: A Faint Spark of Human Wisdom.]
[Achievement description: Even the lowliest ant has moments that shine because of thought.]
Along with the achievement notification, deep in ’s consciousness, on that vast and dim , a node that had been gray-black suddenly lit up with a soft white glow—along with its prerequisite node.
[Technology automatically unlocked: (Lv2)]
[Reward: efficient industrial synthesis route and catalyst structure for ‘ ’, 2,500 ]
The complete industrial synthesis process, catalyst formula, optimal reaction conditions... A flood of information poured into ’s cognition.
The sudden windfall stunned even . So this was another way to unlock things?
As long as the researched something on its own, he could unlock it directly—not only without spending , but also getting a civilization point reward?
This new discovery excited even ’s reactor core and gave him many more ideas for the future.
Even setting that aside, just the efficient synthesis route for “ ” and the newly credited 2,500 were enough to get him excited.
It even made look quite a bit prettier to him—though to be fair, she wasn’t bad-looking to begin with.
Back in the meeting room, was still explaining the specific synthesis parameters and usage restrictions.
“...When sprayed at high concentration, the molecules degrade quickly in the air, so you can’t apply it too far in advance.”
“Also, its effect on mutants is unknown. So far, it’s only been verified on ordinary zombies.”
“That’s good enough,” said. “The main threat in most field missions is the sheer number of ordinary zombies; mutants are actually in the minority.”
“With this thing, at least we won’t have to fight until our ammunition runs out every time we go out.”
“I’ll coordinate the chemical production line,” wrote out a plan in her notebook. “The equipment list and construction plan will be ready tomorrow.”
[Good.]
The atmosphere in the meeting room was much lighter than at the start.
The underground transportation network and the perfume—these two routes gave everyone present genuine hope.
“So that makes two,” closed her notebook and looked up at the screen. “What’s the third?”
The cursor on the screen blinked twice.
The meeting room went quiet, and everyone stared at the screen, waiting for the final answer.
operated the screen and switched the map back to , where the was located.
This time, he simply used a thick, bright red frame line to select the entire map of .
That vast territory encompassed residential areas, commercial streets, schools, hospitals... and countless roaming zombies.
Then, a short line of text appeared on the screen.
[I want to take back .]