CH 98.1

Chapter 98.1 – Fusion

Everyone couldn’t believe it.

Gerald frowned tightly: “When you say that, I have a bit of an impression… In the early years, there were people studying inhibitory drugs.”

“Then what? It failed?” Chi Yongge asked.

The Empire attached great importance to military strength, and its research in fields such as medicine and communications had always been inferior to that of the Alliance. But he didn’t believe that the Empire would really be helpless.

“It can’t be said that it failed…” Gerald hesitated. “That was a long time ago. I don’t know much about it. I only know that the development of inhibitory drugs is very slow, and then…”

“Then it was stopped by the king,” Di Wen said.

Chi Yongge was taken aback suddenly: “Huh?! Why?”

The fire was beating fiercely, the dark red light illuminating everyone’s faces, while the hot water in the kettle boiled and bubbled up in a large stream.

Due to deformity, Di Wen’s facial features were wrinkled together, and the shadow of the deep lines on the skin was more pronounced.

She hunched her back and said slowly: “The development of inhibitory drugs is too slow, and the king lost his patience. It was at that time that Christina appeared in front of him.”

She continued: “Christina Parker was a professor of biology. Since the end of the world, she had been actively involved in the development of drugs. It’s just that her research direction was different. She was not interested in ‘inhibitors’ from the beginning. After she saw that the physical functions of some infected people…were strengthened, she had another idea.”

“The cities fell one after another, and the Empire army, which was not afraid of war, was inevitably shaken in the face of non-human enemies,” Di Wen’s tone was faint, “And those who had been strengthened by the infection, those ‘mutants’, were obviously better fighters. Christina believed that only in this way could the Empire win this war.”

In the case of “mutants”, the Alliance and the Empire were the same.

Some people were strengthened by the sequelae of infection, and some people died as a result.

Lu Tinghan said, “She persuaded the king to change his research direction?”

“Yes,” Di Wen nodded, “Research on inhibitory drugs was slow, and the progress in the past 20 years was not to his liking, and Christina’s team happened to have made significant progress: she claimed that a drug would soon be invented to allow people to fuse better with infections. She called it a ‘fusion agent’.”

She sighed softly: “As you know, the king was a warrior who was too proud. He couldn’t tolerate failure. The fall of cities one after another was like a slap in the face. For such a person, what could be more appealing than a ‘stronger army’?”

“He accepted Christina’s proposal and made every effort to develop a ‘fusion agent’, and soon, the research of inhibitory drugs was stopped.”

“Many people questioned him, including some highly respected professors. But he did not change his mind, and no one could challenge his authority. If you ask, who could persuade him, it’s only his queen and princess… The queen was gone, and the little princess was spoiled. She had never seen the cruel side of the world, and she thought her father could repel the monsters with a wave of his hand! She gave a public speech to support her father’s views and appealed to many people. The soldiers were even fanatical about this power, and the most extreme faction would even actively seek infection.”

Di Wen’s hand trembled slightly: “Without the support of the royal family, even if someone wanted to continue studying inhibitory drugs, they couldn’t go on. In this way, the Empire went to a point of no return.”

Everyone sighed when they heard the words.

Shi Yuan thought that one day before going to bed, Lu Tinghan told him about the development history of inhibitors.

The research and development of inhibitors in the Alliance was also very difficult.

In the early years, they knew very little about the abyss, and their research stagnated for a while. They never gave up, groped step by step, and developed the prototype of inhibitors.

The effect of the prototype was weak and almost useless, which frustrated the entire Alliance. After another ten years or so, the researchers slowly collected data and slowly improved, the inhibitor became much more effective and eventually became the life-saving medicine it is today.

Adjutant Bing said: “Unexpectedly, because of the king’s difference of thought, the research direction of the entire Empire deviated.”

Lu Tinghan said: “The Empire is extremely power-seeking, and it can give everything to win the war. That’s the culture, otherwise, there would be no Christina who proposed the ‘fusion agent’, nor would there be soldiers who enthusiastically supported it. Even if it was not Morton who reigned, another king would have made the same choice.”

Lu Tinghan had quite a lot of mutant subordinates, and when he came into contact with that group, he could somewhat understand their mentality.

It was indeed easy to be fascinated by the power beyond human beings.

The mutants either flew over the wall or had very sharp eyes. In their eyes, the raindrops fell slowly, and the wind and leaves became clear, the inaccessible high wall could be climbed in a few steps, and the monsters that were once unbeatable were crushed by them with bare hands, leaving only their screams… Their world was different because of this, and the power was intoxicating.

The Empire was like that, and it was no accident that they took that step.

Di Wen glanced at Lu Tinghan deeply, without refuting.

She said: “The fusion agent was indeed useful. The Empire Army once had a large number of mutant fighters, and the battler situation had improved along the way, and some people were even proud of being infected.”

“We passed that peak safely, and even recovered three cities. Years later, everything changed in the next peak. The soldiers who had been injected with the fusion agent began to become… manic, like beasts.”

Lu Tinghan asked, “Is it a sequelae?”

While talking, a group of mole people rushed by outside, rustling, making one’s scalp tingle.

Chi Yongge couldn’t help but look back.

How many mole people were there here? How many were born by force, even by inbreeding?

Perhaps only Di Wen knew about it.

“Yes,” Di Wen said, “The fusion agent could only keep the soldiers sane at the beginning. After a long time, their minds would still be eroded by the abyss. There were more and more crazy soldiers, and people fell into panic. It so happened that the Gamma Abyss began to stir, and the mole swarm came.”

“The mole people are also mutants.” Di Wen paused for a moment, as if recalling some unbearable past, “At that time, Christina developed a new ‘fusion agent’ again. People infected by moles had no choice but to be tested. We are not dead, but we have become like this. The mutant soldiers were no longer our weapon, but had become the enemy.”

She sighed deeply: “The Empire Army became a legion of ordinary people again. After many years of fighting, the city still perished.”

”Whoooooooo!”

The kettle screamed, spewing white water vapor.

This sharp sound suddenly dragged everyone from the nightmare back to reality.

Di Wen patted her knees, shook off the dirt, and said in a hoarse voice: “Okay, let’s end the story here. Mr. Gerald seemed to be very interested in inhibitors.”

Gerald was beside himself, completely unable to restrain his excitement, wriggling his fur.

He asked, “Can I, can I see the inhibitor?”

During this trip, there were a large number of inhibitors on the aircraft.

Chi Yongge immediately pulled one out, handed it to Gerald, and said, “The Alliance did not develop the inhibitor all at once, we also took many detours and made many sacrifices, and once felt that there was really no hope. Fortunately, we have come to this day.”

He added: “I have never seen your type of infection. You have injected fusion agents, I don’t know if the inhibitors have any effect.” He scratched his head, “Besides, you guys have been infected for many years, maybe… it really has no effect, but has side effects instead – side effects that are fatal enough.”

“I know,” Gerald murmured as he carefully took the injection, “Of course, I know.”

The transparent needle tube was filled with translucent liquid that glistened in the firelight.

He watched intently.

Chi Yongge emphasized again: “I can’t give you an injection. The risk is too great. In case something happens…”

“Not even if it’s voluntary?” a crisp voice sounded.