Evolution

Regarding Doctor Yang's conclusion.

Li Chen nodded in agreement.

Zombies were constantly evolving.

Yesterday, they only infected primates. Tomorrow, they might infect carnivores. What about the day after tomorrow?

Maybe one day, even mosquitoes would turn into zombies.

They might not be able to eat people to death, but they could still infect humans.

Impossible to guard against!

Besides, rats were omnivores and small in size.

They were very likely to pose an enormous threat to humanity.

So, a vaccine had to be developed as soon as possible.

Even if it could not make everyone immune, it would at least leave people a way to survive after infection.

"How long will it probably take to develop a vaccine?" Li Chen asked directly.

"I'm not sure. Maybe ten days, maybe a month, or even longer."

Doctor Yang answered very cautiously.

That was understandable.

Their insufficient understanding of zombies was one factor.

More importantly, they lacked manpower.

After all, the prerequisite for developing a vaccine was finding antibodies.

Yet among the vast sea of people, how difficult was it to find someone with antibodies?

Without antibodies, they could only test things one by one.

The time cost would be enormous.

The resource consumption would be even harder to estimate.

For a moment,

Li Chen frowned.

"I'll give the order for the Combat Team to cooperate with the research institute."

"At the same time, release the research findings on zombies to the forum as a warning!"

Judging by the speed at which zombies evolved,

the Tier 1 Zombies scattered everywhere, slow-moving as they were, would likely undergo drastic changes soon.

Li Chen was no saint.

But having lived through his previous life, Li Chen knew that humanity shared a common fate.

The Star-Level Shelter would not remain limited to just these hundred thousand people.

Only by allowing more people to survive

could they continuously replenish the Star-Level Shelter's population!

Doctor Yang nodded solemnly.

That very day,

a post was quickly pinned on the Star-Level Shelter forum.

Shocking! Zombies Can Actually Evolve!

Inside were Doctor Yang's research conclusions regarding zombies.

As well as several videos.

They all showed Xu Ruoxi and the others encountering Tier 2 Zombies while carrying out gathering missions.

The footage had also been processed in slow motion.

This made it easier for people to clearly see the destructive power and speed of Tier 2 Zombies.

The Star-Level Shelter forum, thanks to its survival guide

and various updates about the Star-Level Shelter,

had practically become a gathering place for survivors.

They felt uneasy if they did not browse it several times a day.

Even without new updates, watching Star-Level Shelter residents share their daily lives still left them feeling both miserable and happy.

Very quickly!

Countless people viewed and followed the post.

"Holy shit, zombies can evolve? Is that for real?"

"They evolve that fast? I can't even beat the most ordinary zombies outside, and now there are stronger ones? I'm seriously screwed."

"Is the Star-Level Shelter's information accurate? Could this be a smokescreen? Why can't I believe it?"

"Hey, the guy upstairs—if you don't believe it, get out there and see for yourself instead of hiding at home and typing on a keyboard! My home is near the factory district in the video. I saw the Star-Level Shelter people fighting a Tier 2 Zombie with my own eyes!"

"Does humanity even have a future? The zombies are getting stronger and stronger..."

Beneath the post,

countless comments appeared.

The survivors trembled in fear, filled with despair for the future!

With the apocalypse survival guide provided by the Star-Level Shelter,

they had at least managed to scrape by.

But the emergence of Tier 2 Zombies made the road ahead seem completely dark.

"Don't panic yet. Look at the other videos in the post. Aside from the first one, where the Star-Level Shelter had a hard time dealing with it, they clearly found a method in the others!"

"Right. Humans stand at the top of the food chain. How could we be defeated so easily?"

Some sharp-eyed people immediately began comforting the others.

But such optimistic thinking was destined to win little agreement.

Didn't they see what equipment and abilities the Star-Level Shelter's warriors had?

If even they struggled against those monsters, ordinary people had no chance at all!

Meanwhile, shelters throughout Donghai City also erupted because of this post.

"Is the Star-Level Shelter's news true or false? If Tier 2 Zombies have really appeared, our shelter's combat strength isn't enough to handle them."

"Should we ask Mr. Li? I just exchanged for a crate of weapons last time. If the news is true, that one crate probably won't be enough."

"Yeah, yeah, let's ask Mr. Li first. What if it's fake news?"

Quite a few shelter leaders, clinging to a sliver of hope, contacted Li Chen.

Rich people all had one thing in common.

They feared death!

They did not care what happened to others; they only feared they had not enjoyed enough of their good lives.

So deep down, they all hoped

the news on the forum would turn out to be false.

But after asking Li Chen, they were all deeply disappointed.

The news was real!

So they immediately placed more orders for a considerable number of weapons.

Li Chen's phone started ringing nonstop.

He simply tossed the matter to the management staff.

Meanwhile,

the West City Shelter could not sit still either.

Compared with other shelters, they had an even greater shortage of food, while their armed strength was practically nonexistent.

They might have brute strength, but what good was that?

The West City Shelter had indeed originally been formed by miners gathering together.

But later, order collapsed.

Many serious criminals escaped from prison.

They also joined the West City Shelter.

These people were lazy and averse to work.

They would rather drive old people and children out to fight zombies than hunt zombies themselves for Energy Cores.

That was why they had fallen to the point of eating people.

The current person in charge of the West City Shelter was a man who had committed serial murders before the apocalypse.

People called him Scarface.

"You've all seen the news on the forum, right?"

"Zombies can actually evolve!"

Scarface, his face brimming with hostility, looked at the West City Shelter's managers.

"Damn this apocalypse! Damn it all!"

"By the way, what kind of force is behind the Star-Level Shelter? At a time like this, they still have resources to conduct research?"

"I think everything the Star-Level Shelter said is true. We need to come up with a countermeasure now."

The managers had all been in the same prison as Scarface.

Their faces were equally fierce.

Scarface raised a hand and said slowly, "How many Energy Cores have we collected so far?"

"Our top priority is to stockpile food. That way, even if the zombies evolve, we can hide."

At once, the managers became like ducks with their throats gripped.

Silence filled the room!

One of them gathered his courage and said, "We have fifty Energy Cores left."

Bang—

Scarface slammed his fist onto the table and glared at them. "What?"

"What the hell have you been doing? Didn't I tell you to send those Two-Legged Sheep out to hunt zombies? Why are there only this many Energy Cores left?"

The man immediately pulled a miserable face.

"But there's no food in our shelter! The Energy Cores have to be exchanged for weapons and food. We simply can't keep up with the demand!"