In the morning, Robert was awakened by the watch on his bedside table. Before he even opened his eyes, he felt Sam's big tongue licking back and forth across his face.
"How did you sleep last night? That sound gave me quite a scare!"
Once his thoughts had recovered somewhat, he immediately got up, gave Sam a quick rub on the head, and began his regular daily routine.
He started with his morning rituals: washing up, exercising, and running two kilometers on the treadmill with Sam. After showering, he headed alone into the laboratory converted from the villa's basement to check on the vaccine samples.
He put on his ceremonious white lab coat, took some hand sanitizer, and washed his hands clean. A hint of weariness showed on Robert's face.
Today might be another disappointing day, just like so many before, and the expression on his face reflected the melancholy in his heart.
Yet amid that melancholy, he thought about the tremendous bang he had heard from the direction of the Empire State Building last night. What had it been?
A bomb? It didn't sound like one, but then what could have made that noise?
Had the Darkseekers done it, or... people?
The foam on his hands had already been rinsed away. Robert shook his head, grabbed a disposable paper towel to dry his hands, and temporarily stopped thinking about what was outside. He pushed open the second iron door and entered the laboratory.
He opened the partition, woke the computer on the workbench, activated the recording function, and spoke to the portable camera.
"Dr. Robert, September 21, 2012. Recording begins for animal testing of GA-391 serum."
After delivering that routine statement, Robert mounted the camera above the monitor onto his glasses. Once he had put them on, he entered the simple biological laboratory inside the glass partition.
He turned off the ultraviolet lights and lifted the black cloth covering the glass cages.
At once, the hairless mice that had been quiet moments ago went berserk, repeatedly slamming into the glass panels and roaring wildly at Robert.
If you wanted to know what their cries sounded like, imagine angry lemmings.
Looking at the rows of frenzied mice, Robert began recording. "Compound 1, 3, 4... no response. Compound 2, 5, 6... host killed."
As he read out one failed experiment number after another, Robert's tone grew calmer and calmer. After suffering enough disappointments, he had become accustomed to them...
"Wait!"
Just after he finished reading the numbers of all the mice killed by the new drug, a hairless mouse deemed dead in a cage near the edge of the rack suddenly moved.
Robert approached Cage Six, crouched down, and carefully observed the mouse inside.
After being infected with the KV Virus, a mouse would lose all its fur. Its pupils would no longer respond properly to intense light, its muscles would become noticeably denser, and its skin pigment would disappear.
But this hairless mouse was just like it had been before being captured and injected with the virus, quietly and curiously twitching its nose inside the cage.
Beyond that, compared to the other hairless mice, its color was slightly different.
After examining the hairless mouse closely, anticipation appeared on Robert's face. He took out a small flashlight and shone it on the quiet mouse, recording, "Localized pigment recovery. Slight pupillary constriction. GA-391 serum, Compound Six. The next step can proceed to human trials!"
His experiment was meant to turn the Darkseekers infected with the KV Virus back into humans, so these human trials naturally meant capturing Darkseekers for testing!
"You have to hold on, Number Six..."
He tapped twice on the glass panel of Cage Six, then left the laboratory with an anxious yet hopeful heart.
When he returned to the first floor, he found Sam still crouching at the entrance to the underground laboratory. He reached out and rubbed Sam's head. "I know you're looking forward to it. Let's go!"
He put on his favorite black jacket, changed into his outdoor shoes, picked up the disc he had rented from the video store yesterday, and walked to the entryway.
Beside the entryway stood a wooden cabinet. When he opened it, a row of firearms and ammunition came into view.
Keys, maps, and similar items hung on the back of the cabinet door. He took Sam's favorite ball, the key to the video store, and finally the M6920 Rifle he was most used to, the one with the fullest set of accessories.
Ready to head out, Robert opened the front door. When he saw the brilliant sunlight outside, he paused and looked toward the stone archway glowing white in the sun.
Before the apocalypse, this would have been a beautiful day...
He drove out of the villa district and into the deserted city, where weeds grew everywhere, arriving at the video store he frequented.
Two mannequins stood outside the video store. As Robert took out his key to unlock the door, he glanced at them and seemed surprised to find them there. "Hey! Good morning, Maggie. Good morning, Fred! What are you two doing here so early? Your outfit looks great, Fred. Don't wrinkle it!"
As he spoke, he had already opened the store door. After saying, "See you later," to them, he walked into the video store.
There were many mannequins inside the store as well. To the left of the shelves near the entrance stood three mannequins dressed as a family with their son shopping for movies.
Robert smiled and silently raised his hand in greeting, as though he could hear the three of them warmly greeting him back. The smile on his face grew even brighter.
There was another box of discs in his coat pocket, one he had rented during his last visit. Since he saw two ladies beside the shelves, he deliberately told Sam to stay where he was and not follow him inside.
Robert casually walked into that row of shelves and returned the discs in his pocket to their original place.
Suddenly, he noticed a "young woman" to his left. She often came to that shelf to look for romance films.
A bashful, innocent expression like that of a teenage boy appeared on Robert's face. He stole glances at the young woman again and again, wanting to gather the courage to strike up a conversation but afraid of being rejected. He was so awkward that even he could hardly stand it.
After randomly picking out a movie, he fled toward the checkout counter.
"Good morning, Hank! I'm already halfway through the movies starting with G... Hey, who's that girl over there?"
He greeted Hank, the familiar cashier, hoping to indirectly learn the young woman's name.
The mannequin's gaze was fixed on the desk. With a baseball cap on, his face could not be seen.
The natural expression on Robert's face slowly faded. He had not yet decided what the young woman should be called in his mind, so Hank had no way to answer his question...
"Forget it. See you tomorrow!"
Giving Hank one final smile, Robert left the video store with Sam. He then went to a nearby park to harvest the corn he had planted there.
As he picked it, he kept thinking about that young woman, wondering how he should greet her, and decided that he would definitely get to know her tomorrow!
After harvesting the corn, Robert went to an upscale apartment complex, took out a map, and began identifying today's scavenging target.
Holding his gun, he kicked open the door to one of the apartments. The well-trained Sam entered first, and after a brief inspection confirmed that there was no danger inside, he gave a soft bark to signal that it was safe.
"Good job!"
Robert smiled and praised Sam, then began searching the apartment for useful supplies. As he passed one room, he spotted a note stuck to the door.
It read: For Lucy, do not open before Christmas!
Seeing those words, Robert gently pushed open the door and found a beautifully decorated room full of childish charm.
The sight of the room reminded him of his daughter. His throat moved, and he quietly closed the door again.
After leaving the apartment, Robert drove to South Street Seaport. He activated a looping broadcast of his assistance message over the entire AM band. Any car radio within New York could receive his message on the AM channels.
After filling the car with gas, Robert drove to the South Street dock. Carrying the paper documentation for GA-391, he prepared to conduct theoretical verification and analytical research.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, taking the documents from his briefcase. When he reached for the pen on the table, he found that it was missing.
"Where did my pen go?"
He searched around the table but could not find it. Finally, Robert looked at the "residency logbook" on the table and noticed that its cover seemed tilted.
With a puzzled expression, he opened the book and saw the pen he had been looking for. He also saw a crooked sentence written in English: You are not alone!
Thanks to everyone who voted and donated!
Before you continue