Chapter 064: Vaccine

Robert rushed excitedly to the glass cabinet, and following the direction Li Dan Niu pointed out, he found the mouse. Humans infected by the virus would turn into Darkseekers, becoming extremely aggressive. Animals were no exception; with a similar infection rate to humans, once infected, they too would become bloodthirsty monsters.

Inside this glass cabinet were more than thirty small compartments, each containing a mouse. Some were frenziedly attacking the glass, some were barely clinging to life, while others lay motionless, having died outright from the conflict between the virus and the vaccine.

But Robert was focused only on the one mouse whose behavior was indistinguishable from that of an uninfected animal.

That mouse sat quietly in its compartment, nibbling at its own paws. When Robert leaned in, the mouse gazed back at him with evident curiosity.

Compared to the mouse’s calm, Robert was visibly agitated, as this scene had appeared countless times in his dreams.

He opened the compartment door and took out the mouse.

At this point, Li Dan Niu walked over as well, curiosity piqued—not only because his own life was at stake, but also the safety of an entire world. If he couldn’t cure the virus within himself, then when he returned to his world, it would inevitably become just like this one.

“Talek!” Robert gripped the quiet mouse in both hands, looking at Li Dan Niu with barely contained excitement. “I think I’ve succeeded!”

“Congratulations—to you and to this world,” Li Dan Niu said, though what he truly wanted to say was congratulations to himself.

“No!” Robert suddenly regained his composure, perhaps feeling the weight of the word “world” that Li Dan Niu had just uttered.

“It’s not time for congratulations yet. I need to confirm that this mouse is truly cured, and then we must proceed to human trials.”

“Human trials?” Li Dan Niu feigned ignorance. “You mean, with a Darkseeker?”

“Exactly!” Robert nodded. “Mice and humans are different, after all. Success in mice only proves the research is going in the right direction. But for the vaccine to work on humans, that’s not guaranteed.”

“You’re right,” Li Dan Niu replied. He knew the vaccine had indeed succeeded, but in the movie, when Robert used the vaccine on a Darkseeker, it failed—because he hadn’t realized that, aside from the vaccine, other auxiliary measures were needed to treat them.

“Talek!” Robert’s eyes gleamed as he fixed them on Li Dan Niu. “We need to capture a Darkseeker!”

“Of course!” Li Dan Niu agreed without hesitation. In fact, even if Robert hadn’t said it, he would have brought it up himself. He knew the correct method for using the vaccine, but after all, a movie is just a movie—who could say if this detail had been altered?

Before testing the vaccine on himself, Li Dan Niu felt it was necessary to try it on a Darkseeker first. Anyway, he still had twenty days before he would start to exhibit zombie-like symptoms.

“But not now!” Li Dan Niu pointed to the clock on the wall and shook his head with a smile. “I have no intention of going out there and getting surrounded by Darkseekers.”

“Ah... I got ahead of myself,” Robert laughed as he glanced at the clock. By now it was completely dark, and the Darkseekers would be roaming in packs.

If not for meeting Li Dan Niu, this “survivor,” today, Robert would now, as ever, be cowering in the bathtub with Sam, spending another night in fear.

“It’s all right, we have plenty of time!” Li Dan Niu smiled. Truth be told, even if they went out right now, he was confident he could bring back a Darkseeker unscathed. But he had never actually fought one; his knowledge of the creatures was based solely on what he’d seen in the movie.

Besides, there were so many of them that Li Dan Niu couldn’t guarantee Robert’s safety if he went on a rampage. If anything happened to Robert, Li Dan Niu would be doomed.

Once he’d calmed down, Robert began a thorough physical examination of the mouse, while Li Dan Niu watched idly from the side. Apart from checking whether the pupils responded normally to light, the rest of the tests were beyond Li Dan Niu’s understanding.

When the examination was complete, Robert grew excited again.

“Talek, the evidence shows that my vaccine is capable of curing the mouse: there is no trace of the virus left, and it has developed immunity.”

“Then why is it still so big?” Li Dan Niu pointed at the mouse, puzzled. “Don’t you find its size odd?”

Scratching his head, Robert replied, “When I caught these mice, they were already this big. After infection, animals undergo physical changes—at least a size increase. They become faster and stronger as well.”

After returning the mouse to the glass cabinet, Robert continued, “According to the tests, aside from lacking the virus and the bloodthirsty nature, this mouse is identical in every other respect to those infected.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Li Dan Niu said, not a virologist but a veteran of zombie films. “Besides turning animals bloodthirsty and sensitive to sunlight, the virus also enhances their bodies. Your vaccine stops the bloodthirst but doesn’t reverse the virus’s physical enhancements.”

Robert nodded. “That does appear to be the case.”

Would this world’s future become that of a so-called new human race? If the Darkseekers retained their enhanced bodies after being vaccinated, then in future Olympic Games, the hundred-meter dash record would probably stay at four or five seconds.

Lost in thought for a moment, Li Dan Niu suddenly remembered something.

“Should we try exposing the mouse to ultraviolet light to see if it’s still harmed by the sunlight?”

Once infected, both humans and animals became most afraid of sunlight, particularly its deadly ultraviolet rays. Testing for infection thus involved not only checking for abnormal appearance but, most effectively, exposure to UV.

Li Dan Niu might not have understood Robert’s examination, but he was sure ultraviolet hadn’t been used.

Robert hesitated. He should have done this test earlier, but had refrained for fear of harming the mouse—not out of attachment to the animal, but because its survival was vital for his research.

He’d spent three years without success, and at this critical juncture, he was terrified—terrified that it was all just a dream. Meeting Li Dan Niu, succeeding at last—it all seemed unreal.

“This step is inevitable, and it’s crucial,” Li Dan Niu insisted, recalling the movie. It had never mentioned whether the vaccine allowed Darkseekers to endure UV—only that the vaccinated female Darkseeker lost her aggression and that her vital signs returned to normal.

If the vaccine couldn’t make Darkseekers immune to sunlight, Li Dan Niu would spend the rest of his days living like a vampire.

“All right,” Robert sighed. Even if he dreaded the result, he had to face it.

He picked up a UV lamp and handed it to Li Dan Niu.

“You do it. Your reactions are… different. If anything goes wrong, you… well, you know.”

Of course I know, Li Dan Niu thought, shaking his head. Without waiting for Robert to turn away, he switched on the lamp and shone it in.

The lamp’s wide beam illuminated not only the vaccinated mouse but also the zombie mice in the surrounding compartments.

The contrast was clear.

Under the UV light, the zombie mice thrashed about even more violently, their fur visibly beginning to rot.

But the mouse under Li Dan Niu and Robert’s watchful gaze remained perfectly calm in its compartment, utterly unbothered by the ultraviolet rays.

“I really did it!” Robert cried, leaping for joy.

Li Dan Niu switched off the lamp, unable to keep watching the zombie mice rot—the sight was revolting.

“Then tomorrow, let’s go catch a Darkseeker,” Li Dan Niu said, barely able to contain his anticipation.