As Yu Renshu's consciousness gradually cleared, she felt someone repeatedly dabbing at her face. She couldn't help but open her eyes, only to find a little girl washing her face. The girl was wearing clean clothes, neat children's attire that made her look like a little princess. However, faint scars were still visible on her face, likely from being hit earlier.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Yu Renshu asked vigilantly.
At this moment, Yu Renshu realized something was wrong. She was tied up on the bed and covered with a blanket. Had something happened while she was unconscious? She was the nominal vice-leader of the Self-Aid Association. Had someone captured her?
The little girl said softly, "My name is Wang Xiran. The vice-leader asked me to take care of you. If you wake up, I'll report to the vice-leader immediately."
With that, the little girl prepared to leave. Her orders were to report to Chang Jianyi as soon as she discovered the person was awake. Thus, the young girl, having just arrived at the Self-Aid Association base, was ready to follow the plan. She had finally reached a safe place and didn't want to be scolded for a mission failure.
However, Yu Renshu spoke up at this moment, "I'm very thirsty. Could you get me a glass of water first? After I drink it, you can go find the vice-leader."
Wang Xiran immediately agreed. In her opinion, it was just a glass of water for this person. It shouldn't be a problem, right? With this thought, Wang Xiran quickly filled a cup from the room's water dispenser and brought it to Yu Renshu.
Yu Renshu began to observe her surroundings. She found herself in an unfamiliar room. Besides the bed, there were very few other pieces of furniture. It seemed this place was also under the control of the Self-Aid Association, but why was she tied up?
Yu Renshu listened carefully and finally determined her location. She seemed to be inside an office building because she could hear the sound of a generator and some noisy human voices. The only places in the base that would have generators, besides her laboratory, were the office buildings.
Wang Xiran brought the cup to Yu Renshu's lips and said softly, "Auntie, I'll feed you water!"
"Auntie?" Yu Renshu felt as if she had been hit by ten thousand points of damage. She was only in her twenties, so why was this little girl calling her auntie? Shouldn't she be called "sister"? This little girl really didn't know how to speak.
"You can put the cup down first. I don't want to drink anymore!" Yu Renshu said lazily, having lost her interest.
Wang Xiran then placed the cup on the bedside table. Although she didn't understand why this "auntie" wanted water one moment and then didn't the next, the most important thing now was to inform the vice-leader. This was what she had been repeatedly instructed to do.
Afterward, Wang Xiran quickly left the room, closing the door behind her. She was a very polite young girl.
Once Wang Xiran was gone, Yu Renshu immediately began to struggle. First, she focused on the ropes binding her. She had to break free. After all, who knew why Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi had tied her up? It couldn't be anything good. She hoped that nothing important had happened while she was unconscious.
However, Yu Renshu eventually discovered that the ropes binding her were extremely strong. She couldn't possibly break free from the hemp rope.
Yu Renshu didn't give up. At this moment, she looked at the water cup on the bedside table. She felt she could control the water inside and focused her attention on the cup. Suddenly, a stream of water slowly flowed out of the cup. Yu Renshu was pleasantly surprised to find that she could manipulate water. This meant her experiment had succeeded!
Yu Renshu immediately began to use the water stream to cut the ropes binding her. Unfortunately, the water flow was too slow to cut the ropes. At this point, Yu Renshu remembered the principle of a water jet cutter, which uses high-speed water flow to cut objects. Now, she could only manipulate water simply, and cutting ropes was unlikely.
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening was heard. Chang Jianyi pushed the door open and walked in. Yu Renshu immediately panicked, and the uncontrolled water flow, under the influence of gravity, spilled onto the ground, wetting a large area. Chang Jianyi saw the wet patch on the bed and shook her head helplessly, saying, "I didn't expect you to have incontinence, Doctor. Don't worry, I won't mention this to anyone."
Suffering from this embarrassing misunderstanding, Yu Renshu could no longer remain calm and quickly explained, "It's not what you think, this is water, all water!"
Chang Jianyi shrugged, turned, and closed the door, saying, "So, you've gained the ability to control water?"
Yu Renshu looked at Chang Jianyi in surprise. She hadn't expected her experiment to be discovered by the other party and couldn't help but ask, "How did you know?"
Chang Jianyi found a chair and sat down, saying calmly, "While you were unconscious, I read all the data left in your laboratory. I might not be able to perform the actual operations, but I can understand your experimental procedures."
"Since you know about my experiment, why did you tie me up? Do you think my existence threatens you, so you're planning to get rid of me?" Yu Renshu asked coldly.
Chang Jianyi said calmly, "If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now. Although you secretly conducted experiments to transfer abilities without our knowledge, I still don't want to kill people casually, provided, of course, that you cooperate with our plan."
Yu Renshu looked at the ropes binding her body and asked with a smile, "Is this your attitude for negotiation? I'm saying, these are tied too tightly!"
Chang Jianyi coughed and said sternly, "How can you not tie a tiger tightly?"
Yu Renshu was hurt by this statement again and questioned, "You think I'm a tigress? I don't think I've ever killed anyone. A tigress should be your title."
Chang Jianyi smiled, unconcerned by Yu Renshu's words, and then said, "I looked at your relevant experimental data and found that you used extracts from the brains of ability users to transfer abilities. This means that in the future, if someone wants to transfer abilities, they will have to kill an ability user. Can you guess if you will become a target?"
"Are you threatening me?" Yu Renshu continued to ask.
Chang Jianyi leaned back in her chair and slowly said, "This is not a threat. I just hope you can see the situation clearly. If you keep everything from us, you won't be able to do any more experiments in the future. As for the evolution serum, we currently have a substitute, so we don't need you to produce it anymore!"
"Heh heh..." Yu Renshu immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this and said, "You're just bragging. The production of the evolution serum requires many steps, and the amount of reagents needed cannot have even the slightest error. Do you think making serums is that simple? You're overthinking it. Don't lie to me. No one among you can currently complete the production of the evolution serum except me."
Chang Jianyi continued, "Is that so? I recall the principle of human evolution is due to acquiring viral proteins. Your so-called evolution serum is purified viral protein. However, what if viral protein can be obtained without extraction? For example, if mutated animals appear, eating the meat of these animals can lead to evolution."
"Impossible, impossible! Only the brains of mutated zombies contain enough zombie virus. You have to kill these viruses to obtain enough protein. How can animals have viral protein!" Yu Renshu's expression suddenly changed, as she realized she might be replaceable.
All along, Yu Renshu believed she was an indispensable part of the Self-Aid Association, as she could produce the evolution serum. Therefore, no matter what, Shen Feng and Yu Renshu could not abandon her. But at this moment, she suddenly realized that if she couldn't produce the evolution serum, or if the evolution serum could be replaced, her importance would rapidly decline. Perhaps Shen Feng and Yu Renshu would really abandon her.
Chang Jianyi continued, "Nothing is impossible. In fact, your research on viruses isn't particularly thorough, because not only animals mutate, but zombies also continue to mutate. In the five days you were unconscious, these things have already happened. Moreover, we have also formulated a plan to retake Luzhou. You just need to watch from the sidelines."
Yu Renshu completely lost her composure. At this moment, she realized that very important things had happened while she was unconscious, and she hadn't participated in any of them. In other words, she was now in a marginal position. If Luzhou were truly recaptured, her usefulness would further decrease.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Yu Renshu continued to ask, "Are you simply saying that I'm useless now?"
Chang Jianyi smiled and continued, "I can overlook the fact that you secretly conducted experiments to transfer abilities to yourself, and I can let you continue to produce serums in the future. However, the prerequisite is that you hand over the entire process and principles for producing the evolution serum. I guarantee that you will still be the vice-leader of the Self-Aid Association and continue to be responsible for experimental matters."
Yu Renshu closed her eyes and considered carefully. It seemed that if she didn't want to be marginalized, she had to do as Chang Jianyi said. Moreover, Yu Renshu was very curious about what kind of animals had mutated. Was the consequence of the virus even more severe than she had guessed?
"Okay, I promise. I'll write it all down. Untie me first!" Yu Renshu finally chose to surrender. She had no other choice at the moment but to follow Chang Jianyi's instructions. This way, she could at least maintain her position.
Chang Jianyi had already prepared paper and pen and immediately untied Yu Renshu's hands and feet, allowing Yu Renshu to write down the production process in the room. To prevent Yu Renshu from tampering with the formula, Chang Jianyi also questioned her about the production process, and only after confirming that the procedures were correct did she stop.
After obtaining the formula, Chang Jianyi revealed a triumphant smile. She had simply scared Yu Renshu, and she hadn't expected Yu Renshu to be truly fooled into handing over the formula. This way, her side could also master the production of the evolution serum!
Afterward, Chang Jianyi opened the door and walked out, saying to Wang Xiran, who was waiting outside, "You continue to follow the Doctor. Just take good care of her daily life. Of course, if she mistreats you, come and tell me, and I'll handle it for you!"
Wang Xiran nodded weakly and then walked into the room. She had been at the Self-Aid Association base for two days. Now, she didn't need to do anything important; she just needed to take care of the Doctor. Her brother had been sent to the kitchen to help out, usually washing dishes and the like.
Once Yu Renshu was free, she immediately began inquiring around the base to find out what had happened in the past few days. It was then that she learned that while she was unconscious, Shen Feng had formed a think tank and formulated a corresponding plan to retake Luzhou. Furthermore, they had indeed encountered a mutated beast, a python that appeared in the Yangtze River.
However, Yu Renshu also discovered something that made her particularly angry. Eating the meat of the mutated python did indeed cause evolution, but it was after eight hundred people ate it that twenty people evolved. The probability of evolution was too low, it could be said to be purely luck-based evolution.
Immediately, Yu Renshu, furious, found Chang Jianyi and questioned, "You liar! You lied to me saying there was a substitute for the evolution serum. Is a few percent chance of evolution called a substitute? Give me back the formula quickly!"
Chang Jianyi smiled and said, "Have you ever seen a fox that ate meat spit it out? Besides, I didn't lie to you. Mutated animals do exist, and secondary mutations in zombies have also occurred. These are all facts."
"You used information asymmetry to deliberately tell me unfavorable news, and then tricked me into handing over the formula. It's truly despicable." Yu Renshu couldn't do anything about Chang Jianyi. She couldn't resort to violence, so she could only stand in the office and accuse Chang Jianyi. She now understood that the formula she handed over would never be returned.
"Likewise, haven't you also often used information asymmetry to enhance your importance?" Chang Jianyi leaned back in her office chair, looking very proud. She had now successfully obtained the formula for the evolution serum. In fact, she could quickly mobilize personnel to establish a department specifically for producing the evolution serum. As for Yu Renshu, she was welcome to stay if she wished, or she could leave at any time.
Yu Renshu suppressed her anger and began to inquire about Chang Jianyi's next plan: "What are you going to do next?"
Chang Jianyi smiled and said, "Next, we will prepare to head to the hydroelectric station. We will depart tomorrow. Remember to get ready. All of us will be staying there temporarily before recapturing Luzhou."
Yu Renshu regretted her actions deeply at this moment. She wondered why she had so easily handed over the serum formula and why she hadn't inquired about the situation first.
Wang Xiran followed Yu Renshu, sticking close to her like a little follower. Wherever the Doctor went, she would go. She had lost her parents and now had a place to rely on, so she was very obedient. Whatever Chang Jianyi instructed, she would do. What bad intentions could a child have?