"Delayed gratification?" Su Jin looked puzzled.
"Right. Their urge to kill is overwhelming; given the chance, they strike immediately. The moment the man who died yesterday revealed his traits, his first instinct was to kill." Sun Ya smiled and pointed over his shoulder at Rat No. 3. "And look at that one. Once it realized it couldn't hide anymore, its attacks haven't stopped once. It gets tired, and it needs to eat, but as soon as it's rested, it resumes its relentless assault.
"Xiao Li, do you see now?"
Su Jin's brow furrowed, then quickly smoothed out. "You mean... we can set a trap to bait them into exposing their bloodlust, and that's how we verify their identities?"
"Exactly! That's it!" Sun Ya slapped his thigh and leaned forward. "We worked out an entire plan last night. It should work.
"There are still quite a few surviving residents in the complex. Not long after the rain began, broadcasts and text alerts warned everyone not to touch rainwater or tap water. Normal people generally steered clear. The concentration of the grey substance in the tap water wouldn't be very high, and because the alerts came early, only some got infected. Among those infected, the odds of zombification are much higher than turning into a covert mutant.
"The situation in the opposite building reinforces this conclusion. That's our first filter.
"As for any covert mutants that might be lingering indoors, once they spot a living person, they won't just sit idly by; they'll either leave the room or hunt someone down. Plus, they aren't contagious, so anyone currently alive is most likely healthy. A strip search will let us screen out even more risks. That's our second filter."
"They would still be wary of zombies attacking them, and they need supplies to survive, so there's still a chance they might stay indoors," Wei De added.
"True, there's no denying that," Sun Ya continued. "Still, taking just the first two lines of defense into account, the risk of recruiting team members has already dropped substantially. As long as we can set up a third line of defense, we should be able to minimize the risk and boldly form our team.
"After that, we can structure our team's division of labor to ensure safety further. By keeping people grouped tightly together with no one left alone, we can suppress any covert mutant's urge to stir up internal chaos. Even if someone turns out to be bad, as long as we keep them under control, we can still put them to work."
Su Jin pondered for a moment. "The third line of defense you mentioned is screening them by baiting their murderous urges, right? But how would that work? That's an impossible task. We can't lock living people in a room with them for an experiment, can we?
"Covert mutants are human, not mice. They can't be that stupid."
"You're right. We can't afford the time or the risk of testing with humans, and the test can't look deliberate either. That leaves only one option: testing them with small creatures." Sun Ya pointed toward the rat.
"They have an urge to kill other species too, so a rat test best suits our needs. Under the government's name and using meal and water delivery as an excuse, we can slip a rat inside. It's best if we order or threaten them to stay in their bedrooms and seal the doors, which makes it easier for them to notice the rat and prevents them from escaping. Afterward, we track the results. That will complete our third line of defense."
"We only have two or three normal rats left," Su Jin said, his brow knotting tight. "Besides, how do we track it? If the rat gets swallowed whole, how on earth am I supposed to know?"
"Indeed." Sun Ya's brows twitched, his mood dipping noticeably. "That's why... we need to acquire a large number of rats. On top of that, we have to get sodium fluorescein so we can use a developer to track whoever killed the rats."
"In this freezing cold with an outbreak hitting out of nowhere, where are we going to find rats?" Su Jin asked with a bitter look. "And where do we get whatever reagent you're talking about?"
"We've actually thought it all through for you. At Longshan Medical University, there's an underground laboratory... It's one of the top facilities in the country, equipped with an independent emergency power system and constant temperature and humidity controls. The lab rats inside are definitely still alive. Even if food ran short, a portion would survive by cannibalizing each other. The lab also has sodium fluorescein and portable UV lights. If we find those, we'll have all the tools we need."
"A university has a lab that advanced?"
"Universities are research institutions. Their laboratories are usually better than those in hospitals. Besides, you must know about Longshan Medical University, right?"
"Uh... of course I know."
Sun Ya and Wei De exchanged a glance, then quickly averted their eyes.
Wei De took off his glasses, wiped them on the hem of his shirt, and kept his head lowered as he murmured as if in passing, "Right... Xiao Li would definitely know..."
"Why are the two of you suddenly acting so weird?" Su Jin's gaze darted between them.
"Cough, it's nothing!" Sun Ya deftly changed the subject. "I just remembered something, Xiao Li. You can use that flesh bulb, but can others use it too?"
"What kind of question is that? We talked about this last night. The stuff inside the flesh bulb isn't the same substance as the grey mist. It changed me without causing an infection, so in all likelihood, the same goes for you. What, do my internal organs work differently from yours?"
"No, no, not at all..." Sun Ya waved his hands repeatedly, immediately pulling a notebook from his breast pocket and handing it over.
"This is the detailed plan we wrote up this morning. Take a look."
Su Jin hurriedly took the notebook and examined it. Even after reading through it, his brow remained furrowed.
Looking up, he said, "I have no objections to this plan. In fact, it's probably our best available solution right now. But adopting it means we have to give up on expanding into the city and can only head for the military district."
"Right. We can only draw our recruitment safety zone around the complex. The people we gather should be enough to form a reinforced company. Pushing any further out would jeopardize the entire plan." Sun Ya said, "You're really worried that covert mutants might have set their sights on the military district too, aren't you?"
"Yes. After all, there are already signs that leadership has been infiltrated. They have brains and they're smart; there's no reason to think they wouldn't target it."
"You shouldn't judge mutated organisms by ordinary human logic. I believe they'll kill whatever is closest. Long-term planning goes against their nature. Besides, the higher-ups might not be as smart as you think. There are plenty of fools among them; they simply have access to more intel than ordinary people."
Su Jin lapsed into thought, then closed the notebook.
"Still, this is all speculation. Not a single step is zero-risk. It's a gamble."
"It is," Wei De sighed. "What worries us most is you. From here to Longshan Medical University, the shortest route is six kilometers... twelve kilometers round trip. And only Cheng Du and Fu Hu can risk going with you. That's a distance between life and death.
"Xiao Li, whether we do this or not rests entirely on your word... If it really won't work, we'll think of something else."
Su Jin shifted his gaze to the mutated rat gnawing on the wire mesh of its cage. An undisguised malice spread across his face as he murmured:
"I imagine you've considered this as well, but didn't want to tell me... If new mutated creatures possess an intellect, it very likely means that continuously evolving zombies might develop intelligence too. One day, the two might converge, or there might even emerge mutated creatures capable of controlling the zombie hordes."
Both elders bowed their heads at the same time, falling into heavy silence.
"So what's left to hesitate about? If we fear risk and let every obstacle stop us before we start, nothing in this world would ever get done." Su Jin withdrew his gaze and broke into a grin. "This ray of hope—we have to seize it."
Chapter 42