Welcome to the Wasteland - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The Lab

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Thirty or so years ago, Professor Alenzo extracted a special kind of enzyme from the flu virus. This enzyme could stimulate the vitality of human cells and speed up metabolism.

“When he experimented on white rats, Professor Alenzo discovered that the enzyme could heighten the rats’ bodily functions by a significant amount. He concluded that this could be a new type of medication against cancer, and so he named the enzyme NTZ-1 and kickstarted his long-term research on it.

“During the past thirty-odd years, which oversaw the development of the first NTZ-1 to the latest NTZ-49, Professor Alenzo devoted his heart and soul to this research. His discoveries were at times earth-shaking but also vilified. Eventually, he had to work as a doctor here in this hospital, which treats patients infected by viruses, in exchange for this small lab.

“Due to frequently being the subject of widespread misunderstanding and derision, Professor Alenzo became increasingly eccentric. He was indisputably talented, but he found it hard to place his trust in other people. He was constantly afraid that someone would steal the fruits of his research, so he never hired any assistants.

“As for me, I’m not a Doctor in Biology or Medicine, nothing like that. I’m just in charge of feeding the rats and cleaning the lab for the professor sometimes.

“You should’ve felt the benefits of the NTZ-49 by now. If this thing were completely safe, it would have been a massive step for the development of humanity.

“Alas, the side effects are as evident as its benefits. According to the results of the experiments done on rats, the concoction should only be effective for a month.

“A month after the experiment, the effects would disappear, and the rat would have to be administered another dose. If it didn’t, its muscles would cramp and tense up within 24 hours, and its brain would shrivel within 36 hours. 48 hours later, the rat’s organs will stop functioning and its brain would die.”

In the small Alenzo’s Supernatural Pharmaceutical Lab, the white man’s grim words left Zhou Qingfeng with a horrified chill running throughout his body. He finally found out about the potential misgivings behind the wondrous benefits he had enjoyed. He asked hastily, “You talked about the experiments done on rats. What are the effects on a human?”

The white man shrugged and answered apologetically, “The concoction didn’t even pass the animal experiment stage, so naturally it was never tested on humans. As such, no one can tell you what’s going to happen in your case.”

‘What… Am I gonna become a retard a month later?’

Zhou Qingfeng pressed, “How much of the drug is left?”

“There’s only one bottle in the fridge. And you drank it.” The white man looked regretful.

“I saw lots of bottles in the fridge though.”

“They’re either empty or contain other substances. To be honest, you’re actually quite lucky. That fridge is used to store biological agents, and some of them are deadly poisonous.”

‘What the f*ck! What’s with my rotten luck? I’m just a thirsty guy looking for water, but I just had to barge into a lab and stumble upon a bottle of undrinkable poison!’

“And Professor Alenzo didn’t make more of this sh*t?”

“I’m sorry. The professor was afraid that his work would be stolen, so he tended to only make it when it was needed.”

Zhou Qingfeng felt that he had hit the pinnacle of bad luck. How did he always run into so many unfortunate disasters? He asked one more question, “Where is Professor Alenzo now?”

The white man sighed. He replied, “I’m afraid I have yet worse news. Professor Alenzo was already over 80 during the later stages of his research. He wanted to create the perfect NTZ-50—one without side effects—but he did not succeed despite many attempts.

“He was dejected and sensed that he did not have much time left, so he made the last batch of NTZ-49 three days ago and drank it himself.

“He was too old, unfortunately. He could not withstand the body transformation. Yesterday was the last day he was awake. He had screamed excitedly, ‘I’ve found a way!’, but then he… he died. He was the one who left that bottle you drank, actually.”

The white man shrugged again, as if trying to say, ‘That’s it for the story. That’s just how things are gonna be now. Do whatever you want in the future, sir!’

“So I’ll die in a month?” Zhou Qingfeng asked blankly. He was already losing his spirit after the relentless assault of bad news.

The white man shook his head. “You’re the first man to survive taking the NTZ-49, so I can’t say for sure what the effects will be.”

‘God, you won’t rest before you’re done making a joke out of me, will you? Forget about putting me into this hospital. Now you want to put a time limit on my life!’

When the white man saw Zhou Qingfeng’s increasingly dark expression, he was somewhat worried that this Chinese policeman would suddenly transform into Godzilla. He racked his brains and quickly said, “Right, maybe you can figure out how to make the drug by yourself. I can help you find the computer Alenzo left behind. All his research documents should still be intact.”

‘Are you f*cking kidding me? I’m just some unlucky rando who knows nothing, and you want me to dabble in advanced biochemistry?’ However, Zhou Qingfeng had no other alternative. He could only grudgingly mumble, “Sure. Take me to Alenzo’s computer.”

This private lab of Professor Alenzo’s was quite small. It was plainly partitioned into two rooms. The outer room was where the white man had fed rats, while the inner room was where Professor Alenzo conducted his classified experiments.

After Zhou Qingfeng violently destroyed the lock to the inner room with his gun, he found the professor’s computer inside. This professor had probably spent his life’s savings on this lab spanning 30 square meters; the apparatus inside looked top-notch.

“It’s that one. It’s a model that’s easily portable and it has the highest specifications.” The white man pointed toward a somewhat cluttered office desk.

There was an armband on the table. That was Professor Alenzo’s computer. After Zhou Qingfeng put the armband on, a virtual screen showing an operating system was projected in the air. The white man said, “The password is Professor Alenzo’s birthday.”

After acquiring the password, Zhou Qingfeng typed it on the screen immediately and accessed the computer’s control menu. But then… he had no idea how to use it!

Noticing Zhou Qingfeng’s intense gaze on him once again, the white man became a teacher and started to instruct Zhou Qingfeng patiently on how to use the customized private computer made with the newest technology of 2030.

After glancing through Professor Alenzo’s veritable collection of books and documents on biology and medicine, Zhou Qingfeng sighed again. “I don’t think I’ll be able to learn all this within a month.”

“That’s not a problem. You only need to learn how to make the NTZ-49, and you should be good to go.” The white man opened a video recording of past experiments on the computer. He said, “According to experiments conducted on white rats, your IQ will reach the threshold of 150 after a week. You can practically be called a genius.

“And everything Professor Alenzo used to make the NTZ-49 is in this lab. Maybe you can cut a deal with the hospital administration, see if you can use them for free.”

The white man waved a hand at the dozens of machines and apparatus used for medicine making, as if it were a solution to all of Zhou Qingfeng’s problems. Zhou Qingfeng, meanwhile, was howling inside ‘After a short time, the whole world will be f*cked. How can I get the time to do this?’

‘Wait, there’s an important question… How long was I unconscious after taking the drug? What time is it now?’