"How incredible, tell me while we eat!"

Zhang Su pushed Fu Weijun towards the basin. After researching zombies for so long, they needed a good hand wash before eating.

"I never expected the zombie virus to have such an incredible mutation ability. It truly changes its cellular structure based on the environment. The skin of this zombie is completely a layer of activated petrifying skin, and judging by the activity of the skin, this layer of stone skin hasn’t grown to a complete state!"

Fu Weijun didn’t even look at the food, picking up the spoon and shoveling food into his mouth. He didn’t need to eat at all, but talking about zombie research always intrigued him.

Hearing this, Zhang Su was startled, then asked, "So, you mean this zombie hasn’t reached its strongest state yet, right?"

"That’s correct," Fu Weijun nodded, continuing, "Taking humans as an example, this layer of stone skin is like new flesh healing over a scar. I don’t know how long it would take for the skin to fully harden, and even with instruments, we can only get a rough answer. There will be individual differences, but I’m sure these special zombies will be even more difficult to deal with in the future!"

Saying this, Fu Weijun gestured with the spoon in his hand: "With this zombie’s current defense, it can withstand normal slashes and puncture damage without any problem. Even explosions have limited damage to it. I boldly estimate that once the skin fully hardens, even small arms fire will be unable to penetrate it."

"That bad?" Zhang Su pointed at his temple and said, "What about the head? Will its defense increase too?"

A smile appeared on Fu Weijun’s face, "I actually have an interesting discovery!"

He put down the spoon and wheeled himself to the zombie. Not intimidated by its blood-red eyes, he picked up a nearby short dagger and pressed it against the zombie’s head, saying, "Look!"

Then, Fu Weijun made a cut atop the zombie’s head with the short dagger, leaving a very clear mark.

"Isn’t that the weak spot of the Golden Bell Shield...?"

Zhang Su came closer, took the dagger, and stabbed the zombie’s arm. There was significant resistance, like nailing into a plank, requiring considerable force to penetrate its defense. Then he cut the zombie’s face, and it instantly left a gash.

"The head is still a weakness, haha!"

This discovery pleased him, as it proved things weren’t as bad as they seemed.

"Above the neck, the color of the skin has changed, but its defense hasn’t increased. I’m not sure if this is because it hasn’t fully hardened or if it will remain like this..."

Fu Weijun shrugged; some things needed time to verify.

The bound zombie lay on the bed, watching the two with wide eyes, only able to make muffled howls, completely powerless.

"Dr. Fu, I’m wondering, since the thalamus of a regular zombie has the ability to heal external injuries, could this special type of zombie have more uses beneficial to humans?"

Zhang Su pushed Fu Weijun back to the low cabinet and sat on a stool to ask.

Fu Weijun pointed with his spoon towards the balcony, saying, "I’ve cut a piece of skin about the size of a palm from the zombie’s calf and left it to air on the balcony. If the skin remains hardened after detaching from the body, then it could be a new, excellent—albeit slightly gross—type of protective material!"

Zhang Su nodded secretly. As an amateur, he could not compare to the professional, who had already thought ahead and envisioned using the zombie’s petrifying skin to protect humans.

"As for the brain’s internal situation, it will take some time to explore. Probably around three to five days, or maybe even longer."

Fu Weijun ate quickly, wiping his mouth when finished.

"If—I mean, if—the petrifying skin can truly be used as armor for us, should we catch some in advance?"

Zhang Su realized a serious problem: if mutant zombies turned from threats into resources, they would not be plentiful. According to Wang Longzhong from United Village, aside from those burned by fire, only less than two hundred remained, scattered and difficult to capture.

It’s interesting how things work: something everyone wants to kill suddenly becomes a hot commodity once discovered to have value.

Fu Weijun frowned and thought for a moment, saying, "Capturing them involves significant risks, Mr. Zhang. I think we should wait to see the results before deciding on further action; there’s no hurry."

"Dr. Fu, you’re very considerate. Okay, continue with your work. I’ll go now. If you need anything, just inform Old Duan and the people at the camp, and we’ll do our best to cooperate. Also, let me know of any developments promptly—I eagerly anticipate this!"

With that, Zhang Su picked up his tray and left the laboratory.

In the afternoon, Zhang Su was not idle. He called upon Guo Dachao and several others, taking a welding machine straight to Niuquanzi Town, as the excavator repair work needed to continue.

The repair process wasn’t as smooth as Guo Dachao expected. He had thought it would be completed by the afternoon, but in reality, it would take at least another day.

As darkness fell, they had no choice but to return to Celestial Horse Island.

At dinner time, the people from United Village finally returned. After a day’s effort, they managed to achieve their target. They cleared a clean area at Madian Village, totaling three rows of houses, clearing the zombies in the process. For safety reasons, only the middle row was deemed suitable for habitation, and the other areas would serve as a buffer zone.

During the zombie clearing operation, they also discovered a lot of leftover food and other supplies, which was a considerable gain.

Zhang Su did not ask the people from United Village to hand over all the supplies, leaving a portion with them as a reward for their first venture into the wasteland.

The process of opening new ground was challenging, but with Lu Yubo and two other experienced members leading the way, it was accomplished without serious incidents; no casualties occurred, only a few minor sprains and bruises, which were insignificant in the current situation.

After dinner, Zhang Su gathered everyone in the Lucky Inn, except for the monitoring staff. Only Wang Longzhong and Wang Xingui from United Village joined; the rest were too tired and went to rest after eating.

"I believe everyone knows why I called you here today. Yes, it’s about the Cyan Dragon Corps’ grain collection!" Zhang Su playfully twirled a cigarette in his hand.

Duan Wuhu was present, but he looked bewildered after hearing Zhang Su’s statement and raised his hand, saying, "Brother Zhang, what is this about the Cyan Dragon Corps and grain collection?"

"That’s right, Teacher Duan isn’t aware of this matter. Well... Teacher Yu, please explain it to him! As we continue, Teacher Yu deceived those people initially, but I think we should never compromise on this issue!"

"That’s right, big brother, never compromise. We’re already good not robbing others, yet they dare to rob us!"

"Brother Zhao is right. We must not yield in fear. We absolutely can’t hand over the grain!"

"No way, no how! We worked hard to stock up for winter; we won’t give it up!"

Having fought their way out from the city, none of them were cowards. The opposition to handing over their grain was unanimous.

"I agree with everyone, but our problem is also very direct: if we don’t hand it over, we will inevitably fall out with the Cyan Dragon Corps. With our current strength, attacking their base is a dead end, so it’s the grain collection team released by Cyan Dragon Corps that we must deal with!"

Zhang Su was confident but never arrogant.

Their group of over twenty people managed to run Celestial Horse Island quite effectively, an advantage due to the terrain, perhaps, but proving human capability nonetheless, especially since Cyan Dragon Corps was backed by a military camp!

Fortunately, the two locations were separated by tens of kilometers. Currently, with communication cut off, there’s no way to reinforce the outgoing teams, creating large operational possibilities.

"Let me speak, let me speak!"

Zhao Dezhu was enthusiastic to contribute, having already forgotten his decision not to be involved in planning earlier.

"Qingqing has prepared a batch of explosives. We’ll plant them on the road, damn it, and send them right to heaven!"

"Hey, that plan could work, costing no lives."

"We might even enjoy a fireworks show, haha."

Two others immediately supported Zhao Dezhu’s idea, but seeing Zhang Su, Yuwen, and the other more mature members unperturbed, they realized there must be issues with the plan, quickly hiding their smiles and acclaim.

Zhang Su remarked, "Three primary issues: first, we don’t know the size of the grain collection team; second, we don’t know their departure schedule; third, we don’t know their route. Therefore, it’s unfeasible... or are you suggesting, Zhuzi, that we plant the bombs right at our doorstep?"

"Not exactly..." Zhao Dezhu scratched his head.

With Zhang Su pointing out these three problems, those who previously supported the idea fell silent, starting to consider other methods. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After a while, Yuwen said, "Explosives are useful but not like this. If we can’t catch them all, it might alert them, and that’s not what we want. My suggestion is to lure them in and then trap them—no escapees. Roughly, here’s how it would work..."

The genteel Yuwen proposed an exceedingly ruthless plan: either don’t act, or go for the kill, far superior to his brother-in-law’s one-wave bomb strategy.

After this, everyone put their heads together, refining and enriching Yuwen’s plan. After more than two hours of discussion, they came up with three different contingency plans, depending largely on the Cyan Dragon Corps’ grain collection team’s strength.