Chapter 118: The Zombie Report from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Reforms

Li Fengyi knew the shortcomings of the old scientific research system. Although he had no idea whether this newly proposed system was reasonable, the sight of Minister Liu’s grim expression prompted him to use the excuse that the National People’s Congress represented public opinion and sign it into law.

He understood perfectly well that none of them were extraordinary political elites, much less statesmen. The mass extinction of humanity in the apocalypse had simply left them among the lucky few—the best of a bad lot, so to speak... the best selected from among the pitiful remnants left after the extinction.

Minister Liu’s first—and last—report to the Special Committee began.

The projector displayed a wide variety of zombie videos, photographs, and written explanations. It was obvious that Minister Liu was in a foul mood: he had chosen the most disgusting images and enlarged them as much as possible.

“According to our observations, zombies have initially developed a social structure.”

His opening statement caused an uproar throughout the hall.

“This social structure resembles that of ants. The difference is that, unlike ants, zombies have no clear division of labor. There are no worker ants, soldier ants, drones, or queens. Every zombie exists more or less as a soldier ant. They communicate with one another through pheromones.”

The hall erupted once more.

The chairman of the report session picked up his little gavel and began banging away excitedly. Li Fengyi took one look and thought, Great. This fellow is so excited he has completely lost control of himself.

Before the apocalypse, he had been the legendary stock trader Wu Tianxiong. He and Li Fengyi had fought their way out of Courtyard A-5 together. Now he had managed to secure himself a leisurely position.

Li Fengyi hurriedly raised his hand and waved it several times in front of the chairman. Only then did the man come to his senses. He seized the gavel and pounded the table several times before roaring into the microphone, “Silence! Silence!”

“At present, human beings are unable either to interfere with these pheromones or to manufacture them. We conducted experiments.” Minister Liu clicked on his laptop, and the projector switched to several images displaying a number of pitch-black boxes. “In the end, we discovered that only sealed boxes lined with lead can block the signal at a certain distance. The lead must be at least one hundred centimeters thick before the effect becomes reliable. Humans attempting to evade zombie detection likewise require lead boxes at least one hundred centimeters thick to avoid being detected effectively. If one relies solely on distance to escape a zombie’s perception, one must remain approximately one hundred meters from the nearest zombie, while also taking wind speed, wind direction, sound, and other factors into account.”

“In the past, pheromones were transmitted through air or water. Zombie pheromones, however, can still be transmitted even in a vacuum. These are several of the experiments we conducted. Under simulated conditions of outer-space vacuum, transmission remained normal, with an effective range of approximately fifty kilometers. The signal can be relayed: three zombies evenly distributed across a region spanning one hundred and fifty kilometers can transmit information to one another.

“The reason this substance was named a pheromone was that the term was proposed by a specialist who studied the psychological states of ants in Shenzhen. According to him, the substance possesses the basic characteristics of a pheromone.”

“Zombies possess a limited ability to transmit learned experience and techniques. We discovered that within the same group—whose effective communication range is fifty kilometers—if one zombie is burned to death or drowned, every zombie in that group will know within an hour that fire and water are dangerous. That speed is comparable to the rate at which human beings could spread news on foot.”

“Pheromones are produced in the zombies’ brains. This is an image of a zombie brain.”

The projector displayed an object resembling a human brain, glowing a strange, dark red, shown from several different angles.

“We separately removed the brain stem, diencephalon, cerebellum, and cerebrum. Even after removing portions of the brain and preventing the brain from coming into contact with air, the zombies continued moving normally. We also experimented by reducing a zombie brain to a mass of pulp. As long as it did not come into contact with air, the zombie’s normal movement was unaffected. This explains why the violent shock of artillery shells does not cause zombies to suffer concussions or other problems that would affect human beings.”

“At present, we do not know what information pheromones are capable of transmitting, nor do we know whether they will eventually develop the ability to convey complex and effective information.”

“A zombie’s brain is composed almost entirely of viruses, with the viral content reaching as high as seventy-five percent. Once the virus within a zombie is exposed to the atmosphere of Earth, it rapidly loses its viability. If it is placed back inside a brain, however, it becomes active once more.”

Minister Liu brought up several human brains that had been used in experiments. They belonged to condemned prisoners.

“In the vacuum of outer space, these viruses also remain in an inactive state. Once they enter Earth’s environment and are exposed to air, they lose their viability within several hours. We discovered that, after activation, viruses entering Earth’s environment from the vacuum of space can remain viable for five hours before becoming inactive. However, viruses extracted from a zombie brain lose their viability within seconds of coming into contact with air. The specific reason is unknown.”

At last, Minister Liu could not resist using a technical term.

“We are still observing and experimenting to determine how the viruses within a single zombie brain establish connections with one another.”

“As for the zombie diet—or, more precisely, its source of energy—it is rather formidable,” Minister Liu said, unable to resist using the word.

“Zombies that consume human flesh replenish their energy most efficiently. By ‘most efficiently,’ we mean that their cells divide at the highest observed rate. We still do not know what this vigorous cellular division signifies. Zombies that consume other kinds of meat replenish their energy at approximately half the rate of those that consume human flesh.

“Even in a vacuum, zombies can maintain their vitality. Their cells continue dividing, albeit slowly, indicating that zombies are still absorbing energy. Some have speculated that they absorb free energy from the universe, but the truth will require further experimentation. After zombie cells divide, their volume does not increase, but the density of the body rises proportionally.”

“When they discover human flesh and blood, they ignore warnings from other zombies about being burned or drowned and rush straight toward it.”

“Zombies cannot tolerate water. After being completely submerged, they die within fifteen minutes, and their brain cells also die completely.”

“A zombie’s strength has already reached three times the post-apocalyptic human standard. Its sprinting speed is twice that of the post-apocalyptic human standard. Its stamina is almost inexhaustible. Their physical abilities remain within the limits of pre-apocalyptic human activity: they cannot fly, they cannot perform superhuman leaps, and they cannot emit electricity, fire, shock waves, or any of the other supernatural abilities seen in apocalyptic films and television dramas.”

“Zombies are resistant to cold and drought.”

“We do not yet know whether zombies can reproduce, or how they would reproduce.”

“The digestive organs of zombies are very strange. They do not possess human organs such as the stomach and intestines. Instead, their oral cavity serves as their digestive system. They can store the flesh and blood they consume in the esophagus and stomach, then regurgitate it in a manner similar to cattle.

“This explains why many zombies with ruptured abdomens and exposed intestines can still eat. Although the food flows out through their stomachs and intestines, the flesh and blood passing through their mouths still provides their cells with a portion of the energy they require.”