The laboratory in Yuzhou was located in the city center, a very safe place, completely enclosed by high walls, with soldiers patrolling around carrying guns. Although the laboratory was very large, there were not many truly talented people, especially those who could conduct research independently.
In the past, the laboratory staff were at least at the master's level, but now, they could only make do with undergraduates. The zombie outbreak was too rapid, and many excellent researchers had directly turned into zombies, or had been eaten by zombies. It was no longer easy to find suitable talent.
Although the Yuzhou laboratory was not strong, it had been established and could conduct a lot of research. Many of Yuzhou's precision instruments had been sent here. Foreign instruments worth millions each, which were originally cherished by various universities, were now all gathered here because the universities were gone.
Professor Niu Baiye, as the organizer of the Yuzhou laboratory, was extremely prominent. Everyone in the laboratory knew him.
Normally, Professor Niu was very amiable and rarely got angry, appearing to be a good old man. However, today, after learning the news about Jiang Yang, he became furious. He pointed at Shen Feng's nose and began to curse, even though Shen Feng was the city lord of Yuzhou.
On one hand, Professor Niu was enraged, and on the other hand, Shen Feng was not someone who would get angry over trivial matters or kill people without reason, which was why Professor Niu dared to accuse him so arrogantly.
"Shen Feng, I thought you, being a university student, would understand the importance of specimens. Do you know how many studies require specimens? Without these specimens, many subsequent experiments cannot be carried out. And what did you use these specimens for? As bait to attract enemies, it's simply absurd!"
"These are specimens that I and a group of students spent more than half a year making! And now, what's left? Not a single specimen. And you still have the nerve to apologize? I really don't know what you were thinking, handing over so many precious specimens to thugs. Would they treat them well?"
Shen Feng couldn't help but retort, saying in a low voice, "Actually, the main bait was the ability-enhancing potion and food. The specimens were just to make the plan look more realistic. We didn't expect an accident!"
"Heh, you say that so lightly. Ability-enhancing potion? That was clearly apple-flavored soda! Can such a small amount of drink compare to our specimens?" Professor Niu continued to scold.
At this moment, Shen Feng had been labeled by Professor Niu as someone who didn't know the gravity of the situation, was ignorant, and acted recklessly. If he were to say more, he would be considered hopeless.
Shen Feng could only endure the scolding. In his heart, he also felt resentful towards Jiang Yang and Chang Jianyi. He thought, "Senior sister, senior sister, why did you leave me to face the professor's wrath alone? You caused trouble and then hid where Jiang Yang wouldn't come, but I have to face Professor Niu's anger."
Finally, Professor Niu, tired from scolding, sighed and said to Shen Feng earnestly, "Shen Feng, ever since you took me in, I've always thought you were a young man with great potential, and indeed, you have developed that way. However, you are now the city lord of Yuzhou, and you should handle many things seriously, not act on impulse. Professor Chu should have taught you these things, right?"
Shen Feng nodded honestly and said, "Yes, yes, yes, what the professor said is right."
Professor Niu thought to himself, "Since the specimens are all destroyed, let it be. But I must ask for more funding for the laboratory!"
So, Professor Niu generously said, "Shen Feng, this matter cannot be let go like this. How about this, you increase the laboratory's funding by fifty percent, and we'll let this matter go."
When Shen Feng heard such an exorbitant demand, he couldn't take it anymore. He thought, "You can scold me, but increasing funding is not acceptable. We really don't have the money!"
Currently, Yuzhou's manpower and material resources were basically spent on farming and repairing the city walls. There was no extra funding to allocate to the laboratory. Moreover, the laboratory couldn't produce any results in a short period, and the staffing was very basic. In this situation, increasing funding seemed unreasonable. The laboratory should focus on staffing first.
Shen Feng's eyes darted, and he suddenly remembered something. He quickly asked, "Professor, you must keep your word! You are the dean of the laboratory, and your words are as good as gold. You should fulfill the bet we made before, right?"
Professor Niu was immediately confused upon hearing this and asked, "What kind of bet did I make with you? If it's something I promised, I will definitely fulfill it."
Shen Feng immediately took out a small bottle containing a gray-white powder. Holding the bottle, he said, "Professor, you said before that the zombie virus could not come from a meteorite, and you also said that if the virus really came from a meteorite, you would eat those documents. I calculated that there were about forty pages of documents. Later, in Yanjing, Li Keyi isolated the extraterrestrial element that caused the evolution of ability users, which is what I have in my hand. Now, you should fulfill your promise."
Shen Feng's implication was that Professor Niu's guess was wrong, and he should eat forty pages of documents.
Professor Niu was immediately anxious upon hearing this and explained seriously, "You can't say I'm wrong! After all, the zombie virus might have mutated after being affected by a meteorite. It cannot be proven that the virus directly came from a meteorite."
Shen Feng argued, "But if meteorites didn't fall from the sky, how would the virus mutate? This is the source, Professor, you must keep your word!"
Professor Niu waved his hand, giving up on the idea of increasing funding. He said, "Forget it, forget it, no need to increase funding. Your memory is really good, you even remember this!"
Shen Feng breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the crisis had finally passed.
Afterward, Shen Feng had someone bring over the iron bucket and asked Professor Niu, "Professor, this mutated plant clearly died before. Why do you think it came back to life? I can't figure this out. Does this plant have no weaknesses? Can't ultraviolet rays kill it?"
Professor Niu slowly sat down, stroked his beard, and began to think. After a long time, he asked Shen Feng, "Do you know about the Nine Deaths Returning Soul Grass?"
Shen Feng was amused upon hearing this and asked curiously, "Professor, at your age, you actually like reading online novels? A name like this sounds made up. Could it be that you actually believe it?"
Professor Niu gently shook his head and said helplessly, "Forget it, you are not studying traditional Chinese medicine, so it's normal that you don't know. Actually, the Nine Deaths Returning Soul Grass is Selaginella, a Chinese medicinal herb. Even if it's dried, as long as it's watered, it can grow new roots and stems, changing from a dried state to a fresh state. This is actually related to the enzymes in its body. I think this mutated plant is very similar to Selaginella. It looks dead, but after coming into contact with water, it can come back to life. However, it does have weaknesses."
Shen Feng suddenly realized. He remembered when he went to the potted plant store, the clerk was holding a clump of dried Selaginella and promoting it, saying it could grow if planted in the soil. Shen Feng had directly scolded the clerk then. Now, it seemed he had wronged a good person, and the clerk was telling the truth.
"Professor, how should we deal with this plant? This thing is still very dangerous. If it accidentally kills someone again, wouldn't that be a big problem?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
Regarding this matter, Professor Niu had already thought of a solution and quickly said to Shen Feng, "We can build an underground structure. The underground will be entirely reinforced concrete, preventing the plant from rooting. Then, the plant's heart can be placed in a secret room, with only necessary roots passing through. By imprisoning the plant's heart, we can control its life and death. After that, we will have researchers train the mutated plant to produce evolution bases. What do you think?"
Shen Feng quickly nodded and said, "This idea is very good. I will immediately have people start building the underground laboratory and notify the soldiers on the front lines to transport the zombie corpses over. This way, we can use the mutated plant to produce evolution bases."
Shen Feng remembered when Li Keyi gave him the method for making evolution bases. At that time, Li Keyi's face was flushed, and she looked very cute. It was a pity that the production method she stole did not help him much, but Shen Feng did remember Li Keyi's intentions.
Shen Feng finally arrived at the laboratory, with many questions in his mind. He couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Niu, why can't I fly? Logically speaking, wind mages in games can all fly, and Xianxia games allow flying on swords. But why can't I fly? Even a third-tier Zhang Jue can fly, and I'm already fifth-tier, why can't I still fly?"
For this question, Professor Niu didn't even need to think and directly gave Shen Feng the answer: "It's very simple, because you don't have a flying structure, so the wind cannot lift you. Do you understand this?"
Shen Feng found this strange and quickly asked, "Professor, do you only grow wings to fly? But my brother-in-law, he doesn't have wings, and he can fly in the sky, wandering around in the sky all day. He doesn't have a flying structure either."
Professor Niu explained, "That's because Chang Haojie's ability is material-type. Mist floats in the sky, like white clouds, and can change shape freely. That's how he can step on white clouds. But your ability is wind. What is wind? Airflow, where is the physical substance?"
Shen Feng understood somewhat after hearing this explanation, but he was still unwilling to give up and continued to ask, "In that case, Professor, is there no way for me to truly fly? To be honest, my speed is faster than ordinary birds, but I just can't fly. I'm not reconciled!"
Regarding Shen Feng's current question, Professor Niu became serious and began to think carefully, finally giving an answer: "It's not impossible for you to fly. There are two ways. The first is to find a physics professor and make a hang glider. The wind can then lift the hang glider. The second is to make your body lighter, so that the wind is enough to lift you into the sky, and then you can fly."
Afterward, Professor Niu carefully explained to Shen Feng why birds can fly so easily. It's because birds are the lightest among animals of the same volume. In order to fly, birds have discarded everything they could. Even their bones are hollow. This extremely light body allows them to fly directly into the sky.
Therefore, for Shen Feng to fly, there are only two paths: either make a hang glider and fly with external force, or change himself and become a body shape suitable for flight, reducing his weight and making his body streamlined, only then is it possible to fly.
Shen Feng's doubts were quickly dispelled after hearing Professor Niu's explanation. Science and technology are always the primary productive forces. Even for things Shen Feng didn't understand about abilities, Professor Niu could explain them scientifically and provide corresponding suggestions.
Professor Niu was also very puzzled and muttered to himself, "It's strange, since the meteorites came from outer space, why would the elements in them produce abilities? And how do these extraterrestrial elements enter the human body? Is it carried by the zombie virus?"
Shen Feng bid farewell to Professor Niu and went to the physics department to find Professor Yu. This professor was previously a professor of aerodynamics and generally guided the manufacturing of aircraft. However, now, Shen Feng hoped he could design a hang glider suitable for him, which was a complete misuse of talent.
Professor Yu shrugged his shoulders and accepted the task. Even something as simple as a hang glider was still a task, wasn't it? If he performed well, he might receive more food ration rewards, enough to support himself and his wife.
After the doomsday descended, Professor Yu's son turned into a zombie and was eventually eliminated. He could only rely on his wife.
Professor Yu had come to terms with it. The world was always cruel. He thought he was a successful person, but reality had given him a hard blow, telling him that the happiness he thought he had did not actually belong to him.
Therefore, besides supporting himself and his wife, Professor Yu had no other aspirations.
At this moment, even after receiving Shen Feng's task, he only felt it was work. Completing the work and supporting himself and his wife was enough.