Chapter 1067: The Biggest Loophole

"What does it mean, Captain Lin? I just can't understand.."

"Just being hit by sunlight will turn you into a zombie?"

Blinking his eyes in a daze, Zhang Tie stared blankly at Lin An, whose brows were tightly knotted.

Just listening to a zombie tell a story is strange enough, but now this zombie is actually talking to him about the origin of the virus.

Raising his hand, Lin An signaled Zhang Tie not to rush, then solemnly asked the zombie researcher:

"Evidence, reason."

He asked briefly.

Lin An understood the zombie researcher's meaning, and also understood the subtext.

The sole reason the earliest clones didn't get infected by the virus... was that they had never been exposed to sunlight. Because, the lab was underground!

He could understand the point that, in the other's words, sunlight is a source of spiritual energy; after all, the professor's notes had also written and confirmed this.

But...

Believing that sunlight spreads the virus? What's the mechanism?

Making eye contact with Lin An, the bald-headed zombie seemed to revert to his former researcher identity, and replied word by word:

"It's information."

"Light is a kind of information, a key similar to a meme that unlocks!"

Afraid that his explanation wasn't detailed enough to convince Lin An, it directly gestured for a mutant to bring over thick documents:

"I believe you've definitely heard of Morse code, right?"

"Take the simplest 【SOS】 signal as an example. If you flash it with a flashlight, the sequence is three short lights, three long lights, three short lights."

"Similarly, as long as you control the light's frequency well, you can transmit any information!"

"Just like when we hear a certain story and get implanted with a meme! Changes in sunlight are sending out a 'story'!"

Flipping through a thick stack of picture records, the zombie researcher excitedly pointed at:

"Look! The information here is the record of the sun's flickering on the day the apocalypse broke out! During that time, solar flares erupted thousands of times!"

"It's like sending a command, directly detonating the meme virus in our minds!"

"Not only that!"

The zombie researcher suddenly lifted his head and looked at Lin An:

"Do you still remember the buzzing sound that swept the globe when the virus broke out?!!"

"That's the high-energy particle stream ejected from the solar flare explosion, directly striking the electromagnetic layer! All communications were interfered with at that time!"

His gaze tightened, Lin An instantly recalled the buzzing electric sound when he connected AnXia's phone call.

He knew that electromagnetic signals would be interfered with after the apocalypse, but he never imagined that day was a collective outbreak of solar flares.

As for the zombie's claim that the virus detonation is a light signal...

He had discussed this point with Chu An before. Although they also concluded that the zombie virus might be a meme, both believed the trigger was that segment resembling the words of a 'God'.

(Struggle on.. little bugs!)

Standing beside Lin An, the big-built Mo Ling, who had understood the conversation, couldn't help but speak up:

"If the virus is detonated by a light signal, why did zombies break out simultaneously worldwide? During a day, Earth always has a side in night."

"And those not exposed to sunlight shouldn't become zombies, right? Yet I saw zombies in the underground garage!"

Without waiting for the zombie researcher to explain, Lin An, after a brief silence, spoke directly:

"Simultaneous outbreak is simple. Moonlight is also reflected sunlight. Light scatters, so even without direct sunlight, one still comes into contact with light."

"As for the second point. If the zombie virus truly is a meme, then there's really no such thing as a detonation. All we can say is that the flare causes large-scale zombification."

"Actually, this virus has long existed inside our bodies. Even if it wasn't detonated then, later, as long as we come into contact with light, we will eventually have problems."

While speaking, Lin An subconsciously thought of the professor's research findings. Using a pyramid shape to gather light (spiritual energy)...

Is it a quantitative change leading to qualitative change, or does the contaminated light have its frequency altered under the pyramid model?

Just as different information triggers different memes. The pyramid could be another key?

"Exactly!"

The zombie researcher appreciated and glanced at Lin An:

"However, there's one point I need to add."

"In my research, the zombie virus likely appeared early in bodies of water. Because water's refractive index is much lower than air's. Especially in the deep sea, for light to penetrate it requires greater power. So after extensive research I found that the light intensity irradiating ocean regions is far greater than on land. Moreover, the flare outbreak occurred earlier there."

"Thinking from another angle, in shallow seas and rivers, there will inevitably be earlier, stronger sunlight exposure, leading to the earliest appearance of the virus."

His heart jolted.

Hearing the zombie researcher's supplementary conclusion, Lin An instantly thought of the horsehair crab. He remembered wondering back then why the large crabs supplied by Kaisile Company had virus residues. The procurement date was clearly November 1st, before the apocalypse broke out.

He let out a light sigh, and after a while a flicker of doubt crossed Lin An's eyes.

The zombie researcher's information could indeed corroborate what he said.

Moreover, if the virus had already appeared and been stronger in bodies of water, wouldn't that mean the deeper the ocean, the more terrifying the monsters?

So this also explains why the ocean in his past life became a forbidden zone?

Just thinking about how, in his past life memories, as the apocalypse progressed, coastal regions suffered disasters. It felt like a premonition; Lin An always felt that the true threat of the apocalypse might not be on the surface, but in the deep sea that covers over seventy percent of the planet!

No one knows what else lies in the deep sea.

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Lin An took a deep look at the zombie researcher:

"So what do you mean by the so-called salvation of humanity you speak of?"

"Cultivating large numbers of clones never exposed to sunlight? Letting them live underground their whole lives?"

"Meaningless."

"Logically, clones could be immune to the virus, but they could never avoid sunlight forever."

Even if we really build a human city underground, what about the zombies and mutants outside? The monsters' strength and the disaster's progress will keep increasing over time; hiding underground is no different from waiting to die.

Not to mention natural disasters such as earthquakes.

It seemed to see the meaning in Lin An's eyes.

The zombie researcher gave an eerie smile, and a hint of madness suddenly appeared in his expression.

"Of course not!"

"I said I am humanity's savior! I will prove it to you!"