Chapter 109: Liu Mu's Ambition

"What's wrong?"

Zhuo Qing did not struggle; protecting patient privacy was a basic professional ethic for every doctor, and even though she was a military doctor, she would not disclose Liu Mu's situation to irrelevant people.

The two came to the observation deck on the outer perimeter of the fifth floor, but unfortunately, the panoramic skylight here had already been destroyed and was now sealed with some thick rain tarps and sheet metal.

Confirming that no one around could eavesdrop, Liu Mu lowered her voice to confide in Zhuo Qing, and also spoke of the mutation process of the three people under Yang Pingxi.

"I mutated because I came into direct contact with a Giant Sun Fragment, which is what you call Black Stone. At the time, those three were injured too severely, so acting on the principle of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, I let them breathe in a little of the Red Mist from the fragment. The dosage was very small, and they mutated."

"What? You gave them..." Zhuo Qing was too shocked to even finish her sentence, "Really?"

Liu Mu nodded solemnly, "There was no other way. The situation was critical at the time; if I hadn't done that, they all would have died. It's just that one still died in the process; his injuries were too severe, and his body likely couldn't withstand it..."

She said this deliberately; after all, if Zhuo Qing knew that the mutation also had a high probability of causing death, she would certainly refuse outright.

Zhuo Qing's expression also turned solemn, but she was not a rigid Researcher; she was a department director who understood some worldly wisdom.

Seeing her deliberating, Liu Mu did not disturb her. After all, this was no small matter. If Zhuo Qing were smart enough, she would be able to think of the enormous impact of this technology, and of course, the immeasurable profits as well.

"Don't you plan to report this?" Zhuo Qing's thinking did not take long, and she quickly grasped the point, "You want to... establish your own Laboratory?"

"This is my discovery; it's not against the law for me to research it myself, right?" Liu Mu blinked her large eyes, her appearance actually revealing a hint of playfulness.

Since they first met, Zhuo Qing had considered Liu Mu a bold and ruthless Merchant. To use the words of her husband, Tan, even outlaws were afraid of Liu Mu.

But looking at her now, she suddenly realized that the person before her was just a girl in her twenties.

"What do you need me to do?" Zhuo Qing was born into a family of doctors, and the reason she entered the military hospital was because she met the instructor Tan Ziyan during university military training.

Compared to soldiers who had always been in the military, her thinking was much more flexible. Once Liu Mu spoke, Zhuo Qing quickly thought of the benefits this project would bring.

As for whether this was backstabbing official research, Liu Mu was right about one thing: it was already the end of the world, society was being reshuffled, and there would always be a group of people destined to rise.

Moreover, her own family had suffered a great loss in this disaster, losing nearly eighty percent of their interests; if they didn't find a way out, they would likely just vanish from the power circles of China.

"Human experimentation," the 36°C Liu Mu spat out the icy words, "I need a batch of people who volunteer to mutate. Regardless of their physical fitness, they must only follow their own free will."

This meant they must be terminally ill or on the verge of death, just as Liu Mu's words implied—voluntary human Experimental Subjects.

Before the apocalypse, this would have been enough to be charged with crimes against humanity.

"This..." It was impossible for Zhuo Qing to agree on the spot, so she only said, "I need to discuss this with my Tan. If I participate in this, I'm afraid the military won't let me keep my current position."

Everything she possessed now was earned bit by bit through her own efforts, whether it was the medical Doctor degree obtained through twenty years of hard study, or the rank of Colonel and the position of Surgical Department Director earned by risking her life on military missions; neither her reputation nor her status allowed her to take frivolous risks.

Liu Mu expressed understanding and said, "After the mission involving the Sky Viper, you can give me your answer. Any later and I won't be able to wait."

This matter could only be discussed up to this point, as the meeting of the high-level officials like Yang Shuo had ended.

With Yang Shuo's approval and Tan Ziyan's strong backing, Liu Mu's combat plan against the Sky Viper was passed unanimously.

But when it came to the distribution of benefits, they were unwilling to let Liu Mu take the lion's share.

She was just an individual Boss; if this were before the disaster, getting five hundred yuan and a certificate of merit would have been good enough for her to share benefits with the Barrier.

But after seeing that mutated lizard-man from the Sky Viper, and after the information obtained from the overnight interrogation of the Black Glutton, they were no longer so tough.

The Sky Viper was already conducting human mutations, and there were at least twenty successfully mutated people. A single lizard-man had almost wiped out Tan Ziyan's team; twenty mutated people, to put it bluntly, could easily wipe out the entire Haicheng Barrier if they coordinated with the Sky Viper's mercenary army.

"According to the intelligence provided by the Black Glutton, the reason they haven't acted yet is only because there was a problem with the energy at their secret Base, the mechanical equipment stalled, and they had to disperse their teams to find energy."

Tan Ziyan, with one arm in a sling and his facial wounds still somewhat swollen, spoke in a rather mocking tone, "The leaders here might not have anticipated that the Sky Viper's original plan was to occupy Haicheng first, then control the three coastal provinces headed by Jiang Province, and directly cut off the country's north-south connection. On his schedule, this plan was only six months away."

In other words, if Liu Mu hadn't accidentally made off with that batch of oil earlier, Haicheng might already be under attack right now.

Of course, both the Barrier and Liu Mu were still unaware that this 'accident' had benefited them both; only the Sky Viper had been harmed.

"A fifty-fifty split is too excessive. When it comes to combat power, we are the ones mainly providing it. Why should we give it to a woman..."

Tan Ziyan couldn't stand this person's words and immediately poked the table with a thick finger, "Because my Special Operations Team can't beat them, because she can take down the Sky Viper by taking her own people, and because she is the Commercial Vice Minister of the Barrier—otherwise, would she even share profits with the Barrier? Leaders, if you have time, go look at the world outside. I really can't be bothered with you lot who only know how to wag your tongues!"

Of the eight people present, six changed their expressions, one after another claiming that the Barrier had already given the best weapons and resources to the Special Operations Team, and that it was wrong for him to scold people just because they failed.

In the end, Yang Shuo made the final decision, "The resources inside will be split thirty-seventy, thirty for Liu Mu, seventy for the Barrier."

This distribution immediately made the officials relax, but Tan Ziyan was unwilling. They called it a meeting, but this group of old foxes wouldn't even let Liu Mu, the person involved, attend. It was obvious what they were up to.

Yang Shuo didn't give him a chance to speak, "After the resource distribution, that Base will belong to Liu Mu. You have no objections to this, right?"

"Giving her a Base, is that to let her become the second Sky Viper?"

This immediately aroused deep suspicion among the group. Not to mention those officials, even Tan Ziyan frowned slightly, though he was thinking of something else.

The Sky Viper couldn't possibly have only one Base; the forces deep within were unknown in size and how deeply they were rooted. If that Base were given to Liu Mu, then the Sky Viper's subsequent retaliation would surely target Liu Mu first. Wasn't this just taking the benefits for themselves and pushing Liu Mu out to be the target?

"She doesn't have that many people in her hands," Tan Ziyan immediately objected, "My suggestion is to blow it up directly."

"Enough," Yang Shuo suppressed all dissent with one sentence, "This was proposed by Liu Mu herself, and it is also her biggest concession in terms of profit, otherwise that girl wouldn't go."

Hearing that it was Liu Mu's own idea, Tan Ziyan temporarily suppressed his temper, waiting only to ask Liu Mu personally after the meeting adjourned.

The meeting reached a result, and Liu Mu told Yang Shuo she needed to return to the Scrap Station first, with the operation time set for dawn the next day.

Tan Ziyan was busy preparing men and weapons, and after making arrangements, he couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied upon learning that Liu Mu had left.

However, he wasn't free in the few hours before the operation either; he had to go home and communicate properly with his wife.

As for the matter of Liu Mu wanting to build an independent human mutation Laboratory that they discussed after their intense battle under the covers, Tan Ziyan yanked the quilt away and cursed, "Holy shit."

No wonder she wanted the Sky Viper's Base; it turned out this girl's ambition was as obvious as Sima Zhao's—she had likely been eyeing it for a long time.

"Can you even be scared?" A muscular arm pressed him back down, "Don't go soft, again, lower."