Chapter 313: Further Testing

"Randomly smearing a flexible mini high-explosive bomb?"

Zhang Su quickly summarized the device in his hand, then asked, "Dr. Fu, is the ratio between quantity and power linear?"

This is critical—if one percent of a gram produces this effect, but a full gram only blows a small dent in a wooden table, then this bottle is just equivalent to a hand grenade. Not useless, but far too weak.

Fu Wei shrugged helplessly and said, "Mr. Zhang, I don't want to find my mangled corpse buried under rubble after you come back and your house has vanished. So I stopped testing. I trust you're more professional with weapons."

Arrogance due to talent is fine, but Zhang Su realized this guy wasn't low in emotional intelligence—he knew how to subtly flatter…

"Then let me test it! Interested in joining?"

Zhang Su activated the backup energy slot; he still had ninety-five percent left. Not even tired—he felt energized. He couldn't sleep without testing his new weapon.

Fu Wei beamed and nodded. "Perfect. Let's go now. Where's convenient?"

"The usual spot—by the mountain stream."

Zhang Su pointed to the place where they usually practiced shooting. All the trees there had been cut down, leaving only stumps—a cleared area for camp activities.

"Let's go!"

Fu Wei's enthusiasm surpassed Zhang Su's.

Zhang Su pushed his wheelchair outward and asked, "Was this the only bottle extracted?"

"There are two. I kept one for further research—there might be other uses we haven't considered."

Fu Wei gently patted his small bag. Strange substances like this could have unexpected applications.

Zhang Su opened the door and pushed his wheelchair out, warning, "Research is good, but safety is vital—this stuff is far too dangerous! By the way, Dr. Fu, today we found a survivor from the Azure Dragon Corps who, like you, researches zombies."

"Oh… what kind of research?"

Fu Wei showed little interest and asked casually.

"I don't know the details. Maybe you two can exchange ideas."

"If it's just some ordinary researcher, forget it. Better to stay out of each other's way."

Fu Wei politely declined Zhang Su's suggestion—his tone was courteous, but the message was clear: don't bother with minor players.

Zhang Su nodded inwardly. This was the real Fu Wei—the earlier flattery was fake. His reaction was perfectly normal. He smiled: "I heard he was deputy director of the Azure Dragon Corps' science division or something. Probably has real skill. His work might be connected to zombie modification. You'll have to judge his level yourself."

He deliberately inflated Xie Yanshan's title by several ranks, added enticing research topics, and capped it with praise—surely the man couldn't refuse.

It worked. When Fu Wei heard the man's high rank, the zombie modification project, and the trust of senior leadership, his interest surged. He was about to speak when Duan Wu came down the stairs carrying two woven bags.

"Hey! Brother Zhang, you're back! Uh… sorry, haha, the house is fine, don't worry, haha."

Duan Wu saw Zhang Su and Fu Wei walking into the courtyard, his face twisted into an awkward, helpless grin.

Zhang Su shrugged. "Future experiments must go to Cuileng Pavilion. How's your work going?"

"Almost done. Need help with something?"

Duan Wu set the trash bags aside and asked.

"We're going to test the explosive power in detail. Interested in joining?"

"Sure! Count me in. Here, let me push."

Duan Wu readily agreed—it was far more fun than cleaning up.

"Mr. Zhang, where is the researcher you mentioned just now?"

Fu Wei couldn't help asking.

"He was injured, took that stuff, and recovered fully—but his mental state is still weak. He's helping others clean up. Oh, you reminded me—I almost forgot: the thalamus effect far exceeded our expectations. The two survivors rescued from the Azure Dragon Corps were severely wounded…

Especially the researcher I told you about, Xie Yanshan—he was caught in the blast, probably with all his organs displaced. Yet after consuming the zombie thalamus, he recovered completely in just a short time!"

Zhang Su now felt even more certain this substance was invaluable. Too bad tolerance developed too fast—by the fourth dose, it barely worked. It might carry unknown risks, but the fact remained: it could save lives—three times over.

"It seems my earlier hypothesis about the healing mechanism was correct. The zombie thalamus doesn't simply heal—it enhances human bodily functions to some degree, allowing self-repair. Still, non-regenerative parts remain non-regenerative. A pity."

Fu Wei looked down at his legs. Of course he wanted to stand again—but fate refused.

Seeing Fu Wei's expression, Zhang Su understood why he pursued his research so desperately—perhaps healing his own legs was one of his goals. He gently patted his shoulder. "There's still hope ahead, Dr. Fu. Don't lose heart."

He didn't want Fu Wei to sink into despair. Science would be vital in the future. Right now, there were no instruments—but once they reached Qincheng, or brought his lab equipment back, progress would accelerate.

He didn't expect zombies to turn back into humans—that was fantasy. He only hoped science could one day improve human life, and especially weapons research!

"Uh… do you have a tool to precisely measure volume?" Zhang Su asked.

To accurately gauge explosive power, he needed precise control over dosage. Smearing a drop with a needle tip was too sloppy.

"Yes." Fu Wei nodded, turning to Duan Wu. "Old Duan, on the right shelf of the lab table, there are several droppers. Bring me the finest one, please."

After assigning Duan Wu the task, he added to Zhang Su: "I have a dropper accurate to 0. milliliters—it'll give excellent dosage control."

Zhang Su nodded. Under current conditions, precision to 0. milliliters was sufficient.

"Huh? Brother Su, Dr. Fu, where are you going? What? Testing explosions? Wait for me…"

"Ha! I'm coming too for this fun! Hey, Old Liu, get over to the shooting range—something cool's happening."

As Zhang Su pushed Fu Wei toward the mountain stream, many noticed and, hearing about the explosion test, followed along.

The corgi, Lucky, seeing a crowd heading toward his usual territory, grew curious and tagged along.

Zhang Su never intended to sneak around. The explosion wouldn't be quiet—hiding it made no sense. These days weren't like before: strength didn't need to be shown to outsiders, but letting your own people know was always wise—it built confidence, cohesion, and loyalty.

For safety, Zhang Su got Yu Qing to provide a fuse—one meter long. Calculating its burn rate, it would take about a hundred seconds to fully ignite—plenty of time to flee three or four hundred meters.

Arriving at the site, moonlight was hazy, lit only by a few camping lanterns. The towering mountain loomed darkly beside them. Years of deforestation had left this area treeless—a perfect open space.

About ten people stood in the streambed, waiting for Zhang Su to reveal some astonishing explosive. Instead, he pulled out a tiny glass bottle.

"Damn…"

Wu Lue was the first to complain, sniffling loudly. "Brother Su, we all froze our asses off to watch your explosion art, and this is all you've got?"

"Yeah… big bro, we may not be educated, but we know explosion power scales with quantity. What's in this bottle? Nuclear?"

Zhao Dezhu snorted.

Others felt the same. Even nuclear weapons couldn't be this small—kilograms were needed just to trigger a chain reaction.

"Hmm, I'm sure Brother Zhang's item has hidden depth—it can't be as simple as it looks. Let's just wait and see."

Wang Longzhong secretly doubted it too, but still praised it.

(End of chapter)