"Oh damn!"

Zhang Su grabbed Fu Weijun's arm and inspected it, then felt the scar. The sensation was remarkably real, so he asked, "What's the principle behind this?"

Duan Wuhu was also stunned, sitting beside them with his mouth slightly agape, waiting for Fu Weijun to answer. He knew nothing about it!

"As you can see, the zombie thalamus has the effect of healing human external wounds. As for the precise dosage, efficacy, and whether it can heal other injuries, I haven't dared to continue experimenting."

Fu Weijun shrugged.

"You haven't dared to continue experimenting... Listening to you, this is an effect you discovered on your own? Then please share your psychological motivation for attempting this back then..."

Zhang Su's lips twitched; he genuinely admired this scientist. Unintentionally, he moved the plastic bag containing four zombie thalamus closer to himself. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Like humans, the zombie brain is an extremely important organ. I analyzed each part of the zombie brain individually. During testing of the thalamus, I discovered it possesses unique properties. Further verification revealed it can stimulate human cell repair and regeneration, so I concluded the thalamus has the power to heal wounds!"

"Thus, I tried using the zombie thalamus to treat wounds. Initially, I applied the thalamus to the wound, with no effect seen through observation. Then I ground it into a powder and applied it; still no significant effect, but there was a slight reaction, with noticeable cellular activity enhancement. Finally, I simply ingested a small piece. Within two minutes, I felt the wound itching, and it began healing at a visibly fast rate. Success achieved!"

Fu Weijun spoke lightly, yet Zhang Su and Duan Wuhu were filled with fear. They prided themselves on being fearless of zombies, but in comparison to this scientific madman, they seemed inadequate. He dared to eat zombies, who could compare to that?

"Amazing, ancient China had Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, and now we have Fu Weijun consuming thalamus, mighty incredible... truly mighty incredible."

Zhang Su didn't hold back his praise, then shifted his tone: "Dr. Fu, aren't you afraid of becoming a corpse?"

It's normal for zombies to eat brains, but humans eating zombie brains, that's defying heaven's natural order!

Fu Weijun shook his head: "No, I said, I made this attempt after thorough research. The zombie thalamus is more of a mechanical component than biological tissue; most of the cells have been replaced by zombie robots in a debilitated state, a situation not found in any other brain tissue!"

"In short, I express admiration for your great spirit of scientific exploration... I am keen to know, what unique property did you discover in the zombie thalamus that led you to make such a bold attempt?"

Zhang Su solemnly gave a thumbs-up; this kind of courage was truly rare.

"Oh, it was actually a chance discovery. I found the severed thalamus could actually heal itself, and thus began the research."

"The thalamus can heal itself? You mean it slowly grows back after being cut off, doesn't that mean as long as it's used sparingly, they're unlimited?" Zhang Su looked exaggeratedly at the four thalami in front of him, but Fu Weijun quickly shattered his illusion.

"Sorry, there are prerequisites, it must be soaked in a special nutrient fluid for the zombie thalamus to activate its healing function, which I've verified. Unfortunately, there's none of that nutrient fluid now."

"What nutrient fluid? We took many things from the pharmacy; maybe there's the nutrient fluid you mentioned!" Zhang Su was somewhat excited.

Fu Weijun shrugged: "It's not ordinary market nutrient fluid, those are easily found by the Survivor Alliance. I've tried them one by one, not only ineffective, but with negative impact... I used a very unique organ preservation nutrient liquid, extremely complex composition, imported specifically. According to the company's materials, only I and one official southern laboratory ordered a batch domestically."

"What I brought to Qin City is already used up, but there's still some left in the island laboratory off Beihai Outer. Sadly, getting there is extremely difficult..."

Fu Weijun shook his head, a look of yearning on his face, seemingly nostalgic for his laboratory.

"Your laboratory is on the island?"

Zhang Su asked strangely.

"I came to Qin City mainly for aquatic research; the island off Beihai Outer has an environment perfectly suited for it. So, I rented the island and built a small laboratory."

Fu Weijun shrugged, speaking lightly. His family spent over twenty million on the laboratory, but as a second generation, he felt nothing, solely focused on science.

Zhang Su fell silent, witnessing the gap between himself and Fu Weijun, the style of a Beijing gentleman was different indeed.

Duan Wuhu grinned: "Truly the twists of fate, if you had stayed on the island, life would be leisurely and carefree..."

Fu Weijun laughed and shook his head: "Brother Duan, you overthink. Supplies on the island are replenished every ten to fifteen days, at most scraping by for a month... I'm really fortunate to have been in Qin City during the disaster outbreak."

"Nutrient fluid is too precious, why not extract thalamus directly from zombie heads? Recently, a large wave of zombies attacked the safe camp. Had we known thalamus had such magical effects, we wouldn't have burned them, it cost trillions!"

Eight hundred zombies meant eight hundred miraculous healing drugs!

"No, no..." Fu Weijun laughed and waved his hand: "It must be extracted alive. Mr. Zhang need not feel remorse."

"Extracted alive..." Zhang Su murmured, once again imagining Fu Weijun's work scene.

A young man with a leg impairment sat in a wheelchair, holding a scalpel. In front of him on the bed lay a bound zombie, possibly lying prone or sideways, as he skillfully performed a craniotomy to extract the brain, placing it into a nearby glass vessel, or perhaps a bowl...

"Weijun, do others in the Survivor Alliance not know about this?"

Duan Wuhu cautiously asked.

He could imagine, if Liao Youzhi were to find out that extracting a zombie thalamus had miraculous healing effects, it would likely lead to more untimely deaths!

"This is my own research project and I haven't told anyone, not even keeping experimental notes; everything crucial is in here..."

Fu Weijun tapped his temple with a wise smile on his face, a genuine wisdom, not the kind to curse at someone.

"If the thalamus can heal wounds, would it work to prevent zombification if it's a bite from a zombie?"

Zhang Su asked the most critical question.

"I'm afraid not."

Fu Weijun regretfully shook his head and said, "I secretly administered a thalamus to a woman involved in the zombification plan; her wound healed as hoped, but she was still taken over by a zombie robot. This path doesn't work."

Zhang Su was moved; everything he could think of, Fu Weijun had already tested. He couldn't help but cast an [Insight Label] towards him, instantly revealing three bubbles above Fu Weijun's head.

[Fearless and Diligent][Memory][Arrogant]

The fact that Fu Weijun dared to eat zombie brains had already fundamentally overturned Zhang Su's understanding of [Fearless and Diligent], although according to Fu Weijun's own explanation, he did reach the conclusion after rigorous verification.

What surprised Zhang Su most was that Fu Weijun actually possessed the ability of [Memory], though it's a pity his legs are impaired, otherwise this ability would shine on a greater stage.

As for [Arrogant], talented people rightfully have an air of arrogance, though Zhang Su didn't sense this from Fu Weijun, perhaps because he didn't dare to be arrogant in front of him...

Reflecting slightly on earlier, Fu Weijun seemed to completely ignore the other few people upon arriving at the camp — his demeanor suggested he regarded others as nonexistent...

"Ahem... Dr. Fu, do you still need these few thalami for research?"

Zhang Su reckoned that Dr. Fu was absolutely a talent, but it was unfortunate that the camp lacked enough equipment for him to fully leverage his potential; otherwise, there might be even greater discoveries.

Fu Weijun shook his head: "Consider them a gift to Mr. Zhang; it's my way to contribute to the team. I can teach you how to extract thalami; it requires certain skills, but afterwards, you'll be able to perform it on your own."

"That sounds good!"

Zhang Su had already thought about who should learn it, and it surely had to be a somewhat experienced core member, Zhong Xiaoshan.

"My research on thalami has come to an end. The next step is to explore through practice; I should begin studying other brain tissues of zombies. Unfortunately, all the equipment is left in the Lego Shopping Mall, which means the progress will be much slower..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Su sucked his teeth; there's absolutely no way to retrieve equipment from the Lego Shopping Mall, as it's the headquarters of the powerful Survivor Alliance. Encountering them outside might not be daunting, but breaking into their stronghold—wouldn't that be overestimating themselves...

To be blunt, even going to the island laboratory by Beihai is better than going to the Survivor Alliance!

"Is there any other place where you might obtain the equipment you need? Perhaps some schools, high schools, and universities could have a lot of lab equipment?"

Zhang Su asked, considering whether conditions would allow establishing a dedicated department for zombie research.

"Definitely not..."

Fu Weijun calmly shook his head, "Speaking of equipment, I must thank the second-in-command of the Survivor Alliance; it was he who found some equipment in several hospitals in the city initially. If you're talking about the real professional equipment, only my lab at Beihai or... there's also a lab over in Tang City, although it's not as well-equipped as the one in Beihai, it could work!"

Fu Weijun spoke seriously, implying his hope that Zhang Su could retrieve his equipment...

"Beihai... Tang City... both aren't near."

Zhang Su sighed; he could naturally see Fu Weijun's eagerness, and it was also what he desired, but alas, reality is too harsh.

Qin City is about a hundred and fifty kilometers from Tang City, which used to be less than a two-hour drive, but now... it could be a lifetime.

Even traveling from Celestial Horse Island to Beihai is over fifty kilometers and requires crossing a body of water, which is easier said than done.

Zhang Su remembered getting a yacht key from Su Chef, who occupied the Yileiwen Convenience Store, but given how much time has passed, who knows the condition of the yacht docked by the seaside...