52: Chapter 52 Patient Zero

Boom!

This number completely ignited everyone's emotions!

Deafening cheers erupted inside the tent!

The officers stood up one after another; some were so excited that they took off their military caps and clutched them tightly in their hands, while others pounded on the tables and laughed up to the sky!

Even the usually steady Brigadier General Zhang Li had red eyes at this moment.

He knew all too well what this meant.

The energy crisis had always been a sharp sword hanging over the motherland's head.

For oil and natural gas, the country did not know how much it had paid.

How much diplomatic mediation, how many economic games, how many strategic compromises...

And now...

The crystal cores before his eyes were enough to change everything!

"Everyone!"

Tao Zhe raised his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

The cheers inside the tent gradually subsided, and everyone's eyes focused on him.

"This is just the beginning."

Tao Zhe's voice was steady and powerful:

"In this world, there are still countless zombies and countless crystal cores."

"As long as we continue to clear them out and continue to harvest..."

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes:

"The energy crisis of Great Xia will completely become history!"

Brigadier General Zhang Li snapped to attention and gave a standard military salute:

"Dr. Tao, please rest assured! All of our officers and soldiers guarantee to complete the mission!"

The other officers also stood up one after another and shouted in unison:

"Guarantee to complete the mission!"

The voice shook the earth, pierced through the tent, and echoed over the ruins of this Otherworld.

At this moment, Su Mingyuan was also shocked by Tao Zhe's string of numbers.

He sat there in a daze, his brain still running at high speed, trying to digest this startling information.

Not to mention anything else.

You must know that if the energy contained in these crystal cores was converted, it would be 68 billion liters of gasoline!

If they were to be stored, according to the standards of conventional oil depots, it would take up at least twenty or thirty square kilometers of land!

How many giant oil depots would have to be built?

How much capital would need to be invested?

How much manpower and material resources would be consumed?

And now...

Su Mingyuan looked at the few metal boxes piled up in the corner of the wall, which contained some of the high-order crystal cores collected.

Just these few boxes.

A few ordinary military supply boxes.

The energy value contained inside was equivalent to an oil depot of dozens of square kilometers!

More importantly——

The transportation of these crystal stones was also incomparably convenient!

Getting a few large trucks, or even a few military trucks, would be able to transport all these crystal cores away.

No tanker fleets were needed, no pipeline transportation was needed, and no maritime oil tankers were needed.

A few trucks were enough!

Compared to the huge energy value contained in these crystal cores, its transportation cost... could almost be neglected!

Su Mingyuan suddenly smiled.

The smile was very bright and also very relieved.

He finally understood now.

He understood his own value.

He understood why the country wanted to protect him at all costs.

He understood why Dr. Tao said he was hope.

The portal opened because of him.

Without him, the endless energy of this world would never be touched by the humans of Great Xia.

Thinking of his own childish thoughts before:

"Not wanting others to sacrifice, wanting to enter the portal alone to court death."

Su Mingyuan couldn't help laughing at himself in his heart.

"How truly childish!"

At that time, he didn't understand his own importance at all.

He didn't understand that his being alive was in itself the greatest value.

He didn't understand how many people gained hope precisely because of his existence.

"Old Su, what are you smiling at?" Tao Zhe noticed Su Mingyuan's expression and asked doubtfully.

"Nothing." Su Mingyuan put away his smile and said earnestly, "I just suddenly figured some things out."

"Hmm?"

"I understand..." Su Mingyuan looked at Tao Zhe and said solemnly, "I understand why I need to stay alive."

Tao Zhe was stunned for a moment, then showed a gratified smile.

He patted Su Mingyuan's shoulder, then turned around to look at the various officers in the tent.

"Alright, everyone." His voice returned to calmness: "Put aside your excited emotions for now, we still have business to discuss."

The officers immediately restrained their smiles, sat back down in their seats, and looked at Tao Zhe with focused gazes.

"Just now I talked with those survivors and obtained some very important information from them." Tao Zhe braced his hands on the conference table, his gaze sweeping across everyone present:

"This information relates to the direction of our subsequent actions."

Brigadier General Zhang Li immediately took out his notebook, preparing to record.

"The first matter." Tao Zhe spoke slowly: "According to the survivors' descriptions, this world once possessed a weapon called the 'Source Energy Cannon'."

"The principle of this weapon is to use the source energy in the crystal core to fire high-energy beams."

Armored Brigade Commander Zhao Gang's eyes lit up: "Dr. Tao, you mean..."

"That's right." Tao Zhe nodded: "I need you to help me find relevant information on this technology, and it would be best to find a physical weapon."

"If we can find the design blueprints and technical documentation of the Source Energy Cannon, research and modify them, and see if we can combine them with our current weapon technology..."

He paused, and a gleam of excitement flashed in his eyes:

"Then we might be able to develop a brand-new generation of source energy weapons!"

A chorus of sharp gasps rang out inside the tent.

Source energy weapons!

Laser cannons, railguns, particle beam weapons... these things that could only be seen in science fiction movies might really become reality!

"I will immediately organize personnel to search!" Brigadier General Zhang Li said excitedly: "According to the descriptions of those survivors, the former Empire's research institutions should still have a large amount of materials remaining."

"Very good." Tao Zhe nodded: "The survivors mentioned that they once passed by a few abandoned buildings that looked like research institutes or libraries. I have already asked them to roughly describe the locations, and you can send a reconnaissance unit to confirm in a moment."

"Understood!"

"The second matter——"

Tao Zhe's voice became solemn:

"The origin of the virus."

After Tao Zhe finished speaking, the atmosphere in the tent instantly became oppressive.

"According to the survivors' account, the virus in this world originated from a meteorite. After that meteorite fell, it formed a huge crater, and the virus spread from deep within the bottom of the crater."

"And——"

Tao Zhe looked around at everyone:

"Back then, the Empire built a large number of 'Conversion Factories' on the edge of the crater, specially manufacturing zombies to obtain crystal cores. Although those factories should be destroyed by now, the crater itself... is very likely still there."

Chief of Staff Wang Mingyuan frowned: "Dr. Tao, you mean..."

"I need to find the specific location of the crater." Tao Zhe said in a deep voice: "That is the origin of the virus. If we want to thoroughly study this virus and find a way to combat it, we must conduct a field investigation there."

"I understand." Brigadier General Zhang Li said solemnly: "I will send a reconnaissance unit to expand the search range and find the location of the crater. But Dr. Tao..."

He hesitated for a moment: "That kind of place is likely to be extremely dangerous."

"I know." Tao Zhe nodded: "So before we find it, let's make preparations first. Collect intelligence and formulate a detailed exploration plan. The survivors said that the crater should be near the former Imperial Capital, about several hundred kilometers away from here."

"Good."

"There is also a third matter."

Tao Zhe's voice suddenly became even more solemn, and the atmosphere in the entire tent became correspondingly oppressive.

"According to the survivors' descriptions, fifty years ago, it was precisely because of the appearance of a mutant zombie that a massive virus outbreak was triggered, ultimately destroying the entire civilization."

"This zombie is known as——'Patient Zero'."

"And according to the records left behind by the survivors' fathers..."

Tao Zhe took a deep breath:

"Patient Zero is very likely a Fifth-Order Zombie!"

Boom!

The tent instantly fell into dead silence.

All the officers were stunned.

A Fifth-Order Zombie?!