157: Xiao Weihua

After a night of rest and recuperation, Zhang Lei, accompanied by Yang Tian, officially entered the core area of the Kyoto Base.

This survivor fortress, built atop a massive military base, was indeed breathtaking in scale, covering an area of 1,200 square kilometers. Various functional buildings stood in rows, and layers of fortifications were stacked upon one another, resembling a labyrinth.

However, unlike the atmosphere filled with hope and vitality inside the Lujiang Base, the Kyoto Base appeared much heavier and more oppressive.

Zhang Lei saw many survivors engaged in the base's repair, cleaning, and material transport work. Most of them were sallow-faced and thin, with exhaustion and numbness in their eyes. Their movements were somewhat sluggish, clearly the result of long-term malnutrition. This stood in sharp contrast to the residents of the Lujiang Base, who were rosy-cheeked, full of spirit, and even had time for leisure activities.

Yang Tian explained in a low voice from the side: "Kyoto's population base is too large, and too many survivors have been rescued. Although the base's several strategic granaries have a fair amount of stored grain, priority must be given to the supplies for the frontline combat units and the Evolvers. An Evolver, especially a strength-type one, eats as much as several ordinary people. To ensure combat effectiveness, we can only... temporarily wrong the ordinary citizens. Currently, everyone only gets two meals a day: one meal is thin porridge, and the other is slightly thicker. Meat is almost a luxury, and having some wild vegetables to go with the rice is considered an improvement in life." His tone carried a hint of helplessness and guilt.

Zhang Lei nodded silently, understanding in his heart. This was the cruel reality of the apocalypse; with limited resources, the most realistic choices had to be made.

Passing through layers of checkpoints, Zhang Lei finally arrived at the extremely heavily guarded core area. The environment here was significantly better, with lush green trees, tidy roads, and residents consisting of National Government high officials, senior military generals, important scientific researchers, and powerful Evolvers.

In a simply furnished reception room, Zhang Lei waited quietly for the National Government's highest official, Xiao Weihua. He knew that if he didn't represent the rising Lujiang Base and possess the formidable power of a Third-Tier Expert, then as a mere Major from any other provincial base, it would be absolutely impossible to receive a personal audience with such a heavyweight.

Not long after, the door to the reception room was pushed open. A sturdy middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a crisp, dark Zhongshan suit, walked in with a vigorous and imposing stride.

His hair was meticulously combed but already streaked with white. Deep fatigue showed between his brows, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were as clear as if carved by a knife. However, those eyes were exceptionally bright and piercing, as if they could see through people's hearts.

Zhang Lei immediately stood up. He keenly sensed that this Officer Xiao was also an Evolver, but his energy fluctuations seemed to stay at the First-Tier level. With his status, obtaining crystal cores would be as easy as turning over his hand; his strength should definitely not stop there. The only explanation was that this leader had proactively given his precious cultivation resources to the frontline soldiers who needed them more! This also filled Zhang Lei with deep respect.

"Comrade Little Zhang, please sit down. Sorry to keep you waiting." Xiao Weihua wore a gentle and slightly tired smile as he stepped forward quickly, warmly greeting Zhang Lei to sit down, his attitude as kind as if he were treating his own nephew.

"Officer!" Zhang Lei stood straight and solemnly gave a military salute, his movements standard and full of power.

"No need for such formalities, no need for such formalities!" Xiao Weihua waved his hand with a smile and pulled Zhang Lei to sit on the sofa. "I've heard of your great name for a long time, 'ice fire divine lord'. You are young and promising, a true pillar of the state!" His gaze was full of admiration.

"You flatter me," Zhang Lei said modestly.

"You and Comrade Jiang Xin are both excellent!" Xiao Weihua sighed with genuine relief. "To be able to recapture a city in such a short time is an immense contribution! It has given the survivors across the country huge confidence! This commissioning was a bit rushed; next time, I will definitely have old General Qin arrange for someone to hold a grand ceremony specifically for you!"

"Recapturing the city was the result of the bloody battles fought by all the soldiers of the Red Alert Legion; it's not the achievement of just the two of us. This subordinate wouldn't dare take all the credit." Zhang Lei sat upright, his tone sincere. Zhang Lei was only an eighteen-year-old youth; meeting this new leader of the National Government, he was naturally surging with emotion, and it was impossible not to be excited. However, months of life-and-death trials and holding a high position had long since washed away his naivety, allowing him to display a composure and temperament that transcended his age.

"Good! Good!" Xiao Weihua nodded repeatedly, patting Zhang Lei's shoulder with satisfaction. "To be so modest, steady, and neither conceited nor impetuous at such a young age is truly a blessing for the country and the nation!"

After the pleasantries, Xiao Weihua cut to the chase: "Comrade Jiang Xin said in the communication that you brought a batch of anti-virus serum this time? This is wonderful news! What resources do you need from the state in exchange? Just ask! As long as the National Government has it, there will be no hesitation!" His eyes were full of expectation.

Zhang Lei took a specially made metal tube from his breast pocket, unscrewed one end, and took out a potion emitting a soft light-blue glow, solemnly handing it to Xiao Weihua: "Officer Xiao, this is the Anti-Zombie Virus Serum successfully developed by our Lujiang Base Bio-Research Center, using zombie crystal cores as the main raw material, supplemented by various special reagents."

"Good! Good! Excellent!" Xiao Weihua took the serum, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement. He carefully cradled that small blue potion as if it were a priceless treasure, and a hint of tears even appeared in his eyes.

In these past few months, how many brave soldiers had not died on the battlefield but had fallen under the guns of their comrades—only because they were scratched and infected by zombies, with no medicine to cure them! This serum meant that the safety of countless members of the people's army would be guaranteed!

Zhang Lei continued to explain: "As long as this serum is injected after infection but before complete zombification, it can effectively reverse the virus infection process. If multiple doses are injected, it can even resist viral infection from higher-tier zombies to a certain extent." This point was particularly important because even Evolvers faced the risk of infection when facing zombies stronger than themselves—for example, a First-Tier Evolver facing a scratch from a Second-Tier Zombie.

Just then, the door to the reception room was pushed open again. A tall, vigorous old general in his fifties, wearing a crisp general's uniform with a shining national emblem embroidered on his shoulder straps, walked in with a voice like a resonant bell:

"You Old Xiao! Meeting our little hero and you didn't even call me? That's not very nice!" The newcomer was none other than the Minister of the Supreme United Front Work Department, the Commander of the Central Military Region, and China's Wartime Commander-in-Chief—General Qin Guoqiang. This old general had also luckily become an Evolver, and under his iron-fisted command, he had quickly stabilized the situation in Kyoto at the beginning of the apocalypse, saving a large number of National Government high officials and preventing China from becoming leaderless.

He walked up to Zhang Lei and looked him up and down as if inspecting a soldier, his tiger-like eyes flashing with brilliance as he laughed loudly: "Good! You are indeed a man of striking appearance and extraordinary presence! No wonder that little girl from the Ye Family praised you to the skies after she came back! Hahaha!"

Zhang Lei was a bit embarrassed by the old general's bluntness. He hadn't expected Ye Anhe to be working under the Qin Guoqiang's command, nor did he expect that this little girl would actually praise him in front of the Qin Guoqiang. Zhang Lei quickly stood up and saluted: "General Qin must be joking."

"Old Qin, stop teasing the young man." Xiao Weihua smiled to smooth things over, motioning for the Qin Guoqiang to sit down, and then said to Zhang Lei: "Little Zhang, continue. What resources do you need in exchange for these precious serums?"

Zhang Lei organized his thoughts and said, "Officer Xiao, General Qin, our base is mainly engaged in the research and development of cutting-edge equipment, as I'm sure you both know. Currently, many of our projects urgently need a batch of specific rare metals, such as gold, platinum, and iridium. If it's gold, we hope to exchange one thousand doses of serum for one ton of gold. Do you think this ratio is appropriate?"

"One thousand doses for one ton? No problem at all!" Xiao Weihua decided on the spot without any hesitation. "I'll give the orders immediately and have people prepare it as quickly as possible!" One ton of gold was useless in other bases during the apocalypse, but being able to exchange it for a thousand doses of serum that could save countless soldiers' lives and boost troop morale made this a very worthwhile deal.