"Xiao Nan Ren, you and Xiao Mi Tao go explore the Laboratory. We'll talk to her."
Da Bai Tu realized that the girl they had bumped into was extremely guarded, especially towards Zuo Feng, a man. So, she decided to let Zuo Feng leave first, and then they would talk to the girl properly.
Zuo Feng nodded slightly and softly said to Xiao Mi Tao, "Xiao Mi Tao, let's go. We'll go see the Laboratory."
He also noticed that the girl was too wary of him, so it would be more appropriate for Da Bai Tu to handle it.
"Okay, Feng Ge, we just made a major discovery and were about to tell you."
Xiao Mi Tao immediately responded, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. She took Zuo Feng's hand and walked towards the Laboratory.
"Squeak, squeak!" Just as Zuo Feng and Xiao Mi Tao walked out of the living room, they were blocked by two small, flapping-winged spirit beasts that suddenly appeared, who were Mu Jingjing and Mu Lingling.
The two little beasts now stood with their small hands on their hips, extending their other small hands towards Zuo Feng, chirping "squeak, squeak" incessantly.
Zuo Feng was a bit confused and turned to Xiao Mi Tao, "What are they doing?"
Xiao Mi Tao covered her mouth and chuckled, explaining charmingly while holding Zuo Feng's arm, "Their plants suffered quite a bit of loss in the last big battle. They're asking you for compensation! My sister, Da Yuanyuan, and Xiao She Jing have all been asked for compensation by them. You and Qianqian-jie can't escape their 'claws' either. Just give them a few four-line loss crystals."
Zuo Feng heard this and couldn't help but laugh. These two little fellows were really clever, demanding compensation from all the girls who could control mutated species, not even sparing himself.
He took the few four-line loss crystals that Xiao Mi Tao handed him and gave them to Mu Jingjing and Mu Lingling.
The little beasts' eyes lit up. After taking the crystals, they flew away contentedly, probably going to find Da Bai Tu soon.
Hearing Xiao Mi Tao mention Mu Jingjing and Mu Lingling's losses, Zuo Feng couldn't help but ask, "How much were the plant losses in the last big battle, exactly?"
He hadn't been at the base for the past few days, so he didn't know the final battle damage in the plant blockade zone.
Xiao Mi thought for a moment and said:
"Leaf Blade Machine Gun and Burst Fruit Trees suffered the most severe losses. Almost all 300 Leaf Blade Machine Guns were destroyed.
Out of 200 Burst Fruit Trees, less than 20 remained.
150 Strangling Vines were severely damaged, with only 30 remaining.
Out of 150 flower pistil giant trees, only about 20 remained.
Out of 20 Devouring Flowers, 12 were either crippled or killed.
The 5 Python Branch Giant Trees suffered the least damage, but still required a lot of loss crystals to replenish their consumption."
Zuo Feng's brows furrowed after hearing this. These plants were not only a defensive barrier but also Mu Jingjing and Mu Lingling's attack methods. Zuo Feng hadn't expected that just the escaped Peerless Apocalypse members would cause such extensive damage to the plants.
"Can those plants be repaired again, as long as there are loss crystals? Do they have enough loss crystals now?" Zuo Feng asked in a deep voice.
Xiao Mi Tao nodded, "Yes, as long as there are enough loss crystals, Mu Jingjing and Mu Lingling can nurture them again, as long as they don't exceed the upper limit."
At this point, Xiao Mi Tao stuck out her tongue sheepishly, "Feng Ge, don't worry. After the battle, my sister already compensated Mu Jingjing with enough loss crystals. Their current demands are just to 'extort' a little more loss crystals."
Zuo Feng felt a little relieved upon hearing this and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
Among these companion beasts, Mu Jingjing and Mu Lingling were probably the cleverest, yet everyone spoiled them. There was truly nothing they could do about them.
Zuo Feng put his arm around Xiao Mi Tao's slender waist and walked towards the Laboratory on the fifth underground floor, asking softly, "By the way, what was the major discovery you mentioned about the experiment?"
Xiao Mi Tao responded, "It's about the potion that can turn ordinary people into Mutants. After this period of research, we've made a new discovery: that potion might have hidden dangers. However, it's just a speculation right now. Professor Yan will explain it to you in detail in the Laboratory later."
Zuo Feng's steps faltered slightly as he pondered the seriousness of the potion's hidden dangers.
The potion that could turn ordinary people into Mutants had always been Zuo Feng's most concerned project. If there were indeed hidden dangers, it would not be a good thing.
He quickened his pace, heading towards the Laboratory.
When the two arrived on the fifth underground floor, over a hundred researchers were busy at work.
Professor Yan was an old man over sixty, with white hair but a vigorous spirit, intently observing a sample under a microscope.
Seeing Zuo Feng and Xiao Mi Tao enter, Professor Yan looked up, pushed his reading glasses up his nose, and greeted them with a smile, "Leader, Xiao Yu, you're here. Coincidentally, I just made a further discovery that I need to tell you about."
Professor Yan pointed to the sample under the microscope and said:
"Leader, this potion, our previous research, was developed using a special type of Six Horizontal Bars zombie virus as its core component.
The potion's properties are extremely violent, but its essence is to stimulate the human body's potential through its violent properties, prompting ordinary people to mutate.
This is also why the success rate is only 1%.
Previously, in the Wild Wolf Gang, due to rudimentary experimental equipment, we couldn't conduct further analysis and optimization, and the Wild Wolf Gang was eager to use it.
This led to subsequent improvements and optimizations being stagnant.
But now with more advanced equipment, we've discovered that while the viral components in the potion stimulate potential, they also pose significant hidden dangers."
Zuo Feng's brows furrowed, and he asked in a deep voice, "What exactly are the hidden dangers? What kind of impact will they have on Mutants?"
Professor Yan sighed, "Preliminary speculation suggests that although the potion can cause ordinary people to mutate, the raw materials of the potion itself are derived from Six Horizontal Bars zombies.
We only confirmed today that there is an unremovable zombie virus in the potion!
This means that people who become Mutants using this potion will have the zombie virus latent in their bodies, which may lead to uncontrollable mutations in the long term."
Upon hearing this, Zuo Feng's face changed dramatically, and a chill ran through him.
He knew the horror of the zombie virus well. If this were true, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xiao Mi Tao also looked worried and asked softly, "If that's the case, wouldn't those Mutants who used the potion become half-human, half-zombie beings?"
She had only just received the speculation that the potion had hidden dangers and hadn't expected Professor Yan to reach such a clear conclusion overnight, and that the problem was so severe.
However, it was fortunate that Feng Ge had never used the potion in Firefly due to its low success rate, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Professor Yan nodded gravely, "That's right, and the most important point is that this latent zombie virus is highly likely to merge with human abilities.
The zombie virus will continuously grow stronger within the Mutant's body, completely forming a symbiotic relationship with their abilities. Once the virus completely erodes the Mutant's genes, they will lose their minds and become zombies that only know how to kill.
Moreover, because they were once Mutants, they will definitely not be weaker than mutated zombies after becoming zombies, and as new fusion entities, they might even be more powerful than vertical bar mutated zombies!"