Human Immortality Project

In 2321, a large-scale zombie virus broke out in the human world. More than 70% of humans died after being infected with the virus, and some became zombies. Their senses became extremely sensitive, and it was difficult for the army to hunt them. The zombies ate humans and other animals.

In 2403, people have spent nearly 100 years in struggle and hiding. In the underground city, a crazy old man is experimenting with zombies.

Raindrops hit the broken asphalt road. Michael Howard tightened the collar of his jacket and quickened his pace. The attack three weeks ago was still clearly imprinted in his mind - his mother was bitten on the left arm by the zombie that suddenly jumped out of the garage in order to protect him. Now, the virus is spreading in her body, and she must be injected with an inhibitor every twelve hours, otherwise...

One day, a 22-year-old boy named Michael wanted to find a medicine for his mother's heart disease. Because he had no money and could not afford the medicine, Michael came to an underground drug trading place under the introduction of a friend. This place is very suitable for people who have no money but have other resources, such as selling kidneys and selling labor. When he arrived at the place, the other party of the transaction, the owner John, asked him what he would trade, but he could not answer. So the assistant of the trading party secretly said to the owner, "Why not give him to the professor? Anyway, we owe him a corpse..." Haha ...

So the shop owner said: I'll take you to a place, and you just have to listen to the old man and do whatever he tells you to do. Deal?

Michael thought about how he needed the medicine urgently and didn't care about anything else. He gritted his teeth and said: Deal.

"It's just ahead." said a shop assistant.

"Are you sure the people here can help me?" Michael stopped and looked up at the unremarkable gray building in front of him. It looked like an abandoned pharmaceutical company warehouse, with the windows sealed with boards and the only entrance being a rusty iron door.

Henry turned around, the rain running down his cheeks, his eyes looked unusually bright under the dim street lights. "Of course, the inhibitor developed by the professor is three times more effective than those on the market. As long as you inject it regularly, your mother can live for at least another two years and won't turn into a zombie."

Two years. Michael repeated the number in his mind. In a world full of zombies, two years was already a miracle. He nodded and followed Henry towards the iron door.

To his surprise, as they approached, the iron doors slid open of their own accord, revealing a clean, brightly lit hallway that contrasted sharply with the building's run-down exterior.

"Welcome to the future." John grinned and walked in first.

Michael hesitated for a second, but thinking of his mother's painful expression, he followed. The door closed silently behind them, completely isolating the sound of rain from the outside world.

There was a metal door at the end of the corridor. Henry pressed his palm on the scanner next to it. The door opened and Michael gasped.

In front of him was a huge circular laboratory, with transparent glass display cases all around the walls, each display case displaying a zombie specimen. Some were dissected, revealing mutated internal organs; some were connected to various instruments, seemingly under continuous monitoring; and some looked almost intact, except for an unnatural bluish-gray skin.

"Don't worry, they are all securely fastened." Henry patted Michael's shoulder, "Come this way, the professor is waiting for you."

Michael forced himself to look away and followed Henry through the center of the laboratory. His footsteps echoed in the empty space, and the eyes in the display cases - some cloudy, some unusually bright - seemed to be staring at him.

"Ah, our guests have arrived."

A hoarse voice came from the shadows. Michael turned around and saw a white-haired old man standing up from behind the console. He was wearing a wrinkled white coat, and his eyes behind his glasses were small and sharp, like two black glass beads.

"I heard your name is Michael?" The old man - the professor - walked a few steps closer and looked Michael up and down. "How old are you?"

"Twenty... twenty-two years old." Michael felt uncomfortable. The question came too suddenly.

The professor suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of jagged yellow teeth. "Is it worth it for you to do this? Have you thought it through?"

Michael frowned. "What's the matter? I am a man of credit. Henry said you can provide better inhibitors for my mother. In exchange, I can help you collect medical supplies in the north of the city."

The professor laughed out loud, his voice unnaturally high and sharp. "Credibility! What a precious quality!" He turned to Henry. "Well done, Henry. Very good job."

Henry lowered his head and stepped aside. Michael then noticed that his expression was a little strange—his eyes were dull, but there was a strange smile on the corner of his mouth.

Michael stumbled back, knocking over a machine. "I'm a monster..." Michael looked at his mutated hand.

"Wait, what's going on?" Michael took a step back, suddenly feeling that something was wrong. "I'm just here to get the inhibitor."

"Oh, you will get it, dear Michael." The professor clapped his hands, and two tall men in protective suits walked in from the side door, "But before giving it to your mother, we need to test the effect first."

Michael turned and tried to run, but it was too late. The two men grabbed his arms, one on each side, with such force that he cried out in pain.

"Let me go! What are you doing, Henry?"

"What do you want to do, old man!" His voice trembled with fear.

The professor did not answer, but motioned for his men to secure Michael to the operating table. The metal straps buckled his wrists and ankles, and the cold touch made Michael tremble all over.

"I didn't expect to get a new test subject so soon." The professor walked to a control panel and pressed a few buttons. "Test subject No. 142, age 22, in excellent health... a perfect specimen."

Michael saw a transparent tube hanging from the ceiling, with a cold needle at the end. Inside the tube flowed a dark red liquid that was thicker than any inhibitor he had ever seen.

"No! Please!" Michael twisted his body frantically, "My mother needs me! She will be infected!"

The professor put on rubber gloves and adjusted the position of the needle. "Don't worry, kid. When you wake up, you will be much stronger than you are now. As for your mother," he smiled cruelly, "maybe she will become subject No. 142."

The needle pierced Michael's arm, and dark red liquid began to flow into his veins. Michael felt a sharp pain, as if fire was burning in his blood. He screamed, and his vision began to blur.

The last thing he saw was the professor's excited expression as he leaned over to observe him, and the words he heard before he lost consciousness:

"Let's see what interesting things we can create this time..."

Shocked!!! You are a carrier of the Delta 14 chromosome mutation!!! The professor shouted. Do you know the Delta 32 mutation? Those guys are naturally resistant to HIV, plague, Ebola virus... and this little guy is actually a Delta 14 chromosome mutation, hahahaha, I finally found it.

After humans are infected with the zombie virus, they will lose their human nature, but their cells will renew extremely quickly, and seem to be able to renew infinitely. This explains why zombies have not died of natural causes for nearly 100 years and still maintain strong vitality. No one knows how long they can live.

Oh my god, I finally found it, I finally found it, the old man laughed. After 30 years of research, he finally came up with a plan, which is to use the genes of zombies to edit, remove the toxic and negative genes, and then continue to purify, leaving only the genes for anti-virus and infinite cell renewal. The zombie virus is combined with the human body, and the purified virus is injected into the human body. Let the human body gain the vitality of the zombies, and this will make the zombies think that the new life form is their partner and will not attack their own people.

Michael woke up in a blinding white light.

His first feeling was cold—bitterly cold, as if someone had drained all the blood from his body and pumped liquid nitrogen in. He tried to move his fingers, but found his body heavy as if filled with lead.

"Subject No. 142's vital signs are stable and his neurological responses are normal." A familiar voice came from a distance, "72 hours after injection, initial fusion was successful."

Professor. Memories came flooding back - that laboratory, those zombies in the display cases, and that tube of dark red liquid...

Michael opened his eyes suddenly and found himself lying in a transparent medical cabin with dozens of tubes connected to his body. Outside the cabin, the professor was observing closely, his wrinkled face filled with childlike excitement.

"You're awake! My child!" the professor slapped the glass, "I knew you would be the special one!"

Michael wanted to speak, but found that his throat was too dry to make any sound. He looked down at his body - his skin was an unhealthy grayish white, with veins clearly visible, but the color was a strange dark purple.

"Don't worry, those are just temporary side effects." The professor pressed a button, and the lid of the medical cabin slowly opened. "Come on, try to sit up."

Michael struggled to hold up his upper body, every inch of his muscle protesting. When his hand touched the edge of the medical cabin, five clear dents were left on the metal surface.

"What...what did I do?" Michael looked at his hands in horror. His nails had grown thick and hard, their edges as sharp as knives.

"Amazing increase in strength. It seems that the muscle fiber reorganization is more successful than expected!" The professor wrote excitedly, "You know what, Michael? You are making history!"

Michael staggered out of the medical cabin, his legs shaking like a newborn fawn. A full-length mirror was pushed in front of him, and the image in the mirror made his stomach churn -

"What did you do to me?" Michael's voice was so hoarse that it was not human.

"I've given you eternal life, kid." The professor opened his arms. "Thirty years of research have finally paid off today!"

He pointed excitedly at the instruments and charts around him: "The most terrifying thing about the zombie virus is that it destroys human consciousness, but its genes can give cells the ability to renew infinitely. I separated these two characteristics, removed the toxicity, and only retained the strengthening part!"

"No! You're evolving!" the professor grabbed his shoulders enthusiastically, "Just think about it - your cells can now regenerate infinitely, wounds will heal in hours, and diseases can no longer harm you! What's even more amazing is..."

To be continued...