With the mastermind dead, the rest was simple: merely recovering this abnormal energy.
The abnormal energy in this world was a liquid-like substance. Takagi probably extracted energy from this substance, injected it into himself through research, and that's how he became like this.
He also admired these people's penchant for causing trouble. Had their consciousness been so eroded by this energy that they would do such things?
It's likely that the virus leaking out was also his doing, aiming to test the virus's reactions on humans and then develop the most suitable antidote for them.
Before he could develop the most suitable antidote, Inaba Tsukiyo had already dealt with him.
If this antidote research continued, it would only destroy this world, or humanity would cleanse this world with nuclear weapons, plunging it into a so-called nuclear winter.
To save this world, Inaba Tsukiyo didn't hesitate to become Bear Grylls, directly drinking this liquid like Coca-Cola to integrate this power.
She had already bathed in this energy before, so drinking it was a very simple matter.
[Ugh!]
Alright, she accidentally ate too much. She didn't know how much of this energy there was, it was actually a bit much for her to handle.
But the energy of this world could actually manifest in liquid form. Was it to allow others to discover this energy and accelerate the arrival of the apocalypse?
The purpose of establishing this institute was to research methods for eternal life. Originally, they wanted to extend life through methods of rejuvenation, but then they discovered a method to strengthen the body, and they went further and further down this dark path.
After dealing with this Takagi, Inaba Tsukiyo took the only few bottles of antidote from the institute and left with the obedient Researcher.
To research the antidote, the Researcher took the necessary research equipment. Some things were too costly to produce from scratch, so it was better to take what was readily available.
Shortly after they left, a violent explosion suddenly occurred on the ground. The vibrations from the explosion caused the ground to collapse, like an earthquake.
The strong tremors startled those who were sleeping. Everyone frantically grabbed their weapons, thinking someone had come to attack them with anti-tank weapons.
After not finding any so-called anti-tank weapons or zombie attacks, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Just as they were about to get up and start working, they saw Inaba Tsukiyo appear with a dozen people in white lab coats.
This left them puzzled. Where did she find these people, not sleeping at night?
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't explain much, only saying that these people were scientists abandoned by the military, who had been in nearby buildings all along, and they still had a lot of military equipment that could be used.
The first piece of military equipment was an EMP-proof vehicle, a truly large vehicle, a double-decker bus type that could seat dozens of people at once; everyone could fit inside without a problem.
In fact, this was not from the institute at all, but entirely conjured by Inaba Tsukiyo herself, based on the double-decker bus she saw on the road, then created as a vehicle.
While making the bus, she thought of the design philosophy of Schicksal and incorporated Schicksal's devices and Anti-Entropy's titan.
She knew something others didn't: these two double-decker buses were actually Transformers. With detailed operation knowledge, they could transform into Transformers, specifically those over five meters tall.
Facing these two double-decker buses, Hirano Toda didn't quite believe that these were military vehicles. He was a military enthusiast, after all! He had never heard of such things.
No matter how he asked, the Researcher insisted that these were military research products, undisclosed because they belonged to secret research.
Of course, when they said this, even they didn't believe it, but it was a pre-arranged script, and they had to use it to fool people.
There was nothing he could do; since the other party had said so, Hirano Toda couldn't say much. Anyway, this bus looked very cool, and that was good enough.
However, Busujima Saeko and Takagi Saya noticed something was amiss. Inaba Tsukiyo had just spoken about the government's issues last night, and the very next day, as soon as they woke up, she brought out so many government Researchers. It would be strange if there wasn't some trickery involved.
Under the protection of the hummer and the double-decker bus, the group successfully arrived at Shinkawa Third Elementary School, where they met Miyamoto Rei's father and Komuro Takashi's parents.
Both Miyamoto Rei and Komuro Takashi were very happy that their parents were still alive. Shinkawa Third Elementary School was also surprised by the strength displayed by Inaba Tsukiyo and the others.
After confirming that Inaba Tsukiyo and the others posed no threat, the survivors at Shinkawa Third Elementary School allowed them to enter and rest there for a while.
Here, Inaba Tsukiyo saw many police officers. Among them were many with good positions, and a few government officials were mixed in as well.
Recalling that the government's experiments were conducted with foreign countries, she couldn't help but feel that not all police officers were trustworthy.
Fortunately, after seeing their parents, Komuro Takashi and Miyamoto Rei both chose not to stay, but instead left with Inaba Tsukiyo and the others, heading towards the countryside they had found on the map.
Before heading to the countryside, everyone gathered a lot of cement and tools for building walls, so they wouldn't have to run back and forth transporting items.
Because of the double-decker bus, they spent much less time on the road, and traveling this way was also very safe.
By the time they reached the countryside, it was already night.
Luckily, there were still a few usable flashlights in the research institute. The strongest among them, led by Inaba Tsukiyo, first cleared the Zombies there. Only after confirming it was safe did they let the others in.
Upon inspection, the farmlands and livestock here were still intact. It seemed these Zombies truly weren't interested in these things.
This discovery greatly boosted the team's morale; now they wouldn't have to worry about food issues.
"So, can you tell me what exactly you did, Tsukiyo-chan? Sneaking out behind our backs and bringing back all these scientists, what exactly did you do?"
Inaba Tsukiyo, Takagi Saya, Busujima Saeko, and others gathered together. While the others were busy, Takagi Saya finally asked her question.
"Did what? I just found a very interesting place, and then I found a little answer in that place."
"It's just that the place was a bit dangerous, and it was already very late. There was nothing I could do, so I went to that place alone to take a look, and I didn't expect to see so many interesting things."
"Interesting things? These people you brought back, they wouldn't happen to be the Researchers the government used to study the virus, would they?"
Takagi Saya said incisively. The scent on these Researchers was too obvious, and for Inaba Tsukiyo to bring them back, they definitely weren't useless people.
The only explanation was that these Researchers were the ones studying the virus, and Inaba Tsukiyo's purpose in bringing them back was actually to research an antidote.
"..."
For a moment, everyone present fell silent. Everyone looked at Inaba Tsukiyo, awaiting her answer.
"Honestly, being so smart about certain things isn't always a good thing, Saya."
Tilting her head, Inaba Tsukiyo said with a hint of distress.
She would have to reveal these things sooner or later, but because of Takagi Saya, she might have to announce these secrets earlier.
"Hmph! I am the brains of this team. As the leader of this team, you actually wanted to hide things from us; that's your fault."
"We are already partners who have faced life and death together. Can't you still trust us? We gave up our families to choose to act with you."
It made her sound like a heartless person. She didn't seem to stop them; they voluntarily chose to act with her.
Also, wasn't Takagi Saya's villa attacked by Zombies? Her leaving with them was also just to survive, right?
"Alright, alright. Goodness, I'll tell you, isn't that enough? Anyway, you'll find out about this sooner or later, so there's no harm in letting you know a little earlier."
Inaba Tsukiyo took out a special briefcase that she had brought out when she left the research institute.
Inside were three blue test tubes. Anyone who wasn't a fool would understand what the liquid inside the test tubes represented.
"This is a vaccine. As long as you inject this vaccine, even if you are bitten by a Corpse, you won't turn into a Corpse. Moreover, people who have been injected with the vaccine will not become targets for the Corpse."
Instantly, everyone's eyes became fervent. Even if they were bitten, they wouldn't become a Corpse, and they wouldn't even be a target for the Corpse?
This was something everyone wanted. As long as they injected this, they wouldn't have to worry about safety and could live safely.
However, everyone suppressed the fervor in their hearts. They weren't stupid; Inaba Tsukiyo showing them this definitely had a reason, and whoever dared to take it, Inaba Tsukiyo definitely wouldn't let them off.
"I don't know if there are vaccines elsewhere; I only found these three bottles of vaccine. Besides injecting three people, another method is to hand them over to those Researchers and let them research more vaccines through these vaccines."
"Save yourselves, and save the world. What is your choice?"
The question suddenly became much more profound, and everyone didn't know how to answer it.
Many people would choose the latter, but some would choose the former because they didn't want to die, and some would think that since there were three vaccines, even if he used one, there would still be other vaccines for the Researchers to study.
To survive, humans can come up with many bad ideas, and even if they know it's wrong, they will act on them.
These people did not escape Inaba Tsukiyo's eyes. Once they had such thoughts, they were already out of the running for high positions in the safe zone.
Inaba Tsukiyo would absolutely not hand over power to these people. Even if power corrupts a person's heart, it is still better than giving it to those with malicious intentions.
"The last thing is about the country that cooperated with the government to develop this virus... I hope you are prepared."
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