The test subjects were still only those on the verge of death, people whose breathing was about to stop. Anyone who could hang on a little longer, Captain Zhou refused to hand over.
They only had a small amount of medicine on hand, so they decided to make two or three doses first and run a trial. If it worked, they'd think about mass production. Otherwise, if it failed, making more in advance would just waste precious resources.
As soon as the vaccine was created, it was injected into the patients. The clinical observation was handled by the three professors, together with Xi Yu.
At first, the professors didn't think much of Xi Yu. Sure, they knew he was Professor Pei's student, but he was still so young.
Who would've thought that this very youth would actually create a working vaccine?
After the injections, the patients' temperatures shot up. The fever burned for a short while, then fell, then rose again in cycles. After several rounds, the fevers finally broke. Even better, the patients actually woke up.
They were still weak, and their appetites hadn't returned, but they hadn't mutated and they were conscious. That meant the vaccine worked. Still, it was only a delay. The mutant virus wasn't gone from their bodies, so the fevers returned. But unlike before, people didn't collapse into comas, and their energy was much better.
Could something like that really be cleared from the body?
Xi Yu said, "It's fine if we can't clear it yet. As long as they don't mutate while alive, and we burn them immediately after death, it'll work. What worries me is if the mutation traits get passed to the next generation."
So the research had to continue. For now, survival came first.
Once Xi Yu confirmed the vaccine was safe, he sent the data to the leaders of A City's base. They immediately began mass production and rolled it out.
From first production to every patient getting vaccinated, to the final clinical checks, the whole process took only two weeks.
Two weeks later, out of 470,000 residents, not a single one was left in a coma. After one more week of observation, the decision was unanimous: everyone could move back into the base.
The news was nothing short of thrilling.
The polar day had ended and the polar night had begun, but the extreme heat hadn't let up. The sun no longer blazed directly overhead, yet the temperatures still sat above sixty degrees. Fans and ice blocks did little to ease the stifling heat.
On top of that, with everyone sick these past weeks, no one had bathed properly. The stench on people's bodies was suffocating. But they were alive, and no one dared complain. These were small things they could endure. Now, though, they could go back to the base, back to proper showers. Who wouldn't be eager? The joy was so overwhelming people almost shouted in celebration.
Of course, with so many people, they couldn't all leave at once. The first group had to be the children.
Leading the escort team were Captain Zhang, Captain Wang, Lan Jin, and Nana. With a few squad members, they immediately took the kids toward the base.
The military base members followed, then the official base people. By the time the last group set out, Captain Zhang and the others had already reached A City's gates.
Even the children weren't exempt from security checks. The old fever scanners were useless now, so the guards brought out new machines. A quick sweep over each child's body, two beeps, and they were cleared to pass.
Captain Zhang frowned. "What's this? I don't remember seeing it before."
The base guards explained, "It's a new detector. If there's anything abnormal inside the body, the alarm will go off immediately. The fever scans just don't cut it anymore."
The kids passed without issue, same as always. Once they were safely through, it was the adults' turn. Again, nothing came up, and everyone passed.
After that, the procedure was the same: orderly lines, IDs checked, and residence permits verified.
Most of the kids had homes before leaving the base. Back then, they stayed with their parents. But now…
Captain Zhang sighed. "Most of you don't have parents to go back to anymore. For now, you'll all stay in the kindergarten. If your parents show up later, they can pick you up then."
He added, "That includes you too, Lan Qiaoqiao."
Qiao Qiao shouted in protest, "Why? My Mama's here!"
Captain Zhang explained, "Your Mama's still got work to do. Once she's finished, she'll bring you home. If you go with her now, there's no one to take care of you."
Lan Jin crouched down and said gently, "It's alright, Qiao Qiao. Stay here for now. Once I'm done, I'll come pick you up, okay?"
Qiao Qiao pouted but nodded. "Okay… but Mama, don't forget me."
That settled it. Qiao Qiao stayed with the other children in the kindergarten dorms.
As for Lan Jin and the others, they were assigned housing as semi-military personnel. The conditions here were better than outside. The four of them received two apartments, each with two bedrooms and a living room.
It didn't really split them apart though, since the apartments were directly across from each other on the same floor, and that floor only had two units total. It was practically the same as living together.
But this move-in was different from the last one. Before, even with semi-official status, they'd had to pay rent. Here, no one mentioned rent at all. The housing was given as if they were full members of the base.
The generosity left everyone uneasy.
Lao Gao pulled Captain Zhang aside and asked, "Captain Zhang, what's going on? Why aren't they charging contribution points?"
Captain Zhang grinned. "Isn't it better this way? Free housing."
Lao Gao didn't look convinced.
Lan Jin muttered softly, "Nothing's ever truly free. If they're giving it away, the cost must be hidden somewhere."