LCFM Chapter 55

One after another, helicopters equipped with heavy firearms swept through the infected upstairs and downstairs, clearing them out in the shortest possible time.

The soldiers and medical staff quickly brought the situation under control.

Those on the rooftop, seeing this, collapsed straight onto the ground, gasping for breath. They were grateful to have survived the ordeal.

“Kang Cheng!” A military officer strode over. “Which one of you is the person with natural antibodies?”

It was Chief Yu, the one who had led Kang Cheng before.

Kang Cheng immediately snapped to attention, turned his head, and pointed. “That’s him. His surname is Jiang—Jiang Xinghuai.”

Jiang Xinghuai was still in Fu Yan’s arms, the two of them holding and kissing each other.

Chief Yu: “……”

Chief Yu asked, “Which one?”

“…The younger one,” Kang Cheng clarified, then added, “The other is the head of Fu Lin Pharmaceuticals, and also one of the people I mentioned in my report who managed to extract a temporary suppressant on his own.”

“Get on the helicopter first,” Chief Yu ordered with a wave of his hand, turning away.

Everyone was ushered onto the aircraft.

Dozens of helicopters quickly lifted off, pulling away from the ground.

The light of the rising sun once again spilled over the desolate city and its empty streets.

“I heard the main base is underground?” Jiang Xinghuai asked curiously, looking at Chief Yu sitting across from him.

“It’s not entirely underground. Just most of it,” Chief Yu replied. His face was long and square, his expression stern. “It used to be a large air-raid shelter. Later, the state expanded it into an emergency refuge. Following the disaster, our country undertook another major expansion and reconstruction. That place now has absolute isolation and absolute safety.”

That absolutely isolated and absolutely safe base appeared before Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes about an hour later.

He looked through the helicopter window at the vast and solemn facility.

Around the perimeter of the main base rose tall silver iron fences, patrolling vehicles, and heavily armed guard towers.

And on the enormous landing field, what caught his eye was—

“Holy crap! Fighter jets! Actual fighter jets like in the movies!” Jiang Xinghuai exclaimed in astonishment. “Fu Yan, look!”

“Sit properly. We’re landing,” Fu Yan said, checking the safety belt around Jiang Xinghuai’s waist and turning his head away from the window.

The helicopter descended slowly in a swirl of wind, and the cabin door swung open.

A group of people in military uniforms and white lab coats stood waiting in strict formation directly in front of them.

“What’s… going on?” Jiang Xinghuai stared at the imposing sight, hastily running his fingers through his hair and straightening his clothes. Leaning closer to Fu Yan, he lowered his voice. “They’re here to welcome us? No way… Hey, is that the Premier? Oh my god—”

“Stand still.” Fu Yan chuckled, brushing some dust off Jiang Xinghuai’s sleeve and tugging his clothes neatly into place.

Chief Yu stepped forward, stood at attention, and saluted. After exchanging a few words with the people ahead, a middle-aged man, looking spirited and energetic, walked over.

“Comrade Jiang Xinghuai, hello,” the man said, grasping Jiang Xinghuai’s hand excitedly.

“H-hello, hello,” Jiang Xinghuai replied, a bit nervous. He had only ever seen this man on the news before.

“You’re the second person in the country to show signs of self-recovery. This will be a tremendous boost to our vaccine research.” The middle-aged man’s joyful expression faltered slightly as he continued, “I heard the first person with natural antibodies was a young girl, but she unfortunately passed away. We are deeply saddened by her loss.”

It was Qian Ranran. That lively, clever little girl.

Jiang Xinghuai had watched her close her eyes for the last time. Hearing her name mentioned again, he fell silent.

“Xiao Fu!” someone suddenly called out from the welcoming group. A white-haired old man in a lab coat came rushing straight toward Fu Yan.

“Teacher,” Fu Yan quickly took a few steps forward to meet him.

The two of them embraced tightly.

“I never thought I’d see you again!” the old man said, giving Fu Yan a firm slap on the back.

Fu Yan, rarely this emotional, had reddened eyes. “Teacher, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. When the virus first broke out, the state transferred me right away. I just… couldn’t take care of you.” As the old man spoke, tears began to fall. He had watched Fu Yan grow up as his neighbor. Later, Fu Yan became his student.

The old man had never married and had no children of his own. He had treated Fu Yan almost like his own grandson.

Later, Fu Yan’s parents, who were frontline researchers studying the X-virus, went to Africa to provide aid and never returned. The two of them were, in this world, the closest people to each other.

“I filed so many reports trying to locate you. Then, not long ago, I finally received word that the Beijing Military District had found you. I immediately submitted another report to have you transferred here. But just a few days later, I got the news that the entire Beijing Military District had been wiped out. At that time, I… I…”

“It’s alright, Teacher. I’m fine.” Fu Yan held back his tears and gently comforted the old man, who was choking on sobs. “See? I’m still here, safe and sound.”

It was Jiang Xinghuai’s first time seeing Fu Yan show such emotion toward anyone. Watching the old man cry until he was gasping for breath, Jiang Xinghuai had no idea what to do. He patted his pants pocket, then his jacket, fumbling awkwardly. Until Chief Yu, standing beside him, quietly handed him a tissue.

“This is Academician Ou, the current head of the scientific team leading vaccine research,” Chief Yu introduced.

“Ou… Ou…” Jiang Xinghuai stammered nervously as he handed over the tissue.

“Teacher, this is Jiang Xinghuai,” Fu Yan said, taking the tissue from him to gently wipe the old man’s tears. Then he took Jiang Xinghuai’s hand and introduced him. “You can call him Xing Xing.”

“So this is the young man whose body produced natural antibodies,” Academician Ou said, gradually calming down. He looked at Fu Yan, then at the two of them holding hands, and paused for a moment before smiling. “Then Xing Xing can call me Grandpa.”

“Ah… Hello, Grandpa.” Jiang Xinghuai’s expression was uncertain, with a hint of confusion.

Fu Yan found his expression amusing and patted his head. “My teacher is family to me. Don’t be so tense.”

“I’ll take it from here,” Academician Ou said, patting Fu Yan on the shoulder. “We’ll head back to the Academy of Sciences first for some basic tests and analysis.”

The group quickly moved to the research institute. Jiang Xinghuai changed into a loose, all-white outfit and spent half an hour completing a series of basic examinations and blood draws.

They drew quite a bit of blood, leaving Jiang Xinghuai a little dizzy.

“His body’s very healthy. Nutrition’s a bit lacking, but that’s not a big issue,” Academician Ou said as he removed the needle. Fu Yan took a cotton ball and pressed it gently over the puncture.

“You okay?” Fu Yan asked.

“A bit dizzy,” Jiang Xinghuai replied honestly.

“Then make sure to eat a good meal later. Young people regenerate blood quickly,” Academician Ou said with a smile. After removing his gloves, he reached out to pat Jiang Xinghuai’s head. “But still, thank you for the contribution you’ve made to the country’s vaccine research.”

“It’s what I should do, really,” Jiang Xinghuai said, waving his hands repeatedly.

“The country will reward you. Is there anything you want?” Academician Ou asked with a chuckle.

“Skip the college entrance exam. Go straight to university,” Jiang Xinghuai blurted out without thinking.

Fu Yan: “…”

“Uh…” Academician Ou thought for a moment. “I’ll… try to apply for that.”

“Really? You can do that?” Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes lit up.

“Of course not,” Fu Yan said, patting his head before lifting him. “Teacher, I’ll take him with me first.”

“Alright. Your dorms have already been assigned. I’ll have someone take you there,” Academician Ou said, escorting them to the entrance of the Academy of Sciences. Then he turned to Fu Yan and added, “Starting tomorrow, come help me. You’ll be my assistant.”

“What about me? What can I do?” Jiang Xinghuai, no longer dizzy, jumped out of Fu Yan’s arms.

“What do you want to do?” Fu Yan asked, holding his hand as they followed the person leading the way ahead.

“Play games,” Jiang Xinghuai said, then paused and added, “Play games next to you.”

“When the virus is stabilized and everything’s under control, the college entrance exam will still happen. So what you should be doing is your homework,” Fu Yan replied, then added, “You can do your homework next to me.”

Jiang Xinghuai: “…”

And that was how Jiang Xinghuai began his college entrance exam preparation.

Teacher Geng was in charge of his science subjects, while Fu Yan took care of the humanities.

Kang Cheng, during his field missions, was responsible for bringing back study materials for him.

While studying until his head spun, Jiang Xinghuai also had to cooperate with regular blood draws.

Life was monotonous, dull, but safe.

The dangerous, terrifying world outside seemed to have slipped away from him in an instant. But Zhu Gaofei, that chubby guy, was still lying in the medical ward. He was lying there for so long he’d practically lost weight.

As long as the virus hadn’t been eradicated, as long as the vaccine hadn’t been fully developed, that dangerous world was still separated from them by just a single wall.

Half a month later, two more people joined Jiang Xinghuai in the lab for blood draws—a middle-aged man and a young woman.

One had been escorted from Hunan by the military, another from the Shenyang unit. Both were antibody carriers.

After the early chaos and panic, the national military gradually regrouped, the people began organizing their own defenses, and the entire country united with one heart and mind.

A month later, the vaccine research made a breakthrough and entered the experimental stage.

Two months later, China successfully developed Vaccine No. 1 and began its rollout. There were no adverse reactions, no side effects.

The six-month-long battle against the virus finally began to draw to a slow close.

“How much longer until we move out?” Jiang Xinghuai asked, slumped over the lab table, watching Fu Yan, who was busy checking data with his assistant.

Fu Yan was now in charge of vaccine production and testing. He was busy every single day. Jiang Xinghuai, on the other hand, had nothing to do. Life inside the base was so confined that he was practically growing mold from boredom.

“The mutant variants still need to be tracked and eliminated. Their attack power is too strong. They’re still a threat.” Fu Yan handed the verified data to his assistant. “This batch can be released.”

The assistant nodded, took the documents, and glanced at Jiang Xinghuai with a smile. “Did you finish your homework today?”

Jiang Xinghuai: “…”

For the past two months, he’d been following Fu Yan around everywhere, clutching his homework and racking his brains every day. Now, everyone he ran into would ask the same question—Did you finish your homework today?

“Mm, the virus is basically under control now. The college entrance exam isn’t far off,” Fu Yan added.

Jiang Xinghuai: “…”

He turned to leave, but then remembered what he had just gotten, and held himself back. Waiting until the assistant had gone, he quietly shuffled closer to Fu Yan.

“Let me show you something,” Jiang Xinghuai whispered as he opened the pocket of his jacket.

“What is it?” Fu Yan set down his report and looked down.

When he saw what was inside, his eyes darkened slightly. He reached out and pinched Jiang Xinghuai’s ear. “Where did you get that?”

“I applied for it from the state!” Jiang Xinghuai said proudly.

Fu Yan: “…”

“Let’s do it tonight,” Jiang Xinghuai said with a mischievous grin, wrapping his arms around Fu Yan’s neck. “We shouldn’t have any blood draws coming up, right?”

Fu Yan slid one arm around his waist, the other naturally supporting him from below, and lifted him straight up.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Jiang Xinghuai was caught off guard. Even after being set down on the small cot Fu Yan used for his afternoon naps, he still hadn’t reacted. “Why are you taking off your clothes?”

“What do you think?” Fu Yan pressed down toward him.

Author’s note:

And here the story ends. In a few days, I’ll be releasing some free extras on Weibo about the post-disaster rebuilding and the things they do as adults. It’s just a small token of my gratitude.

Writing this story was truly difficult. I’d never written a plot-heavy piece like this before. Somewhere along the way, I lost control and strayed from my original focus. Once it went off track, I couldn’t pull it back, and it became painful to continue. Honestly, I even thought about unpublishing it and just giving up. But I didn’t expect that so many readers would, instead, comfort and encourage me. Your understanding and support are what allowed me to finish this. Every time I read your comments, I reminded myself that I owe it to everyone who followed this story to give it an ending.

I truly, truly thank you all.

Lastly, and I feel a bit shy saying this, but please continue to support me. I’ll keep working hard.

Moonlit: Unfortunately, I can’t access the extras since I don’t have Weibo. If you want to provide the raws(screenshot of the post or document/file), you can dm me on Discord.

Thank you for reading! See ya on my other projects.

Check my carrd.co for more.