Apocalyptic Sequence

Chapter 7 The Mother Monarch

The Mother Sovereign has been found!

Lu Fan's spirits lifted, and he felt a surge of joy. Just as he had expected, the other party had not yet transformed into a Mother Monarch and was merely an ordinary pregnant human.

In this situation, the difficulty of completing the task will be greatly reduced.

This is truly a stupid control panel; the tasks it gives out are so simple!

According to the mission requirements, the next step is to investigate the situation of the Mother Monarch... Thinking of this, Lu Fan took out a notebook and a pen that he had prepared in advance from his pocket.

Boom boom boom!

Lu Fan stood at the door and knocked three times.

The beautiful pregnant woman in the ward was drawn to his gaze, which turned to Lu Fan with a hint of wariness.

"Hello ma'am, I'm a psychology major at Jinling University, a transfer student currently conducting a survey." Lu Fan introduced himself directly, then took out his student ID from his pocket and handed it to the young pregnant woman.

"A student from Jinling University?"

The young pregnant woman paused for a moment, her wariness fading and replaced by curiosity.

Although Lu Fan's student ID card indicated that his major was Electronic Information, he said that he was a student who changed majors. He felt that his major was not suitable for him in his freshman year, and it is not uncommon for students to change majors in their sophomore year.

Because the student ID was genuine, it confirmed Lu Fan's student status, making the young pregnant woman less wary.

It can only be said that the name of Jinling University is indeed useful. It is worthy of being one of the top universities in China. At least in Suzhou Province, its reputation is not much worse than that of Beijing University.

"Are you conducting a survey?" the young pregnant woman asked, then replied warmly, "Ask me any questions you have. It's my honor to help students at Jinling University with this survey."

"Thank you, beautiful and kind lady."

Lu Fan nodded his thanks, then opened his notebook and began to ask, "What is your name?"

"Gu Shuiqin is twenty-nine years old this year and currently works as a clerk in the Water Resources Bureau..."

Gu Shuiqin introduced herself and began to talk about her situation: "My husband is a grassroots leader in the Radio and Television Bureau. We have been married for seven years. We met in college and got married."

At this point, a look of happiness appeared on Gu Shuiqin's face. It was clear that she was very satisfied with her marriage and family. Both of them were government employees with official positions, making them the envy of most people.

As he listened to the other person's story, Lu Fan silently wrote down the contents in his notebook with a fountain pen. Only he knew that the other person would become the Mother Monarch in three days, and the entire hospital would become a forbidden zone for humans.

Everything beautiful before my eyes is like a mirage in a dream, easily shattered with the slightest touch.

But Gu Shuiqin was completely oblivious and continued talking to herself.

Perhaps because of her pregnancy, she had a strong urge to confide in others.

From the moment they met until their marriage, she talked about everything that happened in her life, ignoring what Lu Fan asked her. It was like chatting about everyday things.

As he listened, Lu Fan frowned.

Gu Shuiqin's life has been smooth, just like that of a normal middle-class person, with nothing outrageous about it. However, since Gu Shuiqin was able to become the monarch of the mother body, there must be something extraordinary about her.

While listening to the other person's casual conversation, Lu Fan opened the control panel.

Sure enough, the task progress above has changed somewhat:

[Hint: The current task progress is 61%, meeting the completion requirements. Submit the task/do not submit?]

As Lu Fan gained a better understanding of Gu Shuiqin, the mission progress also increased, currently at 61%, which has reached the minimum submission standard—above 50% mission progress.

But Lu Fan, who is after a high reward, will certainly not hand it over easily.

He wanted to try the task's maximum completion rate, which is 200%.

To achieve this, we must figure out why Gu Shuiqin mutated into the Mother Monarch. This is definitely the key information to obtaining the 200% mission limit.

In other words, Lu Fan needs to find out the "unusual points" in Gu Shuiqin.

With this thought in mind, Lu Fan suddenly asked, "Ms. Gu, you should be about to give birth, right?"

"Yes, the doctor said that I could go into labor every day for the past week."

Gu Shuiqin smiled happily as she spoke of her hopes for the baby: "I really want a girl, a fair-skinned and tender girl, she would be the cutest angel in the world."

"Unfortunately, my husband wanted a boy. He's a bit old-fashioned and hopes someone will carry on the family line."

"Actually, whether it's a boy or a girl, he will always be my most beloved child..."

As she spoke, Gu Shuiqin suddenly hesitated for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.

Lu Fan caught this expression and felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately realized that Gu Shuiqin's unusual behavior was probably related to the topic they had just discussed.

Thinking of this, Lu Fan suddenly had an idea and said, "Ms. Gu, you seem to have some concerns about childbirth. Could you tell me about them? I'm a psychology major who switched majors, so perhaps I can help you."

These words struck Gu Shuiqin like a hammer blow, instantly breaking down her defenses.

Sure enough, a conflicted look appeared on her face, but considering that the two had been having a pleasant conversation and that the young man opposite her was a top student from Jinling University, whose academic qualifications were trustworthy.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Gu Shuiqin finally opened up and said, "Yes, I have some concerns about giving birth, mainly because I participated in a drug trial within the Federation before I got pregnant."

"Pharmaceutical trials?"

Lu Fan was shaken, but he tried his best to keep his face calm.

"Yes, it's supposedly a drug trial for a new drug." Gu Shuiqin's face fell into recollection as she began to explain, "The Eastern Federation is developing a new drug trial that has antibodies that enhance the human body. It's said to be able to immunize against most viruses. My husband and I both signed up because there are administrative bonuses for members of the system who participate in the trial."

"Those who participated in the drug trials will have priority when it comes to future promotions."

Could the ability to immunize against most viruses be related to the zombie virus? Is the Eastern Federation not inactive, but secretly researching ways to immunize against viruses? In an instant, Lu Fan thought of many things.

Because he has a player panel that allows him to foresee fragments of information about the future, he can deduce a lot of things.

Gu Shuiqin was different from him. As an ordinary employee, even though her husband was a low-level leader, she was not qualified to know about the apocalypse. This information was definitely a high-level secret.

Therefore, Gu Shuiqin only thought that it was an ordinary drug trial.

"Although the staff told me that this drug trial wouldn't affect the fetus," Gu Shuiqin said with a worried expression, revealing her hesitation.

"But it coincided with the timing of my pregnancy, and I'm worried that it might affect the fetus."

"My husband has the same concerns, after all, we both participated in the new drug trial."

"I hope the baby is okay..."

As she spoke, Gu Shuiqin raised her head and stared intently at Lu Fan: "Young man, do you think I'll be in any trouble?"

"You...you and the baby are definitely safe."

Lu Fan hesitated for a moment, but still said something against his will.

"Really? Thank you."

Gu Shuiqin smiled broadly, her mood becoming very pleasant.

It's clear that she's an easily satisfied person and a loving mother.

Lu Fan's mind grew heavier. Now that things had come to this, he knew the reason for the other party's change.

This is probably related to the new drug trial!

The Eastern Federation wanted to develop new antiviral drugs, but failed for some reason. Not only that, these new drugs also had negative effects, actually causing the virus to evolve and giving birth to the Mother Monarch.

However, it's not all bad news.

At least Lu Fan learned from the mental disability panel that half a month after the zombie virus outbreak, the Eastern Huang Federation still managed to develop a Z virus antibody that could effectively resist the virus threat. This success should be based on the new drug.

Therefore, the efforts of the Eastern Federation were ultimately effective, but at a cost.

Gu Shuiqin and her unborn child became part of this price.

The two became the mother monarchs.

Lu Fan opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to say any more words of blessing. Although he wasn't a saint, witnessing such a human tragedy still filled him with a heavy heart.

So he took the initiative to end the conversation:

"My questionnaire is finished. Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Gu Shuiqin."

"This should have helped you, right, young man from Jinling University?"

Gu Shuiqin smiled gently, her eyes full of kindness.

Lu Fan looked at the panel and found that the mission progress had increased to 200%, reaching the mission's upper limit.

Sure enough, the key secret was hidden in Gu Shuiqin's identity as a drug tester. Once the key point was determined, the mission progress immediately reached its limit.

"I must take my leave now, goodbye."

Lu Fan turned to leave, but at that moment, a young man walked towards him from the door of the ward.

The man was in his early thirties, wearing an executive jacket and dressed rather old-fashioned. When he saw Lu Fan, his eyes immediately showed wariness.

Lu Fan didn't intend to pay attention to the other party, but a notification sound popped up on his panel.

[Alert: Advanced zombie detected! Escape immediately!!!]

[Alert: Advanced zombie detected! Escape immediately!!!]

[Hint: Advanced zombie detected...]

High...high-level zombies?!

Lu Fan was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the strength of the high-level zombies should be greater than that of the elite zombies, and that they were the second-highest level of zombies after the Mother Monarch.

Low-level zombies, elite zombies, high-level zombies, and Mother Monarchs – these four levels, from lowest to highest, should represent the hierarchy of the zombie race.

So, Lu Fan couldn't help but glance at the man again, only to be met with a glare in return:

"Who are you? What are you doing in our ward?"

"Alright, don't make things difficult for him. He's a top student from Jinling University, here at the hospital to conduct a survey," Gu Shuiqin said, stopping her husband's actions. The two watched Lu Fan leave the ward.

As Lu Fan's figure disappeared outside the ward, the young man couldn't help but say, "Xiao Qin, don't keep talking to strangers. So what if he's a top student from Jinling University? Who knows if he's a fraud..."

"Deng Zhang!"

Gu Shuiqin called out the other person's name, angrily saying, "Are you jealous of him? Just because he's a little more handsome than you, right?"

"No, I would never be jealous of others," Deng Zhang said, contradicting himself.

"You're just jealous," Gu Shuiqin said confidently. As her husband's wife, whom she had known since college, she knew her husband's nature best.

"Hmph, I'm just concerned about you and the baby..."

Deng Zhang stubbornly replied, but then he noticed his wife's brow furrow slightly and, as if on cue, asked, "What's wrong? Are you still worried about the new drug's effects on the fetus?"

"Yes, I am a little worried."

Gu Shuiqin shared her thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Deng Zhang stepped forward and embraced Gu Shuiqin, offering words of comfort:

"Don't worry, the new drug trial is backed by the Eastern Federation and is guaranteed to be harmless to the fetus."

"We must trust the Federation."

Hearing her husband's words, Gu Shuiqin, a worker within the system, was slightly taken aback. The next second, she smiled gently and echoed her husband's words:

"That's right, we must trust the Federation."

.........

Outside the hospital, Lu Fan looked at his player panel.

[Hint: The current task progress is 200%, meeting the completion requirements. Submit the task/do not submit?]

"Submit the mission!"

Lu Fan chose to submit the task, and the next second, he received the reward.

[Hint: You have gained 600 experience points!]

[Hint: You have obtained a Silver Treasure Chest!]

600 experience points? That's 50% more than the 400 experience points indicated in the quest. Is this the extra reward for reaching the quest limit? Lu Fan's face lit up with joy, his gaze fixed on his backpack.

Due to the task limit, the original bronze treasure chest reward has been changed to a silver treasure chest.

At this moment, a silver-white treasure chest lies quietly inside the backpack.

This is the second silver treasure chest he has obtained!