MTLNOVEL Chapter 677: The Serum
Asad wasn't a member of his Clan and only had a Temporary Residence Token given. Still, it shouldn't be that surprising if he was somehow enticed into joining his organization.
After all, Asad was one of the strongest Survivors around, and once he saw how good and rich his Shelters were, he knew that he would be able to spend his money well within his territory. Indeed, Shane knew that Asad was rich, and with the numerous Merchants entering his shelters and also his own stores supplied by his Anima Store and his Fairy Realm pocket dimension, he would surely want to live in it.
After all, Asad must've wanted a comfortable place, a safe shelter, and a place filled with people or shops where he could obtain anything that he needed.
"Anyway… I'll just invite him later." Shane mused as he turned his attention to the shelter.
The Eclipse Domain should be in pretty good condition. Their distillation tower wasn't damaged and the residential area was still fairly safe.
Furthermore, their last two internal Barriers were still active.
'I need to check the other shelters.' Shane mused as he confirmed that their Domain shouldn't have any pressing matters right now.
He might as well check the situation on other shelters.
***
Within the Springriver Manor, even after confirming the end of the Zombie Wave, Loreen hadn't stopped working.
Her hands were stained with dried disinfectants, her sleeves rolled up, and although she should be tired by now, the Dragon Potion that she just consumed made her active once again...
While others celebrated or mourned, she remained at her station—the medical bay of the Manor.
Loreen was one of the five captives of the Mystic Mirage Clan, but since her rescue, she'd refused to live as a mere survivor.
Instead, with her Enhanced Reflexes Talent and Intermediate Medical Skills, she learned how to pick up a scalpel, the bandages, and the responsibility of healing others.
Though her medical training was limited, Anna had been mentoring her through manuals, live comms, and shared experience files via the Clan Interface.
While Anna led the medical forces in the Eclipse Domain, Loreen was holding Springriver together with other medical practitioners.
Her station was simple but functional. There were rows of beds and wooden shelves filled with solutions, bandages, and alchemy potions. Various glass containers glowed faintly, most filled with regenerative salves or concoctions made from the herbs that Shane's collected from the Fairy Realm.
Despite its size, the medical bay had already welcomed more than forty patients within the past six hours alone.
Some arrived with fractured ribs and shattered limbs, victims of shockwaves from exploding Spitter Zombies or crushed under falling debris.
Others came in with lacerations. Deep wounds from clawed Zombies or just thrown weaponry. Loreen moved from bed to bed with urgency, assisted only by two scavengers-turned-volunteer medics named Keller and Mina.
"Pain suppressant first—Saffron Serum, one vial, IV route…" She ordered.
"Already done, Loreen…" Mina nodded, carefully holding the arm of a burn victim while securing the serum line.
"Good. I need the moss balm for his left leg. Then cover it with the enhanced bandage. No gaps."
Among the most valuable items in their inventory were:
Enhanced Bandages, infused with anti-corruption properties to stop infection spread. Spirit-Salve Ampoules, small vials made by Anna herself to accelerate cell recovery. Gentle Vein Stimulants, an herbal stimulant used to prevent coma from blood loss. Suppressive Tonic, a rare anti-shock fluid crafted from anti-venom roots.
They needed these items since the Aura Sentinel Token and other tokens that Shane had given to them were only effective on injuries.
However, diseases, poison, infections, and others couldn't be cured by such items. Because of that, these materials made by Anna and many others were still important.
As the excitement from the victory began to wane, Loreen was soon flooded with patients who were rushed in. Four of them were marked with something Loreen immediately recognized. They were dull veins under the skin, slight tremors, and a blackened eye.
These symptoms were unmistakable signs of early-stage infection.
One of her assistants gasped. "Stage 1 infections!"
Loreen's expression didn't shift. "Get them isolated. Quarantine beds 1 to 4."
The room moved swiftly as they received new orders... Everyone knew that Stage 1 was still treatable—but delay it, and the patient could turn into a Zombie.
Basically, if the infected was a Survivor that was only Level 20 and below, turning into a Zombie might just take a few minutes from being infected.
However, once the level got higher, the turning duration increased as well.
In this case, the patients were all level 40 and above. Thanks to that, they had some time to treat them.
Loreen's hands trembled slightly as she reached for a box stored in the refrigerated cabinet at the corner of the room. It wasn't because she was nervous, but she was starting to get tired.
She really needed to sleep after this…
Clack…
After opening the box, Loree saw eight remaining doses of the experimental that Shane had looted from the abandoned medical facility before.
Most of these doses had been experimented and cloned by Anna already but the ones in front of her were eight of the 50 or so original serums.
[ Item: Super Soldier Serum – Perfect Variant: A super enhanced Super Soldier Serum, eliminating all negative side effects. Enhances physical and cognitive abilities by 600% without degradation. Compatible with all genetic profiles.
Warning: Unstable beyond Stage 3 infection.
Status: Perfect ]
One by one, she administered the serum to the patients.
The first, a teenage scavenger named Renn, was only 17. His eyes were becoming glassy, and his body had started convulsing.
Within five minutes of the injection, his vitals normalized—but his muscle density readings on the scanner showed a sudden spike. He went from an average build to one bordering on enhanced.
"His bone density's increasing… It's really fascinating every time I see it." Loreen whispered. Renn only had basic hunter skills, and before joining the Springriver Manor and obtaining a Permanent Resident Token, he was only using a crude axe and a nailed bat against Zombies.
After coming here, he learned how to use swords from the Knights and also learned how to use a firearm… Loreen couldn't help but smile seeing how she managed to help the kid.
The second patient, an older mechanic named Graff, had lost a foot and was already developing necrotic tissue near the wound.
But once the cure settled in his system, the infection receded at lightning speed. New skin formed. More remarkably, he began regrowing tissue around the stump… He'd probably need a good prosthetic or mechanical limb, but that wasn't a big issue now with their partnership with the Ivory Gear Shelter.
The third and fourth patients were twin sisters rescued during the wave.
To be exact, they were running away from the Zombie Wave that destroyed their shelter and ended up coming here.
It seemed that the final horde they encountered had ultimately destroyed the Clan they belonged to, and they had no idea if there were other survivors like them.
Anyway, After the Super Soldier Serum was administered, they went silent for a time—then awoke with clarity in their gaze…
"We're alive… Thank you!"
"Thank you so much!"
Loreen nodded at them as she made a mental note to monitor them closely. Since they weren't part of their Clan or the Shelter itself, she was worried that they might have some ulterior motive for coming here.
As each patient stabilized, Loreen took detailed notes of her patients. Well, it was Anna's instruction to make such records for their own safety.
***
Loreen had just finished writing notes into the Shelter's encrypted medical log when the doors of the medical bay opened without warning.
For a brief moment, she instinctively reached for her side pouch, half-expecting another emergency—maybe a Zombie had breached the perimeter, or worse, another Stage 2 infection case.
Instead, what she saw made her eyes widen—not from danger, but from sheer surprise.
"Shane…?"
There he was—Shane, standing at the door of the bay, still clad in his cracked Bio-Armor, though a fresh layer of nano-repair film had already begun sealing some of the damages.
He didn't seem the least bit tired. If anything, he looked… satisfied.
"Hey," He said while giving a light wave to the other medics nearby. "Heard you've been working nonstop."
Shane wanted to visit all the medical facilities of the Shelters first before going to the leaders or people managing the place.
He didn't just want to see the number of casualties, but he wanted to see the situation first hand.
Loreen was a bit flustered since this was a very unexpected visit.
Still, Keller and Mina quickly straightened up and gave a small salute. "W-We're doing our best, Commander…" Keller said.
"I know…" Shane replied while his gaze swept across the rows of recovering patients. "And you're all doing great. Seriously."
Then, he looked toward Loreen. "You especially… Once you're all finished, get your rewards from Mr. Wadsworth."