Chapter 63        Convincing

“All right, Zogar, stop daydreaming! Bring your men with you, go and find some ambulances. Remember to get all the equipment and medicines in the ICU. Ask these nurses if there’s a need; they’re professionals. Invite them to join us, by the way!”

Zhou Qingfeng carried Nurse Nancy on his shoulder and walked away. The big guy Zogar woke up from his stupor and yelled, “Mr Hugo, you’re really smart! You’re truly the paragon of wisdom. Medicines are what we need the most in this chaotic world, and robbing a hospital is definitely better than robbing a bank. What a good idea!”

Zogar’s skill in flattering was really bad; Zhou Qingfeng could not help rolling his eyes. The big guy shouted to his men, “Everyone, did you hear what Mr Hugo said? Go and get the ambulances. I believe you know how dangerous it is out there. If someone doesn’t work hard, I’ll definitely kick him out.”

Zogar’s ability to act professionally was actually really good, and very soon they found another six ambulances. A huge amount of medicines and medical equipment were loaded into the ambulances, and even the nurses followed.

Zhou Qingfeng found a large truck at the underground car park of the hospital. He put all seven of the police motorcycles in the truck. He caught a few workers from the hospital, ordering them to move everything from the kitchen.

After around one hour, they returned to the building of the Society of the Divine Word. During the drive back, Nancy kept on kicking him, cursing him, and trying to escape.

When Lena Fox saw Nancy, whose hands and legs were tied up, and whose mouth was also taped, she laughed and asked, “Victor, what are you doing?”

“This is Nancy. She’s a good nurse.” Zhou Qingfeng threw the screaming nurse on the sofa in the clubhouse. “There was a shootout at the headquarters, so I changed my mind and robbed the downtown hospital. We got a few ambulances, a lot of medications, as well as a few nurses.”

“Alright, I’ll get them registered.” Lena Fox was very satisfied with his high efficiency. She thought the last phase of the cataclysm would not be as horrible as long as they had sufficient resources and partners. Nancy’s rebellion and dissatisfaction were negligible. “Oh right, you better go and meet Dr Rezzo and Professor Kelvin.”

“Who?” asked Zhou Qingfeng in his confusion.

“Dr Rezzo is the supervisor of Babylon’s Smartlab. Professor Kelvin and his team are the top medical research team in the Columbia University medical center. They were kidnapped by you.” Lena Fox shrugged her shoulders. “I tried to calm them down, but they insisted on seeing you.”

They spent almost four hours for the trip to the police headquarters and Zhou Qingfeng was a bit tired. Even though it was nearly dawn, he decided to talk to the researchers and hoped they would calm down.

First, he saw Rezzo. He was a stubborn, forty-year-old man who had two Phds in computer and life science. He started screaming as soon as he saw Zhou Qingfeng, “You guys are criminals, criminals! You stole property from the military. How intolerable.”

There were a lot of smart people in Dr Rezzo’s laboratory, yet besides two of his unlucky a.s.sistants, the laboratory was found empty and left in a mess by Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng totally understood his anger, but he was not going to get carried away by the other’s temper.

“Doctor, do you remember how you fainted?” Zhou Qingfeng asked.

Dr Rezzo felt his head hurt as he heard that question. Before he fainted, Katrina was asking him for the serial number of the biochemical brain for DogMeat, but he refused to answer. Therefore, he was. .h.i.t by the tough lady and as a result, he got a concussion.

“Doctor, I hope you could calm down. You need to know what’s happening outside, and you can still use the Internet, TV, and other social media for that. I hope you would accept my protection and work for me. If you insist on going against me, I have nothing else to say, but I don’t keep useless people.”

Zhou Qingfeng threw him those words and left. Dr Rezzo’s anger dissipated and instead, turned into shock.

In comparison to the bad-tempered Dr Rezzo, Professor Kelvin was a great deal calmer. He was awarded with a n.o.bel Prize in the field of medicine, and he was one of the leading researchers in the bio-pharmaceutical field in the world.

When the two of them met, Professor Kelvin nicely invited Zhou Qingfeng to sit down. “Young man, I have no idea why you kidnapped an old man like me. I’m not a doctor; I’m a researcher and I can’t help you.”

Zhou Qingfeng did not answer. Instead, he turned on his armband computer, opened the information of NTZ-49, and said, “Do you know this thing?”

The virtual screen showed the chemical formula of NTZ-49 and a large amount of biological experimental data. The professor scanned through the data and upon finis.h.i.+ng, he immediately frowned. “Ah…. It’s Alonzo’s research. He was a genius and I had been hoping that he would succeed. However, to my knowledge, he pa.s.sed away a few days ago.”

Zhou Qingfeng highlighted the report of the white mice experiment and said, “When I was in the hospital downtown fighting against the police, I accidentally broke into Alonzo’s Superpower Laboratory and drank the NTZ-49.

“As you can see, I was enhanced. According to the results of the white mice experiment, I can’t live beyond a month if I stop taking it. I need someone who could synthesize the NTZ-49, but also improve it by removing the side effects and perfecting the formula.”

“I see…. That’s what you want me to do.” Professor Kelvin smiled and said, “I could make the original NTZ-49 for you, but it’s impossible to achieve the complete version—the NTZ-50.”

“But I think that Mr Alonzo found a way before he died….” Zhou Qingfeng wanted to talk further about what he had discovered, but Professor Kelvin shook his head and said, “Young man, it’s impossible to enhance the human body without side effects. If this NTZ superpower drug really succeeds, the foundation of all medical research will be undermined.”

“All right. But at least help me with the production of NTZ-49.” Zhou Qingfeng did not know anything about medicine and bio-pharmaceuticals, and he had no intention of pus.h.i.+ng the argument for the sake of ensuring a supply of the drugs. “I’ve moved the equipment and materials from Alonzo’s lab here. I found them at the underground car park. Just let me know if you need anything else, I’ll try my best to provide.”

Professor Kelvin nodded his head as he promised his cooperation, and Zhou Qingfeng got up to leave. Before he could, however, the professor asked, “Mr Hugo, I have a question. Is it really a mess out there? I couldn’t honestly trust my own eyes anymore.”

“Yeah, it’s true.”

“A lot of people will die, am I right?”

“Yeah.”

“The ways to other cities are blocked, right?

“Not completely, but it wouldn’t be as convenient to pa.s.s as before.”

“Can you do me a favor when it’s necessary?” Professor Kelvin seemed a bit hesitant and awkward, but he still asked.

“Of course.” Zhou Qingfeng was the one who needed help from the professor, after all. “What can I do for you?”

The professor did not say his request. Instead, he shook his head and said with a worried expression, “I haven’t thought about it, please give me some time.”