Chapter 353 - Chapter 353: Why Does It Feel a Little Scary?
Chapter 353: Why Does It Feel a Little Scary?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation | Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This was a first for him.
Such a reaction had never been observed in his experiments with white mice before. It was, to put it mildly, unsettling.
“Red Lotus, what’s happening?” Tang Rui asked, his expression one of deep concern.
“Master, the nanomachines report that when they neutralized the virus, the neural tissues started discharging bioelectricity in a disordered manner. Some neural cells have already been corroded by the virus.”
The prospect of corroding the nervous system was alarming. Could this lead to permanent nerve damage?
However, he realized there was no need to dwell on this particular side effect. The real issue at hand was not merely about neural tissue damage.
A single person experiencing twitching could be explained.
But the simultaneous convulsions of five individuals indicated a more complex problem.
“Why did all five of them start convulsing at the same time?”
“I’m sorry, Master. Red Lotus has not identified the cause. The feedback from the nanomachines doesn’t include this information.”
Upon hearing this, Tang Rui’s gaze shifted to the person still convulsing uncontrollably on the big screen. His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
To be honest, the situation unfolding before him was quite frightening.
Their convulsions were full-body, every muscle twitching as if there were insects crawling underneath their skin.
“The tranquilizer isn’t having any effect.”
“His heart rate is increasing, but his blood pressure is dropping. There are signs of internal bleeding.”
At this moment, the scientist who had received the nanomachine injection was convulsing less frequently. His injected arm had even calmed down.
However, the condition of the other four was deteriorating rapidly.
Two of them were experiencing a drop in blood pressure, and another’s muscles were spasming and stiffening.
“Inject them quickly!”
“Got it.”
At this moment, the effectiveness of the nanomachines was apparent to anyone observing.
So, the surgeon immediately proceeded to inject the other four people. This time, the injection was not into the arm but directly into the carotid artery, which would allow the nanomachines to spread through the body much faster.
Since there was no way to observe internally,
Tang Rui was unable to see what was happening inside their bodies at the moment.
Red Lotus could simulate the situation based on the feedback from the nanomachines, but this was not particularly useful.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Suddenly, the scientist with the weakest constitution among the five saw his heart rate drop to zero. The electrocardiogram display had flatlined.
Yet, his body continued to twitch.
It didn’t stop even in death.
It was reminiscent of a zombie.
Ten minutes later, four people and a corpse lay quietly on the hospital beds. At this point, the virus had been cleared from their bodies.
But waking them up would be difficult.
Neurons, especially those in the brain, are non-regenerative cells. They are central to human thought and memory.
Such damage was not something the nanomachines could repair.
Even if they managed to restore some neuronal functionality, the lost memories and thought processes could not be regenerated.
“Professor Tang, we’ve received the consent of McCann’s family for a medical autopsy.”
“Yes, send me the data. Also, I’ll arrange for a spaceship to bring you some medical supplies and the latest research equipment.’1
“Thank you very much. We’re indeed short on some resources, especially lab rats for research.”
“Don’t worry about the supplies.”
Tang Rui reassured them, letting them know they didn’t have to worry about anything other than focusing on researching the virus.
After ending the video call, He had Red Lotus cut off all communication between Earth and Mars, except for his own. He informed those who had applied for citizenship that they would have to wait. Until the virus situation was resolved, they could forget about returning to Earth.
He still didn’t know enough about the virus.
However, judging from the symptoms he had just witnessed, this unknown virus was far more terrifying than any other virus known on Earth.
Following this incident, he was no longer in the mood to continue his research.
He left the room.
Outside, a group of physicists were still engaged in a heated discussion.
Tang Rui did not join their conversation, nor did he interrupt their analysis and integration of the data from the Hadron collider experiment.
After saying goodbye to Professor Li, he left the facility and boarded a private jet back to his company.
“Red Lotus, arrange for a spaceship to transport a thousand white mice. Also, arrange for a few robots to explore the underground area they previously drilled to obtain original samples of the virus.”
“Understood, Master. Red Lotus will make the arrangements immediately.”
At the same time, the biologists at the Martian base were also studying the virus.
Though they didn’t have many lab rats, they still managed to infect more than a dozen.
The infected mice, like the five scientists, were in a comatose state.
The biologists were conducting various experiments on these mice.
When it came to human subjects, they had to be cautious.
But with white mice infected with the virus, they had more freedom to experiment.
Even the wildest ideas could be tested on a white mouse.
After numerous experiments, they had gathered some information about the virus.
It could deceive the immune system and, once inside the body, it immediately targeted the nervous system, invading and paralyzing it, usurping the functions of the nervous system.
“Currently, we have some understanding of the virus. Here’s an idea: What if we inject hallucinogenic drugs or drugs that impact neurons into the mice? Do you think the virus, which erodes the nervous system, will react?”
Someone suddenly suggested.
“We can try it,” was the consensus.
No one had any particular objections. It was just an experiment, after all.
They were virus biologists, not physicians.
Their goal was to study the characteristics of the virus, not to develop life-saving medications.
So, they proceeded with their experiments as they wished.
A biologist extracted a vial of a forbidden drug – one that induced euphoria when injected into the body but was highly detrimental to the nervous system.
After injecting this drug into one of the white mice, the mouse was visibly shocked.
The biologist sat in front of the glass cage, intently observing the mouse inside.
Suddenly, the white mouse inside opened its eyes and stood up.
It wasn’t just this mouse.
In the other cages, the white mice involved in different experiments also stood up.
Even the mice with their abdomens cut open managed to crawl up, dragging their entrails.
The biologist who was dissecting one of the mice exclaimed in shock.
“F*ck!”
“What’s going on?”
“What happened to them?”
All the scientists in the room looked at the white mice in their cages, a mix of fear and bewilderment on their faces.
Bang, bang, bang…
The next moment, all the white mice started moving in the same direction, repeatedly slamming into the glass of their enclosures.
More than ten white mice, all moving in unison, frantically hitting the glass.
This spectacle was indeed unnerving.
Most importantly…
They had never observed such behavior in virus-infected subjects before.
Was this still just a virus?
The sheer terror this situation created was beyond their comprehension..