"Before the three biochemical pets died, they were in a highly excited state. They were like crystal tanks that had been pushed to their limits. Even their 'engines' exploded," Ning Shewo mumbled.
"This doesn't seem like a normal case of losing control …" Ning Shewo mumbled.
Meng Chao agreed.
He could imagine the state the three biochemical pets were in before they died.
Their blood was practically boiling, and all the cells in their bodies were screaming. They longed for more oxygen so that they could participate in the mitochondria's conversion of energy and release incredibly brutal attacks.
What sort of loss of control could cause them to … go into a rage that was like a volcano eruption?
Sun Yufeng continued dissecting them. Soon, he separated the spinal cords of the three biochemical pets.
Then, he moved upward until he reached the brain. He separated the cerebellum, cerebellum, and brainstem very clearly.
One of the biochemical pets' heads had been crushed by a human's heavy punch.
But Sun Yufeng was like a puzzle master. He patiently and meticulously pieced the brain together bit by bit. In just five minutes, he had recovered most of it.
His amazing skills caused Meng Chao to gasp in amazement. He knew that he still had a long way to go in the field of harvesters.
Sun Yufeng used a ball of gentle spirit energy to wrap around the cerebellum, medulla oblongata, and brain. He rotated them 360 degrees and showed them to the people.
This was especially so for the hippocampus at the base of the brain. He had used spirit energy to infiltrate it, and it shone faintly. He could see the fine damage in it clearly.
All the parts from the brain to the spinal cords had different degrees of congestion, edema, and fine bleeding. There were also dark purple spots.
The former was the typical pathological change of acute diffuse meningitis, and the latter should be some sort of virus infection.
Sun Yufeng collected samples from the brains, spinal cords, and organs of the three biochemical pets and sent them for a virus test.
However, before the test results came out, the experienced harvesters could already guess what it was based on the pathological changes.
"A mutated rabies virus?"
On Earth, rabies was a very stable rhabdovirus. It was shaped like a bullet, and its nucleocapsid was symmetrical. There was a membrane on its surface, and it contained single-stranded RNA. There were four subtypes, and it was not easy for it to mutate.
But as thousands of dogs came from Earth to the Other World, there were naturally some sick dogs lurking among them. The rabies from Earth clashed with the zombie virus from the Other World, and hundreds of other viruses. Then, due to spirit energy magnetic field interference, the viruses' envelopes and cores were shattered, and countless mutations were created.
99% of the mutations would cause fatal damage to the virus itself.
But the remaining 1% of mutations, such as rabies and influenza, would cause rabies to continuously become stronger, and it would become one hundred times more terrifying than it was on Earth. In fact, it would not just spread among mammals. Even all sorts of reptiles and shell-type monsters might be infected by the mutated rabies.
"Based on the dark purple marks on the spinal cord, my initial guess is that it's Type-9 mutated rabies. This virus mostly exists in rodent-type monsters, and it can increase the monsters' aggressiveness. Then, through biting and scratching, it can spread to all sorts of mammal-type monsters through saliva and blood," Sun Yufeng said expressionlessly.
"The time it takes for Type-9 mutated rabies to activate is very fast. Usually, the incubation period is less than forty-eight hours. Once it activates, mammal-type monsters will become incredibly mad and twitch as if they are neurotic. They will attack all living creatures they see. It's one of the most dangerous subtypes of rabies, and it's also known as Death's Dance. It's even more dangerous than the zombie virus."
The group nodded.
When a person was infected by the zombie virus, the mitochondria in the cells might not instantly send out all their energy.
Many of the zombies moved slowly and would only stagger forward. When a large amount of bacteria multiplied in their bodies, they would let out howling sounds to ensure that their "bodies" could be used for a longer period of time.
However, the Type-9 Mutated Rabies Virus would instantly stimulate the mitochondria of all the cells in the host's body, releasing the most violent energy, turning the host into a "biochemical incendiary bomb", killing the prey and burning itself to death.
If they were really infected by the mutated rabies, then the biochemical pets would not go out of control because of the problems in Spirit Creation Creatures' modifications.
Hence, Xie Xiaofeng was delighted, and he said, "Three days ago, a small-scale fog descended near Blessed Paradise. A rat horde invaded through the space-time rift.
"Even though the rat horde was quickly destroyed, it was inevitable that a few of the rampaging rats hid underground and crawled into Blessed Paradise through the sewers. They also spread the mutated rabies in their bodies to the three biochemical pets."
This guess caused the group to discuss it. They felt that the possibility was high.
Only the representative from Heavenly Works Machines still had a cold expression. "Even if it's really mutated rabies, don't you inject vaccines into the biochemical pets modified by your company?"
Xie Xiaofeng said, "Of course our products go through the strictest quarantine and epidemic prevention measures. In fact, during the embryonic stage, we use gene editing to get rid of most of the possibility of virus infection.
"But the Other World is very unstable. Everything is mutating and evolving madly. There are dozens of subtypes of rabies alone, and these are just the ones humans have detected. Many of the vaccines will lose their effectiveness after being used for at most one and a half years. No one dares to guarantee that they can fight against all infections just by injecting a vaccine into them.
"Even humans have the possibility of being infected by the zombie virus and turning into humanoid monsters. Are we going to be locked up at home and unable to live normally before the zombie vaccine is developed?"
"That's …" The representative found himself speechless for a moment.
While they were engaged in a verbal battle, Ning Shewo quietly tugged at Meng Chao and dragged him to a corner.
"Meng Chao, do you think that the three biochemical pets have pinholes or something similar?" Ning Shewo asked softly.
Meng Chao's mind raced, and he said, "Elder Ning, are you saying that someone intentionally injected mutated rabies into the three biochemical pets to make them lose control and go berserk?"
Ning Shewo nodded and said, "Since we're here, we naturally have to consider all possibilities. Gao Ye says that this is a scheme, so we should investigate it and give him an explanation."
Meng Chao said, "Makes sense. Elder Ning, you could have just told Elder Sun just now. I'm here to learn, so I can do anything."
Ning Shewo coughed. "Then go and tell him."
"Huh?"
"No matter what, I'm highly respected in the field, and I'm involved in all sorts of things. Do you understand?"
"I understand. I'm here to offend people today, and I'm in charge of saying things that you or Spirit Creations find inconvenient to say. When necessary, I'll rebuke them. I'm just curious. With you and Elder Sun around, why is there a need for a nobody like me to observe?!"
Ning Shewo's face turned red, and he found himself speechless.
In truth, he really wanted to know the truth behind the biochemical pets going out of control. He thought about it, took two steps forward, and said, "Elder Sun, if the virus really spread to the biochemical pets from the claws of the rat-type monsters, then there should be fine bite marks or scratches on the carcasses of the three biochemical pets, right?
"After all, the rat horde outbreak happened three days ago, and the incubation period for Type 9 mutated rabies is less than forty-eight hours. The wounds wouldn't have healed so easily."
Sun Yufeng cast Meng Chao a deep glance.
It was as if he could tell what Meng Chao really wanted to ask.
Sun Yufeng said expressionlessly, "I found more than one hundred lacerations on the three biochemical beasts. They were either caused by themselves using too much strength or by humans. I didn't find any signs of rodent-type monsters biting or clawing at them.
"But since the three biochemical pets were hit hard by humans, quite a number of their bodies are bloody and missing. I can't guarantee that there aren't any bite marks or scratch marks on these missing parts."
He stopped talking for a moment before he added another sentence.
"Of course, I didn't find any marks of needles or injections either."
His last sentence caused the crowd's discussions to instantly become noisy.
Many gazes were trained on Meng Chao, as if they could hear the underlying meaning in their conversation.
Meng Chao's face turned a little red.
But since he had already asked the question, he no longer cared about what the old senior thought. He took half a step forward and looked at Sun Yufeng before he said seriously, "Elder Sun, have you checked … the deepest part of the ear canal?"
Sun Yufeng was slightly stunned.
Meng Chao pointed at his ear and said, "I used an incredibly flexible material to create a long needle that was as thin as a hair. Then, I used it to travel through the winding ear canal and reach the deepest part near the eardrum. Only a small amount of medicine is needed, and it can be used on the central nervous system. The wound is very small, and even the most advanced equipment would have a hard time detecting it."
This was an assassination technique recorded in the Bizarre Stab that Instructor Black Skull had taught Meng Chao in his previous life.
It could kill without leaving a trace, but it could also make the biochemical pets lose control and go berserk.
Once he said this, the gazes on him became even colder and more intense.
Sun Yufeng frowned deeply, as if he was displeased with Meng Chao's questioning of his injury examination skill.
But he did not say a word and just focused on checking the ear canals of the three biochemical pets.
The winding ear canals were covered by hair and clogged with blood, so it was not easy to check them clearly.
But Sun Yufeng had his own way. His spirit threads seemed to have a life of their own, and they crawled into the ears of the three biochemical pets.
He closed his eyes and focused. It was as if his five senses were attached to his spirit threads and crawled into the ears of the three biochemical pets.
Sweat the size of beans broke out on his forehead. Clearly, this operation that was equivalent to a human microscope drained a lot of his mental strength.
He did not open his eyes for a total of three minutes, but his expression became graver.
The atmosphere in the area became even more solemn. Gradually, no one made any noise. Everyone stared at his expression.
Five minutes later, Sun Yufeng finally opened his eyes and sized up Meng Chao for a long time with an incredibly strange gaze.
Then, he said, "There are indeed two very small … needle-shaped wounds in the depths of the left ears of the two biochemical pets."
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