After this meeting, the medical team and the command central agreed to conduct a clinical experiment.
The medical team selected 10 patients and fed them normal soil to see if it would alleviate their symptoms and the changes to the patients' mental and physical health.
The abnormal soil at the wasteland that carried the parasite's eggs was not part of the experiment.
The 10 patients were soon selected. There were 5 teachers and 5 students. They ranged in age from 17 to 45 and all of them volunteered.
The patients' conditions were similar. In fact, their current mental state was close to delirium. The medical team's psychological intervention treatment was completely ineffective. They kept asking for soil. As long as there was soil, the patients would fight to participate in the experiment.
The 10 patients were sent to isolated rooms. There were cameras, electrocardiogram monitors, gastric lavage machines and ancient seal stones.
Wang Jinbo, the dean of students, was one of them.
Normally, everyone would give Wang Jinbo a thumbs up. Wang Jinbo was in his 40s. He had a strict attitude but he was well-liked by the students because he was genuinely concerned about the students. He did not engage in bureaucratic activities. He had been a teacher for several years and the results were good. It raised the reputation of Mo Bei High School.
Normally, Wang Jinbo wore a casual suit and his hair was neatly combed. He looked like a pedant.
When the students saw him, they would joke about how much hair gel Wang Jinbo had used. But when they saw Wang Jinbo's vigor, they were inspired.
But now, after more than 30 hours of torment, Chief Wang had become a lot more haggard. His hair was messy, and he had two dark circles under his eyes. There was a strange desire in his eyes that was suppressed, making him look like a drug addict who had returned to rehab.
"What's going on, what's going on …" Wang Jinbo sat by the bed and kept muttering, scratching his head and throat.
He felt like he had been starving for more than 10 days. He wanted to eat but there was only one thing he wanted to eat.
Before entering this room, Wang Jinbo was arranged to do some tests and now he was hooked up to an electrocardiogram monitor by the nurse.
The surveillance camera captured all of this. At that moment, the door of the ward was pushed open, and a few medical staff in heavy protective gear walked in. Their identification cards stated that they were all doctors. There were also a few nurses pushing a stainless steel cart. On the cart were some drugs, syringes, and an instrument tray that covered something.
"Ah …" Wang Jinbo could smell the scent of soil. He almost pounced on it. He used all his energy to control himself.
Si Kouxian and Wang Ruoxiang were among the doctors. They had to observe not only the data recorded by the machine but also the changes in their mental senses.
"Wang Jinbo." Si Kouxian communicated with the patient. "We've brought you 50 grams of soil."
50 grams was equivalent to the size of an egg. A normal person eating 50 grams of soil at once would not be fatal. It might cause indigestion, abdominal distension, diarrhea, and so on, but it was completely possible for the body to not feel any discomfort. It varied from person to person, but in general, it was not a shocking amount.
Furthermore, this soil was transported from the South, not from Mo Bei. The two places were very far away from each other. They had been tested to be free of parasites, bacteria, viruses or harmful substances. The soil provided to the patient was this clean and healthy soil.
"50 grams?!" Wang Jinbo gasped. Disappointment made him even more agitated.
How much was 50 grams? One or two mouthfuls?
"Yes, 50 grams. Let's observe the situation first." Si Kouxian said. With the patient's current condition, he might explode if he was allowed to eat freely.
"Okay … Where is it?" Wang Jinbo didn't care about that for now. Sure enough, he saw the nurse remove the cover of the instrument tray, and a small ball of yellowish-brown soil was placed on the tray. The nurse pushed the tool cart to the bedside, and Wang Jinbo hurriedly reached out to grab the ball of soil and stuffed it into his mouth.
Both sides of his cheeks immediately opened up, and his chewing muscles chewed frantically as he wolfed down this lump of mud greedily and anxiously.
Wang Jinbo did not lose his mind. He was ashamed and pained by his actions but he could not control his urges …
At the same time, the doctors watched nervously. The result of this clinical trial was very important.
If the patient could receive mental satisfaction from this and there were no negative changes to their body, they could resume their diet and maintain their physical and mental state. If there was such a good result, then they could treat these patients with pica.
The human body could handle 50 grams of soil a day. There were cases in the world where the patient could eat the soil for more than 10 years without any problems.
What they needed now was time. They needed to control the epidemic to prevent the spread of Locust Sickness and to prevent the patients from being connected to the mutated area.
"Hmm, hmm …" Wang Jinbo made a strange swallowing sound. He licked every finger that touched the soil clean. Then he moved on to the tray.
Wang Ruoxiang glanced at the electrocardiogram monitor. The patient's heart rate and blood pressure were rising.
The rationality assessment stone and ancient seal stone did not respond. She sensed around her. Wang Jinbo's mental state … appeared to be getting more intense …
"Is there more? Is there more? " Wang Jinbo's middle-aged face was flushed. The lust in his eyes was still there. "It's not enough, it's really not enough … I feel like I've never had it before. It doesn't taste like this, it's different from what I imagined …"
The patients had no idea where the soil they ate came from, no one had revealed it to them. They probably thought it was soil from Mo Bei.
But now, the doctors looked at each other. The patients seemed to be able to taste the difference even though they had not eaten the soil before.
But would normal soil have any effect? Or would there be a placebo effect?
"Wang Jinbo, that's all for today." Si Kouxian said, "Do you feel like eating something else now?"
"No …" Wang Jinbo's face turned redder before it paled. Cold sweat poured down his face. He gripped his stomach. "My stomach hurts …"
Seeing the patient's heart rate shoot up to 145 beats per minute, Si Kouxian ordered, "Gastric lavage!" The group moved immediately.
The doctors' hearts sank. They had already predicted this. They brought the gastric lavage machine here just in case.
They even mixed apomorphine as an emetic. Even though the drug would take effect after 5 minutes of injection, it had too many side effects. It would affect the patient's mental state. In severe cases, it could even cause hallucinations and blurred vision. Therefore, it was not recommended unless necessary.
At this time, before the nurses inserted the gastric lavage tube into the patient's mouth, Wang Jinbo suddenly vomited into the dirty basin next to the bed.
A disgusting stench filled the air. The soil that had just been eaten, mixed with yellow stomach acid and bright red blood, splashed into the basin of filth.
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