Chapter 185: Chapter 184: Dissection
Shen Feng snorted. Two mechanical tentacles shot out from the deathly black Nanomechanical Cluster, pinning the lunging shadow firmly to the wall.
On the surface of his body, the Nanomechanical Cluster, which had turned deathly black from the electromagnetic pulse, trembled slightly, shaking a layer of damaged Nanomechanical Insects to the ground like a cloud of black dust.
The Nanomechanical Cluster he used was the latest generation of Nanomechanical Insects from the Gray Tide, which possessed a certain resistance to electromagnetic pulses. Otherwise, a close-range EMP like that would have completely destroyed the entire cluster covering his body.
The recent electromagnetic pulse had a wide range. All the televisions in the corridor had been completely fried by the blast, and the news that was playing came to an abrupt halt.
Only then did Shen Feng have a moment to look at the shadow. He saw that it was an infected person in a hospital gown. However, this infected person’s body was covered in black, bulging veins, and its eyes were so red they looked as if they were about to drip blood.
Clearly, this was a heavily infected individual, far more so than any of the others Shen Feng had seen along the way.
’I was just looking for a test subject like this, and it delivered itself to my doorstep.’
"Hehehe... meat... eat... so hungry... hehehe... ROAR..."
The infected person’s body was pinned to the wall, but it felt no pain at all, muttering gibberish and roaring like a wild beast.
Shen Feng raised an eyebrow. ’It seems that in the later stages of infection, these people can’t retain even their basic sanity, turning completely into bloodthirsty, zombie-like monsters.’
Judging from the electromagnetic wave readings, the source of the recent EMP must have been this infected person’s head.
’However, this ability must be a one-time use, or it requires recharging. It can’t be fired continuously.’
Then, Shen Feng released his Consciousness Antennae, controlling the Nanomechanical Cluster to swiftly devour the wall. As it writhed, five humanoid Nanomechanical Robots formed at Shen Feng’s side, taking on the appearance of several ordinary Japanese people.
These Nanomechanical Robots then casually grabbed the infected person, locked its limbs in a death grip, and followed Shen Feng forward.
Although held in a tight grip, the infected person still struggled to turn its head toward Shen Feng, drooling and growling incessantly, "...Meat... meat... eat meat..."
Although the protective suit on Shen Feng’s body was hastily made, it was extremely well-sealed, so there should be no issue with scents leaking out.
Yet this infected person could still tell he wasn’t one of them. ’Clearly, it isn’t relying on scent.’
’Brainwaves, perhaps?’
Ahead was the hospital’s research department. An alloy door required identity verification to enter.
Shen Feng didn’t stop, walking straight toward it. The alloy door opened on approach. After Shen Feng entered with the five Nanomechanical Robots and two infected, the door immediately slid shut again.
The room was a bit dim. Shen Feng increased the brightness of the lights and immediately saw all sorts of equipment inside.
Continuing further in, there were several inner rooms, one of which was a small virus laboratory.
It was small, but fully equipped.
This was also why Shen Feng had come to this hospital. Despite being a private hospital, it was not lacking in technical equipment.
"Jingwei, give me a hand controlling them," Shen Feng said as he walked directly through the decontamination chamber and into the innermost virus lab.
"Okay, let your big sister give you a shot," Jingwei said cheerfully, taking control of the five Nanomechanical Robots. She had them strap the two infected individuals onto experiment tables outside the lab. At the same time, she began skillfully having them retrieve various instruments, pass them through the decontamination chamber for sterilization, and follow Shen Feng inside.
Thanks to the extremely rapid spread of the virus outbreak, the power and internet in the Tokyo Region had not yet been cut, which was a good thing for Shen Feng and Jingwei.
By now, Jingwei had already stored a wealth of medical and nursing knowledge. In terms of theoretical knowledge and practical application, she was basically comparable to a healthcare professional with decades of experience.
The virus lab was still a sterile environment. Shen Feng took a deep breath, and the Nanomechanical Cluster on his arm began to recede, revealing a small patch of skin.
Only in an environment like this did he dare to expose himself to the open air.
’Even though I previously injected the Antiviral Serum, who knows if this stuff is actually effective against the Evil Spirit Virus? Besides, when I got the Antiviral Serum, there was no sign of an Evil Spirit Virus outbreak whatsoever. Given the True Apocalypse Game system’s typical bullshit, if the serum were specifically for the Evil Spirit Virus, it would probably have been called "Evil Spirit Virus Serum" directly. A generic name like "Antiviral Serum" clearly isn’t targeted at anything specific. I have to figure out what effect the Antiviral Serum has on the Evil Spirit Virus before I can move around with any peace of mind. Of course, the best-case scenario is that the Antiviral Serum can perfectly counteract the Evil Spirit Virus. That would save a lot of trouble; I could just start mass-producing it. But I know the chances of that are extremely low.’
After drawing a vial of blood, Shen Feng immediately had the Nanomechanical Cluster seal the exposed skin again.
At this point, Jingwei had already controlled a Nanomechanical Robot to draw a vial of blackish-red blood from one of the infected and bring it in.
She then placed a drop of the infected blood under an electron microscope.
The microscopic view of the blood immediately appeared on a nearby screen.
The infected person’s blood was teeming with tiny, star-shaped organisms covered in spikes, like a swarm of horned Demons writhing constantly.
This was, clearly, the Evil Spirit Virus.
This drop of blood came from the less-infected individual. The Evil Spirit Virus was continuously burrowing into his remaining blood cells. Once inside, it would immediately begin to self-replicate at a rapid pace, multiplying at a rate visible to the naked eye. Each blood cell contained hundreds or even thousands of Evil Spirit Viruses.
A normal red blood cell is about 7 micrometers in size, and white blood cells are even larger. One micrometer is 1000 nanometers. Compared to those Evil Spirit Viruses, the red blood cells were practically behemoths.
Whether red blood cells, white blood cells, or other blood tissues, everything under the microscope was being hijacked by the Evil Spirit Virus, transformed into horned Demons that were constantly attacking other healthy cells!
Seeing this, Shen Feng felt a chill run down his spine.
’I originally thought a protective suit made from the Nanomechanical Cluster would be enough. Now it seems the Evil Spirit Virus is much smaller than I imagined. On a microscopic level, the connections between the Nanomechanical Insects aren’t that tight; there are still gaps. If enough Evil Spirit Viruses passed through these gaps and infected my body, the consequences would be unimaginable! If I got infected with the Evil Spirit Virus, with the power of the Gray Tide I now command, I could basically wipe out the entire planet. Combined with the Evil Spirit Virus, the Gray Tide would be unstoppable. No human could stand against it. At that point, I would become a true Cannibal Demon King!’
Thinking of this, he immediately placed a drop of his own blood under the electron microscope and mixed it with the drop of infected blood.
As soon as the two types of blood merged, Shen Feng immediately saw that the originally highly aggressive and active Evil Spirit Viruses suddenly became listless, their movements slowing down considerably.
Their speed decreased by at least several dozen times.
’This is clearly the effect of the Antiviral Serum!’
Shen Feng then took a portable refrigerated case from his backpack and pulled out the Antiviral Serum injector. About a third of the dose remained inside, a sample he had saved.
After taking out a small amount of the serum and mixing it with the infected blood, he immediately confirmed his earlier observation.
But that was all it did.
Although the Evil Spirit Virus’s activity slowed, it was still active. Moreover, once a person is infected, it would rapidly enter the brain through the bloodstream. While the onset of symptoms might be greatly delayed, the final outcome could not be prevented.
The infected would only maintain their sanity for a while longer.
’Three days?’
’A week?’
’A month?’
In the end, it would just allow the Evil Spirit Virus to multiply to even greater numbers throughout the body, leading to a terrifying final outbreak!
Shen Feng broke out in a cold sweat.
’If I had assumed from the start that this stuff granted immunity to the Evil Spirit Virus and just charged recklessly through Tokyo without any protection, I might have been infected long ago! Even though I still have half a Silicon-Based Brain to maintain some degree of sanity, who knows what my infected biological brain would become. It might suppress the biological brain, or even generate its own EMP to fry the Silicon-Based Brain. Then it would just be a horrific massacre...’
But there were two sides to every coin.
The bad news was, the Antiviral Serum indeed couldn’t stop an Evil Spirit Virus infection.
The good news was, the Antiviral Serum could slow the Evil Spirit Virus’s activity, drastically reducing the speed of infection.
At least it could buy the infected enough time before a final solution could be found.
’Where the hell did this thing come from...’
At this thought, the Nanomechanical Cluster on Shen Feng’s body rapidly thickened by several layers. He then said to Jingwei:
"Jingwei, analyze the chemical composition of the Antiviral Serum. And prepare to dissect the deeply infected one."
The electromagnetic pulse released by that deeply infected individual earlier still left him with a lingering fear. This point had to be figured out as well.
One of the Nanomechanical Robots nodded, took the remaining bit of Antiviral Serum to the side, and began its chemical analysis.
Two others walked out of the virus lab and pushed in the deeply infected individual who was strapped to the experiment table.
The deeply infected person was still drooling. Upon seeing Shen Feng, its face twisted into a ferocious expression once more, a bizarre smile spreading across its lips as it let out a low growl.
"...Meat... eat meat... heehee... eat meat..."
Shen Feng remained expressionless. After securing the deeply infected person, he personally stood at its head, picked up a nearby electric craniotomy saw, and pressed the button. The sharp blade spun rapidly and cut toward the deeply infected person’s skull!
"BZZZZZZ—"