"Go to the isolation room."

In an atmosphere that had dropped to freezing point, Wen Cheng ordered the troops to withdraw.

The soldiers lined up in silence and entered the elevator on the other side. Before the metal door was completely closed, Wen Cheng heard Hines' instructions to the staff in front of him:

"Begin airtightness test."

"yes."

The button on the other side was pressed, and the gas in the disinfection room began to be quickly pumped out, and the reading on the barometer was dropping rapidly.

The protective suit worn by the squirming man on the ground began to swell up little by little, and every wrinkle was stretched flat by the pressure difference, like a huge inflatable doll.

The extremely slight change in air pressure indicates another fact - the protective suit is leaking.

Hines continued to operate in front of the screen, and soon she found the location of the leak. It was a wear point on the inside of the calf of the protective suit, and tiny holes were constantly spewing air out.

The female scientist quickly operated the screen in front of her with both hands, completed the record from all aspects, and then issued a new order:

"Restore the air supply."

"Understood...Understood."

The staff in charge of the operation was sweating profusely when facing this extremely rational boss. He rescinded the order to test the air tightness, and new air began to be continuously injected into the disinfection room.

Hines came to the other side of the console, and two orders were quickly sent to Vladimir and the laboratory:

[The exploration team's plans for the next two days are cancelled. 】

[The inner side of the protective suit legs has been redesigned for wear resistance. 】

"Ms. Hines...what should I do next..."

The air pressure in the disinfection room returned to normal again, the intensity of the squirming of the figure lying on the ground decreased significantly, and from time to time a few groans and unclear document recitations could be heard from the loudspeaker.

The staff member swallowed, looked at the scene in front of him and finally decided to ask his superior.

"Continue to observe, record the whole process, and contact me as soon as any abnormality occurs."

"Okay, got it."

The staff sitting in front of the operating table wiped off the cold sweat and began to stare at the screen in front of him intently.

Hines looked at the terminal in front of him and waited until both commands were responded to before re-entering the elevator.

In the second hour of infection, the soldier showed obvious signs of hypoxia. He instinctively pressed the connection button to remove his helmet, and fell into a deep sleep after obtaining sufficient oxygen.

In the fourth hour of infection, the soldier began to twitch for a long time, accompanied by meaningless pronunciations.

In the sixth hour of infection, the soldier went into shock.

In the ninth hour of infection, the soldier's vital signs disappeared.

…

In the twelfth hour of infection, the soldier's vital signs reappeared, but the cyanosis on his body surface did not disappear.

Fifteen hours into the infection, soldiers began crawling on the floor of the disinfection room.

After completing this line of record, the observer, with bloodshot eyes, trembled and pressed the button that could directly connect to Hines for the umpteenth time.

"Ms. Hines, you, you really need to look at this..."

---

Five minutes later, a group of scientists gathered in front of a screen showing the images of the disinfection room, watching the soldiers crawling erratically inside.

He could no longer be called a human being. His pupils were cloudy and unfocused, and his pale and gray body was covered with black blood vessels and cyanosis, like an unconscious life form that had just been born into this world.

Most of the time he behaves like a basic single-celled organism, drifting along the ground like a paramecium.

Sometimes, it seems as if it has recalled some memories of being a human being, and it trembles and opens its mouth wide in front of the camera, like an animal waiting to be fed.

"Does he know what he's doing?"

one researcher asked.

"perhaps……"

Hines mused:

"We can... give it a try."

---

Forty-eight hours later, Wen Cheng and nine soldiers were released from the isolation cabin.

They received new protective suits that were thicker overall and redesigned in some parts.

The group took their weapons and entered the disinfection room to begin airtightness testing.

In the corner of the disinfection room, there was a charred corpse that had curled up and was only half the size of a normal person.

He leaned his back against the wall, hugged his legs with his hands, and his whole body curled up into a ball, with no visible physical features.

Hines' voice came through the communication device to every soldier:

"It has been confirmed that direct contact with extraterrestrial life will cause irreversible infection, which is currently incurable.

“Extraterrestrial biological samples have been obtained, and the exploration goal is tentatively to confirm the location of as many secondary body fragments as possible and record them.

"It would be best if we could reactivate the system and establish contact with the main body of the spacecraft."

After the inspection was completed, the door in front opened, and Wen Cheng led the team out of the spacecraft again.

The perspective switched to the laboratory, where Hines and others were surrounding a transparent, sealed experimental cabin, looking at the alien creature inside which was sealed in three layers.

A huge metal box is suspended in mid-air, allowing for easy observation from any angle.

The sealing devices were opened layer by layer, and soon only the completely sealed cage in the middle was left.

There was no sound or vibration, as if everything was dead...

"Open it."

Hines calmly gave the order.

The special mechanical key was inserted into the groove, and after a crisp sound, the sealed metal box once again turned into a metal cage.

The two premature livestock cubs that were originally inside had completely disappeared, with not even their bones left.

As everyone watched, the grayish-white viscous liquid slowly spread along the bottom of the metal cage, gathering into drops from the edge and flowing onto the ground.

During the entire process, this mysterious liquid did not show any characteristics of life except for its extraordinary viscosity, which was completely contrary to the action records submitted by Wencheng.

The pool of liquid just lay quietly on the floor of the transparent experimental chamber. After expanding to its limit, it stopped moving and did not even completely cover the floor.

"It seems dead."

Someone whispered to himself.

"Observe further."

Another person said.

Everyone then began to observe the mucus-like substance closely. After all, this was their first contact with an alien creature (even a dead one), so they always maintained due caution and care.

The surface of the pool of liquid was constantly being magnified, and soon the researchers saw something familiar.

It is a cell-like structure. Although it is not exactly the same as their known composition, it can also show that the composition basis of alien life is similar to that of humans.

Half an hour later, the pool of liquid still hadn't changed at all. This was not a conclusion drawn from naked eye observation, but a consistent result recorded by multiple precision instruments.

Hines looked at the electronic clock on the wall and issued a new order:

"Strong light exposure."