Chapter 57 The Secret of Tears
Inside the coffee shop, four people sat around a round table. Lin Che looked down at the wound on his arm, which was no longer bleeding but still aching.
"That zombie did become sluggish after your tears fell on it," Lu Zhao said thoughtfully, "This can't be a coincidence."
Lin Che raised her head: "Do you really think that my tears had an effect?"
Su Wanqing took out a small bottle of disinfectant and some gauze from her backpack and began to treat Lin Che’s wounds: “I saw with my own eyes that the zombie’s movements slowed down significantly after your tears touched it.”
"If this is true," Xiao Ran still stood at the door of the coffee shop, vigilantly observing the situation outside, "then we may have discovered a new way to fight zombies."
Lu Zhao pushed up his glasses and said, "We need to conduct a control experiment to confirm it. If Lin Che's tears really have an inhibitory effect on zombies, this will be a major discovery."
“Experiment?” Lin Che frowned. “You mean, we should find a zombie to test it?”
Lu Zhao nodded: "That's right. Only through scientific experiments can we confirm that this is not a coincidence and understand the specific mechanism and duration of action."
After Su Wanqing bandaged Lin Che's wound, she thought for a while and said, "There are a lot of zombies outside the shopping mall. We can lure one in and test it under safe conditions."
Xiao Ran left the window and walked back to the table: "It's too risky. If something unexpected happens during the experiment, we have almost no way out hiding in this small coffee shop."
"Then we can find a safer place," Lu Zhao said, "such as an enclosed space in a shopping mall, and set up safety measures before conducting the experiment."
The four of them were silent for a while, each thinking about a feasible solution.
Lin Che suddenly pointed to the back of the coffee shop: "There is an employee lounge there. It's not very big and has only one door. If we can find a zombie to bring in, even if the experiment fails, we can quickly close the door and leave."
Lu Zhao walked over and checked the room: "This is a good choice."
"We can use ropes," Su Wanqing suggested, "Take out some strong ropes from my space and tie up the zombies first, so that they can be guaranteed to be safe even if the experiment fails."
Xiao Ran thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement: "It's feasible. I can be responsible for capturing a zombie and bringing it here."
"I'll go with you," Su Wanqing said, "It's safer for two of us to go together. Lin Che and Lu Zhao will stay here to prepare the experimental site."
The four of them had a clear division of labor and began to prepare for the experiment. Lu Zhao and Lin Che cleared a space in the employee lounge and set up a simple barrier at the door with tables and chairs, just in case.
Su Wanqing took out a few nylon ropes from the space and handed them to Xiao Ran.
"Let's go to the outskirts of the shopping mall and try to find a smaller zombie," Xiao Ran said, "it will be easier to control."
Su Wanqing and Xiao Ran cautiously left the coffee shop and walked towards the back door of the shopping mall.
Not long after, they successfully captured a lone female zombie, tied its limbs tightly with ropes, and sealed its mouth with tape to prevent it from making any sound and attracting other zombies.
They brought the zombies back to the coffee shop, where Lu Zhao and Lin Che had already prepared the experimental site.
"Put it on this chair," Lu Zhao instructed, "Let's tie it to the chair. It's safer this way."
Xiao Ran and Su Wanqing tied the zombie firmly to the chair to ensure that it could not break free.
The zombies continued to struggle, making faint roars.
“Now, we need Lin Che’s tears,” Lu Zhao said, turning to Lin Che, “Can you do it?”
Lin Che was a little embarrassed: "What should I do if I can't cry normally?"
"Think about something sad?" Su Wanqing suggested.
Lin Che shook his head: "I'll try another method." He picked up a thin stick, carefully approached his eyes, and gently stimulated his tear glands.
A few tears quickly flowed from the corners of his eyes.
“Okay,” Lin Che said, wiping his eyes, “Where should I let my tears fall?”
"Drop it on its arm first," Lu Zhao instructed, "just like before. Everyone, pay attention to the reaction."
Lin Che leaned forward and let a tear drop onto the zombie’s exposed forearm.
The effect was almost immediate. The zombie's original violent struggle suddenly weakened, and the parts that were in contact with the tears relaxed significantly, and then this relaxation effect gradually spread to the entire body.
"Did you see that?" Lu Zhao said excitedly, "It really has become slower!"
Su Wanqing took out her watch and started counting the time: "We need to record how long the effect lasts."
The four of them closely observed the zombie's reaction. After about 30 seconds, the zombie began to struggle again, and although its movements were still a little slower than before, it was clearly recovering.
"About 30 seconds," Su Wanqing announced. "The effect is short-lived."
"Let's do another test," Lu Zhao said, "this time dripping it in a different area and see if there's any difference."
Lin Che shed tears again, this time dripping onto the zombie's neck.
The result was similar to the first time, and the zombies became slow again for about 30 seconds.
"Interestingly, no matter where the point of contact is, the effect seems to spread throughout the body," Lu Zhao observed, "which suggests that your tears contain some substance that can be absorbed by the zombies' entire body."
“What on earth is going on?” Lin Che asked in confusion, “Why do my tears have this effect?”
Su Wanqing thought for a moment, “I remember that in the laboratory of the nuclear power plant, we saw records about carriers of special genes.
Lin Che, you might be the owner of one of these special physiques."
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Lin Che recalled her past: "I have been weak and sick since I was a child, and my parents took me to see many doctors. Once, a doctor said that the composition of my blood and body fluids was a little special, but no one paid attention to it at the time."
"This may be the answer," Lu Zhao said, "You may be carrying some special genes in your body that make your tears have an inhibitory effect on the zombie virus."
Xiao Ran had been standing aside in silence, and suddenly spoke up: "This reminds me of my sister."
The other three turned to look at him, and a trace of pain flashed across Xiao Ran's face.
"Your sister?" Su Wanqing asked softly.
Xiao Ran seemed to immediately regret bringing up the topic and quickly changed the subject: "I mean, this special physique may be rare among the population. If Lin Che's tears really have this effect, we should take advantage of it."
Everyone noticed his evasion but did not ask any further questions.
"Now that the effect of tears has been confirmed, how can we use this discovery?"
Lin Che asked, trying to break the sudden silence.
Lu Zhao thought for a moment: "Although 30 seconds is not a long time, it can be a matter of life and death in critical situations. We can find a way to collect your tears and make some kind of simple weapon."
"For example, put it in a small spray bottle?" Su Wanqing suggested, "You can spray it directly when you encounter zombies."
"It's feasible," Lu Zhao nodded, "but it may take time to collect enough tears. And we don't know how long the tears can last after leaving the human body."
"I have another question," Lin Che said, "If my tears are effective against zombies, then what about my other body fluids? For example, blood."
“That’s a good question,” Lu Zhao said, “but testing blood would be more dangerous and require more careful experimental design.”
"Let's get rid of this zombie first," Xiao Ran said, "then we can continue to discuss the follow-up plan."
Xiao Ran walked towards the zombie, dagger in hand, ready to give it the final blow.
"Wait," Lin Che said suddenly, "We can do some more tests.
For example, to see if my tears can be mixed with other substances or if they can enhance the effects.”
Lu Zhao nodded: "That makes sense. We should get as much data as possible before we process it completely."
“I suggest testing the effects of tears at different temperatures,” Su said, “and whether it can be mixed with other substances without losing effectiveness.”
The four of them surrounded the zombie and continued to conduct a series of experiments, hoping to obtain more useful information from Lin Che's unexpected discovery.
Xiao Ran stood a little further away, watching his companions busy at work, with complex emotions in his eyes.
He looked out the window, his thoughts seemed to drift far away, perhaps he was missing the sister he didn't want to mention much.
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