Chapter 23 Abnormal Heart
"Maybe it really is a tank?"
Late at night, a newly established research institute far away in the northwest was still brightly lit.
People wearing closed protective suits came in and out, and everything was in order amidst the chaos.
The closed laboratory door was heavily guarded, and the atmosphere inside the laboratory was also solemn.
The gray-haired professor looked at the report his student presented before him and exclaimed, "What did you say? The heart of the previous experimental subject was removed and still maintained a normal beating under room temperature conditions?"
Last night, an urgent transfer order brought all these experts in biological sciences and medicine together in this remote research institute in the northwest.
They didn't know what to do until early this morning, when five helicopters landed at the institute and brought in four experimental subjects for them to study.
After the first round of examinations on the experimental subjects, he discovered that even though the experimental subjects could still move, their body cells seemed to have lost their activity long ago, as if something had absorbed all the energy stored in the human cells in an instant.
However, the opposite was true for the test subjects' hearts. Their hearts were more active than those of ordinary people, and were clearly becoming more active.
So they selected two test subjects for dissection and conducted in vitro research on their abnormal hearts. But even though he was mentally prepared, the results of the experiment still surprised him.
A typical heart, after being removed from the body and kept frozen, would only survive for about four hours. However, this isolated heart, stored at room temperature, had maintained its activity for over fifteen hours. How could this not be astonishing?
The old professor listened to the student's report and felt that he had found a breakthrough in his research. "Are there any other changes?"
"some."
The young student adjusted the screen on his tablet to focus on the interior of the incubator. "Both Subjects One and Two have developed a fleshy mass slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball on the outside of their hearts. Look, that's it."
The student continued, "Number one was stored at room temperature, and number two was stored at low temperature. However, contrary to previous assumptions, the heart stored at room temperature is more active than the one stored at low temperature, and the resulting meatballs are also larger."
The old professor looked at the screen and was also surprised. He didn't find the fleshy ball during the previous dissection. Could it be that it grew after leaving the body?
The fleshy ball was obviously brighter in color than other parts of the heart, and it seemed as if there was something inside the ball that controlled the flow of blood in the heart.
The old professor was silent for a moment. "Take out the hearts from boxes one and two, and prepare the operating table."
"yes."
The operating table was quickly prepared, and the old professor picked up the scalpel and lightly cut the beating heart.
The bloody film on the surface of the small meat ball cracked, revealing what was wrapped inside.
The old professor carefully took the thing out.
Under the bright light, the onlookers could see clearly what it was and had puzzled expressions on their faces.
"What's this?"
…
The next day, the sun rose from the east as usual.
Huang Liping had been on guard all night and was not in good spirits. Jiang Qian and Ren Ru made breakfast for her. After breakfast, Huang Liping went to rest. Jiang Qian, remembering what they had talked about yesterday at noon, went to look for wild vegetables on the nearby hillside with Jiang Weimin.
Because there are usually few people coming to the mountain, and the people in the temple have a vegetable garden, there are still a lot of wild vegetables on the mountain. The two large plastic baskets I took when I went out were filled up in a short time.
Jiang Weimin was very happy that he finally had green vegetables to eat.
"Let me tell you, these wild vegetables from the mountains are delicious. After blanching them, simply season them with some salt and light soy sauce, and they become a delicious cold dish. You can also add some to your noodles. They're just as good as the greens you buy at the supermarket."
He flipped through the basket in his hand. "I haven't been eating enough vegetables lately, and Chenchen has had trouble going to the toilet. I think there's still a lot here. After we finish eating these at noon, we'll come back to look for some in the evening..."
As he spoke, he looked up and saw several cars parked next to his car not far away, and many people were heading towards his car in a menacing manner.
"What happened?" Fearing that something had happened at home, Jiang Weimin hurried over.
Jiang Qian also saw it and hurried to follow.
When they got to their car, they saw that it had been surrounded.
Jiang Dong was blocking the car door, looking like he was negotiating with someone outside the car.
“What are you doing!”
Jiang Weimin quickly stepped in and stood in front of his son. Seeing that it was someone he had seen before, his expression improved a little, but his brows were still furrowed. "What's going on? What's going on?"
"It's okay, it's okay, uncle, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
The visitor smiled and said, "Isn't it that I felt quite comfortable staying here yesterday, so we came here early before the temperature rises. There are quite a few of us this time, so I thought I'd come and say hello to your family."
"Oh." Jiang Weimin's expression didn't soften. He glanced at the people around him and said, "Then we understand. You guys go now. We need to rest."
"Okay, sorry, uncle, we'll leave now."
The people who came didn't bother to argue for long, and the group turned around and went to the side.
Only after seeing them walk away did Jiang Weimin and Jiang Qian get into the car together.
Jiang Weimin: "What happened just now?"
Jiang Dong shook his head. "I don't know either. They drove out of the temple, and I saw the license plate of the leading car was the same as yesterday, so I ignored it. Who knew they would get out of the car and come towards our house? We had just said a few words when you came back."
Although the other party did not do anything this time, the scene of being surrounded just now made people feel uneasy.
With so many people around, if anything were to come up with any ideas, the old and young in their family would definitely not be able to handle it.
Jiang Weimin thought for a moment and said, "Next time if so many people come again and you feel it's dangerous, just drive away and leave us alone. We'll hide and wait for you to come back and pick us up. If you can't escape, give them whatever they want. The most important thing is to save your life. Do you understand? I think this day is going to be a complete mess."
"Dad, don't say that." Jiang Dong said, "Didn't they do anything? They even drove the car a little further away. Maybe they just came to say hello like they said. Don't think too much about it. Besides, if we run away, we will definitely run together as a family. What kind of person would I be if I abandoned you!"
Jiang Weimin and Jiang Qian disagreed with Jiang Dong's opinion.
Regardless of whether those people had malicious intentions or not, Jiang Qian was glad that she and her father returned in time.
She thought for a moment and said, "Dongzi, you must be on guard against others. Next time if you encounter this situation again, don't open the door and get out of the car. Just hide in the car."
"There's no point in hiding, right? What if they get angry and smash the car?"
Jiang Dong had to be careful about this, considering it was their family's only means of transportation and temporary residence. "This is our family's last car."
This car is now like a second home to them.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Qian said, "Let them smash it, as long as you don't get out. They can't damage this car, and they can't get in. As long as you don't get out, you'll be absolutely safe."
"Do you think our car is a tank?" Jiang Dong looked at her disapprovingly.
Jiang Qian ignored the sarcasm in his tone, "Maybe it really is a tank?"
Jiang Dong: ???
Are you hysterical? Are you lying with your eyes open?
He was about to complain, but when he saw Jiang Qian's serious face, he swallowed his words back.
It wasn't just because of the suppression of their bloodline talents, but also because, ever since the rainstorm, his sister had truly shown some evil tendencies. Before, he would have doubted her, but now, his first reaction was to doubt himself.
Jiang Qian naturally didn't know what her younger brother was complaining about.
She had thought carefully before telling him about the system and the car.
Not to mention that the car that was bound to her originally belonged to her family. When the end of the world came, her family members were also people she could not abandon.
Sooner or later, her family would have to know about the system; she couldn't hide it even if she wanted to. She hadn't told them before because she was afraid they wouldn't believe her, but now she had a way to convince them. She also hoped that this system would help protect her family better in her absence.
But after she finished speaking, Jiang Dong and Ren Ru fell silent, Jiang Mingchen looked confused, and Jiang Weimin and Huang Liping still didn't believe it.
Huang Liping even touched Jiang Qian's forehead and asked, "You don't have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?"
Jiang Qian broke free from her mother's hand and was too lazy to talk nonsense.
"It's up to you whether you believe it or not. Now I can do an experiment and tell you whether what I said is true or not."
Jiang Qian said this and got out of the car with the whole family.
After waiting for everyone to get out of the car, Jiang Qian did not close the door, but just gestured to the rest of the people to come in.
Jiang Dong walked forward in a daze. When he reached the car door, he raised his foot but couldn't touch the pedal.
"Huh?" He came to his senses and touched it again, but found that there seemed to be a transparent barrier between him and the door of the car in front of him, blocking him outside.
"You really can't get in?"
When the others saw him stop at the door and not go in, they also gathered around and subconsciously reached out to touch it, their eyes widening instantly.
A wall? A transparent, invisible wall?
What's going on?
Everyone turned around and looked at Jiang Qian.
Jiang Qian knew that they had already discovered it, so she stopped keeping it a secret.
"It's inconvenient to talk down here. Everyone, get in the car and I'll tell you what's going on."
At the moment the words fell, everyone clearly felt that the transparent wall that was preventing them from entering suddenly disappeared.
Jiang Dong, who was squeezed in the front, almost fell into the car due to inertia.
But he was not in the mood to care about these things at the moment. He looked at the car in front of him in disbelief, and only got in the car after being urged by the people behind him.
The crowd who watched the magical scene automatically found a place to sit down and waited for Jiang Qian to explain to them.
Jiang Qian did not hide anything and started talking from the day they began to evacuate, all the way to yesterday's newbie gift pack.
Although her tone was very calm, the other people in the Jiang family felt like they were listening to a legendary story.
Huang Liping: "This is too bizarre! It's simply divine."
Jiang Dong: "So this car really only allows those you want to get on it, right?"
Jiang Weimin: "So as long as we don't get out of the car, it can protect us, right? What's the maximum amount of attack it can withstand?"
Jiang Mingchen's face was full of longing: "Aunt, can this car transform? Like the Transformers that Dad talked about before?"
It was only when he spoke that everyone realized that they had not avoided the child when they spoke.
Ren Ru reacted immediately and said to her son, "Chenchen, what we just talked about about the car and my aunt is a secret and cannot be told to anyone else, so don't tell anyone, understand?"
Although Jiang Mingchen didn't know why, he nodded when his mother said seriously that he couldn't tell anyone.
Huang Liping also warned, "Except for the people in our family who are in the car, don't tell anyone else, understand? Don't tell anyone about this outside."
"I understand, grandma." Jiang Mingchen was a little scared by the serious expression of his always kind grandma, and he subconsciously hid in his mother's arms.
Ren Ru patted his shoulder and he calmed down.
Jiang Qian also knew that keeping the child's secret was for the good of both herself and the whole family.
This car is a guarantee for their family. Although she knows that the bound vehicle cannot be changed, others may not think so.
Right now they don’t know much about the system and the car, so instead of leaking it out and having to be wary of other people’s bad intentions, it’s better to keep it secret and avoid trouble.
So she didn't say much and only answered her father and Jiang Dong's questions.
"At the moment, I can control those who want to get in the car. I don't know exactly how much damage the car can withstand, but I'll try it when I get a chance. But staying in the car is definitely safer than being outside, so if we encounter danger, we can just close the doors and windows and stay inside."
Jiang Dong looked at the car like a new toy, and was filled with enthusiasm for a moment. "Let's try it now? Our axe is still in the trunk!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his father punched him in the back.
"Why try? What if you break it?" Jiang Weimin disagreed. "We'll find out later. If the car can't withstand the damage, we'll be dead outside it too. What's the point of trying?"
These words made everyone fall silent.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Jiang Qian encouraged the others, saying, "Don't be discouraged. Our family's situation is much better now. This car's various functions can be upgraded. If nothing else, I think it will be no problem to at least keep our family safe in the future."
Everyone's expressions softened a little.
Jiang Weimin looked at the car that had been with him for more than ten years and became excited again.
"That's true. Our family is much better off than others just because we have this car."
Huang Liping also said, "It's really God's blessing, no, it's the system's blessing."
The whole family was happy, only Ren Ru was even more silent than before.
…
At noon, Ren Ru and Jiang Dong cooked.
Because it was too hot to cook in the car, the two of them moved the gas tank and gas stove out of the car and cooked directly outside.
Jiang Dong looked at his wife who was still silent, and went over to comfort her, "Don't worry, we prepared so many things for Mom and Dad. As long as they don't go out and stay at home, they should be fine."
Ren Ru knew they had done everything they could, but she was still worried. Especially now that her own family's safety was guaranteed, she became even more worried about her parents' situation.
"I'm worried that one of them might get sick. Dad has always been in poor health, and my brother-in-law's parents don't look very well either. What if..."
Ren Ru didn't want to think so, but she couldn't help it, "It's a pity that I can't contact anyone now."
Although they didn't go down the mountain much these days, the village committee arranged people down there, mainly to contact the outside world, but the signal was still not restored and they got nothing.
Jiang Dong understood her feelings and put his arm around her shoulders. "Think positively about everything. Maybe nothing will happen. Even if something does happen, if we control it in time like they did in the temple, then it won't be a big deal, right?"
When he went to fetch water last night, Jiang Dong asked someone for details.
That night, the village committee acted promptly. Besides the natural onset of illness, the only two victims so far were Zhang Yuan's mother and his wife.
Zhang's mother and Zhang Yuan's wife Li Wenhui experienced strange changes within a few hours after being bitten, which made the remaining villagers in the temple more vigilant. They wanted to tie up anyone who coughed or sneezed, for fear that they would follow in the Zhang family's footsteps.
After all, of the original five members of the Zhang family, only Zhang Yuan and his father are left.
"I hope so!" Ren Ru could only persuade herself to think positively.
The day passed quickly. In the evening, the "neighbors" nearby all returned to the temple. Only then did the Jiang family dare to relax a little and start eating dinner.
【Author’s words】
This is today's update, about one and a half chapters. The next chapter will be updated on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the stupid author had a dream. In the dream, the stupid author was very happy and even took a pen and paper to write it down, thinking that he would write a new article after adding to it. Then...
I woke up from the dream, and I forgot what the specific plot was...
I'm so sad, I want to cry.
I clearly wrote it down in my dream notebook, but why did I forget it when I woke up? Can I take out the notebook from my dream? Can I have a sequel to that dream today?
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