Chapter 165 Zombie Baby
When Zhang Qiongqiong began her cesarean section, she was in very bad condition. She was listless, had a dull gaze, and her varicose veins were very obvious.
Infection is imminent.
Even though they were fitted with bite guards and gloves, they were firmly secured to the hospital bed. All the doctors who went in wore the same protective suits as those used for operating on HIV patients.
Given the current shortage of supplies at the base, there aren't many protective suits in reserve. A single cesarean section doesn't require that many people, so junior staff members like Lin Xi, who have no official titles in the virus lab, were left outside.
About 30 minutes later, the door to the makeshift operating room opened, and the doctor came out carrying a box after undergoing strict disinfection.
The moment the door opened, a faint cry reached my ears.
The dozens of researchers outside were discussing it excitedly as they eagerly crowded around.
"Why is the crying still normal? Wasn't it said that the fetus's brain had a large-scale infection?"
"I'm a little scared to look, baby zombies!"
"..."
Lin Xi squeezed forward in the crowd and spotted a small head inside the box...
It was a baby with translucent white skin, but unlike the babies Lin Xi remembered, this baby was not plump and round. Its limbs were shriveled, its cheeks were stiff, and its slightly open lips made a crying sound.
The crying sounded no different from that of a normal toddler, and its two dry lips opened, pulling out several streams of dark yellow mucus.
Song Heng gently pried open the baby's eyes. The eyes were pale and without pupils. The skin on the top of the head was ulcerated and sore, and the brown, wriggling brain could be vaguely seen underneath.
A small zombie who was indirectly infected by its mother.
Song Heng led a group of researchers to the adjacent laboratory to conduct various tests on the baby. The temporary laboratory was too small, and when everyone crowded in, there was no place for Lin Xi to stay.
Lin Xi glanced at the operating room where she had just been; only a young nurse stood trembling beside it.
Zhang Qiongqiong had just been given anesthesia. After the cesarean section, the doctor treated her like a living person and stitched up her wound. A nurse was left to take care of her afterward.
But at this moment, Zhang Qiongqiong's bound limbs were twitching slightly, her eyebrows and eyelashes were twitching wildly, and some of the protruding veins on her body had turned black.
Logically, Zhang Qiongqiong should not be able to move while still under anesthesia.
The zombie virus was too powerful, and anesthetics were almost useless. Otherwise, the zombies outside would have been cleared out long ago by using tranquilizer guns to slowly harvest them.
Seeing the obvious signs of mutation, the nurse didn't dare approach Zhang Qiongqiong even though she was tied up.
Lin Xi stepped forward and took a piece of white paper from the workbench to record Zhang Qiongqiong's mutation process.
The ECG monitor is still connected; you can simply record the data from it.
With someone accompanying her, the nurse became bolder and came up to try to cover Zhang Qiongqiong with a blanket.
Lin Xi whispered, "Get her a pair of pants. If she mutates later, just send her straight to the lab."
The young nurse had finally prepared herself mentally, but Lin Xi's words, "It will mutate later," startled her back, and she hesitated to the side, holding her hospital pants.
After recording the data, Lin Xi took the pants from the nurse. The lock used to bind zombies was brought by the Nanhua Biological Research Institute. Lin Xi was very familiar with how to use it and quickly put the pants on and locked them back.
When locking the second leg, Zhang Qiongqiong's limbs suddenly stiffened, as if she were having a cramp and couldn't control herself. Lin Xi had to grip her tightly to lock the lock back in place.
Lin Xi had assumed Zhang Qiongqiong had mutated, but the next second she heard Zhang Qiongqiong's voice: "Save me and my baby..."
Her mouth was covered by a mask and kept moving, but her open eyes were already green, and her bound limbs kept twisting and turning, trying to break free of her restraints.
The nurse was both frightened and bewildered: "What's going on? Has she turned into a zombie?"
Lin Xi: "It's changed."
She added a note on the record sheet: "Language is allowed."
The baby's crying was actually a form of language, and the mother also retained some language function. I wonder if there is any connection between them.
She had seen a few talking zombies, but the probability was not that high.
"Zhang Qiongqiong? Can you hear me?"
Upon hearing voices, Zhang Qiongqiong twisted violently. Her limbs were restrained, and she tried to get up by pushing her abdomen upwards, but she failed and lay back on the bed with a muffled thud.
She had pushed the blanket to the floor; luckily, Lin Xi had just put pants on her, otherwise she would have been a zombie with her head exposed.
With a ferocious expression, Zhang Qiongqiong replied in a weak voice, "Help, help..."
It seemed unable to answer Lin Xi's question, merely mechanically repeating a few phrases it often used in life, just like other talking zombies.
When Lin Xi took the record sheet next door, the baby's cries were still echoing. The baby's withered little face was contorted in a ferocious way, but it couldn't hurt anyone because it lacked the ability to do so.
Relevant staff members have already collected samples for testing. They just moved to the base, and many instruments haven't been installed yet. Everyone is busy with their work, so there's a lot of empty space around Song Heng.
Lin Xi stepped forward and reported, "Teacher, the mother who just gave birth also mutated, but retained some of her language abilities."
Song Heng was still examining the baby when he casually nodded.
Lin Xi emphasized again: "Both the mother and the child retained their language abilities after the mutation."
Song Heng nodded casually.
Suddenly, a ray of light reflected off the Mediterranean Sea, and Song Heng looked up sharply: "Both mother and child have language abilities?"
Lin Xi nodded.
A new round of examinations began, and Zhang Qiongqiong and the baby were both taken into the scanning room. The images showed that both of them had small uninfected areas in their brains, with Zhang Qiongqiong having more uninfected areas than the baby.
A sudden inspiration struck Song Heng, as if he had grasped a glimmer of hope: "Quick! Set up the equipment and extract uninfected cell samples."
Lin Xi joined the busy research team, tidying up the temporary laboratory, settling the equipment, and then taking samples for testing.
Both Zhang Qiongqiong and her son have parts of their brains that are not completely infected. Although Lin Xi has seen a few zombies that retain the ability to speak, they do not make up a large proportion of all zombies. Now, their coincidence in a mother and son makes it hard not to think about genetics.
However, medical professionals know that antibodies are generally not hereditary unless the body has immunity to a virus due to a specific gene mutation. Such mutations can be inherited and will manifest in close relatives.
Another possibility is that Zhang Qiongqiong has a special antibody symbiont in her body, and the baby was infected through close contact while still in her body.
The laboratory has made several preliminary hypotheses, all of which require experimental results to support them.
After so long, the laboratory has finally found a new research direction. Everyone has just arrived at the safe base, and their survival is guaranteed. They are all full of energy at this moment.
Song Heng's students all share his spirit of diligent study. They were so busy that they didn't realize it was already 2 a.m.
The new lab shift schedule hasn't been finalized yet, and some people in the lab are already exhausted. Everyone finished their urgent tasks and took a break to rest.
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