Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe carried their bags and took the central elevator to the research institute.
The research institute is just below the top floor, and most of the people living there are families of intellectuals. Although Chen Ci has to go to the base for a physical examination every month, it is a specially set up secret biological research institute, which is very different from these low-level confidentiality ones.
Fu Tianhe was still wondering if he could get some information about chimeras. This thing is a magic weapon for humans to fight against primitive organisms, but there are very few entries that can be searched on the Internet.
He still has a dozen mechanical cores in his hands, so maybe he can make something similar, although Fu Tianhe feels that it is no less difficult than building a flying vehicle with bare hands.
Compared to other areas the two had walked through, the institute was much cleaner and tidier, and its construction style was closer to the top floor of Cinnabar.
After all, before the invention of the gel layer that could block strong ultraviolet rays, the scorched top of the beacon was uninhabited, and this was the most prosperous area.
Chen Ci came here just for tourism purposes. If there were no special attractions, they would go directly to the farm tomorrow.
Humans have lost their land, and all planting and breeding are done in farm areas. The output of one farm area is enough to supply the food needs of all creatures on Cinnabar, which shows how high its productivity is.
They found a suitable hotel nearby and put down their luggage. Chen Ci was really too sleepy to bear it anymore. He checked the camera with his mental power, confirmed that the room was safe, and then fell asleep.
It was past three o'clock when he finally woke up. Chen Ci sat on the bed for a while to clear his mind.
He thought about what Chen Nian had told him at noon, opened the terminal, and deleted the chat records between them one by one.
From a very young age, Chen Ci knew that he was special.
But the price this special treatment brought him was too heavy.
Now Chen Ci hopes that the same fate will not happen again. He has fought hard to gain this moment of freedom.
Chen Ci put the matter aside for the moment, washed his face, and went to call Fu Tianhe next door.
The two of them only carried a small bag filled with drinking water and went out for a stroll.
There are countless research institutes in this area, including military industry, medicine, materials, energy, aviation, and shipbuilding. Every industry you can think of has a related research base.
Many places require access control to enter, so they just stand at the gate and look.
Before he knew it, he had turned to a nearby street, and Chen Ci's attention was quickly attracted by a special shop.
The store is inconspicuous, with a sign that reads "Love Shelter".
It wasn't because Chen Ci had sharp eyes, but because his mental power detected many very weak life fluctuations inside.
He gently pulled Fu Tianhe's sleeve and said to Alpha, "Go over there and take a look."
Fu Tianhe then noticed and asked: "Shelter?"
The two men pushed open the heavy glass door and walked into the store.
As soon as I entered the door, I smelled an indescribable stench. Even Fu Tianhe, who had been hanging around the garbage dump for years, couldn't help but frown.
Chen Ci was wearing a mask and was slightly better. There was not even a staff member at the front desk, only a smart guide board that looked fully intelligent.
Several photos of beagles played on a loop on the guide board.
Chen Ci walked up to the panel and clicked on the most obvious introduction option.
This is a special shelter where all the animals have been used in various experiments.
They are experimental animals that walked out of the research institute alive and were successfully retired.
The most numerous animals in the store are of course dogs. After all, few people care about the life and death of rodents like rabbits and mice, and primates such as monkeys are not suitable as pets.
The foul stench that filled the entire store was emitted by these retired experimental dogs.
Fu Tianhe came up and read the introduction with Chen Ci.
The development of every new drug requires rigorous animal testing, starting with rodents as the first step and mammals as the second step.
Since the 1950s, the Beagle has been highly praised by American scientists due to its strong pain tolerance and resilience, its refusal to struggle, resist, bite or bear grudges, and its organ metabolism indicators being closest to those of humans. It has become the only internationally recognized experimental dog breed and is widely used in biopharmaceuticals, clinical medicine, ingredient evaluation and other fields.
Most beagles that have undergone toxic drug experiments will be euthanized and disposed of after the experiment is over, but some dogs have undergone less serious experiments and are able to walk out of the laboratory alive and retire.
This shelter located in the institute area was set up specifically for this purpose.
There are currently 47 retired beagles in the store, waiting to be adopted.
Each one has a unique number that indicates their age, gender, what type of experiments they have undergone, and their current condition, so that adopters can choose them.
Fu Tianhe looked at the pictures and text and said with pity: "What a poor dog."
"This is a necessary sacrifice," Chen said calmly. "Without the contributions made by these experimental animals, modern medicine would no longer exist."
The needle wound on the inside of his arm, which had long since healed, seemed to begin to ache again. Chen Ci held his right arm calmly.
"I know, I just feel a little emotional." Fu Tianhe scratched his head, "Knowing that so many small animals sacrifice their lives for us, we should cherish their efforts and live well."
Seeing Chen Ci browsing attentively, Fu Tianhe asked: "Do you want to raise one?"
Chen Ci did not give a clear answer, but only said: "I want to go in and take a look."
He passed the identity verification in front of the sign, and the door leading to the backstage holding room opened. Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe walked in one after another.
As soon as he entered the corridor, the even stronger stench made Chen Ci's breathing pause.
Fu Tianhe even raised his hands to cover his nose, somewhat confused. Didn’t they help clean the puppy before sending it out?
Soon Chen Ci walked into the holding room and saw where the experimental dogs were placed.
There were rows of compartments separated by plastic partitions, each compartment was about 70 centimeters long, wide and high, and was filled with blue iron cages where the beagles stayed.
The scientific name of Beagle is Beagle, an ancient hunting dog breed. When in groups, they like to bark and are very noisy.
However, these puppies, who had gone through many experiments, had been trained to seldom make a sound, or were so weak that they could not make a sound, and the entire shelter was silent.
At this moment, Chen Ci seemed to be back in the laboratory again.
He was escorted along the neat corridor and could see the puppies in cages through the glass.
Most of them could only lie in their small cages, looking at him with their black eyes and gentle expressions. Sometimes when Chen Ci came out after a physical examination, the dogs were gone.
Is it being injected with drugs, inhaled with poison gas, sutured during dissection, or surgically injected with ingredients of unknown safety?
When they realized someone was approaching, the dogs just raised their eyelids slightly and did not move. They were so docile and used to it that they rarely resisted even when they were dragged out of their cages, pressed on the laboratory table, had their belly hair shaved, and were repeatedly injected with needles.
Most of them were very dirty, with their fur shaved here and there, revealing their dark pink skin with its ugly stitches.
Compared with other dog breeds, beagles' sweat glands are not well developed, and if they don't take a bath, they often cause a bad odor, not to mention the situation in front of them.
Will the puppies in Base X look like this after the experiment?
He had always thought that the base would keep everything clean.
Chen Ci looked at each cage one by one. Finally, he squatted down and stopped in front of a cage.
It's hard to say what's special about this dog compared to his other companions.
But Chen Ci's gaze was fixed on it.
Noticing Chen Ci's gaze, the already very weak puppy tried to stand up, as if trying to please him instinctively.
Chen Ci glanced at the label on the cage: K41, which was its number as an experimental dog.
Chen Ci squatted and observed it for several minutes.
K41 just stood up and looked at him. It was obviously very weak, and its limbs were shaking constantly. Through the narrow cage, Chen Ci could not see its entire appearance, but he could notice a wound on the dog's shoulder that had been sutured not long ago.
The more often I go to the base, the more I can hear relevant information from the researchers.
Because the test items are different, the contents of the experiments vary. The dog's chest cavity may be opened surgically, drugs may be filled in, and then suturing is performed to observe whether there is a poisoning reaction. These animals used for toxicity testing will eventually be euthanized, and the bodies will be dissected to check whether the internal organs have been poisoned.
Only when it is proven to be harmless can the drug finally be approved for use on humans.
"I want it." Chen Ci took one last look at it, stood up and took the nameplate on the cage in his hand.
"Is this the one?" Fu Tianhe wanted to take a closer look, but the smell was too strong, and it reminded him of some not-so-nice memories. "Now that we've decided, let's go out and talk about it."
The two left the holding room and returned to the front desk. The smell here was not very pleasant, but in comparison, it was much friendlier. Fu Tianhe couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing that Chen Ci seemed to really want to adopt a pet, Fu Tianhe said, "You must think it over before making a decision. Don't be impulsive. After all, raising a pet is not a matter of one or two days. If everything goes well, it can live for more than ten years."
"Besides, dogs like this have serious physical and psychological problems, and it takes a lot more effort to take care of them than ordinary pets. If you are not prepared and find it troublesome or annoying after a while, and then throw it away, it will cause greater harm to the dog."
"I know," Chen Ci nodded, "I have made up my mind."
Mingming's current life is not stable. The identity exchange with Chen Nian may be exposed at any time, and he will have to switch back with Chen Nian in a few days. When he returns to the top floor, he cannot bring the puppy with him. He can only entrust the puppy to Fu Tianhe or Chen Nian to take care of it. Adopting K41 will cause trouble for both of them.
But Chen Ci still wanted to adopt the puppy, not for anything else, but just for the pair of black eyes he had seen through the laboratory glass for many years.
He once had neither the ability nor the opportunity.
Fu Tianhe had long known that Chen Ci was a very determined person. Whenever he made a decision, it was usually after careful consideration and it was difficult to change it.
"Just make up your mind." Fu Tianhe didn't say anything more.
Chen Ci: "I will be busy for a period of time every month and may not be able to take care of the puppy. If I adopt it, can you help me take care of it for a few days during that time?"
Fu Tianhe: "Of course, then it will be a dog adopted by both of us, how great."
That should be fine.
Chen Ci clicked on the guide sign again and entered the adoption column. Adoption requires registering the adopter's specific information, including home address, income level, whether or not there is experience in raising pets, etc.
Chen Ci saw the column for filling in the specific name and ID number, and turned to Fu Tianhe and said, "You fill it out."
At this point, Jiu Yue is still unwilling to reveal her real name?
Fu Tianhe was a little depressed, but he didn't say anything in the end.
He filled in his name and ID number, then registered his home address and income level.
In the column of whether he had experience, he wrote "yes" and made detailed notes of his experience as required.
Chen Ci watched him input sentence by sentence.
To put it simply, Fu Tianhe raised a kitten when he was six or seven years old, and later the kitten died of illness.
Chen Ci: "Have you ever had a cat?"
"It's not really a formal raising. Xiaobai is a stray cat near my home. He often comes to play with me, and I feed him some water and food."
Fu Tianhe paused, and then said, "It always stays away from other people and is only friendly to me. And I even gave it a name, so it should be okay to call it my cat, right?"
Chen Ci nodded to show that he understood.
Fu Tianhe has a house, savings, and a proper job, which are very good conditions in the underground city.
The adoption registration he submitted was quickly approved. Fu Tianhe paid an adoption fee of 500 Auggie. The machine spit out a magnetic card. They swiped the card in the compartment and took away the cage containing K41.
"I need to buy some more dog food." Fu Tianhe took a bag of dog food from the store.
Chen Ci returned to the containment room and came to K41. He squatted down, unlocked the lock of the compartment with a word card, and reached out to drag the cage out.
During the entire process, K41 just lay there quietly, without any resistance or sound.
Chen Ci quickly took it away from the smelly room.
Fu Tianhe was finally able to see the puppy's condition clearly. It was skinny and the sutures on its shoulders were a little festering. The information said it was 19 months old and it probably had not had a bath since birth.
Maybe I'll have to clean it up after I bring it back.
The pedestrians on the street outside might scare the puppy, so Chen Ci took off his coat and covered the cage with it, thinking that perhaps the darkness and confinement would make the puppy feel more at ease.
Fu Tianhe handed the dog food to Chen Ci: "Take it home first. I'll go to the supermarket to buy some things to treat its wound."
Chen Ci returned to the hotel alone. The receptionist was playing with the terminal and didn't notice that he brought his pet upstairs.
Fu Tianhe went straight to the supermarket and bought a series of cleaning supplies including a cloth apron, cotton swabs, alcohol, absorbent towels, etc.
It seems that special ear cleaning liquid is needed to clean the ears of small animals. Fu Tianhe couldn't remember clearly, so he asked the supermarket staff, got a bottle, and bought some insect repellent.
When Fu Tianhe came back with the things, Chen Ci was squatting on the ground looking at the puppy in the cage.
The ventilation in the entire room was turned to the maximum, but the stench from the dog was still there.
"We have to clean it first. It smells so bad." Fu Tianhe put the bag on the table.
Chen Ci hummed, and Fu Tianhe squatted beside him, only to find that the cage door had been open all along.
Even though the cage door was open, the puppy still huddled inside timidly, not daring to take a step outside.
It has been locked in a cage since birth and has grown up in it. The happiest moment for most experimental dogs is the day of euthanasia, because they can get out of the experimental cabin and run happily and freely for one minute.
Fu Tianhe poured some dog food in front of the cage: "Give it some time, let it come out slowly by itself."
The trembling weak limbs tried to move forward, but they didn't dare to, and timidly huddled deep in the cage. The puppy lowered its eyelids and made no sound, but perhaps it should have at least uttered a few sobs.
Chen Ci looked at it quietly. Why did he feel a little stuffy in his chest?
Fu Tianhe sat at the table, studying the few remaining mechanical cores in his hand. He couldn't help but pay attention to what was happening on Chen Ci's side. He always felt that something was wrong with Jiu Yue.
You have to know that during the time he has been with Jiu Yue, he has never seen her show any obvious emotions. Jiu Yue's face is calm and expressionless, so cold and cold that she doesn't seem like a human. No matter how urgent the situation is, she always looks calm and at ease.
The puppy they just brought back was indeed very pitiful, but perhaps because it had seen too many scenes of suffering, Fu Tianhe felt that it was not so bad. At least now it was adopted by him and Jiuyue, and would not suffer anymore.
Besides, to be fair, it would be more unbearable to pick out the still-beating heart of a giant squid. It's not because of pity for the primitive creature, but because of people's instinctive avoidance of bloody scenes.
Chen Ci waited for a full forty minutes.
The front paw that had been gently probing finally stepped out of the cage nervously.
When its paw pads touched the floor, the puppy subconsciously retracted its paws, making sure there was no danger before slowly moving its weight onto the floor.
It sniffed carefully, half of its body walked out of the cage, tried to touch the dog food in front of it, looked at Chen Ci beside it, and then tentatively took the first bite.
Chen Ci reached out and gently touched its head.
The moment he touched it, he clearly felt the puppy shudder violently.
Chen Ci had never raised an animal before, but he knew that he should try his best to gain the puppy's trust. He stroked the puppy's head again and again until it turned around and sniffed Chen Ci gently with its nose.
Fu Tianhe also put down his work and came over.
"It seems to be in good condition." Fu Tianhe also touched it.
After K41 finished eating the dog food in front of it, Fu Tianhe lifted its front legs and checked the wounds on its body.
There are many needle holes on the abdomen, and then there is the suture wound on the left shoulder, which has some pus.
"First treat the wound, then clean it a little, otherwise the smell is too strong."
Fu Tianhe took the tweezers and small scissors bought from the supermarket. Chen Ci held K41 slightly and watched Fu Tianhe carefully deal with the messy stitches on the wound.
The stitches were very rough and the threads were tangled in a sloppy manner. After making sure that the skin and flesh had grown back, Fu Tianhe removed the stitches and cleaned up the pus that had flowed out.
Fu Tianhe's movements are very skilled, even like a professional pet doctor.
Chen Ci asked, "Can you do these?"
"Actually, it doesn't require any technical skills. I used to sew and remove stitches myself." Fu Tianhe answered casually.
Sounds like he's been hurt a lot.
The puppy was shaking but didn't struggle or bark. Perhaps it thought it was a new experiment.
After treating the wounds on the shoulder and abdomen, Fu Tianhe lifted up its drooping ears and, not surprisingly, saw that the inside was completely covered with black substance. One of the sources of the foul stench came from here.
Fu Tianhe: “Tsk.”
Even Chen Ci couldn't help holding his breath.
Fu Tianhe didn't say a word and used a cotton swab and ear cleanser to clean K41's ears.
Each cotton swab can scoop up a large amount of black mud, but this is not just simple dirt, but the secretions caused by severe ear mites, which are condensed into lumps.
It’s hard to imagine how itchy and uncomfortable it would be.
Fu Tianhe used two whole packs of cotton swabs to clean K41's ears.
"That's it for now." He tied up the almost full garbage bag. "I guess I have to wait until the wound is almost healed and it has adapted to the environment before I can give it a bath. It will probably smell before then. Otherwise, put it in my room."
"It's okay." Chen Ci held it and said, "Just stay with me."
"Okay, if anything happens, call me next door anytime." Fu Tianhe did not insist. He stood up, carrying a garbage bag full of medical waste, "I'm going to buy dinner. You stay with it. I just used the deworming agent, and it may not be killed in a short time. Be careful not to get any fleas or anything like that."
Fu Tianhe cleaned up Chen Ci's room and went out to buy food.
The surroundings became quiet again. Chen Ci didn't say a word, and K41 didn't make a sound.
It stood there quietly, allowing Chen Ci to stroke it again and again.
Why would you want to adopt a puppy like this? Was it because those pitiful and gentle eyes reminded me of many years ago, or did you see yourself in it?
Chen Ci can't explain it clearly.
Perhaps companionship really worked. After being timid at first, the puppy looked around and observed the room.
Chen Ci boiled some warm water for it to drink and searched the Internet for some relevant information. This kind of newly retired experimental dog should have a special feeding method in the early stage.
The room was full of dog smell. Chen Ci opened the window and found his clothes were dirty from hugging the dog.
But Chen Ci didn't care. He sent a message to Fu Tianhe, asking him to sell him a soft cushion or something to make a nest for the puppy. Chen Ci didn't want K41 to continue sleeping in the cage.
Soon, Fu Tianhe came back with dinner and a cushion. Unlike Chen Ci who had stayed in the room for a long time and had already adapted to the smell, Alpha couldn't help holding his breath as soon as he came in.
You know, he is a ruthless man who can remain calm even in a garbage dump.
"Let's eat in my room." Fu Tianhe covered his nose and said in a muffled voice, "When I came back just now, I saw a piano on the road. I don't know who put it there, but it looks very expensive. I'll play it for everyone. Do you want to go and see it after dinner?"