HLnovel Chapter 520 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (131)
Chapter 520 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (131)
The initial reason for conducting the experiment was because the source of infection was unstable.
After a meeting to discuss the possible reasons, the boss decided to try using Zhao Linchuan's abilities to see if the energy radiation could be transferred to other objects.
Larger ones, ones of different materials... I want to see if there's any way to improve this instability, otherwise if more of these unstable sources of infection come in later, there's no way to guarantee monitoring security.
For a unit that is already short-staffed, it would be a huge waste of manpower and resources to have people monitoring the storage 24 hours a day on top of storing the goods in different locations.
That's how this experiment began.
The initial results were far from ideal...
Not only were the original problems not solved, but new problems arose instead.
Once the energy radiation is transformed, it will become even more unstable, even if it is placed back into the original source of infection.
It seems that they become more active after being stimulated.
The research team originally tried to find patterns in the activity of these infection sources, but later discovered that... there are probably no patterns at all. After all, you can't apply all the conventional testing rules, and there are no results that were deliberately referenced.
"Finally, there was an accident..." Zhao Linchuan nodded to Lu Liruan, who was listening attentively.
No one has suggested trying to convert this energy into the human body, because it sounds completely contrary to any established rules and regulations.
Moreover, there is no precedent for doing this to the human body... that would be simply inhumane, so even when research in this area was at a standstill, no one ever made such a hypothesis.
Lu Liruan herself didn't realize that she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"That night I suddenly received a call saying that the source of infection that we had tested the most times had become unstable again. It just so happened that Liao and I were in charge of this matter that day, so we rushed over there."
When we arrived at the destination, the alarm had already been sounded.
It's not unheard of for a secondary source of infection to form a space, but it didn't happen under their surveillance. Rather, it occurred naturally in an exposed environment when they didn't initially have such a good understanding of the space.
Later investigations revealed that the second space was far more dangerous than the first. Based on this, it can be inferred that each subsequent space would involve a dramatic increase in energy radiation, which is why the source of infection must never be allowed to form a second space.
This source of infection, which has undergone numerous experiments, has, as Zhao Linchuan described it, exhibited active aggregation and invasiveness in its energy radiation.
Zhao Linchuan had already noticed that when it was active, the energy radiation would splash out everywhere, and although it didn't separate and enter different objects, it was still difficult to clean up, causing Zhao Linchuan a lot of trouble.
"When will this be the boss?" Zhao Linchuan scratched his hair in great distress as he waited for Liao Tingyuan at the door.
His hair was even longer back then, and from behind he looked like a tall young girl. Despite the freezing weather, he was wrapped in a coat and, as always, kept talking.
Liao Tingyuan, as always, ignored him.
Zhao Linchuan got used to it.
"Actually, back then, Brother Liao was different from now. Li Ruan, you know what Brother Liao used to be like..." Zhao Linchuan said, but his words drifted off-topic.
Then I was suddenly being stared at by several pairs of eyes.
Zhao Linchuan: ...
He saw in Lu Liruan's big eyes that it was as if she was saying on repeat: "Tell me the truth, or you'll be sorry."
At that time, Zhao Linchuan and Liao Tingyuan learned about the situation outside and then headed towards the place where the source of infection was located.
The places where the source of infection is placed are built underground. This kind of isolation through the land is effective to a certain extent. In addition, the storage rooms are all made of isolation materials.
Today is a little different from usual...
The two of them felt it as they walked down the stairs to the third basement level.
Although they, as survivors, cannot clearly perceive what the source of infection is within the space, and they lack precise judgment, they can sense the energy radiation when the source of infection is removed from the space.
Even in a normal, non-existent environment, survivors can still sense energy radiation.
The two exchanged a glance, and Zhao Linchuan asked in a low voice, "Why does he seem...so strong?"
Energy radiation within a certain range will not form space, but once it exceeds a certain node, space will appear. However, this node is closely related to the range of space, the energy intensity of the source of infection, and other factors, making it impossible to accurately determine.
“We don’t know anything, do we?” one of the people in charge complained, his tone irritable, but no one argued with him.
Because he didn't say anything wrong...
Since no one knows anything, this constant staring puts a lot of pressure on everyone. Moreover, the energy radiation emitted also affects people's emotions, and over time, people's mental state becomes unstable.
In just over a year, three personnel involved in the mission have been sent to specialized hospitals for treatment.
It might not sound like a lot, but at that time, the different branches had only been established for a short time and there weren't many people. This situation couldn't be kept secret, so it would put a lot of psychological pressure on others, since no one wants to have psychological problems.
As a result, many people even started to become paranoid.
But many of them can't leave, not because they're so greedy for the high wages here... but because many feel that they belong here and, in a sense, can no longer return to a normal life.
This situation gradually worsened, and there was no way to alleviate it.
Everything seemed to have reached a dead end, but there was nothing that could be done but to keep moving forward.
The only saving grace is that there are very few unstable sources of infection.
The probability of new sources of infection brought out from missions in space was extremely low, which was the only good news at the time.
Liao Tingyuan and Zhao Linchuan stood at the door of the isolation room. Even Zhao Linchuan was silent at this moment. He tugged at his gray coat forcefully and said, "Brother Liao... this space has already been formed, hasn't it?"
He asked in a low voice.
The extent to which this diffusion has spread...has it reached the point of forming space?
But he knew no, if a space had been formed, they would be unable to contact each other, and they were now out of contact inside.
Liao Tingyuan frowned as well: "The fact that no space has been formed is not a good sign either," he added.
Zhao Linchuan understood what he meant.
It means that the spatial threshold for formation cannot be determined. Some sources of infection may have very low energy radiation, resulting in a small spatial range and intensity, but they still manage to create a space. Other sources of infection may have very high energy radiation, resulting in a large spatial range and intensity.
At this point, the energy radiation they were experiencing was already at a level that could form a space of considerable intensity, but it had not yet reached the threshold and had not yet formed a space... so they could still process it.
In other words, this is not good news.
Instead, the threshold here will reach an even higher level. Once it is broken, a space will be formed, and the scope and intensity of that space will be unpredictable.
If such a space were to form, it would pose a great danger to the area affected by the space, and personnel entering to carry out missions would also be in great danger.
Because once a space is formed, it's not as simple as just having someone go in to carry out a mission and retrieve the original source of infection intact.
Some sources of infection may remain in the original items, while others may "escape" as energy radiation is released.
Especially for sources of infection that are inherently unstable and easily spread, the chances of them still being in the same place are very small.
It's like not only solving the problem again, but also having to go through the danger again, which increases the chances of ordinary people in the area encountering danger.
It's best to completely eliminate it from the beginning.
Both of them knew what the other meant by what they hadn't finished saying.
"Hurry up, or it'll just turn into a space and trap us... The problem is, we don't have anyone to contain it. If it runs away, we'll be left staring at each other, waiting here for someone to rescue us..." Zhao Linchuan blurted out.
Then he turned around and found Liao Tingyuan looking at him with a "disdainful" gaze.
"I was just saying! I'm really lucky! I'll never be that unlucky! Did I eat fertilizer with this stuff?"
Before he could finish speaking, the staff unlocked the door and pushed open the isolation room door, and Zhao Linchuan couldn't help but blurt out.
"What you're saying... Where would we get fertilizer to feed it? We'd rather it starve to death!" The staff member couldn't help but chime in, even more cheekily, after hearing Zhao Linchuan's words.
"It doesn't have a mouth, so it can't eat fertilizer."
Liao Tingyuan said calmly, gesturing for the two of them to stop joking.
"Brother Liao, you still have absolutely no sense of humor..." Zhao Linchuan pouted.
Upon entering the isolation room, they found that there was now only one source of infection left. Although it was placed in an isolation box, everyone knew that the box was practically useless.
"Is this kind of isolation box really not a placebo effect?" Zhao Linchuan muttered. Although it was described as isolation material, he didn't tell them what kind of material it was.
It can't isolate unstable sources of infection, and there's no need to isolate stable ones... A large part of the sources of infection are so stable that you could just kick them around like a ball and there wouldn't be any problems.
The most stable ones, and the smaller ones, were even taken home by the leaders as decorations...
This is just hearsay.
Because the source of the infection was a small ornament carved by a famous artist.
However, they do not yet know whether this news is true or not.
"You can stay outside for now," Liao Tingyuan nodded to the staff.
The staff member paused for a moment, then looked a little flustered, but still went back upstairs.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Linchuan asked, puzzled.
"His eyes are bloodshot; he seems to be affected. His symptoms might worsen later," Liao Tingyuan explained.
"Ah...I see." Zhao Linchuan had always been quite close to Liao Tingyuan, even though this Brother Liao was stern and rarely spoke, and was rather cold.
But he is very meticulous and attentive to other people's situations, which makes people feel that he has a very trustworthy sense of responsibility, even though they are not partners.
But Zhao Linchuan had to admit that he felt very reassured going on missions with Liao Tingyuan.
Just like now... he is still seriously caring about others.
Only after hearing the heavy sound of the door closing on the ground did Zhao Linchuan begin to examine the source of the infection.
“Actually, the effect is greatly reduced every time I re-convert. The boss keeps saying he’ll find a way… When will he find a way? I can’t re-convert every day, can I?” Zhao Linchuan felt that this matter had no end.
The amount of energy radiation overflowing now far exceeds the amount during the first re-conversion, which is why he blurted out just now, "Is this like eating fertilizer?"
He even suspected that the radiation energy might have multiplied inside the source of infection, which was why so much of it could spill out in such a short time.
According to Zhao Linchuan's tests, the energy radiation inside this active and unstable source of infection does indeed increase slowly with its level of activity, but it is not very serious; otherwise, it would be too frightening.
Zhao Linchuan took a look...
Fortunately, it wasn't a rapid increase, but rather it spread.
Judging from his expression, Liao Tingyuan knew that there wasn't any bad news.
But this is already bad news.
The previous interval when they needed to handle the situation was two and a half months, but this time the interval is only one and a half months. This earlier timeframe is also very dangerous.
What Zhao Linchuan had to do each time was to convert the overflowing energy radiation back into the original source of infection.
The problem with the slow increase in radiation is the concern that one day the radiation energy will grow to a point where the source of infection cannot be contained. Where to put it then is a problem that remains unsolved.
This is also a problem that must be solved.
When Lu Liruan heard this, she was completely bewildered and had no idea what these research findings were.
Zhao Linchuan's expression turned serious: "But something unexpected happened that day."
"Brother Liao! This...this won't work!" After trying several times, Zhao Linchuan's expression turned extremely ugly. He turned to Liao Tingyuan and said.
"What's wrong?" Liao Tingyuan approached him, and could feel the energy gathering. What did Zhao Linchuan mean by that?
"It's like the energy has its own consciousness; no matter how I try to transform it, I can't..." Zhao Linchuan didn't know if Liao Tingyuan could understand his explanation.
"What will be the consequences?" Liao Tingyuan skipped the process of understanding and asked the result concisely.
“If it can’t be converted, it might escape into other objects once it reaches the threshold and forms a space. That would be a better situation!” Zhao Linchuan said as he continued to try.