Chapter 158: Accepting Irradiation
Chen Chen waited for a moment after the crystalline regained its blue l.u.s.ter.
After ten minutes, Chen Chen tested with the radiation detector again and noticed that the radiation level had reverted to normal levels.
Upon noting this, Chen Chen took the cage out of the quarantine zone. He collected blood samples from the four mice and also chipped off a small piece of the crystalline and had it sealed.
Chen Chen then took out a marker to label the irradiated mice. They were labeled A1, A2, A3, and A4 respectively. The cage was labeled as Cage A.
The other cage was labeled as Cage B afterward. Three mice were taken out of Cage B and settled into Cage A. The final mouse in Cage B was taken into the quarantine zone.
Chen Chen repeated the same set of procedures as before, extracting the same piece of crystalline from the computer and placing it into the cage.
The crystalline released its radiation again and the lone mouse was thus irradiated.
Fortunately, the lone mouse which was exposed to the radiation all by itself did not display any signs of vital instability.
Following this, Chen Chen left the room again and moved the healthy mice previously moved to the other cage back to its original cage. He also labeled the lone mouse which had been irradiated as B1 and collected blood samples.
Chen Chen left the laboratory with the collected blood samples and the remnant of the crystalline.
The devices from Switzerland were not imported into the underground base yet so the blood tests would still have to be conducted in the research center for now.
Chen Chen took off the protective suit and returned to the research center with the blood samples and both the A and B cages in tow.
Chen Chen was worried about the off chance that these irradiated mice would somehow manage to escape while he was gone. Despite the small chance of it happening, it was better to be cautious since they were mice exposed to the crystalline radiation.
When Chen Chen returned to the research center, he pa.s.sed the blood samples to the relevant department to have them produce a report on the complete blood count and microRNA of the mice soonest possible.
Next, Chen Chen found a vacant small laboratory where he locked the door and began to observe the state of the mice in the cages.
The first thing he did was place the mice in the two cages into two larger steel cages. Next, he placed several melon seeds in both cages A and B to get them to fight for it.
Throughout the entire sequence, there were no signs that may resemble the usage of superpowers.
Chen Chen thought about it and decided to get two scoops of melon seeds and place them outside both cages A and B respectively. This way, the mice could see them but could not access them.
As expected, the group of mice was starting to get anxious. Two of them constantly tried to poke their heads through the gap of the steel cage. However, due to the compact netting of the steel cage, they only managed to stick out the tips of their noses.
Chen Chen observed silently with an experiment recorder set up to film the experiment.
After two to three hours, the pile of melon seeds remained outside the cage completely untouched.
At the same time, the results for the complete blood count were out. Chen Chen looked at the blood count reading and noticed that the irradiated mice seemed to display signs of leukopenia, albeit not very severe.
Of course, these were just the initial symptoms.
Even for regular people exposed to radiation, the potentially harmful effects may only surface after several weeks or months.
It was the same for mice. Experiments had been performed by testing two groups of mice, one exposed to a lethal amount of radiation and the other a non-lethal amount. It took three to four weeks before any vivid observation could be noted.
This meant that the microRNA tests should be essential.
A microRNA was a small non-coding RNA molecule involved in post-transcriptional gene expression regulation found in plants and animals. There were speculations that RNA regulated one-third of human gene expression.
After yet another hour, the microRNA results were released. From group A, 13% to 15% of microRNA in all four mice were exposed to radiation changes. This reading increased to 19% for group B.
Chen Chen allowed himself a sigh of relief upon noting these results, all his worries were gone.
Due to time concerns, there was no way to investigate the later effects for now. Still, he was at least able to confirm that this radiation did not cause any life-threatening issue.
There was no longer any need for concern at this point.
Upon returning to the cages, Chen Chen raised his eyebrows in wonder when he saw what was on the table.
While he was looking at the laboratory report, the irradiated mouse in Cage B was gnawing away at a large melon seed.
The pile of melon seeds outside the cage seemed to have been moved as well. It was as if an invisible hand had nudged them toward the direction of the cage.
The mouse labeled B1 had undoubtedly begun practicing the use of its superpowers.
Upon noting this fact, Chen Chen waited for it to finish the seed before capturing it from the cage. With his right hand holding its head, he pulled its tail with his left hand!
“Crack!”
The little mouse which had just learned to use its superpower and had a bright future ahead of it left the world without so much as a whimper.
After that, Chen Chen executed all of the mice in the two cages one by one. He found a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid and poured it into a large beaker, and then threw the carca.s.ses of all the mice in it.
It did occur to Chen Chen to keep these mice alive for long term observation, but he ultimately gave up on the idea.
After all, the items instantiated from the USB drive were still more reliable. The same logic applied from the earliest NZT-48 to the immunity shot, even to the more recent AD-001. Keeping this group of mice alive may cause him problems in the future.
Next, Chen Chen returned to the underground laboratory. This time, he did not put on a protective suit. Instead, he entered the quarantine zone and turned on the computer to make a copy of Chronicle 2: Darkness Rises and inserted it into the USB drive.
Chen Chen, who was well familiar with the routine, straight away dragged the movie to the part with the cut crystal.
Chen Chen took a deep breath before reaching into the computer screen...
When he pulled his hand back out, the crystalline with its faint blue glow appeared in his palm.
The moment it came out, the crystalline sensed the biological force field and immediately emitted a piercing screech. The blue glow was slowly replaced with a red tint!
It was releasing radiation.
Chen Chen remained holding the crystalline this way. He felt the crystal slowly heating up before subsequently cooling down.
Five minutes later, the crystalline had reverted to its original form.
That was it?
Chen Chen put down the crystalline and tried to feel some changes in his body to no avail.
Next, he turned to the marker pen beside him and began to imagine the pen being lifted by an invisible hand. No matter how hard he tried to visualize it, nothing came out of it.
Was it because the dosage was too small?
Chen Chen shook his head. There was a scene in the movie that mentioned that a lot of users who had been exposed to the crystalline radiation hoped to get more crystalline. This meant that the radiation effect was additive.
Arriving at this thought, Chen Chen instantiated yet another crystalline and absorbed it as he did previously.
This time, Chen Chen felt something in his head that he could not put into words...
Chen Chen frowned. There was a hot sensation in his nose which made him rub his nose instinctively.
A small puddle of blood appeared before him.
Was this an indication of the beginning stages of acquiring the superpower?
Chen Chen wondered silently.