Mu Yiran flipped through a few more pages of the experimental log, which recorded the preparations for the surgery and the physical condition of test subject 213.
He turned to another page, which read: "
April 20th, 3:00 PM, prefrontal lobotomy performed on test subject 213. The surgery went smoothly, taking 9 minutes and 23 seconds.
During the surgery, test subject 213 was conscious and able to answer questions.
Post-surgery, test subject 213 fell into a coma.
...
At 6:15 PM, test subject 213 was declared brain dead, and the surgery was declared a failure.
" "Damn it," Ke Xun cursed, but seeing Mu Yiran still flipping through the pages, he continued to hold up his phone for him.
—June 10th, test subject 214, the day after surgery, awoke at 9:03 AM, unable to respond to the researchers' questions.
—June 13th, test subject 214 was diagnosed with a persistent vegetative state.
—August 3rd, test subject 251 lost the ability to speak after surgery.
—September 21st, after surgery, test subject 276 underwent an intelligence test and was determined to have regressed to the mental capacity of a 2-year-old child.
—October 9th, after surgery, test subject 282's physical functions were all good, and they were ready to enter the second phase of testing.
—October 13th, test subject 282 did not experience the expected adverse reactions during the test. The prefrontal lobotomy surgery was determined to be ineffective for test subject 282. After discussion, the experimental group planned to conduct the ET experiment on test subject 282 ten days later.
—October 23rd, the ET experiment was conducted on test subject 282, with no effect on the first day.
—October 24th, the ET experiment has a long cycle and slow effect, requiring long-term observation.
Subsequent research logs recorded the ET experiment status of test subject 282, as well as the prefrontal lobotomy surgery records of more test subjects.
Ke Xun asked Qin Ci, "What is a persistent vegetative state?"
"A vegetative state," Qin Ci replied.
"And the ET experiment?" Ke Xun asked.
Qin Ci frowned in confusion: "ET? Endothelin? Embryo transfer?"
"It doesn't sound like it, what do you think?" Ke Xun turned to look at Mu Yiran.
"Hmm." Mu Yiran had already turned to the last page of the log. "This log only goes up to December of this year. It doesn't record the final experimental results, nor does it mention the purpose of the experiment."
"And it doesn't sound like a very standard medical log," Qin Ci interjected. "It's clear that this isn't a professional or specialized medical institution; it's just using some medical methods to conduct experiments."
"And this research institute doesn't seem to hesitate to use various research methods, whether certified or approved," Mu Yiran said coldly. "You could say they'll stop at nothing for the sake of experimental purposes."
"So, did the person who drew this painting want to illustrate the research value of 'human beings,' or to expose this kind of evil and perverse research institution?" Zhu Haowen asked.
Qin Ci said, "I lean towards the latter."
"If it's the latter, then we need to think about where the artist will put his signature," Zhu Haowen said.
"Could it be on those high-sounding words on the screen wall in the foyer?" Wei Dong wondered.
"Would it be that obvious? We could see it as soon as we entered," Zhu Haowen said.
"How can we be sure? It's always the darkest place under the lamp," Wei Dong said, looking at Ke Xun, "Ke'er, let's go up and try."
Ke Xun followed him up from the basement to the foyer on the first floor.
The words seemed to be written with paint. Ke Xun went to the cafeteria and got two knives, one for himself and one for Wei Dong, and spent the whole morning scraping the red paint off the wall—in case the signature was covered by the paint.
However, to Wei Dong's disappointment, there was nothing under the paint.
"It's not that easy." Wei Dong shook his aching hands. "Ke'er, what if I carry this knife with me? If something comes up and grabs me tonight, I can just stab it. Is that okay?"
"Probably not," Ke Xun didn't want to dampen his spirits, but he had to make him face reality. "If it were that easy to cut, this painting wouldn't be difficult at all. But you can take this knife with you, just for courage."
"What good is courage?" Wei Dong sighed. "I'm afraid I'll hurt myself carrying it. Forget it. Dr. Qin said that the B lab I'm going to tonight can cause anxiety and even extreme behavior… How am I going to get through tonight? I'm really afraid I'll die this time."
Ke Xun lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up at him. "Actually, I think the B lab is the easiest of the four labs to get through. It's just a loss of all your senses. Think about it, what situation is no different from losing your senses?"
"Death." Wei Dong said dejectedly.
"I shouldn't have expected anything from you," Ke Xun said coldly. "Besides death, there are two other possibilities: fainting or deep sleep."
Wei Dong: "Huh?!"
Ke Xun: "Kneel down and call me dad."
Wei Dong: "Dad, you're right, but do you think I could sleep in that situation?"
Ke Xun: "I don't want to acknowledge such a stupid son as you. If you can't sleep, you can faint. Before 11 p.m., have Boss Mu go to your B area and knock you and Haowen unconscious. Once you're unconscious, you won't feel anything even if you lose your senses, and you can easily sleep until dawn." Wei Dong
: "Holy crap! That's a great idea. I wouldn't lose out if I called you grandpa! Okay, that's settled." Ke Xun
: "Don't be too optimistic. What if those 'researchers' insist on waking you up before doing the experiment? You'll just have to tough it out."
Wei Dong: "…Don't scare me. I think it's a miracle that it was Qi Qiang who did that experiment." "Qi Qiang, with his yellow skin, Xu Zhen, and Dr. Qin, looks tough and stubborn. Xu Zhen, though a woman, has a strong personality and a more determined will than most. Dr. Qin, being a doctor, isn't too panicked in this situation—even people like them almost couldn't make it through the night. Someone like me, with a weak will and afraid of suffering, might not even survive a night."
Ke Xun patted his shoulder: "If you really have to tough it out, try to think about something to distract yourself."
Wei Dong grimaced: "What am I supposed to think about? In that kind of pain, I probably wouldn't be able to think about anything."
Ke Xun: "Think about your boss, think about the client who keeps making you revise the drawings."
Wei Dong: "I think I can survive."
Ke Xun: "Good."
Wei Dong looked at him: "What about you? Lab C, people are definitely going to die… Ke'er, have you thought about what to do?"
Ke Xun lowered his eyelids, twirling the knife in his hand: "I have."
"What is it?" Wei Dong asked hastily.
Ke Xun smiled and said, "It's probably like electrifying with love."
Lunch was still just rice and bean porridge and mixed beans. The group exchanged their findings from the morning, but found nothing. So they continued in the afternoon, focusing on all the documents they could find upstairs and downstairs.
The research institute's files, if not an endless sea, were already piled up like a mountain. The team had to stack them all in the lobby and use the light streaming in through the windows to examine them.
"Will these files really have signatures?" Xu Zhen, after patiently flipping through them for most of the afternoon, finally couldn't help but ask.
"Even without signatures, we can still learn something about the institute's background or related information," Qin Ci said. "This helps us deduce where or in what form a signature might appear."
"This is all scientific or medical terminology; I really can't understand it," Xu Zhen said, pinching her brow and pointing to a stack of files beside her. "This is even worse; it's all research papers and obscure scientific data. I feel like I'm reading gibberish."
Qin Ci was helpless to help, while Qi Qiang had even jumped up in frustration, kicking over a large stack of files.
"When the hell are we going to finish this?!" Qi Qiang cursed, his eyes bloodshot, clearly losing control of his emotions.
Seeing this, Zhang Hanrui, Li Yaqing, and Cai Xiaoyan were terrified and kept their distance from him. The slap Zhang Hanrui had received on the face still hadn't gone down.
Qi Qiang spun around twice, then went to the office next door, dragged out a chair, and smashed it against the glass door.
The chair shattered into pieces, but the glass remained undamaged.
Qi Qiang wasn't satisfied and went to the next room, smashing things there.
Ke Xun, annoyed, got up and went to the cafeteria; the cooking duties had now completely fallen to him.
As he was washing rice and cooking beans, Zhang Hanrui and Li Yaqing walked in arm in arm, their steps unsteady, and stood beside him, staring blankly.
"What's wrong?" Ke Xun turned and asked.
"...Nothing...I just don't want to stay in the lobby..." The two girls had calmed down considerably; it was unclear whether they were numb from fear or simply too exhausted to cry anymore.
"Then sit here for a while, we'll eat in a bit," Ke Xun said, turning back to continue washing the rice.
"Brother Ke…" Zhang Hanrui called him, her voice trembling slightly, "You seem… not very scared?"
Ke Xun smiled, his eyelids lowered. "If you're scared enough, you won't be scared anymore. Besides, I have my boyfriend to protect me, what's there to be afraid of?"
These words made Zhang Hanrui and Li Yaqing relax their tense mood, and they laughed through their tears. Zhang Hanrui sniffed and said in a hoarse voice, "What time is it? You're still showing off your love here."
"Showing off now is the real show." Ke Xun said.
"That's true," Zhang Hanrui forced a smile, "Love at this time is real love." Her
mood seemed to have improved a bit, so she casually asked, "So, between you and Brother Mu, who's the top and who's the bottom?"
Ke Xun: "…" Fujoshi are all devils.
Li Yaqing chimed in, "I feel like Brother Mu is more of a top…"
Ke Xun: "…You two are alright now, right? Come over and boil some water. Do you know how to boil water?"
"Why boil water?" Zhang Hanrui sniffed and walked over, taking the pot Ke Xun handed her.
"To soak your feet." Ke Xun said expressionlessly.
The two girls couldn't help but laugh again, turning on the tap to get water.
Zhu Haowen stood at the cafeteria entrance, watching this side, his gaze fixed on Ke Xun's hands as he stirred beans with chopsticks.
This person always had the ability to dissolve any dark, oppressive, and fearful atmosphere into fragments, allowing you to see a glimmer of light and warmth through those broken cracks.
Perhaps others would become increasingly numb and cold-hearted in this endless terror, but this person wouldn't.
He would only become brighter, stronger, and more fearless through these repeated trials of life and death.