Volume 1 Glacial Relics Chapter 11: Strange Toxins
“There’s definitely something wrong with the smell.”
Ivan had regained his original composure. He took out several test tubes and collected some tissues from the remaining meat.
"But there are no conditions here to do experiments, and it is impossible to analyze the specific composition of this thing... I can only put it aside for now. I collected two specimens and plan to hand one over to Ark and keep one for my own research. Do you want to collect some as well? I know the value of this thing very well, and the price offered by Ark will not be low." Ivan said.
"Forget it." The Hound shook . "When I think about this thing once having a face like mine, I feel awkward... Let's just forget it."
"Old dog, don't you love money the most? These are all hard-earned credit points," Layton teased.
"Do you think this is a silver bar from the old times? It's still white... When I think about this thing being sent for experiments, I feel as if I'm tied to an operating table waiting to be dissected... It makes me sick just thinking about it." The hound spat. He had only taken a casual glance, but this glance gave him a shock - there was actually blood in the spit!
The hound felt his eyelids twitch, and couldn't help but yelled in shock: "Fuck! No way! Why am I coughing up blood and phlegm? Could it be tuberculosis?"
Tuberculosis is actually pulmonary tuberculosis, a disease that had been conquered in the old days. The hound also knew that his vomiting blood could never be caused by pulmonary tuberculosis...but the actual situation could only be worse than pulmonary tuberculosis!
"Old dog...your eyes...and your skin..." Layton couldn't help but say.
"What's going on?" The hound hurriedly took out a mirror from his backpack, and found that his eyeballs were full of bloodshot. His eyes were red as if they were about to bleed. In addition, there were dense bleeding spots under the skin, and his whole face looked extremely terrifying.
"Doctor! Doctor--" He wanted to find Ivan, but when he looked up, he found that Ivan's symptoms were exactly the same as his!
"This smell not only depresses the central nervous system, but is also toxic." Ivan judged. He took out a blood collection needle from the medical box, pricked his fingertips, and then dripped the squeezed blood into a portable analyzer.
"Except for one abnormal indicator... everything else is basically fine..." Ivan said with a frown after looking at the screen of the analyzer.
"Which one is abnormal?" Ke Lan asked.
"Platelets... The platelet count in my and Hound's blood is very low. It has fallen below the critical level."
"Critical value?" Ke Lan repeated, "The critical ... I remember it was 30×10^9/L, right?"
"Yes, but the platelet count of Hound and I is less than 5 units now, which is far below the critical value standard... In other words, both of us are at risk of internal bleeding at any time." Ivan said solemnly.
"How could this happen... Even if it's an acute blood disease, it would take several days for the platelets in a person's blood to drop to this level." Ke Lan rubbed his forehead in distress.
"This can only mean that this toxin has the effect of causing rapid apoptosis of platelets..."
"What should we do? Doctor, do you have any solution?" Leighton asked anxiously.
Ivan shook his head. "I don't even know the composition and working principle of this toxin, how can there be a cure... But from the current point of view, the hound and I should not be in danger for the time being. It's just that we'd better not do strenuous exercise. To put it bluntly, we can't even use force when taking a shit. If the blood vessels in the brain burst, we can only be saved on the Ark."
"Maybe there's something wrong with the testing equipment? Can you try it again?" Ke Lan said.
"Well, that is indeed a possibility." After saying that, Ivan collected another blood sample and put it into the analyzer.
"Huh... this time the value has increased slightly, it has risen to 17 units... but logically speaking, the natural growth rate of human platelets cannot be so fast. Could it be that this toxin does not kill the platelets, but temporarily 'shields' them?" Ivan looked at the screen of the analyzer with a confused look on his face.
"At this rate, how long will it take you to return to normal?" Layton interrupted.
"It's hard to say, at least a few hours, at most... a few days," Ivan replied.
"How about this, Ivan, you and the hound stay here first, and Layton and I will continue to move forward and keep in touch. If your poisoning symptoms are relieved, we will catch up with us immediately. Conversely, if any situation happens over there, ask us for help as soon as possible. What do you think?" Ke Lan suggested.
"I think it's feasible." Ivan had no objection.
"You two, with a seriously injured person, are going to die if you continue to move forward?" Although the Hound didn't show it on his face, there was still a hint of worry in his tone, "How about we wait a little longer?"
"We can't waste any more time. Our supplies can only last for forty-eight hours at most. Do you think we have the money to wait?" Ke Lan said.
For some reason, in the fifty-year history of exploring the ruins of the Alpha civilization, the hunters have never found any food inside the ruins... The Alpha people don't seem to need to replenish energy by eating, or... their concept of food is too different from that of humans?
In short, it is absolutely impossible to solve the problem of filling your stomach in the ruins. Even if some of the ruins are inhabited by indigenous creatures of Alpha, the meat of these guys is either highly toxic or has a terribly high radiation dose and cannot be eaten at all.
"This is probably the only way that can work." Layton agreed. "Old dog, it's not that I dislike you, but I'm really carrying you around like a burden. If anything happens, I may not be able to protect you, but I can't just watch you die in this hellhole like those people before... Trust me, don't be stubborn with me."
"...Okay, then you two be careful and keep in touch at all times." The Hound nodded, took out a folded metal pole from his backpack, and placed it on the ground.
This is a portable defense device with a built-in sensor that can automatically scan a radius of 20 meters. Once an unidentified thermal infrared signal is detected, it will immediately sound an alarm. If necessary, it can also be used as a small mine.
"Don't trust the machine too much. It only detects thermal infrared signals. Most cold-blooded creatures can deceive its eyes." Layton warned.
Due to the large temperature difference between day and night, 90% of the indigenous creatures on Alpha are poikilothermic animals. In the field of vision of infrared equipment, these poikilothermic animals are almost integrated with the environment.
"I know. I didn't plan to count on the alarm of this thing." As the Hound spoke, he turned off the alarm function and pulled down a safety pull ring and held it in his hand.
The pull ring is actually a remote control. With just a slight bend, the bomb hidden in the device will explode, and the sharp fragments will cover this small passage without any blind spots.
"If I really encounter some evil thing that I can't deal with, even if I die, I will take a few people with me."
