Chapter 169: Dissection Experiment!

Everyone was wearing a mask as they gathered around a laboratory table.

On top of the table lay a zombie.

This was the very same zombie that had been previously detained and kept for testing.

At this moment, its limbs were tightly bound and secured with thick iron wire.

It was evident that the zombie's limbs had become completely limp, as all the bones inside had been shattered.

No matter how immense a zombie's strength might be, it remained a biological entity at its core.

The zombie had originally worn casual trousers, but they were now so worn and tattered that their original appearance was unrecognizable.

The white shirt on its upper body had also turned a dingy greyish-black.

Of course, the most drastic change was its face.

Every zombie's face looked grotesque and horrifying, resembling someone who had been severely burned by sulfuric acid.

This condition was likely caused by the severe depletion of facial muscles and fat.

Despite being restrained and having its limbs broken, the zombie's emotional state remained extremely agitated as it continuously twisted its head and made snapping, biting gestures.

However, such efforts were entirely in vain.

It had long been fitted with a sturdy muzzle, making it completely impossible for it to cause any harm.

Instead, the zombie's abdomen had been sliced open, and the foul odor emanated directly from there.

"Are you dissecting a zombie?" Xue Feng asked casually.

He suddenly understood why Wang Xinyu was present.

She must have come here to help out.

"That's right. This zombie doesn't have much value left, so we decided to dissect it and take a look. I've been wanting to witness the internal structure of a zombie with my own eyes," Nie Xiaoyue replied, turning her head to look at Xue Feng.

Then, she lowered her head once more to examine the zombie's wound.

Xue Feng stepped closer to take a look as well.

Only, the stench was overwhelmingly pungent.

Fortunately, Nie Xiaoxing was considerate and handed Xue Feng a face mask.

Once he put the mask on, Xue Feng felt considerably better.

He carefully scrutinized the zombie before him.

Perhaps due to the prolonged lack of nourishment, the zombie appeared extremely emaciated.

Wrinkled skin clung tightly to its ribs and sternum, making it look like someone who had suffered through years of starvation.

The center of its abdomen had been sliced open, and a significant portion of its internal organs had already been removed.

Even so, the zombie was still alive.

It continued to produce the exact same guttural sounds as before, unaffected by its current condition.

It had not lost its vital life force.

It was still howling continuously.

Wearing thick rubber gloves, Wang Xinyu was meticulously removing the zombie's organs.

To guard against any accidental infection by the zombie virus, her movements were extremely deliberate and slow.

However, such apprehension was largely unnecessary.

The zombie's heart had long since ceased functioning, and the blood within its body was no longer circulating, meaning there was no blood pressure.

Even transformed to this extent, very little blood oozed out.

"Alright, it seems all the secrets lie within the brain. I even suspect that it doesn't have a digestive system. If that's the case, how on earth does it absorb energy after consuming humans?" Wang Xinyu shook her head with a sigh.

"Perhaps the zombie's digestive system has changed—no, rather, it has evolved! It's capable of absorbing energy in a much simpler and more direct way, making these organs redundant burdens for a zombie," Nie Xiaoyue mused after a moment of thought.

In human conventional wisdom, more complex organisms were invariably considered more advanced in their evolution.

From single-celled paramecia all the way to modern humans, countless stages of evolution had taken place in between.

Yet, was this necessarily the optimal direction for evolution?

Many organisms had also evolved flashy, impractical traits.

Take the peacock, for instance!

Everyone knew that a peacock spreading its tail feathers was magnificent, deserving of being called one of the most stunning sights in the natural world.

However, when a peacock displayed its feathers, few people realized that this action exposed its vulnerabilities to predators.

Aside from aesthetic beauty and showing off, the peacock's gorgeous plumage served no practical purpose whatsoever.

In an emergency, it could even become an obstacle to escaping danger.

The human body also harbored several useless remnants.

For instance, the appendix, the cecum, and wisdom teeth.

These were things discarded along the course of human evolution.

They served no purpose whatsoever inside the human body and were nothing more than useless baggage.

"Evolution?"

Xue Feng was slightly taken aback, genuinely shocked by Nie Xiaoyue's assertion.

"That's right. Purely from the perspective of bodily structure, zombies are actually a higher life form than humans, utilizing energy much more efficiently," Nie Xiaoyue nodded.

The ability to remain active for extended periods without any food intake—

Based on this single trait alone, it was something humans could never achieve.

At present, the only advantage humans held over zombies was their intelligence.

However, as variant creatures were also evolving,

they were gradually beginning to develop intelligence.

When variant creatures became just as intelligent as humans,

then who exactly would be considered the lower life form?

Hearing these words left Xue Feng feeling deeply astonished.

Prior to this moment, he had never once considered zombies to be a superior life form compared to humans.

It was certainly a fascinating perspective.

"Let's go clean up first, and thoroughly disinfect this place. We must be careful not to get infected," Wang Xinyu reminded them.

The three women immediately set to work.

First, they completely destroyed the zombie's brain.

Following that came a thorough cleaning and disinfection process.

Disinfectant was sprayed all over the laboratory table as if it cost nothing at all.

However, the pungent odor lingering within the zombie's remains could not be dissipated in a short time.

Consequently, the group had no choice but to leave the laboratory and retreat to the outer room.

"This feels even more sickening than my first anatomy class."

Wang Xinyu took a few deep breaths before she started to feel a bit better.

Many people assumed that female doctors were invariably gentle and delicate by nature.

In reality, that was a misconception.

Anyone capable of becoming a doctor possessed a fierce resilience and had witnessed countless corpses.

Nie Xiaoxing, on the other hand, couldn't help but lean over and dry retch for quite a while.

In contrast, Nie Xiaoyue appeared much calmer; after all, the dissection had been her idea in the first place.

"Did you gain any insights from this?" Xue Feng asked.

He knew that Nie Xiaoyue's decision to conduct the dissection experiment

was definitely driven by more than just idle curiosity.

It surely related to the research notes left behind by the director.

"Some insights, but not very significant ones. Through my study of the super serum, I found that its primary source is refined from zombie blood. However, based on my current observations, this serum is likely not something that enhances human physical capabilities at all—it is actually a toxin," Nie Xiaoyue explained.

"A toxin?"

Xue Feng had never imagined that the truth behind the super serum would be such a thing.

It was refined from zombie blood!

"This toxin shares similarities with the zombie virus; it can enhance a person's abilities, but it also brings about mad, uncontrollable side effects. What the director spent a long time trying to accomplish later on was finding a way to eliminate the negative impacts caused by this toxin," Nie Xiaoyue continued.

Based on her analysis of the research data, she concluded that trying to isolate the effects of the toxin was

virtually impossible.

Once the toxic components were separated, the serum would lose its current efficacy entirely.

"It's just like water, which is composed of hydrogen and oxygen elements; once you separate them, it's no longer water," Nie Xiaoyue concluded with a final verdict.