Otherworld Girl Development Guide

Chapter 32 Cooking with a Gaze at the Sky (Big Fog)

The Abyss Sea.

The Xirang Base, a biochemical laboratory.

Compared to the Level 4 biochemical laboratory in Shangqiu, this laboratory, located on a small island on the edge of the Xirang base, has a more secure location. In fact, during experiments, all the air inside the laboratory is removed, creating a vacuum.

The entire laboratory is divided into four floors: two underground and two above ground.

In the specimen area on the second basement level, fish-man organ specimens float in formalin in specially made containers, rising and falling slightly.

Inside a special tank, a living fish-man is restlessly thrashing about in the seawater, occasionally bumping into the tempered glass with a thud.

However, it turns out that fish-men are ultimately carbon-based life forms, and carbon-based life forms have their limits. They cannot break through 20-centimeter-thick tempered glass with added materials by brute force.

"I mean... looking at this thing, I suddenly had a strange thought..."

A researcher was recording the habits of the fish-men in the tank with a pen. Looking at the fish-headed, human-bodied fish-men, he said to his companion beside him.

"What strange idea do you have now?" another researcher asked helplessly. To ensure safety, each laboratory must have at least two researchers recording data.

After recording the data and uploading it to the lab's database, I spoke into the walkie-talkie in my helmet: "Fish head and human body, or mermaid, which do you choose?"

"Emm...can you think of something useful, like whether this thing counts as a fish or not?"

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the researcher pressed a button, turning off the lights in the tank. The fish-man pressed against the tempered glass, its enormous fish eyes fixed on the researcher outside, a fierce glint in them.

As for the melodramatic plot in the movie where the experimental subject escapes from the laboratory... that's basically impossible. What carbon-based life form could knock on 20cm thick tempered glass?

The laboratory next door.

A professor-level biology rabbit raised his hands, signaling to his assistant to prepare to begin the experiment.

On the test bench, a complete fishman lay there, looking just like Salty Fish Bro, only not as cute.

Its limbs were bound to the experimental table with composite materials, and the professor approached the experimental table.

For some reason, the professor suddenly felt like he was cooking, and the fish-man lying on the lab table was like a fish on a chopping board...

Shaking his head to clear the strange thoughts from his mind, the assistant continued to inject anesthetic into the fishman's body to ensure that the fishman would not wake up during the dissection.

Dissecting a living merman wouldn't make the rabbit feel any moral issues, much like dissecting a rabbit or a frog... in fact, the merman isn't even as cute as the rabbit.

In addition, it will allow the rabbit to further understand these strange fish-men and their weaknesses.

The professor walked over to the fish-man, and the assistant immediately placed the dissection tools on the experimental table. The laboratory's surveillance cameras began recording the entire dissection process.

After observing the material that was about to be dissected, the dark green, scaly skin made people feel a little uncomfortable. The webbed forelimbs looked like razors, while the hind limbs were similar to those of a frog. It was clear that the fish-man was very agile underwater.

The enormous fish head, like that of a piranha, is filled with sharp teeth that can easily tear apart human flesh. What's most unsettling about it is the fish-man's pair of empty fish eyes, which resemble the bizarre dish "Looking Up at the Sky" from Da Ying.

"Dissection begins, record."

The professor held a scalpel, looked at the dense fish scales on the fishman's skin, pondered for a moment, and then gently cut downwards along the fishman's chest cavity, just as he would with a real fish.

The slight resistance in his hand caused the professor to frown almost imperceptibly; the scales were indeed affecting the precision of his movements.

Sure enough, the fish-man's scales, like those of a fish, not only protect his soft body like armor, but also help reduce water friction, allowing him to swim faster.

"Prepare your skin!"

The assistant nodded and quickly took a fish-scaling tool to clean the fish scales off the chest cavity, making it easier for the professor to make the incision.

Swoosh, swoosh... pieces of fish scales were scraped off and then picked up with tweezers and placed on a stainless steel tray.

After the fish scales were removed, bluish skin was revealed, and the professor soon noticed that a translucent liquid began to seep from the skin.

"Record: The sample skin has glands that secrete a fluid similar to a protective solution. Sampling..."

"understand!"

The assistant stepped forward and collected some translucent liquid. This liquid will then be taken for testing to determine its composition and any potential problems.

After sampling was completed, the experiment finally got down to business.

The professor's scalpel precisely cut open the fishman's skin. After the outer skin was turned to the sides, the professor continued to cut inwards, and red blood flowed from the skin.

"Hemostats..."

After cutting through the epidermis and dermis, the professor finally saw a layer of fat that looked like butter...

"Record: The fat layer beneath the fish-man's skin is distributed in blocks..."

After removing some of the cumbersome fat layers, the skin tissue was finally revealed. Compared to human muscles, the fishman's muscles were bright red.

With the professor's skillful scalpel, the muscle fibers were cut open, a sample of the living specimen was taken, and finally the fishman's chest cavity was opened.

The moment the chest cavity opened, the fishman's internal organs were revealed.

The first thing that catches the eye is a heart the size of a fist, a quarter larger than a human's... Then there's a stomach and some colorful organs of unknown purpose, some of which are still slightly twitching.

These internal organs, each with its own distinct function, function like the most sophisticated machines, maintaining the operation of the fish-man machine.

The organs of fish-men are far more complex than those of their close relatives, the fish of the abyss. They are essentially two different species, and the internal organs of those sea fish are of no reference value.

Suddenly, the wriggling internal organs bulged out, piercing through the internal organ wall. A red "thread" emerged from the internal organs, twisting in the air. Soon, more and more red threads emerged from the fishman's body, dancing in the air like countless tiny hands.

After twisting in the air for a moment, the threads all turned to look in the direction of the professor and his assistant, as if time had stood still.

The professor abruptly waved his hand, signaling his assistants to step back, as they were unsure of the dangers posed by these objects and caution was the best course of action.

Then they surged out of the fishman's body, wriggling on the ground like earthworms.

"What is this? Quick!"

The seasoned assistant pressed the emergency button on the test bench without hesitation, and immediately white mist gushed out from the pipes, covering the area around the fishman's body.

Chapter 33: Sudden Change in Art Style

Frost and ice crystals covered the entire test platform, and the fishman was turned into an ice sculpture, completely losing his vitality.

A tangled mass of red "threads" flowed out of the fishman's belly, with each red thread intertwined with the others, standing up like a forked red head of hair. Even frozen in ice crystals, it still sent chills down one's spine.

"Safety!"

The professor breathed a sigh of relief. If liquid nitrogen couldn't solve the problem, then they would have to resort to intense flames...

I glanced at the live fishman frozen in ice crystals on the lab table. He showed no signs of life... After all, if you cut someone open and then fill them with liquid nitrogen, it would be a miracle if they survived.

This prototype is ruined... but it serves as a reminder that the sea monsters and fishmen in the Abyss Sea are not as simple as they seem, and there may be something even more terrifying inside.

"Keep the necessary samples, and destroy the rest completely!"

Several assistants stepped forward, looked at the fishman who had turned into an ice sculpture, and clicked their tongues. They figured the only thing they could use was the tissue inside his body.

"Prepare for puncture sampling."

*Click*... The assistant picked up the puncture needle and, as it was inserted into the fishman's body, it felt like hitting a steel plate; the tissue around the needle tore open.

"Change to a finer needle..."

Soon after the puncture sampling was completed, the experimenters did not untie the fishman's restraints. Instead, they threw the entire experimental table into a 3000°C incinerator, where it burned for a full half hour. Only after confirming that the fishman and the red lines inside his body had completely turned to ash did the extermination process stop.

They even found what appeared to be crystalline substances in the incinerator... If this still doesn't completely disinfect and cause biochemical contamination, then the fish-men will truly become like Sun Wukong in Laozi's alchemy furnace.

Experimental Material 001, dead!

Those red lines were so suspicious that the rabbit, who was almost developing PTSD from the numbness they caused, scanned all the personnel in the base overnight. Only after finding no red lines or other parasites in the personnel did he breathe a sigh of relief.

An administrative order was issued requiring all drinking water to be boiled and adding an ultraviolet sterilization process to domestic water.

The following day, random sampling and inspection of all seafood products from the Abyssal Sea were conducted, and slices were taken...

A chilling thing happened: no red lines were found in any of the samples. If the red lines are parasites, why were they not found in seafood from the Abyss Sea? Or does the red line in the Abyss Sea only parasitize specific species?

Regardless, regulations on seafood will be strengthened going forward, and all raw fish will undergo ultra-low temperature sterilization and inactivation treatment.

To clarify his doubts, the second experiment began three days later.

Experimental material: No. 002.

Having learned from their previous experience, the rabbits decided to first use some red threads to investigate what the thing actually was.

The method is simple: force the red threads out of the fishman's body, then throw a few into the laboratory!

The professor looked at the fish-man in the experimental chamber filled with seawater and said to his assistant beside him:

"Get ready to take notes!"

"understand!"

*Pfft* The airtight door sealed shut, and the surveillance camera inside the laboratory slightly rotated, turning towards the interior of the lab.

Several academicians were observing the live broadcast in the conference room, occasionally discussing it with each other.

"Professor, all ready."

The professor took a deep breath; every experiment was like risking his life!

"Pump the water!"

The seawater inside was quickly extracted from the test chamber by a water pump.

The fish-man behind the tempered glass bumped around restlessly in the experimental chamber, like a flea in a glass container. No matter how much it jumped, it could not jump out of the glass container.

After the seawater was drained, the fish-man in the box roared uneasily, and an X-ray scanner on the side of the box began to scan the fish-man's body repeatedly.

"ultrasound!"

Many academicians discussed how to remove the red lines from the fish's body, and some even considered soaking the fish in medical alcohol, but in the end they chose low-frequency sound waves.

With a buzzing sound, the fish-man became agitated. Low-frequency ultrasonic waves, invisible to the naked eye, were launching an "electro-sound" attack on the fish-man. Of course, as an experimental subject, it was impossible to use high-frequency waves, as that would directly kill him.

There is a vacuum interlayer between the test chamber and the laboratory, so there is no need to worry about the experimenters being affected by low-frequency ultrasound.

Low-frequency ultrasound can interfere with the fish's endocrine system, causing the fish to become restless. If this still cannot remove the red thread, the only option is to soak it in alcohol. Puncture sampling may cause the red worms inside the fish to go berserk.

As the low-frequency sound waves continued to bombard him, the fish-man became agitated and desperately rammed against the walls of the laboratory.

"professor!"

The professor turned to look at the X-ray and saw large "shadows" inside the fishman's body. Under the bombardment of low-frequency sound waves, the red lines inside the body finally reacted.

The merman suddenly rolled on the ground in pain. Beneath his green, scale-covered skin, lines like veins bulged out, as if earthworms were wriggling beneath his skin.

Cluck~ Cluck~ A red line slowly spread from the edge of one of the fishman's eyeballs, and the red thread floated in the air like fluff after it came into contact with the air.