Doctor Player Chapter 472 – Abduction 20
As Raymond approached and saw the ‘patients’, he drew in a breath.
Even for Raymond, who had gone through all the battles before and after childbirth, there was a scene that was difficult to see with open eyes.
Patients who had not died despite having had their limbs cut off and received all sorts of horrible wounds were moaning with empty eyes.
He was scratching the floor with his hands and biting the bars with his teeth, just like the zombies in the story.
“Now you understand why I called it a divine punishment, right?”
“….”
“His Majesty is also a healer, so you would know. That there is no ‘illness’ like that in the world.”
Raymond kept his mouth shut.
He couldn’t deny the words of Ralph, the owner of the steel tower.
It was too bizarre to be a disease.
Also, there was more evidence than the disease.
[The ability of the lord of chaos is manifested!]
[The chaos is detected in the patients!] [The
chaos is eating away at the patients!]
After becoming the lord of chaos a while ago, he gained the ability to detect chaos, but this Confusion was felt in the patients.
I mean, it wasn’t a disease.
Raymond clenched his fists tightly.
There was no way he could help unless he was ill.
‘Is there no way?’
* * *
Still, Raymond did not give up.
Even if this wasn’t an illness, I had to do everything I could.
“Are those zombified patients completely immortal?”
“no. It’s a twisted story, and death is death. If you set it on fire, if it completely shatters your heart, or if you bleed profusely.”
“Strictly speaking, it is not immortality.”
“Yes, but even after suffering an insurmountable injury, he does not die easily and persists in his life.”
Ralph, the owner of the steel tower, said with a shadowy face.
“Even if their heads are cut off, they don’t die right away.”
“…Even if your head is cut off?”
“We have confirmed cases where you moved for up to six hours after your head was cut off.”
The disciples next to him made faces of disgust.
It was unbelievable.
Linden spoke on behalf.
“I’m so scared. Could it really be the wrath of heaven?”
Linden seemed to want to run away at any moment.
Raymond also felt like he was falling into a labyrinth.
‘Still, I have to do everything I can.’
“Jim will examine the patients.”
Raymond mobilized every available means of testing.
I did an autopsy on a zombie corpse as well as a blood test.
The subspace summon also summoned CT and MRI machines.
Hundreds of thousands of pennies were broken in exchange for the summons, but it wasn’t the time to worry about that.
The results of that examination revealed several things.
“Patients’ brains are almost destroyed. Inflammation and swelling of the brain parenchyma is extreme.”
Christine said while watching the patients’ brain CT MRI scans.
The brain had turned white.
“Originally, if the brain is in this state, it should be in a coma without consciousness, let alone move.”
Then Christine tilted her head.
“But the hypothalamus and the posterior part are strange. It is kept relatively intact. No, it seems to be active… ….”
“The dorsal raphe nuclei.”
Raymond explained.
“It’s the part that sends the attack signal through the hypothalamus.”
It was a significant discovery.
This dorsolateral anterior nucleus was activated, and the zombified patients seemed to show aggression.
‘But if the brain is damaged like that, it’s okay if you can’t even lift a finger properly.’
Linden also spoke cautiously.
“The blood test results are also strange. Acid-base numbers, kidney numbers, etc. are all messed up. It’s not the shame of a living human being. W After all, this is a divine punishment… …!”
Raymond kept his mouth shut.
The test sheet Linden brought showed the pH to be 6.7.
‘Even if I fall below 7.1, I’ll have a heart attack soon.’
Survival was absolutely impossible, but the patients were still alive and moving.
But Raymond still had a string of doubts.
‘It’s strange that the dorsal anterior nucleus is active. If this is a symptom of chaos, do we really need to activate the dorsal apical nucleus?’
Raymond had a hunch that this would be a ‘disease’ rather than a ‘divine punishment’.
Although it is not medically explained at all.
‘Maybe I’m too prejudiced. lets think. No, just imagine.’
Even if the brain is damaged and the whole body is damaged, it does not die and moves alive.
How is that medically possible?
‘…There’s no way that’s possible.’
Raymond sighed.
‘Humans aren’t monsters either.’
But that was the moment.
Raymond suddenly stopped.
‘for a moment.’
Raymond swallowed.
‘Isn’t it a disease that belongs to humans?’
It was because of his experience of treating vampires not long ago.
There could have been similar diseases in a wider range, not limited to humans.
‘Dogs and cats… …No, other species beyond mammals.’
Raymond’s head spun.
‘…What if we broaden the scope to include insects? Could there be a similar disease?’
It seemed as if something vaguely came to mind.
It was not medical knowledge.
‘I saw something similar in a job book I read before becoming a player. There are some insects that do not die even if they die like zombies.’
Because it was an interest-oriented miscellaneous book, it was not written exactly why such a phenomenon occurs to insects.
‘It’s such a wonderful mystery of nature,’ he concluded.
But Raymond had a way to check the details.
‘Purchase the skill ‘Insect Veterinary Medicine’!’
It was a skill I hadn’t even looked at in my entire life.
Knowledge of diseases caused by insects entered his mind and Raymond swallowed.
“there is. similar disease.”
Raymond spat out one word.
“Zombie Cicada.”
* * *
Zombie cicadas refer to cicadas that do not die and roam around even though their lower abdomen is completely gone.
‘It’s not just Zombie Cicada. There are quite a few insects with this disease.’
In a similar case, there was also a zombie ant.
The reason cicadas and ants became zombies was simple.
‘It’s because of the fungus.’
Taking the zombie cicada as an example, a fungus called ‘Maesospora’ parasitizes the cicada and eats the host’s stomach, preventing it from dying. Then, by moving the host at will, it helps the fungus reproduce.
‘It’s similar to what’s happening right now.’
Raymond continued his thoughts.
‘If we assume that the symptoms that patients are seeing now are caused by something ‘parasitic’?’
If so, there was one more thing I had to point out.
‘In what way’ should the parasite dominate the host to cause this phenomenon?’
In the case of zombie cicadas, the fungus devours the lower abdomen, but maintains the function of organs such as the heart to prevent death.
In the case of the zombie ant, the parasite takes control of its muscles and makes them move at will.
‘How can I make my body move even though my brain function is completely lost?’
That was the moment I thought about it.
Raymond uttered a single word involuntarily.
“Spinal cord.”
The human body moves through commands from the brain.
But not all cases are like that.
There are pathways that allow you to move your limbs without going through your brain.
It was the spinal cord.
‘If a parasite dominates the spinal cord, it is possible to cause the current phenomenon!’
So here’s a fundamental question.
Why do humans die?
In many cases, the heart stops and death occurs.
There were numerous causes of death, including breathing difficulties, excessive blood loss, and shock, but the final result was cardiac arrest.
So why do we die when our heart stops?
Death occurs due to lack of blood supply to the brain and other organs.
However, the lack of blood supply does not mean that the nerves, muscles, joints, etc. are immediately necrotic.
It takes time.
If the parasite controlled the spinal cord to move the body, it was possible to move in an immortal state for a long time even after receiving fatal injuries like now.
‘I have to check it out!’
It was all home.
“Please prepare for the autopsy.”
“But Your Majesty? How about an autopsy?”
“There is an area to check.”
Raymond said which part to autopsy.
“Let’s check the spinal cord in the cervical spine.”
* * *
Invisible to the naked eye.
However, it was visible through a magnifying glass more than 1,000 times.
It is the appearance of a faintly wriggling ‘bug’.
‘It’s a parasite!’
Raymond swallowed.
It was not an ordinary parasite.
It’s the first species I’ve seen, but it has the power of chaos.
‘It dominates the cervical spinal cord and makes people move like zombies.’
Upon closer inspection, the movement was very complicated.
It not only controlled the spinal cord to move its limbs, but also activated the dorsal nucleus of the brain with the power of chaos, causing the host to become aggressive.
And the power of chaos allows the host to remain immortal for a long time by maintaining the function of the organs as much as possible even in the event of a cardiac arrest.
‘This is not a naturally occurring parasite. It must be a parasite deliberately ‘manufactured’ by someone.’
It was a symptom that reminded me of the zombie in the story.
‘whoever?’
Raymond gritted his teeth.
no one could forgive
Raymond had experienced countless terrible things before, but this one was one of the worst.
‘I have to catch it.’
After revealing the identity of the zombie, the next step was one.
The culprit who spread this parasite had to be caught.
Raymond told Rose what he had discovered. Rose and the rest of the Iron Empire let out a big sigh of relief.
“If it’s not a divine punishment, it can be solved.”
“I just need to catch your culprit.”
It was not a naturally spreading parasite.
There must be someone who spread it, so catching him will put an end to this situation.
“Isn’t there any possibility that Concian is the culprit?”
Raymond asked Rose.
It looked less hairy, but it was a possibility, so I had to check it out.
But Rose shook her head.
“I don’t think Consian is the culprit.”
“How do you know?”
“I had a sincere conversation with Consian separately. It’s a sincere conversation where you have no choice but to tell your heart. He said no while shedding tears.”
Rose said with a grin.
It was a smile that went down the spine for some reason.
“I think we should investigate what kind of food the victims ate.”
“Food?”
“Because your parasites were most likely ingested through food.”
Parasites are not airborne.
It is mostly transmitted through food.
“In particular, it is often transmitted through raw food, so it seems necessary to check the ingredients of dishes eaten raw.”
“Yes, I will do it right away.”
Rose nodded and looked at Raymond blankly.
“…Why do you look like that?”
“I think we talked too much about work after we met.”
Raymond was stingy.
“…Then what more can we talk about?”
“What shall we talk about?”
Rose laughed softly.
