Put on thin, creamy gloves and slowly remove the half-wet handkerchief with delicate steel tweezers. A drop of blood that had not yet coagulated was picked up from the center of the crumpled cloth and carefully placed on the glass slide that had been prepared next to it. Add another drop of diluted flora culture medium. Suddenly, the black blood spots the size of sesame seeds on the slide quickly dissolved into a pale red crystal liquid as clear as a jewel.

Jiang Wanqi didn't even delay for a second. He put the freshly made blood sample under the electron microscope and couldn't wait to get in front of the lens. The black pupils contained in the deep gaze also seemed to be violently stimulated, and suddenly shrank as small as the tip of a needle, almost imperceptible.

"Why, how could this be? This, this can't be—"

As if he had been struck by lightning, as if he had seen the most terrible thing in the world, he suddenly retreated a few steps from the microscope lens. While muttering to himself, he subconsciously wiped a handful of cold sweat oozing from his head with his trembling arms. For a long time, he was extremely frightened under the pressure, but in the end, under the dual effect of intense horror and inquisitive curiosity that could not be suppressed in his heart, he gritted his teeth tightly, and once again slowly lowered his twitching eyes to the cold camera.

White blood cells, tens of millions of white blood cells, are moving back and forth within the visual distance of the observation hole. They frantically devour all the microbes that dare to invade their sphere of influence. They devour so fast. So much so that once the fungi floating in the air come into contact with the blood, they will be completely chewed up by them and become an alternative energy to maintain their own survival.

They...... Seems hungry. Very hungry.

When everything that can be used as food is eaten, and there is really nothing to eat. These defenders of life in the human body, who were originally survival, actually targeted their own kind of predators - red blood cells.

Under the electron microscope, the oblate-shaped red cell bodies are rapidly disappearing. And those aggressive cell bodies that are mixed with sticky white are dividing at a terrifying speed. They're like a bunch of death hungry ghosts crawling out of hell. Desperately chewing and devouring something that could be used as food. At the same time, he quickly cut his own body, giving birth to groups of terrifying killers who also opened their mouths wide and searched for edible things with hideous faces.

The sparkling red on the slide is slowly fading. It was soon replaced by a mixture of gray and yellow, and white and white. It looked like a rotting mass cut from a corpse.

Jiang Wanqi swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, and her tight skin was full of unbelievable shock. White blood cells, which are also part of human blood, attack red blood cells, which deliver nutrients to them. This, this is a big joke.

His forehead was covered with cold sweat, and his hands were holding on to the hard table. The skull, full of horror and fear, hung low in the towering shoulders and arms. He wanted to tell himself that it wasn't true.

However, there is nothing more true than this.

Blood-stained plastic bags are placed in the sink. A crumpled handkerchief lay quietly in front of the workbench. Even in the corner of the pa, which was stained purple and black by bruises, you can clearly see the abbreviation "J", which represents the owner.

From a medical point of view, an increase in white blood cells is a good thing. This means that the body's ability to resist germs is significantly improved. So, it is not the white blood cells that determine the disease, but the disease that determines the increase or decrease in the number of white blood cells.

In other words, when the number of white blood cells in a person's body exceeds the normal index, doctors usually only assume that the person has a certain amount of inflammation.

What exactly is Lawrence?

Why did his blood composition become so weird?

What happened to him?

Suddenly, a piercing bell rang from the pocket of his jacket hanging from the back of his chair. Jiang Wanqi, who was removing the slide from the camera and was about to remake a new sample, subconsciously turned around. Just as he picked up the phone, he felt a sharp pain coming from the finger end of his right hand. When I looked back, I saw that the edge of the sharp slide had made an incision several centimeters long on my finger. Bright red blood flowed uncontrollably from the straight wound. Mixed with the yellowish liquid on the slide, it is impossible to distinguish the original appearance.

"Dr. Jiang, I'm sorry to disturb your rest so late." From the other end of the phone, the slightly anxious voice of FBI agent Claude came: "I'm at St. Thomas' Hospital in the South Side. If it's convenient, could you please come and visit as well? ”

"St. Thomas' Hospital?"

For some reason, Jiang Wanqi suddenly had a bad premonition in her heart. He dipped his severed finger in the disinfectant next to him. He quickly asked, "What, is something wrong?" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence's body is parked in this hospital." Claude's voice sounded a little sluggish. I heard him sigh helplessly: "However, it is better if you can come and see for yourself." God, I've never seen anything so terrible. ”

When I arrived at the hospital, the entire street had been completely blocked by more than a dozen police cars. The red and blue lights flashing on the roof of the car were so dazzling and palpitating in the foggy night.

The stocky federal agent stood at the exit of the elevator. Without much noise, the two went straight to the morgue of the hospital.

"Wow--"

The moment she lifted the white sheet, Jiang Wanqi only felt as if her throat was being choked by an invisible big hand. I can't breathe any more breath.

Lying flat on the mobile hospital bed was a short dead body only about a meter tall. The outer garment of the corpse was a set of loose military uniforms that were not proportional to it at all. At first glance, it looks as funny as a child who is just over a year old and has been forcibly put on the clothes and pants of an adult.

Jiang Wanqi's eyes were full of disbelief and almost crazy confusion. He could clearly see that the corpse was exposed on the outside of the clothing, between the skull and neck, and it was as charred as coal ink. The skin on the surface of the body also shrank and piled up, squeezing the muscles that should have been smooth into a crude, crumpled and terrible thing.

That's right, it's my friend Lawrence. A string of sandalwood beads that fell on the right hand part of the corpse was enough to illustrate his body. But how could this black corpse, shrunken almost as a child, compare to Lawrence's burly and tall figure?

"An hour ago, the corpse began to shrink unusually."

The voice of the FBI agent sounded from behind him at the right time: "It is shrinking extremely fast. When I arrived, the whole body was completely twisted and deformed. It was a terrible situation. How to put it, it's like...... It's a kind of powerful machine that is stuck to death. Desperately squeezing, squeezing out all the liquid ingredients in it and sucking it up. ”

"I need to perform an autopsy on this body. Right away! ”

Took a deep breath. Jiang Wanqi forcibly suppressed the incomparable fear and shock in her heart, and grabbed the cold steel guardrail next to the morgue bed with both hands. He roared in as calm a tone as he could, "I have to know what happened to Lawrence?" He's my friend! Best friend! ”

"Anatomy, of course. There's a small problem, though. ”

Claude's fat face was still filled with a very comfortable smile: "I don't have any doubts about your medical skills. But as you know, the Confederation of the Americas is a country governed by the rule of law. All legal matters must be handled by the relevant authorities. You hold three Ph.D. titles and several medical patents. However, your actual identity is still that of an ordinary civilian. Of course, if you have something special, like an identification certificate issued by the FBI...... Hehe! Then this matter will be much easier to do. ”

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Looking at the honest face of the FBI agent, Jiang Wanqi always felt that behind the gentleness and friendliness of the other party, there seemed to be something else hidden.

"If you can join the FBI, you'll have the highest right to review the case, and more. If it is an ordinary person who has no judicial powers...... Hey, hey, hey! IMHO, then you will only know the progress of the case through the news reports in the guò newspapers and on television. ”

Jiang Wanqi turned around slowly and stared at the other party coldly: "Are you threatening me?" ”

"No, no, no, it's just a build."

Claude shook his smiling head: "Before you agree to this Jianyì, Doctor, I will seal the body intact." Until those with sufficient jurisdiction reopen and uncover all the secrets hidden within. ”

Jiang Wanqi, whose face was cold, did not answer. He leaned against the wooden table next to him, tapping his knuckles gently and rhythmically on the tabletop, staring into Claude's eyes, opening his mouth several times, but in the expectant gaze of the other, he uttered words that sounded really inconsequential.

Unconscious hypnosis. This is a skill that every psychologist will have.

Only by thoroughly urging Claude can he dissect Lawrence's corpse. Fang Jie is not particularly eccentric. He just wanted to figure out, who killed his best friend?

As he carefully made mental cues, he slowly paced towards the morgue position. Suddenly, I only felt a tightness in my chest. A double stimulus mixed with suffocation and blazing heat is released from the deepest part of the brain. Completely occupies the entire body.

"It's hot...... Water, give me water! ”

Jiang Wanqi, who was leaning against the wall, clenched her head with both hands. The ten fingers that were deep in the bush of hair clawed desperately back and forth, making a screeching sound of hard objects rubbing against the scalp. It seems that only by using this method can we relieve a little bit of physical pain.

"Roar---"

Hot, thirsty.

But that's not all. Even more terrifying is the unbearable death suffocation.

Jiang Wanqi felt that her throat was being choked by an invisible giant hand. The absorbed and expelled gases, which must be exchanged through the lungs, accumulate at both ends of the obstruction point. They swell, increase rapidly. That feeling is like a slaughtered pig, being held by someone who is desperately blowing on the crack in the skin.

Why is this happening?

Could it be those mutated white blood cells?

I think of the white creatures that squirm back and forth under the lens of the real yàn room. Jiang Wanqi only felt a tingling of her scalp. He was well aware: it was these little things that were invisible to the naked eye that killed Lawrence. But where did they come from?

"You, even you're infected?"

Already awake, the corners of the FBI's eyes twitched. His face was full of incredible surprise and panic. He gritted his teeth, took out a Browning large-caliber pistol from the belt inside his clothes with his right hand, and aimed at Jiang Wanqi, who was lying on the table and struggling. In his left hand, he picked up the phone on the desk and pressed down on the keyboard with trembling fingers.

"What's the matter?" From the microphone came a middle-aged male voice that spoke slowly and in a flat but dignified tone.

"Your Excellency, I have to report to you with regret. The plan has failed. Claude looked dejected.

"Oh?"

The male voice on the phone seemed to be a little surprised: "The target person is unwilling to accept the solicitation? Or does he simply not want to join? Or is it that he is proposing too high a condition? ”

"Neither."

Looking at Jiang Wanqi, who was huddled on the ground in pain, Claude shook his head self-deprecatingly. Sighing helplessly: "He is infected." Judging by the appearance of symptoms, it has been deeply eroded. ”

"Since there is no use value, then kill him."

The male voice on the other end of the line didn't hesitate at all. The tone was so cold that I couldn't help but want to tremble: "Do a clean job on the spot, don't leave traces." Also, bring his body back. I'm going to dissect it myself. Of course, it would be better if you could capture a living entity. ”

Closing the flip cover of the mobile phone, Claude, who was expressionless, squatted down and poked Jiang Wanqi, who was almost unconscious, with the barrel of the gun in his hand. Not without sarcasm: "Celebrities in the medical world, Ph.D. from Harvard, tsk...... What a pity! ”

Just as he pulled the silencer out of his pocket and expertly attached it to the muzzle. The dying cringe, cowering on the ground, suddenly leaped up like a cheetah. Caught off guard, Claude slammed into the corner of the table beside him. Immediately, at a speed that ordinary people could not match, he leaped out of the door of the morgue.

This qiē happened just too fast. The FBI agents, whose minds were in a blur, didn't even know what to do. After a few seconds, he struggled to his feet from the ground and stumbled towards the hallway. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Catch him!" Catch him! ”

St. Thomas' Hospital has been fully controlled. Under Claude's shouts, dozens of heavily armed police officers soon filled every floor of the hospital. Urgently mobilized support from various neighborhoods is also on the way. It is no exaggeration to say that even a slightly odd-looking fly trying to fly out of the door of the building will be hit by a dense barrage of bullets.

"Stick to all the passages. Search every room. Including vents, electrical ducts. Don't let go of any corners. Even if I tear down every brick here, I'm going to have to find this guy! ”

Jiang Wanqi lay quietly on the cabinet at the corner of the stairs. Using the refraction of the light, he cleverly concealed his figure in the small shadow on the top of the cabinet. Like a rat lurking in the dark, cautiously watching the noisy crowd rushing past in front of it.

Even he couldn't figure out why he was hiding here. He just thought: it's safe here. At the very least, so far, no police have been in the narrow shadows that are so close to the corridors.

The conversation between Claude and the phone was listened to by Jiang Wanqi word for word. He didn't want to die. He is even more reluctant to become an object of dissection to be slaughtered. The only way is to escape.

It's strange when this kind of thought comes to mind for a moment. The suffocation of the chest and lungs and the intensity of the severe pain in the body seem to have weakened a lot. However, what surprised him even more was that he could escape from Claude's gun with unimaginable speed.

Although he didn't have a precise instrument in his hand, he felt that the running time limit at that time was definitely more than 20 meters per second. If it weren't for the restrictions of the terrain at the corner of the corridor, Jiang Wanqi believed that she would definitely be able to run faster.

This is well beyond the known limits of normal human physiology. The only explanation is the abnormal cells that were contaminated in the real yàn chamber due to the slit fingers.

Jiang Wanqi, who was huddled in the shadows, turned pale. The sweat oozing from his forehead slowly flowed down in the violent trembling of his body. He could only clasp the ten fingers of his hands and the teeth between his lips that were clenched so tightly that they were almost shattered. can barely endure the sharp pain that is enough to make people crazy.

Yes, this weird cell did save his life. However, this does not mean that they are absolutely friendly to themselves. The ant-rodent pain in his chest reminded him of the plight of his friend Lawrence, and the fine pieces of flesh that spurted blood from his mouth.

At first, Jiang Wanqi was not sure if it was really Lawrence's internal organs. But thinking of the hungry white blood cells under the microscope, he now had every reason to believe that it was those horrible cells that had devoured poor Lawrence. They are like a swarm of man-eating ants, using hard tools to separate the soft heart and liver and internal organs. In the desperate and miserable howls of the deceased, he unscrupulously chewed on the host's body.

They even drained every drop of blood from Lawrence's body. Eat a burly man who was strong and strong, and eat a pile of useless discarded things that are black and hard.

Is this fate going to be my turn again?

Thinking of this, Jiang Wanqi couldn't help but feel shocked, and subconsciously looked at the policeman in black uniform and armed with an M4A1 rifle at the end of the side corridor. At the moment when the other party just turned around. Seizing the opportunity, he immediately rushed out from behind the cabinet. Wandering like a ghost, it disappeared around the corner of the stairs. The ant-rodent pain in his chest reminded him of the plight of his friend Lawrence, and the fine pieces of flesh that spurted blood from his mouth.

At first, Jiang Wanqi was not sure if it was really Lawrence's internal organs. But thinking of the hungry white blood cells under the microscope, he now had every reason to believe that it was those horrible cells that had devoured poor Lawrence. They are like a swarm of man-eating ants, using hard tools to separate the soft heart and liver and internal organs. In the desperate and miserable howls of the deceased, he unscrupulously chewed on the host's body.

They even drained every drop of blood from Lawrence's body. Eat a burly man who was strong and strong, and eat a pile of useless discarded things that are black and hard.

Is this fate going to be my turn again?

Thinking of this, Jiang Wanqi couldn't help but feel shocked, and subconsciously looked at the policeman in black uniform and armed with an M4A1 rifle at the end of the side corridor. At the moment when the other party just turned around. Seizing the opportunity, he immediately rushed out from behind the cabinet. Wandering like a ghost, it disappeared around the corner of the stairs.