novelraw Chapter 65 Withdrawal Reactions
Chapter 65 Withdrawal Reactions
Chapter 65 Withdrawal Reactions
"The side effects of the anti-rejection enzymes they were injected with came earlier than expected."
Luo Wei remained expressionless, showing no surprise.
He had asked Father Alpha before and learned that this antibody enzyme could maintain the drug's efficacy for about 72 Terra standards.
Beyond this time limit, the antibody enzyme will be metabolized and broken down by the receptor's immune system, leading to severe withdrawal symptoms in the user, including:
Extreme hunger.
Loss of some rationality.
The development of pica tendencies, etc.
The intense combat and mental stress significantly accelerated the breakdown of antibody enzymes, shortening the withdrawal reaction from the expected 72 hours to 6 hours.
"Susan," Rowe called out without turning around, "bring the 'feed' over here."
The three widows, who had been waiting for some time, were pale-faced and pushed two stainless steel food carts over.
Five large iron barrels were placed on the food cart.
The bucket contained a thick, paste-like substance, which was grayish-brown in color.
This was a "high-energy liquid diet" that Luo Wei had specially arranged for the logistics department to prepare before this operation.
The ingredients include expired compressed military rations, cheap industrial saccharin, oils recycled from sewers, and large amounts of thickeners.
It is extremely high in calories.
The taste is terrible.
It's hard to swallow.
But at this moment, for Buck and the others, this was a life-saving elixir.
"Let's go eat."
Luo Wei pointed to the iron bucket.
Buck and the three machine gunners practically pounced on it, not even bothering to take off their helmets, and buried their faces directly in the bucket.
"Snoring, snoring."
Rough eating sounds rang out.
Old John also threw away the charcoal he was holding and scrambled towards another iron bucket.
He used both hands to shove the thick, pasty substance down his throat, choking until his eyes rolled back, but he wouldn't stop.
This is not a picture of humans eating at all.
These are five wild beasts driven by instinct, filling the black hole deep within their genes.
The hunger that overwhelms reason is the backlash from antibody enzymes that forcibly deplete the body's potential.
If they are not given enough carbohydrates and fats, their stomach acid will first digest the stomach lining.
Then their brains will drive them to devour anything living within their line of sight, similar to turning into zombies.
Lowe waited quietly for twenty minutes.
Buck, the three machine gunners, and old John looked up. Their faces were covered in a grayish-brown paste, and the madness in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by confusion and shame.
"Gu—Advisor—"
Buck let out a burp; the fullness in his stomach brought him back to his dignity as a human being.
"After you finish eating, take a shower and then go to sleep." Luo Wei closed his notebook, his tone indifferent, as if nothing had just happened.
"Tomorrow morning, I want to see a shrewd commander, not a beast that only knows how to eat."
"Yes—yes!"
After settling these "patients" in, Luo Wei turned and walked towards the cold storage deep inside section B-3.
This place has been temporarily converted into a top-secret laboratory.
There was no sterile environment, and no sophisticated equipment.
There were only a few rusty workstations.
Several dazzling shadowless lamps.
Father Alpha was circling around several sealed cages.
Several mechanical tentacles waved excitedly.
Inside the cage, five giant rats infected with fever, not quite dead yet, had been injected with sedatives and were still convulsing.
Beneath the charred keratin layer on its back, red fungi undulate like they are breathing.
"Praise be to the God of all machines, this is the perfect example of symbiosis."
Father Alpha eagerly said to Rowe, "Advisor, look, this fungus absorbs heat from its host while secreting a special alkaline mucus. If we can extract the enzymes from this mucus, we might be able to create a completely new high-temperature resistant coolant."
Upon hearing this, Luo Wei put on rubber gloves.
He picked up a pair of tweezers, tapped the cage bars, and pondered, "Besides making coolant, what if it were for human use? Could we make a heat-resistant agent? Even if it only lasts for ten minutes, it could allow our scavenging team to survive one more cycle in an environment similar to the core granary of the Ninth Agricultural War Zone."
He paused, his gaze becoming even more profound: "We must assume the worst-case scenario."
The high temperatures in the Ninth War Zone were not a natural geological phenomenon, but rather a form of "tar fever" in the Nagoya sequence, commonly known as "boiling blood syndrome".
Since it is a plague, it will spread and mutate.
If one day, this plague that can boil blood were to break out in the Seventh Agricultural War Zone, the delicate wheat would wither and carbonize in an instant.
At that time, this medicine will be the last line of defense to protect the tithe and everyone's heads.
"It's theoretically feasible, but we need to solve the hardware issues first."
The blue light in Father Alpha's electronic eyes dimmed, and several mechanical tentacles hung limply at his sides, pointing towards the corner.
"Unfortunately, we weren't lucky enough to be able to retrieve the finished product directly."
Rowe looked down at his robotic arm.
Three M36 centrifuges, forcibly pulled from the filthy "volcano," now lie pitifully in the corner of the cold storage.
Their original silvery-white shells were pitted and scarred by prolonged exposure to high temperatures and acidic gases, and frozen dark red chunks of flesh remained on their bases, emitting an unsettling subspace stench.
"The machine spirits are crying; they are fatally wounded."
Father Alpha said with deep regret, "The three machines in the lab were completely destroyed in the psionic storm unleashed by that woman named Mary. Their core rotors twisted like pretzels. I was hoping to bring back replacements on this trip, but look—"
The priest extended his mechanical claw and pointed to the central shaft of one of the centrifuges.
"We used force to tear them off the meat. This caused micron-level deformation in the spindles of these three centrifuges."
"For such high-precision equipment, even the slightest error can result in the machine crashing."
The priest sighed.
The core logic seems to be stuck in a vicious cycle.
"If the old one is broken, the new one will also be broken. Without the micron-level lathes of the casting world, we simply cannot manufacture qualified high-strength shafts. Without shafts, these lumps of iron are just a pile of scrap metal."
Luo Wei's gaze darkened.
The technology of this universe is often shrouded in mystery and mysticism.
However, in his view, stripped of its religious veneer, the machine is essentially a product of physical laws.
Since there are no original parts available, is it possible to make one by hand?
"Father, do you remember the gallstones in the Rat King's stomach?" Lowe suddenly asked.
"I remember, high-purity alloy solids." Alpha paused for a moment. "The residue that the Rat King couldn't digest after consuming a large amount of special steel from the Ninth Granary."
"Yes, bring it here."
Luo Wei took the fist-sized, dark gold stone, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be quite heavy and incredibly dense.
"This rat ate the best industrial alloy in the Ninth Granary, and then in its stomach, it underwent repeated quenching with special strong acid and high temperature to remove all impurities, leaving behind this essence."
"This is the best raw material. Its hardness and heat resistance exceed those of Imperial standard steel."
Lowe's eyes gleamed as he said, "Melt it. Use this stone to recast the three shafts. Then put them into the three centrifuges we brought back."
Father Alpha was stunned; the processor's fan suddenly became much louder.
"But—Advisor, this is a product of a plague-infested creature, an unclean material. Using it to repair sacred machinery is against the rules; it's a grave blasphemy against the God of Machines!"
"This is called purification."
Luo Wei pondered for a moment.
"Perform a ritual for it. Apply plenty of holy oil, recite the prayers several times, or add some sacred incense ash to the crucible during the smelting process. As long as the axle can turn in the end, the machine spirit will be satisfied."
He forced the heavy gallstone into the priest's mechanical claw and said coldly, "Remember, Alpha. We are using the bones of our enemies to sharpen our blades. This is not blasphemy; it is the most efficient use of resources. The God of Machines will understand this pragmatism."
The priest remained silent for a moment.
The light in the electronic eye flickered erratically, as if engaged in a fierce struggle between dogma and logic.
Finally, the blue light, representing rationality, overwhelmed the rigid dogma.
"As you wish, advisor."
After dealing with the rats and centrifuges, Lowe and Father Alpha went to the deepest part of the laboratory.
There is a giant liquid storage tank here.
Susan and two other widows, dressed in thick protective suits, were nervously operating the valves.
A tube connects to an external soft oil sac, slowly injecting the golden "high-pressure broth" into the storage tank.
The storage tank is filled with clean water.
"Tick-tock".
It was just a single drop of the original solution falling into the water.
The entire jar of water instantly boiled, its color rapidly turning a cloudy pale yellow, with a layer of fine foam rising to the surface.
A strange smell filled the air.
It has both the fishy smell of meat and the fresh aroma of fermented plants.
"Dilution ratio 1:1000." Susan observed the scale, her voice trembling slightly. "Advisor, this stuff is too reactive. I accidentally spilled a drop on the ground just now, and that cement floor—it's covered in mold."
Luo Wei looked down.
Sure enough, where the liquid splashed, a tuft of fine white hairs grew on the hard concrete surface.
It looks like some kind of mold, or like plant roots.
"This is the effect I wanted."
Lo Wei did not feel fear; instead, he showed a satisfied expression.
"Our land is dead; it's too acidic and hardened like stone. Ordinary fertilizers are completely useless."
"This stuff, despite containing trace amounts of subspace toxicity, can forcibly awaken the vitality of the land. Even if this vitality is pathological, as long as wheat grows, it's good fertilizer."
He put a label on the storage tank that read:
[Premium Growth Fluid - No. 7 (Highly Toxic/High Energy)]
[Purpose: For core experimental field use only. Direct skin contact is strictly prohibited.]
"Susan, seal this jar of diluent," Rowe ordered. "Remember, this is crucial to whether we can complete the tithe; it's more important than your lives."
"Yes, advisor."
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