Chapter 1069: The Wolf Who Asked About Healing

If it asked what it wanted to know, it would probably get scolded.

But Crippled Wolf wanted answers. The Idol spoke up again, so Xia Qing pointed to the brain on the scanning bed and respectfully asked the expert at the top of Blue Star’s hierarchy, “Third Brother, Crippled Wolf wants to know—can a wolf whose prefrontal cortex has been removed ever recover with treatment? I don’t mean this dead one, but other wolves who’ve had it cut out.”

Seeing the human and the wolf wearing nearly identical smiles, Zhang San struggled to keep his composure and asked, “Why would it even think something like that?”

Xia Qing barely opened her mouth before Zhang San cut her off. “Don’t rush to say you don’t know or aren’t sure. All its knowledge of human medicine, human language, and the thinking behind those words comes from you. That’s the only reason you can guess what it wants to say. Carefully think back—is there something you taught it that could make it believe you could heal a brain with its cortex removed?”

Uh…

Xia Qing’s eyes darted up as she rapidly searched her memory for videos she’d watched with Crippled Wolf. Soon she spotted the trigger: “It watched a video on skin grafting to treat surface wounds. So it thinks you could patch a brain the way you’d patch up skin, and that would heal it.”

Zhang San went silent for a few seconds before giving a clear answer: “You can’t repair a removed prefrontal cortex with a skin graft.”

Crippled Wolf lifted a paw and gave Xia Qing a little nudge.

Bracing herself, Xia Qing asked, “Why not?”

Zhang San glanced at the bookshelf. Finding no professional books about skin grafts, he grabbed one with brain diagrams and explained to the evolutionary wolf Xia Qing had ‘corrupted’, “The cerebral cortex isn’t skin.”

“Look, this is the cerebral cortex.” Zhang San showed Crippled Wolf an image of the brain’s wrinkled surface and then pointed to Xia Qing’s face. “The layer on Xia Qing’s face is skin.”

Xia Qing…

Idol, you have skin too. No need to use mine as an example.

“The cerebral cortex is a layer of gray matter—that’s neurons and dendrites gathered together. It’s soft and protected by the skull.” Zhang San tapped Xia Qing’s face again. “Skin is the outer layer that protects the body, keeps moisture in, and lets you sense the world. Crippled, do you get it now?”

Crippled Wolf studied Xia Qing’s face thoughtfully for a moment, then slowly bared its two sharp little fangs.

Seeing how eager Crippled Wolf was, Xia Qing praised him out of habit. “You’re incredible, Crippled! No wonder the Queen loves you best out of all the evolved wolves—nobody else stands as tall on Blue Star as you do!”

Praised, Crippled Wolf flashed a smile with all four tiny fangs showing.

Zhang San, feeling a brief moment of accomplishment, wanted to leave as soon as possible. “That wolf corpse will start decomposing soon. If you want to keep it longer, you’ll have to put it back in the freezer. How do you want to handle it?”

If not for tonight’s incident, Zhang San wouldn’t worry about a small matter like this. But now, he couldn’t help asking.

Because he realized, you could no longer use normal human logic to predict the actions of someone who shows a skin graft video to an evolved wolf.

Xia Qing asked, “Third Brother, do we still need this corpse as evidence for Peng Yuancai’s conviction?”

Zhang San answered, “No, I’ve already saved the images and video evidence.”

Xia Qing said, “That wolf was Old Wolf’s companion, the one who brings medicine to the Western Evolved Forest. When Old Wolf comes back, I’ll ask what it wants to do. If it has no opinion, I’ll burn the body.”

And if it does have an opinion?

Irritated, Zhang San gave up on the matter, his expression dark as he sped up his words. “You need to fully disinfect your house—especially this lab.”

Evolved microorganisms were the main cause of disease and death during the Calamity Years, so Xia Qing never let her guard down. Today had just been too busy, with one thing after another, for proper cleaning—which is why her Idol misunderstood. “Understood. I disinfect every day and regularly clean up the area, too. We rarely study corpses—this is only the second time.”

Only the second time?

Zhang San wiped his fingers with a disinfecting wipe, looking dour. “Labs and living quarters must be separated. You have two options: First, build a proper lab and move all equipment in. Second, return the CT unit to my territory and stop studying imaging here altogether.”

Crippled Wolf immediately placed itself in front of its beloved equipment, blocking Zhang San from taking it.

Xia Qing made her decision. “Third Brother, as soon as I finish clearing Scourge Grass from the territory, I’ll start building a lab. Territory Five is firing bricks in the fall—I’ll join up and make a batch with them.”

The first time Crippled Wolf brought in a dead rabbit to use the CT unit, Xia Qing laid down the rules and decided on building a lab. She just hadn’t found the time, or enough building materials, yet.

“Brick structures aren’t good enough. By tomorrow morning, select a site for a lab, no less than 100 square meters. Then send me a photo of the area. I’ll have someone design a lab with four rooms for you and help you move all this equipment inside as soon as possible. Until both you and this wolf pass my safety training, neither of you can use the new lab.”

F-four rooms?!

Bright-eyed, Xia Qing put on her best serious face to bargain with her Idol. “Third Brother, I really don’t have much stuff. One professional lab is enough, right?”

Zhang San pointed to a piece of equipment beside them, clearly annoyed. “And what’s that?”

“The CT unit.”

“And the working principle?”

“It scans biological matter with radiation to create images.” Xia Qing quickly caught on. “Brother Song mentioned—this CT unit has high-efficiency shielding around both the X-ray source and detectors to greatly reduce stray and leaked radiation.”

“It only reduces it as much as possible, not blocks it entirely. Zhang Song definitely told you: when using the CT unit, you need to use a retractable protective cover or a radiation protection blanket. Operators also have to wear lead aprons and goggles.” Zhang San stuffed the used disinfecting wipe back into the bag and pointed to the four-legged, furry evolved wolf.

“This wolf uses the CT unit all the time. If it’s exposed to X-rays long-term, is it going to wear an apron? Or maybe goggles?”

Crippled Wolf thought it over while Xia Qing nodded at once. “Third Brother, I’ll build a professional lab.”

Crippled Wolf has plenty of Yi Stone—let it foot the bill.

Satisfied, Zhang San said, “Your lab needs a scanning room with lead doors, leaded glass, and lead-lined walls—a separate space for displays and all your other equipment, a lab for the microscope and Evolution Element Detector, and a proper washing and changing room.”

Xia Qing ran the numbers. “Third Brother, could the CT display room be made a little smaller? Also, can I trade for a set of soil analysis equipment like what Sister Tao uses, and a plant growth chamber, and keep them all together with my Evolution Element Detector in a single room?”

Zhang San warmed up a little. “A growth chamber needs to be in an environmental control room, one that can simulate specific conditions.”

So does that mean she needs five rooms?

Xia Qing asked her Idol, “How about you have Brother Ya do the math and give me a quote?”

If it’s too expensive and Crippled Wolf won’t pay more Yi Stones, she’ll just build one lead-lined room and make everything else out of brick if she has to.

As Xia Qing drove the rotary tiller with Zhang San aboard through the northern buffer forest toward Section Three, Zhang San asked, “Do you think someone like Peng Yuancai is a big threat?”

No doubt about it. “Absolutely!”

Zhang San kept a hand on the back of Xia Qing’s seat to stop himself from falling, his eyes staring into the endless night and the endless expanse of Scourge Grass.

“Biology and medicine are endless, fascinating, and at times, even maddening fields. Many researchers who grew up in human society and had decades of education still can’t resist temptation—they end up breaking the law or medical ethics to run experiments.”

“So what about an evolved wolf that’s mastered advanced biological and medical techniques, but has no idea what laws, ethics, or morality are, and still eats raw meat and fresh blood? How much disaster would something like that bring if it wasn’t properly guided or restrained?”