Chapter 1143: Lab Protocol and the Crippled Wolf’s CT Mastery

Zhang San, snapping back to himself, gave Xia Qing a long, thoughtful look before stepping through the screen door. He first took off his protective boots caked with yellow clay, swapped them for a new pair of straw sandals Xia Qing had set on the shelf, then keyed in the code to unlock the door and entered the lab.

How did he know the code? Because Crippled Wolf had just entered it right in front of him.

Xia Qing quickly changed into straw sandals too and followed her idol inside.

The first room you enter in the lab is the disinfection and changing room. This space is split into three zones.

Nearest the door is the contamination zone. Here, you stash your personal items and outerwear, and there are two cleaning setups. Xia Qing used the touchless hand-washing station, topped with a 75% alcohol pump bottle. Crippled Wolf’s gear, on the other hand, included an automatic rolling brush and a pair of magnetic cleaning boots.

Crippled Wolf, prey clamped in his jaws, passed through the automatic rolling brush to clean off any debris stuck to his protective suit. Then, one by one, he stepped each of his four booted paws into the cleaner boots, paused for exactly five seconds, then switched to the next paw.

These cleaner boots were specially ordered by Zhang San for the Section Three lab. Both this machine and the rolling brush came from a top researcher at Lanqi Base, who designed and built them for his two Brain Evolution sheepdogs.

When a dog or wolf puts a paw inside, the boot’s nano-fiber lining automatically wraps around the paw to clean it, followed by a UV-C ultraviolet disinfection.

This machine alone costs 40,000 credits!

Why didn’t Crippled Wolf take off his protective suit before disinfecting? Zhang San saw the satisfied look on Xia Qing’s face and instantly understood.

After changing clothes, washing hands, and cleaning paws, they stepped into the buffer zone.

This area is equipped with UV lights and a disinfectant soaking bucket. Here you can switch into lab coats, masks, and gloves, but honestly, this setup’s for Xia Qing.

The last area is the clean zone. Depending on the experiment, you suit up here in full protective gear. Both Xia Qing and Crippled Wolf can use this space, though Crippled Wolf always needs Xia Qing to help.

But today’s experiment was simple. After cleaning himself and his paws, Crippled Wolf grabbed the bag and trotted to a door on the left, pressed an electronic lead-lined door open with a practiced paw, and entered the CT scanning room.

Watching from outside the scanning room, Xia Qing started feeling nervous. This was one of those easy-to-mess-up steps.

Once inside, Crippled Wolf set the bag on a low stool Xia Qing picked out for him. He sniffed at it for a moment in thought, then pulled out an antibacterial pad and spread it neatly on the scanning bed.

Xia Qing exhaled a big sigh of relief, finally cracking a smile.

Perfect—Crippled Wolf sniffed out the blood! When scanning a subject with open wounds, it’s a must to lay down an absorbent antibacterial pad so blood or fluids don’t leak and contaminate the equipment.

Pad in place, Crippled Wolf slipped his right front paw into a bottle-shaped device, then pressed a button with his left. When he pulled his paw back out, it was fitted with a sterile rubber glove.

This gadget, and the dog gloves, were also from Lanqi—at a price of 10,000 credits. If not for her idol ordering it for Crippled Wolf, Xia Qing would never have even known there was some slightly offbeat genius at Lanqi Base obsessing over improving his sheepdogs’ standard of living.

Inside the scanning room, Crippled Wolf dragged out the Red tag goose onto the antibacterial pad, arranging it with his rubber-gloved paw. Then, imitating proper procedure, he rubbed the glove on the disinfected towel placed by the bed.

After all, this paw had just handled a scanned subject. Disinfecting is a must.

Xia Qing nodded, pleased, while Zhang San scowled. The wolf’s wipedown was textbook Xia Qing—just enough to tick the box, no more.

Crippled Wolf picked up on Zhang San’s change of mood right away. He glanced at Xia Qing’s beaming face, then limped out of the scanning room, closed the lead-lined door, and headed next door to the observation room, where he expertly operated the CT unit to scan the goose.

Standing behind Crippled Wolf, Zhang San asked, “Broken Back, how did this goose die?”

Crippled Wolf’s rubber-gloved paw shot out and accurately pointed at the bird’s snapped neck visible on the CT scan images.

“That’s right,” Zhang San nodded approvingly.

Xia Qing instantly gave Crippled Wolf a big thumbs-up. Crippled Wolf turned and flashed her a pair of sharp little fangs in return.

Zhang San gestured to the next room. “Go clean up the scanning room.”

Crippled Wolf first shut down the unit, then limped back in. He shoved the Red tag goose back into its bag, tossed the antibacterial pad into the nearby trash, switched on the mobile UV sanitation cart beside the bed, and disinfected the scanning area.

The sanitation cart has a timer, so after five minutes it turns off automatically. No need to switch it yourself.

Finally, Crippled Wolf carried out the garbage bag and the Red tag goose together. After closing the lead door, he stowed the goose in a special freezer and tossed the trash into the biohazard bin, giving Xia Qing another look.

Xia Qing immediately gave him a huge thumbs-up. “Awesome—spot-on!”

Crippled Wolf flashed those two sharp little fangs again.

Zhang San asked, “How many times did you have to teach Broken Back this routine?”

Xia Qing answered at once, “Two afternoons, countless drills. Third Brother, did you see any mistakes?”

“No issues with his technique.”

Just a few details you missed, but Zhang San was already more than satisfied. “Broken Back, you did well. You can use the CT unit from now on. If you ever have to examine a potentially toxic specimen, try not to use your mouth to hold it.”

Crippled Wolf looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing seized the chance to talk benefits for her wolf. “Third Brother, Broken Back can sniff out toxic and hazardous chemicals only if they have a scent. If they’re odorless, we can’t rely on smell. Can I swap for a toxin detector that’s suited for him?”

Zhang San took a look at the Evolved Wolf grinning just like Xia Qing and nodded. “Sure. Pick it up from my place in three days.”

“Thank you, Third Brother, you’re incredible—three days to make such an advanced instrument!” Xia Qing reined herself in, then got serious. “Third Brother, is it my turn to demonstrate?”

Do you really need a demo when your issues are obvious?

Zhang San shot Xia Qing a glare and went to the chemistry lab. He watched Broken Back, who wore one glove, demonstrate the proper use of the microscope, then continued into the biggest room—the environmental control room.

This room is about 50 square meters, with three rows of four-tiered racks that can adjust temperature, humidity, and lighting. It’s not in use yet, so no plants are growing in the trays, the zone controls and air recirculation are off, and the temperature inside matches the rest of the building.

It’s also spotless.

Zhang San gave a satisfied nod. “That heap of Giant Wasp droppings—you can jar it and ferment it in a temperature-controlled slot too.”

Seeing Xia Qing’s eyes light up, Zhang San didn’t want to hear her ramble. He turned away. “Go take your next test, then let’s eat.”

“Yes, Third Brother. You and Broken Back go ahead—I’ll feed the Red tag goose to the snakes first.”

Zhang San asked, “How many snakes are you keeping right now?”

“Over thirty. All small Green Lantern Snakes. The biggest is three meters or so. Giving them Red tag food occasionally won’t hurt their quality.”

Xia Qing’s crisis sense is sharp—she never passes up a chance to raise living creatures. Those thirty-plus Green Lantern Snakes in the snake box are the tough survivors she and her allies picked together over the past two years. As long as they’re fed and their box is kept clean, they’re fine.

Those two adult Green Lantern Black-Maned Geese in the greenhouse are a breeding pair Xia Qing plans to keep too. She has all the fresh vegetables and drinking water she needs, so if the geese can adapt to captivity, she’ll have another quality poultry breed.

After dropping the Red tag goose off with the snakes and returning to the spotless living room, Xia Qing felt as if the sky was falling.

“Third Brother, is that my… test paper?”

Just look at that dense mess—obviously all material analysis questions!

“Yes. I downloaded it online. Finish it in thirty minutes.” Zhang San said, then turned to give Crippled Wolf a third question: “If a sick wolf comes to you, but you don’t know what’s wrong, is it okay to just randomly give it medicine?”

Crippled Wolf clamped his mouth shut and looked serious.

Zhang San nodded, pleased. “Correct. You can’t prescribe medicine without a clear diagnosis, or you could easily make things worse, even kill the sick wolf.”

Xia Qing was speechless…

I knew that one too!

“I don’t want to do this written test—I want to interview with Crippled Wolf!”