Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 594 - 587: The Infection Method of Exotic Beasts

Chapter 594: Chapter 587: The Infection Method of Exotic Beasts

All this while, Luo’er had been pondering one question. That was, should they Earthize the Otherworld, adopt Earth’s concepts, and use Earth’s science to explain things. Or should they allow the Otherworld to follow its own traditional development, using the methods of the Otherworld’s inhabitants to explore the nature of things.

The advance team undoubtedly represented the epitome of Earthizing the Otherworld. Their current weapons, protective gear, were all the result of Earth’s scientists analyzing the Otherworld’s magic scientifically.

The biggest difference between the two worlds is the research and usage of magic. Earth’s scientists have always tried to explain magical phenomena using Earth science, and then study how these phenomena can supplement the shortcomings of Earth’s technology. For example, anti-gravity reactors. If anti-gravity could be produced on Earth, should it be the same as the Otherworld’s structure, or is the Otherworld’s anti-gravity reactor structure irrelevant on Earth?

For military equipment, the biggest difference between the two worlds lies in how Earthlings use magic as an auxiliary system, while the inhabitants of the Otherworld see it as a means of combat.

Among the current weapons and equipment of the advance team, there are very few that directly use magic as an attack method. Most weapons and gear deploy magic to supplement their capabilities. For example, magic-breaking bullets and shield-breaking bullets, both use magic to weaken the defense of the opponent, but the actual damage is still inflicted by the bullet itself.

Regardless, whether Earthizing completely or following tradition, there was one point everyone could see, that was Earth’s advancements were several centuries ahead of the Otherworld. This progress was not only reflected in technology but also in cultural and social aspects. Though the inhabitants of the Otherworld might not accept the changes brought by Earthizing, they could certainly not refuse progress.

"All targets within a kilometer radius have been cleared!" While Luo’er was deep in thought, Fulajie’er suddenly spoke, nearly startling him.

After spending some time together, Fulajie’er’s language became more standard in her reports. However, she would often use a lot of adverbs, but that was fine. Luo’er wasn’t too fond of emotionless reports anyway.

"Received, stay alert!" Luo’er nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hmm, I got it!" Fulajie’er replied, then her voice disappeared.

"Everyone stay alert, do not remove your breathing masks!" Luo’er loudly ordered, then walked toward the two dead exotic beasts.

Seeing Luo’er move, one of the knights who just came over to help, quickly ran over with his sword. He warned Luo’er, "Don’t move around, wait for the purification team to get here."

"I know, I just wanted to look at the exotic beasts." Luo’er replied.

Hearing Luo’er’s words, the knight didn’t say anything. He looked at Luo’er once more, then left with his sword. Luo’er waved at Cheng Ziang. So, together, the two came to the bodies of the exotic beasts that had been killed one after the other.

Those two exotic beasts fell under the overwhelming firepower, one after the other on the charging path. They weren’t more than two meters apart, the ground was soaked with their blood, looking like two parallel blood trails.

Luo’er squatted beside one of the exotic beasts. Because he was wearing a breathing mask, he couldn’t directly smell the scent of the beast, and of course, he didn’t want to. The body of the beast was full of bullet holes. Despite their robust muscles, they could not withstand the impact of the bullets. The concentrated bullets left holes all over their slightly rough, deep brown skin, from which thick blood oozed out.

"These truly are strange creatures." Luo’er couldn’t help but comment.

"Yes." Cheng Ziang also squatted down, extending his hand to touch the exotic beast.

"Wait, be careful." Luo’er grabbed his wrist and carefully watched him.

"Don’t worry, no matter how powerful this virus is, it should not be able to penetrate our gloves." Cheng Ziang reassured him, then continued to stretch out his hand and squeezed the exotic beast’s head, then lifted its lips, revealing its vicious fangs.

"The skin is very elastic, definitely biological tissue cells. And the teeth seem to be made of enamel." As Cheng Ziang spoke, he used his thumbs and forefingers to open the beast’s eyes. The beast’s eyes were about the size of a walnut. Its pupils were elongated, similar to a cat’s, presumably to avoid sunlight.

"No matter how you look at it, this thing looks more like a living creature. But I don’t know if it’s a homeotherm or poikilotherm organism. I guess we can only dissect it and see if it has a brain, a heart, or other organs." Cheng Ziang spoke, casting an involuntary glance at the dagger on his body.

"Don’t do anything reckless; let the professionals handle this." Luo’er said with a concerned expression, holding Cheng Ziang’s hand.

"Don’t worry, I was just thinking out loud." Cheng Ziang smiled and placed his hand on the exotic beast, looking for its artery.

Luo’er carefully observed the beast’s blood. It was a viscous, brownish-yellow semi-transparent liquid, though not blatantly so.

This phenomenon was odd because the blood of both Earth’s inhabitants and Otherworld’s, including the animals in Otherworld, were typically red. However, these creatures were distinctly unique. Luo’er was very curious about the world in which they lived.

It seemed that Cheng Ziang also noticed the blood seeping from the beast’s body, and he reached out to touch it. This time, Luo’er immediately stopped him and refused, "Don’t carelessly touch it. If we get infected, there is no remedy."

Cheng Ziang looked at him, smiling as he withdrew his hand. He picked up a tree branch from the ground and under Luo’er’s watchful eyes, he stirred the beast’s blood with the branch and lifted it.

The blood was indeed viscous; when lifted by the branch, a long, silver thread was drawn. However, from this angle, the blood indeed seemed semi-transparent.

Cheng Ziang stared at the liquid for a long time, then asked Luo’er with a furrowed brow, "Could it be possible that the blood and body fluid of the exotic beasts contain the virus, and it’s transmitted to humans through direct contact? And after humans are infected and transformed into corpse demons, the virus then mutates to transmit through air?"

"It’s possible. Maybe after the virus combines with human genes, it mutates into an airborne form. That’s why the Church Court’s infection rate is so astonishing during battles with the corpse demons," Luo’er paused and coughed before continuing, "But regardless, we should not take off our masks now, just to be safe!"

Cheng Ziang nodded, threw away the branch in his hand and stood up. He dusted his hands as a symbolic gesture and glanced at the knights in the distance. Having slashed wildly, these brave knights had turned the attacking exotic beasts into chunks of meat. They were all more or less covered with the beasts’ blood.

Observing their condition, Cheng Ziang seemed thoughtful. He then said to Luo’er, "If the Church Court knights always battle with the exotic beasts in this brutal manner, it indicates that the likely mode of transmission is through body fluids. The blood of the exotic beast is viscous, making it harder to inhale it through splattering. Only the very unlucky ones would accidentally ingest the blood of the exotic beasts, leading to infection."

"Anyway, let’s report the information here to headquarters first and let them make the decision. If the headquarters wants to strategize around Lipei, this might be a good starting point," Luo’er also stood up and said.

After a while, the Church Court’s purification team finally arrived. They were actually knights responsible for disinfection, and they were given such a sacred name. These knights carried a plastic box. With one hand, they pressurized using a lever; the other hand operated a spray rod to splash disinfectant on them. This was a very common agricultural tool on Earth, usually used for manual weeding and the like. Its scientific name was a sprayer, which could also be used to splash disinfectant.