White armor

Chapter 767 Stone Embryo
Meng Liangren sat in front of the computer, somewhat bewildered.

He's been feeling a bit restless lately, like he's getting more and more idle.

The application of AI robots has given nuclear-powered donkeys time to contemplate life, which is somewhat terrifying for Meng Liangren.

If Meng Liangren hadn't been certain of his secure position in Professor Luo's medical team, he would have been in a panic by now.

"Xiao Meng" is reviewing medical records. Although it is a paperless office, the medical records it reviews still list all the issues in detail by hand, just like the habit of an old man.

Even with "Xiao Meng's" constant supervision, the quality of medical records written by interventional radiology doctors has only improved slightly, which is unavoidable.

Looking at "Little Meng," Meng Liangren felt as if she were looking at her younger self, and she was somewhat dazed.

The gap between humans and machines is huge. What will happen if machines rule over humanity?

Even Meng Liangren began to have similar thoughts.

The phone rang, startling Meng Liangren.

"Hey?"

"Old Meng, bring your son Meng to the emergency room," the emergency room doctor said urgently, his voice tinged with fear, as if he had been frightened by a horror movie.

"what happened?"

"hurry up!"

After saying that, the phone call ended.

Meng Liangren glanced at "Little Meng".

In the past few days, Professor Luo has been adjusting the authorization issue, so "Xiao Meng" has been unable to "see" the emergency department's medical records.

Meng Liangren stood up. "Xiao Meng, let's go to the emergency room."

"Little Meng" is quite obedient. Meng Liangren sighed, wishing that his son was still so obedient at this age.

But after so many years in society, all I hear are stories about how disobedient children are. Want your child to be like "Xiao Meng"? Maybe in your next life.

"Old Meng, what's going on?" Zhuang Yan followed behind, swinging her high ponytail.

"The emergency department called; they must have encountered some difficulties."

"Stop joking. No matter how bad the emergency department is, they wouldn't ask you to take Xiao Meng there."

“That might be due to a rare disease. Your brother Yong wrote a paper for them and asked Xiao Meng to go to the site to input the data,” Meng Liangren said, changing his story.

This is possible.

"Tell me what the situation is."

"How would I know."

The two chatted casually, with "Little Meng" obediently following Meng Liangren's side without uttering a single word.

Meng Liangren felt that Professor Luo Haoluo had gone a bit too far this time; "Little Meng" had become taciturn and looked rather pitiful.

They arrived at the emergency department quickly.

In the emergency department, Lao Yang sat in front of the computer, his eyes fixed on the screen, staring at the pictures on it.

"Old Yang, what's wrong?" Meng Liangren called out.

"Look," Old Yang said, stepping aside to show Meng Liangren the ultrasound image on the computer.

The cold light from the computer screen cast an eerie bluish-white glow in the examination room. On the ultrasound image, the calcified shadow resembled a cursed fetal fossil—cursed in the patient's lower left abdomen, the calcified protrusions in the shape of a spine twisted into a painful arc, the skull outline fused with the pelvis, and the empty eye sockets facing the probe.

"Hold"

When Meng Liangren suddenly saw this scene, his hand trembled and he knocked Lao Yang's thermos cup to the ground with a "bang".

Hot water splashed onto his trouser leg, but Meng Liangren was completely unaware. He subconsciously took half a step back and bumped into Zhuang Yan.

Zhuang Yan was also stunned for a moment, as she saw the complete image of the fetus on the ultrasound.

But the fetus has already calcified. How could this be?

"Xiao Meng?" Zhuang Yan's view was blocked by Meng Liangren's back, but she wasn't startled and asked directly.

"lithopedion is a rare complication of ectopic pregnancy, referring to the pathological phenomenon of calcification of the fetus in the mother's body after the fetus has died."

X-rays may reveal high-density calcifications in the abdomen or pelvis, resembling skeletal structures, especially calcified fetal bones and membranes.

The typical presentation is mixed calcifications, possibly with "eggshell-like" calcified margins. CT and ultrasound are also very helpful in diagnosis.

"Xiao Meng" is a very gentle explanation.

Stone body?

Or was it a loss of composure?
Meng Liangren carefully recalled what "Little Meng" had said.

Judging from what it says, it means that the pregnancy was terminated, but the fetus was still in the mother's womb. After who knows how many years, it has calcified and become a stone fetus.

Can……

Meng Liangren stared blankly.

"Where is the patient, Dr. Yang?" "Xiao Meng" asked.

"They went for a CT scan," said Dr. Yang from the emergency department. "This is the first time I've seen this situation. I don't know what it is, so I called you to take a look."

As she spoke, Dr. Yang from the emergency department looked at "Xiao Meng" with a complicated expression. "Xiao Meng, it's 'stone fetus'. 'Stone' as in stone, 'fetus' as in fetus."

"Correct."

"It's a type of teratoma. In the early stages, it only differentiates into teeth and hair, but in the later stages, it becomes like this."

"Hey, stop messing around, Brother Yang." Zhuang Yan quickly interrupted Dr. Yang, "Even if a teratoma grows to 1.8 meters, it's not like this."

"Uh……"

“The formation of a stone fetus is caused by a number of factors, the most important being the lack of medical care and medicine in remote areas, poverty in families, lack of attention to women, and the fact that the symptoms are not serious, which leads to the delay in treatment, resulting in this situation.”

The explanation of "Xiao Meng" continues.

"What should we do then?" Old Yang from the emergency department realized he had misunderstood and made a mistake that didn't sound like something a proper doctor would make. He changed the subject, following "Xiao Meng's" explanation.

"The patient is 74 years old?"

"Ah."

“Conservative treatment is a better option,” “Xiao Meng” said. “The adhesions are too severe, and surgery would cause too much damage.”

"Is the patient from a rural area?"

"A rural resident from Qilihe was suffering from severe abdominal pain, screaming and howling every day. A poverty alleviation cadre took him to the county hospital for a quick check-up, and then..."

Old Yang then paused.

Meng Liangren knew what was going to happen next. In a rural area like that, there would probably be some shady characters saying all sorts of nonsense.

Poverty alleviation cadres have it really tough; they even have to bring patients to the provincial capital for medical treatment.

But the patient is experiencing significant pain; is surgery an option?

Meng Liangren took a deep breath and forced herself to refocus her gaze on the ultrasound image.

Reason told him that this was just a rare case of calcification in an old ectopic pregnancy—medically known as "lithiasis," which, although uncommon, is still documented and precedentable. However, this case was rather special.

But as he stared at the distorted, calcified shadow on the screen, his stomach involuntarily clenched and his facial muscles twitched.

That thing looked so much like... so much like a curled-up baby, motionless, having been dead for many years.

The grayish-white skeletal outlines appear eerily complete in the ultrasound images—it is a person—the curvature of the spine, the shape of the skull, and even those fine, rib-like calcifications.

If you add a red wedding dress and the sound of a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument), the atmosphere of Chinese horror will be complete.

Meanwhile, the faint sound of suona horns could be heard in Meng Liangren's ears, and mist gradually appeared before her eyes, revealing a red bridal sedan chair.

"Damn it," Meng Liangren cursed inwardly, blinked, and swallowed a non-existent fear.

As a doctor, he had seen far too many bloody and gruesome scenes.

The warm touch of organs during abdominal surgery, the splattering blood during emergency treatment, and even the gradually cooling skin of a deceased patient—none of these things would make him blink.

But this is what's in front of me.
This "thing" that had been lying quietly in the patient's abdominal cavity for forty years, this existence that existed between life and non-life, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up slightly.

It is like a mummy dried by time, or a curse that has never been born.

Meng Liangren subconsciously touched the stethoscope in his white coat pocket—this habitual action brought him back a sense of control. The cool touch of the metal seeped through the fabric, and he exhaled softly.

The stethoscope bore the inscription "Luo Hao Medical Team - Meng Liangren".

The name Luo Hao was like some kind of talisman, capable of warding off evil spirits; at least Meng Liangren believed in this stuff.

"Prepare for surgery."

His voice was more steady than expected; only he knew that the fingertips holding the medical record folder were going slightly numb.

That unease lingered, like... like the trembling feeling I had when I first saw a specimen in the dissection room as a child, a mixture of awe and fear.

Reason will eventually prevail over instinct, but at this moment, he allows himself to honestly face that slight fear that comes from instinct.

"Surgery." Dr. Yang from the emergency department grinned, but immediately nodded.

He wanted to call for a nurse, but he opened his mouth but didn't make a sound. Instead, he hesitated for a moment and then took out his phone to make a call.

"General surgery? Me, Old Yang from the emergency department."

"Hey, what night owl knocking on the door? It's just a middle-aged patient with abdominal pain, but his vital signs are stable. Go up and give him an enema, and he'll probably be fine."

"Yes, yes, I swear on my reputation. If the illness is serious, you can come down and point your finger at me and yell at me."

"Don't worry, I really guarantee this with my integrity. The patient is having a CT scan, no need for anyone else. You guys go ahead and get ready, I'll tell them to send the patient up as soon as it's done."

Dr. Yang hung up the phone with a smile.

The moment the call was disconnected, his expression changed drastically, his face darkening instantly.

"Old Yang, you guys have had it so tough."

Meng Liangren did not make sarcastic remarks, but sighed and echoed her.

Old Yang shook his head, patted Meng Liangren on the shoulder, and didn't say anything.

Zhuang Yan was a little confused. She had long heard that emergency room doctors were lying.

I never expected that Old Yang's words were so unreliable.

Did he lie? No, not a single one. The only thing he said was his own guess, which doesn't count.

Based on this, Zhuang Yan thought Lao Yang should take the civil service exam; his score on the essay section would definitely be high.

They can talk the dead back to life.

But Lao Meng's expression and tone were interesting. Zhuang Yan understood, but she knew that if she were in Lao Meng's position, she would probably make a few jokes.

We still need to learn from Lao Meng.

Old Meng chatted for a few minutes, then left with "Little Meng" and Zhuang Yan. After turning the corner of the corridor, he took out his phone and called Luo Hao.

"Oh? Let me take a look." Luo Hao seemed quite interested in the case as well.

"Professor Luo, is surgery possible?"

“Surgery is generally not recommended; conservative treatment is suggested. If the pain is severe, then we can proceed with surgery,” Luo Hao sighed. “Is it difficult?”

"It's alright, but the patient is around 74 years old. I saw in the information that he has chronic bronchitis, emphysema, coronary heart disease, diabetes... a bunch of old diseases. We'll adjust his condition for a while first."

"I've never seen it before. When I first saw the ultrasound, it startled me." Meng Liangren wanted to change the subject, not wanting Professor Luo to be in a bad mood.

"Ha, Lao Meng, I didn't expect you to be such a coward," Luo Hao laughed.

"Professor Luo, it's not simply that he's timid, it's that he's never seen anything like it before."

"The CT scan is clearer; I can see it. Stone-like birthmark... and even facial expression. Never mind, I won't describe it to you, and you don't need to look at it. The patient needs to be admitted to the hospital; I'll call Director Chen."

"Okay, is there anything I can do for you?" Meng Liangren asked.

"No need, I'll contact Director Chen."

Luo Hao hung up the phone and stared at the freshly generated CT images on the screen.

Although it wasn't a 64-slice CT 3D reconstruction, it was still vaguely visible.

“Looking at this… in the past, this would have been an example of metaphysics.” Chen Yong also saw the stone embryo, and he said in a deep voice.

“Sigh, there’s a lot to metaphysics, I don’t deny that, but this is a stone fetus. As for surgery…” Luo Hao pondered.

"What are you thinking about? Using the AI ​​4K large screen?" Chen Yong asked.

"It's fine whether we use it or not. Director Chen and I can handle abdominal cocoon syndrome. The surgery for stone fetus is simpler than that for abdominal cocoon syndrome." Luo Hao smiled and stretched.

"Off work, going home."

He stood up, picked up his executive jacket, and put it on.

"Professor Luo, welcome home." "Xiao Meng" greeted him with a smile.

"Okay, I'm leaving. Keep an eye on things for me. Be careful not to cross the red line, please be careful."

"Don't worry," said "Xiao Meng."

Stepping outside the gate, Wang Xiaoshuai was sitting on a recliner in the courtyard, scrolling through his phone.

Bang bang bang~
A series of soft popping sounds could be heard around him.

"Huh? Is this the laser for killing mosquitoes that you mentioned the other day that the university made?" Chen Yong asked curiously.

"Snapped!"

Another soft sound.

Chen Yong squinted and saw a moth fly into the three-meter radius around Wang Xiaoshuai before being precisely locked onto by a beam of red light. The light sliced ​​through the air like a scalpel, instantly cutting the moth in two, which fell to the grass, emitting a puff of smoke.

"Damn! Is it really that accurate?"

Wang Xiaoshuai stood up and put his phone away.

Luo Hao smiled and said, "The latest model from the university, a phased array laser mosquito-killing system."

He looked at the metal box at his feet not far away. The LED screen on the box was displaying: [Today's kills: 237] [Hit rate: 99.8%]

Chen Yong peered closer and discovered that miniature radars were installed in all four corners of the yard. Whenever a flying insect passed by, the radar would locate it in milliseconds, and then—"Buzz!"

A laser beam, only a few millimeters thick, flashed past and exploded in mid-air around the mosquito that was about to land on Wang Xiaoshuai, leaving only a few legs floating down.

Even more strangely, when Wang Xiaoshuai suddenly raised his hand, all the beams of light intelligently avoided him, creating a safety blind spot around his arm.

"This thing can identify species." Wang Xiaoshuai chuckled憨厚ly, the laser array adjusting its angle slightly with his movements. "It will definitely kill mosquitoes and flies, and only repel bees and butterflies."

He pointed to the treetop, where a laser beam was flashing in a non-lethal mode, gently "pushing" some flying object away from the courtyard.

Luo Hao picked up a visual sensor, which captures details invisible to ordinary people—before each beam of light strikes, it leaves a red pre-aiming trajectory in the air for 0.01 seconds, like the slight hesitation of death before raising its scythe.

A laser beam suddenly swept past Chen Yong's ear, burning the mosquito that had attacked him from behind to charcoal, while his sideburns remained completely unharmed.

A night breeze blew by, filling the courtyard with a faint scent of flowers and plants.

Those red beams of light still silently roamed in the shadows, like a pack of well-trained electronic hounds guarding their territory.

"Are you sure no mosquitoes bit you?" Chen Yong asked.

"No, it works exceptionally well." Wang Xiaoshuai laughed. "In previous years, we would have to burn a lot of mosquito coils at this time, but this year we don't need to."

"Tsk tsk." Chen Yong looked closely. "I want some."

"Put it on Funiu Mountain?"

"Of course, if it weren't for Master..."

Chen Yong's voice stopped abruptly, and his expression became somewhat strange.

Luo Hao patted him on the shoulder, "Okay, I'll talk to the university about it."

"Luo Hao, why are there so many new gadgets appearing like they've exploded in the last year or two?" Chen Yong asked, puzzled.

He had only read about using lasers to kill mosquitoes when he was a child, in science fiction novels.

However, that was science fiction. In recent years, especially in the year or two since I came to the provincial capital with Luo Hao, one after another, they have appeared before my eyes.

"These technologies are from many years ago. We've already had laser technology in reserve; the main challenge is to make breakthroughs in radar technology."

"Oh? Another development? Tell me what you can."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with saying it. We're leading the way, basically it's Harbin Institute of Technology competing with a few other universities in China. Competition comes first, friendship comes fourteenth."

"..."

"No one wants to fall behind, especially some of the universities that were spun off from Harbin Military Engineering Institute back then. They all want to be the big brother, so let's talk about cutting-edge technology. Anyway, in my opinion, this technology is getting more and more advanced."

"It really won't cause any harm to the human body, right?"

"It won't work, but it will take some time before it enters the market." Luo Hao stood there, looking fresh and clean, in the grass under the night sky, using his own body to test the effectiveness of the laser mosquito killer.

"I heard it was back in '98, when it was still called Yugoslavia. After the incident, China finally woke up. Before that, radar experts in China... well, they weren't having an easy time. After that, a lot of money was poured in."

“I know a girl who’s had bad luck and now hates that side of the family.” Chen Yong’s thinking was peculiar.

"Why?" Luo Hao asked casually.

"She had just graduated from university and started working in sales, putting in a lot of hard work. But the following year, the trade war started, and all the senior students in her major were directly recruited by state-owned enterprises. The salary difference was probably 2 to 3 times."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Luo Hao exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s all about timing, fate, and luck. That’s just destiny. If she hadn’t worked a little harder when she was young, and had repeated a year of high school, she wouldn’t have had to work so hard for the rest of her life.” Chen Yong’s voice grew softer and softer as he watched mosquitoes being swatted one after another in the air, his eyes growing increasingly fixed on the screen.

"what are you thinking?"

"You know, this thing is interesting. I have a feeling it could be used on flying swords."

"???" Luo Hao was taken aback.

"Hahaha." Chen Yong realized he had misspoke, laughed, and changed the subject. Then he moved closer to Luo Hao and said, "Let me know if you go to the university again."

"Hmm." Luo Hao was too lazy to figure out what Chen Yong wanted to do. Chen Yong could do whatever he wanted as long as it wasn't illegal.

"Things have really been going well lately," Chen Yong remarked with some admiration.

It was a time when mosquitoes were plentiful, but Chen Yong and Luo Hao stood in the grass without being bitten even once. Occasionally, they would hear a "smack" as mosquitoes were knocked down.

"Of course, there has been accumulation. The talent pool of the old, middle-aged and young generations has been established, and it's about time."

Chen Yong glanced at Luo Hao sideways, "You belong to that generation of young people?"

"Ah."

"What about the academic clique? Are you part of it?"

"Don't talk about such vulgar things. There are bound to be academic cliques. The bosses are all academic cliques, but when something happens, the bosses really step up."

Chen Yong was somewhat surprised to see that Luo Hao's expression was normal, as if he had already passed the point where he couldn't mention it for a while.

"We're leaving, Xiao Shuai," Luo Hao said to Wang Xiao Shuai.

"Professor Luo, let me see you off." Wang Xiaoshuai respectfully escorted Luo Hao to the door.

Luo Hao got into the car, rolled down the window, and waved goodbye.

Seeing Wang Xiaoshuai and "Xiao Meng" standing at the door, Chen Yong laughed and said, "If I didn't know, I would definitely think Wang Xiaoshuai is an AI robot."

“That’s right, Wang Xiaoshuai’s modeling is too sloppy.” Luo Hao agreed wholeheartedly. “Xiao Meng’s modeling cost a lot of money, and I even had people from the Academy of Fine Arts help me adjust it.”

"Face valuer".

"Good looks are everything," Luo Hao smiled. "I'll take you home. What class is Old Liu on today?"

"Old Liu is off his night shift and is waiting for me at home."

When Chen Yong talked about Lao Liu, he didn't seem to have any expectations; instead, he seemed to want to run away.

"Huh? Let's go home and have a diet meal together?" Luo Hao joked.

"Sigh, I really can't eat anything. You know, Lao Liu is thirty years old, isn't it normal for him to be a little chubby? Why make things so hard for himself?"

Luo Hao pretended not to hear Chen Yong's words. Was he supposed to respond to that? He was joking.

"Are you going to work on that stone core?" Chen Yong suddenly asked.

"Let's see. If Director Qian is interested, we can perform the surgery remotely. If not, Director Chen and I can do it together. I've never done a ruptured lichen before."

Chen Yong noticed that Luo Hao's fingers were already tapping lightly on the steering wheel, as if he was performing a blunt disengagement.

"Over seventy years old, with a host of underlying health conditions."

"We still have to do it, since the poverty alleviation cadres have already sent her here." Luo Hao suddenly remembered something and laughed, "I heard that there's a poor family in the countryside who has taken a liking to Gulnazar."

"You mentioned this."

"Really? I forgot. Poverty alleviation work is very difficult, it's truly the pinnacle of idealism." Luo Hao sighed, "If I were in their shoes, I don't think I could do it. So whenever I see poverty alleviation cadres in trouble, I want to lend a hand."

"Should we lend a hand?"

"I guess so, but not really. We'll just do what we have to do. By the way, the AI ​​robot collected a lot of data from 'My Pet Love' program, and Boss Xia is interested and asked me for it."

"???"

Chen Yong was taken aback.

"Boss Xia's side also needs AI robots, and now it's forming a positive feedback loop. I myself feel that the speed is getting faster and faster." Luo Hao said, almost humming as he spoke.

"That's really impressive," Chen Yong said softly.

"As for applications, we Chinese are pragmatic. We worship whichever god is powerful, and if it doesn't rain, we bombard it with cannons."

"..."

Chen Yong dared not accept this, for he genuinely believed it, unlike Luo Hao.

"I sent the surgical video of the AI ​​robot to Boss Xia, and he was very interested!"

"Like when you prick a hedgehog with needles? That kind of work can be done by AI robots," Chen Yong asked. "Right?"

"There are still many, I don't know how many military horses they are raising now."

Luo Hao muttered to himself leisurely.

(End of this chapter)