No strange things are allowed to evolve!

"That's strange..."

The doctor, unaware of the truth, felt that Jiang Shu was full of secrets.

"Do we still need blood transfusions?" the deputy asked.

"Let's keep losing for now." The doctor didn't think too much about it, because secrets also have priorities, and the most urgent task was to find out where the sand had gone: "Open it first."

At the doctor's command, two clamps secured the skin on both sides of the wound, opening it up.

Then, Jiang Shu's entire upper body was almost completely ripped open by this wound.

The fresh internal organs were exposed to the air, throbbing incessantly.

Immediately afterwards, everyone, including the doctor, was shocked.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing—

Although Jiang Shu's internal organs were full of vitality, judging from their appearance, they were not even as good as the organs of a dead person!

A heart with multiple blockages, lungs blackened like charcoal, a liver covered in nodules, a stomach riddled with holes, intestines rusted and so on.

Throughout the entire thoracic and abdominal cavities, only the kidneys remained intact, appearing healthy and robust.

"How could he possibly have survived?!"

The doctor felt as if pathology, medicine, and even biology as a whole had suddenly disappeared.

Its impact was comparable to Yang Dong's suicide.

If he couldn't understand it, then his subordinates and apprentices certainly couldn't either.

"Is this even a human being?"

"This is worse than being dead..."

For a time, people panic.

Although no one has said it outright, many people are already harboring doubts.

Could it be that the Sand Demon sent over a mummy as an inside agent?

Otherwise, it would be incomprehensible why the sand had no effect on him, and why his internal organs were so badly damaged.

"PhD..."

The deputy let out a soft exclamation.

The doctor then snapped out of his daze.

He had the same idea, but while other researchers could speculate wildly, he, as the head of the laboratory, had to be responsible for his every word and action.

His conclusions... must be supported by evidence.

“Continue.” The doctor took a deep breath. “Cut open his bones.”

hum-

The deputy now held an electric bone saw.

Where to begin?

“The ribs, that’s where the damage will be the least,” the doctor replied. “This is a precious specimen, we mustn’t kill it so easily.”

"Yes!"

A moment later, a small piece of one of Jiang Shu's ribs was cut in half.

The assistant carefully removed the bone fragment, held it gently in his hands, and handed it to the doctor.

The piece he cut off had a small hole left from the previous drilling.

The sand and gravel are poured in from here, so logically this should be the place where the sand and gravel accumulate the most.

But...

The hollows in the cross-section of the bone were empty.

Or rather, it's not that there's absolutely no sand or grit, but there's very little of it, and it's all attached to the bones, not clustered together like bone marrow, but rather scattered.

"Compared to what we've injected, it's just a drop in the ocean..."

The deputy was somewhat confused:

Where did they all go?

But at that moment, the doctor noticed something else.

“His bones… don’t seem healthy either.” The doctor pointed to the grooves on Jiang Shu’s bones: “Look, like his internal organs, there are also a lot of connective tissue on his bones, as if they have been eroded by something.”

"Erosion..." One of the researchers who had been listening attentively thought of something: "Could it be..."

Before he could finish speaking, the doctor shook his head and denied it: "No, neither his bones nor his internal organs could be damaged like this overnight. Even if it is related to the medicine, it should not be that much. I guess he has always been like this."

“It was like this before…” the deputy frowned, “How did it get so ruined…?”

"I don't know." The doctor shook his head. "In short, all his organs, including his bones, are severely fibrotic. There are many things that can cause this. I see the shadows of many difficult and complicated diseases, including some terminal illnesses that cannot be completely cured but can only be controlled. It's a miracle that he's still alive."

Upon hearing this, the deputy clicked his tongue slightly: "The vitality is too strong."

"But that's not the problem we need to study. The most urgent thing is to find out where the drug went and to find out why the drug wasn't working in his body."

The doctor steered the conversation back on track:

"Matter is conserved. The sand that carries the power of the desert cannot completely disappear from his body. Since it cannot be seen with the naked eye, I think we will have to make some slices and observe it with a microscope."

The deputy pondered for a moment: "You mean, the medicine might have seeped through the bones and into his flesh and blood?"

"That's the only possibility." The doctor nodded.

With the procedures set, the researchers divided the work clearly and began dissecting Jiang Shu without causing fatal injuries.

They moved quickly, clearly having done this kind of thing many times before.

Before long, they had taken many small samples from various parts of Jiang Shu's body and then began to conduct their own research.

At first, the laboratory was very quiet, with only a few heavy breathing sounds that could be heard from time to time.

But suddenly, a cry of surprise came from somewhere.

Just as the doctor was about to ask what had been discovered, another exclamation came from the other side.

Surprised voices rose and fell.

Everyone noticed the same strange thing.

"Doctor! There is indeed sand in his internal organs! But it's very fine."

"It was also found in the bones, not on the surface, but inside the bones!"

"It's also in flesh and blood!"

"They are all wrapped in connective tissue, some of which are new and some are old, so I didn't notice them earlier."

"Moreover, these connective tissue cells, structurally speaking, look exactly like immune cells... Could it be that his immune cells detected something invading, swarmed up and engulfed it, then formed a cluster and attached it to the nearest tissue?"

"If that's the case, then we're lucky we discovered it early. If it had been any later, the sand would have been digested and decomposed!"

Hearing the conclusions coming from all directions, the doctor was greatly shocked.

How can this be? !

Even if you have a strong immune system, can a virus and a grain of sand be considered to be in the same league?

What kind of immune cells can be so abnormal?

“In short, Doctor,” the deputy said with a look of shock, “Judging from the results, the sand that served as the carrier of the drug we injected into his body seems to have been blocked layer by layer, which is why he was not affected by the desert power.”

First came the bones, then the flesh and blood, and finally the internal organs. Each layer was like a sieve, sifting the sand into smaller and smaller pieces. In the end, not a single grain of sand could penetrate deep enough to transform Jiang Shu, so naturally, it did not cause a dramatic change like the Yellow Crane Tower.

"Wait a moment."

The doctor seemed to have thought of something.

Body fibrosis...

The sand and gravel were blocked layer by layer, and were even engulfed, broken down, and solidified by immune cells...

Isn't this just like afforestation to prevent desertification?

He looked at Jiang Shu, his face a mixture of sudden realization and disbelief:

"I never imagined... I never imagined that such a strange thing could exist in the world!"

"What did you discover?" everyone asked curiously.

The doctor exclaimed in amazement, "This person was actually in a vegetative state!"

Chapter 148 Extremely Cunning

"What do you mean by this?" the crowd asked, puzzled.

Don't you think they look alike?

The doctor said:

“His whole body is covered in pathological fibrosis, and he can block the wind and sand from the outside world layer by layer. Isn’t this exactly the same as afforestation for sand control?”

We used this method to prevent desertification when it first appeared.

“If you put it that way, it is indeed somewhat similar.” The deputy nodded first, then said with some difficulty, “But this analogy is too abstract. Pathological fibrosis and plant fiber are not the same thing, are they?”

In fact, fibrosis of human tissues is a pathological change characterized by an abnormal increase in fibrous connective tissue and a decrease in parenchymal cells within organ tissues. It is mostly caused by excessive proliferation of fibrous connective tissue during the damage repair process, which can lead to organ structural damage and functional decline.

Plant fiber is a thick-walled tissue widely distributed in seed plants. It is a filamentous or flocculent substance formed by the combination of cellulose and various nutrients. It plays a role in supporting, connecting, wrapping, and filling plants and is widely found in plant stems, roots, fruits, and shells.

Although they are both called fibers, they are actually two completely different things.

So apart from the PhD, no one else connected ginger with plants, and they didn't understand how the PhD came to this conclusion.

“It might be different in other places, but it’s the same for him.”

The doctor stared at Jiang Shu:

"The reason why fibrosis is preceded by the word 'pathological' is because it is a disease, an irreversible disease that weakens tissues, even renders them ineffective, and in severe cases, can be fatal."

But it's different. It's hard to imagine how he could have gotten his body into this state and still be so active, but the fact is, he's not affected by it.

So, is fibrosis still considered an illness for him?

In other words, could this be interpreted as him simply having more human fibers than a normal person, in addition to connective tissue fibers, muscle fibers, and nerve fibers?

Therefore, he is a vegetable-like person made of flesh and blood, used to protect against wind and sand!

"I see!"

The researchers suddenly realized what was happening and began to applaud: "Congratulations, Doctor, on discovering a new species!"

"but..."

The doctor wasn't blinded by joy; instead, he quickly changed the subject:

"What I find strange now is that the sand extracted from his body is just ordinary sand. Where did the desert power on it go?"

"How about we inject some more like this and see?" the deputy asked.

"Do not."

The doctor shook his head:

"Although we have done everything we can to prolong his life, it is impossible to say that there is no impact from the fact that we have cut him open and taken so many samples from him."

Even if he can overcome fibrosis, this level of damage would probably still severely deplete his vitality.

Even setting aside whether he can still decompose and solidify these grains of sand as before, the desert power contained within them could now potentially kill him completely.

"Understood." The deputy nodded. "Then let's seal him away for now, make sure he's alive, and we'll deal with him after he recovers."

"Ah."

But just then...

A frustrated voice suddenly rang out.

"I waited for ages, hoping you'd finish messing around with me and start filling me with sand so I could gain more desert power. But you didn't even bother. If I'd known, I wouldn't have let you mess with me for so long."

Who is speaking?

It can't be...