Embers of Embers

Chapter 498 Evolution and Sublimation
"go ahead!"
The man stood on the bow of the ship and roared loudly. As his roar resounded, the armored ship under his feet began to gradually accelerate. Along with the restless boiler, it stirred up heavy waves and split the sea like a sharp sword.
This was the fourth day that the epidemic doctor set sail. While moving forward at full speed, he judged that his position was probably close to the waters of Yingrweg. In about ten days, he would be able to leave the waters surrounding Yingrweg. Arriving on the open sea between Yin Erweg and the Viking countries.
In recent years, human science and technology has been advancing rapidly, but there has not been much progress in navigation and positioning. Once you step into the vast sea, the only things you can rely on are personal experience, charts, compasses, and sextants. and other tools, and therefore the control of the sea areas by various countries is very weak, so the epidemic doctor is not worried about what will happen.
"Captain, I leave these to you."
After enjoying the breeze on the sea, the doctor shouted to the tall man beside him, and the man nodded to him and directed the other sailors.
The epidemic doctor had no experience in long-distance voyages, so Lawrence got him a reliable captain. It is said that he was originally a member of the Gaul Naluo military, but after Lawrence appeared, he became a member of his orthodox religion, and the same thing happened. Possessing secret blood.
Before entering the cabin, the doctor glanced at the sea behind the ship. There were several armored ships equipped with artillery following them. The armor was filled with rivets and the steam turbines roared.
All of this is thanks to Lawrence Yu's funding. Without him, it seems that the epidemic doctor would not be able to build such a fleet.
Walking into the dim cabin, the doctor then opened the door of his own room. Life at sea was boring and boring, and people often said that they would encounter pirates, but the probability of encountering them was actually quite small.
This vast sea is like a maze. If you don't take the main channel, it is difficult to encounter another ship. This is also an area that humans have not yet completely conquered. It is unpredictable and no one knows its thoughts.
The cabin shook slightly, and the experimental flasks placed on the table also shook together. However, the epidemic doctors had fixed them in advance, and even the bottle mouths were tightly sealed one by one.
In this renovated room, there is a larger space at the other end. There is an operating table on it, and a person is fixed on it. Because there is no light to illuminate it, it is not clear whether he is alive or dead.
Suddenly the ship shook violently and the cabin shook several times. This seemed to wake up the person on the operating table. He let out a meaningless whimper, but the sound was very slight, and in a blink of an eye, it was heard by the voice outside the porthole. Covered by the sound of waves.
The epidemic doctor didn't seem to notice this. He stretched and walked slowly to the desk.
Life at sea is boring, but this is relatively speaking. Many people don’t know what to do in this small space, so they are restless. But Doctor Feng is different. Whenever he has such time, he is very happy. In this way, the epidemic doctor can temporarily withdraw himself from the world and immerse himself in the study of something.
For example, his academics...if this thing can really be considered academic.
Opening the drawer, there is a black-covered notebook hidden inside. If you look carefully, you can see that under this notebook, there are more black-covered notebooks like it, but the other notebooks have a weather-beaten look. The surface is covered with scratches and the spine is slightly cracked.
Epidemic Doctor considers himself a doctor and a scholar. In his extremely long life, in order to pursue the true meaning of life and the so-called truth, he, like other scholars, has conducted countless studies and has left a large number of Experiment records and notes.
This is his latest notebook, and if nothing else, it will probably be his last.Thinking of this, the epidemic doctor touched the brand-new surface of the notebook with a bit of excitement.
The sound of waves outside the window continued, and the clouds gradually gathered, and it seemed that a heavy rain was coming, but these did not affect the doctor's mood. The knowledge he longed for existed at the end of the channel, waiting for him to dig.
Opening the note and finding the latest page, the epidemic doctor was about to continue writing from his previous thoughts, but for some reason, he suddenly remembered the conversation between Lawrence and himself.
When helping himself to install these experimental equipment on the ship, Lawrence asked himself, if the truth really exists at the end of the channel, then what is the meaning of the behavior pursued by the epidemic doctor now?His answer lies at the end, as long as you get there, why keep trying?
The epidemic doctor smiled and said nothing. He knew very well that a warrior like Lawrence would naturally find it difficult to understand his own thoughts. His willingness to let himself leave to pursue the truth was already a great tolerance.
Of course he will have all the answers at the end of this channel, but after all, it is just the result. What the epidemic doctor is more willing to enjoy is the process, the kind of racking his brains, using any means, using one bloody and cruel experiment after another, to prove a Another clue until the truth is revealed.
It's like a jigsaw puzzle. The doctor is eager for the final answer, but he is also fascinated by the process of pursuit.
"So where is the best place to start?"
The epidemic doctor thought for a moment, seemed to have some ideas, and started writing.
"Sometimes I think that what I think of as 'evolution' may be very similar to what alchemists think of as 'sublimation'. It can be said that both of them are making their original form, in a certain way. A certain degree of 'upgrading'.
Alchemists believe that through mysterious alchemy, mortal matter can be sublimated to a higher existence, just like an ordinary person becoming a god.
Okay, I have to admit that this description is indeed a bit exaggerated, but from what I understand about alchemy, it is indeed the case. They kill metals and then forge stronger metals.
What about evolution? "
The epidemic doctor stopped writing. This is a question he has been studying for nearly a hundred years, but so far he cannot find the answer. In other words, he has found the answer, but it seems to be the wrong answer.
"I have always felt that humans and apes are so similar. Can we be said to be 'upgraded' from apes? In some way that we don't know yet, we have been 'upgraded' from one individual to another completely different individual. Of course These are just descriptions, I am not a literati, and the words are dry."
The epidemic doctor often writes such words in his notes, as if he is going to read this note to someone.
"The first thing that inspired me was the damn Black Death. Human beings died without resistance in the face of this disease, but I also heard that some creatures had the power to resist it, and the disease could not affect them at all. At that time I have been thinking about whether humans can become like them.
Then I met the demon, which is really a perfect creature... If they can be called creatures, essentially they are all human beings, humans who have been eroded and twisted one after another, but under this mysterious twisted power Under this, human beings have become almost perfect creatures.
From the perspective of reproduction, the way demons produce the same kind is through strange erosion and spread, and it also has a terrible memetic effect. What a powerful force this is. Perhaps one mistake by humans will cause all humans to become A monster-like existence.
The demons themselves also have strange enough characteristics. Judging from what I have discovered so far, they will change according to the environment. When facing powerful enemies, they will grow scales, and enemies that cannot be killed physically will use illusions to interfere with them. , not to mention their own terrible self-healing power and so on.
So sometimes I wonder, is this the sublimation of the demon, the evolution of the demon, the... upgrade of the demon? "
The epidemic doctor stopped again, raised his left hand, and then took off his glove, revealing the twisted scarlet palm. The flesh and blood on it was still slowly squirming, but it was full of evil and power.
"Some people say that humans and demons are different, and how can a twisted and hateful existence like a demon be a 'higher existence'? But what I want to say is that from a human perspective, demons are indeed a terrifying and damned thing. Monsters, but from an absolute rational point of view, from a biological point of view, demons are much more powerful than humans.
Some people will also question the so-called 'upgrade', but just like my metaphor and guess, humans are upgraded from apes. From the perspective of apes, how cruel and weird are humans?We enslave them and play with their life and death at will. To them, are we another kind of monster? "
The epidemic doctor looked at his scarlet left hand and wrote hurriedly in his notes.
"Yes, that's it. I have no clear evidence to prove that humans are upgraded from apes, but we all know how humans became monsters. This is the evidence in front of us."
But if this is the case, judging from the epidemic doctor's own theory, he has completed what he considers "evolution". Over a long period of time, he has gradually replaced the organs of his body and transformed in a strange way. Becoming a being similar to a demon hunter.
"Some of the alchemists have tried to 'sublime', but most of them failed to 'sublime'. Some died, and some suffered huge backlash. Some succeeded, but their 'sublimation' Not completely. It seems that I am the same as them. I have indeed 'evolved', but my 'evolution' is not complete enough.
This is incomplete sublimation, incomplete evolution, and incomplete upgrading. "
So... what is missing?The epidemic doctor could not understand this from beginning to end. He seemed to have stood in front of the door of truth, but was rejected by it just because he did not have the [credential] to step into the door.
The doctor gave up thinking about these things. In his opinion, the only difference between himself and the demon was his self-knowledge, but this was the only thing that made the doctor afraid.
The road ahead is a fog, and all the epidemic doctor can do is to guess the trajectory of it all, but the guess may not be correct. This is a gamble, and he is likely to lose everything.
Therefore, he did not dare to bet, he did not dare to bet his self-understanding on the road of evolution. If the epidemic doctor lost his self-understanding, then the so-called "epidemic doctor" would probably be killed the moment he completed his evolution. .
Kill yourself?The epidemic doctor couldn't accept these things, so he felt the so-called despair for the first time in a long time. The road was there, but he might die once he set foot on it, and he couldn't get a glimpse of the answer to all this.
Hoping for the end of the channel?
In fact, the epidemic doctor doesn't know whether he can find the so-called truth, whether it is his "Theory of Evolution" or the truth, all of this is based on his own cognition and speculation, and even said that everyone's understanding of monsters Knowledge is all based on such trial and error, and it has taken shape bit by bit.
"Let's get here first today."
The epidemic doctor put down his pen and sighed. He had been pursuing all this for a long time and had already developed a calm mind. He was not in a hurry for anything.
He put the notes away and put them back in the drawer. Then he walked to the other corner of the cabin and stopped in front of the operating table.
"How are you feeling now, kid."
The epidemic doctor said, picked up the scalpel and turned on the light.
Painful sobs were heard on the operating table, and as the light came on, it was possible to see what it looked like. The reason why it was described as such was that it was difficult to determine its gender, or even whether it was human.
There are many suture scars on the human-like body, some have healed, and some are still bleeding, as if it were a doll sewn together with countless rags, and not only that, there are many The body has lost its human appearance. Its legs seem to have undergone some kind of terrible surgery. The bones were shattered and then reorganized, turning into a recurved shape like a wild beast.
"Oh oh oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot that I just performed a lung transplant and tracheal modification on you yesterday. Your tongue was too much in the way, so I had to cut it off first."
Listening to its painful low cry, the epidemic doctor apologized again and again.
"So let me think about it, where should I start today?"
The doctor picked up the note hanging on the side, with the schedule of surgeries for the next few days written on it.
"Oh, it's time to replace your heart today. Wait a moment and I'll choose an absolutely powerful heart for you."
As he spoke, the doctor let out a frightening laugh. He inserted a blood transfusion into this increasingly dehumanized creature, and the blood bag he hung up began to inject blood into the body. This was secret blood with extremely low content. , can maintain its life, but will not let it get out of control.
He turned around and opened the curtain next to the operating table. Behind the curtain was another operating table with a ferocious demon restrained on it. But at this moment, this violent demon was as docile as a kitten. Due to the abnormal academic psychology, it has been almost divided. A huge wound has been opened on the chest, the bones underneath have been cut off, and the beating heart is clearly visible.
Yes, everything is unknown, whether it is your own "Evolution" or the truth at the end of the channel, the only real thing is practice, and only practice can prove the truth.
Just like a guinea pig in a laboratory, once the epidemic doctor did not have such resources, he could only use himself as a guinea pig to modify, but through mutual achievements with Lawrence, he already had enough resources.
If the road ahead is foggy, create another guinea pig, another plague doctor.
The doctor thought this and cut the scalp downwards.
(End of this chapter)