Embers of Embers

Chapter 517 Abnormal Development
The storm engulfed the fleet, bringing heavy rain and thunder, like thousands of crows, circling among the gray clouds, mourning death.
"so……"
The voice of the epidemic doctor echoed.
"The ultimate goals of 'sublimation' and 'evolution' are both 'upgrade', to be promoted to some unknown and greater existence. They just have different ways to achieve their goals."
The cabin was shaking violently, but the figure of the epidemic doctor was as stable as a solid stone. His hands were not affected at all, and he accurately cut the flesh and blood under his body.
Each drop of the knife elicited a low wail, and then more blood spilled onto the operating table.
This is really a good time. The epidemic doctor likes the weather like this. It looks terrible, but in this environment, he can deeply appreciate the magnificence of the world.
The world is far more beautiful than meets the eye.
"So what exactly is 'upgrade' at the end of the two?"
The epidemic doctor muttered softly. He was the only one in the cabin, and the guy below him was dying and could hardly be considered a human being.
Most of his body has been replaced by countless monster flesh and blood. In the opened chest, strange scarlet organs are squirming. The infusion stand is covered with blood bags, which contain diluted low-quality secret blood. , used to maintain the target's life in this near-death situation.
"Ah...it's so complicated."
The epidemic doctor couldn't figure it out. This is a weird paradox, just like people can't know what they don't know, and they can't imagine colors they don't know.
Because of his ignorance about "upgrade", the epidemic doctor suffered for a long time and could not describe the mysterious scene in his mind.
The body beneath him was breathing rapidly, the heart in the chest was beating violently, and he was coughing up blood.
"What's the matter, do you feel uncomfortable?"
The epidemic doctor put away his thoughts and asked with concern.
Assumptions are always just assumptions, and only practice can find the truth. The epidemic doctor doesn't know what the end of "upgrade" looks like. All he can do is conduct experiments based on his own ideas to verify the unknown existence.
The creature on the operating table gasped in pain. It seemed to be dying. It struggled hard and tightened the shackles. You could see that the blood bag was rapidly drying up, and the secret blood was being extracted from the body.
"Have you lost control? The proportion of flesh and blood has broken the balance, or have you been completely eroded?"
The epidemic doctor had no sense of nervousness. He seemed to have faced this situation many times. The lights flickered, illuminating the deeper parts of the cabin. Countless ferocious and deformed bodies were piled up there. The flowing blood was solidified on the ground, which was hollow. His eyes wandered aimlessly.
"Do you still have self-awareness?"
The creature struggled violently, and the threat of death aroused its primitive instincts. The doctor opened its eyelids and carefully observed the gradually dilated pupils.
The will of mortals began to collapse, completely turning into a dark and turbid soul from the inside out.
"You are being eroded into a monster. Sure enough... not everyone has a strong willpower to last until the end of the operation."
The doctor shook his head in disappointment.
He was not sure what the end point of "evolution" would look like. The epidemic doctor tried to replicate his own surgery on the human body. He had technology and materials that far exceeded those of the time, but he ignored the biggest point.
will.
These experimental subjects did not have as strong willpower as themselves. Under this painful torture and erosion, they easily gave up on themselves and became monsters.
"Forget it, we can't waste it."
The epidemic doctor muttered and increased the dose of inferior secret blood. He could see that the bound body began to expand, the tough muscles continued to proliferate, and the bones protruded together. The sharp fangs pierced the mouth and lost restraint. The vitality began to grow wildly.
The shackles of confinement began to tremble, as if the demon on the operating table would break free in the next second.
"Don't worry, don't worry."
The epidemic doctor put down his scalpel, picked up a hammer and a long nail, and drove the sharp steel into the demon's joints, controlling its restlessness in an extremely bloody way. The ends of the long nails were connected with strong chains, and they were heavily connected. The ground was wrapped around its body, and the more it struggled, the tighter it became.
"The rest is up to you."
The epidemic doctor looked aside and saw soldiers already waiting here.
They skillfully dragged the demon off the operating table and out of the cabin with a long trail of blood.
"Wait, you stay."
The epidemic doctor named a soldier. The soldier's movements were a little stiff, but he stopped his movements obediently, and then the epidemic doctor said.
"Lie down."
He stepped out of the way, revealing the operating table covered in blood and scratches.
The soldiers who left dragged the demon all the way to the deepest part of the cabin until it stopped in front of a door. Milky white gas overflowed from the crack in the door. The soldiers opened the door, revealing a frost-covered cabin behind it, filled with liquid nitrogen. It is transported in the pipeline and continuously cools the cabin.
The soldiers threw the monster into the darkness below. The cold temperature would not kill it, but it would reduce its activity.
The demon was caught by something, an arm covered with frost, and then more arms stretched out, and the hideous and terrifying body pressed against it while moving slowly.
It's another demon.
Under this darkness, there are countless monsters. They are all waste products of epidemic medical experiments. They are trapped by heavy chains, breathing slowly and deeply, and pile up into mountains.
……
"So, what went wrong?"
A few hours later, the doctor walked off the operating table disappointedly. The blood solidified into dark lumps on his robe. He pulled up the curtain, walked back to his desk, and looked at The storm outside the porthole was lost in thought.
At this moment, it was not just a matter of willpower. At a certain moment, the epidemic doctor thought of a new problem.
When you reach the end of evolution and complete the "upgrade", will you still be yourself?
Just like humans turning into monsters, this is also an evolution in the eyes of epidemic doctors, but after turning into monsters, human beings' original will was erased, and while gaining strength, they also turned into ferocious beasts.
Is this also true for "upgrading"?What is gained is immediately followed by what is lost.
This time the doctor did not open the drawer, but lifted a heavy safe from under the table. It looked like it was old. Although it was carefully maintained, some corners were still covered with rust.
The patterns on the exterior look very old, like something from an antique shop.
The epidemic doctor unbuttoned his clothes, revealing his scarlet chest. His flesh and blood had been restless, and the proliferating skin would only restrict his flesh and blood. He picked up the scalpel, gently cut open the chest, and then inserted two fingers. Clip out a brass key.
No one would have thought that the epidemic doctor could have such a use for his body. He inserted the key into the whitened keyhole, twisted it gently, and opened the safe.
There were no precious treasures or anything shocking inside, just stacked books.
The epidemic doctor rarely showed a solemn expression. He put on a new pair of gloves, took them out, and placed them on the table one by one.
The packaging of each book is very simple. The only difference is probably the difference in wear and tear. It seems that these books were written at different times, and these times are very far away from now.
"Has it been so long?"
The epidemic doctor felt the erosion of time. He opened the first book. The author's name was written on the first page, as well as some nonsense. This nonsense was full of youthful atmosphere and a little crazy, which made people think it was ridiculous.
"Charles Darwin."
This is the name of the author and the name of the epidemic doctor.
This is not a book, but the notes of the epidemic doctor. The notes have been recorded since I don’t know how long ago. These notes describe the twisted and distorted life of the epidemic doctor.
When research comes to a standstill, the epidemiologist will dig out his notes and read them over again, and each time he will get some novel inspiration.
Like now.
The epidemic doctor took off his beak mask and exposed his terrifying face to the air. Because there was no skin covering it, sometimes he would feel a slight sting, as if dust had fallen on the scarlet flesh.
The first notebook, the first notebook, contains the records of the epidemic doctor when he first became a doctor. He had not yet come into contact with demons at that time, and was just working as a doctor in a certain village or town.
In his spare time at work, the doctor liked to dissect some small animals, insects, and the like. In those days, no one cared about these things, only the doctor studied them like a freak.
He roughly classified some organisms and made some more complex observations and theories, such as larvae and butterflies. Although everyone knows that butterflies are born from larvae breaking out of cocoons, it is still difficult to accept that this is the case. Out of ugly things, beautiful butterflies are born.
Just like humans and demons, who can believe that the so-called demons are just humans troubled by erosion?
"When we 'upgrade' to a greater existence, are we still us? Do we see ourselves as human beings, or do we see ourselves as that greater identity?"
What did the epidemic doctor think of? He wrote it in the latest notebook.
"Just like metamorphosis in biology, a tadpole turns into a frog, changing from one existence to another. Its living habits, morphological structure, and even way of thinking are completely innovative. It can even be said that they can be regarded as two completely different species. living things, but it must be acknowledged that they are indeed the same species and the same being.
So is this also the case for human beings and their 'upgraded' existences? "
Epidemic medicine uses absolute "rationality" to try to deconstruct the "mystery".
"Just like humans and demons, under the blessing of erosion, develop in a direction that is close to abnormal development, can humans and demons be considered the same species?
Humans are demons, and demons are humans. "
The epidemic doctor felt that he had thought of something, and a cold current passed through his heart. He was frightened by his thoughts, and felt a little despair at the lack of a solution to all this.
"Yes, humans are monsters.
The living habits and structural forms of the two have completely changed. Therefore, although they are the same kind as us, they stand in opposite directions.
Then at the end of evolution, after promotion..."
The epidemic doctor stopped writing, and his vague thoughts became extremely clear.
He said with some piety.
“God does not love the world.
God and man are like man and lamb.
When mortals become gods, what significance do mortals have to gods?Even if God was once a mortal. "
The cabin was quiet, even the wind, rain, and thunder outside the portholes were blocked. In the long silence, only the epidemic doctor was left. He enjoyed this secret and tasted the taboo fear.
Wrapped in scarlet flesh, the pupils of the eyes condensed into a single point, and fine bloodshot fibers overflowed from the edges of the pupils, covering the whites of the eyes.
The epidemic doctor found [the truth] at this moment, in this scene.
He knew the [truth] of everything.
The answer was so flat and without any thrills.
He had thought about his own mood at this moment. He guessed that he would revel and roar. He even thought that dying at this moment would be good, but when he really knew this, his reaction was very cold.
This is a terrible and true answer.
"After promotion, it will be beautiful, but this beauty is only beautiful to gods. For humans, it is just a dark nightmare."
The epidemic doctor wrote in his notes.
The more he wrote, the heavier his wrist became, and he could hardly hold the pen. His heart beat violently, his voice was clearly audible, and his flesh and blood became restless due to nervousness, as if they all had their own will, frantically. Squirming, trying to get out of the epidemic doctor's body.
The Epidemic Doctor, Lawrence, Watson, Lorenzo... they are all on their way to promotion in different ways. Some are just starting, some are halfway through, and some are about to reach the end.
but……
What if this is not the case?
The doctor hoped, hoping for the first time that he was wrong.
His eyes fell out of the porthole again, and he had a new idea in his mind.
Only practice can explain everything. What the epidemic doctor is thinking about now is just his own guess. He is going to the end of this channel to see the answer to the puzzle and see if it is really what he thinks.
A knock on the door brought the epidemic doctor out of his crazy thoughts.
He closed the note and looked around cautiously, as if some enemy was approaching.
There was nothing but a soldier who came in a hurry.
"I...we encountered a naval battle battlefield."
"Naval battle battlefield?"
……
When the doctor stepped onto the deck, the soldiers had already started salvaging. They saw that the entire sea area was covered with countless debris and corpses. It was the storm that dragged them here. Such debris spread to the gray In the wind and rain.
"It seems that a naval battle just happened here not long ago. The battle was very fierce and many armored ships sank here." The soldier said.
"Can you tell who the fighting parties are?" the epidemic doctor asked.
"One side should be pirates, and we don't know much about the other side."
"Is that so..."
The epidemic doctor found it boring. Breathing the clear air, the vast world soothed his depressed heart a lot.
"He... is he still alive?"
Surprised sounds rang out as a soldier dragged a pirate and shouted in disbelief.
The pirate should be dead. Judging from the injuries on his body, half of his body was burned, and some parts were even carbonized. He lost too much blood, and the cold seawater took away his body temperature.
This person should be dead. Even if he is still alive now, soon, death will completely take away his life.
"Don't worry about him, it's hopeless."
Some soldiers said that with this kind of injury, prolonging life would only increase the pain. They picked up the pirate and threw him from the ship.
"Wait a moment."
The plague doctor raised his hand to stop them, and when he walked over, the plague doctor realized that the pirate was still holding something in his hand, a handaxe, and he was holding it tightly. Even the successive storms and the call of death could not make him let go.
There was a slight voice, and the pale lips were trembling, and vague murmurs were uttered.
Zeo lost consciousness, but his stubborn instinct drove him to ask for help. He didn't want to die yet, at least he couldn't die in this way. He was the most heroic Viking and a pirate who plundered the seven seas. He couldn't die in this ridiculous way. die.
The plague doctor looked at Zeou, thinking.
This is just the conjecture of the epidemic doctor. No one really knows what will happen after the upgrade. Only practice can give the answer, so the epidemic doctor is willing to have ridiculous fantasies.
"You don't want to die yet, do you? I'll give you a second chance. I hope you can persevere."
The epidemic doctor said to Zeou, the words were like vicious curses.
(End of this chapter)