Trickster Hunter

Chapter 247 The Man of Theseus

At Yang Qi's request, Sun Hang was disinfected three times according to standard procedures, and then put on sterile surgical clothes before being allowed to enter the operating room.

A group of researchers were already ready. Song Yarong, whose silver-gray high ponytail was tied into a bun, was sitting in front of the computer, typing on the keyboard quickly - and her prosthetic eye was embedded in the shadowless lamp directly above the operating table. In a groove, the "patient" on the table is watched closely.

On the operating table surrounded by numerous equipment, there lay an upright woman. Her face and lips were pale and bloodless, and her sparse hair was wrapped in a transparent hair cap - a small dose of maintenance. Chemotherapy can also cause damage to hair follicle cells, not to mention that she has been in a state of malnutrition for a long time.

"The patient has completed general anesthesia." A man in a white coat whom Sun Hang didn't recognize turned around and said to Yang Qi. His eyes stayed on Sun Hang for a moment and continued, "If it were in the hospital where I work, I will never do this kind of anesthesia...The patient's physical condition is really bad. Even if the operation is successful, it will be difficult for the patient to wake up again."

"Don't worry, what we are going to do is not an ordinary operation." Yang Qi nodded and looked at Sun Hang, "Sun Hang, the rest is up to you."

"I know." Sun Hang took off his gloves, squeezed out a little disinfectant gel from the bottle on the side, and started scrubbing quickly.

He couldn't help complaining about the action of putting on gloves according to the procedure. It was simply unnecessary.

"Sun Hang." Song Yarong, the only person Sun Hang knew in the operating room, stood up and handed several films to Sun Hang, "This is Jiang Yu's CT image. In addition to the lungs, the liver, kidney, and pancreas There are many suspicious shadows in the intestines and stomach. In addition, lesions have been detected in the sternum and ribs..."

"I don't understand this thing." Sun Hang shrugged helplessly, "You also know that I am not a medical student."

"Give me the film." Yang Qi snatched the film, took out a pen, and drew a lot of red circles on it. "These circles are where the disease has spread."

"So what I need to do is replace all these cancerous parts with Tai Sui tissue?"

"Theoretically, that's the case." Song Yarong nodded, "But how to operate it depends on yourself."

"To be honest, I can't tell which ones are cancer cells and which ones are normal cells... In my opinion, there are so many parts that need to be replaced anyway, why not just replace all her body parts except the brain Right." Sun Hang said.

"No, we can only replace her body tissues to the minimum extent... If the whole body is replaced, it is absolutely impossible for her to retain her original consciousness. By then, the person who comes off the operating table will not be an infected person. , but a human-shaped monster." Yang Qi said.

"Then how did you replace my lungs before?" Song Yarong couldn't help but ask.

"Please, the big bullet hole on your lung lobe, and the congestion blocking the blood vessels... can be clearly seen at a glance." Sun Hang said helplessly, "But I can't guarantee that cancer can be completely removed. What if? If there are some lesions left, it will probably relapse in a short time.”

Song Yarong: "..."

"But we can try to see if Tai Sui tissue has the ability to fight cancer... I think it's okay if it's not cut cleanly." Sun Hang added.

"What if cancer cells are mixed with Tai Sui tissue?" Yang Qi glanced at him, "Are you sure you won't create a monster?"

"Then there is another way, that is, while you are cutting, I will transplant new organs for her." Sun Hang said, "Whatever is missing, make up for it."

Several people who didn't know whether they were doctors or researchers looked at each other, and one of them nodded and said, "I think it's okay."

"Then let's do it, time is running out, start now."

All preparations were made long before the operation, including routine resection.

One of the surgeons in charge held a surgical handle and cut through Jiang Yu's back ribs. The other assistant doctor immediately used a tube to suck away the blood that seeped out from the incision.

Several hooks pulled the skin and opened the incision, revealing the internal organs in front of everyone's eyes.

"Tsk." The surgeon in charge frowned, "The situation is worse than I thought... In addition to the lungs, all the bronchi have to be cut off. I'm afraid less than one-third of the liver can be preserved..."

He quickly raised his head and glanced at Sun Hang, and said, "I'm afraid we have to cut her organs into pieces. Are you sure you can patch them up for her?"

"It should be possible." Several hyphae stretched out from Sun Hang's palm, and the tips of these hyphae began to split and proliferate... After a few seconds, a pair of lung lobes appeared like fruits growing from the branches. Hanging on the ends of these hyphae.

Although he was mentally prepared, after seeing Sun Hang conjuring up the pair of lung lobes like a magic trick, the surgeon's eyes still flashed with a strong look of surprise. He whispered: "The infected person's The ability is really... miraculous."

"By the way, won't these human organs created by using the abilities of infected people produce rejection reactions?" asked another researcher who helped.

"Anyway, I have never experienced any rejection." Song Yarong suddenly appeared and said, "I don't know if I am an exception."

"Stop talking, let's do it first." The surgeon changed the knife and took a deep breath. "Whether there will be rejection or not, that is a post-operative matter. Anyway, you are all prepared to resist rejection. That’s it.”

With one stab, blood spurted out and splattered on his goggles.

"Hiss... There is actually a blood vessel hidden in this place... Is it the blood vessel that supplies blood to the tumor... Give me a hemostat."

"Poke the lens another two centimeters inside. Don't worry about the proliferative tissue. It will be cut off anyway."

"Pay attention to the patient's heartbeat...Two units of epinephrine, intravenously."

"Bring the tray here..." The surgeon took out a piece of bloody tissue from Jiang Yu's chest, and then said, "The lungs and bronchus have been removed. It's your turn."

"Oh." Sun Hang immediately stuffed the already completed lung lobes into his chest. Then, dozens of mycelium extended out, weaving out the trachea, nerves and blood vessels like a web, and Jiang Yu's original body. Connected together.

"Are these hyphae controlled by you?" The surgeon in charge couldn't help but ask as he looked at the almost perfectly connected blood vessels and nerves.

"That's right..."

"How did you manage to connect every nerve and blood vessel correctly?" the surgeon in charge asked doubtfully, "You just said... you have never studied medicine, right?"

"Uh... Although I control it, this thing is actually semi-automatic." Sun Hang said perfunctorily, "I am only responsible for making this thing and docking it. It will complete it by itself... To be honest, If you ask the people at Tianshu Tower about things like monsters and memes, they may not be able to explain them clearly. "

Sun Hang thought to himself, I can't tell you that I used the ability of "all my wishes come true", right?

He originally planned to use this ability to directly replace the cancerous tissue all over Jiang Yu's body at once, but just after the idea popped into Sun Hang's head, the next second a creature that looked like a human but not a human appeared in front of him. Monster——Yang Qi's words are correct. If the proportion of Tai Sui tissue exceeds a certain level, what comes off the operating table will no longer be an infected person, but a strange creature.

"That's true..." The surgeon in charge took a long breath, "Sometimes, I always feel that in this era, the so-called modern medicine is really pale and powerless..."

"Don't say that." Sun Hang said quickly, "This thing can't cure diseases. If you have a headache or a fever, you still need to see a doctor... You can't just rely on the ability of the infected person to treat all problems, right?"

"No, that's not what I mean." The surgeon in charge shook his head, "I always feel that in the face of these incredible abilities, various conventional diseases and medical treatments are more like being carried out within a certain framework of rules." Playing house'... And whether it's those weird things or you infected people, they are all existences that have broken away from this rule framework... Sometimes I think about infected people like hunters who can maintain their sanity. , will it be the direction of human evolution in the future?”

"Well, to be honest, your idea is quite dangerous." Sun Hang said, "I have come into contact with some members of the cult who worship strange things, and they have similar ideas."

"It's just an idea." The lungs had been "transplanted" successfully, and the surgeon picked up the scalpel again. "Let's not talk about it for now. There are still many places that need to be 'replaced.' I'm afraid this operation won't last five or six hours. ”

…

…

Facts have proved that this experienced surgeon still has something. When the last cancerous tissue in Jiang Yu's body was removed and the Tai Sui tissue was replaced, exactly five hours had passed since the start of the operation.

"You two, suture the wound." The chief surgeon's tone was full of fatigue, "Always pay attention to the patient's physiological signs... As for the other side of things, I leave it to everyone at the institute."

The thing on the other side of what he was referring to was naturally the Tai Sui organs implanted in Jiang Yu's body. In addition to the equipment for detecting human physiological signs, the equipment for monitoring strange memes has also been activated. Song Yarong and others are He stared nervously at the various data flashing on the screen.

"It has been confirmed that Jiang Yu was infected by the Tai Sui meme, and the current infection process is stable." Song Yarong said, "There is a slight erosion at the joint with the human body... But this is within the normal range. I have done a physical examination on myself before, meme Erosion is normal…

"It is expected that in the next seventy-two hours, the Tai Sui memes will spread throughout her body, but these memes will lurk in every corner of the body in a dormant state. Before being awakened, the active memes will will only exist within those organizations being replaced."

"Don't be blindly optimistic." Yang Qi frowned, "Her situation is different from yours. She has to replace too many things."

Hearing these words, Sun Hang glanced at the table full of trays beside him. The trays were filled with indescribable twisted flesh and blood. These things were all "digged" out of Jiang Yu's thin body. ...In addition to the organs, several bones have been sawed off. The electric saw used to cut the bones is now hanging on the tool rack nearby.

The weight of this pile of things was at least 20 kilograms, and Jiang Yu, who was almost skinny and tormented by cancer, recorded a weight of only 42 kilograms before the operation.

At least half of her body had been replaced.

Sun Hang couldn't help but think of the allusion of "The Ship of Theseus".

If the ship in this allusion is replaced by a person, will there be a "Theseus man"?

Suppose that every once in a while, I replace a part of a person's tissue until all parts of her/his body become Tai Sui tissue... then is he/she still the same person?

Or... can he/she still be considered a person?

Human tissue will metabolize itself. Every once in a while, except for brain cells, the human body will be renewed inside and out... But Tai Sui tissue will not. Although Tai Sui tissue will also simulate the apoptosis and division of human cells, the simulated cells do not store the host's DNA, but the memes belonging to Tai Sui itself.

Although DNA, as important information of the host, will also be stored in the meme like "memory", these DNAs only account for a very small part of the overall information carried by the meme.

Sun Hang raised his hand and looked at it carefully... He was a little confused. Was his body composed of cells belonging to "Sun Hang" or something that mimicked human cells?

Could it be that my whole body is full of these mimicry cells...

"Sun Hang" has never existed?

It's just that a weird creature that looks like a human gave itself such a name.

"Fuck... If I'm a weird creature, then what's the point of me getting into human society? To work 996 like a cow and a horse? Am I sick?"

Sun Hang was still thinking wildly. The last suture step on the operating table had been completed. Several doctors and researchers who participated in the operation thanked each other for their hard work. The tall surgeon walked to the rest seat and sat down, taking off the blood-stained rubber gloves.

His hands were swollen from being soaked in sweat, and there were marks on his wrists from being tied by the gloves.

"Thank you for your hard work." Sun Hang handed over a bottle of water. In a trance, he seemed to see something white squatting outside the window of the operating room.

"That thing is back?!"

Sun Hang was startled and turned his head to look.

Anna was sitting on the window sill on the outer edge, twisting her body and looking at Sun Hang with a smile.

In the blink of an eye, she disappeared without a trace.

Just like Ling Xiao's experience in the ruins last time.