Behind him, Zhou Zhe's anxious voice could be heard. He knew that every second they wasted was bought by Qin Chuan, and the people at the laboratory wouldn't give up.
Yet, Liu Chang was still playing coy. He really wanted to open Liu Chang's brain and pour out all the thoughts inside.
Liu Chang cast a cool glance at Zhou Zhe and rolled his eyes.
"Why the rush? With your prompt, I'm starting to feel that Weng Quan's brain is indeed smaller than that of an ordinary person."
"At first, I thought Weng Quan might have had some congenital defect, like brain atrophy. But after hearing your explanation, I've started to doubt my own idea."
"If Weng Quan was normal to begin with, then, as if his brain had shrunk, could this bizarre mycelium be the cause?"
"Are you saying this thing can eat human brains?" Qin Chuan's voice carried a hint of absurdity.
He couldn't believe it himself; after all the research, this was the conclusion.
However, Qin Chuan secretly wondered, if all of this were true,
Then why was the cluster of mycelium he possessed much larger than Weng Quan's brain mass, yet he was completely fine?
But one thing that could be confirmed now was that this thing definitely had something to do with Xia Jin.
Otherwise, the other party wouldn't have gone to such lengths to bring Weng Quan back.
"You're saying, could this thing be a pathological change, something that grew within Weng Quan's brain?" Qin Chuan made a final attempt to rationalize.
What if Weng Quan was sick himself?
Liu Chang sighed deeply.
"Your idea was something Liu Chang and Zhou Zhe had already discussed before you came in."
Qin Chuan turned his gaze to Zhou Zhe and asked in a deep voice, "What was the result?"
Zhou Zhe shook his head. "Liu Chang said it was impossible. If it were something that grew from the brain itself, Weng Quan would have been brain dead long ago, not still alive and kicking like this."
"But if this thing didn't naturally grow in Weng Quan's head, then how did it get in?"
Qin Chuan turned to ask Liu Chang again, "Did Weng Quan have cranial surgery before?"
Liu Chang shook his head. "No."
"Then how did this thing get in?" Qin Chuan was becoming agitated.
"It's not only through cranial surgery that this thing can be introduced," Liu Chang said, looking at Qin Chuan with a scornful, almost idiotic expression.
"Didn't Zhou Zhe say earlier that he suspected this thing was alive? If this mycelium is truly alive, wouldn't it be simple?"
"You know, there are certain nematodes that can burrow into the human brain through the ears and nasal cavity. We initially didn't consider this direction because we thought the mycelium was dead. Now that we've proven this thing is alive, it means that as long as there's a slight entry point, it can burrow into the head on its own."
As Liu Chang explained, both of them seemed bewildered, understanding only half of it.
Qin Chuan knew that what Liu Chang was saying was true because the mycelium he had inadvertently obtained earlier proved that this thing was alive.
At the same time, Qin Chuan also recalled that Xia Jin had previously arranged for him to search for some "rabbit-head monsters," as well as animals hidden in caves, and had specifically emphasized the need to protect their heads properly.
Now, thinking back, all these events were connecting at this moment.
He finally understood why Xia Jin was searching for those peculiar items. Was it to control humans?
A terrifying thought suddenly flashed in his mind.
If a single Weng Quan could be transformed by Xia Jin from someone who couldn't even lift a chicken to someone like Qin Chuan and his trained soldiers, then if Xia Jin had enough people and enough mycelium,
Couldn't he build a powerful army by himself?
Qin Chuan grew more alarmed the more he thought about it.
While Qin Chuan was lost in thought, Zhou Zhe was not idle either.
He looked at Qin Chuan, then at Liu Chang, and seemed hesitant to speak.
Liu Chang also clearly noticed their unusual demeanor. Considering that their subsequent conversation might involve military secrets, he thought for a moment.
He didn't want to get himself into trouble out of mere curiosity, so he cleaned his tools and put them away.
Qin Chuan didn't stop Liu Chang from packing up his things and looked at him with an apologetic expression.
"Your reward will be transferred to your card later. As for the rest of the matter..."
However, Liu Chang impatiently interrupted Qin Chuan.
"Just remember to transfer the money. Don't feel sorry about the rest. After all, I don't have that much curiosity. 'Curiosity killed the cat' is my life motto. I have no interest in your secrets. You can just tell me, I'll be leaving now."
Qin Chuan actually smiled at Liu Chang's frankness and nodded, as if bidding farewell.
Compared to people with hidden agendas, he preferred people like Liu Chang.
They were transparent about what they wanted to do, clearly marked.
They would never pry into matters that didn't concern them, nor would they do any extra work.
They had very clear boundaries.
Only after watching Liu Chang leave the dissection room did Qin Chuan turn to Zhou Zhe.
"What were you going to say?"
"Captain, do you remember that rabbit-head monster when we helped Xia Jin before?"
Qin Chuan glanced at Zhou Zhe and knew that the other man had arrived at the same conclusion as him.
"I remember. But there's also one thing: how did Xia Jin know about these things? And isn't there something strange?"
"What?"
"Xia Jin seemed to know the locations where these things would appear in advance, making us wait there. But how did he know about the existence of these monsters? The zombie crisis had just erupted, and even the higher-ups didn't know, yet Xia Jin accurately predicted the appearance locations of those monsters every time."
Qin Chuan paused here. "I suspect Xia Jin knows the true purpose of this mycelium."
Zhou Zhe followed up, "You suspect Xia Jin is using this mycelium for his own profit?"
"Mm," Qin Chuan nodded.
"If this mycelium truly possesses so much power, or even some energy that ordinary people are unaware of, but why is it that throughout the lighthouse, I dare to guarantee that even people like Weng Quan probably don't know what this mycelium is for? So, Xia Jin holds such immense power but only possesses it himself. What exactly does he want to do?"
The two of them looked at the corpse before them, their minds racing with thoughts.
Meanwhile, Xu An, after bidding farewell to Zhou Haimei, started walking towards her home. However, as soon as she reached the downstairs, she encountered someone she never expected.