MLiS – Chapter 15.1

Let’s Just Divorce

This was not the first time Luo Lan had entered an operating room. She had participated in many gene repair surgeries when she was learning to be a gene repairer. Except, Feng Lin was always there. She was only a helper, only doing what the chief instructed her to. 

This was the first time she needed to complete a surgery alone, an unconventional surgery with high difficulty at that. 

In this battle, she was the commander-in-chief. She was the one that made every decision and everyone was under her command. 

Human genome^[1] is composed of 29.1 billion base pairs^[2] with more than 39 thousand genes. Heterogeneous humans carried other species’ genes. Their base pairs and genes were different from that of normal humans. In addition, due to their mutated genes caused by various reasons, each gene on heterogeneous humans was different from each other. It was very complicated to deal with their genes. 

In the eyes of outsiders, she was only facing a human body, but actually, as a gene repairer, she was facing thousands of enemies. They hid very well in every corner, disguising themselves as harmless genes. If she made a mistake in her judgment, whether it was removing the good genes or missing the bad genes, the Grim Reaper, with its grim smile, would harvest Zeni’s life away. 

“Lock!”

“Eliminate!”

“Success!”

With repeated instructions over and over again, the genes marked in advance on the zhi nao‘s screen were eliminated one by one, indicating the surgery was progressing smoothly. Everyone’s hearts gradually calmed down. 

An Na watched Luo Lan becoming more and more steady throughout the process. She was both relieved and frustrated. People said diligence could make up for shortcomings. But she ought to admit, at some point, some people were blessed by Heaven and were born with innate talents. 

Six hours later, all the marked disordered genes were eliminated. Everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. 

Luo Lan lifted her gaze from the operating table. She leaned her head on the equipment and closed her eyes.

With her eyes closed, she spoke, “Feng Lin should have informed all of you of this. Our surgery this time is different from before. It isn’t just about eliminating disordered genes, but also inserting new artificial genes.”

No one complained to her words. They listened attentively.

Although the zhi nao helped a lot, Luo Lan was the one who made the final judgment. She had to carefully screen every gene and make a decision quickly. After six hours of full concentration, not only was her brain tired, but her eyes and hands were also very tired.

“There are too many damaged genes. Eliminating all the genes was the same as complete destruction of the genes. That’s why most gene repairers believe that Zeni’s surgery is not needed.”

“Now, we have to edit and repair the genes.” Luo Lan opened her eyes. “From now, Group B will be the one in charge. Group A, assist.”

Everybody changed their places and promptly took their positions. 

Luo Lan lowered her head once again. She held the surgical equipment with both her hands. She watched the marked genes in front of her closely, “Commence the surgery!”

“Lock!”

“Distincive mutation, extract!”

“Success!”

……

……

An Na watched Luo Lan with concern. According to Feng Lin’s plan, the personnel participating in the operations were divided into Group A and Group B. Originally, Group A, led by Luo Lan, would be in charge of the first surgery of eliminating the disordered genes and after that, Group B, led by Feng Lin, would perform the subsequent distinctive mutation extraction and introduce the artificial genes. But, now, both of the surgeries, which could last more than ten hours, must be performed by Luo Lan alone. This was pretty unconventional in a major surgery like this. 

A newcomer who didn’t even have a gene repairer’s license performing a major surgery of an experimental nature? Could she really control the overall situation and not make a single mistake?

An Na had been undergoing gene repair surgery for more than 100 years. She had long accustomed to seeing wind and waves. She was used to it. Still, right now, she felt like she was back to her first time in an operating room. She actually felt nervous, scared, and excited. She was really looking forward to the result.

————·————·————

In the observation room, Chen Sha sat on the sofa, burying his head in the virtual workbench. He busied himself with his work, as if he was completely not interested in the surgery across the glass wall. Different from Chen Sha, Chu Mo kept staring at the operating room, as if admiring a beautiful work of art. He watched it with keen interest. 

All of sudden, the door to the observation room opened and Zi Yan casually strolled in. His gaze fell on Chen Sha before it stopped at Chu Mo. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “Oh, turns out both of you are still alive! How surprising! Nobody stopped that woman from going mad so I thought both of you were already dead!”

Without turning back, Chu Mo replied, “I tried to, but my people can’t beat Chen Sha’s. Plus, I myself am no match for Chen Sha.” 

Zi Yan glanced at the surveillance screen and noticed a group of soldiers, which was Chen Sha’s, guarding the door to the operating room. The entry to the operating room was blocked. 

Zi Yan’s lips twitched, “Chen Sha. Even if you want to change wife, there is no need for you to personally send your ex-wife to the guillotine, you know.”

Zi Yan turned on the virtual screen, on it was a news report.

The host was filled with indignation and questioning where the regulators were. A woman without a license was doing a gene repair surgery. How could they, the regulators, allow such a preposterous thing to happen?

Countless people on StarNet demanded a thorough investigation of the incident and to severely punish the relevant personnel, especially the woman who ignored the law and disregarded the weight of a human life!

Chen Sha said coldly, “Off. Too noisy.”

Zi Yan turned off the screen. “You think by not listening to it means it doesn’t exist?  You know it would escalate like this, yet you still let this kind of thing一”

“It has already begun. There is no point talking about it now.” Chu Mo interrupted Zi Yan.

Zi Yan stepped to the glass wall and observed the operating room, “What is the probability of the surgery to succeed?”

“I don’t know. I can only say…” Chu Mo pondered for a while before answering carefully, “So far, although the Princess is a little nervous, she hasn’t made any mistake. However, the next surgery is the most difficult part. No one could predict the result. Furthermore, this surgery only gives the patient a chance to live. There is no guarantee the patient will live after this.”

Zi Yan’s gaze focused on the woman who stood surrounded by the surgical equipment. He couldn’t see her face at all. She seemed to be motionless, The zhi nao’s displaying the ever-changing genes, as thickly as stalks in a field of flax and moved like a great flood. It was like an endless battlefield, full of enemies hiding from sight. 

He observed it silently for a while. He shifted to Chen Sha, “ The news about the surgery was leaked out to the public. The leaked news should be aimed to deal with you, not Luo Lan. Though, if things are not handled well, it will be Luo Lan who died first.”

Chen Sha inquired, “Is Feng Lin guilty?”

“I don’t know”

“Weren’t you the one that dug up the evidence?”

“Testimony of a witness and physical evidence shows that Feng Lin has contacted Dragon Blood Corps, pointing to her betrayal of selling the whereabouts of the Princess and helping Dragon Blood Corps to sneak to Yanlin. But I always think something was wrong with it. And probably, because I didn’t act on it immediately, Zong Li became suspicious. Not only did he take action so suddenly, but he also accused me in front of the Consul.” Zi Yan helplessly rubbed his forehead, “Currently, none of us are trustworthy. We can’t trust each other.”

Chen Sha and Chu Mo were silent.

“I’ll leave. I’m going to see if Zong Li has gained something from Feng Lin.” Zi Yan smiled. He waved his hand and left. 

Chu Mo asked thoughtfully, “Do you believe the Princess can do this surgery successfully?”

Chen Sha’s eyes turned to look at the operating room. “I am an absolute blockhead on medical science. I can’t even comprehend what she is doing. I say that I believe she can succeed, will you believe me?”

Chu Mo shook his head. Half-jokingly, he said, “But I do believe that the calm, wise, and farsighted Sir Commander on the battlefield won’t be hot-headed and act recklessly just because a hot-headed girl confidently said a few words to lift their fighting spirits. There must be a reason for you to act recklessly and support the Princess to do the surgery, right?”

Chen Sha answered carelessly, “Without surgery, the child will certainly die. With surgery, the child may have a chance to live. Isn’t the choice obvious?”

“You haven’t changed at all. You never consider anything when it is outside the battlefield,” Chu Mo heaved a sigh, “Sooner or later, with your character, you will suffer a great deal!”

————·————·————

As time went by, Chu Mo unknowingly changed from sitting to standing. His whole body was almost stuck to the glass wall. He stared intently at the operating room. His expression was both solemn and attentive. 

“Lock!”

“Homologous^[3] recombination, insert!”

“Success!”

……

……

It was still the same monotonous instructions, but whether it was the atmosphere in the operating room or Chu Mo’s reaction, it showed that on the battlefield without gun smoke, Luo Lan was fighting a difficult fight with the Grim Reaper for Zeni’s life. 

Seven hours later, in the operating room, Luo Lan raised her head. She announced, with exhaustion clear in her voice, “The surgery is done!”

Everyone was very excited. They couldn’t celebrate loudly so they gestured and glanced at each other with a smile.

Luo Lan thanked everyone and walked out of the operating room. The rest of the people did the finishing work in an orderly manner, preparing to send ZenI back to his ward.

Chen Sha couldn’t comprehend the data displayed on the screen. He could only ask Chu Mo for the answer, “Successful?”

Chu Mo revealed a rare big smile. He watched Luo Lan’s figure in amazement, “It’s flawless. Her performance in the second half of the surgery didn’t look like a newcomer at all. Feng Lin, or even Professor An or my father, wouldn’t be able to do it better than her…”

Chu Mo was not done with his words, but Chen Sha had walked out. 

Chu Mo quickly blocked him. His expression was serious, “The success of the surgery does not mean that the patient can live.”

Chen Sha moved lightly, bypassing Chu Mo, “I know. ”

Chu Mo scolded sharply with a stern face, “Chen Sha, be more serious! If the child dies, the Princess will be charged with murder. You also can’t escape it and will be charged with abusing your power and conniving at murder!”

Chen Sha spun around. Still with his cold and calm look, stated, “There is no battle that is sure to be won on the battlefield and there is no life that is sure to be saved in the operating room. If the child does not survive the critical period and dies, I and Luo Lan will bear the charge together.”

“If he died because of an illness, it would be your bad luck! But what if he is killed during the critical period?” As long as the child died, Luo Lan and Chen Sha’s charges could be executed. Someone would definitely find every possible way and mean to kill the child!

Chen Sha glanced at Chu Mo, “Isn’t this your place?”

So because it’s my place I must take care of everything and make sure everything is under control? What do you mean by saying it out so casually? Chu Mo felt a sense of suppression in his chest and depressedly said, “Zi Yan said…”

Chen Sha has long gone, disappearing behind the door.

Zi Yan’s words of “We can’t trust each other” could only be silently swallowed back by Chu Mo. 

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Footnotes

1. 基因组 – jī yīn zǔ; Genome. A genome is the complete set of genetic information in an organism. It provides all of the information the organism requires to function.↵

2. 碱基对 – jiǎn jī duì; Base Pair. A base pair is two chemical bases bonded to one another forming a “rung of the DNA ladder.” The DNA molecule consists of two strands that wind around each other like a twisted ladder. Each strand has a backbone made of alternating sugar (deoxyribose) and phosphate groups. Attached to each sugar is one of four bases–adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or thymine (T). The two strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between the bases, with adenine forming a base pair with thymine, and cytosine forming a base pair with guanine.↵

3. Homologous (genes) are those that can be traced from two separate creatures to a single common ancestor.↵

Amoeba’s Corner

With Chen Sha, it is either he is very good or very bad. There is no middle ground.

————·————·————

Yin Nanzhao, the best in the world!!! Talking is overrated. Just beat them directly.

See you on Thursday!

Sneak-a-Peek

“He never scolds people.” Chen Sha’s words were very honest. Except, the latter half of his sentence was omitted, “He is the kind that beat people directly to the hospital.”

Obligatory Closing
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This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 2253

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