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Chapter 317: 317

Chapter 317: Scale

Once the scalpel plunged into the skin, Gu Jun felt a resistance against his force . He had reached the ‘human-fish fascia superficialis’ . The layer of tissue was similar to human fascia superficialis hence the naming convention . However, it had more blood vessels and nerve endings as well as a higher density of fat compared to humans .

The keratinized skin formed scabs about the size of one’s thumb . They could be peeled off scale by scale . Holding the scalpel, Gu Jun understood Xiao Huiwen’s warning for a smooth control of applied pressure . His hands were like a calibrated machine as they cut accurately around the edge of the scale . The scale itself was left uninjured . It was not until Gu Jun used the tip of the scalpel to nudge underneath the scale and apply the tweezer on it that the piece was plucked off perfectly . At that moment, he turned to the system . The notification said, “Current autopsy completion rate: 0 . 01” . That confirmed the creature lying on the table was indeed a Deep One .

Based on his previous experience, dissecting one scale would not always equal to 0 . 01 percent obtained progress throughout the autopsy . The high number was because this was the first time Gu Jun spliced out this tissue .

“Phew . ” Xiao Huiwen released the breath he was holding . He was once again impressed by Gu Jun’s technique and mastery . Based on his working records, it had been some time since Gu Jun’s last autopsy but even so, his handiwork was still flawless . The severed scale was perfectly preserved, the tissues under the scale were not injured at all . This meant that the fascia superficialis revealed under the scale was smooth and glistening . Seeing this, Cai Zixuan remarked softly, “I suppose this is what they would call ‘skin like snow’ . ”

“Young man . ” Uncle Dan glanced at Cai Zixuan, “You have an even more unique taste than I do . ”

On the other hand, Gu Jun studied the scale in his tweezer closely . Each of the scales possessed dark red capillaries but they were larger than normal human capillaries . They were visible to the naked eye . The capillaries dropped off the edge and bottom of the scale . They were probably used to connect the scales to their adjacent units . It had been named ‘Scaly vein’ . For some reason, the observation of the scales blurred Gu Jun’s mind . He was given a vision of the Deep One diving into the depths of the sea . Deeper and deeper it went…

If Gu Jun was the one who named this capillary, he would probably call this the scaly muscle . Even though the concept of ‘muscle’ came from Chinese medicine, it was not a unique term in autopsy science . ‘Muscle’ was an umbrella term, it included the meaning of muscle, tendon, sinew, joints and so on in modern medicine . But because of that, Gu Jun felt ‘scaly muscle’ would be able to explain the wide array of usage this tissue had compared to scaly veins . What was the use of scaly muscle? As a connective tissue between scales for contraction and movement, or it served a bigger purpose than that?

“I have a feeling that this scaly muscle . ” Gu Jun said contemplatively, not realizing he had renamed the tissue . “Might be one of the keys to the Deep One’s deep-diving ability . ”

“What do you mean?” Xiao Huiwen asked . The team at headquarters looking in through video was made curious by this statement as well .

“Solely based on this creature’s biological structure, it cannot dive that deep underwater . ” Gu Jun stated, this was something being looked into already . “But as everyone knows, this kind of mutated creature’s biological structure often can generate supernatural energy, for example, the corrosive patterns inside the zombie’s bones . ” The same patterns did not appear on the Deep Ones’ bone . This kind of deep sea creature had very low bone density as it aided in underwater survival .

“The scaly veins can generate supernatural energy?” Xiao Huiwen stressed, for scaly muscle was not a technical term employed in autopsy science .

“I believe they connect with each other to form a network . ” Gu Jun announced as he glanced at the carcass on the table . “These scaly muscles… I mean, veins form a network that cover the entirety of the creature’s body . My hypothesis is that it is this network that helps the creature adjust to the underwater pressure . ” It was common knowledge to Gu Jun and members of the Spell Department that certain lines or patterns could produce energy . For example, the Ancient Seal, despite eluding the comprehension of modern science, it was proven to be effective . People looked at each other, the problem was there was no way to test out Gu Jun’s hypothesis .

“Perhaps we can try to map out the scaly network of this body . ” Gu Jun suggested as he passed the scale over to Cai Zixuan . “Zixuan, take pictures of every scale and number them . Focus on the situation of the scaly muscle, specifically on how each scale connects to each other . After we remove all the scales from its body, we will try to piece them back together, to see if we can reconstruct the scaly network . I know how hard that is but we shall try our best . ” The carcass was not completely uninjured . There were gunshot wounds around the chest, they ruined most of the scales around that area .

“Copy that . ” Cai Zixuan nodded . This operation required more manpower so Uncle Dan hurried to make the arrangement . No one would claim that Gu Jun was wasting time, after all scientific research was all about trial and error . Before this, the other members had been viewing the scaly veins as individual units because the carcasses were not so well preserved . Furthermore, the dissected scales in previous autopsies were not as well-preserved as Gu Jun’s handiwork . The fact that Gu Jun viewed the scaly muscle as part of a big picture could be a breakthrough . But Xiao Huiwen frowned and grumbled, “They are called scaly veins…”

With that done, Gu Jun moved onto the next scale . He cut them according to the initial shape of the erythema on Xie Yiman’s face . His incision was careful to limit the damage to the scaly muscle as much as possible . As the scales were parred off, the sense of familiarity intensified . Illusory visions swam in his mind .

‘It feels like…’ A thought crossed Gu Jun’s mind, ‘I know this person…’ The smell of Formalin stung his eyes, causing Gu Jun to frown . As he removed the next scale, the illusion coalesced and his head pounded . It was as if he was slowly removing a person’s mask . The closer he came to completing the pattern, the clearer the human face that stared back at him .

“Do you guys see…” Gu Jun asked the people around him, “A human face?”

“No . ” Cai Zixuan shook his head . The rest did the same . However, Gu Jun saw clearly that a human face was hidden underneath the scales . It belonged to a middle-aged man with a strong jaw… .

‘Is it my high spirituality?’ He focused and tried to trace this partial face in his mind . He latched onto something in his memory .

Then came the sound of the ocean .

…

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