Over the next few days, Chen Chen would head to the hotel for two hours during lunch break and two hours in the evening from six to eight o'clock. He would feed the drug to the mice and swap out the mattress.
The eight mice were resilient. There were no incidents such as signs of disease or fighting among them. The experiment was progressing smoothly.
It was not difficult to feed the mice. A fixed daily ration of fodder was enough. Occasionally, Chen Chen would give them peanuts or walnuts, which made them jump excitedly.
However, it cost Chen Chen an arm and a leg. His monthly expense was a thousand and five hundred and a week's rent alone cost upward of a thousand.
Chen Chen was only halfway through the month and he could barely afford to eat at the canteen.
"Since there are still no issues, it should be safe to say it isn't poisonous."
Seven days later, at noon, Chen Chen came to the hotel right after his class had ended.
Chen Chen glanced at the two cages. If his situation permitted it, he would have liked to run one more abstinence reaction test, but his living expenses said otherwise.
Not to mention, he had already used a pill over the last seven days. It might not be a lot, but under the circumstance where he was unable to reproduce them, each of them was invaluable.
Chen Chen took out the final dinner and let the mice fill their belly.
He then took out the tribromoethanol solution he had prepared beforehand. With his left hand, he scooped the mice up one by one with their belly facing up and injected their lower abdomen with the syringe using his right hand. The potion slowly passed through their abdominal muscles.
Tribromoethanol solution was commonly used as anesthesia for animals. Since Chen Chen intentionally used a higher dosage, the mice collapsed in their cage one after another within three minutes. They had entered a completely sedated stage.
After around eight minutes had passed, all of the mice unconsciously died in their sleep due to overwhelming of their central nervous systems.
This was death by anesthesia overdose. It was considered the most humane method of terminating animals used for experimentation.
Hmm, at least it was more humane than methods such as decapitation, cervical dislocation, bleeding out, and air embolism.
After making sure the mice were dead, Chen Chen left the room. He bought a bottle of alcohol from a pharmacy and chose an empty alleyway where he poured the bottle of alcohol on the carcasses of the mice.
Followed by a faint blue flame rising, the group of mice was entirely engulfed in flames. Their bodies turned black and eventually into unrecognizable shapes.
Whatever the drug was made of, whether it was a biochemical drug, Chinese and Eastern fusion drug or even a gene-drug, it did not matter anymore. After undergoing a five to six hundred degree high incarceration, all of the molecular bonds had been completely disintegrated.
It could also be considered as a cremation ceremony for the eight heroes.
After that, Chen Chen did not head back to the school. He got himself some lunch outside then took the ninth line on the subway, heading toward the most prodigious hospital in the city - Shangdu People's Hospital.
Even though there were no issues with the animal experiment, it was better to be safe than sorry. What if the drug posed no threat to animals but was highly toxic to humans?
These situations were not unheard of either, take chocolates for example. When people ate chocolates, not only would they be unharmed, they would probably be in a good mood. However, if a mouse ate chocolate, it would be similar to an old man who was fed up with life deciding to end it all by eating arsenic.
This was the reason Chen Chen decided to take the drug to a hospital. At the hospital, he could still be rescued as long as what he took was not cyanide or paraquat.
Anyone who had experience with the subway knew that the signal reception in the Shangdu Subway was a horrible mess as only emergency calls were available down here. Televisions were installed in the subway to serve as public amenities.
Most of the programs on the television were centered around the news.
Chen Chen sat on the subway and began watching the real-time news flashing one after another on the television out of boredom. There were legal programs and news advertising, it was at least tolerable.
One of the news that caught his attention was a heroic story that had just happened. On Renmin road, a man was repeatedly stabbed three times by a violent criminal in an attempt of stopping a kidnap. He was promptly rescued by the police who arrived at the scene.
It was just after the peak hour, therefore, the subway was rather spacious. There were several aunties seated nearby with their church tote bags in hand.
It was rather obvious that these aunties were heading to church for mass.
"Ah, Renmin Road? Isn't it just nearby?"
One of the aunties took off her shoes and crossed her feet on her seat. She rubbed her feet while sighing, "There aren't many young men like this anymore."
"Tch, every time I use the subway, it's so hard to get someone to give me their seat. It's always oh I don't feel well or oh it's my period. These people are ridiculous…"
Another aunty sitting nearby, who was twice Chen Chen's size, sighed as well.
By the time the train had arrived at the station, it was around two in the afternoon.
Chen Chen walked around the hospital for a lap before arriving at the emergency department.
The Emergency Center was the department responsible for attending an emergency medical situation. Whenever he was here, he could feel the heavy atmosphere.
Ambulances roared past one after another. From time to time, stretchers clanked their way through the long corridor, followed by nurses' hurried footsteps.
Occasionally, a large group of family members would rush in and gather around the corridor. They would bicker endlessly until eventually, a security guard would usher them to their seats in the waiting area.
In this hectic environment, Chen Chen's arrival did not draw any attention.
Chen Chen sat in the corner of the waiting area. He retrieved a tablet he had prepared well beforehand and inspected it closely.
Chen Chen shook his head, took a deep breath, and gently put it in his mouth.
He gently closed his eyes.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
…
"Little Jie, Little Jie, you have to come to the hospital now, your father just passed out…"
…
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Move it, move it, don't get in the way, and open the door! Stretcher coming this way!"
…
"Woo… It's all your fault, would something like this happen if you didn't drive so fast? If something were to happen to Peng Peng…"
…
"Mum, Mum, what happened to Dad? When will he come out from behind those doors?"
…
Chen Chen was not sure when it happened but he noticed that his sense of hearing became extremely sharp.
Nearby, there was a lady with a hoarse voice speaking on the phone. She was telling her daughter about her husband's condition. She was trying to hold back tears as she spoke.
Outside the emergency room, the stretcher produced a grating sound when moved around, the nurses pushed aside the family members who were in the way.
A pair of married couple sat in front of Chen Chen. They were having a hushed conversation. The lady could not stop crying.
The frail little girl kept asking her mother questions as if this young girl seemed to have finally realized something.
Countless voices were mixed together and yet there was a clear distinction between them. The syllable in every sentence and the emotions these uttered words contained were all visualized in Chen Chen's mind…
It was all like a grand symphony.